Chapter 316: Conferring the Title of Princess
Chapter 316: Conferring the Title of Princess
Seeing that Prince Nanping listened to Xie Lan's words and instead of reprimanding him, showed a rather interested expression, Xiao Jin's face instantly turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He finally understood how his master felt when Xie Lan was so angry that he flew into a rage. Before they even got married, the junior sister was thinking about divorcing her husband or even marrying him.
"Your Highness, you are worrying too much. The emperor is still healthy and will live another 20 to 30 years. By then, the little princes will have grown up. As for who the emperor will eventually appoint as the crown prince, it is still unknown.
If Xie Lan really doesn't like the capital, I can take her and the child back to Sanqing Mountain after she gives birth. If she wants to go to the south, I can also accompany her. "
After hearing these words, the King of Nanping's expression was obviously much more relaxed. In order to dispel Xie Lan's idea of divorcing her husband, Xiao Jin made a prompt decision and changed the subject.
"You go back to the mansion with the prince first and have a good rest. I will go to the cold pond now to kill the dragon snake. When I come back, I will pass on the spiritual energy to you.
You can take advantage of these few days to check whether the house where we will get married is decorated to your liking. If there is anything you want to change, just tell Yang Feng or the housekeeper, and don't tire yourself out. Remember to have a good rest, and we will get married when I come back."
King Nanping did not know about the spiritual energy yet. When he learned that Xiao Jin went to kill the dragon snake in order to absorb the spiritual energy to help Xie Lan stop vomiting, his dissatisfaction with Xiao Jin instantly disappeared without a trace.
He personally selected a team of armored guards and told his confidant, "Take them with you and go with the eldest prince. Make sure to help the eldest prince kill the dragon snake and return to the capital as soon as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Xiao Jin didn't want to trouble King Nanping at first, but then he thought that killing the dragon snake was not an easy task. It would be a good idea to let the armored guards go with him, so that King Nanping would know his feelings for Xie Lan, so that he wouldn't really think of finding a son-in-law for that girl.
Xie Lan didn't know what Xiao Jin was thinking. She had originally planned to wait for Xiao Jin to kill the dragon snake and then follow him to the cold pond.
But she knew in her heart that now that she was pregnant, neither Xiao Jin nor her father would agree to her taking risks, so she simply stopped talking about it.
It was obvious at first glance that those armored guards were elite soldiers who had experienced many battles. With them following her, she had nothing to worry about.
However, Xie Lan still reminded Xiao Jin, "Although there are armored guards accompanying you, you still have to pay more attention to your safety. I will wait for you to come back."
Xie Lan's words instantly made Xiao Jin feel much better.
Seeing that the King of Nanping was instructing the armored guards, Xiao Jin leaned over and whispered to Xie Lan, "Don't worry, I will definitely come back alive and unharmed, without any broken hands or feet, and I will not give you the chance to divorce me. You and the child will only be mine."
The warm breath sprayed on Xie Lan's ears, instantly making her fair face flush.
Xie Lan raised her eyebrows when she heard the gnashing of teeth in Xiao Jin's words. However, before she could speak, Xiao Jin had already jumped on his horse and galloped away with the team of armored guards.
Recently, many noble families in the capital discovered that the King of Nanping, who had been fighting against bandits in the south for many years and had been very low-key, had suddenly returned to the capital. Moreover, he changed his previous low-key style and began to send out invitations.
Everyone was inevitably curious, and after some inquiries, they found out that the reason why the King of Nanping hosted such a large banquet was that he had found his daughter who had been lost for many years, and he specially held a family reunion banquet for her.
Although the Prince of Nanping was stationed in the south all year round and rarely returned to the capital, he was a close minister of the emperor and was named a king of a different surname 20 years ago. Although he could not walk now, the emperor did not take back his military power and his trust in him remained unchanged.
It was rare for Prince Nanping to hold a banquet, so all the officials in the court who received the invitation happily went to Prince Nanping's palace with their families.
Ever since Prince Nanping recognized Xie Lan, he wanted to bring all the good things in the world to her in order to make up for his guilt and love for her.
Not only was the most exquisite and quiet courtyard in the palace allocated to her to live in, but the warehouse was also opened wide, and all kinds of rare treasures that the emperor had previously rewarded her were moved to her courtyard for her to use as decorations.
She even asked her housekeeper to invite several of the most famous embroiderers in Kyoto to come to her house, and they made more than a dozen boxes of dresses for Xie Lan. She also had countless jewelry and head ornaments, which filled up the Qinghe Residence where Xie Lan lived.
Seeing that the only people serving Xie Lan were Nanny Zhang and Tiechui, Prince Nanping went to the palace and asked the emperor for a group of well-trained maids and nannies to serve her.
Xie Lan never cared about material possessions, but since the disappearance of Princess Nanping, the King of Nanping has been living in guilt. Now he wants to compensate Princess Nanping for all his deep affection and love for her.
It was only when Xie Lan returned to the Nanping Palace that she realized that the Nanping King had only married her mother. Moreover, after so many years, he had never had another woman by his side.
Now, Prince Nanping's mind is completely focused on Xie Lan. He even asked his butler to inquire about the famous noble ladies in Kyoto. Whatever they have, Prince Nanping will prepare a portion for his daughter. If they don't have anything, he will rack his brains to find it, just to make Xie Lan smile.
Xie Lan mentioned it several times, but seeing that Prince Nanping insisted on compensating her, she had no choice but to go along with him.
On the day of the banquet, Xie Lan got up early in the morning. After finishing her meal, four personal maids began to help her dress up. In order to make a splash at the banquet, several maids selected pearls and jade, and matched clothes. It took them an hour to help her dress up. Afterwards, they surrounded her like stars surrounding the moon and went to the flower hall for the reception.
There were palace maids and nannies from the palace, as well as a housekeeper and a bunch of servants and old women from the palace. Xie Lan didn't need to worry about the banquet at all. She just had to sit in her seat and chat and laugh with the ladies.
In the flower hall, the ladies and girls were surrounding Xie Lan and flattering her. Suddenly, Zhao Wenyu, the eldest daughter of the Cheng'en Marquis's mansion, said with disdain, "Miss Xie, you are obviously the daughter of Lord Xie, how did you suddenly become the daughter of the King of Nanping? Did you use some shameful means to deceive the King of Nanping and pretend to be his daughter?"
As soon as Zhao Wenyu said this, the bustling flower hall suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Xie Lan glanced at Zhao Wenyu, who looked jealous and indignant, and said calmly, "It was Director Gong who did the blood test for my father and I. Miss Zhao, do you think Director Gong is a liar? Or do you think the emperor is not good at judging people, allowing a mediocre doctor to serve as the director of the Imperial Hospital?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone gasped. Zhao Wenyu's face turned pale in an instant, and he glared at Xie Lan, "We are talking about your business now, why are you bringing up Gong Yuanzheng and the emperor?"
The Princess of Shouguang rolled her eyes at Zhao Wenyu and said to her bluntly, "Gong Yuanzheng is the pillar of the Imperial Hospital and has superb medical skills. He has already proved that Xie Lan is the daughter of the Prince of Nanping. You said that Xie Lan pretended to be the daughter of the Prince of Nanping. Isn't that tantamount to questioning Gong Yuanzheng's medical skills?
Don't you know that Gong Yuanzheng was appointed by the emperor himself? If you question Gong Yuanzheng, aren't you questioning the emperor? "
As soon as Shouguang County Lady finished speaking, Aunt Zhang walked into the flower hall with a happy face and said respectfully, "My dear, the emperor has issued an imperial decree to confer you the title of Princess Changning. The prince has ordered you to go to the front yard immediately to receive the decree."