Sheng Songyan cried with a long face, "Your Majesty, you were once young too. You should understand how I, as a man, feel when I meet the woman I love... right?"
The emperor was too lazy to listen to his nonsense. He waved his hand and said, "Guards, take Sheng Songyan away and confine him in the Prince of Qishan's mansion. He is not allowed to leave for three months."
The queen was stunned for a moment and quickly said, "Your Majesty, isn't such a punishment too lenient?"
"Since the Prince of Qishan is willing to accept the punishment for his son's recklessness on his own initiative, why should I be so pushy?"
The queen said seriously, "But Your Majesty, it is a serious crime for the heir apparent to escape privately. If this is dealt with so lightly, what if others follow suit in the future? Won't the law become a mere formality?"
The emperor sank his face and didn't say a word.
Seeing this, the Prince of Chen quickly said, "Mother, the law should not be divorced from human feelings. Father also said that the Prince of Qishan voluntarily handed over his gold seal and sent his second son here, which shows his heart of submission. If Father insists on not letting it go, it will only hurt the heart of a loyal official in vain."
The queen's heart skipped a beat. She knew that her son was reminding her not to go against the emperor. She immediately changed her tone and nodded gently, saying, "So it is. Your Majesty, it's my shortsightedness."
The emperor pondered for a moment and then said, "The mistake has been made. If the punishment is too light, it will indeed be difficult to convince people. I take into account that you are young and ignorant, so I won't punish you severely. In addition to being confined for three months, I will also remove your title as the heir apparent on behalf of your father."
Originally, he thought that Sheng Songyan had been a hostage in the capital for at least twenty years. If the heir apparent was replaced by someone else, it would be quite unfair.
However, before the emperor could say anything else, Sheng Songyan had already jumped up with excitement. He immediately knelt down to thank the emperor, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness. Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The emperor was a little surprised and asked, "What have I accomplished for you?"
Sheng Songyan replied, "Miss Zhen always said before that I am the heir apparent of the prince, while she is just the daughter of an ordinary official and not worthy of me. I don't think so. Now that I am no longer the heir apparent, I think the knot in Miss Zhen's heart should be untied."
Zhen Yan was really furious. If it weren't for the princess holding her down firmly, she would really have stood up and beaten Sheng Songyan's head severely.
The emperor was both amused and surprised. He waved his hand and asked someone to take Sheng Songyan away.
After such a commotion, it was already getting late. The emperor took medicine all year round and must rest at noon, so he returned to his bedroom first. As soon as the emperor left, the palace banquet could be dispersed. If there were any palace concubines who wanted to stay, the female relatives could also take this opportunity to go to the concubines' palaces to chat.
The queen stood up and asked the maid beside her to go to the princess and said that she missed her family and asked the princess to go to the Guanju Palace.
When the Empress Dowager passed away, the queen deliberately didn't call the princess to the Guanju Palace. If it weren't for Nanny Gui still being in the Shoukang Palace at that time, Lu Wanning might not have been able to arrange for the princess and the others to rest in the Shoukang Palace.
Now hearing the queen's summons, the princess looked up at the queen. Her eyes were a bit cold.
Since only the princess was summoned, Mrs. Wei took Lu Cheng to the Wei family to talk to her mother and sister-in-law. Lu Wanning and Zhen Yan found Jiang Shishi and went to the imperial garden to play.
Lu Wanning sized Zhen Yan up and down, "You've gotten darker and fatter."
Zhen Yan mumbled, "It's getting hotter. And I couldn't stay in the carriage on the way. I rode a horse with my father and brother, so naturally I got darker. Besides, the food on the way was good. I..."
She stopped here and felt too embarrassed to say more, but Jiang Shishi had sharp ears and immediately grabbed her and asked.
"Why is it that when we travel, we can't rest well or eat well in the carriage, but it's different for you? Oh, I understand. As was said in the main hall, your father was afraid that you wouldn't get used to the food outside, so he specially brought chefs from the capital, and there were more than one. Ordinary chefs are not careful enough. Isn't there still that person? Naturally, he will take care of everything and will never let you eat less."
Zhen Yan pouted, "Sister Jiang, why have you even become bad?"
Jiang Shishi played around with her for a while and then asked, "Is he... not good?"
Because of He Nanfeng's relationship, Jiang Shishi automatically put Sheng Songyan into her own camp. Today, she also heard that Sheng Songyan's words were full of his affection for Zhen Yan, so she wanted to persuade her sister.
Zhen Yan turned her head angrily, "No, I don't like that kind of person. He only knows how to play around all day and doesn't do anything serious. Like this time, he said it was for my sake, but do I care? If the emperor blames him and cuts off his head, that would be the best."
Lu Wanning knew that she had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. If she really thought so, she wouldn't have come back with the people who were arresting Sheng Songyan and testified for him.
However, Sheng Songyan's reputation was really bad before. It was still hard to say whether it was good for Zhen Yan to be with him.
Let's talk about the situation in the Guanju Palace. The queen had a straight face. She waved everyone away and then stared coldly at the princess, "You are my elder sister. Why do you always oppose me?"
The princess sat on the chair without moving. She smiled faintly, "Elder sister? Does Your Highness still remember that I am your elder sister? Your Highness has been my younger sister for seventeen years, but has been the queen for twenty-four years."
The queen asked, "So this is the reason why you asked Ning'er to reject me?"
The princess looked at her in surprise, "Why do you think so? We just entered the palace today. You summoned Ning'er up soon after. I didn't even have a chance to talk to Ning'er. How could it be that I asked her to reject you?"
The queen took a deep breath and continued stiffly, "Since that's the case, tomorrow, you go back and ask the prince to see the emperor in person and say that he is willing to send Ning'er into the Prince of Chen's mansion..."
The princess stood up suddenly, "He Linlang, Ning'er is your niece, not a tool for you to play games with! You have a good idea to send Ning'er into the Prince of Chen's mansion!"
The queen smiled, "What does elder sister mean by this? Ning'er is my niece. I will naturally take care of everything for her. If she enters the Prince of Chen's mansion, she will be the princess. With me here, how could she suffer? When she gives birth to a son in the future, he will be the little imperial grandson. Yi'er is the crown prince and will be the emperor in the future. She will be the crown princess and then the queen. What's wrong with this?"
The princess asked, "Back then, did you use these lies to deceive the second brother and the second sister-in-law into working for you?"
The queen stood up and walked slowly to the window. She pointed outside and said, "Look how beautiful the flowers are outside. They are Chinese roses. They bloom every month. But it is precisely because they bloom every month that they seem cheap. Only the lofty peonies can attract everyone's attention. Does elder sister think these are lies? But what are lies? In the past, it was Ning'er and Chan'er who were too reckless and not qualified to be the crown princess. Now..."
"Now although he is not the crown prince, who knows if he will be the crown prince in the future? How could Ning'er, who is so reckless, be qualified?" The princess's tone was calm. Her words were self - deprecating, but there was not a single bit of meaning to belittle Lu Wanning.
The queen covered her chest, and tears slowly welled up in her eyes, "Elder sister, you said I have been the queen for twenty - four years, but I have always remembered that you are my elder sister. Now the He family is disliked by the emperor. If we don't unite as one, won't we be devoured by others?"
The princess smiled lightly, "Devoured by others? You are the queen. If you just be a good queen, how could you be devoured? Linlang, elder sister advises you to think carefully. Don't be blinded by power and desire."