Chapter 15
Everyone in the court, from top to bottom, knew about it, but the emperor alone pretended not to understand and insisted on giving the mother and daughter such an honor.
Everyone below could only watch the Great Sheng Dynasty collapse from within bit by bit and could do nothing.
"Mother, someone has come to the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion today. The Third Young Master Cui, who has been away for many years, has returned. I didn't expect that he would be called here today regarding the Princess's matter. Do you know if there is any connection between the Princess's Mansion and the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion?"
Hearing this, Zhong also shook her head. Of course, the two families had to be polite to each other, but there was no reason to specially summon people from the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion.
"Perhaps the Third Young Master happened to be passing by and saw the chaos in the mansion, so he came to ask."
Yue Qingning also nodded, but then she remembered something.
Yesterday, the third young master said that a banquet would be held in the mansion to welcome him today, so there was no reason for him to appear outside today.
After thinking about it, she felt it was very unreasonable and could not finish the meal. She simply picked up two bites and considered it eaten.
"Mother, will His Royal Highness Prince Shou stay here tonight?"
"Well! Now that Prince Shou has come out, the princess won't let him go back so easily. I'm afraid he'll have to stay here and serve the princess for the next few days, not just today."
Seeing that she was having difficulty eating today, Mrs. Zhong put down her bowl and grabbed her hand.
"Qingning, don't worry! The eldest princess is blessed with a long life, nothing will happen this time. Even if something does happen, you don't have to worry about it, mother is here!"
Her heart suddenly felt warm and she leaned over and leaned on her mother's shoulder.
"I'm not very worried. I'm just afraid that you'll be sad because of the princess."
The Zhong family was small, with only two branches left by her mother's generation. The eldest princess was one of the few elders around her. Although her mother did not dare to claim a relationship with the eldest princess, she did regard her as a relative in her heart.
Now that the iron law of birth, old age, sickness and death has come, she cannot and dare not express the melancholy in her heart. Only those who understand her can understand it.
"This is all beyond our control. It's our destiny. As long as we follow our destiny and walk through it peacefully without any accidents or human intervention, it can be a good thing."
The two of them snuggled together for a while until the eldest princess came to call them. Then Mrs. Zhong told her to have a good rest and she went to take care of the patient.
Yue Qingning had no way to help his mother at the moment, so he could only sit in the yard in a daze.
There was a tall catalpa tree in the yard, with countless branches hanging down to the ground, turning into a hazy green in the night. She sat there for a while, feeling the chill brought by the cold night.
Just as I was about to go back to the house, I suddenly heard footsteps at the door.
Yue Qingning looked over and saw him standing in front of the door with his hands behind his back under the bright yellow lantern. He seemed to be smiling in the darkness and his expression could not be seen clearly.
"Qingning, I just arrived here and I'm not used to it. I heard you're still awake. Could you please talk to me?"
After hearing what His Royal Highness Prince Shou said, Yue Qingning dared not refuse and quickly lowered his head to invite him in.
He sat on the side of a round table under the catalpa tree, away from the light. Yue Qingning didn't know what he was going to do, so she had to sit on the other side tremblingly.
"It's late at night, I'm afraid it's inconvenient to go in."
She was stunned and had not thought about this matter at all. Perhaps out of fear of the royal family, she even forgot her unmarried status.
It was not appropriate to meet at night, but he was half her cousin and he was so considerate of her. Yue Qingning secretly felt a little more favorable towards him.
The servant brought the tea over, and Prince Shou glanced at her while inspecting the tea and snacks.
She must have come in a hurry, as her clothes and hair accessories were of the simplest style, and you could tell what she looked like at home. However, her skin was as white as snow and her black hair hung down like clouds, which already attracted more attention than most women who were adorned with makeup.
But at this moment he seemed a little nervous and a little bit embarrassed.
Prince Shou pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and asked someone to bring him a robe.
"It's getting late and the dew is heavy. I heard Qingning hasn't been feeling well these past few days, so it's better to put on some clothes."
Yue Qingning was stunned by his repeated overtures. What on earth was he trying to do? Prince Shou hadn't married yet due to health reasons. Could he be thinking of her?
Things from his previous life suddenly came to his mind. He didn't care about it at that time, but now that he saw her, he remembered it again?
Thinking of this, she finally managed to grab the outer robe that the maid was putting on her with her almost frozen wrists. A scent of pine incense rushed into her mind, but this smell made her even more confused.
Could it be that the Princess wanted her and Prince Shou to...
She clenched her palms and unclenched them. She hadn't figured out how to refuse a prince yet! And could she really refuse a prince? The more she wanted to stay away from the royal family, the more she found herself involved with them.
Seeing her almost pale face, Prince Shou knew that he had caused her to misunderstand something.
But she was so unwilling to be related to the royal family? In this world, women all considered marrying into the royal family the highest honor, and she was unwilling to do so?
Prince Shou coughed lightly and said, "Speaking of which, this is the first time we meet, and uncle didn't prepare any gifts. I will make it up to you later."
After hearing the two uncles call each other "uncle", Yue Qingning finally relaxed a little and replied with a smile.
"Qingning dared not even think about meeting His Highness, and she would never dare to accept His Highness's gifts again. Besides, if the other ladies knew that Qingning had accepted gifts from His Highness, they would probably chase Qingning and make things difficult for her."
Finally speaking, Prince Shou watched the pale face gradually regain its color and drank a sip of tea quietly.
"If they are interested, they can come and ask for it. Don't refuse Qingning's things."
Seeing that there was no other way, Yue Qingning could only quietly thank His Highness.
The two of them fell silent again. She felt that Prince Shou was forcing her to say something, so she deliberately kept silent and drank her tea bit by bit. She couldn't really leave him alone without saying anything. She wanted to say something but didn't know much about him, so she had to ask.
"Young General Cui from the Protectorate's Mansion is here today. Your Highness, do you know why he's here?"
He seemed to smile when he heard that. Yue Qingning didn't dare to look at him directly and didn't see clearly. She just heard him say lightly.
"He originally came to invite my aunt to a banquet, but by chance he learned that my aunt was ill, so he stayed."
Why did he invite the princess to the banquet? How could a junior like him dare to invite the princess when he returned to the court?
He didn't dare to say anything more when asked later, and Yue Qingning kept silent and took a sip of tea.
However, the person on the other side seemed to be suddenly interested in this topic, and put down his cup and spoke slowly.
"I heard Qingning and General Cui have met before?"
As expected, there was no way to escape, so Yue Qingning had to briefly recount his experiences that day, including the part where he met the prince. They were all princes and there was no way to hide the truth.
"I see. Fate is truly unpredictable. We just happened to meet that day."
Yue Qingning thought that his words were a veiled mockery of her for going out in a flashy manner, and she hurried to explain.
"I was supposed to go two days ago, but I suddenly fell ill and postponed it for a few days. That's when I happened to meet General Cui."
Prince Shou smiled and waved his hand, "I know that few people have heard of his return to the court. If you know his whereabouts before the court, then all of us will be useless."
Hearing that she had no intention of blaming him, Yue Qingning finally felt relieved.
Since she came back, many unexpected things started happening one after another, making her very busy.
These things seemed to be connected together. She just went swimming in the lake a few days later, and she met someone she had never met in her previous life.
"The Duke of Protectorate has sacrificed many generations for our Great Sheng. General Cui has also defended the border for the country. The heroes of the Cui family have always been the foundation of our Great Sheng. I admire such heroes."
He suddenly started praising, and Yue Qingning quickly followed up with a few words of praise.
"General Cui is indeed a living hero, and everyone in the capital praises him."
He paused after hearing this and said it seemingly casually.
"I wonder which daughter such a man will marry in the future. A hero deserves a beautiful woman. I hope they can express their feelings to each other and have a happy marriage from now on."
It turns out he was waiting for her here!
Yue Qingning bit her lower lip hard to suppress the frown on her face.
Prince Shou had seen what had just happened. Cui Hu was almost staring at her, and even a blind man would have noticed it.
Was he saying this now to try to bring her together with Cui Hu? But why? What good would it do him?
At this point, she suddenly remembered what the eldest princess had said just now. Both of them said similar things, asking her to cherish this hero who liked her.
But why did they suddenly start to worry about her marriage? If they had never met her before, why did they start worrying about her on the first day they met? What did that mean?
Did Cui Hu say something?
Seeing that she didn't answer and even rolled her eyes and thought about something else, Prince Shou knew that he was probably pushing her too hard today.
But this matter must be done urgently. Now is the critical moment. Not only the sooner the better, but if necessary, he can even force her to agree.
But it’s better if both parties are willing.
Thinking of this, he restrained his expression and stood up slowly.
"Qingning, it's getting late. You should go to bed early."
Yue Qingning hurriedly stood up and handed the robe to the servant behind him.
"Your Highness should also rest early."
He responded softly and walked out of the archway, leaving Yue Qingning still lost in thought.
A princess and a third prince, who on earth was Cui Hu? How could he have two such prominent figures act as matchmakers for him?
She bit her fingertips and was extremely anxious. She didn't get married until she died in her previous life, and thought she wouldn't have to worry about this in this life. But things changed not long after she came back. She didn't want to get married so hastily before she dealt with Que Ming and ensured the safety of her family.
Besides, she didn't have much affection for the general. He was too scary. Not to mention being alone with him, she couldn't resist his gaze in front of others.
She really didn't dare to gamble on something she had never experienced, but she still had to gamble if it happened again. Now she had two choices in front of her.
One option was to follow their wishes and marry into the Cui family. Since the Princess and Prince Shou were both matchmakers, would they protect her from the Yue family in the future? If she married Cui Hu, would the Duke of Huguo's mansion rescue her in the future?
Her arrest was instigated by the prince, and having their support behind her seemed to be the key to breaking the deadlock.
To a large extent, they could protect the Yue family at a critical moment, but they could not be completely sure. After all, abandoning a woman in a critical moment was much easier than offending the prince.
But if he didn't agree, he would offend the eldest princess and Prince Shou.
The situation was already difficult to solve, and she didn't even dare to think about offending two more members of the royal family.
There seem to be two paths, but there is actually only one.
Yue Qingning looked at the boundless sky outside the window. A crescent moon was hanging high above. As she looked, her vision became blurry.
In the end, her little wish was not fulfilled, and everything is a foregone conclusion.
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