The eighth month of the lunar calendar is the season of clear and crisp autumn air and the fragrance of golden osmanthus. For some reason, the empress dowager made this trip particularly grand, attracting countless people to stop and watch.
Next to the empress dowager's tall and luxurious canopy carriage was a slightly smaller carriage, in which sat Han Yueting and Yun Ruoxing.
"Achen, go to your cousin and Ruoxing! The situation is so chaotic, don't scare them." The lazy and noble voice of Queen Mother Han came from the carriage.
"Before my grandson set out, my father specifically reminded me that the Empress Dowager should be the most important in everything. The others will be protected by the guards. Tang Qianli, I now order you to protect Princess Ruzhu and Miss Han. If anything happens to them, you will be punished!" Yun Yichen glanced coldly at the carriage next to him and secretly cursed Kong Xuzhe for coming slower than a turtle. Now he thought it was wrong. If his cousin were to marry this guy, it would be inappropriate to use this word to describe him.
"How can the guards compare with our own family members? The Empress Dowager has someone to protect her. Girls are timid and will be scared if there is no one familiar around them." The voice of Queen Mother Han sounded again.
Was he trying to force Han Yueting and I into a relationship in public? He wanted the people of Kyoto to witness the closeness between the Prince of Jing's mansion and the Han family's daughter. If he showed even the slightest hint of affection, everyone would spread rumors tomorrow that the Jing's mansion and the Han family were interested in a marriage, thus discouraging others from considering it, and forcing him to marry Han Yueting, right?
"I'm sorry, I had a few drinks with my father last night and got up late this morning." Kong Xuzhe explained while panting as he galloped over, then quickly dismounted and paid his respects to the empress dowager.
"Prince Min? Where are you going?" The Empress Dowager's original plan didn't include him. Anyone else could have been dismissed with a few words, but not this man. The Kong family had been entrenched in Lingnan for many years, and even the Emperor treated them with courtesy. She had to give the Lingnan Prince's Mansion some respect.
"In reply to the Queen Mother, Xizhe has been asking you to show mercy and take me in for a few days. This morning, I angered the master who taught me martial arts and he ran away. Mother is looking for me to be punished!" Kong Xuzhe's excuse came easily. After all, he had done this many times before. He just changed the time a little. The Queen Mother would not send anyone to the Lingnan Palace to verify. As long as he could successfully infiltrate the Queen Mother's team, he would be halfway to fulfill his promise to Yun Yichen.
"How about I send someone to escort you back to the palace? Princess Lingnan will definitely forgive you for my sake." Queen Mother Han tried to persuade Kong Xuzhe to go home. With him accompanying her grandson, it would be difficult for her and her brother's plan to be implemented.
After hearing what her niece's granddaughter said, Queen Mother Han began to conspire with the Han family. They also sent people to investigate for several days, but they could not find out which family had the intention of forming a marriage alliance with Prince Jing's Mansion.
The Han family gathered together and finally came up with the idea of having the Queen Mother take Yun Yichen and Han Jiaoting to pray for blessings, so that the two of them could spend more time together. Everything was going smoothly at first, but unexpectedly, a person who was completely unintentional showed up halfway through, and his appearance might change things a little.
"If you don't like me that much, isn't it okay for me to promise to stay with the prince forever?" He came here just to save Yun Yichen, and he didn't care what other people thought.
Things have come to this point. If Queen Mother Han does not agree, Kong Xuzhe will lose face in front of the people, and the Lingnan Palace will also not look good. In order not to embarrass her son, Queen Mother Han can only swallow her anger and agree.
Sitting in the car, watching Kong Xuzhe's antics through the gap in the curtains, Yun Ruoxing's gaze stayed on the young man in front of her for a long time and she couldn't move her eyes away.
Kong Xuzhe's status and identity are both outstanding, and he is handsome and free-spirited. He is a man worth entrusting your life to. Thinking of this, Yun Ruoxing touched her hot cheeks with her hands and smiled. Since this trip can be a good opportunity for her cousin to get close to Yun Yichen, it will naturally provide convenience for her to get to know Prince Min. If she can make him fall in love with her, marrying into the Lingnan Palace is not impossible.
Yun Yichen pretended not to understand the Empress Dowager Han's words, and he and Kong Xuzhe rode side by side beside the empress dowager's carriage. Tang Qianli, accompanied by a group of experts disguised as ordinary guards, surrounded Yun Ruoxing and Han Yueting's carriage. With such precautions, who could say anything? The Empress Dowager Han and the Han family's first conspiracy was aborted before it could even be implemented.
It was almost noon when the Empress Dowager's procession arrived at the royal temple. Yun Yichen was busy taking care of everything for the Empress Dowager Han and served her very well. However, he kept a distance from the two girls and wanted to stay as far away from them as possible.
Kong Xuzhe was not stupid enough to get into trouble. He followed Yun Yichen like his bodyguard, without even glancing at Yun Ruoxing and the others.
Everything was arranged and the vegetarian food for the temple was also prepared. Although Queen Mother Han thought Kong Xuzhe was an eyesore, she still tried to persuade the two of them to stay and have a vegetarian meal together.
"Please take your time. Prince Min and I will not disturb you." It was as if Han Yueting and Yun Ruoxing were not present at all. Every time Yun Yichen spoke to Queen Mother Han, he never mentioned the two of them.
"Brother, we should thank Prince Min for his hard work. We are all family here, so why should you be so formal?" Yun Ruoxing took two steps forward and wanted to pull Yun Yichen's sleeve to show that she had a deep relationship with her brother, and by the way, let Kong Xuzhe notice her.
She thought that with Queen Mother Han around, Yun Yichen would be more considerate, that is, he would save her some face and not be as cold and icy as he was at the palace. But she was wrong. Was Yun Yichen the kind of person who would cooperate with others in their acting? If the person holding him back had been Xiao Yao or his own sister Yun Ruonan, he might have hesitated and agreed. It would be useless to think about anyone else besides these two.
"Take your hand away." Yun Yichen didn't slap the man away, saving face for his grandmother and the Han family. He thought he had shown mercy, but in the eyes of others, the man in front of him seemed extremely cold and heartless, with no regard for friendship at all.
"Ayi!" Queen Mother Han had to speak, otherwise her granddaughter would be embarrassed.
"Grandmother Empress Dowager, Prince Min and I will take our leave first. If you have anything to say, just send someone to the courtyard next door to let them know." As soon as he finished speaking, Yun Yichen bowed to Empress Dowager Han and walked out, not caring whether Kong Xuzhe followed him or not.
"Xi Zhe is leaving." Kong Xuzhe hurriedly bowed to the Queen Mother and went after Yun Yichen. Couldn't this guy have just given a heads-up before taking action? He always left without warning. Is this how partners behave?
"Grandmother, what do you think!" When only a few female relatives were left, Yun Ruoxing revealed her willful nature and cursed the damn Yun Yichen in a low voice. It was all her mother's fault. If Jinxiuyuan had a boy, she would not have to curry favor with him like this.
"Auntie, why did you let Kong come with you?" Han Yueting was also full of complaints. She was about to continue complaining when she heard Yun Ruoxing's dissatisfied voice: "What's the matter with Guan Minjun Wang? My brother is a cold and heartless person. Even if you have the ability, you can't use it in front of him."
He didn't even have a chance, and yet he was still showing off his skills! Some people would freeze at the sight of charming and enchanting girls like the Han family, but Yun Yichen had never even looked at them straight in the eye. He had been like that before with Han Yueyan, and now it was Han Yueting's turn, so how could it be any different? Anyone with the Han family label was on Yun Yichen's mental blacklist. And it was the kind that could never be erased.
With Empress Dowager Han's experience, how could she not see how much her grandson repulsed the two girls in front of him! But Han Yueting had to marry into Prince Jing's mansion. Only when the women of the Han family firmly controlled the positions of mistress of the harem and the palace could the Han family have a chance to turn things around.
After dinner, Yun Yichen and Kong Xuzhe did not "disturb" Queen Mother Han again. The two of them walked around together. It looked awkward to see two grown men walking together.
"When can I see my little..." Kong Xuzhe sighed and said dejectedly, but his words were cut off before he could finish. Yun Yichen gave him a warning look. With the Queen Mother and the Han family present, it was best to avoid talking about topics related to the Xiao family.
Kong Xuzhe quickly reacted. He glanced around warily, then slapped his lips. If he caused trouble for his future father-in-law's family, he would be kicked out. This was the first time he had fallen in love with a girl, so he should have considered the Xiao family before doing or saying anything. Even if he couldn't leave a good impression on them in the short term, he couldn't do anything stupid, right?
Over the next few days, Yun Yichen tried to avoid meeting them except for standing outside the courtyard of the women's family when he sent Queen Mother Han to see the abbot for chanting. And every time, Kong Xuzhe was by his side. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were close friends, inseparable.
Seeing that Yun Yichen was deliberately avoiding her, Han Yueting deliberately created chance encounters, such as when they were taking a walk, when they were taking a morning stroll, and when the Queen Mother Han was reciting scriptures... But Yun Yichen only responded to her with words like "hmm" and "humph", and just a cold back.
"Grand aunt, what should we do if this goes on? We will have to go back to Beijing in a few days." Han Yueting is no longer as glamorous as she was when she first came to the temple. She is ignored by Yun Yichen every day. She looks downcast and her self-confidence has long gone.
Queen Mother Han lowered her head in thought for a long time, then looked directly at Han Yueting and said slowly, "Are you really going to marry your cousin?"
Perhaps it is true that the more you cannot get, the better. Coupled with the self-esteem of a young person, Han Yueting has entered a vicious circle of having to conquer Yun Yichen and make him marry her. She has gotten stuck in this dead end and there is no turning back.
Han Yueting nodded firmly and persistently. Yun Yichen was the person she wanted to entrust her life to, and marrying into Prince Jing's Mansion was her dream. She didn't want to give up either of them.
"I will find a way to help you, but in this case, you will have to be a concubine for now." Everyone knows that a woman who enters the house through improper means cannot be given the title of the main wife.
Han Yueting nodded shyly after understanding the meaning of Queen Mother Han's words. Now she could only enter the gate of Prince Jing's Mansion first.
Is it true that the women of the Han family are destined to be concubines? Queen Mother Han thought dejectedly and collapsed powerlessly on the chair.
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