Duanhua rushed back to Princess Qingping’s residence, hurried footsteps, almost trotting all the way to the Main Courtyard.
In the Main Courtyard, Princess Qingping believed the Crown Prince would certainly not agree to Duanhua. Unlike the Emperor, the Crown Prince would not indulge Duanhua’s whims. If it had been the Emperor governing in the past, she and Duanhua could have gone into the palace together, crying and begging, perhaps the Emperor would have agreed out of annoyance. But now, the Crown Prince was in power. Even if he had not ascended the throne, the Emperor had allowed the Crown Prince to oversee the country, any matters had to go through the Crown Prince. He, the kind of person who prioritized state affairs, would likely not entertain Duanhua, no matter how pestering she could be.
So, even if she wasn’t pregnant, she didn’t want to face the Crown Prince and irritate him.
As for her daughter pestering him, so be it! As long as the Crown Prince did not agree, she had no other options, after a few attempts, she might just give up. Or the Crown Prince would certainly find a way to deal with her, just like in the past when she pursued Zhou Gu. A few times she went to the Eastern Palace, she was punished by the Crown Prince, forcing her to behave for a while after she returned.
Princess Qingping had just finished her meal, was sitting at the table drinking pregnancy-protecting tea, seeing Duanhua rush in, she didn’t scold her, just said: "Are you in a hurry or something? You ran so fast?"
Duanhua panted, looking at her mother, just wanted to say "Mom, something big happened.", but afraid that she would scare her mother, in case she startled the fetus, then she would be guilty. Turning around she said, "Well mom, I’m looking for dad, has he gone to the office? I’m going to find him now."
As she finished speaking, she ran off like the wind again.
Qingping: "..."
This child.
Duanhua thought, such a big matter, her mother is pregnant, her father isn’t carrying a baby, so it makes more sense to go to her father first.
So, she got back in the carriage and hurried off to find her stepfather at the office.
The office where her stepfather was located had been busy these days because of the Crown Prince’s return to the capital to administer the government, but because his office was usually quiet, compared to other busy departments, it wasn’t too bad, he still had time for a water break.
After Duanhua arrived, she hurriedly said to the people inside: "Please pass a message, I have something urgent to see my father, let him come out immediately."
The people in the office immediately went to call the stepfather when they saw the princess.
Her stepfather was worried about Princess Qingping’s pregnancy recently, even when he was in the office, he was always on edge. Fortunately, Duanhua had grown up and could help him take care of his wife, so he wasn’t too worried. If it hadn’t been for the fact that the Imperial Court was understaffed due to the post-war rush, he would have preferred to take a year off to stay home with his pregnant wife.
Hearing that his daughter had arrived, the stepfather immediately set aside his work, quickly strode out. He knew that his daughter rarely came to find him in the office. If she came today, there must be something wrong.
He quickly left the office and saw Duanhua waiting at the door, seeing her kicking stones with her toes, kicking them in circles. This was a habit Duanhua copied from Su Rong, she didn’t like stones before, thought they hurt her feet.
Her stepfather came to Duanhua, looked at her and asked, "What happened? Is it your mother?"
"Oh no, dad, it’s not. My mother is fine, it’s me that’s in trouble." Duanhua immediately said.
Relieved, the stepfather looked at Duanhua standing in front of him behaving well, and wondered, "What happened to you?"
Not that he could remain so calm, it was just that from childhood to adulthood, she had had too many problems.
Duanhua grabbed her stepfather, "Dad, come with me, let’s find a place with no one and have a serious talk."
"Can’t it wait until I’m done with office?" The stepfather was helpless.
"No." Duanhua dragged him away.
The stepfather could only follow her.
Coming to an unpopulated area, Duanhua ordered to the guards, "Guard the surroundings, don’t let anyone near, I have a secret to discuss with my dad."
The guards answered in unison.
Seeing her mysterious behavior and her seriousness, the stepfather couldn’t help but become serious too.
After making arrangements, Duanhua leaned to her stepfather’s ear, "Dad, something big happened."
The stepfather immediately said: "Tell me."
Duanhua dropped the bombshell, "The Crown Prince’s cousin wants to marry me."
The stepfather widened his eyes, looked at Duanhua, he doubted that his ears had gone deaf, and he had misunderstood, "What did you say?"
He, a person who was usually calm, couldn’t help but raise his voice.
"The Crown Prince’s cousin wants to marry me." Having said that, Duanhua immediately felt relieved. She had been holding it in all morning, and finally found her dad to vent, she grabbed her dad’s arm, "Dad, the Crown Prince’s cousin said to me, since I fear marriage and he is anxious to get married why won’t I marry him so that he can also rest easy about choosing his spouse."
Her stepfather: "...!!!"
He looked at Duanhua in shock. This time he heard it clearly, "You are sure the Crown Prince said this to you?"
"Positive." Duanhua nodded vigorously. Although she felt a bit unreal after waking up, this matter was absolutely true, she wasn’t senile, her memory was very clear.
The stepfather pulled Duanhua shaking with disbelief and shock, "Tell me in detail, what exactly is going on?"
Duanhua nodded, and then told her stepfather about how the day her carriage broke down, the Crown Prince’s cousin sent her home, her poster to help the emperor choose his beautiful husband and how last night she went to the Eastern Palace and pestered the Crown Prince, reciting everything that happened word for word.
After hearing the story, the stepfather was dumbfounded, open-mouthed, silent for a long time.
Duanhua waved her hand in front of her, "Hey, Dad, should I agree to him? That’s the Crown Prince’s cousin. I’ve been scared of him since I was a child..."
Hearing her rambling, the stepfather snapped back to reality, feeling mixed emotions, looking at his simple-minded daughter. He was surprised that by pestering she had caught the attention of the tall, respected Crown Prince. He did not know what to say.
He said irritably: "Since you are scared of him, why did you go to the Eastern Palace and pester him?"
It was her fault that he had neglected her because of her pregnancy and the busy office work. He didn’t expect that she would make such a big mess.
"It’s true I’m scared of him, but my marriage is so important, I don’t want to be laughed at for not being able to get married." Duanhua grumbled.
The stepfather looked at her, "Now you don’t have to worry about not getting married."
Duanhua sighed, softly saying: "The Crown Prince’s cousin is quite good-looking, if I hadn’t been scared of him since I was a child, I might not have liked Zhou Gu, but liked him."
As cousins, Zhou Gu wanted badly to avoid her, while the Crown Prince’s cousin always bore with the headache to teach her a lesson.
The stepfather had no patience anymore, "Did you tell your mother?"
Duanhua shook her head, "I didn’t dare to tell her, I was afraid it might disturb her pregnancy. So I hurried to find you instead."
"Did you sleep well last night?" The stepfather looked at his daughter who didn’t look like she hadn’t slept all night.
Duanhua nodded, "Um, the Eastern Palace is quiet, I sleep comfortably. After the Crown Prince’s cousin left, I slept until dawn."
The stepfather was speechless, "It’s surprising that you could sleep."
Duanhua looked at her dear dad, "Dad, why couldn’t I sleep? Yesterday I was tired. I waited for the Crown Prince’s cousin for half the night in the Eastern Palace until I finally managed to wait for him to return, it exhausted me."
The stepfather rubbed his brow, "The Crown Prince’s choosing of his wife is a big event, not child’s play, do you think you can be suitable as the Crown Prince’s wife, the future mother of a country?"
Duanhua blinked, being very frank, "I don’t know."
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