Chapter 173 What are you doing?
Xie Qingran left Zhaoyang Palace and walked all the way to the palace gate, but unexpectedly saw the carriage of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion at the gate, and also saw Hongshan standing in front of the carriage.
She almost instinctively looked into the carriage and saw a hand with distinct knuckles resting on the window. Even without seeing the person's face, Xie Qingran could instantly picture Xiao Jue's arrogant and awkward demeanor.
Xie Qingran smiled slightly, stepped over the redwood, and boarded the carriage.
Sure enough, the moment she opened the car door, she met Xiao Jue's somewhat sinister eyes.
She smiled gently: "Your Highness, have you come to take me home?"
"Um."
All of Xiao Jue's coldness melted away the moment he met Xie Qingran's burning, joyful eyes, and he smiled faintly at her.
"Go home."
He stretched out his hand to Xie Qingran and stared intently at her.
Xie Qingran placed her hand in his palm almost without hesitation and sat down beside him, following his lead.
"They hit you?"
Xiao Jue's gaze fell on the red marks on Xie Qingran's face, his tone filled with suppressed anger and murderous intent.
"It's okay, they'll be in more pain than I am!"
"Your Highness, a massive rainstorm is coming. Are you afraid?"
Xie Qingran leaned gently against Xiao Jue, tilting her head and looking at him curiously.
Xiao Jue gently brushed his fingertip across her lips and shook his head, saying, "I'm not afraid."
"Then I'm not afraid." Xie Qingran didn't say anything else, just leaned against Xiao Jue peacefully.
In both her past and present lives, Xie Qingran had always fought alone, never knowing that someone was actually fighting alongside her.
She had always been alone, but now that Xiao Jue was by her side, Xie Qingran was very grateful and cherished it.
Xiao Jue lowered his eyes and looked at the little girl in his arms. He wondered what kind of grievances she had suffered in the palace, but when she saw him, her eyes were bright and sparkling, just like the long-haired cat that the old steward kept.
For some reason, Xiao Jue suddenly felt a surge of affection and pity for her, and even felt extremely fortunate that she was leaning against him at this moment.
Zhaoyang Palace.
Zhou Huai'an knelt on the ground, his face full of confusion: "Mother? Why do you want to arrange a marriage between me and the Second Miss? I don't like her!"
"When nobles and close relatives get married, the most important thing is that they like each other!"
"I am your mother, would I harm you? I want you to marry her, so you must marry her!"
The imperial concubine is now completely panicked.
She originally didn't intend to let Xie Hanyue get too close to the royal family, after all, their appearances already said a lot. But now, if it's not the sixth prince, it's the fifth prince, and it absolutely can't be the fifth prince!
Zhou Huai'an had always listened to his mother since he was a child, but when it came to his life's most important matter, he could not back down!
“Mother, I will not marry Xie Hanyue.”
"My princess consort can only be Gu Xiangyuan."
Zhou Huai'an stood up and looked at the Imperial Concubine coldly.
He used to kneel before her out of gratitude for her raising him, but now he refuses to kneel because he has grown up.
The Imperial Concubine clearly hadn't expected that her obedient child would now stand before her and rebel against her so vehemently.
"Are you crazy? Do you know that if you don't marry Xie Hanyue, you'll be the Fifth Prince!"
"Do you want the Fifth Prince to gain the Xie family's support?"
The imperial concubine's eyebrows were tightly furrowed as she looked at Zhou Huai'an with displeasure.
Zhou Huai'an couldn't help but sneer, "Mother, are you confused? The Xie family is just a poor family, what help do they have? Besides, Xie Qingran is now married to Xiao Jue, so the Xie family is his help no matter what."
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Concubine's face turned quite ugly.
"The Xie family is not the Fifth Prince's supporter, they are mine..."
"In short, you must immediately get close to Xie Hanyue and marry her, otherwise you are not my son!"
The Imperial Concubine originally wanted to explain, but she swallowed the words back. Her eyebrows were tightly furrowed as she stared at Zhou Huai'an, offering no reasonable explanation and only suppressing him.
Zhou Huai'an turned and left without saying a word. He had always been like this since he was a child. No matter what the imperial concubine said, he had no right to refuse.
But he will absolutely not compromise on this matter!
The Imperial Study.
The Empress personally stewed chicken soup and brought it over, then just stared longingly at the Emperor.
The two were, after all, a young couple. Even though His Majesty's favorite concubine was now the Imperial Concubine, there was still some affection between them. Moreover, the Empress was usually unassuming and considerate towards him, so the Emperor naturally took care of her as well.
Now, the Empress and the Fifth Prince are acting so subserviently simply because they want a wife. As their husband and father, the Emperor has no reason to refuse.
"I know you like that child, Hanyue."
"Since that's the case, then let's settle on this. On the first day of next month, let the children come to the palace to have some fun. Then, I will naturally bestow marriages upon them."
The emperor picked up the chicken soup, took a sip, and casually agreed to the matter.
"Your Majesty, I thank you!"
The Empress was delighted. She lowered her head, responded, and then personally stepped forward to wipe the Emperor's mouth with a handkerchief.
The emperor's heart fluttered as the old married couple suddenly made such an intimate gesture. He grasped the empress's hand, his gaze intense.
Xuelu.
Xie Qingran sat there quietly, looking at the divine doctor with a detached expression.
The divine physician was somewhat flustered: "You... Princess Consort, are you really sure?"
"I'm right here, what else is there that I can't figure out?"
"But you must promise me that you won't tell the Crown Prince, at least not until he's cured of the poison."
Although Xie Qingran hadn't spent much time with Xiao Jue, she knew that he was a man who would rather die than live in dishonor. If he knew that this medicine was made from his own heart's blood, he probably... he probably would refuse to take it no matter what!
The renowned doctor, seeing Xie Qingran's nonchalant demeanor, was both amused and exasperated: "This will hurt a lot."
"Yes, I know, but I won't die."
"As long as people don't die, everything will be fine."
Xie Qingran remained calm, as if the knife wasn't stuck in her chest.
Seeing this, the divine physician said helplessly, "Princess Consort, I will act quickly and do my best to alleviate your pain."
Xie Qingran didn't seem to care; she simply lowered her head and began to untie her clothes.
What are you doing?
Xiao Jue's cold voice suddenly came, and then he appeared in front of Xie Qingran like a gust of wind, pressing her hand firmly.
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