100 100
◎ "I'll wear this from now on. I like it."◎
The day after the hunt, Qingyang had to go on duty, but the two concubines, Yongkang and other female relatives who accompanied him could continue to enjoy the scenery of the Western Garden.
Yongkang didn't need to specially invite his sister-in-law Lu Wenrong. He just asked someone to find out the whereabouts of the Crown Princess. When he learned that the Crown Princess and Princess Jing had taken their children to the lake to cool off, Yongkang could then take his two children to "meet them by chance".
Before leaving, Yongkang warned her son again. Fu Ming had suffered from house arrest before, and he repeatedly promised to listen to his mother.
There were weeping willows by the lake. Lu Wenrong and Meng Yao sat side by side on a silk felt mat, watching Zheng Ge'er taking Ying'er to look for wild flowers.
Meng Yao smiled and said, "We should ask Zhenzhen to come over. She's the best at finding wild flowers."
Lu Wenrong: "She wasn't feeling well yesterday. Let's make an appointment with her in a couple of days."
Meng Yao understood, and therefore admired the little princess even more: "I wonder how she managed to hold on during those few days."
The Emperor had set up a separate resting room for the little princess in the Ministry of Personnel, but even though menstruation was always uncomfortable for a day or two, the little princess had never asked for leave. The ministers might not have thought of this, but whenever she did, she felt pity and admiration for the little princess.
Lü Wenrong: "Outsiders only talk about how much my father loves me, but they don't know how much hardship I endured while studying, practicing martial arts, and even serving as an official."
When she first heard that the three-year-old princess was going to study in Chongwen Pavilion, the young girl Lü Wenrong thought that the little princess was amazing. But when her three-year-old son was asked by his grandfather to go to Chongwen Pavilion, Lü Wenrong felt distressed. It was at that moment that Lü Wenrong truly realized the little princess's extraordinary talent.
After praising the little princess for a while, the two naturally started talking about the little princess's newly arranged marriage yesterday.
Meng Yao said proudly, "Childhood sweethearts, I knew they would be successful. Sure enough, Zhang Su even gave in to our Prince Mang in his fight for the title of Prince Consort."
Qin Bing often boasted to her that his martial arts skills were the best among all the sons of nobles. After Zhang Su made meritorious service in conquering Piao, Qin Bing boasted again that if he were to go to Piao, he would only be defeated faster. Meng Yao perfunctorily answered him, but in her heart she felt that in the past, even if Zhang Su could win, Qin Bing would deliberately give in. Sure enough, yesterday's hunting proved this point. Zhang Su didn't give in, so Qin Bing lost!
Lu Wenrong smiled softly, "When the two of them stand together, they really do look like a match made in heaven."
At this moment, Lu Wenrong saw the eldest princess and her family of three walking towards her from a distance. Her smile faded slightly. It was not that she disliked them, but she could never be as relaxed in front of the eldest princess as she was with the little princess and Meng Yao.
It's not just her, Meng Yao is the same. Because of her father, she has often been in and out of the palace since she was a child. She thinks Emperor Xingwu is majestic and amiable most of the time. Only Princess Yongkang is the most arrogant, as if every glance at her is a reminder of the difference in status between them.
The two stood up in advance to greet the eldest princess.
Yongkang smiled and said, "Why are you being so polite to family members? Sit down, I'll take a break too. I must be tired after walking such a long distance."
After telling the children to play by themselves, Yongkang sat down with his two younger siblings and chatted about the children's growth.
Ying'er was still young and wanted to go to the bathroom after playing for a while. Meng Yao took the opportunity to say goodbye and went back with her daughter and wet nurse.
Yongkang asked his attendants to look after the three children who had run away, and whispered to Lü Wenrong, "Did the Crown Prince say anything about my sister's marriage to Zhang Su?"
As soon as Lu Wenrong heard this, he knew that the eldest princess had a deeper meaning. He was neither smiling nor not smiling. He said carefully, "The emperor has granted me this marriage, so of course the prince thinks it is a good thing."
Yongkang stared at Lu Wenrong and said, "The Crown Prince treats his brothers and sisters as his own brothers and sisters. I'm not surprised that he's just happy. What about you? Don't you have any other thoughts?"
Lu Wenrong lowered his head and said, "I don't really understand what my sister means."
Yongkang snorted, "Don't you understand, or don't you want to understand? Wen Rong, ever since you married me, we've been a family. If the Crown Prince is well, you and I will follow suit. If the Crown Prince is too kind and doesn't take precautions against his brothers and sisters, and something goes wrong, you and I will suffer. You and Zheng'er will even suffer more than me, the eldest princess."
Lu Wenrong shuddered.
Yongkang looked at the still calm lake. "I know you're not used to it, and neither am I. Who doesn't want a harmonious family? But the royal family is different. Countless brothers have fought each other for the throne. Sometimes, even if others don't covet it, we must be on guard so that we won't be caught off guard if something really happens."
"I'm the elder sister, and I've been taking care of the prince since he was young. Although I have good intentions towards him, he's grown tired of me, just like Ming-ge doesn't like me disciplining him. Ever since the prince had a headache, I dare not say a word he doesn't like to hear in front of him. But he must have someone by his side who can remind him from time to time."
"Wen Rong, the prince likes you and he listens to you. Since you are his wife, you should take on the responsibility of being a good wife and helper."
"Third brother's power is growing. You need to have the Crown Prince be more vigilant about his and his sister's official activities and remind him to try to please our father. Think about it, who will be the Crown Prince is just a matter of our father's words."
Every word like this was written with the Crown Prince in mind. Even if Lu Wenrong didn't think Qin Bing, Qin Ren, or even the little princess had such ambitions, she had no reason to refute the eldest princess.
There is no reason, and I dare not disobey in person.
"Sister, I remember everything you said."
Yongkang saw that she was becoming more and more like his brother, always remembering what she said but never acting according to her wishes. He felt angry and said, "Then tell me first, how do you plan to persuade the prince?"
Lu Wenrong: “…”
As a crown prince, Qin Hong may have many shortcomings, but he is very good at observing people's words and expressions. He can clearly see his father's dislike, his eldest sister's disappointment in his ability, his second brother's indifference to him, and his sister's sincere closeness to him when they were young and her concern and hidden pity for him when she grew up. Third brother, just take care of yourself.
So when he came back in the evening, Qin Hong immediately noticed his wife's uneasiness. Even the four-year-old Zheng Ge'er was nervously observing his parents, as if his father's return would be enough to comfort his mother, or as if he thought his mother's abnormality was caused by his father.
Qin Hong coaxed the child first. After dinner, Zheng Ge'er went to bed with the wet nurse, and Qin Hong then took care of his wife.
Lu Wenrong didn't dare to say anything too profound, and said tactfully, "Eldest sister is afraid that the outsiders will presume to speculate on the emperor's intentions and try to attach themselves to my third brother."
It wasn't that she brought up the eldest princess on purpose, but she usually never talked about political affairs with the prince, so she couldn't hide it.
To Lu Wenrong's surprise, Qin Hong actually smiled. "Big sister has always been afraid of someone snatching her away from me. You don't have to take it to heart. Just tell me what you need to say. I'll cooperate with Big Sister later."
The emperor originally granted those marriages in order to consolidate his family's control over the Great Qi Empire. Now, the help from my third brother and his sister is also a help to him. It is my eldest sister who is thinking too narrowly.
Of course, the idea of replacing the eldest royal sister is not necessarily redundant, but in Qin Hong's eyes, his second, third, and sister will not harm him.
·
The sun rises early in the summer, and the little princess wanted to start her journey at noon, so Zhang Su came two quarters of an hour in advance. On the way here, Zhang Su was relatively calm. When he recognized the Fan brothers waiting outside the Xijing Gate from afar, and the third son of the Zhang family who had silently prepared for the first time to accompany the princess alone after the marriage, he became even calmer.
"Good morning, Brother Zhang!" Fan Huaizhong greeted in a cheerful voice.
Zhang Su: "...not as good as the two of you."
Fan Huaizhong: "That's different. We are the princess's guards, and it's our duty to come early. Brother Zhang is now the princess's future consort, and our relationship with the princess is different, so it's okay to come a little later."
Zhang Su smiled and stood on the side of the two brothers.
Fan Huaian tilted his head and looked at him, then turned back to look at his elder brother. He didn't feel the same way usually, but this morning he really thought his elder brother was ugly. No wonder he had given up the opportunity to compete for the princess's husband.
Fan Huaizhong slapped his brother's head and turned it away. What are you looking at? The two brothers look alike. It's all your father's fault!
Time passed slowly, and with the sound of several footsteps, the Xijing Gate opened. Standing in the middle of the gate was the little princess whom the three had been waiting for for a long time. Today, the little princess was wearing a pink and white skirt, which looked very much like the color of a wild flower commonly seen on the grassland in the early morning, and also very much like the peony flowers carefully cultivated in the palace.
"Your humble servant greets the princess!" Fan Huaizhong walked forward with his brother and bowed respectfully.
The first person Qingyang saw was Zhang Su, who had fallen behind because he had gotten there first. He was the third son of the Zhang family, who was wearing a tea-white brocade robe, which was very rare.
Qingyang smiled and told the three of them not to bow. Then he walked to the mount brought by the palace servant, jumped on it, and ran straight towards the grassland in the distance.
Zhang Su followed closely behind, no longer having any intention of keeping a distance to avoid suspicion.
Fan Huaizhong stopped his brother as he was about to mount his horse and reminded him, "Today we will only follow the princess a hundred steps away."
Fan Huaian glared: "Why? The emperor asked us to protect the princess!"
Fan Huaizhong: "Fool, the future prince consort is here, why would he need us?"
Fan Huaian: "...If we really can't use it, why did the princess call us?"
Fan Huaizhong: "Who cares what the princess thinks? Just follow me. If you don't obey, I'll beat you up!"
He got on the horse but stayed here to wait for the brothers to release the jade: "..."
Before the hundred steps, Qingyang ran a long way in one breath. When she stopped her horse to walk slowly to rest, she looked seriously at Zhang Su, who was half a horse's length behind her, and asked with a smile, "Why are you dressed so handsomely today?"
Zhang Su was a little embarrassed and lowered his eyes and said, "My mother chose this robe for me."
Qingyang: "Very good. Wear more light colors like this when you see me next time. I like it."
Zhang Su whispered, "Okay, I just won't go to see the princess."
Qingyang: "Why weren't you so shy when you were chasing the tiger the day before yesterday?"
Zhang Su: “…”
Qingyang snorted, "Although you hunted the tiger, I don't like you taking such risks. If you break your leg, I won't want you to be my consort anymore."
Everyone knew her choice, so why was he so reckless and ended up having the same character as his second brother?
Zhang Su paused, then finally looked at the little princess and said, "Even if I get hurt, I am willing to do so."
Just for himself, he would not compete for the first place in the hunting ground, but the consort of Princess Qingyang should not lose to anyone because of courage.
In fact, Qingyang rarely had the opportunity to look Zhang Su in the eye. When he was a child, it was because of the height difference between them. When he grew up, it was because Zhang Su had been deliberately avoiding him.
However, in this breezy morning, she clearly saw Zhang Su's eyes staring at her with a feeling that made her feel unfamiliar.
Fortunately, she also likes Zhang Su like this.
【Author’s words】
Here they come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow [covering face and peeking]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com