Chapter 531 Arrogance (Two Updates)
"It's alright," the emperor said nonchalantly. "Xian'er is still young."
He wouldn't stoop to arguing with a child; otherwise, he would have been driven to his death by his own chubby son countless times over.
Moreover—
The emperor's gaze fell on Huangfu Xian's legs. He was in poor health, so it was understandable that he would be a little upset.
"Lian'er, take Xian'er out to get some sun first," Princess Ning'an said to Lian'er.
"Yes." Lian'er replied respectfully, and cautiously came behind Huangfu Xian, pushing his wheelchair out.
“Your Majesty,” Princess Ning’an explained, “I have spoiled Xian’er. Please forgive him.”
"Will you still call me Your Majesty?" the emperor asked, gazing at her.
Princess Ning'an smiled bitterly and changed her address to "Royal Brother".
Eunuch Qin walked over and reported with a smile, "Your Majesty, Princess Ning'an and the young master's bedroom has been prepared."
"Mother..." Princess Ning'an looked at Empress Dowager Zhuang in astonishment.
Empress Dowager Zhuang said, "The Bixia Palace, which you lived in before your marriage, has always been reserved for you. You and Xian'er can stay there for the time being."
“I…” Princess Ning’an’s eyes flickered, and she lowered her gaze to ask, “Can I still live in the palace?”
It is not reasonable for unmarried princesses to return to the palace. In fact, most princesses do not have their own palaces and live with their mothers. Princess Ning'an is an exception. Empress Dowager Zhuang and the emperor doted on her so much that they built a Bixia Palace for her alone.
Even though she married far away to the frontier for so many years, Bixia Palace was never used for anything else.
The emperor hurriedly said, "Since it is the Empress Dowager's wish, you may stay here."
The emperor also hoped that Princess Ning'an could stay in the palace, so that it would be more convenient for him to take care of her and her child.
The emperor had many things to say to Ning'an, and he guessed that his mother did too, but when the three of them were together, some things were difficult to say.
"I will accompany you to the Bixia Palace," the emperor said.
Princess Ning'an nodded and bowed to Empress Dowager Zhuang: "Your subject will come to pay his respects to Your Majesty later."
Empress Dowager Zhuang nodded and watched the Emperor and Princess Ning'an leave Renshou Palace.
Eunuch Qin brought over a cup of tea. Seeing Empress Dowager Zhuang's sorrowful face, he sighed and advised, "The princess has a hard life. If she had listened to you back then, she wouldn't be in this situation. But thankfully, she has returned safely, and no one will have to make her suffer anymore."
Empress Dowager Zhuang closed her eyes and turned her head away, a tear sliding down her cheek.
The emperor and Princess Ning'an walked side by side toward Bixia Palace.
Lian'er pushed Huangfu Xian and followed behind at a distance.
Princess Ning'an turned around and glanced at Huangfu Xian, who had a cold expression on his face, and sighed helplessly.
The emperor noticed her gaze and asked softly, "What happened to Xian'er's leg? Was it injured in the battle?"
Princess Ning'an shook her head with difficulty and said, "It happened when I was a child. When Xian'er was five years old, the border region experienced a once-in-a-decade snowstorm."
The emperor nodded thoughtfully, "I recall this matter. The court even allocated disaster relief funds to the border regions, Jing..."
Consort Jing personally made warm clothes for Princess Ning'an and entrusted the imperial envoy in charge of disaster relief to take them to the border.
The emperor really didn't want to mention this name now; he loathed her to the extreme, but unfortunately, she was Ning'an's birth mother, which was incredibly awkward.
Princess Ning'an smiled faintly: "That's right, my mother even gave me warm clothes back then."
"What does this have to do with Xian'er's leg?"
"At that time, his father and I went to provide relief to the disaster victims, and he slipped out of the princess's residence alone. This child has been naughty since he was a child, and he can't stay still for a moment. Even the guards can't keep an eye on him, and he successfully ran away. When we found him, it had been a day and a night. He had fallen down the hillside and was lying on the cold snow. His legs were frostbitten and necrotic. In order to save his life, the doctor had to amputate his legs."
Princess Ning'an tried her best to appear calm as she spoke, but her breathing and clenched fingers betrayed her emotions.
The emperor's heart clenched; he couldn't tell whether he felt more sorry for Huangfu Xian or for Princess Ning'an, whose son had suffered such a fate.
He took Princess Ning'an's hand as he had when they were young: "I had no idea that you and Xian'er had done such a thing... Why didn't you mention it in your letter?"
Princess Ning'an said in a low voice, "This kind of thing... is hard to say."
Every time you mention it, it's like a knife to your heart; every time you're comforted, it's like another knife to your heart. When a person is truly in extreme pain, they don't seek comfort everywhere, but rather isolate themselves from the outside world.
The emperor naturally understood this, and therefore felt even more sorry for Princess Ning'an.
He secretly vowed that from now on he would never let Princess Ning'an leave his side again, nor would he let her and Xian'er suffer the slightest grievance.
“Xian’er…” Princess Ning’an hesitated before speaking.
The emperor was her brother, and even though they hadn't seen each other for so many years, he could still guess what she was most worried about.
He stopped and looked at her solemnly, saying, "No matter who Xian'er's father is, he is your child and my nephew. I will do everything in my power to protect him."
Few people objected to Princess Ning'an's return to the capital, but Huangfu Xian might not be so. After all, he had the blood of the previous dynasty's royal family flowing through his veins, and those radical civil and military officials would probably use Huangfu Xian's bloodline as a pretext.
Princess Ning'an said with shame, "I'm sorry to trouble my brother."
“It’s no trouble at all,” the emperor said.
If Huangfu Xian were a healthy person, it might indeed be a bit troublesome, but what about his disabled body could make people wary?
Those officials were just venting their anger on a child, so they made fun of him. Once the truth is known, the controversy will be much smaller.
The Emperor said, "Ning'an, I still need to talk to you about the matter of Consort Jing."
Princess Ning'an smiled faintly: "Your Majesty, there's no need to say more. Ning'an understands everything. Mother Consort... was a spy from the previous dynasty. From the moment she served the previous dynasty's royal family, her final fate was sealed."
"Do you resent her?" the emperor asked.
Princess Ning'an said, "There's no point in talking about this now."
The Emperor asked, "She sent the Dragon Shadow Guards to the border to find you, was it to kidnap you?"
Princess Ning'an shook her head: "They wanted to take me away. They came with a secret guard. The guard said that something had happened in the capital and the border was probably not safe, so he asked me to leave with them first. But they were no match for Huangfu Zheng's assassins and were all injured in the end. The guard even died from his injuries."
The emperor also did not expect Du Zheng... no, Du is a false surname, his real name is Huangfu Zheng.
I never expected that he would have such a powerful expert under his command.
Fortunately, Princess Ning'an was unharmed; otherwise, the emperor would have been filled with regret.
Princess Ning'an had expressed her remorse countless times today: "I'm sorry, I caused my brother's Dragon Shadow Guard to be seriously injured."
"They will recover," the emperor said. The Dragon Shadow Guards had already returned to the capital with the army and were recuperating in a special place.
It would be a lie to say that she wasn't heartbroken, but this matter had nothing to do with Ning An; it was all the idea of Consort Jing.
Princess Ning'an continued walking forward: "I think my mother must have guessed that she couldn't hide it for long. The methods of Prince Yi and Huangfu Zheng are outrageous. She was worried that if things were exposed, I would be in danger, so she sent people to rescue me. She used me her whole life, and only at the end did she realize that she wanted to do something for me."
At this point, Princess Ning'an gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Why bother?"
The emperor's expression was complicated, and he remained silent.
The group soon arrived at the Bixia Palace.
The people in the Imperial Household Department are used to fawning on the powerful and belittling the weak. Although Princess Ning'an is just a widow, she has the Emperor and Empress Dowager's complete favor. The items prepared for her are all the most magnificent, luxurious, exquisite and priceless.
Putting everything else aside, the bed curtains alone were made of silk gauze, a privilege not even enjoyed by Empress Xiao and Princess Xinyang.
The palace servants who served her were also carefully selected by the Imperial Household Department: one head eunuch, one head nanny, four senior palace maids, ten junior palace maids, and ten junior eunuchs.
This is no longer a standard that a princess could enjoy.
“Royal brother.” A complex look flashed across Princess Ning’an’s eyes as she sighed, “I don’t need such expensive things, nor do I need so many people.”
Upon hearing this, the emperor's face darkened: "You are my most beloved younger sister. If I say you need me, then you need me!"
"I..." Princess Ning'an hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
The emperor held her shoulders, gazing intently at her weathered face, and said with a mixture of heartache and self-reproach, "I failed to protect you back then, causing you so much suffering over the years. I will make it up to you in the future. You don't need to worry about anything; just leave everything to me. No one will dare to criticize you. If anyone does, I will cut off their head!"
Princess Ning'an wanted to say something, but before she could utter a word of refusal, the chattering of children could be heard outside the Bixia Palace.
A look of confusion appeared on Princess Ning'an's face. The emperor smiled and said, "It's the voice of Xiao Qi and his classmate."
Xiao Jingkong had just entered the palace. As a child, he was unaware of who had come to the palace. He had come purely for the matter of rent increases. That day, he made a request to his brother-in-law for a rent increase, but his brother-in-law said that his request was unreasonable.
So he wanted to ask his aunt how to reasonably raise the rent.
Unfortunately, his aunt seemed a little down. He was a kind and understanding child, so he decided to put the rent increase on hold for the time being. He transformed into a cute little creature and tried his best to be adorable for a long time, only to be thrown out by his aunt with a blank expression.
It's noisy……
Then he went to find Qin Chuyu.
Qin Chuyu recently got a puppy, and the two of them chased the puppy around everywhere.
The puppy must have smelled the emperor's scent, because it ran all the way to the Bixia Palace.
When Qin Chuyu and Xiao Jingkong arrived at the Bixia Palace, they happened to see Huangfu Xian sunbathing at the entrance.
They had never seen a wheelchair before, so they were quite curious.
Xiao Jingkong walked over, looked at Huangfu Xian's wheelchair, and said, "Wow! What kind of chair is this? It even has wheels!"
Compared to the strange chair, Qin Chuyu's attention was more focused on the person. He asked in confusion, "Who are you? I've never seen you before?"
The palace is Qin Chuyu's home. He might not recognize all the palace maids and eunuchs, but he should recognize people who clearly have some kind of background.
Huangfu Xian looked at the little boy and the big boy in front of him with a cold smile: "And who are you?"
Qin Chuyu solemnly introduced himself: "I am Qin Chuyu, and he is my classmate Jingkong."
Huangfu Xian looked Qin Chuyu up and down, then sneered at Xiao Jingkong and said sarcastically, "You're so old, yet you're still going to school with such a young child. Are the princes of your Zhao Kingdom really this stupid?"
Qin Chuyu's hair stood on end: "Who are you calling stupid! I, I, I'm not stupid! I'm in the prodigy class at the Imperial Academy!"
Huangfu Xian scoffed, "You stuffed it in, didn't you?"
"you!"
Qin Chuyu was so embarrassed that his face turned red.
Xiao Jingkong was completely captivated by the large wheels of the wheelchair and didn't notice the conversation between the two. He squatted down and tilted his head to carefully observe the large wheels in front of him.
Qin Chuyu put his hands on his hips and stomped his feet. This was Xiao Jingkong's habitual action. After spending a long time with Xiao Jingkong, he unconsciously picked up some of Xiao Jingkong's mannerisms.
He said angrily, "How dare you talk to me like that! Do you know who I am? I am the seventh prince of Zhao Kingdom! If you continue to be so rude, I will have someone beat you up!"
Huangfu Xian was not intimidated by these words. Instead, he coldly reached out and pushed Qin Chuyu to the ground!
Unfortunately, Xiao Jingkong was squatting on the ground looking at the wheels when Qin Chuyu fell, knocking him down as well.
"Ouch!" Xiao Jingkong cried out in pain.
His little feet were pressed down by Qin Chuyu's butt!
When the emperor and Princess Ning'an walked over, they saw the two children lying on the ground.
Eunuch Wei also came out. He quickly stepped forward, first pulling Qin Chuyu up from above, and then pulling Xiao Jingkong up from below.
"Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?" he asked worriedly.
Xiao Jingkong's right foot hurts a little.
Qin Chuyu was quite chubby, so he wasn't hurt when he fell, but he was very angry!
He turned around abruptly, about to pounce on Huangfu Xian.
"Stop!" the emperor roared.
Eunuch Wei quickly embraced Qin Chuyu.
Qin Chuyu promptly complained, pointing at Huangfu Xian and saying, "Father! He pushed me!"
The emperor looked at Huangfu Xian, who was in a wheelchair.
Huangfu Xian slowly leaned back in his wheelchair, raising an eyebrow: "I didn't push you, you fell down on your own."
Qin Chuyu's eyes widened: "You're talking nonsense! I wouldn't fall down by myself! You pushed me! Jingkong, you saw it, didn't you?"
"Huh?" Xiao Jingkong, who was suddenly called out, looked completely bewildered.
He was so focused on studying the large wheel that he didn't see anything else.
Just then, Lian'er returned, panting, carrying a bouquet of flowers. Still unaware of what had happened, she handed over the peonies, saying, "Young master... here... are the flowers you wanted..."
These are flowers that Princess Xinyang planted in the greenhouse of the Imperial Garden; each flower is worth a hundred gold pieces.
Lian'er casually plucked five flowers.
Huangfu Xian casually took it, saying with disdain, "There's so little? Didn't I tell you to pick them all?"
Lian'er wiped the sweat from her forehead and said, "...the others...haven't grown well yet...these five are the prettiest."
"I don't like them," Huangfu Xian said, and without thinking, he threw away the five peonies that Princess Xinyang had painstakingly cultivated.
The emperor could already imagine Princess Xinyang's expression when she discovered her flowers were gone.
"Xian'er." Princess Ning'an's face darkened.
The emperor's throat was a little dry. He took a weak breath, coughed lightly, and said calmly, "It's nothing, just a few flowers. Xian'er likes peonies. I'll have the flower room send a few more pots to Bixia Palace later."
As he spoke, he turned to Qin Chuyu and said in a deep voice, "Why don't you come over and meet your aunt and cousin?"
Qin Chuyu asked, "Who is my aunt? Who is my cousin?"
Princess Ning'an walked over to him, raised her hand and patted his head: "I am your Aunt Ning'an, and he is your cousin Xian."
As she spoke, she pointed to Huangfu Xian behind her.
Qin Chuyu shoved her hand away: "He's not my cousin!"
The emperor's gaze darkened: "Insolence!"
Qin Chuyu angrily pointed at Huangfu Xian and said, "He pushed me!"
Huangfu Xian said calmly, "I didn't push you."
Qin Chuyu was so angry he went berserk: "You pushed me, you pushed me, you pushed me!"
Princess Ning'an looked at Huangfu Xian and asked seriously, "Did you push the Seventh Prince or not?"
Huangfu Xian met Princess Ning'an's gaze with an open and carefree expression: "No, no."
"You do!" Qin Chuyu was furious!
"Enough!" The emperor sternly stopped Qin Chuyu and said to Eunuch Wei, "Send the Seventh Prince back to Kunning Palace, and also, send Jingkong back to Renshou Palace."
Eunuch Wei reluctantly agreed: "...Yes. Let's go, Seventh Prince, Jingkong."
The two were gently embraced by Eunuch Wei and walked forward.
As he turned around, Qin Chuyu raised his hand to wipe away the tears of grievance from the corner of his eyes: "...I didn't lie, he really pushed me, why doesn't Father believe me?"
Xiao Jingkong gently took Qin Chuyu's chubby little hand and looked back at the boy in the wheelchair.
At that moment, the boy happened to be looking in their direction.
Xiao Jingkong saw the boy give him a malicious and provocative smile.
Get lost.
The boy curled his lips in a mocking smile and said silently.
(End of this chapter)
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