Chapter 522 The Princess Broke Up the Engagement and Ran Away
Under the daily persuasion of Lieutenant Song, the princess of Dongling Kingdom grew increasingly disgusted with the Third Prince.
The two left the capital city that night and returned to the outskirts of the city.
The princess of Dongling Kingdom insisted on going back, shouting, "No, I won't go into the city, and I don't want to get married! I want to go home! I want to go home!"
The strength of Dongling Kingdom and Xuanyue Kingdom is not much different. The princess's marriage to Xuanyue Kingdom is not a case of one country currying favor with the other.
The princess was pampered from a young age and was somewhat willful. She was initially unwilling to leave, but after seeing the portrait of the Third Prince, she fell in love with him at first sight and agreed to the marriage.
Now, the handsome face of the Third Prince had completely transformed into that of a middle-aged man in her mind. She was filled with regret and wished she could leave this place as soon as possible.
The princess's insistence on not entering the city quickly reached the palace.
The emperor stood up, slightly displeased, and asked the eunuch who had delivered the message, "Why won't she enter the city?"
The eunuch replied, "I heard that it's because the princess dislikes the Third Prince for being too old, so she doesn't want to marry him."
The emperor frowned and paced back and forth a couple of times. “My third brother is indeed getting on in years. Let’s put that aside for now. Let’s bring the princess into the palace and summon the third prince back first.”
The eunuch bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The emperor's gaze darkened slightly, his mind still replaying Consort Wu's dying words: she had sent assassins to kill the empress.
However, he searched through all the people around Consort Wu but could not find the assassin.
It's unclear whether the assassin is dead or alive.
If we can find him, then we can find out where the Empress is.
Just as he was deep in thought, another eunuch came to report, "Your Majesty, the eldest princess of Dongling said that even if she dies, she will not enter the city."
The emperor's face immediately darkened with displeasure. "Send men to keep a close watch on her. We can't let her really die here."
The eunuch lowered his head and hesitated, "Your Majesty, since the Princess dislikes the Third Prince so much, why not find her another marriage?"
The emperor has been dreaming of the empress marrying someone else lately, and now he can't tolerate any dissent.
He knew everything about the Third Prince and the Empress's past, especially the fact that the Third Prince had not yet married, which made him quite wary. Now he was determined to force him into an unavoidable marriage so that he would stay put.
But to his surprise, even though the Princess of Dongling had already arrived outside the city gate, she was still arguing that she wouldn't marry him.
He was furious, and, barely containing his anger, he ordered, "Tie him up and bring him in here!"
The eunuch listened and then withdrew.
More than an hour later, a group of guards rushed to the Emperor's palace. "Your Majesty, the eldest princess of Dongling has run away!"
"They escaped?" the emperor exclaimed in shock. "Didn't I tell you to bring them in tied up? How come they've run away?"
The fact that the princess of Dongling ran away is a minor matter; however, if something were to happen in their Xuan Yue Kingdom, it would definitely affect the relationship between the two countries.
The emperor grew increasingly panicked, pacing back and forth twice more. "Immediately send men to search for her! We must bring her back safe and sound!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The crowd responded loudly.
The eunuch beside him continued to advise, "Your Majesty, Princess Dongling is unwilling to marry the Third Prince. Forcing her like this is not a solution. If something goes wrong, we will not be able to afford the compensation. Why not take this opportunity to publicly annul her marriage to the Third Prince and let her choose her own husband? That way, she might come back on her own."
The emperor hesitated, and after a long silence, he instructed the guards: "Go, do as Eunuch Xu says."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The crowd responded and withdrew.
The emperor slammed his fist on the table in anger. “That girl is really bold. If it weren’t for the Dongling Kingdom, I would have tied her up long ago and forced her to go to the bridal chamber.”
Eunuch Xu stood to the side, head bowed, and said nothing.
After the emperor's anger subsided, Eunuch Xu cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, Consort Li has recovered. Would you like to visit her palace tonight?"
The emperor picked up a painting that Consort Li had painted in the past, looked at it for a long time, and then replied, "Very well, I will go see her tonight."
Eunuch Xu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
Perhaps because Consort Li had always maintained a distant relationship with the emperor, he valued her more than other concubines, and even developed genuine feelings for her.
He just hadn't realized it himself.
As night fell, the imperial city was as quiet as ever.
Inside the Zhou residence, not far from the imperial city, Du Wanchun, holding a lantern, was startled to see two people hiding in her woodshed.
Who are you?
Deputy General Song quickly took out a token and said, "Manager Du, it's me, I'm Xiao Song, a soldier by General Zhou's side. He gave me this token, saying that if I'm in trouble in the capital, I can come to you."
Du Wanchun looked down and realized that the token in his hand was indeed Zhou Zhao's personal possession.
At this moment, a woman dressed in men's clothing peeked out from behind Deputy General Song, her clear eyes filled with curiosity about Du Wanchun.
"Manager Du."
She called softly, took a small step forward, and bowed to Du Wanchun.
Du Wanchun asked in confusion, "Who is this?"
Deputy General Song turned to look at the princess, stammering and unsure of what to say.
Du Wanchun carefully examined the two of them and roughly guessed who they were. She whispered, "You two can come with me to the backyard."
Vice General Song and the princess were immediately delighted and exchanged a glance.
Du Wanchun turned around and led them to the school on the west side of the backyard.
This is where Hai Qingyang and Mr. Yuan usually live.
Deputy General Song and the young master entered the hall and looked around curiously.
"Manager Du, where is this place?"
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