latelenovela Chapter 432 The Princess's Maid (36)
Chapter 432 The Princess's Maid (36)
When the man saw Yue Zeyuan and Qi Ning, he walked straight toward them.
Upon approaching, he bowed and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty and Consort Ning."
"Get up," Yue Zeyuan said.
"Thank you, Brother Huang."
Yue Zeyuan said to Qi Ning, "This is Prince Rui."
Qi Ning understood and nodded slightly.
When Yue Zeyuan seized the throne, there were two princes who were in his faction.
One is Prince Heng, Yue Zeheng, the one to whom Yue Zeyuan bestowed the beauty of Li Kingdom upon him during the last Emperor's birthday celebration. I've heard he's quite the ladies' man.
The other one is Prince Rui, Yue Zerui, who is the youngest of the three brothers.
Yue Zerui saw Yue Zeyuan introducing him to Qi Ning, as if afraid she wouldn't recognize him.
He laughed and said, "Brother, when did you become so considerate?"
I had met Consort Ning, Yue Zerui, once before, from afar, at the Emperor's birthday banquet.
After the Emperor's birthday celebration, Yue Zerui was already surprised to hear that Consort Ning had suddenly gained the Emperor's favor.
Seeing her up close today, I can confirm that Consort Ning is indeed a beauty.
However, his elder brother had seen many beautiful women before, so how could he be bewitched by a mere appearance?
Moreover, Consort Ning was a princess sent by the Chu Kingdom for a political marriage.
Logically speaking, even if her elder brother doted on her, he shouldn't have gone so far as to postpone the imperial concubine selection for her.
Unless, this Consort Ning has some other special abilities.
Yue Zerui looked at Qi Ning with a mixture of curiosity and inquiry.
Yue Zeyuan noticed Yue Zerui's gaze, and his expression immediately turned cold.
He pulled Qi Ning back slightly, hiding her behind him.
"Speak, what do you want with me?"
Yue Zerui withdrew his gaze, lowered his eyes and smiled, then said seriously, "Your Majesty, I came to attend my aunt's birthday banquet today. I heard that Your Majesty is also here. I happen to have something I would like to discuss with Your Majesty, so I came to find you. May I speak with Your Majesty in private?"
Upon hearing this, Yue Zeyuan glanced at Qi Ning.
Qi Ning said at the right moment, "Your Majesty and the Prince, please continue your conversation. I'll go take a stroll elsewhere."
This was the first time Yue Zeyuan had heard her refer to herself as "your concubine." It seemed that she still knew how to give him face in front of outsiders, and a smile appeared in Yue Zeyuan's eyes.
He said gently, "Alright, then you can take a walk around the neighborhood. I'll come find you later."
"Yes."
After saying that, Qi Ning left with his men.
Yue Zeyuan watched her leave.
"Brother, Consort Ning has already gone far away, are you still looking?" Yue Zerui teased.
Yue Zeyuan glared at him, his attitude completely different from how he had treated Qi Ning earlier: "Speak quickly if you have something to say."
Qi Ning did not bring Yulan with her this time, but only brought Yun Jing, a senior palace maid and another junior palace maid.
She led the two of them toward the lake.
Seeing that she was far away from Yue Zeyuan and the others, Yun Jing said to another palace maid, "You should stay out of the way for a while. I have something to say to Her Majesty."
"Sister Yutao, this..." The little palace maid looked at Qi Ning for instructions.
Qi Ning nodded slightly, and the little palace maid moved away.
"What do you want to say to me?" Qi Ning asked, glancing at Yun Jing.
While in the palace, Yulan always had someone keep an eye on Yun Jing, making it inconvenient for her to speak. Today, Yulan finally didn't come along, giving Yun Jing a chance to speak with Qi Ning alone.
Yun Jing looked around and, seeing that no one was around, asked in a low voice, "Do you know how Shen Yixiao is doing now?"
Qi Ning thought that she sent the little palace maid away because she wanted to talk to her, but it turned out that she was asking about Shen Yixiao's situation.
"How would I know how Shen Yixiao is doing?"
"Can't you ask Yue Zeyuan?"
Since the last time she saw Shen Yixiao, he was taken away by Yue Zeyuan's men and there has been no news of him. Yun Jing was naturally worried about his situation.
Why do I ask?
Yun Jing choked for a moment.
"I know you don't care about Shen Yixiao's situation, but now that you're impersonating me and using my name, shouldn't you at least inquire about his safety?"
Qi Ning laughed: "Are you sure you want me to ask? Don't you think that if I ask, Shen Yixiao's fate will be even worse?"
"But……"
Yun Jing wanted to say something more, but Qi Ning suddenly interrupted her and looked at the artificial hill in front of her.
"Hush! Someone's coming."
Yun Jing shut her mouth and followed Qi Ning's gaze.
Sure enough, she heard voices coming from that direction.
A few moments later, several people emerged from the path behind the artificial hill.
The person in the lead was Chen Tian, whom they had just met. She was followed by several maids as she walked towards them.
Chen Tian was spoiled from childhood and, relying on the favor of Princess Rongchang, had always been somewhat willful and reckless.
Only in front of Princess Rongchang did he restrain himself somewhat.
She had dressed up specially in advance to see Yue Zeyuan, but Yue Zeyuan actually brought Consort Ning to the birthday banquet and didn't even glance at her. How could she accept this?
Although she dared not say much in front of the Grand Princess Rongchang, she naturally couldn't help but complain when the Grand Princess Rongchang was not around.
"I've prepared for nothing today. I really don't know what's so great about that Chu princess..."
As she spoke, she walked towards the lake, thinking there would be no one there. But as soon as they turned out from behind the artificial hill, they saw two figures by the lake.
Chen Tian's words were abruptly cut off.
The two men were looking at her; they had obviously noticed her long ago and heard what she said.
Chen Tian never expected that she would be overheard by Consort Ning herself for simply saying a few words about her behind her back.
"Isn't this Miss Chen? Were you talking about me just now?" Qi Ning asked, raising her eyebrows.
Since Chen Tian thought that she had already been overheard, she simply walked towards Qi Ning.
"So what if it is? I just can't stand you people from Chu. It must be that you used some kind of Chu sorcery to bewitch His Majesty!"
Chen Tian is quite bold. There are many people in the capital who gossip and speculate about this behind Qi Ning's back, but she said it to Qi Ning's face.
Qi Ning was not angered at all; she just found it amusing.
"Is this how Princess Rongchang taught you? Would you dare say those things in front of Princess Rongchang and His Majesty?"
When Chen Tian heard Qi Ning mention Princess Rongchang, her face stiffened.
She remembered what the Grand Princess Rongchang had told her not to offend Consort Ning, lest she displease His Majesty.
The maid behind Chen Tian whispered a reminder to her, "Miss, we should hurry back. The Grand Princess will be looking for you later."
Chen Tian was unhappy and used the excuse of going out to drink to others, as she still needed to go back and accompany Princess Rongchang.
Hearing the maid's words, Chen Tian gripped the handkerchief in her hand tightly.
She snorted coldly, "Let's go."
Unexpectedly, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Chen Tian bumped into Yun Jing, who was standing next to Qi Ning, as she walked over.
Yun Jing's body swayed from the impact.
"you?!"
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