When Jiang Rongyin returned to Guanghua Palace, Baoyin lifted her skirt and saw the bruises on her knees, which made her even angrier.
“Okay, go get the medicine.”
Jiang Rongyin smiled and pinched Bao Yin’s puffed-up little face.
She could just bear with it a little longer, and once the Yan Archery Banquet was held, she could leave this place.
Bao Yin nodded and got up to get the medicine for his injuries.
At this moment, in Kunning Palace, Jiang Yun sat to the side, looking at Empress Wei’s angry face, and asked knowingly, “Why is Mother so angry?”
Jiang Yun picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Hearing Jiang Yun’s question, Empress Wei said, “I kindly wanted to find a husband for Jiang Rongyin, but she is unwilling to marry.”
In fact, when Jiang Yun entered Kunning Palace and saw Jiang Rongyin being punished by kneeling, he already understood what had happened.
I thought that given Empress Wei’s dislike for Jiang Rongyin, the Emperor would be the one to address this matter.
The emperor treated Jiang Rongyin fairly well; if she refused the marriage, he wouldn’t be too harsh on her.
Unexpectedly, it was Empress Wei who delivered the message.
“For her sake, the Empress Dowager wouldn’t have gone to such lengths.”
“The Empress Dowager doesn’t like her. After some time, we’ll find an excuse to send her away.”
Jiang Yun said it casually, as if Jiang Rongyin were something that could be easily dismissed.
However, Jiang Yun’s words made Empress Wei, who was in a bad mood, feel much better.
“I’m afraid she might have some inappropriate thoughts.”
After all, having spent so long in the palace and enjoyed wealth and luxury, would they really want to leave?
“I will handle this matter; Mother need not be angry because of her.”
Jiang Yun put down her teacup and replied, and Empress Wei nodded.
“Speaking of which, the portrait of the Crown Princess will be sent to the palace in a couple of days. Chengyun, you should choose carefully then.”
When it came to Jiang Yun’s marriage, Empress Wei’s attitude was completely different.
Jiang Yun didn’t say much.
It doesn’t matter to him who becomes the Crown Princess; what matters is that Jiang Rongyin must stay by his side.
After speaking with Empress Wei, Jiang Yun got up and left.
Watching Jiang Yun’s retreating figure, Empress Wei took a deep breath.
“His Highness the Crown Prince is filial and listens to His Highness in everything. Why is His Highness still sighing and complaining?”
Aunt Zhong stepped forward and poured Empress Wei a cup of tea, speaking with a smile.
Empress Wei shook her head slightly: “But I always feel that he is somewhat distant from me.”
Jiang Yun didn’t need her to worry about anything; the emperor liked him, and the court officials respected him.
But it was precisely this easygoing nature that made Empress Wei feel that Jiang Yun treated everyone with such indifference.
Neither cold nor warm, it was as if they were isolating themselves from the group.
“A son is naturally different from a wife, and besides, Your Highness is not a three-year-old child. Being proper and measured is the mark of a crown prince.”
After Aunt Zhong offered a word of advice, Empress Wei replied, “I hope so.”
Hopefully, she’s not overthinking it.
After applying the medicine, Jiang Rongyin lay down on the bed and had just fallen asleep when she seemed to hear footsteps.
Then, the bed dipped slightly as the person lifted her skirt.
She suddenly opened her eyes and saw Jiang Yun’s profile.
“Who taught you to cover your wound with a skirt?”
The applied ointment was all rubbed off by the skirt.
Hearing Jiang Yun’s words, Jiang Rongyin turned her head away. She’s gotten used to sleeping in her clothes now.
She was afraid that Jiang Yun would sneak in in the middle of the night, or that he would send someone to look for her.
“Wronged?”
Jiang Yun withdrew his hand and looked at Jiang Rongyin, who had turned her head away and remained silent.
“I’m not wronged.”
Jiang Rongyin replied in a muffled voice. How could she dare to feel wronged? Even the eunuchs and maids in the palace could cry when they were punished.
She was punished, and could only swallow her pain and blood.
Feeling wronged and sad is something you show to the people you care about.
Nobody cared; even if I cried until my throat was hoarse, nobody paid attention.
Jiang Yun leaned over and pinched Jiang Rongyin’s chin: “You’ve been very well-behaved these past few days.”
The kitten, which had been baring its claws, now retracted them and looked rather pitiful.
“Your leg is injured, so you don’t need to go to the Arrow Pavilion anymore.”
Jiang Rongyin’s chin was held by Jiang Yun, her amber eyes clear as water.
Her eyes immediately welled up with tears after hearing those words.
They wouldn’t let her go to the Academy of Knowledge, and now they don’t even want her to go to the Arrow Pavilion.
Could Jiang Yun be planning to keep her under house arrest in Guanghua Palace before the Yan Archery Banquet?
“I understand, I will stay in Guanghua Hall properly.”
A tear fell onto Jiang Yun’s finger.
The man’s eyes were deep, but he still wiped away her tears with his fingertips: “Aren’t you going to the Academy?”
“Your Highness has agreed?”
Jiang Rongyin, who had just been feeling wronged, suddenly widened her eyes.
“Um.”
He withdrew his hand, seemingly disgusted by her tears.
Jiang Rongyin reached out and, with a hint of flattery, wiped his fingers with her sleeve.
“Who do you think is the best candidate for Crown Princess?”
Jiang Yun suddenly asked a question, and as he spoke, he took off his coat and pulled the person into his arms.
“What right do I have to choose Your Highness’s Crown Princess?”
She paused for a moment, then replied with this sentence after realizing what she meant.
The selection of the Crown Princess is the Emperor and Empress’s business, with the Ministry of Rites also helping with the selection; she has no right to interfere.
Or is it that, given her position, she would have to choose a dignified and generous matriarch for herself?
“You want to be a mistress for life?”
Jiang Yun held her hand; the woman’s ten delicate fingers were like warm, smooth jade.
However, there is a slight flaw: she has calluses on her fingers.
He never intended for Jiang Rongyin to be his mistress for life.
However, before he ascended the throne, Jiang Rongyin could only stay outside.
Once he ascends the throne and holds great power, he will naturally have a way to change Jiang Rongyin’s identity and bring her back into the palace.
Only those who can tolerate Jiang Rongyin as the crown princess are within Jiang Yun’s consideration range.
After all, Jiang Yun had been raising this canary for so long, and she had no intention of letting her go.
They are the people with the deepest bonds in the world.
No one can escape.
“What does Your Highness mean by that?”
Jiang Rongyin asked cautiously, “Why does Jiang Yun seem to have other plans, judging from his words?”
“Literal meaning.”
He didn’t reply to her; instead, he closed his eyes.
Jiang Rongyin couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, and her heart was beating faster and faster.
…
At this moment, in the residence of the Minister of Rites, Qin Shiyan was kneeling in the main hall, while his father held a rattan whip and lashed it hard on his back.
“You dare disobey His Majesty’s decree?”
Hearing his father’s furious voice, Qin Shiyan turned pale and clenched his fists.
Sweat dripped from his forehead as he said, “Of course I dare not disobey His Majesty’s decree, for I carry the weight of the entire Qin family on my shoulders.”
“He wants me to marry Chu Qingyin and give up Ayin. I accept it.”
“But I want to join the army, why won’t my father allow it?”
Qin Shiyan looked up at the Qin family members seated above him, his face filled with sorrow, as if he were about to cry.
It’s because he’s incompetent; it’s because he can’t protect Ayin.
“Shut up! How dare you mention the Ninth Princess’s name!”
Qin’s father looked around and scoffed, “Why has Qin Shiyan fallen to this state? Isn’t it because he demanded to marry the Ninth Princess?”
But Qin’s father really didn’t understand. Given the Ninth Princess’s current awkward position in the palace, wouldn’t it be just what he wanted for her to get married?
Why did His Highness the Crown Prince have to scheme against Qin Shiyan in this way?
Qin Shiyan smiled bitterly; he hadn’t fallen to this state because he wanted to marry Ayin.
Jiang Yun is simply a beast!
I remember that day, when Jiang Yun had someone force him to kneel in the rain.
The man sat on his horse, holding an umbrella, and looked at Qin Shiyan with a stern and contemptuous gaze.
‘I have never failed to get what I wanted.’
‘Jiang Rongyin, even if you die, you must die by my side, understand?’