Chapter 135: Proposal
Outside the gate of Fengyi Palace, the shadow of the sun in front of Xie Jinglan had quietly moved from his left hand to his right hand.
As time passed, he became more and more anxious, as if his heart was being fried in a frying pan.
During this time, he saw Mr. Zhang, the chief judge of the Imperial Hospital, hurried in carrying a medicine box. At that moment, he almost couldn't help but rush forward.
Until the palace gate opened again, the figure of Eunuch Wang appeared, "My Lord, His Majesty summons you into the palace."
Xie Jinglan took a step almost immediately and stepped into the hall impatiently.
His eyes were as fast as lightning, instantly locking onto the slender figure kneeling in the hall. He looked her up and down anxiously, fearing that she might be hurt in any way.
His gaze finally fixed on her hands folded in front of her knees, her slender fingers wrapped in white gauze!
His heart tightened, and all reason and rules were thrown out of his mind. He subconsciously took a step forward and reached out to touch the injured finger, "You..."
"My Lord."
Eunuch Wang coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty and the Queen are both at the top, please greet them first."
Xie Jinglan finally came to his senses, stopped his movements, lifted his robe and knelt.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Empress, and Your Majesty Huifei."
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he caught a glimpse of the bright red liquid swaying in the white jade bowl on the desk in front of Zhang Yuanpan, and his heart sank.
It was actually a blood test!
Your Majesty is so anxious!
He had prepared himself for all the conspiracies, intrigues, speculations and questions, but he never expected that he would be met with such a sentence -
"You are such a jerk, Xie Jinglan! Without any marriage or official status, you let my daughter bear your child! Where have you gone, your usual composure and steadiness, your adherence to etiquette?"
Emperor Chengxuan slammed the table so hard that the teacups clanged.
Upon hearing this, Xie Jinglan forgot how to respond for a moment and subconsciously looked at Wen Ning. He saw that she had her eyes lowered, her long eyelashes trembling, and a faint blush on the tips of her ears.
He immediately understood what was going on. He thought that it was because his Ning'er had been very clever in her response and had not pointed out the key point, thus preventing His Majesty from falling into the trap set by the Queen.
He quickly gathered his thoughts and replied in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I do have a two-year-old son, born to me and Ning'er. The princess and I have a clean record and have never transgressed the rules. I have no idea what your Majesty meant by what you just said..."
"Lord Xie, are you still pretending to be ignorant?" the Queen interrupted coldly, her words sharp. "Lord Xie, are you truly unaware that this Miss Wen, who has been with you day and night, is the little princess born to Consort Lu? Are you truly completely oblivious to this?"
Xie Jinglan suddenly looked up, a perfectly balanced expression of shock and bewilderment crossing his face. His tone was tinged with disbelief and bewilderment. "I am… terrified! Ning'er was born into a merchant family. I have never heard of any connection between her and Consort Lu. How could I dare to deceive His Majesty?"
Seeing this, Concubine Hui on the side quickly echoed, "The Empress just mentioned that Miss Wen claimed to be born in the twelfth month. But the blood test just now has confirmed that she is indeed the Emperor's daughter."
It seems that Concubine Lu not only changed her name, but also concealed her own daughter's real birth date. This concealment clearly showed that she had never revealed a single word about the past affairs of the palace to her.
Furthermore, when Consort Lu was in trouble, Marquis Xie was still young and had never seen Consort Lu's face. How could he have recognized Miss Wen's connection to Consort Lu based on her appearance? He certainly had no way of knowing this, let alone intentionally deceiving Your Majesty.
"His Majesty……"
The queen opened her lips slightly and was about to say something else, but Emperor Chengxuan raised his hand to stop her.
"alright."
The emperor's voice was deep and slow, yet it carried an undeniable sense of authority. "The Queen acted cautiously and thoughtfully, her original intention being to protect me from being deceived. If not for this, I would still be unaware to this day... Yingying was actually pregnant with my child."
When he mentioned Lu Zhaoyi's nickname, his voice was obviously choked for a moment.
Then, Emperor Chengxuan turned his gaze to Wen Ning and said slowly, "Since it has been confirmed that you are my daughter, then naturally you should stay in the palace."
Upon hearing this, Xie Jinglan's heart raced. He disregarded etiquette and pleaded urgently, "Your Majesty! This child is so young and has never been away from his mother for a single day. I beg Your Majesty to grant me grace and allow Ning'er to return home with me!"
Emperor Chengxuan snorted coldly and refuted mercilessly, "Since we know they are mother and child, how can we separate them? Just bring the child into the palace!"
Seeing the situation was not good, Xie Jinglan made up his mind and knelt down, "Your Majesty! I am pleased with Wen Ning. Due to many coincidences and mishaps, I was unable to give her the title of wife in time. It is my fault! Today, I beg Your Majesty to allow me to marry her into the palace with eight sedan chairs, three matchmakers and six betrothal gifts!"
Wen Ning was stunned when she heard this, and a trace of panic and embarrassment flashed in her eyes. She had never expected that he would propose to her so openly at this moment.
When Emperor Chengxuan heard this, instead of showing any pleasure, he seemed to have reignited an old grudge and laughed in anger, "Humph! I tried so hard to arrange a marriage for you before, but you always found excuses to refuse!"
My daughter, how can you reject her when you say you don't want her, and marry her easily when you want her?!"
Wen Ning's heart tightened upon hearing this, and she quickly lowered her head and said, "Your Majesty, I and the child have become accustomed to the daily life in the palace. The child has a naughty temper. If we rashly bring him into the palace, I'm afraid he will be uneasy and it will easily break the palace rules..."
Emperor Chengxuan looked at her, feeling both distressed and angry. He pointed at her and said, "You, you, because you didn't have your parents by your side to teach and protect you, you were easily deceived by that kid from the Xie family! As long as I'm here, I will never let you suffer any injustice again. I will take care of everything for you!"
Xie Jinglan was anxious when he heard this. He wanted to argue again, but he saw Concubine Hui beside him slightly turned her head and shook her head at him, indicating that the emperor had made up his mind and this was not the time to force him to remonstrate.
He paused, and finally suppressed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.
Emperor Chengxuan pondered for a moment and slowly spoke, "This girl has just returned to the royal family. There are many rules in the palace. I'm afraid she'll feel constrained if she suddenly lives elsewhere. Concubine Hui, you have a gentle temperament, and the palace is quiet. Why not let her live in your palace temporarily? You can take care of her more and help her gradually adapt."
Upon hearing this, Concubine Hui's eyes lit up instantly. She quickly stood up from her seat and knelt in greeting, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace! I used to envy the Empress and other sisters for having daughters to take care of. Now that Ning'er can live in my palace, I am truly delighted. I will cherish her like my own daughter!"
The queen sat upright on the phoenix chair, her fingertips tightly pinching the phoenix carvings on the armrests.
She had to maintain a dignified appearance, but her eyes were filled with unconcealable anger and helplessness.
Her original intention in setting up this trap was to make His Majesty suspicious of Marquis Anyuan, and to confirm the stigma of Concubine Lu having an affair and living a shameful life, so that the only remaining thoughts His Majesty had about that bitch would turn into disgust and shame!
But the current situation...how could it be completely different from what she expected?
Not only did it not cause Thunder's wrath, but it also facilitated the reunion between father and daughter!
A feeling of depression was stuck in her chest, unable to go up or down, causing her temples to throb.
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