Xiao Ning quickly took a few steps back: "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean it."
"It's alright." The man spoke slowly in a deep, gentle voice, but his gaze fell on Xiao Ning.
Wan Ge glanced at the man who was now standing there; he was the emperor's third son. His mother was actually of good birth, but she was born weak and sickly, and her health deteriorated further after giving birth to the third prince. As a result, his mother passed away when the third prince was still young.
His mother was originally the emperor's beloved, and she always felt that childbirth had ruined the concubine's health, so the emperor didn't like this third prince very much.
The third prince was adopted by another concubine. Although he was not mistreated, he was not favored by his father and suffered a lot of disdain.
Another concubine also made many demanding requests of him, attempting to use him to win the emperor's favor. However, it seems that she has already failed.
If he hadn't had a warm childhood, perhaps the third prince would have turned out badly. But because his mother warmed his entire life, the third prince knew how to be grateful to those who were better than him and cherished the hard-won warmth. He was indeed a gentle person from the bottom of his heart.
However, although the Third Prince is a gentle person, he has been immersed in the deep palace for so long that he is not a simple person. He still needs to have the ability to protect himself, especially in situations like the one now.
There is no possibility of deposing the crown prince, and the empress has no other children. The position of the crown prince is something that many people want to compete for.
Although the Third Prince had been trying to hide himself and avoid attracting attention, his status as a prince meant he could not completely conceal his identity.
Wan Ge knew very well that Qin Ji had no intention of becoming emperor. He was actually struggling with whether to continue letting the emperor be emperor or to support another one.
Wan Ge didn't care. Although the current emperor wasn't a wise ruler, he wasn't a fool either. He was just neither good nor bad. He was just very afraid that someone would take his place.
…
"Greetings, Your Highness the Third Prince."
When Xiao Ning heard that the other party was the Third Prince, she was a little confused, but she quickly recovered and apologized again: "It's all my fault for being rash and offending Your Highness. Please forgive me."
"It's alright, you didn't do it on purpose, and you've already apologized."
After saying that, she turned her gaze to Wan Ge and said softly, "It's been a long time since I've seen Miss Jiang."
The last time the Third Prince saw her, he had to call her "Imperial Sister-in-law," but now he calls her "Miss Jiang." However, it seems that it won't be long before he has to call her "Imperial Aunt."
"It's been a long time. How have you been, Your Highness?"
"Thank you for your concern. I've been doing well lately. Oh, and I almost forgot to congratulate Miss Jiang on finding a good match. Your royal uncle is a good man; he wouldn't be like my royal brother."
Wan Ge nodded in agreement with what he said. After all, the other party was her little villain, so how could she not treat him well?
Wan Ge agreed with him and thanked him for congratulating her.
The Third Prince seemed to realize that he shouldn't stay there any longer, and said, "Then I'll take my seat first. See you at the banquet later, Miss Jiang."
Wan Ge nodded again, said goodbye to him, and after watching him leave, she turned her gaze to Xiao Ning, who was slowly walking towards her with a cloak.
When Xiao Ning returned, she saw that the Third Prince had already left. She sighed softly, "I feel that the Third Prince must be a very gentle person. If Miss had married the Third Prince back then, she definitely wouldn't have suffered so much."
After saying that, Xiao Ning seemed to realize that she had said something she shouldn't have, and immediately said, "But it doesn't matter now. Since Miss is with the Regent, I'm sure the King will treat Miss very well."
After all, the Regent was willing to do so much for the young lady, so he must really like her.
"You're right. The Third Prince is indeed a very good person. Do you like him?"
Even I can tell that the Third Prince has a special feeling for Xiao Ning. If the two of them could become a couple, it might be a good choice.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ning quickly shook her head: "I don't like him, I only like Miss, and I only want to stay by Miss's side."
This was Xiao Ning's thought, though only the second half was correct. As for whether she liked the Third Prince, although they hadn't had much contact, she was certain she didn't dislike him.
She had a good impression of the Third Prince, but she didn't dare to have any romantic feelings for him. She only wanted to stay by her mistress's side, since he had been with her since childhood.
"You can't stay by my side forever. What if I want to travel the world with the prince in the future, leaving the court to explore the beautiful mountains and rivers together?"
"Miss, can't you take me with you? Besides, you and the Prince should have someone with you when you go out together, shouldn't you?" So how could it be just the two of them traveling through the mountains and rivers?
Of course, someone needs to serve them.
"Why can't the two of us travel through mountains and rivers? I'm good at everything and can take good care of Wan Ge."
Xiao Ning was startled by the voice behind her, and her whole body trembled. When she saw that it was Qin Ji, she obediently bowed and quickly thought about what he had just said.
The prince said he can do everything and can take good care of the young lady. Is that true?
No, no, it should be said that the Regent really wants to take the young lady to travel around the mountains and rivers?
Qin Ji extended his hand to Wan Ge in front of him: "The banquet is boring, I'll take you to meet someone."
Wan Ge obediently placed her hand in his: "Okay."
Then she let the other person pull her along to where he wanted to go.
Qin Ji took him directly to Ning'an Palace, where the Empress Dowager resided. The Empress Dowager was not particularly surprised when she saw Wan Ge, presumably because Qin Ji had already informed her.
The Empress Dowager smiled gently and said, "When I first met you, I thought you would be a timid girl. I didn't expect you to be so brave. Huaiyu told me that you are also a child with a hard life. It is a good thing that you two can be together. You must love each other in the future."
"It's the Empress Dowager," Wan Ge answered obediently, as the original owner was indeed somewhat timid and hesitant.
The original owner didn't have much contact with the Empress Dowager. They might have met once to discuss some matters, but the total number of times they met was very few. Moreover, they didn't even exchange more than a few words.
I never expected that after meeting the other party as a granddaughter-in-law, I would now meet them again as a daughter-in-law.
"You still call me Empress Dowager? From now on, just call me Mother like Huaiyu does."
Upon hearing this, Wan Ge obediently called out "Mother Empress" again. At this moment, the Empress Dowager took out a pair of bracelets and handed them to her.
This bracelet is a family heirloom, originally prepared by her for her daughter-in-law. The Empress didn't have it because the current emperor isn't her biological son.
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