Happy Spring Every Year

Chapter 175: Past Events and Marriages

Cining Palace.

Concubine Rong received many preferential treatments because the third princess took the initiative to marry.

Because she always stayed out of the struggle, after Emperor Sheng ascended the throne, in gratitude for the eldest princess's contributions, he honored Rong Fei as Rong Taifei and granted her the title of Rong Taifei and allowed her to live in Cining Palace.

When the eldest princess returned to the capital this time, the mother and daughter reunited and naturally had endless things to talk about, so she took Princess An Ning to stay in the Cining Palace for a long time.

At this time, dinner was being served in the palace.

Concubine Rong is nearly sixty years old. Her face is round and gentle, and the years have left traces on her. There are fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and on her forehead.

But she was pampered after all, and looked like she was just accepting her fate. Her eyebrows were thin, soft, and raised at the ends, which showed that she had a very gentle personality.

At this time, Tuoba Ning was chattering about trivial things. Concubine Rong turned her head to look at her granddaughter, and her slightly lowered eyes exuded a kind and loving look like the warm sun.

Seeing that Tuoba Ning was really going on and on, the princess could not help but tap the back of her hand and reminded her:

"Alright Ning'er, let's eat first."

Tuoba Ning was speaking with great enthusiasm when he was stopped. He was so angry that his cheeks puffed up.

But she couldn't resist the look from the eldest princess, so she had to stick out her tongue, give herself a way out, and then lowered her head to eat.

Seeing this, the eldest princess shook her head helplessly.

She is still like a child. How can she return to Yue with peace of mind?

Fortunately, I have found a future husband. His family is not very particular about rules and it seems that we are easy to get along with. Now I just have to wait for the right time to announce it.

The three of them were having dinner when suddenly a palace servant announced from outside: "Tai Fei, the eunuch Fushun who serves the emperor has arrived."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eldest princess and Concubine Rong paused, and the mother and daughter crossed the dining table and exchanged a glance without saying a word.

"Come in."

It was the eldest princess who spoke in person.

Eunuch Fushun came hurriedly and bowed to the three masters in the hall. Then he turned to the eldest princess and said respectfully:

"Your Highness, the Emperor has issued an order, specifically requesting that I invite Your Highness to the Imperial Study to discuss important matters with the Imperial Preceptor. I hope Your Highness will accompany me immediately."

When Fushun said this, he bent his back, but when he said the word "imperial teacher", his eyes quickly glanced at Concubine Rong.

Concubine Ke Rong looked calm, and just looked at the eldest princess with concern.

When Fushun saw this, he breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't dare to reveal his feelings and quickly lowered his brows.

This afternoon, Minister Cui suddenly submitted a memorial to the emperor, and then said something shocking that even the emperor changed color.

At this moment, Old Lin had been in the imperial study for a while. He was guarding outside the palace and heard nothing. But not long after, an imperial decree came from the palace, asking him to come and invite the eldest princess.

"Mother, I will be back soon."

The eldest princess nodded to Concubine Rong, and then left the Cining Palace with Eunuch Fushun.

As he walked along the palace road, Eunuch Fushun's heart was pounding.

If the princess asked, should he...reveal something?

If it is true as Minister Cui said, then the eldest princess has been on the side of His Royal Highness the Emperor's grandson from the very beginning. Even Princess An Ning's choice of Jiang Xun as her son-in-law was a plot by the eldest princess and the imperial tutor.

This is something His Majesty cannot tolerate.

Eunuch Fushun was nervous all the way, but the eldest princess didn't ask a single question.

Seeing the imperial study coming into view, Eunuch Fushun smacked his lips for a long time, then suddenly quickened his pace and moved closer to the princess, saying softly:

"Mr. Cui talked about the past, and His Majesty asked about marriage."

The eldest princess suddenly opened her eyes and glanced at Eunuch Fushun, who no longer looked anything unusual, and was filled with surprise.

But in a flash, she had suppressed all the emotions in her eyes and didn't even respond, as if she didn't hear Fushun's voice at all.

As soon as he said this, Fushun felt scared.

His loyalty to the emperor is unquestionable, but now that the dispute over the crown prince is involved, and since the Crown Prince was so generous and kind back then, it's inevitable that he would... be partial to one and not the other.

He had been worried that the eldest princess would show some strange behavior, but now it seemed that he had been worrying too much.

You should know that the eldest princess is a legendary woman who "returned home in glory" from the Kingdom of Yue.

Arriving at the imperial study, Fushun raised his voice, "Your Majesty, Her Royal Highness the Princess has arrived."

"Come in."

Emperor Sheng's voice sounded in a deep voice, and Fushun immediately stepped forward to open the palace door and followed the eldest princess in.

The eldest princess knelt and saluted. When she looked up, she saw Emperor Sheng sitting behind the desk and Old Lin standing beside him. There was no expression on either of their faces.

Old Lin took two steps forward and bowed to the eldest princess without even raising his head, let alone looking at her or exchanging information.

Emperor Sheng noticed the performance of the two and glanced at Fushun.

Fu Shun understood that the emperor was asking about Concubine Rong's reaction, so he shook his head slightly and walked to stand beside the jade table.

Emperor Sheng's eyes were deep as he looked at the eldest princess in the palace. "Imperial sister, I heard an old piece of news today. In order to avoid offending the Concubine Dowager, I specially asked you to come and help me solve the mystery."

The princess was bewildered upon hearing this. "I wonder what old news you are talking about, my brother?"

Emperor Sheng said calmly, "I heard that the Concubine Dowager and my teacher are old friends, and that they once discussed marriage. When my younger sister asked for a marriage with the State of Zhao, was it the Imperial Teacher's idea?"

Upon hearing this, the eldest princess widened her eyes slightly and looked at Old Lin beside her in disbelief.

"This this......"

"Royal brother, mother has never mentioned this to me."

As the princess spoke, she looked at Mr. Lin several times, and her shocked expression did not seem fake.

Emperor Sheng frowned slightly, this answer was actually within his expectations.

He had just asked the imperial teacher, and the imperial teacher admitted it frankly.

He and Concubine Rong did not succeed in the end, and since there was a huge gap in their status, the Imperial Teacher naturally buried the matter completely in his heart. This is common sense.

This matter is very sensitive and difficult for women to talk about. I believe that there are not many mothers in the world who would bring up the past and tell their children in person.

Therefore, it is reasonable that the imperial sister is unaware of this.

Emperor Sheng was thinking this when the eldest princess came to her senses and immediately shook her head at Emperor Sheng.

"Brother, I don't know what happened back then, but if you ask about the marriage, I won't hide it."

"Oh?"

Emperor Sheng immediately glanced at Elder Lin, but heard the eldest princess sigh and kneel down to apologize:

"Brother Your Majesty, I am truly not as selfless and righteous as you and the people of the Sheng Dynasty claim. Back then, I took the initiative to propose a marriage alliance, but it was truly a helpless act."

"Now that Concubine Jing is still in the harem, my royal brother can go and ask her how she pressured my sister's mother."

"To protect Mother, I gritted my teeth and made a desperate move. I asked for a marriage in front of Father without reporting to him. When Mother heard the news, she hugged me and cried bitterly, but everything was already a foregone conclusion."

"Since my royal brother has asked about this today, I dare not hide anything anymore. However, if you say that the Heavenly Master is involved, it is completely nonsense."

After the eldest princess finished speaking, she was reluctant to get up.

After a moment, she felt a pulling force coming from her arm. When the princess looked up, she saw that it was Emperor Sheng who came to support her.

The princess was flattered and stood up straight in a hurry. Before she could speak, she heard Emperor Sheng suddenly ask:

"Let's not talk about the past. My royal brother, let me ask you one more question. My royal sister returned to the capital to choose a husband for Ning'er. At the banquet, Ning'er immediately decided on Jiang Xun."

"Is this the Imperial Sister's idea? Or is it the Imperial Sister's... and the Imperial Tutor's idea?"

As he said this, Emperor Sheng slightly increased the strength of his hands.

This question came unexpectedly, and the eldest princess was caught off guard, her expression slightly changing, and was seen by Emperor Sheng.

Emperor Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly, glanced at Elder Lin, a stern look flashed in his eyes, and then looked at the eldest princess and asked:

"Imperial sister, is it true or not?"

The eldest princess's face turned slightly pale, knowing that she could no longer hide it. She slowly nodded under the cold gaze of Emperor Sheng.

Emperor Sheng took a step back, his heart instantly filled with anger. His brows furrowed and he was about to explode, but he saw the eldest princess shook her head again at this time.