Chapter 238 Princess Yong'an
After lunch the next day, Shen Ning said goodbye to Xie Yunqing and was about to go back to the Queen Mother as requested by the Queen Mother when Shen Chengxi came to Lianchiyuan.
"Ningning, I heard from mother that you are going to Beihai Prefecture with Qingbai."
Shen Chengxi knew that his sister was not close to him, so he had no right to say anything. He said nervously and cautiously: "Going all the way north, the wilderness is vast, poverty is also dangerous, Ningning, you are a girl, you..."
Shen Ning stood up: "It's getting late, I have to go to the Queen Mother."
Shen Chengxi's words stopped abruptly, and then he said embarrassedly: "Brother knows that he has no position to persuade you, but, but... Ningning, be careful on the way, and don't worry, I will take good care of mother."
Shen Ning hummed, nodded faintly at him, and walked past him and out.
July had just finished eating and washed his hands. He happily came over to greet Shen Ning and left the house together.
Looking at the master and servant walking and talking and laughing intimately, thinking of Shen Qingbai, with whom he was just an acquaintance, Shen Chengxi felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.
My sister is such a sentimental person, but he is not worthy of her...
Shen Ning didn’t care much about Shen Chengxi. After all, she had no shortage of people who cared about her, and she had no shortage of people to care about her.
On the way into the palace, she stopped by the store to see Su Lianyi. After telling Su Lianyi about her trip to Beihai Prefecture, she comforted her for a long time before returning to the palace to see the Queen Mother.
When she entered the palace, the Queen Mother was just preparing to have dinner, and Shen Ning just happened to catch up with her.
Jade belt shrimp, goldfish duck feet, peony fish fillets, Ruyi vegetarian abalone shreds... Chen Ning swung her chopsticks quickly.
The Queen Mother glanced at her and said slowly, "If your family can't afford to support you, then stay with me so you don't have to look like you're starving."
Shen Ning nodded happily: "That's great, the dishes made by the royal chef are not easy to eat."
Aunt Gui smiled beside her and said, "With the Xiangjun accompanying her for meals, the Empress Dowager's appetite has improved a lot recently."
The Queen Mother said coldly, "That's because I'm afraid that if I eat too slowly, some monkey will eat it all."
Shen Ning disagreed: "I am not July, I can't eat so much."
July, who was eating heartily next door: ...?
After dinner, Shen Ning took the empress dowager to the imperial garden for a long walk to digest the food, and then let the old lady go back to the Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother was so tired that she stared at her. Shen Ning smiled and said, "This minister knows that she has annoyed the Queen Mother. So she plans to resign from the Queen Mother so that you can have some peace and quiet."
The Queen Mother paused, then looked away and said calmly, "It's unfair for you to accompany an old woman like me. Go back if you want."
Aunt Gui's eyes were full of worry and she quickly winked at Chen Ning.
Shen Ning paused for a moment, then walked forward and squatted directly in front of the Queen Mother. "Queen Mother, my brother Shen Qingbai has been appointed as the Supervisory Officer. He will lead troops to escort 2,000 captive rebels to Beihai Prefecture to build city defenses. The journey is long and dangerous... I am prepared to accompany him."
The Queen Mother was startled and turned around: "Are you crazy? Going to Beihai Mansion? Do you know where that is?"
Shen Ning nodded: "I know."
The Queen Mother wanted to say something, but when she saw Shen Ning's calm and smiling expression, she knew that she had made up her mind.
"I will go to the emperor and ask him to replace him."
Shen Ning reached out and held the old lady's hand: "Thank you, Queen Mother, but the appointment document has been issued, and my brother has already mobilized the troops and will set off soon... I'm afraid it will be difficult to turn around. Besides, this is the Queen Mother's intention, and His Majesty is afraid that he will not change it."
After so many days in the palace, Chen Ning already knew that Emperor Jiaping really loved and respected the Queen. Except for some matters concerning the country, which were discussed with cabinet ministers such as Xu Ge Lao, the Queen had a say in other matters.
The Queen Mother obviously understood, her face gloomy: "Is it because of the last time you helped me that the Queen holds a grudge against me?"
Shen Ning could have said yes and asked the Queen Mother to remember her as a big favor, but in the end she shook her head: "It's not just because of that. I can't tell you the reason in detail now."
The Queen Mother didn't ask any further questions. She looked at her quietly for a while, then asked, "So, you took Ye Heng to the Zhou family yesterday and prescribed a lot of conditioning prescriptions for Zhou Ping. Are you preparing to leave Beijing?"
Shen Ning hummed, "Your Majesty, you have treated me well. I know you are worried about Mr. Zhou's health, so I want to do my best. I have also discussed Mr. Zhou's health with Ye Heng. He will pay attention to the change of pulse diagnosis later."
After she finished speaking, she turned around and called Qiyue in, placing a small porcelain jar on the table. "Last time, Your Majesty, you said that the wontons I made were delicious. Actually, it was because of the Thirteen Spices… I made this myself. I'm leaving it to you. This is the Thirteen Spices recipe. It's my birthday gift to you."
Chen Ning placed the sandalwood box containing the Thirteen Spices recipe next to the porcelain jar.
The Queen Mother said with a cold face: "You have even sent the birthday gift. Are you not planning to come back for my mother's birthday?"
Shen Ning smiled, not knowing what to say...
She didn't know what she would encounter when she went to Beihai Prefecture, so she naturally couldn't guarantee that she could make it back.
The next moment, the Queen Mother suddenly reached out and pulled her up, asking her to sit next to her.
"Actually, I've always felt somewhat fortunate. I'm fortunate that Old Seven interrupted my arranged marriage to the Zhou family... Don't blame me for that."
Shen Ning quickly said: "How could it be."
The Queen Mother stopped her and said, "I know that you must have felt resentful at first, but I also know that you no longer blame me..."
Normally, the Queen Mother seemed to be sarcastic and mocking towards Shen Ning, but at this moment, she was like an ordinary elder, holding Shen Ning's hand and chatting with her.
"At my age and position, there aren't many people I care about. You don't know, I also went through hard times before...
At that time, my father was a convicted official and was exiled to Huainan. On the way, he was robbed by bandits and our family almost starved to death on the way... I was nine years old at that time and my younger brother was seven.
My parents ate tree bark and wild grass, leaving their remaining dry food for the two of us, but because I was sick, my brother secretly gave all the food to me..."
The Empress Dowager's eyes were filled with tears: "He was only seven years old. He lied to me that he had eaten, but he was so hungry that he vomited yellow water and almost lost his life... Later, my father was restored to health, and our family was well-fed and well-dressed. Even now, I can't forget the feeling of hunger that made my internal organs tremble.
My brother was ill at that time, and he has been weak ever since... Now, he only has Ping'er as his child. If I can't take good care of Ping'er, I will not be able to face my poor brother after I die..."
The Queen Mother took Shen Ning's hand and said, "You are a good child. I understand that you want to protect your family... I won't stop you, but if possible, you have to come back to celebrate my birthday. Remember?"
Shen Ning lowered her head and sniffed: “Yeah.”
The next morning, the Empress Dowager issued an imperial decree, conferring upon Xiangjun Chen Ning the title of Princess Yong'an and granting her the land of Beihai Prefecture...
When Shen Ning heard this, her nose suddenly felt sore.
Her original intention towards this old lady was to curry favor with her. Although she later became sincere to her, she did not expect the old lady to be so generous and protective of her.
The status of a princess is much higher than that of a county lady, not to mention the title of Yong'an and the fiefdom.
Beihai Prefecture is close to the border town, poor and desolate, and no one would envy it. However, this time Shen Qingbai is appointed as the inspector to Beihai Prefecture. If Shen Ning wants to escort him all the way with justification, the identity of the princess and the fiefdom of Beihai are her most reliable reasons and reliance.
And when Shen Qingbai arrives in Beihai Prefecture, it will be her place, and she won't have to worry about being bullied...
It can be said that the old lady considered everything for her within her power.
Knowing that she was leaving and the Queen Mother didn't show up, Shen Ning knelt down and kowtowed respectfully towards the old lady's bedroom...
On this side, Chen Ning was busy preparing to go to Beihai Mansion. On the other side, after his Royal Highness Prince Ding did not wait for Chen Ning to go to the palace for the "transaction" one day, he finally got the news that Chen Ning was going to Beihai Mansion.
Conferred the title of princess?
She accompanied her younger brother to Beihai Prefecture by herself!
This means that he would rather risk his own life than obey him... Ha!
Beside him, Chengying looked at his master's sullen face and respectfully suggested, "She's just a princess, nothing in front of the master. If the master is angry, why don't I just tie her up now?"
Chi Xiao next to him suddenly opened his eyes wide, his face full of shock.
Xiao Nanchen froze slightly... He paused, then sneered, "She's just plain-looking, not worth the trouble I'd go to."
"It's just right that you don't want to. It also saves me from having to make things difficult for the Queen Mother."
After saying this, His Royal Highness Prince Ding walked away with an indifferent look...
After the master left, Chi Xiao turned to look at Cheng Ying. Cheng Ying shrugged: "It was just a test."
He explained, "Xing Yun found a witch doctor in Southern Xinjiang, who asked him to inquire about His Highness's current condition. I was just testing him... Judging from His Highness's current behavior, if his temperament has completely changed, I'm afraid he has already abducted Lord Shen Xiang, oh no, Princess Yong'an, and made her his concubine."
After saying this, Chengying smiled: "But Your Highness is not, he is just angry, and he still can't bear to hurt Princess Yong'an."
Chi Xiao chuckled: "Because the master is already breaking off the engagement, he naturally won't be angry if he doesn't care."
"Don't care?"
Chengying smiled mysteriously: "You know nothing about His Highness..."
At this moment, the two of them suddenly looked sideways.
Suddenly, one of the armrests of the ironwood chair that His Royal Highness Prince Ding had sat on suddenly shattered into pieces and fell to the ground without any warning.
That was the place where Xiao Nanchen had just held his hand.
Chengying pouted: "Don't you care?"
Tiemudu was crushed into slag...
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