Concubine Yun suppressed her excitement after seeing Jiang Rao, and took Jiang Rao forward to kowtow to the Emperor and Empress.
Having just seen his little niece come back and heard about the fire at Rui County Inn, Qin Yun was truly moved. His eyes were red and he looked like a tearful girl, which made people feel pity for him. After greeting her, he lowered his head and stood behind the other concubines in a low-key and reserved manner.
Over the past six months, Empress Jiahe has always been trying to find fault with her, but Concubine Yun has always been very careful about everything.
She can see her situation clearly.
No matter what other intentions Emperor Zhaowu had, if he was really partial to the Empress, he would not have protected her in the next six months.
Since the situation was not favorable to her, she stopped being arrogant and acted cautiously. Since she can't count on others to protect her, she can just protect herself and still live a comfortable and happy life.
However, when she was in front of Emperor Zhaowu, she had to show the sadness of having fallen out of favor and act like a concubine who had fallen out of favor. She stood behind Jiang Rao holding her hand, with resentment and hatred hidden in her eyes.
If the sadness he showed before was just a show, today he was really full of resentment.
Even though she couldn't stand the Queen and wanted to fight her to the death, she never had the thought of harming other people's lives.
But the queen wanted to harm her by getting close to someone.
Concubine Yun gritted her teeth, and stood among the concubines with her head down. She kept a low profile, but kept Jiang Rao firmly behind her, as if she was secretly protecting her child.
The marching team suddenly stopped. The envoy also noticed some movement. He looked towards Emperor Zhaowu and saw Concubine Yun.
He did not dare to look at Emperor Zhaowu's concubine for too long and quickly looked away.
But just this one glance made her sigh, and she whispered something in her hometown dialect to her trusted follower.
Translated into the language of the Central Plains, it means: "We have red poppies there, and here in the Central Plains we have Concubine Yun."
Concubine Yun was so beautiful that she was stunning even in the eyes of foreigners.
The envoy glanced at Empress Jiahe again, and still muttered to his companions in the language of his tribe, "We are all women, and we are all stunned."
Empress Jiahe stared at Concubine Yun, but what she wanted to see was Jiang Rao behind Concubine Yun.
When Jiang Rao came to pay her respects just now, she almost pinched her palms until they bled just to maintain her dignity.
Really back...
The emperor and empress had to leave the palace, but they couldn't just leave. They had to find someone to deliver a letter to the martial arts field first, clear the area, and then ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to prepare carriages and horses and the Black Robe Guard to send out guards before they could leave.
During the preparation period, the Seventeenth Prince found Jia
And the Queen.
He had just won the duel, and was feeling very proud. His steps were brisk, but because of Jiang Rao's appearance, shock flickered in his pupils, "Mother, why is Fourth Miss Jiang here?"
Empress Jiahe closed her eyes in depression. A palace maid stood behind her and rubbed her forehead.
The seventeenth prince stood beside her, waiting for her to speak.
After a long while, Empress Jiahe slowly opened her eyes, brushed away the maid's hand, and said slowly, "Don't panic."
She stood up and said to the Seventeenth Prince with forced calmness, "That girl is not as weak as she looks. Something must have happened to her, so she dared not go to Huaizhou again."
Instead, he was shocked by the people she arranged in Rui County.
The seventeenth prince nodded and lowered his head.
The Queen glanced at the Seventeenth Prince and frowned, "Why do you seem relieved?"
The Seventeenth Prince's eyes became flustered, his fingers unconsciously folded behind his back, and his voice became timid, "I am not relieved, I am just worried about the competition in a while."
"Mother." His eyes wandered, "Just now, I felt something strange when I was fighting with that foreigner named Adanu. When he was fighting with several royal brothers, I was watching from the side and felt that he was strong and sturdy, with a solid foundation. But when he was fighting with me, he kept having problems..."
The seventeenth prince looked up at Queen Jiahe, his eyes full of confusion.
When Empress Jiahe saw that the Seventeenth Prince had noticed something, she remained silent for a while.
But she did not tell the Seventeenth Prince about what she had done behind his back.
In her eyes, the Seventeenth Prince's personality was not stable enough and he would easily reveal his true colors.
"You don't have to think too much, just prepare well for the competition. When we get to the martial arts arena, if your father is interested, he might want you to compete with your brothers in horseback riding. Tell the palace maid to feed your horse first."
Queen Jiahe reminded the Seventeenth Prince that he would go to the martial arts field in a while. The Seventeenth Prince's eyes lit up, and he nodded quickly and went downstairs.
…
Jiang Rao followed Concubine Yun and was waiting in the pavilion. Once the carriage and horses were ready, she would go to the martial arts field.
Jiang Rao looked around, "I was so busy talking to my aunt just now that I didn't even notice who was winning or losing."
She sighed with regret, and Concubine Yun pinched her soft cheek and said, "Is it because of my aunt?"
"I thought you were just talking about going south, but who knew you would really go there, and your parents actually let you do whatever you want." Concubine Yun scolded with concern. Jiang Rao then remembered that she had not finished her words because she suddenly saw a group of people coming out of Qingluan Terrace, and she was unable to tell Concubine Yun.
She hurriedly leaned close to Concubine Yun's ear and whispered a few words.
Concubine Yun opened her eyes wide, "Really?"
"Is he delirious because of the fever?" She stretched out her hand and put it on Jiang Rao's forehead. "How can a dead person be resurrected?"
Jiang Rao shook her head and shook off Concubine Yun's hand. "I saw it with my own eyes. Auntie, please don't disbelieve it."
"I have brought all the people back." She smiled beautifully and with a little pride. After whispering to Concubine Yun, she found a palace maid and asked her about what happened on the Qingluantai competition stage.
Seeing her like this, Concubine Yun felt a little sad and still did not take Jiang Rao's words seriously.
Rong Ting didn't die, but she met him in Rui County?
How could that be?
Don't let it be because you are too sad and have wild imaginations.
But she felt much more relieved when she saw that Jiang Rao had a smile on her lips, not as lifeless and dull as when she first learned that Rong Ting was in trouble.
Just let it be wishful thinking. With time, you will be able to get over it.
The palace maid told Jiang Rao that the seventeenth prince had defeated the foreign warrior in the duel.
After hearing this, Jiang Rao's smile faded.
When she thought about how the Seventeenth Prince and the Queen would be so proud of this, she felt dissatisfied.
Waving her hand to let the maid leave, Jiang Rao pursed her lips and returned to Concubine Yun. Concubine Yun glanced at her and asked, "What are you unhappy about?"
"Just now at Qingluan Terrace, the Seventeenth Prince actually defeated the foreign warriors."
The palace maid who went to prepare the carriage did not make any movement, and Jiang Rao sat down next to Concubine Yun.
"Maybe the Queen used some shameful means." She lowered her eyes and said softly.
Concubine Yun looked at her in surprise. She had never expected that her niece, who was always delicate and gentle, would actually throw dirty water on others. She chuckled, "This is groundless. You actually said such a thing."
Jiang Rao was just being impatient and making a casual remark, but after she said it, she was stunned. "The Seventeenth Prince... doesn't look like he can defeat a foreign warrior."
Others may not know, but she had at least spent some time secretly in the Egret Academy. When she didn't have to study or accompany Rong Ting, she would wander around everywhere, watching the Seventeenth Prince trying to avoid the eunuchs who followed him, so as not to be taken to Master Wu to learn martial arts.
Although I don’t have much knowledge of archery and horsemanship, it doesn’t seem like I can win.
Others may think that Empress Jiahe is gentle and virtuous, but she has been treated as a mortal enemy time and time again by the Empress. This time, she almost died in a fire arranged by the Empress. She could not avoid this woman's vicious methods.
Jiang Rao's face turned serious, and she asked Concubine Yun, "If the Seventeenth Prince wins this competition this time, what benefits might he get?"
"Given the emperor's obedience to the queen, if she wants something, she should just ask for it directly. Why beat around the bush?" Concubine Yun said to Jiang Rao, "I think you are overthinking it. When we go to the martial arts arena later, maybe the seventeenth prince won't be able to win."
Jiang Rao kept thinking with her head down, feeling that something was wrong.
…
Martial arts field.
The palace concubines have to follow the queen, and Jiang Rao, as a noble lady from an aristocratic family, has to separate from Concubine Yun.
Queen Jiahe glanced at Jiang Rao from afar. Seeing her red lips and beautiful eyes, which could be spotted in the crowd, she felt hatred in her heart.
They are like weeds that cannot be burned to death. She has only seen Rong Ting, and now there is Jiang Rao.
But Rong Tinghuan did not die in her hands. She is just a little girl. Queen Jiahe neither takes Jiang Rao seriously nor feels upset by her existence.
She glanced to the side and saw that the Seventeenth Prince standing beside her was also looking at Jiang Rao. She suddenly felt uneasy and asked in a cold voice, "What are you looking at, Yuan'er?"
The seventeenth prince suddenly withdrew his gaze and coughed twice, "Mother."
He lowered his eyes and said, "I am looking for Adanu."
Queen Jiahe smiled but said nothing.
I thought that the foreign warrior probably no longer had the strength to fight, and his presence in the arena was just a formality.
Empress Jiahe had already begun to think about how to ask Emperor Zhaowu to give the mansion in Wuyi Lane as a reward to her son.
Jiang Rao sat down, and several noble ladies who followed her glanced at her, their gazes filled with sympathy and regret.
It was both fortunate and unfortunate that her fiancé died before she got married.
Although she doesn't have to be a widow for a man who has not yet married, people always worry that she is unlucky in marriage... This next marriage may not be as good as the first one.
The first marriage was not very good. Although he had the title of prince, he was actually just a cripple who could not achieve anything and could not establish a career. If the second marriage was no match for the first one, what would it be like for a legitimate daughter of an earl to marry down?
Jiang Rao was aware of the vague gazes around her, but she felt calm.
Someone tapped her shoulder and Jiang Rao heard a bell sound in her ears. She turned around and saw Hu Tang.
Hu Tang wrapped his arms around Jiang Rao's neck, pressed closer, and said with a smile, "Niannian, you're finally back."
She smiled and said, "When you're not here, I can only come to the martial arts field to relieve my boredom, but my mother doesn't want me to come here. Without you to cover for me, she has someone watching me. My ears are almost callused from nagging."
Hu Tang reached out her hand and moved closer to Jiang Rao, aggrievedly asking Jiang Rao to look at her wrist, "Look, she put the bell on me again."
Jiang Rao was strangled by her and couldn't breathe. She begged for mercy twice before Hu Tang let go of her hand.
She talked to Hu Tang for a few words, pointed at the sturdy figure of Adanu who appeared in the martial arts field, leaned close to Hu Tang's ear and asked her: "Who do you think is better in fighting and archery between the Seventeenth Prince and this warrior?"
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