Chapter 294
Chapter 294
Chapter 294
You Bai walked over gracefully, she then went straight to the empress and slightly adjusted the large pillow behind Empress Wei, who smiled and asked Qin Jiu, “What do you think?”
Qin Jiu only gave one word: “Foolish.”
“It’s really foolish!” Empress Wei grinned and raised her hand to rub Qin Jiu’s soft hair.
Her Xiao Jiu really hit it off with her!
The empress sighed and shook her head, with a hint of pity in her eyes, “She is a bit clever but still can’t even figure out the emperor’s will, and just blindingly believe her own assumption causing her to jump up and down, even disfiguring herself, and cutting her flesh the next second, ah, I can feel the pain just by looking at it.”
A young girl who was as beautiful as a flower was just looking for troubles and tossing herself into a lot of holes…
Qin Jiu: “…..”
Qin Jiu immediately recognized the implication of Empress Wei’s words and blinked thoughtfully.
The empress said with certainty, “The emperor will not make peace.”
Qin Jiu also knew this, pursing her cherry lips she said, “Aunt this time… does she have something to do with you?”
Qin Jiu meant Empress Wei’s sudden attack.
Empress Wei smiled, took the teacup handed by You Bai, drank the tea slowly, and didn’t answer.
Qin Jiu didn’t ask again, and just picked up a snack that the maid had just brought, eating as her eyes curved into slits.
On the same day, the empress passed an imperial decree, saying that the third princess was filial, gentle, and respectful, and gave her medicinal herbs.
Naturally, this incident couldn’t be concealed from the eyes and ears of the people in the palace, so within a short time, everyone in the palace knew about the third princess cutting her flesh to save her imperial mother. Not only did the news spread out far and wide inside the palace as if it had wings, it even spread outside the imperial palace.
When Qin Wang Fei returned to her residence, she talks about this incident with her daughter, Yingluo, and at the end commented ruefully, “Three-year-old looks old*, indeed third princess’s act of cutting her own flesh captures the imagination of people, spreading it far and wide!”
(*through the behavior of a three-year-old- child, one can feel what kind of person the child will be in the future)
Hearing this, Yingluo’s whole face darkened, and almost throw the things in front of her, fortunately, she was still able to restrain herself.
Exerting a little force with her slender fingers she picks up the teacup in disguise.
Sister Xin was right, Changning had many tricks in her sleeves and just to avoid this marriage she uses all means, even if the second Prince and Sister Xin try to make Yelu Luan take the initiative to marry Changning, it would be useless. And even if they wanted Yelu Luan to be proactive, it needs to be with Changning so that they could rip the benefits…
Yingluo’s eyes reflected in the tea were as deep as a pool like a dark tide surging under them.
As she was drinking tea absent-mindedly, Qin Wang Fei beside her knew that her daughter had a disagreement with Changning before, thinking so, she felt that her daughter was still uncomfortable so she advised her a few more words, “You and third princess are cousins, breaking the bone and connecting the tendons*, so it’s not really a big deal that cousins quarrel with each other. The matter is already over, the past is in the past.”
(*relatives between aunts and cousins are very close, as inseparable as a broken bone and a tendon)
“Yingluo, as the elder sister, you should be more open-minded, and learn more from the third princess about the demeanor of a royal princess!”
Qin Wang Fei kept on babbling making Yingluo more annoyed as she listened to her. Her heart sank and thought mockingly: would you rather use self-harm to frame others?!
Yingluo calmed herself, put down her tea cup, and asked to probe for more information, “Mother, will the emperor… choose me as a marriage partner?”
Qin Wang Fei was startled for a moment before she breaks into laughter and said, “How could that be! Yinglou, you are just overthinking.”
“There are so many princesses in the imperial clan, and even if his majesty wants to choose a daughter from the clan to be married, there are so many girls who are already at the right age, and it will never be your turn.”
In Qin Wang Fei’s opinion, the imperial clan has so many suitable young ladies who were of the right age that they could propose to marry, not to mention relatives that wanted to offer their daughters for marriage just to please the emperor, so it was impossible that this marriage would fall in their doorsteps.
Qin Wang Fei said this casually, but when this fell in Yingluo’s ears, she felt her heart go cold: her mother was too naive! She doesn’t see Changning’s sinister intentions at all. Even if she told her that Changning’s “cutting her flesh to save imperial mother” was Xiang Zhuang’s sword dance aimed at Duke Pei*, her mother wouldn’t believe it, and instead would accuse her of being a villain that uses despicable thoughts to speculate on the decent Changning.
(*it’s a story, which also means that the real intention of speech and action is different)
She couldn’t count on her mother, but her father right now was not in the capital…
Yingluo sat there in a daze as she sips a few more of tea.
After waiting patiently for Qin Wang Fei to finish her speech, Yingluo said: “Father has been in Northern Xinjiang for so long. Does mother have news from father?” Qin Wangye was ordered to go to Northern Xinjiang to receive the Turks sent by the Northern Yan.
Speaking of Qin Wangye, Qin Wang Fei smiled, “I just received a letter from your father the day before yesterday. In more than a month, your father should return here in the capital.”
“Your father’s errand came inexplicably. He was doing well in the Ministry of Work, so why did he go to Northern Xinjiang? Those barbarians in Northern Yan are accustomed to rude behaviors, and your father is not good at martial arts, knowing this I just can’t put my heart down for a day.”
Qin Wang Fei felt uncomfortable thinking about it and didn’t know what the second prince was thinking, nor the emperor who agreed to let Qin Wangye accept some turkic horses.
Yingluo let out a casual “hmm” and then said with a smile, “Mother, I have finished reading the “Book of the Later Han Dynasty” that father lent to me before. I want to go to father’s study to borrow the next book.”
As her daughter with Qin Wangye, Qin Wang Fei always favored Yingluo. Since childhood, she was also often taken by Qin Wangye to the study room to play, and now that she was all grown up, she would often go to the study to borrow some historical book. Thus, Qin Wang Fei has long been accustomed to it, she also thought it would be better to stay in the palace and read more books than let Yingluo go out to play.
Smiling, Qin Wang Fei said, “Don’t mess up your father’s study.”
Yingluo pursed her lips, acting like a little girl. “Mother, I’m not like big brother!”
This one sentence made Qin Wang laugh out loud.
A ray of light flashed Yingluo’s eyes that also disappeared in a flash as if it wasn’t there in the first place.
She talked with Qin Wang Fei for a while, before she went to Qin Wangye’s outer study room from the main courtyard. She stayed in the study alone for a long time, and when she came out it was already two hours later.
***