Ning Chen glanced at her, and perhaps thinking of his healthy daughter, his expression relaxed a little.
"Why don't you bring the princess with you?"
"Your Majesty, you don't know that it has snowed heavily these past two days. Jiayu heard me say last night that she wanted to walk in the snow to look for plum blossoms, so she went to the plum garden early this morning. Besides, Jiayu is a very lively person, so she must not scare the eldest prince by coming. It won't be too late for the two siblings to meet again in the future."
Concubine Shu had a smile on her face and covered her lips with a handkerchief.
Concubine Wende was displeased and curled her lips. "The eldest prince is a boy after all, how can he be so delicate? Princess, don't get frozen if you run out in such a cold weather. Concubine Shu should be more careful."
"Don't worry, sister. This child is just like me. He is afraid of heat but not cold. He is in good health."
Concubine Shu raised her eyebrows slightly, which was quite provocative.
"I'm overthinking it. Sister Shufei was born into a family of military generals. Maybe she's tougher than me... Oh no, she's even stronger." Concubine Wen's expression turned completely cold.
He acted casually and quickly changed his words.
Thick-skinned and tough is not a nice word.
Shufei was immediately annoyed and was about to retort when she heard the sound of singing a ceremony outside.
It turned out that the 'gift' from the second daughter of the Chen family had arrived.
Ning Chen didn't quite know what was going on, and asked in confusion, "What is this?"
"Your Majesty, this is the birthday gift that I prepared for the eldest prince. Due to carelessness, it fell into the Cining Palace and I just brought it here."
The girl stood up, twisted her waist and bowed gracefully, her voice was precisely controlled and as sweet as an oriole.
"No need to be polite." Ning Chen waved his hand, his eyes darkened a little, "Why are you here?"
This question is...
Anyway, Ye Jun in the crowd couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Perhaps because she took the lead, everyone couldn't help but laugh. The low laughter fell into Chen Suzhi's ears, which made her feel extremely humiliated.
Concubine Wende glanced at Chen Suzhi with disdain, with sarcasm in her eyes, and repeated the empress dowager's words verbatim.
Sure enough, Ning Chen's face immediately became even gloomier.
All those present today are women from the harem. What is Chen Suzhi, an unmarried girl who has not yet reached the age of marriage, doing here
The Queen Mother was too confused. How could a mere concubine's daughter of the Chen family be qualified to attend the banquet on her behalf? This would simply lower the status of the royal family.
Ning Chen knew what the Queen Mother was thinking, and he had originally wanted to resolve the situation in a gentler way, but now that things had come to this, he didn't want to give her the slightest bit of face.
"I remember that you are fourteen this year?"
"Your Majesty, that's right."
Chen Suzhi was delighted and shyly looked up at the man in front of her, then quickly lowered her head, looking both youthful and seductive.
For a moment, the people present were unable to grasp the emperor's thoughts.
Asking this, could it be that you really like him
After all, when it comes to beauty, this second girl is also extremely outstanding.
But Ye Jun knew clearly in his heart that he was going to do something.
It is impossible for the Chen family to send another woman into the palace, and Ning Chen will not accept her unless Concubine Chen dies.
"It's rare that the Empress Dowager likes you so much at the age of fourteen. Since the Empress Dowager values you, you can live in the Cining Palace in the future. The Empress Dowager is a Buddhist. When you have nothing to do, you can go to the small Buddhist temple to chant sutras and pray for the Empress Dowager. It will be worth it for the Empress Dowager to love you."
Ning Chen spoke in a cold voice, immediately pouring a bucket of cold water on Chen Suzhi.
If you live in the Cining Palace and have to go to the Buddhist temple to chant scriptures every day, wouldn't that make you become a nun who only cares about the green lamp and the dead Buddha
Even though she is now attending to the emperor in the Cining Palace, she lives in a small courtyard next to the palace. Isn't it to wait for the emperor
How can I serve the emperor if I live in the Cining Palace!
"Your Majesty, your servant..."
She was about to explain, but she heard another voice.
"Your Majesty, the second young lady is so young after all, how can she endure such a boring thing as reciting scriptures every day? In my opinion, if Your Majesty really wants to reward her with something good, why not grant her a marriage? Next year, the second young lady will be of marriageable age, and it will be time to choose a husband."
Chen Suzhi looked over in astonishment, and saw Ye Jun smiling gently with the corners of his lips curled up.
It seemed like he really cared about her.
Chen Suzhi was naturally unwilling in her heart, and shook her head without even thinking.
"No, Your Majesty, no, I don't want to get married, I want to serve in the palace..."
"Sister, even if you want to serve the Queen Mother out of filial piety, you can't say such a foolish thing as not getting married!"
Concubine Chen's expression changed and she quickly interrupted her.
If she were to shamelessly say that she would enter the palace to serve the emperor, the Duke of Ying's Mansion would be completely disgraced.
Qiao Yu, who was following Chen Suzhi, was also frightened for a moment. After she came to her senses, she pinched her arm lightly. This finally helped Chen Suzhi regain some of her sanity.
Ning Chen is so smart, how could he not guess what she is thinking.
He was disgusted by the shamelessness and lack of sense of propriety of an unmarried girl.
His voice suddenly hardened, "Why, the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Ying's Mansion also despises my reward?"
"Your Highness, please calm down!"
Chen Suzhi was so frightened that she fell to her knees. This time she was really scared.
She was raised very carefully in the Duke's Mansion, but as a concubine's daughter, she had never seen the world. Aunt Su was indeed powerful, but she was a concubine after all, and the daughter she raised could not withstand any punishment.
"Look how scared the second young lady is. The emperor wants to grant you a marriage, not to kill you. This is a good thing."
Ye Jun enjoyed watching the fun and secretly added fuel to the fire.
Ning Chen glanced at her and thought that this woman really enjoyed bullying others.
But that’s good, since they want to bully the same person anyway.
So, regardless of whether Chen Suzhi was willing or not, Ning Chen waved his hand and arranged for her to marry Liang Chengsi, the second son of the Liang family, the Rongqing Earl.
All in all, this is a good marriage between people of equal social status.
Even though Chen Suzhi was born in a duke's mansion, she was still a concubine's daughter. It was already a good match for her to marry the second son of an earl.
After all, Ning Chen still cares about the face of the Queen Mother and the Chen family.
After the marriage was granted, she could no longer stay in the palace. Chen Suzhi didn't even have time to go back to the Cining Palace to pack her things, and was directly sent out in a carriage.
The imperial edict was issued that day.
The Duke of England and his entire family knelt to receive the imperial edict with solemn expressions.
Only Aunt Su and Chen Xianyi and his mother were happy. Chen Suzhi, the person involved, was heartbroken.
When the news reached the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager was extremely angry.
Send someone to call Ning Chen over.
"Marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words. Suzhi is still your cousin, how can you arrange her marriage privately? Where do you put your uncle and me?"
"I am the Son of Heaven, and all the people in the world are my subjects. Why can't I grant a marriage? The Duke of England is my subject. Do I have to put him first in everything? Then why don't I let him be the emperor, so that the Queen Mother will be satisfied!"
Ning Chen shouted angrily for the first time. The bulging veins on his forehead and his gloomy eyes made people feel cold all over.
The Queen Mother was startled by the roar and couldn't help but shudder.
In a trance, she seemed to see the shadow of the previous emperor in the young emperor in front of her.
Even after Ning Chen left the Cining Palace, the Queen Mother still hadn't come back to her senses.
Finally, Ning Chen issued an oral order that the Queen Mother was ill and needed to rest, and no one was allowed to visit.