Chapter 69: The Women of Jianghu Dare Not Defile the Governor's Reputation
At daybreak, the old eunuch flicked his whisk and hurried back to Kunning Palace.
Inside the hall, a graceful and elegant woman was reclining on a couch. Her hair had turned gray, but her overall majesty had not diminished in the slightest. A nanny beside her was massaging her temples.
The old eunuch held his breath, afraid of disturbing his master's nap, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, the governor of Yinan City has returned."
"Chen'er is back?" The queen suddenly opened her eyes, all her tiredness gone. The nanny beside her bowed tactfully and stepped aside.
The old eunuch said, "Her Majesty, word has come from outside the palace that the Crown Prince's men have already met up with the Governor-General and are saying he'll be able to enter the palace for an audience at noon."
The Queen's brows immediately lit up, and she sat up straight, happily saying, "Cuiyin, tell the kitchen to prepare more dishes that Chen'er likes. Summon Imperial Physician Liu and have him meet at Kunning Palace immediately. Then go to the storehouse and pick out some new and interesting things, including the two people accompanying him, and prepare them well as well."
"Yes." Nanny Cuiyin accepted the order and withdrew.
The old eunuch secretly wiped the sweat off his face, his lips trembling, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
The Queen noticed and the smile on her face softened a little. She asked, "What's wrong? Is Chen'er injured?"
The old eunuch immediately bent even lower and said tremblingly, "It is said that the governor brought back a woman on this trip, and he cherishes her very much."
The Queen snorted softly, "Is such a small matter worth scaring you like this?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand, and the old eunuch hurried forward to support her.
The Queen lazily placed her hand on the old eunuch's wrist, stood up, and said, "If Chen'er likes her, then keep her. Is it possible that such a huge country like Yun can't support a woman?"
The old eunuch whispered, "Her Majesty, I heard... that woman seems to be a quack."
The queen stopped suddenly.
The old eunuch knelt down hurriedly.
*
The Yun Kingdom's palace was different from the Northern Kingdom's. The Northern Kingdom's palace was lavishly extravagant and aptly named the Gilded Palace. However, the Yun Kingdom's palace was simple yet refined. Compared to the oppressive grandeur of the Northern Kingdom's palace, it possessed a tranquil and elegant charm.
A Tiao sent them to the gate of the palace.
This time when Jiang Cichen returned to the court to report, the situation was completely different from any of his previous victorious returns. There was no crowd of welcoming guards and no cheers from the people.
Before they reached the front of the hall, the eunuchs waiting outside saw Jiang Cichen from afar and hurriedly turned back to the hall to pass on the message. Before they reached the front of the hall, he came out again and stood outside waiting.
Luo Wan saw his eyes quickly sweep over her, then fell back on Jiang Cichen, and said flatteringly: "Your Majesty is waiting for the governor."
Jiang Cichen didn't respond immediately. He turned around and said, "Wait for me outside the hall."
"OK."
"yes."
Xie Yan and Chen Nanyuan responded in unison.
Jiang Cichen didn't leave. He looked at Luo Wan steadily, waiting for her answer.
Luo Wan nodded slightly, Jiang Cichen curled his lips into a smile, and then followed the eunuch into the hall.
It was early summer, and the midday sun was inevitably scorching. The three of them felt hot after waiting outside the hall for a while, so they all hid in the shade.
Not long after, ministers entered the palace one after another. When they saw the three men, they first looked at them with ill intent, then sneered and walked into the hall.
Xie Yan didn't tolerate them and always glared back at them fiercely.
Seeing this, Chen Nanyuan covered his eyes and advised him not to cause trouble on other people's territory and to maintain peace.
Xie Yan scoffed, "Achen is at least half Yun Kingdom blood, the son of the legitimate princess."
Xie Yan pronounced the sound of "Di" very clearly, as if he was emphasizing it deliberately.
Luo Wan recalled the letter that the secret agent had sent to her. The letter said that Jiang Cichen was the son of the princess, but never said that he was the son of the legitimate princess.
Since ancient times, the crown prince has been the eldest son of the legitimate wife. Beiye Ji was the son of the Empress, so he became the crown prince of the Northern Kingdom and then the emperor.
Based on this speculation, the Crown Prince of Yun State is most likely in the same situation. As the legitimate son, he was made the Crown Prince and is a brother of the same mother as Xiao Qing, so he would send someone to pick up Jiang Cichen.
The Prince Sheng they were referring to was probably the reason Xie Yan could emphasize the title of "legitimate princess" in front of passing ministers. As a bastard, Prince Sheng likely had a grudge against the Crown Prince, and naturally, he considered Jiang Cichen a thorn in his side.
As for which faction these unfriendly ministers belonged to, it was still unknown. After all, Jiang Cichen had attacked the Yun Kingdom before, and it was likely that a large number of ministers would not easily let go of their old grudges.
Xie Yan suddenly turned to Luo Wan again and said firmly, "Miss Luo, you made the right choice by choosing our Ah Chen."
Chen Nanyuan nodded frantically on the side.
Luo Wan was puzzled and asked, "Since she is the princess's daughter, why was she sent to Yinan City?"
Even though he wasn't as precious as a prince, he was still a close relative of the imperial family. Furthermore, with Jiang Cichen's abilities and his military achievements, which were widely known to the world, no monarch who knew how to appoint a man to a position would abandon him to such a desolate place where no one wanted to go, wasting his talent as a general.
A wise emperor, since he chooses to accept his grandson, should trust him.
Xie Yan chuckled and said, "Achen wasn't sent to Yinan City; he wanted to go there on his own."
Chen Nanyuan nodded vigorously again.
Xie Yan explained, "When I first arrived in Yun Country, apart from the Emperor, Empress, and Crown Prince, few people in Yun Country, whether civil or military, treated Achen with a friendly attitude. It's understandable that the people of Yun Country hated him and refused to accept him. So many people died in the war over the five cities, it would be doubtful to say they didn't hate him. But Achen can't be blamed for this. He didn't know the truth from the beginning. We were deceived by those bastards from the Northern Country."
"To put it bluntly, the people of Yun Nation actually love and hate him. They want him to go to war, but they're also uncomfortable with it and can't let go of the past. So someone came up with the idea and chose Yinan City, a 'feng shui treasure land', for him. On the surface, they said it was to prove that his victory was due to his own ability, not the powerful soldiers of the Northern Nation. But in reality, they knew the hardships there and wanted to vent their anger."
"The Emperor originally disagreed. Life there was tough, with little food to eat, and the Empress couldn't bear to part with this precious child. But Ah Chen decided to go there on his own, without a single soldier, refusing any reinforcements, and simply taking on the Yinan and Xiliang armies."
Xie Yan spoke seriously, and Luo Wan understood the situation. Yinan City, a poor and remote place, would be a hot potato in anyone's hands. So why not hand it over to this newcomer? Let him suffer a little, just to vent his anger.
Luo Wan now understood from Xie Yan's words why the Yulin Army was unwilling to mobilize a single soldier even when it was already at the gates of Weizhou City.
Luo Wan said, "Your 'someone' refers to King Sheng?"
The "someone" that Luo Wan asked about was naturally the people who gave Jiang Cichen suggestions as mentioned by Xie Yan. Since they could speak in such an occasion, they must be people close to the emperor. The emperor would not allow people who knew nothing about political affairs to talk about it casually, so these people must know what the situation in Yinan City is.
Knowing this, why did they choose this place? It's self-evident. If they could capture Weizhou City, everything would be easy, and it would even lay a solid foundation for Yun Nation's future conquest of Xiliang. If they couldn't capture it, they would stay there forever.
But they didn't expect that Weizhou, a city that had been entangled with Yinan City for more than ten years, was captured more than a month after Jiang Cichen arrived.
Xie Yan smiled and said, "Miss Luo, you are indeed as Ah Chen said, not an ordinary woman."
Just as Jiang Cichen said? Just as Luo Wan was pondering what this meant, she saw a maid coming out from the end of the corridor. Judging from her clothes and demeanor, she seemed to be an elderly person in the palace.
At first, the three of them didn't pay attention. There were many servants in the palace, and coming and going was common. But when this person stopped directly in front of the three of them, they had to pay attention.
Nanny Cuiyin looked him up and down for a long time with sharp eyes.
The three of them stood outside the palace and met various ministers. They saw almost all kinds of looks, inquiring, contemptuous, and curious. But this kind of undisguised and even slightly malicious look was the first time it was cast nakedly on Luo Wan.
In the past at the Chi Mansion, Luo Wan had also seen evil servants who took advantage of their power to bully others, such as the tantrum-throwing Matron Liu, but the man before him was completely different from Matron Liu.
Xie Yan and Chen Nanyuan immediately noticed that the atmosphere was not right, and they stepped forward calmly, blocking Luo Wan behind them.
Nanny Cuiyin immediately smiled and said, "This old servant serves the Empress. This young lady must be the friend brought back by the governor. The Empress wishes to see you."
Hearing that it was someone from the Queen's palace, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. The Queen was very concerned about her grandson and would naturally not embarrass his friends. However, after all, Jiang Cichen had previously asked Luo Wan to wait for him outside the palace, and he suddenly felt a little conflicted.
Nanny Cuiyin had a sharp eye and saw through their hesitation. She smiled and said, "After the governor has finished discussing matters with His Majesty, he will definitely go to Kunning Palace to see the Empress. Why don't you follow me first to avoid keeping Her Majesty waiting?"
Since the Queen has already sent people, it is useless to maintain a stalemate here. They cannot openly disobey the Queen's order and challenge her authority in the palace.
Luo Wan had just met Xie Yan and Chen Nanyuan, and he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard it was the Queen. He thought that the Queen and Jiang Cichen had a good relationship.
Luo Wan said, "Then I'll have to trouble you to lead the way."
*
As soon as you approach Kunning Palace, a strong scent of sandalwood hits you in the face.
Nanny Cuiyin asked Luo Wan to wait outside the palace gate while she went in to pass on the message.
Soon, Nanny Cuiyin came out and led her in. Before crossing the threshold, she instructed, "When you see the Empress, you must kneel down and pay your respects. Don't look around. You must remain kneeling until the Empress calls you to."
Luo Wan nodded silently.
Entering the palace, Luo Wan only took a quick glance at the graceful figure on the couch before kneeling down and kowtowed: "Your humble servant, Luo Wan, respectfully wishes the Empress Her Majesty good health."
Even without looking up, the pressure from the Tian family was like a tide, surging from all directions and hanging heavily on Luo Wan.
This was completely different from any member of the Northern Royal Family she had seen before, a temperament honed through long years and supreme power.
In front of her, it seemed as if all thoughts were exposed.
"Look up."
An indifferent voice came from above his head. Luo Wan slowly raised his head as he was told, and only then could he see the face of the person on the couch. Although he was very old, the sharpness in his eyes and the majesty of his whole body still made people feel awe.
Luo Wan suddenly thought of Jiang Cichen and understood who he inherited his condescending, arrogant and cold temperament from.
Even though we haven't met in the past twenty years, some things are engraved in our bones and flow in our blood.
The Queen's gaze lingered on her face for a moment before she asked, "What's your name?"
Luo Wan said calmly, "In reply to the Queen, my surname is Luo, and my given name is Wan."
The Queen asked, "Where are you from?"
Luo Wan said, "Your Majesty, I have been adrift since I was young, with no one to rely on, and the world is my home."
The Queen said in an ambiguous tone, "She is indeed a woman from the Jianghu, and she is quite lovely."
Even though Luo Wan didn't know why the Queen wanted to see her at first, she knew it all after hearing these words. The Queen wanted to see her simply because of a relationship, and that relationship was with Jiang Cichen.
The Queen said calmly, "Since Chen'er doesn't mind you being a woman of the Jianghu, I, as your elder, don't want to force him to marry or take a concubine. I will ask His Majesty for permission to confer the title of Princess on you, allowing you to shed your Jianghu persona. Then, you can be with Chen'er with a clear conscience."
In the past, the Queen would never allow the royal bloodline to be involved with people in the martial arts world.
Whenever she thought of people from the martial arts world, she could only think of those who were outside the court etiquette, who took pleasure in revenge, and even killed and robbed; when she thought of women from the martial arts world, she often thought of those fierce women who were not bound by the etiquette of the boudoir, who showed their faces in public, and wielded swords and guns.
What's more, there are too many uncertainties in the lives of people in the martial arts world. Who knows if one day enemies will come and bring unpredictable dangers and troubles to the entire clan.
But she had learned a lesson once. Just because she disagreed with Xiao Qing being with the son of an enemy general, she lost her daughter forever.
Because of this unforgettable pain, she chose to take a look at the woman Jiang Cichen brought back first. If she was okay and if he liked her, she would agree.
She didn't dare gamble again.
Luo Wan, who had been kneeling, suddenly fell to the ground and spoke clearly, "Your Majesty, the governor and I are just friends who have had the honor of meeting. I dare not accept such a great favor from Your Majesty."
The Queen did not expect Luo Wan to refuse so decisively. She said, "What I just said is a great gift to someone like you. Are you really unwilling?"
Luo Wan maintained the posture of bowing his head and said, "Your Majesty, I am just a wandering person in the world. I dare not sully the governor's reputation and damage the dignity of the royal family."
As soon as she finished speaking, the heavy palace door, which had just been tightly closed when Nanny Cuiyin left, was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
"Royal Grandmother."
An extremely familiar voice and a figure blocking out the light rushed into the hall.
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The author has something to say: I checked online and both "皇母亲" and "皇外母亲" are acceptable. "皇外母亲" sounds weird, so I'll just use "皇母亲"
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