Chapter 180 An Lingrong 121
What does the queen have in her hand?
The Ulanara and Uya clans, who depended on their female relatives to preserve their family's glory? Or the precarious position of empress? Or Chun Yuan, who was constantly exploited by the empress dowager and the queen?
These are not guarantees for the current queen. The only card she holds tightly in her hand that can be called a turnaround is the third prince who occupies the position of eldest son.
Even though he is mediocre and cowardly and incompetent, as long as the Third Prince does not make a big mistake, there will be court officials supporting him and the emperor will always have expectations of him.
The Queen knew this truth, and Lingrong and Zhen Huan knew it too.
As smart as the Fourth Prince is, he naturally knows it.
The weather has been getting hotter these days, and the Forbidden City is becoming more and more like a steamer, making people feel stuffy and irritable.
"Go away."
The emperor closed his eyes and didn't even want to look at his eldest son standing below. He just felt that the eldest son was asking for trouble in this hot weather.
The Third Prince had been scolded by the Emperor every day these days, and the Empress Dowager didn't know why she was getting more and more aggressive. His eyes were already purple, and after being bombarded by the Emperor like this, his face turned as pale as paint, and he almost floated out of the Yangxin Palace.
As soon as he came out, he saw his fourth and sixth brothers, and his face was inevitably dim. The feeling of shame wrapped around this adolescent boy tightly, almost suffocating him.
"Third brother." Hongli, who was always very discerning, came over and patted his thin shoulder. "Third brother, how many days have you not had a good rest? You look really scary. Is the Empress Dowager still making you stay up late to study hard every day?"
Faced with the concern of others, he was kind-hearted and would not refuse. Although he did not want to talk about this topic, he nodded and replied: "I am not good at studying. If I don't review every day, I am afraid that even memorization will become a problem."
"Alas... As princes, it's only natural for us to stay up late and study hard. But it's too late for you. If you do this every day, I'm afraid you won't even get enough sleep. How can your body bear it in the long run?" Hongli sighed, looking caring, which moved the Third Prince.
Hongyao on the side didn't even look over here, but just called out "Fourth Brother" as a reminder after Su Peisheng came out.
Hongli was laughing as he told the Third Prince about his upcoming selection of a wife: "Mother has told me that she has carefully selected many girls from good families for Third Prince to meet. What kind of girl do you like?"
"It's not our turn to decide our marriage." The Third Prince still looked disapproving, but since his brother asked, he answered honestly, "If we really think about it, a gentle and quiet personality is naturally better."
Hongli was still asking when he heard the Sixth Prince calling him. Then he realized that it was time for him to go to the Yangxin Palace, so he hurriedly said goodbye to the Third Prince.
As soon as he left, the Third Prince realized that he felt a little awkward standing there. He glanced at his Sixth Brother who was standing with his hands behind his back and eyes closed, wondering whether he should say hello.
"Third brother, you should pay more attention to rest in the future." At this moment, Hongyao opened his eyes and looked up and down at the third prince. He knew that he was getting worse day by day, and it was not just because of his dull talent.
Perhaps it was because he stayed up too late, which damaged his body, and the heavy burden on his mind that made him gradually unable to cope.
"Thank you and the fourth prince for still thinking of me." The third prince couldn't help but laugh, thinking that Hongyao was not good at speaking.
His words caused Hongyao to look at him again. "Fourth brother is indeed worried about you." He shook his head and said, "Third brother, don't you have to go to the Queen Mother? Go quickly."
The Third Prince didn't understand what was going on, but when he heard him mention the Queen, he hurriedly said goodbye and turned away.
Hongli came out and looked around. Seeing that the third prince had already left, he didn't bother to be polite to Hongyao. He just said a few perfunctory words and left. It seemed that he had returned to the prince's residence.
Hongyao saw all of this, but he just walked into the Yangxin Palace in silence.
………
The Queen wants to choose a wife for the Third Prince, and Lingrong and Zhen Huan really can't just sit back and do nothing about it.
After all, one is the Imperial Noble Consort who is in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, and the other is the Noble Consort who assists in the management of the six palaces.
However, perhaps the Queen was worried about the two of them, because although they were in charge of all matters, they were not allowed to touch the list of selected concubines. In the end, as expected, the leader was Ulanara Qingying.
"Is the Queen interested in her niece?" Zhen Huan sat aside, half covering her face with a fan, and whispered to Ling Rong. She saw the proudest little girl in the front row at a glance.
Ling Rong waved the white jade fan in her hand and nodded slightly: "Who else could it be?"
The Queen was pleased to call Qingying over to her, so that the young people could spend more time together. Longyue, who was beside Zhen Huan, looked at the cheongsam on the concubine and ran over with great interest.
"The peony on the sleeve is so beautiful." Longyue reached out to touch it. Zhen Huan was about to stop her, but Qingying had already reached out and pulled Longyue's hand away: "Thank you for the compliment, Princess."
Looking at her expression, it was clearly gloomy.
The Third Prince had already been somewhat opposed to this arranged marriage, and seeing Qingying's strong temper, clearly a figure on the Empress Dowager's level, he subconsciously became even more opposed to it. He reluctantly took the plums she offered him, and when she told him that the Third Prince should obey the Empress, he became extremely impatient: "You don't seem to like children very much."
"Children are naughty and ignorant, so we adults naturally don't care and don't need to pay attention. This dress of yours was made specially for an audience with the Third Prince. What if someone damages it?"
Yong'an, who was standing beside Lingrong, frowned when he heard this. He immediately slammed the table and stood up. "It seems that the daughter of Ulanara is so noble. I'm afraid that a princess can't afford to pay for the new clothes she made. Sister, why don't you stay away from her quickly, otherwise the clothes will be ripped by our rough hands. You'll probably ask Khan Ama to apologize to her."
Longyue's eyes rolled, and she immediately followed the topic and hid in Zhen Huan's arms, looking frightened: "Mother, Longyue didn't mean it. Do you really want Han Ama to compensate you?"
Lingrong glanced helplessly at her daughter. She had been the emperor's favorite child since birth, even held and fed by his own hands. Her brothers also doted on her, and Lingrong's careful nurturing, just in case, had fostered a daughter with a stubborn personality.
In fact, Qingying's behavior was probably due to her personality, as well as her desire to draw a clear line and show her position to the Queen. However, her emotional intelligence was not very good. She hadn't even become the prince's wife yet, but she already treated the princess as a "child". She must have been spoiled at home.
"Don't be afraid, your sister is just joking." Ling Rong naturally knew that this was a little drama queen. She touched her little face and smiled perfunctorily at the Queen: "Don't blame me, Queen, Yong'an has been spoiled by me and the Emperor."
Although she said that, seeing her gently pulling her daughter to her side and coaxing her softly, anyone with a discerning eye would know that it was just polite talk.
"Well, as a princess, why would you bother with someone irrelevant to you?" Ling Rong took her daughter's hand and said to her with a smile, "Didn't they say that the crape myrtles here at the Empress' place are in full bloom? Do you want to go and see them?"
The Queen smiled and said, "The crape myrtles here are truly in full bloom. You are welcome to enjoy them. The wind is picking up, and I must go back and change my clothes."
When the Third Prince saw the Queen had left, he went to look for Yong'an and Longyue: "Come on, Third Prince will take you to see the best crape myrtles in the Empress's Palace. Third Prince knows it all."
For a moment, they left Ulanara Qingying where she was.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
