The two were in a stalemate when suddenly there was a "bang" and the sound of a door opening loudly was heard.
"Yin Cheng, what do you look like!" came the empress dowager's stern voice.
Ah Shuang let go of the princess. Princess Yin Cheng saw the Queen Mother and rushed over to throw herself into her arms, sobbing, "Mother, I'm going to find my brother and ask him to revoke his decision. Please help me persuade my brother..."
The Queen Mother gently stroked Princess Yincheng's back and sighed, "Yu'er, your brother's imperial decree has been issued and will not be easily changed. Your mother has already told you that Ning Chen is not a good match for you..."
Princess Yincheng was crying bitterly. The Queen Mother waved everyone away and took Princess Yincheng to sit on the couch.
"You'd better forget about him. The marriage is related to the peace between the two countries. Your royal brother will not change it easily."
Princess Yincheng lay on the Queen Mother's lap, not saying a word but just crying.
The Queen Mother stroked her long hair with heartache.
After an unknown amount of time, Princess Yincheng was tired from crying and fell asleep. The Queen Mother settled Princess Yincheng down and left the room.
Aunt Yu came up and helped the Queen Mother over. She said with concern, "Princess, don't let your crying get you hurt."
She also watched the princess grow up, so seeing the princess so sad, she naturally felt distressed.
The Queen Mother said helplessly: "It's better to cry. It will make you feel better."
Aunt Yu asked again, "Princess, do you still need someone to watch over you?"
The princess has been under house arrest by the Queen Mother these days, for fear that she would go out and do something wrong.
The Queen Mother thought of the princess's calm reaction just now and did not mention going to find the emperor. She said, "No need. She was tired from crying just now and fell asleep now. Let her be quiet."
Aunt Yu quickly responded: "Yes."
At dinner, the Queen Mother sat at the table and asked Aunt Yu, "How is the silver chisel?"
Aunt Yu said, "Her Majesty, the princess has been staying in her room since she woke up from her nap. I just went to call her for dinner, but she said she had no appetite and didn't want to eat."
The Queen Mother sighed, "Forget it. Let her go. She'll be heartbroken. If she doesn't want to eat, then she won't eat. But remember to leave some of her favorite food in the kitchen in case she gets hungry at night."
"Yes, the Queen Mother always loves the princess." Aunt Yu said with a smile.
"This child is just spoiled..."
…
At noon the next day, Ning Yuxi was about to have lunch when she heard Luoying say, "Master, when I went to bring the food just now, I heard from my fellow townsman that Princess Yincheng secretly left Qinghe Garden last night."
Ning Yuxi was slightly surprised and looked at Luoying: "Why would the princess go out in the middle of the night?"
Could it be because of her brother? She had also heard yesterday that the princess of Western Chu was going to marry her brother.
The Emperor had also issued an edict, which could not be disobeyed, and Yuxi couldn't say anything. However, Princess Yincheng also liked her younger brother. Could it be that the princess had left the palace because of this? She couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Luoying also knew what her master was worried about. She said, "Princess Yincheng left Qinghe Garden last night and went to the posthouse in the capital to find the princess of Xichu who was to be married to her."
Ning Yuxi didn't even bother to eat and asked Luoying to tell her everything.
It turned out that Princess Yincheng secretly left Qinghe Garden last night and went to the post station to find Princess Xichu. I don't know what they talked about or what happened, but now it has evolved into Ning Chen and Princess Yincheng together outside the emperor's Qingyanxuan begging the emperor to revoke his order.
The emperor was so angry that he ordered Ning Chen to be beaten with thirty sticks.
Ning Chen accepted the punishment without saying a word. Later, Princess Yin Cheng rushed forward to take the beating for him. Finally, the emperor could not bear it anymore and had Princess Yin Cheng tied up and locked up in the palace. Ning Chen was beaten with thirty boards and imprisoned in the sky prison.
Things came to a standstill.
After hearing the whole story, Ning Yuxi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, but she was now in the palace and under house arrest, so she could only worry.
Qinghe Garden, Qingyanxuan.
Gu Qilan sat at the top with a gloomy expression, and at the bottom sat a young woman who was dressed in a green gauze dress, with her three thousand strands of black hair draped softly behind her. Her face was covered with a tasseled veil, revealing only a pair of watery eyes, picturesque eyebrows, and a graceful demeanor.
She pursed her red lips and asked, "I wonder how the Emperor of Dajin intends to deal with this matter?"
Gu Qilan stared at her and said calmly, "Since Princess Yunrong has come to see me, I believe you have some ideas in mind."
She smiled softly: "Yunrong is a woman, and she is in a foreign land. Now her husband who was to be married off has been snatched away by your princess from the Great Jin Dynasty. What else can Yunrong think?"
Gu Qilan's brows sank: "Princess, just tell me what you think!" He was the only one who could say that his sister did something wrong, and no one else was allowed to say a word.
Princess Yunrong didn't care about Gu Qilan's attitude. She spoke softly, "Yunrong was ordered to come to Dajin to marry. If she fails to complete her mission, Yunrong will have no face to return to Western Chu."
Gu Qilan didn't say anything, waiting for Yunrong to express her thoughts.
"General Ning and Princess Yincheng are in love, and Yunrong doesn't want to do anything to break them up. A forced marriage is not a happy one."
After a pause, she spoke again: "If the emperor does not mind, Yun Rong is willing to be the emperor's pillow."
Hearing this, Gu Qilan frowned slightly.
Princess Yunrong naturally saw it too, and she said sympathetically, "If the Emperor has no intention, then Yunrong will have to fail the orders of the Emperor of Western Chu..."
Gu Qilan frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Princess Yunrong is such a beauty, how could I let her down? I will immediately issue an order to welcome you into the palace and make you my concubine."
Princess Yunrong stood up and bowed: "Yunrong thanks the emperor." As she spoke, she raised her head shyly and looked at the emperor with affectionate eyes.
After Princess Yunrong left, the smile on Gu Qilan's face disappeared in an instant.
No one can accept a woman that is unwanted by others, let alone a king of a country, but for the sake of peace between the two countries, he had to take her into the palace.
Song Qu complained to the emperor, "Your Majesty, the Western Chu Kingdom has already been defeated by our Great Jin. In my opinion, why should we be so tolerant of them?"
Gu Qilan also knew that Song Qu was feeling sorry for him, so he explained, "Although Western Chu was defeated by our Great Jin, our Great Jin has been engaged in successive wars with the Wuhuan and Western Chu, and our national strength is already stretched thin. It is not convenient for us to engage in conflict with other countries at this time."
"If not, I'm afraid the terms that Xichu agreed to previously will also change."
After saying this, Gu Qilan picked up his pen and wrote the imperial edict: "Go and pass on the decree, appointing Princess Yunrong as Rongfei and letting her enter the palace in three days."
"I obey your order." Song Qu bowed and retreated holding the imperial edict.
Gu Qilan was filled with anger, but he naturally would not blame his sister, so Ning Chen had to bear the brunt of the anger. He felt that thirty lashes were not enough.
…
It was the second day when Ning Yuxi learned the news. The emperor named the princess as Rong Fei. Ning Chen was beaten with thirty boards by the emperor and thrown into prison. Princess Yin Cheng was also locked in the palace.
The emperor didn't say what the next decision would be, so she couldn't help but feel worried.
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