It didn't take long for Ananda's depression to be put aside. She is not a person who would look for troubles on her own, but it is easy to see things aside. It is also this kind of optimistic personality that allows her to integrate so quickly into this era where so many women are restrained.
After the meal, Ananda ate the Yiyi Cake that her prime minister’s father had always raved about. Looking at the food that was simmering on the stove, Ananda had only one thought in his mind: it’s too bad, isn’t this hawthorn slice? What’s the matter? Wow? When she ate a piece of hearty cake that Chu Baning personally gave her, it was sweet and sour, and immediately diluted the greasy accumulated in her stomach just now, and she felt refreshed.
Ananda suddenly realized: It turns out that it is delicious to let important people make it for themselves~
After dinner, the sun had moved westward, and Chu Baning and Ananda sat in front of the window of the second-floor wing room of Yunshangju to enjoy the scenery downstairs. The atmosphere was very leisurely and warm.
Until Chu Baning suddenly asked: "Why did you go to the White Horse Temple today?"
Ananda was startled, thinking that he wanted to turn over the account, and said cautiously: "Hehe, it's rare for the sisters to come to the capital. They wanted to go to the capital to get to know each other, so they came to our mansion to find concubines. The concubine often stays in the mansion and rarely goes out and is not familiar with it. Later, when I came to the White Horse Temple, the sisters wanted to go to the White Horse Temple to offer incense and pray, so they went together. I didn’t expect to meet the prince in the White Horse Temple by such a coincidence. Fortunately, At that time, the prince was there, otherwise the courtiers and concubines really don't know what to do..." At the end, Ananda smiled shyly, his face full of simplicity.
Chu Baning nodded, patted her head as comfort, and then fell silent again, which made Ananda depressed for a while. In fact, she also wanted to know how he was in the White Horse Temple, and he was such a timely hero to save the beauty. Sanjianfeijun is not married anymore, and Lu Fian and Lu Feiya seem to have a good impression of her prince... Ananda sighed, it's not good for his man to be stared at by a group of women who intend to be mistresses!
— This girl seems to have forgotten that her lord still has the fate of "obsessing his wife and son", so there is no need to worry so much~~
Seeing that the sky was almost dark, the two left the restaurant and returned to Su Wang's mansion in a carriage leisurely.
Back at the palace, as soon as Chu Baning got out of the car, he saw Butler Qin coming over anxiously, saluted and said, "My lord, my concubine, someone is coming to the palace. You enter the palace. Eunuch Luo has been waiting all afternoon..."
Chu Baning's face remained unchanged, as if he was not surprised by this matter at all. Only Ananda was a little nervous, suspecting that the reason for the visitor from the palace was related to her hurting Prince Anyang's son, and he was a little restless at the moment. And because of her background, the Queen Mother doesn't like her enough, and she hurt Prince Anyang's son, I don't know if the Queen Mother will hold on to her, right
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Chu Baning brought Ananda into the mansion, and asked as he walked, his voice was very light.
Ananda has a face full of admiration, lord, you are also a master of acting~~ I know what to ask~~
At this time, Eunuch Luo, who came from the Chonghua Palace to convey the Queen Mother's will, had already come over. After kneeling down, he said with a smile on his face: "My lord, Princess Anyang came into the palace this afternoon, and she said she wanted to talk to the princess. Something, the empress dowager specially ordered the miscellaneous family to come and invite you and the concubine to enter the palace." Eunuch Luo said cleverly, originally the concubine Anyang only asked Concubine Su to enter the palace alone, but he got the empress dowager's instruction in private and invited Su Wang to enter the palace together palace.
Chu Baning didn't hesitate after hearing this, and went back to the room with Ananda and changed into formal clothes before getting into the carriage to enter the palace. His calm appearance finally made Ananda feel at ease.
When the carriage was approaching the gate of the palace, Chu Baning held Ananda's hand and said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, everything is up to me."
Just such a simple and plain sentence made Ananda's heart melt into a puddle of soft spring water, and she responded softly. At this moment, her whole heart was for this man.
It was already sunset, and the gorgeous afterglow of the setting sun shrouded the entire imperial city in a glow, coating this solemn and solemn imperial city with a layer of dreamy color.
After the two went to Chonghua Palace, they found that not only the Empress Dowager and Concubine Anyang were sitting in Chonghua Palace, but also Emperor Chongde was also there. No matter how you look at the posture of these three people, it seems that there are three trials, which makes Ananda a little nervous.
Ananda took a peek, and knew that the middle-aged woman sitting under the empress dowager's head, wearing heavy-colored gorgeous clothes and shining gold ornaments all over her head was Princess Anyang.
Ananda followed Chu Baning to salute the people present, and called Princess Anyang as respectfully as Chu Baning, "Mother and Concubine". When the first emperor was in power, Concubine Anyang concubine took the position of one of the four concubines, until today when the princes saw her, they all called her "Mother and Concubine Xian".
After everyone shouted, the Empress Dowager immediately asked Ananda to come forward with a kind smile on her face, and took her hand to greet her, which made Ananda flattered and somewhat puzzled. It seems that ever since the five maids bestowed by the queen mother were returned to the queen by Chu Baning unceremoniously, the mother has never given her such a kind smile. The expression on her face seemed to be very dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law (really very dissatisfied).
If things are abnormal, there must be a demon!
Ananda's heart trembled slightly, but his face showed a shy and shy look. He answered the queen mother's words in a naive and shy manner. For a while, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were in harmony, and the corners of Emperor Chongde's mouth twitched slightly.
As soon as Concubine Anyang saw Chu Baning, she also came together, knowing that her trip today was in vain. I couldn't help but hate the queen mother, not only invited the emperor, but also the king of Su. Didn't he deliberately want her trip to fail, so he came here to scare her off!
The Queen Mother pulled Ananda and said to Concubine Anyang with a smile: "Sister, you don't know, the daughter-in-law of the Ai family is filial and caring. When I came to pay her respects a few days ago, I knew that the Ai family had a bad appetite. I would rather starve myself. You have to use gentle words to coax Ai's family to eat more, Ai's family is also happy to have such a lovely wife..."
Ananda: =__=! Does this really mean her? Obviously at that time it was the empress and a few concubines coaxing her to eat more, but she was just standing outside like a soy sauce...
Chu Baning and Emperor Chongde did not look sideways and did not express their opinions.
Concubine Anyang was angry in her heart, and she agreed with a smirk: "Hehe, Concubine Su's pearls are round and jade-like, with a golden sound and jade rhyme, she is blessed at first glance."
Concubine Anyang is full of anger now, thinking that these two juniors are so arrogant, making her wait here for an afternoon is clearly intentional! ! But now Emperor Chongde was called over by the vicious queen mother, so she couldn't vent her anger directly. She didn't want to bring trouble to her son King Anyang. And the queen mother took a fancy to this, so she came to get angry with her.
Ananda doubted again: _Is this really her
Not to mention Ananda's doubts, even Emperor Chongde felt that what his mother's empress and Concubine Anyang said was too exaggerated, only Chu Baning was so calm.
The two flirted with each other for a while, and when Ananda suspected that the person they were talking about was definitely not her, they finally ended their useless compliments. The queen mother coughed and said kindly: "Concubine Su, the Ai family called you here today." I have something to ask you, don’t worry, if it’s not your fault, the Ai family will definitely embrace you as the master.” After the queen mother said some touching words, Fang asked: “I heard that you met someone at the White Horse Temple today. Prince Anyang is the heir, right?"
Ananda nodded docilely, thinking that it was finally here, and found a sharp gaze directly on her, which made her goosebumps come out. Ananda looked terrified, blinked his eyes and lowered his head timidly, twisting the handkerchief in his hands.
"What happened at that time, can you talk to Ai's family? Maybe let Concubine Anyang understand the truth of the matter, so as not to misunderstand you." The Queen Mother patted and smiled to comfort.
Ananda glanced at the Queen Mother, then looked back at Chu Baning, saw him nodding, and began to speak in a low voice.
After Ananda explained the matter once more, Concubine Anyang suddenly asked suspiciously: "Why is King Su at the White Horse Temple today?" Could it be that she was going to set a trap for her grandson? Concubine Anyang made a conspiracy theory.
"My son will be traveling far away soon, so naturally I will bid farewell to Master Kong." Chu Baning replied meticulously.
Concubine Anyang snorted, and said to the Queen Mother: "It seems that my sister's daughter-in-law is not only blessed, but also very powerful. Concubine Su, do you know that Xiaotian was almost made unable to take care of himself by you, but there is a reason ?”
Ananda shook his head, looked at her timidly, and said in a low voice: "Concubine Xian, my daughter-in-law was frightened at the time, thinking that she was an apprentice, and for a while I only felt that my strength was coming up... But, my daughter-in-law was really not at that time." Know that Deng Tuzi is the son of Prince Anyang."
How can you be so cruel just by being frightened? ! ! Concubine Anyang roared in her heart, what are these words? Concubine Anyang found that the queen mother's daughter-in-law is really aggrieved and unlovable.
Seeing this, the Queen Mother immediately said: "Sister Xian, you scared her. And Princess Su was acting in self-defense. She didn't know the identity of the prince at that time."
"Scared? Bengong sees that she is very courageous, so she dared to hurt my Xiao'er." Concubine Anyang cast a sideways glance at the queen mother, and said sarcastically.
Seeing her tough attitude, the Queen Mother knew that she would definitely want them to give an explanation. Although she was also very depressed, Ananda looked small and delicate, and dared to directly kick a man's root. Could it be that her usual cute and cute appearance was Fake it? But no matter how dissatisfied the daughter-in-law here is, now that there are enemies present, she has to be protected no matter what. It would be a good thing to suffocate Concubine Anyang to death.
"Concubine Xian, please calm down! This is not the fault of Concubine Su." Emperor Chongde continued, "You also know Xiaotian's character..."
"Even if Xiao'er was rude first, she shouldn't be so harsh. If it spreads, do you want Xiao'er's reputation? Do you want the royal family's reputation?" Concubine Anyang sneered, "However, Princess Su , it is true that my grandson was injured by you, and I don't want to punish you, so you can apologize to my grandson, right?"
When the Queen Mother heard this, her brows almost stood on end! Let her daughter-in-law apologize to a younger generation? And still apologizing to a dude who bullies men and women? dream!
When Ananda heard this, he was a little surprised, is it that simple? However, Ananda seemed to have underestimated the meaning of the word "apology", and how could a decent princess like her apologize to a prince, especially a junior who was a generation below her.
At this time, Chu Baning said, "Mother and Concubine, this is not right!"
Chu Baning looked at Concubine Anyang, those eyes as deep as ink made Concubine Anyang's heart tremble, and thought to himself, could it be that King Su didn't even give her face
When the queen mother saw her youngest son's extremely serious appearance, she knew that he was going to poke a lung tube soon, and she was very happy. Usually, at times like this, she is the only one who feels aggrieved and helpless, but now she feels that as long as it is not poking her, and it is her deadly enemy, it will make her all kinds of excited~~ Even Emperor Chongde has the urge to cover his face in an instant , I hope my younger brother will not talk so bluntly in the conversation, and give the elders some face. Only Ananda looked at his prince and husband foolishly, with a naive and shy look.
"Mother and concubine, don't say that Shaoqi is the elder of the son. Even if he is not, if the son dares to speak disrespectfully to her today, and if he wants to do something frivolous, he has committed serious crimes such as disrespecting the elders, insulting the elders, and incest. He deserves to die." Ba Ning's expression became more and more serious, and he said coldly: "Mother and concubine, Xiao Tian is the son of King Anyang, not a wealthy and idle person, the title of King Anyang will be passed on to him in the future, Xiaotian is already twenty, Or how can this pair of stalking, bullying and domineering virtues be accepted as nobles in the future? Although it is natural for a good mother and concubine to favor her grandson, she should also consider the reputation of the royal family and Xiaotian himself, lest our Chu family He has lost all the face of the Dynasty! Let the posterity poke Anyang King's back and say that he has no way to teach his children."
"..."
Concubine Anyang's complexion suddenly changed, she was too angry to speak.
She has lived most of her life, when was she taught by pointing her nose like this? And what kind of virtue can her grandson let a junior say? However, Chu Baning's character is just like this, even the late emperor couldn't get angry after being poked in his heart like this, and finally he could only make a ridiculous order, saying: as long as the seventeenth prince's words are reasonable, no one should embarrass him to him. This decree is still circulated among the concubines until now, and it is considered to be one of the evidences that witnessed the absurdity of the late emperor's reign. However, even though the first emperor died ten years ago, she would not dare to violate this will.
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor Chongde looked down at the cups in their hands, snickered in their hearts, and said to Ba Ning, your words simply hit the lungs of Concubine Anyang directly. !
And Ananda also looked down at his toes, looking repentant.
"Mother and concubine, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. Xiaotian's character should be restrained. I believe that you should also hope that after a hundred years of you, Xiaotian can successfully inherit the Anyang Palace instead of letting the Anyang Palace decline. , so that he will have no face to see you in a hundred years."
Chu Baning's words were sincere, half of Concubine Anyang's anger subsided, and she sighed softly in her heart: Sure enough, she knew that today's result would be like this. The queen mother is a fool, how did she give birth to these two sons with different personalities? Could it be that bad bamboos produce good ones? And where she failed was probably because she didn't raise a son who was good enough to take on the important role of emperor.
Concubine Anyang certainly knows the virtues of her grandson, but this is the only grandson, who can she spoil if she doesn't spoil him? Maybe it's because he is old and his heart is not as hard as before, so he spoils his grandson like this.
Come on! Eat this boring loss today, and try to get it back later.
"Prince Su's advice is in my heart." Concubine Anyang returned to her indifferent and calm appearance. She glanced at the proud queen mother, and a haze slipped in her heart. Hmph, let's wait and see! Although Chu Baning's words made her stop the idea of asking Concubine Su to apologize, it didn't mean that she would let the person who hurt her grandson go.
Concubine Anyang took a deep look at Ananda who was bowing her head, smiled kindly on her face, and said: "Okay, it's getting late, and I should go back. Your Majesty, it's been cold recently. Although the state affairs are busy , you must also pay attention to the health of the dragon's body."
Emperor Chongde respectfully replied: "Thank you, Concubine Xian, for your concern."
After Concubine Anyang talked for a while, she got up and left Chonghua Palace.
As soon as Concubine Anyang left, the Queen Mother immediately turned cold and blamed Ananda: "Concubine Su, as a woman, how can you do such... immoral things?"
The Empress Dowager's words were really too serious, and she even described Ananda's behavior as immoral, which was a very serious reproach for a woman.
Ananda looked at her, twisted the handkerchief with both hands, and said aggrievedly: "Mother, didn't you just say that the concubine was acting in self-defense?"
The empress dowager felt a block in her heart, and it was extremely uncomfortable to be trapped in her chest. At that time, she only said that because Concubine Anyang was present. How could she lose face in front of her former enemy? Is the daughter-in-law here specially married to anger her
Chu Baning frowned slightly, obviously disapproving of the Queen Mother's questioning of Ananda.
Emperor Chongde saw his younger brother who was as serious as Lao Tzu frowned, and immediately said: "Hey, queen mother, it's getting late, did you let Ba Ning and the others go out of the palace first? Ba Ning will go on a long journey in two days. Well." It's better to let them leave first, lest the Queen Mother get chest pains from the anger of her youngest son.
When the Queen Mother heard this, she had reason to complain again, "Your Majesty, why did King Su go there in such a barren place as Tongcheng? And he will stay there until a year ago. Doesn't this make Ai's family worried? Anyway, let Aijia how to do..."
Emperor Chongde comforted the Queen Mother in a good voice and kindly. When he finally calmed down the Queen Mother, both Chu Baning and Ananda knelt down to pay their respects. The Queen Mother waved her hands weakly. I got her daughter-in-law with chest pains, let's go!