The dinner was very warm and the family of three was having a great time. Xuanyuan Qi looked unhappy but forced a smile, and the emperor saw it clearly.
After the dinner, Xuanyuan Qi seemed to have just remembered and took out the Jade Skin Cream and gave it to Concubine Shu: "Mother, the Jade Skin Cream I gave you last time must be almost used up, right? These are for you."
Concubine Shu happily accepted the Jade Skin Cream and said, "Qi'er is so thoughtful."
"How could I have thought so much? It was Ling Xiang who had to thank me for helping her last time. She said she had bought all the jade cream for my mother and would deliver it to the Huai Palace on time every month."
"Oh?" The emperor became interested. "What did Qi'er do to help Ling Xiang?"
Xuanyuan Qi didn't take it seriously: "It's just a small favor, I didn't take it to heart, but she insisted on writing it down and didn't feel at ease until she paid it back."
The emperor smiled and nodded: "She is a good child. She never lets others suffer. In this respect, she has inherited her father, the Marquis of Zhenguo."
Concubine Shu jokingly said, "So, Qi'er and Miss Ling have a pretty good relationship?"
Xuanyuan Qi waved his hand. "Not really. There were only four of us taking classes at my cousin's house: my cousin, me, Ling Xiang, and Gao Zhenzhen. My cousin always had a stern face and was incredibly boring. Gao Zhenzhen was so delicate she looked like she could be blown away by the wind, and her speech was so pretentious that it was irritating. Only Ling Xiang was diligent and studious but not rigid, so he could barely be considered a good classmate."
The emperor looked deeply at his son and suddenly changed the subject: "Qi'er, are you still in touch with the Fairy Linglong who came to treat your mother last time?"
Xuanyuan Qi shook his head: "Father, you know me well. I don't bother dealing with those delicate girls. Besides, Duanmu Linglong is already engaged. If I contact her and her fiancé is not happy, it will be troublesome."
It seems that Qi'er and Duanmu Linglong are not destined to be together. The emperor had a plan in mind, "Qi'er, you are not young anymore, it's time to think about marriage."
Xuanyuan Qi shook his head: "Forget it, these ladies from the capital give me a headache just by looking at them..."
Concubine Shu glared at him and said, "If you can't even look down on the ladies from the capital, who do you like?"
Xuanyuan Qi still shook his head: "It's fine to be alone. I don't want a woman following me. It's troublesome."
Concubine Shu disagreed: "Qi'er..."
Seeing that he was being urged to get married, Xuanyuan Qi immediately jumped up and said, "Father, Mother, the palace gates will be locked soon. I'm leaving first."
The emperor asked to keep her, "It's getting late, Qi'er, you should stay in the palace tonight."
"Okay." Xuanyuan Qi agreed immediately and left like a gust of wind.
Concubine Shu looked at her son's rapid growth and sighed, "This naughty boy is so naughty all the time. I don't know when he will grow up..."
The emperor smiled and comforted Concubine Shu: "Give Qi'er a family and a sensible princess, and he will grow up."
Concubine Shu was helpless: "I also want to find a princess for Qi'er as soon as possible, but Qi'er just doesn't have anyone he likes. With his personality, we can't force one on him. If he really doesn't like the princess we give him, he might bully her to death! Sigh..."
"Then choose the one he likes." The emperor had already figured everything out.
Concubine Shu was puzzled: "But Qi'er just said that he doesn't like any of the ladies in the capital. Could it be that he wants to marry a lady from another country?"
The emperor took Concubine Shu's hand and said, "Concubine Shu, you are so worried that you are confused. Didn't you hear Qi'er just praise a young lady from the capital?"
Concubine Shu was puzzled: "I didn't hear Qi'er praising anyone, who?"
The emperor reminded: "Classmate."
Concubine Shu suddenly realized: "Your Majesty, you are talking about Miss Ling from the Zhenguo Marquis Mansion? But she is engaged to the King of Qin!"
"The Prince of Qin came to the palace today and proposed to cancel the engagement. Ling Xiang and her master also agreed to cancel the engagement. Now all that's missing is my approval."
Concubine Shu thought about it and still felt that it was inappropriate: "But, Qi'er just thinks Ling Xiang is a good classmate, and she didn't say she likes her..."
"Although Qi'er is a bit playful, he still knows his limits. We all saw his fondness for Duanmu Linglong before, but after learning that Duanmu Linglong was engaged, Qi'er cut off all contact with her." The emperor looked like he saw through everything.
"This also means that Qi'er didn't think that way about Ling Xiang, it was entirely because Ling Xiang was engaged. But if Ling Xiang wasn't engaged, wouldn't it be perfect for Qi'er and Ling Xiang?"
Concubine Shu couldn't believe it: "Is that so?"
The Emperor said, "Shufei, it's time for Qi'er to marry a wife. This will help him settle down. Tomorrow, find a time to test Qi'er's opinion, and summon Ling Xiang to the palace another day. I am very optimistic about their marriage!"
Concubine Shu was very cautious about this: "We can't rush this matter. Qi'er is so stubborn, so we need his approval first."
"Of course. Over the years, I've always been willing to listen to Qi'er. Marriage is the most important thing, so of course I want Qi'er to be happy."
The emperor was delighted. Having Ling Xiang marry his son was certainly more beneficial to the royal family than marrying her to his nephew. As long as Dan Palace was successfully incorporated into the royal family, the Xuanyuan royal family's strength would surely rise to a new level!
The emperor stayed overnight in Concubine Shu's palace. After the morning court session, he returned to the imperial study first. Taking advantage of the time to change into court clothes, he summoned the person he had sent out to investigate yesterday - Ren Bei, the commander of the secret guards around the emperor.
Ren Bei presented the evidence he had investigated:
"Your Majesty, Ling Xiang and the Prince of Qin are indeed at odds. The damage to the Zhenguo Marquisate's mansion was caused by the Prince of Qin. Ling Xiang's bloodletting to save Gao Zhenzhen is also true. The incident of Ling Xiang's poisoning reached Shuntian Prefecture and implicated Princess Yongle. Later, for unknown reasons, Ling Xiang went to Shuntian Prefecture to withdraw the lawsuit and was subsequently punished with a beating. Investigations indicate that the Prince of Qin was behind this. They established a deed, a copy of which is now kept in Shuntian Prefecture."
"Have you brought the deed?" asked the emperor.
Ren Bei shook his head: "The Shuntian Prefecture Archives Room is heavily guarded and the restrictions are too severe. I was unable to enter."
"You may withdraw." The emperor summoned the eunuch, "Convey my secret decree. Order Yuan Zhengqing, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, to bring me the contract signed between Ling Xiang and the King of Qin."
On the other hand, the queen ordered someone to go to the Prince of Qin's mansion to invite Gao Zhenzhen early in the morning.
Nangong Yu went to the morning court, and the eldest princess would not care about Gao Zhenzhen's life or death. Even though Gao Zhenzhen was nervous, she could only smile and get on the sedan chair to enter the palace.
Gao Zhenzhen was just a commoner. She got off the sedan chair at the palace gate and walked for a long time before reaching the queen's bedroom.
Gao Zhenzhen was the person the emperor was looking for. In order to avoid suspicion, the queen ordered people to put Gao Zhenzhen in the guest room and did not see her.
Gao Zhenzhen didn't even have breakfast. She walked all the way into the palace, feeling tired, thirsty, and hungry. She didn't dare to eat the tea and snacks on the table, and waited anxiously for the queen's summons.
After waiting for a long time and no one paid any attention to her, she cautiously asked the palace maid who was guarding nearby. The palace maid just told her to wait here and said nothing else.
Gao Zhenzhen clutched her sleeves tightly, feeling very uneasy. She silently prayed that the morning court would end quickly and that the prince would rush into the palace to help her.
After waiting for a long time, Gao Zhenzhen was really hungry and thirsty. She secretly took a detoxification pill and carefully picked up the tea and snacks. Just as she took a bite, someone at the door announced, "The emperor has arrived!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
