Chapter 55
It was the Double Ninth Festival again, and the eldest princess's illness had become more serious. After a year, His Majesty could not remember the whole incident, so this year on the Double Ninth Festival, His Majesty used the festival as an excuse to let the eldest princess go out.
The eldest princess finally pulled herself together and went to Yue's house to get Aning and the Yue children to follow her in a carriage to the imperial banquet on the lake. The court officials from Minister Yue's side were invited one by one by the eunuchs in front of the emperor, and she was not worried about leaving anyone out.
The summer resort garden on Lianhu Lake was completed last year and has been closed to the public for viewing by the royal family. The new variety of pink lotus planted this year is already in full bloom, forming a lush and flourishing area on the lake surface, which makes pedestrians admiring the lotus on the pier intoxicated.
The emperor was in front of everyone, and at his side was the second queen of Dasheng, Gong Heguang. She was of Hu descent, with a face that was strange and beautiful. With her gorgeous clothes and phoenix hairpins, she was as beautiful as a visitor from fairyland, radiant and dazzling.
When facing the queen, no one dared to look at her too much even from a distance. The emperor doted on her very much. Anyone who spent too much time around the queen in the palace would be caned, not to mention those who dared to be obsessed with the queen's beauty.
Following behind the emperor were the Crown Prince, Prince Shou and the youngest Fourth Prince. The emperor had intended to ask the eldest princess to come over so that the family could be closer, even if it was just to appear harmonious on the surface. However, the eldest princess never gave face to anyone, especially her stubborn and self-willed brother, who was even more embarrassed in front of her.
So Yue Qingning and her mother walked slowly with the eldest princess from a distance, getting further and further away from the clustered lights.
Yue Qingning raised his eyes inconspicuously to look at the bustle gradually disappearing in the distance, and gently lifted the eldest princess's arm. The eldest princess immediately understood.
She stopped and pointed to the pavilion at her feet.
"Sit down for a while! I can't walk any more."
Zhong immediately helped her into the pavilion. She was already worried about the eldest princess's health, and now she saw that she was so weak after just walking a few steps. Her eyes were slightly red, and she dared not say anything. As soon as she sat down, she turned her face away and secretly wiped her tears outside.
The eldest princess looked at her back and deliberately bulged her eyes and pouted at Qingning. Qingning couldn't help laughing at the eldest princess's amusement, and then she heard the eldest princess call the maid over.
"Go and invite Madam Yao over. It would be helpful to have someone to talk to."
The maid immediately took the order and went. After a while, the old lady of the Yao family arrived. She entered the pavilion, bowed and greeted His Highness, and also secretly glanced at Yue Qingning.
"The princess has been looking good lately. She must be much better now."
The incident from last time still irritated people, and the eldest princess was not happy with her, so she snorted.
"Indeed, she is not as strong as the old lady, who can still go from house to house at her age."
This remark choked Old Lady Yao. She thought that the old man and the young man from the Yue family were instigating her, but she saw that the two did not listen to what she said seriously. One of them was busy coaxing the baby in her arms, and the other did not even look here. While speaking, his eyes passed through them, as if he was staring at another group of people walking on the pier in the distance.
She was a little surprised and turned around under the pretext of drinking tea. Apart from the emperor and his entourage who were enjoying the scenery on the bridge, the rest of the ministers were following from a distance behind. They looked at the girl from the Yue family and it didn't seem like she was looking at her father. What was she looking at?
The little baby in my arms didn't seem to be used to having so many people around today. Moreover, he had been led all the way and his body and feet were sore from walking. He got angry and yelled that he wanted to go home.
Zhong quickly apologized to the princess, but the princess waved her hand seeing that she was too tired to deal with it.
"Go to the west wing and coax the child first. It should be time for her nap. The little girl is sleepy."
Mrs. Zhong quickly responded, "Yes, she used to be so unyielding, but now she takes a break, which has made her so spoiled."
The eldest princess said, "It's okay, you go first, Qingning will stay here with me."
Zhong agreed and took Xiao Qingtang with the maids.
Seeing that the time was almost right, Yue Qingning found an excuse to leave and asked the eldest princess to talk to the old lady of the Yao family alone for a while.
She walked along the covered bridge for a while, turned to the other side of the lake, and saw the old lady in the pavilion with a panicked look on her face after hearing some news. She stared at her for a long time before she followed the path up to the shore.
The summer pavilion built under the supervision of craftsmen is elegant and beautiful. Many precious ancient trees are planted on both sides. The eaves of the pavilions are staggered in height. The paths under the corridors are inlaid with colorful pebbles, which are spelled out into various colorful Chinese characters for "Fu". Both the meaning and the scenery are extraordinary.
Yue Qingning walked to the entrance of the garden. Before she even entered, she could hear the teasing and trembling sounds of flowers inside. She clenched her fists tightly and was about to go in when someone suddenly called her from behind.
She looked back and saw that it was Sister Teng who had also come. She must have been looking for her for a while and finally met her here.
"Qingning, I'm looking for you! I have something to tell you."
Seeing that now was not the right time, Yue Qingning listened to the laughter coming from inside, gritted his teeth, and explained to her.
"Sister, can you wait for me for a moment? I have something important to take care of, and I can't miss it today."
Teng Xieji also heard the sound coming from the garden. She looked at Yue Qingning's face in confusion, and saw suppressed anger on it. She didn't rush to say what she wanted to say, so she just said it to her.
"I'll go with you!"
The two of them walked into the garden together. Surrounded by purple-red peonies as big as bowls, three women in elegant attire were sitting around a table, sucking on sour plums and chatting.
Seeing the two people coming in, Yao Chunying, who was in the lead, glanced at them, and Cen Rong beside him immediately understood.
"Yue's sister is here too! I thought I wouldn't be able to see you this time!"
As he spoke, he approached her affectionately, took her arm and led her to the table, sitting right opposite Yao Chunying. Seeing that she was not opposed, Teng Xieji also sat down with her. The small stone table immediately became crowded and lively.
Yue Qingning, contrary to her usual behavior, smiled with her eyes curved, and even flattered for the first time, personally pouring tea for the girl from the Yao family opposite.
Yao Chunying saw that her face was rosy and pale, and she didn't look like the sickly girl that the old lady at home had said a few days ago. She was not sure what she was going to do for a moment, and did not even take the white porcelain tea bowl in her hand.
"I heard that my sister and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were getting married soon. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to congratulate you. Please allow me to make up for it this time!"
Yao Chunying stared at the tea bowl, then looked at her, not understanding what tricks she was playing today. She hesitated and said "No" twice.
"I heard that His Highness has been inviting me to the East Palace to receive rewards lately. Have you heard any rumors there?"
This left several people puzzled, especially Yao Chunying, who often went in and out of the Eastern Palace. She thought she had seen something, so she gritted her teeth and showed a fierce look on her face.
"I haven't heard anything. I don't know what my sister is talking about..."
She was gambling. Even her parents at home hadn't noticed the changes in her. Yue Qingning was not a god, so how could she possibly guess it?
As she expected, Yue Qingning didn't say anything about her, but then he started talking about this and that, and somehow ended up talking about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
"...Thinking back to that day, His Highness was always worried about Qingning's condition and showed such concern...If there's a chance, Qingning would like to thank him in person."
This time, Yao Chunying had no idea what she wanted to do. Unexpectedly, Cui Hu's death did not hit her hard, but instead made her set her sights on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
This girl from the Yue family really shouldn't be underestimated! She didn't care about her fiancé's death at all, and she quickly found her next target, who happened to be the crown prince, with whom she had some friendship.
Yao Chunying already knew that they had met before, but the prince said that she looked sickly and annoying at that time, so she didn't pay much attention to it.
How long has it been since then? She actually dared to covet His Highness.
Alarm bells suddenly rang in her heart. She knew that she and His Highness were in love at the moment, and His Highness might not be able to distract himself from caring about others. But if the Yue family really had that intention, His Highness might consider Yue Qingning because of Minister Yue's status in the court.
At that time...will she really be asked to enter the Eastern Palace?
Just this thought made her whole body numb. Yao Chunying stared at the girl from the Yue family who was so close to her. She saw her holding a tea bowl and looking at her casually, with her eyelids slightly raised, as if deliberately exposing a provocation, telling her clearly that she was trying to compete for a position by the prince's side.
He squeezed the teacup in his hand too hard, and it hit the edge of the table with a loud bang and broke into several pieces.
Seeing Yao Chunying's pale face, Cen Rong quickly pulled out a piece of silk and held it in his hands.
"How can you be so careless? It would be terrible if you hurt your hand."
As he said this, he turned around and glanced at Yue Qingning.
"You're going to be the Crown Princess soon, how can you be so careless? If His Royal Highness sees us, he'll punish us."
Yue Qingning didn't give her the chance to show off. He put down the tea bowl naturally and smiled.
"I dare not ask my sisters to take the blame. This is all my fault. Naturally, I have to personally apologize to His Highness."
Yao Chunying was provoked by her for a long time, biting her lips and her fingertips trembling. She was furious. Thinking that this little bitch actually dared to compete with her, she immediately couldn't maintain her dignified appearance.
"His Highness is busy with official duties, so it's better not to disturb him!"
As she spoke, she stood up. Perhaps because she stood up too quickly or because she was too angry, she staggered back two steps and almost fell to the ground. Cen Rong hurriedly supported her and asked anxiously.
"What's going on?"
Before he could finish, Yue Qingning suddenly stood up, looked behind him and shouted.
"It seems to be His Highness! They are coming this way."
Yao Chunying looked at her expectant expression and felt so angry that she wanted to go up and tear off her hypocritical smile.
She thought His Highness would really fall in love with her, but she didn't know that the death of her fiancé who was far away was arranged by His Highness.
Yao Chunying glared at her fiercely, loosened her grip on her clothes, and stood still. "I advise you not to waste your time."
Hearing this, Yue Qingning, who had been smiling all the time, suddenly changed her expression. She turned around, stared at her intently, and like her, she tore off her disguise and asked solemnly.
"How is it a waste of effort? Your sister is not me, how do you know that I can't do it?"
She chewed on the last few words and made it clear to her that she wanted to compete for a position in the Eastern Palace.
Yao Chunying laughed in anger, "Do you really think you have His Highness's favor? I'm not afraid to tell you directly that His Highness doesn't like stupid people to mess around with him. If you insist on getting close to him and irritating His Highness, I can't save you!"
Yue Qingning didn't feel humiliated at all, and stopped talking. He turned around and ignored her, raising his arms and shouting.
"Your Highness! Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
"Yue Qingning!"
Yao was so angry that she took two or three steps forward, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Whose intention do you think is behind your current situation? How dare you come up to me and seek death!"
She glared at her, trying to scare her away with a secret that no one else could know.
But when Yue Qingning heard this, she suddenly put down her arms, turned around, and looked more solemn than ever.
"Who is it?"
Who murdered Cui Hu? Who was behind this plot? Who was involved in this incident?
Her eyes were as sharp as torches, staring at her face without blinking, which made Yao Chunying feel a little scared.
However, Yao Chunying was, after all, a noble lady trained by the Yao family with the qualifications of a queen, and in the blink of an eye she put on a relaxed face again.
She straightened her skirt, which was a little tight in front of her, and chewed out two words slowly.
"Your Highness!"
The surging hatred in his eyes finally rolled over like a huge wave when the truth was revealed. Yue Qingning opened his eyes wide, his whole body trembling and almost unable to move. He only heard Yao giggling and coming closer with a faint smile behind him.
"Your Highness, please ask Chunying to wait!"
The man's lingering voice echoed in his ears, "You dare to complain in front of the Emperor! You...are becoming more and more arrogant."
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