Chapter 259: It's Hard to Find
The fourth prince, Teng Yaogeng, was also very dissatisfied with the arranged marriage.
The fourth prince clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he said, "It would have been fine if the emperor had given Zhao Yanran to the prince, but I didn't expect that he would also give him the princess of the Canglang Kingdom. The prince has suddenly gained the support of the Zhao family and the Canglang Kingdom, which will give him even more power in the future."
The Fourth Prince's staff suggested, "Fourth Prince, the only solution now is to capture Miss Qian as soon as possible. General Qian commands 100,000 soldiers from the Qian family. If you marry Qian Yuying and have General Qian as your father-in-law, you will be able to fight against the Crown Prince in the future."
"You are right. Send someone to find out what Miss Qian likes. This prince cannot lose the support of the Qian family again."
"Yes."
The Fourth Prince went to the Qian family for several days in a row, but unfortunately, General Qian was there, so he didn't even get to see Qian Yuying.
The Fourth Prince was quite annoyed by General Qian's stubborn attitude.
Qian Yuying is still fantasizing about marrying the prince.
Soon the day of the palace flower viewing party arrived, and Qian Yuying dressed up beautifully to attend the flower viewing banquet.
Zhao Yanran and the Princess of Canglang Kingdom, who had not gone out for many days, both showed up. Both of them were wearing wigs. Due to their identities, no one dared to say anything in front of them.
As the princess of the county, Qianhuan naturally also participated in the flower-viewing banquet, but the prince did not come this time.
Because the prince was sent by the emperor to Youzhou to suppress bandits. Originally, it would be enough to send a small general to suppress bandits. There was no need for a great war god to take action.
In fact, this matter was all Concubine Xue's idea. She deliberately advised the emperor to send the prince to Youzhou to suppress the bandits.
Concubine Xue knew that the Crown Prince had a very powerful doctor named Bai by his side. If she presented elixirs to the Emperor, she must not let the Crown Prince know about it.
It takes two months to travel from the capital to Youzhou and back. In addition, due to the delay in suppressing bandits, it will take the prince another three months to return on horseback.
By the time the Crown Prince returned to Beijing, the Emperor had already become dependent on elixirs. By that time, even if the Crown Prince discovered it, it would be too late.
In the palace, all the women who came to attend the flower-viewing banquet dressed up beautifully, hoping to be noticed by some prince or nobleman.
Qianhuan felt that this flower-viewing event was more like a blind date event. She found it extremely boring, so she just found a quiet rockery to hide from the crowd.
At this moment, she was lying on a stone with her eyes closed, and suddenly she felt a shadow covering her head. Qianhuan opened her eyes immediately.
Seeing the man in front of her, Qianhuan was so shocked that she sat up immediately.
The man above her head smiled and said to her in a teasing tone, "Miss Hongyu, how are you?"
Hearing this name, Qianhuan felt a moment of panic in her heart.
That day at the cultural exchange conference among several countries, when Qianhuan saw the third prince of Canglang Kingdom, she knew that he was the man who broke into her room in Xunfang Pavilion at night.
That day in the hall, he did not show any abnormality when he saw her. Qianhuan thought he did not recognize her, but she didn't expect that she miscalculated.
Qianhuan smiled calmly and replied, "The Third Prince of Canglang Nation may have recognized the wrong person. My name is Liang Qianhuan, and I am the Princess Jingrou appointed by His Majesty himself, not Miss Hongyu."
Qi Beiming smiled evilly and asked, "Isn't the county lady from Qingxi County?"
Qianhuan didn't expect that he would find out her background so quickly. "So what if I'm from Qingxi County?"
"Since you are from Qingxi County, I will not make a mistake. The princess promised to be my concubine half a year ago, but you made my search very difficult."
No, I would never admit that I was the one that night.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I will never be anyone's concubine in my life. Your Highness must have recognized the wrong person. I still have to go enjoy the flowers, so I will leave first."
Qianhuan stood up and walked towards the garden, but Qi Beiming stretched out a hand to block her way.
Qianhuan turned around and looked at him, "What do you mean, Your Highness?"
Qi Beiming held Qianhuan against the rockery with both hands. He lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "This prince has finally found you. I will never let you escape again. Princess Jingrou might as well consider marrying this prince."
Qianhuan refused directly, "This county lady already has a man she likes, so Your Highness should just give up on this idea."
After saying that, she pushed Qi Beiming away and went towards the flower-viewing banquet. She just wanted to get away from this dangerous man as soon as possible.
Qi Beiming looked at her back, his eyes revealing a determined look.
Aunt Tong used some connections to buy off a young palace maid for Qian Yuying at a high price.
When the time was right, Qian Yuying winked at the palace maid, and the palace maid deliberately bumped into the prince while carrying tea, spilling the tea all over him.
The prince's personal eunuch angrily shouted, "You bold servant, you actually offended His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Do you want to die?"
The little maid quickly knelt down and begged for mercy, "Please spare my life, Your Majesty. I didn't mean it."
The prince always valued his reputation for benevolence. He waved his hand and said, "No problem. I brought spare clothes with me. Just go to the men's room and change into a new set."
The little palace maid immediately said, "Your Highness, I will take you there."
"Okay, Nayu, you lead the way."
Seeing that the plan was almost successful, Qian Yuying quickly followed secretly.
The little palace maid led the prince to a side room and left. Although she received a lot of money from Qian Yuying, she only agreed to be responsible for leading His Royal Highness the Crown Prince here. As for other things, she did not dare to agree to them casually.
As soon as the prince entered the room, he took off his wet clothes. Qian Yuying quickly blew the medicine on her body through the crack in the door through a bamboo tube.
Colorless and odorless smoke blew into the room, and the prince fainted.
When Qian Yuying heard the sound of the prince falling to the ground, she was delighted and immediately opened the door and walked in.
She called out tentatively, "Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
Unfortunately, she was knocked out just as she opened her mouth.
When she woke up again, Qian Yuying was lying in the arms of the Fourth Prince, all wet. Many women around her looked at Qian Yuying with jealousy, they wished they were the ones who fell into the water.
The Fourth Prince is the second most handsome man in the capital. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already been granted a marriage, and many ladies from aristocratic families have set their sights on the Fourth Prince, who is highly favored by the Emperor.
Who would have thought that Qian Yuying would snatch the advantage again? These girls are heartbroken.
Sure enough, after His Majesty learned that Miss Qian fell into the water and was rescued by the Fourth Prince, he immediately issued an imperial decree to the Qian Mansion to grant her marriage.
The Imperial Astronomical Observatory calculated an auspicious day, and His Majesty had the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince's wedding date set for next month.
The Crown Prince is the elder brother, and his wedding date is ten days earlier than the Fourth Prince.
General Qian didn't expect that despite all his precautions, he would eventually be connected with the royal family.
Qian Yuying was filled with disappointment when she knew that she was given to the Fourth Prince.
She said in confusion, "Mom, I had already entered that room, why did I fall into the water?"
"Yuying, since the imperial decree for marriage has been issued, you don't have to worry about it. Being the Fourth Prince's consort is also good."
"But mother, the person my daughter has always wanted to marry is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I have never thought of marrying the Fourth Prince."
Aunt Tong was very happy, "Yuying, tell me the truth, do you really like the Crown Prince, or do you want to marry him because you want to be the Queen?"
Qian Yuying did not hide her ambition in front of her mother, "Mother, of course I want to be the queen."
"Since you want to be the queen, then the Fourth Prince might be a better choice. Although the Crown Prince is the candidate for the heir, the Fourth Prince is also quite favored by the emperor, and I heard that the Fourth Prince has many supporters in the court. It is still unknown who will ascend the throne in the future."
"Mother, you are right. I will listen to you and assist the Fourth Prince in the future and help him seize the throne."