Chapter 45: Nine Golden Flowers
Then the Queen's voice came again: "Also, I told you last time that with Madam Qi's funeral approaching, have you decided on the person to lead the ceremony?"
Qiandeng collected his thoughts and silently shook his head in response, "Your Majesty, this matter concerns not only my mother's funeral, but also Lingling's entire life. I beg the court to grant Lingling a few more days to reconsider this matter."
Everyone held their breath, a pin drop audible in the hall. Clearly, no one had expected that, even at this time, the Princess of Lingling County had still not chosen someone to officiate the funeral in her mother's place.
The Empress lowered her eyes and sipped her tea. Before she could say anything, the Grand Princess of Gao State sneered and said, "In my opinion, how can a mortal be worthy of a fairy-like person like the Princess of Lingling? The gentlemen that the court and the Inner Palace Bureau have painstakingly selected for you seem to be unsatisfactory to the Princess. Could it be that the Princess already has someone in her heart, so she doesn't care about the gentlemen chosen for her by the court..."
As expected, these sarcastic words made the Queen frown in displeasure, and she couldn't help but think of the Prince's thoughts about Qian Deng.
Her eyes fell on Qiandeng. She was wearing simple clothes and no makeup, but her pure and elegant face needed no embellishment, and it made all the colors in the world dim.
Could it be that... the Queen thought to herself, Lingling's thoughts are also on the Prince?
Her voice became even colder. "In any case, please decide on it as soon as possible within the next day or two. Otherwise, I will have the Inner Palace Bureau choose it for you directly, so you don't have to hesitate."
"Yes." In this hall, Qiandeng was unable to speak out the details of his mother's death and could only respond respectfully.
"It's puzzling, actually," Princess Gao continued, laughing. "Everyone knows that the Princess of Lingling County has all sorts of gentlemen in her backyard. How could she not choose someone she likes?"
The people around her didn't understand what she meant, but Xiao Fuyu raised her hand and gently touched the brilliant golden flower on her head, smiling and saying, "Mother, do you remember? Our lady in the mansion happened to find a pair of nine golden flowers in the West Market yesterday. I took a look at it this morning and found something very wrong..."
Qian Deng listened to what she said and knew that she was going to use this to attack him, but he just lowered his eyes and remained silent, waiting for what to say next.
The mother and daughter had obviously already made plans. Princess Gao made a gesture to the queen, and when she nodded, she raised her hand to signal the female official serving behind her.
The female official immediately opened the brocade box in her hand and handed it to her.
Princess Gao raised her hand and took out a few golden flowers from the box. She twirled them in her hand and gave her a sneer: "Princess Lingling, do you recognize this pair of golden flower hairpins?"
The golden flower tree has pearls as its pistil. When it is slightly touched, the clusters of brilliance will shake and flicker, shining brilliantly. Although Qiandeng had only seen it once before choosing a son-in-law, how could she forget it?
Seeing her expression of shock, Princess Gao glanced at her with pride and said to the Queen, "This golden flower was purchased by a lady in my palace in the East Market. It's quite a story. Perhaps Your Highness would be interested in hearing about it?"
The Queen saw the mother and daughter singing in unison and wanted to see what tricks they were up to. Seeing that the banquet was not yet time, she said, "Tell me about it."
The maidservant of the princess's residence knelt and reported, "Yesterday, while strolling through the market, I encountered a man selling this set of nine golden flowers. It's said he's having an affair with a noblewoman in the capital, but she's already engaged, so he can only give her this tree as a token of his love. However, since it was only a fleeting relationship and the item is so valuable, he's afraid of being discovered and causing trouble if he takes it back. So, hoping to sell it for a good price in Chang'an, he immediately returned home."
Princess Gaoguo smiled at the Empress and said, "According to court law, the Nine-Tree Golden Flower Piece can only be worn by women of the first rank and above. I heard that even the Lingling County Princess, a second rank official, was granted an additional pair of Nine-Tree Golden Flowers only with special permission from the palace that day. Your Majesty, tell me, which noblewoman has a lover outside the palace and would give such a precious gift to someone else?"
Although the royal relatives and noble ladies in the palace tried their best to remain calm, life in the inner chamber was boring, so they naturally pricked up their ears to such erotic talks.
The Queen looked at Qiandeng thoughtfully and chuckled faintly: "There are many noble ladies in the capital who can wear the Nine Trees of Golden Flowers. How can I know?"
Princess Gao raised her chin slightly, and the historian continued, "I saw that this set of nine golden flowers was extremely gorgeous and definitely not an ordinary piece. I thought our princess would also like to wear it, so I bought it. But this morning, when the princess and I took a closer look, we found that it was actually made by the Inner Palace Bureau and was actually a gift from the emperor—"
Having said this, the real purpose was revealed. Princess Gao raised the corner of her mouth slightly, raised her hand to grab the golden flowers in the box, and threw it in front of Qiandeng.
"Although these nine golden flowers are precious, they have been tainted by certain people. My Princess Gao's Mansion will naturally not keep them!"
The entire palace was silent. Amidst the rustling sound of golden flowers falling to the ground, Princess Gaoguo's sarcastic question rang out: "Princess Lingling, do you think this thing looks familiar?"
Qian Deng lowered his eyes and leaned over to pick up a golden flower from the ground. After taking a look at it, he looked thoughtfully: "This golden flower looks a little familiar."
"Hmph, just familiarity?" Princess Gao sneered, her toes sweeping away the scattered golden flowers before her. She stood up and turned to the Empress, reporting, "Your Highness, I report that the Princess of Lingling is licentious and dissolute. She has disregarded the husband chosen by the Ministry of Rites and the Internal Affairs Bureau. She has even flouted the laws of the court and privately gifted others with the imperial gifts. This has caused the royal family's wealth to fall into the marketplace, bringing shame upon the court and disgracing the Emperor and Empress who chose her husband!"
These words were spoken with such awe-inspiring power that everyone in the hall was shocked. The attendants around did not dare to breathe, and the ladies looked at each other in bewilderment.
The Queen's face was as gloomy as water. She lowered her eyes to look at the golden flowers on the ground, then looked at Qiandeng: "Princess Lingling, do you have anything to say in defense of what Princess Gao said?"
Qian Deng bowed his head and said, "Lingling would never give away the gift bestowed by the Emperor to anyone else. I don't know why Princess Gao has slandered me for no reason. I beg Your Majesty to investigate!"
"Hmph, the evidence is irrefutable, yet you still refuse to admit it?" Princess Gao pointed at the scattered golden flowers on the ground and sneered, "If these aren't the imperial golden flowers from your palace, then you can show us the set given by the Crown Prince. That will immediately prove your innocence, what do you say?"
Hearing her words, Qiandeng's mind raced. The fog that had always shrouded her seemed to be blown away by a gust of wind, about to dissipate but not yet. In her haste, she was unable to see the full picture behind the fog, but she had already grasped the most important path.
Princess Gao had already launched her attack, so her daughter, Xiao Fuyu, naturally followed suit. Pulling her sleeves back in surprise, she asked, "Why isn't Princess Lingling answering? Is it true that you can't produce anything? You mustn't say it was lost in the chaos. Your Changhua Palace has so many imperial gifts, and this is the only thing they've stolen? Would anyone believe that?"
This sentence blocked Qiandeng's way and made everyone in the hall look at him sideways.
The Queen looked at Qian Deng with a profound look in her eyes: "Princess Lingling, where is the imperial golden flower in your house?"
Qiandeng straightened her back, knelt before the Empress, and spoke in a clear voice, "Lingling is only a second-rank county lady, not qualified to wear the Nine-Tree Golden Flower. The only set in our mansion was a special gift from the palace. It was given to me by the Crown Prince in person at the Changhua Palace three months ago, on the day the Ministry of Rites was selecting a husband for me. This one and only set of Nine-Tree Golden Flowers is so rare and precious, yet it was given to an outsider during my mother's funeral. It is truly unbelievable and puzzling!"
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