Wei Ting looked puzzled: "Of course not!"

Su Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

On the roof, the five tigers flapped their wings: "What a man's mouth! What a lie!"

Wei Ting gritted his teeth: "Little stinky parrot! Get down here!"

On the carriage back to the palace, Princess Jingning carefully savored several poems written by Shen Chuan.

After entering the Hanlin Academy, he seemed smooth and sophisticated, hiding his edge, but in fact he had great ambitions and lofty aspirations, and was a good candidate for the cabinet.

"Princess."

Taozhi said with a smile, "I think Lord Shen is really great!"

"Um."

Princess Jingning did not deny it.

"Huh?" Taozhi was surprised, "Princess, you don't praise people easily."

Princess Jingning said frankly: "He is indeed ambitious and talented."

Taozhi asked curiously, "Princess, what do you think of him compared to Wei Zhuangyuan?"

Princess Jingning said strictly, "I have never competed with Wei Ting in poetry."

In the past, his stupid sister always opposed Guo Lingxi, and even wanted to snatch Wei Ting from Guo Lingxi.

She has always kept her distance from Wei Ting.

Taozhi added, "There is also the Fourth Master Su, who tied for first place with the champion Shen in the imperial examination. If he had not missed the palace examination due to illness, I wonder if there would be two champions!"

It is impossible to have two top scorers.

She had read the articles of both of them, and in terms of elegance and talent, Shen Chuan was slightly better.

Su Xuansheng's analysis and insights on the court's long-standing problems are to the point and sharp, unlike that of a fledgling scholar.

Thinking of something, Taozhi asked in a low voice: "Princess, do you think Mr. Shen is on the list of candidates for the prince consort?"

Princess Jingning asked, "So what?"

Taozhi said weakly: "If he were here..."

Taozhi said this, glanced at Princess Jingning who had an indifferent expression on her face, and swallowed the rest of her words.

The princess is so outstanding, but she just doesn't believe that there is a man in the world who truly loves her.

In fact, she felt that Lord Shen was different from those men.

The next day.

Just after the Queen finished her breakfast, she heard a shocking piece of news from her trusted eunuch.

"Is this true?"

The trusted eunuch said, "I don't know if it's true or not. I just heard from Xiao Dezi from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that it has spread all over the capital, saying that the Princess Zhenguo has taken a fancy to Mr. Shen from the Imperial Academy and wants to make him her lover..."

The Queen slammed her fist on the table: "How dare you!"

The trusted eunuch knelt down and said, "Queen, calm down!"

The other palace servants in the hall also knelt down in fear, lowered their heads, and dared not even breathe.

The queen said coldly: "Go and call the princess to me!"

The trusted eunuch went to invite Princess Jingning.

Princess Jingning was already dressed and was putting on the last hairpin.

Taozhi was worried for her princess: "Princess..."

Princess Jingning put on the hairpin calmly and went to the queen's bedroom with a dignified manner.

"You left the palace last night?"

The Queen asked straight to the point.

Princess Jingning replied neither humbly nor arrogantly: "Yes."

The queen looked at her scrutinizingly: "What have you been doing?"

Princess Jingning: "Relax."

Queen: "I heard that you went to see Mr. Shen from the Hanlin Academy?"

Princess Jingning said calmly, "Oh, that's right. I have long admired Lord Shen's talent. It's a rare opportunity to meet him, so I invited Lord Shen and I to dine together."

The Queen looked at her suspiciously: "Is that all?"

Princess Jingning said calmly, "My son and Lord Shen hit it off right away. I even recited poems and composed essays with Lord Shen, played chess with him, and had a very pleasant conversation."

The queen stood up and walked in front of her. "What a pleasant conversation. In order not to marry into the Su family, you even resorted to methods that would ruin your reputation. You are a princess of the royal family. Even if you really have a few followers, who would dare to gossip about you?!"

Princess Jingning said, "No one dares to gossip about me, but I'm afraid that Lord Su and Minister Su would not want to marry a princess with a bad reputation as their grandson's and son's daughter-in-law, especially... Shen Chuan and Su Xuan are close friends, and the Su family would never touch a woman that Shen Chuan has touched."

The last sentence is the fatal blow.

The queen clasped her hands.

She always knew that her daughter was smart, but she didn't expect her to be so smart. She had just mentioned the plan of selecting a prince consort in the afternoon, and Jingning blocked her way out at night.

No overnight stays?

The queen suppressed her anger and said, "It's just reciting poems and playing chess. What's the point of touching it?"

Princess Jingning said calmly: "My interest was disturbed last night. Maybe next time, I will touch you."

The queen was so angry that she fell backwards!

The queen was unable to accept the fact that her daughter, who had been obedient for nineteen years, suddenly became rebellious.

Unlike Hui'an, who had been naughty since childhood and would make Empress Xian angry every now and then, Empress Xian was used to it.

The queen said coldly: "You are grown up now, your wings are strong, you don't listen to your mother, right?"

Jing Ning mustered up her courage and faced the queen's domineering aura: "Mother, I have always listened to your arrangements for so many years. You asked me to study, so I studied obediently. You asked me to be a well-behaved princess, so I was a well-behaved princess. You asked me to shoulder the fate of the Great Zhou, so I shouldered the fate and dared not make the slightest mistake. But mother, I don't want to suffer for a man I don't love for the rest of my life... I don't want to be the next you."

The queen's heart was shaken.

Jingning regretted it as soon as she finished speaking. She looked at the queen's red eyes and said sadly, "Mother, I'm sorry..."

The queen turned around and said, "Taozhi, help the princess back to her room."

Taozhi glanced at the queen's lonely back and lowered her head: "Yes, queen."

After the two left.

The queen sat back in her chair in a daze, her eyes empty. She was stunned for a long time, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Until Nanny Yu came in carrying a bowl of ginseng soup.

Nanny Yu is the Queen's wet nurse. After so many years, they have become as close as blood relatives.

There are some things that others dare not say, only she dares to say.

She placed the ginseng soup on the table and sighed, "The princess said this because she feels sorry for you. She has seen all the hardships you have gone through over the years. Don't take it to heart."

The Queen finally felt a little aggrieved in front of the wet nurse: "I don't want this to happen... but if I don't marry her into the Su family... I'm afraid I can't protect her..."

Nanny Yu said, "My lady, the princess and Madam Wei are very close friends, maybe Madam Wei can protect her."

The queen choked bitterly and said, "The Purple Star has descended upon the Wei family. The Wei family will surely produce an emperor. How could the new emperor easily let go of the princess of the previous dynasty who shoulders the fate of the country? She must die one day, and the fate of the Xiao family will end. Apart from letting her marry into the Su family, I can't think of a better way to protect her!"

(End of this chapter)