Qu Mingcheng had indeed returned and was not far outside the city.
After traveling back and forth all the way, his face looked a little haggard. His originally pale complexion had become much darker, and he looked like he was a few years older. He returned to Beijing exhausted.
Liu Lanxin's dowry was finally escorted to Beijing at the last minute.
"Second Master Qu, should we go to the capital first and then inform His Royal Highness Prince Jing, or should we inform His Royal Highness Prince Jing first and then go to the capital?" A guard came from behind and saluted Qu Mingcheng. This was the man who helped escort him here from the border, and was a guard assigned to him by the General Fuguo.
Qu Mingcheng looked back at the row of carriages behind him. Several of them were fully loaded with dowry for Miss Liu. It turned out that General Fuguo was indeed a man who loved his daughter as rumored by the outside world.
"Let's report to His Royal Highness Prince Jing first and ask him to send someone to pick him up." Qu Mingcheng said.
"But... but we're already at the gate. Let's go report to His Highness first... We might as well go into the city first." The guard also looked at the carriages. "If we stop here now, we won't be able to enter the city if we delay."
Although it is still early now, if we send someone to inform, it is hard to say when King Jing will send someone over.
"Then wait a moment." Qu Mingcheng narrowed his eyes, his face a little cold.
What the guard asked before was inconsistent with what he just said. Since he had already planned to enter the city, why did he need to ask his opinion
It seems like it's just a question on the surface, and there's nothing else to it.
This feeling was very uncomfortable. Along the way, this guard, as a deputy, seemed to have asked himself about everything, but in fact he was very arrogant and asking him was just a matter of appearance.
Before, Qu Mingcheng had been very tolerant, but now that he has arrived in the capital, he doesn't want to endure it anymore.
He could please King Jing and help him deliver the dowry to the future Princess Jing. He did this for King Jing's sake and also because he didn't want to give Qu Moying face, so he left the capital on purpose when she got married.
But he never thought about really helping the future Princess Jing to bear all the responsibilities.
Princess Jing and the concubine of Prince Jing will inevitably have disputes in the future. Qu Mingcheng does not need to please Princess Jing, nor can he please her unless his sister Qu Qiuyan is not in Prince Jing's mansion.
Qu Mingcheng would not do such a stupid thing knowing that he could not please them. However, when he was at the border, he was surrounded by people from the General's Mansion. He only brought a servant with him, and the others were all sent by the General. No matter what he wanted to say or do, no one would cooperate.
But now it’s different, this is the capital.
"Second Young Master Qu, if we wait any longer it will be too late. If we miss the time, will you be responsible or will I be responsible?" The guard did not expect Qu Mingcheng to make trouble for him. His face immediately darkened and he said unhappily.
"Of course you will bear the responsibility." Qu Mingcheng glanced at him calmly, "If you think you can go directly into the city, then go ahead."
Qu Mingcheng moved aside and made way for the road, meaning that it was up to them. If they wanted to go into the city on their own, he would not be responsible.
This means to quit the business.
The guard didn't expect Qu Mingcheng to cause such a scene. His face became even uglier. He looked up at the gate of the capital city in the distance, then looked at Qu Mingcheng's face, with murderous intent in his eyes.
He took a deep breath and finally suppressed the murderous intent.
"Then send someone to inform His Royal Highness Prince Jing."
Wei Dao had to give in. The general had given him some instructions.
"Okay." Qu Mingcheng nodded, called someone over, gave a few instructions, and then let the carriage and horses rest on the side of the road, waiting for instructions from Prince Jing's Mansion.
After the person who went to report entered the city, he did not go to Prince Jing's Palace immediately, but first went to the residence of the General of the Auxiliary State to deliver a letter to Liu Lanxin.
Upon hearing that her dowry had finally arrived in the capital, Liu Lanxin felt relieved. She ordered someone to pick it up and told that person to report to King Jing, who also asked him to send someone out.
Originally, she was worried that she wouldn't make it in time, and her dowry would be much less than those two, which would make her lose face. But now, she finally made it in time.
"Miss Liu's dowry has arrived in Beijing?" Liu Jingyu lowered his brows, looking at the teacup in front of him, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes.
She was indeed very annoyed. She originally thought that Ji Youran had been brought down, but she didn't expect that the prince still had people taking good care of Ji Youran these days, and even visited Ji Youran from time to time. He had clearly told her before that he would severely punish Ji Youran to allow her to establish her dignity as the legitimate wife.
But what is it now? Is Ji Youran mentally ill and stupid? She doesn't believe it.
But even if she didn't believe it, the prince didn't let her visit Ji Youran more often. He just asked her to send someone to take good care of it, and he would handle some matters.
Liu Jingyu felt irritated when he thought of this.
Now that she heard that Liu Lanxin's dowry was arriving in Beijing, she felt even more upset. She secretly sent people to keep an eye on the city gate, just to know about Liu Lanxin's dowry as soon as possible.
The meaning of this person's gift of the red agate rockery still hurts her until now, and she doesn't believe that Liu Lanxin doesn't know anything about it.
"Was her dowry large?"
"There should be quite a lot. There are several horse-drawn carriages, and they all look heavy." The old woman reported in a low voice.
Liu Jingyu was silent for a moment, then stood up and asked, "The prince is in the study?"
"Yes, the prince has been waiting in the study since he returned home." The old woman said hurriedly.
"Let's go and meet the prince." Liu Jingyu said. Something had happened to her dowry, so how could Liu Lanxin's dowry arrive in Beijing intact
Even if it is embarrassing, let's all be embarrassed together.
As a daughter-in-law of the royal family, she is also the Crown Princess. Why should Princess Jing be treated well
In the study, Pei Luoan heard that Liu Jingyu was coming, put down the memorial in his hand, nodded, and motioned for Liu Jingyu to come in.
The eunuch went out and led Liu Jingyu in.
"My concubine greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Liu Jingyu bowed gracefully and said softly.
"No need, what does the Crown Princess want to see me about?" Pei Luoan gestured for her to stand up and asked gently.
"I have just sent someone to the hot spring resort outside the city to ask Your Highness if we can let mother go there to recuperate for a few days. Mother's health has not been good for such a long time. If it is delayed any longer, I am afraid it will get worse." Liu Jingyu said worriedly, tears welling up in his eyes when he talked about Madam Liu.
Pei Luoan was silent for a moment. He had been planning to arrange for someone to send Ji Youran to the hot spring villa to recuperate for a while, but he didn't expect that Liu Jingyu also had his eyes on the hot spring villa.
"Let your mother wait a moment. Concubine Ji is injured now and is preparing to live in the manor. Your mother can go there after Concubine Ji comes back." Pei Luoan said.
"Didn't they say that Concubine Ji's pregnancy was fake? Why is Your Highness so considerate to Concubine Ji?" Liu Jingyu asked softly, without a trace of jealousy on his face.
As the principal wife, she looked at the matter from a selfless perspective. "Even though Concubine Ji did such a thing, Your Highness still cares about her so much. What should the people in the palace say and do in the future? Your Highness is the crown prince of a country, and he must be fair even in the backyard."
To be fair, we cannot be overly biased.
Ji Youran's crime, in the most serious sense, is the crime of deceiving the emperor. In the most minor sense, it is also not something that the head of the family can tolerate. The issue of offspring is related to the bloodline.
Especially when it comes to the royal bloodline, it is even more extraordinary.
"This matter... there are some misunderstandings. Concubine Ji did not do it on purpose." Pei Luoan coughed softly and said.
"Even if it is a misunderstanding, the matter is already here, Your Highness should not cover up for her. If the Emperor knew, he would definitely reprimand Your Highness and think that Your Highness is too sentimental. Your Highness is the crown prince and the future of the country, and people should see that Your Highness is selfless."
Liu Jingyu said this with a serious face, showing the dignified attitude of a queen.
Pei Luoan put his hand on his brow, feeling a little annoyed. He didn't want to talk about this matter anymore. Thinking of what Ji Hanyue said to Xie Feng in his dream, and looking at Ji Youran's current appearance, he also felt annoyed.
"Crown Princess...what do you think?"
"I think it's better for the concubine to stay in the mansion, and slowly wait until others have almost forgotten about this matter. Then, it will be up to Your Highness whether he is willing to favor her or do whatever he wants." Liu Jingyu said.
"Send her to a farm outside the city first, and she will slowly forget about it after a while... Crown Princess, this matter must be a misunderstanding. Concubine Ji knows nothing and she has been deceived." Pei Luoan waved his hand and settled the matter in the opposite way to Liu Jingyu.
This attitude made Liu Jingyu's heart skip a beat, and she almost couldn't help showing her anger and resentment. Fortunately, she reacted immediately, calmed down a bit, and said: "Since Your Highness has decided this, I will obey your order."
Seeing that she agreed, Pei Luoan smiled and waved to her. Liu Jingyu came forward, and Pei Luoan held her hand and asked her to sit down on a chair beside her: "From now on, all the affairs of the mansion will trouble you. Thank you for your hard work. Concubine Ji will only be a concubine in the future, and she is not going to be any better now."
This means that Liu Jingyu will always be her principal wife, and also means that Ji Youran will never be able to take her place, which puts her at ease.
The words were spoken very gently, and Pei Luoan's affectionate eyes made people feel good about him. However, Liu Jingyu was annoyed. She raised her eyes to the desk and tried hard to suppress her anger. This was not the purpose of her coming here today. It was for Liu Lanxin's dowry. If she forced Ji Youran's matter, it would not be good for her.
"Your Highness is right. It's just that Your Highness, my people...saw something when they entered the city, so I came here specially to explain it to Your Highness." Liu Jingyu nodded, put the topic aside, and stated the purpose of her visit.
"What did you see?" Pei Luoan asked curiously. Liu Jingyu just needed to stop asking about Ji Youran.
"I heard that it is Miss Liu's dowry. There are several carriages, and it looks very rich. It is outside the city gate now, which means it is going to the capital. The general really loves his daughter. He sent such a large dowry from such a long distance. I heard that if the dowry is added, it will not only be mine and the Princess of England's. As expected, compared with me and the Princess of England, Miss Liu is the most prestigious."
Liu Jingyu smiled lightly, but Pei Luoan's face darkened...