When Kong Xinlian said this, Zhou Qiongyue, Yuan Bohua and Prince Rong all widened their eyes. The three of them looked at each other and saw disbelief in each other's eyes.
Finally, it was Zhou Qiongyue who asked Prince Rong, "By the way, what was the late emperor's name?"
Prince Rong thought hard. After all, who would dare to call the emperor by his given name? Was he too tired to live? It was normal for them to not know about it over time.
Finally, Prince Rong remembered it. He did not say it directly, but instead dipped his finger in tea and wrote the three words "Li Tongzong" on the table.
Prince Rong finished writing and looked at the little girl who was still crying below, "What's your last name?"
Kong Xinlian quickly replied, "My surname is Li, and my name is Li Shuwan. The man told me my surname was Li. After I gave birth to my daughter, I named her Li Shuwan."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Bohua and the other two looked at each other in tacit understanding. Now that things had come to this point, it was no longer up to them to decide.
In the end, it was Prince Rong who made the final decision, "It's already late. Let's go and trouble Mother tomorrow morning! After all, this place is close to the Royal Villa."
I will send someone to the palace to report to the emperor overnight and see what the emperor's rules are."
Yuan Bohua and Zhou Qiongyue had no objections to this and nodded.
Zhou Qiongyue gently explained the arrangements to the two people kneeling below, "Miss Lian'er, please rest up at my manor for one night. I will take you to meet your relatives tomorrow morning."
Although Zhou Qiongyue thought her tone was gentle, Kong Xinlian thought it was cold.
However, since everyone was under his roof, Kong Xinlian didn't dare to say anything even if she felt dissatisfied. She could only ask in a low voice, "Excuse me, what kind of person is Shuwan's father?"
Zhou Qiongyue was afraid that the two would cause trouble at night, so she explained bluntly, "Don't worry, he's someone more powerful than the Prince of Fu'an's Palace."
When Kong Xinlian heard the princess say this, the joy that had disappeared from her face returned, "Thank you, Princess!"
Kong Xinlian said thank you, but her greeting was more perfunctory than before. In Kong Xinlian's opinion, since the man's true status was higher than Prince Fu'an, maybe the princess would have to pay her respects in the future.
She was just being perfunctory with her greetings now, but she had not yet acknowledged her relatives, so when under someone's roof, she had to bow her head.
Zhou Qiongyue certainly noticed the change in Kong Xinlian's attitude, but she didn't care. Even if the child was really the daughter of the late emperor, it was still unclear whether the royal family would recognize her.
The late emperor now has a very good reputation among the people. If it were known that the late emperor had a daughter while he was away on a campaign, it would be considered a stain on his reputation.
Even if the royal family frankly acknowledged her, Zhou Qiongyue would not be afraid of a princess born out of wedlock.
Although Gulan was dissatisfied with Kong Xinlian's disrespectful attitude towards the princess, she also knew her limits and smiled kindly as she invited the two of them down to settle down.
Gulan personally watched the whole process, fearing that someone would not know the seriousness of the matter and neglect the mother and daughter, which would bring disaster to the princess.
Prince Rong waited until Kong Xinlian and her daughter left before he sarcastically said, "I didn't expect that our father is gone and left us a younger sister."
Prince Rong thought about how worried his mother was about them while he and his father were away on the expedition. Every time his mother wrote to him, she would remind him to take care of his father's health.
As a result, my father still had time to go out and have fun on the front line. Prince Rong thought about this and even if he knew that the girl was his sister, he had no intention of getting close to her.
Seeing her fifth cousin like this, Zhou Qiongyue advised, "Don't be sentimental. Auntie won't care about this. Just leave it to cousin tomorrow."
Prince Rong nodded reluctantly and turned to ask Zhou Qiongyue, "Cousin, are you going to watch the fun tomorrow?"
Zhou Qiongyue thought about it. She didn't have anything to do tomorrow. "Let's go. Seeing Kong Xinlian looking down on me, I'll go and see what great fortune she has."
Prince Rong was also dismissive of this, and his tone was also very sarcastic, "With the emperor's father gone, what great fortune can I have? The most I can do is acknowledge that child."
Yuan Bohua beside him was also quite depressed. So, when the late emperor went out to favor people, it was all in his name? Could he still have a "son/daughter" left behind outside?
After Prince Rong finished speaking, he looked at his brother-in-law who was doubting his life. Prince Rong clicked his tongue twice and went down to rest with a gloating look on his face.
Prince Rong also felt that his brother-in-law was very unlucky. His father went out to have romantic affairs under the name of his brother-in-law. His father was really mean!
The emperor, who was called out from his peaceful home in the middle of the night, was even more confused. He asked Eunuch Hou, "What did you say?"
The emperor was very suspicious that he had heard it wrong.
Upon seeing this, Eunuch Hou replied again, "Prince Rong said that the late emperor, under the name of Prince Fu'an, favored a woman outside, and the victim came here with her child.
Prince Rong asked what to do?
After Eunuch Hou finished speaking, he knelt more upright, fearing that the emperor would vent his anger on him.
The emperor walked around the hall several times before asking, "When did you become favored?"
Eunuch Hou quickly added, "According to Prince Rong, the child is six years old."
The Emperor was also very surprised. Six years ago, the late Emperor was at the front. With the war so intense on the front line, how could the Emperor still have the mind to go out and look for a woman?
The emperor immediately thought this was fake, so he asked again to confirm, "How old are you?"
As the chief eunuch beside the Emperor, Eunuch Hou naturally knew what the Emperor meant and quickly replied, "Six years old. Prince Rong also said that the woman has the late Emperor's personal jade pendant. The child also bears some resemblance to Prince Rong. Her name is Li Shuwan."
emperor······
Finally, the emperor could only rub his furrowed brows and ordered the eunuch, "Have someone prepare. After the morning court tomorrow, I will go to the Royal Court to see my mother."
Eunuch Hou quickly agreed and withdrew.
The next day, just as the Empress Dowager woke up, she heard someone around her report, "Prince Rong, Prince Fu'an, and Princess Fu'an have come to accompany the Empress for breakfast."
The Queen Mother was very happy to hear this, and she kept muttering, "What day is today? Why did the brother and sister come together?"
The Queen Mother quickly asked the people around her to help her wash up, as she didn't want her son and niece to starve.
After everyone had breakfast at the table, the Queen Mother couldn't help but tease, "Why did you two siblings come together?"
Seeing the empress dowager's happy expression, Zhou Qiongyue felt a sudden pang in her heart, thinking that they had not visited the empress dowager enough.
Zhou Qiongyue thought to herself that she would visit her aunt more often in the future.
Zhou Qiongyue still used her usual coquettish tone and said, "Aunt, there is actually a difficult matter that I want to throw to you."
The Queen Mother looked at Zhou Qiongyue's embarrassed look and felt amused. This niece was still as kind as ever. She blushed with embarrassment when asking her elders for help.
"If there is anything that even the Princess of Fu'an can't handle, just tell me and I'll solve it for you."
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