manynovel Chapter 35 Princess Changning
Chapter 35 Princess Changning
The eldest princess coldly watched Consort An's departing figure. She wanted to see if taking Princess Hejing away from Consort An would make Duke An teach An Qingyan a lesson.
No sooner had Consort An left than Princess Changning, dressed in a red gown, rushed in, asking, "Aunt, where's my cousin? Didn't she come to the palace with you?"
The Empress frowned: "Changning, where has your manners gone?"
Princess Changning's face stiffened, and she obediently greeted the eldest princess: "Changning greets her aunt."
The eldest princess touched her hair and smiled, "We're family, no need to be so formal. Jing'er and the Zuo family's daughter made plans to go to the Plum Garden for a hot spring bath. I'll bring her to the palace to see you another day."
Princess Changning's pupils dilated, her expression one of betrayal: "My two older cousins went out to play without me?"
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. She looked at the Empress and said, "Mother, I also want to go to the Plum Garden to soak in the hot springs."
Meiyuan was originally an imperial estate, and Princess Changning once went there to soak in the hot springs.
The Empress refused: "No! It's almost lunchtime, it's too late."
Princess Changning threw herself into the Empress's arms and said coquettishly, "Mother, I want to go! I haven't seen my cousin in so long, I miss her so much."
The Empress remained unmoved, coldly scoffing, "Don't even think about it!"
Princess Changning was only eight years old; how could the Empress possibly feel at ease letting her go outside the city alone?
Princess Changning, seeing that all her pleading and cajoling were useless, stamped her foot and ran away.
The eldest princess was somewhat embarrassed, almost forgetting that Princess Changning was just as difficult to deal with as Pei Rujing.
……
The troublesome Princess Changning was not one to give up easily. She ran out of Fengyi Palace and headed straight for Emperor Shun'an's Linhua Palace.
After being informed by the eunuch and granted permission to enter the palace, Princess Changning ran directly to the steps, tugged at Emperor Shun'an's sleeve, and said coquettishly, "Father, my cousins Anhe and Xuan went to the Plum Garden to soak in the hot springs, and they didn't take me. I want to go too."
Emperor Shun'an knew that Princess Changning wouldn't come to the palace without a reason, so he looked at her with a smile and asked, "What did your mother say?"
Princess Changning's eyes flickered. She wanted to lie to Emperor Shun'an and say that the Empress had agreed, but she was also afraid that the Empress would hold her accountable later. So she said pitifully, "The Empress Dowager does not agree."
Emperor Shun'an shrugged: "Then we can't go."
Princess Changning could not agree: "Father, Mother is just worried about me. Why don't you just send more guards to protect me? When we get to Plum Garden, both of my cousins will be there. What is there to worry about!"
Emperor Shun'an remained silent.
Princess Changning grew anxious: "Why don't you have my brother take me?"
Emperor Shun'an glared at her: "Absurd!"
Even though the crown prince is only fourteen years old, he is still a boy and cannot go along.
Princess Changning scrunched up her little face and twisted her body, unwilling to give up: "Father Emperor~"
Emperor Shun'an's head ached from being shaken so much, and he said helplessly, "Your mother's concerns are not unfounded; you are still too young. However, I heard that your aunt is in Fengyi Palace. If your aunt agrees to take you there, I will send someone to escort you."
Princess Changning was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Thank you, Father Emperor."
Having received Emperor Shun'an's promise, Princess Changning quickly left Linhua Palace.
Emperor Shun'an shook his head: "I wonder who he takes after, with his impulsive and fiery personality."
Neither he nor the Empress were such unconventional people.
Zhou Wangliang laughed and said, "Princess Changning is the life of the party in the palace."
Emperor Shun'an smiled and said, "That's true."
……
Princess Changning returned to Fengyi Palace, put her hands on her hips, and said triumphantly, "Father Emperor has agreed to let me go to Plum Garden."
The Empress refused to believe it: "Impossible."
"My daughter would never lie."
The Empress asked skeptically, "Really?"
Princess Changning ran to the eldest princess's side and took her arm: "Father Emperor asked my aunt to take me there."
The Empress squinted at her: "Are you sure you want your aunt to take you, and not that you have to beg your aunt to take you?"
No one knows a daughter better than her mother!
The Empress seized upon the loophole in Princess Changning's words.
Princess Changning smiled sweetly and said, "It's all the same! My aunt will definitely take me, right?"
Seeing her ingratiating manner, the eldest princess laughed heartily: "Changning is such a good girl, your aunt will definitely take you there."
Since Consort An has already been taught a lesson, and the Princess has nothing else to do, it would be nice for her to go to the Plum Garden for a soak in the hot springs.
The Empress sighed helplessly, "You silly girl! I'm so sorry to trouble you, elder sister."
Princess Changning's personality is also due to the Empress's doting on her. Seeing that her daughter really wanted to go, the Empress couldn't bear to disappoint her.
With the eldest princess looking after her, the empress can feel more at ease.
The eldest princess waved her hand: "I feel close to Changning when I see her."
Princess Changning sweetly replied, "I also feel that my aunt is very close to me."
These words amused both the Empress and the Eldest Princess.
Like Pei Rujing, she can be annoying, making you want to teach her a lesson, but when she's sweet-talking, she can always make people happy.
Since it was lunchtime, the eldest princess decided to have lunch at Fengyi Palace before going to Meiyuan Garden.
At lunchtime, the Crown Prince went to Fengyi Palace to have lunch with the Empress.
The Crown Prince is fourteen years old this year, and Emperor Shun'an has begun to let him get involved in court affairs. Now he goes to the cabinet every day to see how the Grand Secretaries handle government affairs.
During the morning court session, the crown prince would also attend and listen in.
Looking at the Crown Prince, whose face was still youthful but whose demeanor was becoming increasingly composed, the Eldest Princess exclaimed, "The Crown Prince is already a grown man."
Her second son, who is already of age, still looks rather simple-minded. He's grown taller over the years, but his brain hasn't developed at all.
The eldest princess felt a headache just thinking about it.
She didn't even know what kind of wife to find for Pei Shirong.
The Empress was also very satisfied with her son, but she complained, "He's not a grown-up anymore. He's always talking about politics and the people. I don't even have time to have a private conversation with him."
"The crown prince is the heir apparent to the throne and will inherit the throne in the future. It would be a blessing for the people if he were to govern diligently."
Princess Changning paid no attention to the conversation between the eldest princess and the empress. She quietly moved her chair closer to the crown prince and whispered boasting to him, "Brother, after my meal, I'm going to the Plum Garden to soak in the hot springs with my aunt. Father Emperor has given his permission."
The crown prince glanced at her but said nothing.
"But Plum Garden is outside the city. Has Your Majesty not been there this year?"
Seeing her smug look, the Crown Prince said calmly, "If you say another word, I'm afraid you won't be able to go."
Princess Changning instinctively covered her mouth.
The next moment, Princess Changning realized her mistake and her face turned red: "You stinky royal brother, you just want to scare me!"
Over the years, Princess Changning has never gotten the better of the Crown Prince. She is both incompetent and loves to play around, and she always takes the initiative to provoke him.
The crown prince asked him, "Is Cousin Anhe going too?"
Princess Changning was taken aback: "How did you know, Your Majesty?"
She didn't mention her cousin at all.
The crown prince scoffed, "Because I have a brain!"
His silly younger sister is just like her cousin Anhe, always following her around. The fact that she managed to get the Emperor to agree to let her go to the Plum Garden must be because her cousin Anhe went there.
The crown prince could guess it with just a little thought.
Princess Changning felt humiliated again. She glared at the Crown Prince in anger and muttered bad things about him, determined to ignore him for the rest of the day.