Chapter 16
I didn't see Prince Shou for several days, and my mother was so busy that she was hardly ever seen.
Early in the morning, Yue Qingning didn't dare to sleep in and got up early.
This wasn't her own home, and there were two young ladies from wealthy families visiting. She hadn't slept well these past few days, and often woke up early in the morning. Since she couldn't fall asleep anyway, she might as well get up early, wash up, and wait for someone to call her.
Unexpectedly, her wait today actually paid off. Two maids came to the yard and asked her to have breakfast with everyone.
They came to the same courtyard as that day. A meal was set out in the main hall to invite the daughters of several wealthy families to dine. His Royal Highness Prince Shou and his mother should have dined with the eldest princess.
Yue Qingning didn't sleep well and couldn't muster any energy. Today, she had no energy to deal with them. She lowered her head and answered a few words listlessly. Naturally, Cen went to the noble lady of the Yao family safely.
"I heard that the third young master of the Cui family stayed in this mansion the entire day he arrived, and chatted with His Royal Highness Prince Shou for a long time before leaving. The two, who had never met before, seemed to have met a close friend and had a very enjoyable chat!"
Yue Qingning had no intention of paying any attention to them, but she did not expect that Cen was so bold as to say anything.
The Crown Prince was narrow-minded to begin with. If he heard these rumors and mistakenly thought that Prince Shou was trying to win over the Duke of Huguo and was trying to compete with him for power, no one present would be in a good situation.
"Sister, please don't say anything. His Royal Highness Prince Shou is weak and spent most of his time resting aside while waiting for medicine. General Cui didn't stay long either. He just asked if the Princess was okay and then left."
Cen had no intention of paying attention to her, she just wanted to find an excuse to talk to Yao.
She felt a little embarrassed when her secret was exposed, but she was the only one who entered the East Pavilion that day.
"Sister went to the East Pavilion that day. I wonder how the eldest princess is doing? We never had the chance to see her, and we couldn't be as close to her as you are!"
Yue Qingning, who had just stopped her from speaking, also understood her sarcasm, but she was just stupid enough to start trouble. Would that Yao over there be so stupid as to fall into the trap?
"Auntie is also worried that we will be sick and have nothing to show off."
“…”
As expected, I should have made a rough judgment about her that day. It is really wrong to still have any hope for her today.
Seeing Yue Qingning remaining silent, even lowering her head to put porridge into her mouth spoon by spoon, without looking uncomfortable at all, Cen became even angrier seeing her like this.
Several of them were guests invited to the Princess's residence. The Princess had never summoned them in, so why did she summon her to the East Pavilion? Even if it was Yao who went, she wouldn't have such a strong resentment. How could she, a distant relative of the Prince Consort, be the first to see the Princess?
Thinking about it, she pretended not to care and asked questions to the person who was drinking porridge.
"It's been several days, and we haven't seen Her Royal Highness. I wonder why the Princess asked you to go? We're both worried about her health, and you're the only one who's seen Her Royal Highness in person. Could you tell us more about it?"
Yue Qingning put down the bowl, picked up another bun and ate it slowly without any care, while answering her question.
"My mother is currently attending to His Highness, who is ill. His Highness called me in because of his praise, and there is no other reason."
Hearing this, Cen's face finally looked better. But even if she was just a bystander, she had the opportunity to meet two important figures, Prince Shou and General Cui. How could she not have encountered such a good thing!
Thinking of this, she became even angrier. The family fortune, originally built by her great-grandfather, was squandered by his sons and grandsons who had no ability at all. If they had not been useless in the previous dynasty, it would not be her turn to take care of him now.
What's the point of having high hopes for a useless man? If she, a woman, could enter the court, the Cen family would not have been ruined by them to this state.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She secretly thought that when she got back she would never let these losers off easily and would have to give them a good beating.
She had overcome this hurdle, but Yao, who was beside her, had no intention of letting Yue Qingning go.
"Did you meet His Royal Highness Prince Shou that day?"
As expected, there was no way to escape this matter. Yue Qingning found it difficult to swallow his food and put down his chopsticks.
"Yes, His Royal Highness Prince Shou is here too."
"Prince Shou doesn't go out often. You're lucky this time to actually be able to see His Highness's true appearance!"
I'll make you jealous to death!
Yue Qingning didn't know why the entire capital was so curious about His Royal Highness Prince Shou.
Not only was she not curious, she also wanted to stay away from them. The closer she was to the imperial power, the more things became complicated. She only hoped to protect her own family, but there were still those who were ignorant of the danger and willing to jump into the fire pit in this world.
Although she didn't want to talk to her anymore, she also didn't want to make enemies with anyone. After all, her life was in danger and one more enemy would mean one more trouble, so she explained.
"His Royal Highness Prince Shou is in poor health and was forced to come out this time. I can see that His Royal Highness has indeed benefited from his mother's influence. But speaking of it, the Yao family is royal family, how can they compare with us?
My sister often sees the nobles in the palace, and we only get to see them by chance."
Having said this, Yao raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled.
What she said was true. Her Yao family was royal family. The current emperor had half of the Yao family's blood. Naturally, they were not comparable to small families like theirs.
She had already entered the palace this spring, but among all the princes, only Prince Shou had not seen her.
But Prince Shou was not a person who held real power. He was just a useless person who could not be helped up. There was no benefit in meeting him.
As she thought about it, she started to make plans in her heart.
Now in the royal family, the former crown prince died early due to illness, the second prince is the current crown prince, and under him, the third prince, Prince Shou, is weak and can't take care of anything. The remaining fourth prince is too young, only ten years old, so there is no need to even think about it.
Her Yao family was once a royal family, and the glory of the queen had always been the glory of the family. However, this glory was not cut off until His Majesty insisted on choosing that person to be the queen.
The glory of the Yao family must be continued in her generation no matter what. Since childhood, Yao Chunying has been brought up according to the rules of the queen. The next emperor's queen must be from her Yao family.
The current crown prince has a special status and has not yet chosen a wife. She knows that His Majesty will most likely choose her from the Yao family again. When the crown prince succeeds to the throne, she will naturally be the queen, and naturally there is nothing to compete with little people like them.
Thinking of this, she felt much better. As the future queen, she didn't see any reason to be angry with them, so she ate her meal leisurely.
"His Royal Highness Prince Shou has many things to worry about, so it's best if we don't add to his troubles."
Yue Qingning naturally knew that she was pointing at her, but she had no such intention and did not feel humiliated. She just said yes lightly.
After finally finishing this difficult breakfast, a few people went to the West Pavilion to wait.
Yue Qingning had something on her mind and was getting more and more anxious as she waited here. Que Ming was still fine in the mansion, and she didn't know if he would take this opportunity to sneak out when she was not at home.
The decision I made with great difficulty was disrupted by something unexpected. Now that this opportunity has passed, I don’t know how long it will take to prepare next time and how much mental preparation I will have to make before I can make the move.
She originally thought that if it didn't work the first time, she could try a few more times, but seeing that the eldest princess and Prince Shou wanted her to get married as soon as possible, she had to act faster. She had to solve this hidden danger before she got married so that she could get married safely, otherwise she would not be able to sleep well in her dreams.
Sitting quietly, no one would have thought that under this calm and dignified appearance, there was a murderous mind hidden.
The Yaos and the other woman also had a rough assessment of her. They just felt that she was not good at speaking and liked to immerse herself in her own world. Such a cold appearance was not something to be feared, and she was just a marginal figure.
However, a man who came out of the opposite door said something to his men, and that man actually came to ask Yue Qingning to come over again.
They stared at Yue Qingning in shock. How on earth had she earned the appreciation of His Royal Highness Prince Shou? To be invited over by the prince alone?
Yue Qingning felt his scalp tingling under their gazes.
If the one outside is a tiger, then the two inside are jackals. This invitation made her feel uncomfortable, not wanting to see either side and wanting to go home quickly.
After tidying up her appearance, she sighed in her heart but didn't dare to show it. She followed the maid to Prince Shou in the yard.
"Good morning, Your Highness!"
He waved his hand, "Have you had breakfast?"
“I have.”
Hearing this, he took a step forward. Yue Qingning had no idea what he meant and could only follow him.
"I'm in good spirits today. Qingning, please accompany me for a walk outside!"
“…”
The eldest princess claimed to the outside world that she was bedridden, so he didn't have to worry about running into anyone he knew when he took her out for a stroll. What would he do if word got out that the two of them had no respect for the eldest princess?
"Your Highness, the Princess is over there..."
"It's okay! Auntie is already well. She told us to go out for a walk. Don't worry! She won't blame you."
In this way, she roughly knew what was going to happen today.
When we got to the main gate, there was already a carriage waiting there, so it seemed we had to go.
Yue Qingning took a deep breath and was helped up by the maid beside her. The warmth under her hand at that moment made her inexplicably think of another person, but it was really the wrong time to think of him. She didn't have the mind to think about him now.
As soon as I got into the carriage, the coachman called out, and the carriage slowly moved forward with a clattering sound.
No matter how unwilling Yue Qingning was, he had to face the facts that followed, so he pretended to be unclear and gave him a lead to tell him the story.
"There are so many places to visit in the capital. Where would you like to go, Your Highness?"
He seemed to be very comfortable with her understanding and smiled at her.
"How about Qingning come and pick a place? I don't go out often and I'm not familiar with these things."
“…”
How did she know where to meet Cui Hu?
But seeing how relaxed he was, it was obvious that he wasn't worried about that. Since he wasn't worried, why not just pick a place with fewer people? After all, such a secret meeting wasn't a good thing, and the fewer people who saw it, the better.
"Why not go to the Guanyin Temple in the west of the city? There are fewer people there and it's quieter. Your Highness won't have to worry about the crowds."
Prince Shou looked at her in surprise. It had only been one night, but she had thought it through clearly and accepted his opinion so quickly.
But judging from her expression, she still didn't look happy, and it was obvious that she was unwilling. But this little girl was quite interesting. Even if she was unwilling, she still went along with his wishes.
What a smart and intelligent person he is! He is indeed a rare and wonderful person!
It's a pity to pair him with that stupid general, but I don't have many choices now, so I can only sacrifice this wonderful man.
"Okay, Qingning's suggestion is very good. Let's go to the Guanyin Temple."
After knocking on the car window twice, Yue Qingning knew that he was asking someone to inform Cui Hu.
Putting his hands down, he muttered as if to himself.
"The cool moon of the Bodhisattva wanders in the ultimate void. The waters of the hearts of sentient beings are purified, and the image of Bodhi appears within them."
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