12dz Chapter 37 When it comes to pursuing a lover, who cares if it's a legitimate method or not?
Chapter 37 When it comes to pursuing a lover, who cares if it's a legitimate method or not?
A marriage by imperial decree was out of the question; Empress Dowager Cheng simply couldn't be bothered with her anymore.
Anyway, she had already explained the reasons, but Princess Huizhen herself wouldn't listen. If she really had to be sent to a marriage alliance, it would be her own fault. No wonder her mother, the Empress, abandoned her for the sake of the country.
"Alright, I'm going to rest for a bit. If any noblewomen come to see me, I should receive them on my behalf."
"Yes."
After giving these instructions, Empress Dowager Cheng went to her palace to rest.
Lu Qiao stepped forward to help Qin Yizhen up. She had been kneeling for a while, and Qin Yizhen's legs were still a little weak when she first got up. She pressed Lu Qiao's hand on hers with a bit of force.
Princess Huizhen snorted twice at Qin Yizhen, looking annoyed. She was about to say something sarcastic when she suddenly thought of something, her eyes darted around, and she leaned forward.
"Third Sister..."
Qin Yizhen shuddered, and goosebumps immediately appeared on her skin.
"Please speak frankly, Your Majesty."
Why are you calling me "Third Sister"? When have you ever been so polite? It makes me feel like the sky is falling.
Very scary.
Princess Huizhen smiled and said, "It's nothing. Isn't this Xie Zhan? My elder sister would like you to help me write a letter to him."
Qin Yizhen frowned in confusion: "Why do you want me to write a letter to him?"
"Of course it's because——"
"Ahem!" Granny Jin coughed heavily, interrupting Princess Huizhen's words.
Everyone looked over.
Granny Jin stepped forward and bowed, then said to Princess Huizhen, "Princess, this is inappropriate. Young Master Xie is an outsider, how can my princess write a letter to him? If the Marquis finds out, he will surely be angry."
"It would be one thing if the Marquis were angry with my princess, but if he found out it was your idea and took his anger out on you, that would be terrible..."
Princess Huizhen shuddered upon hearing this, recalling Cheng Yan's dark expression, and hesitated immediately.
Qin Huizhen was fearless, except for her mother and uncle. If her uncle got angry, she might be punished terribly.
She hesitated for a long time, but when she thought of Xie Zhan's handsome face, she still couldn't bear to give up.
So she stepped forward, took Qin Yizhen's hand, and whispered to her, "Why don't you help me this once, little sister? This matter is between you and me, and we can keep it from my uncle, right?"
That's it, as long as we don't let my uncle know, it'll be fine, right?
Princess Huizhen's heart immediately stirred again.
Qin Yizhen frowned slightly: "It's not that I don't want to help you, but my elder sister needs to tell me what exactly you want to do by writing a letter to Young Master Xie?"
"Sigh, what else can we do!" Princess Huizhen whispered in her ear, "You know I like Xie Zhan, but he just ignores me. You write him a letter to ask him out, and I'll go to the appointment."
"No." Qin Yizhen shook her head and refused as soon as she heard this. "Wouldn't that be deceiving Young Master Xie? Besides, I have no relation to Young Master Xie. Even if I wrote a letter, Young Master Xie wouldn't come."
"If Your Highness truly likes Young Master Xie, then you should think of some proper ways to win him over."
Princess Huizhen looked at Qin Yizhen as if she were a fool: "How is this improper? When it comes to pursuing a husband, as long as it works, who cares if it's a proper method!"
In this respect, Princess Huizhen truly lived up to her reputation as Cheng Yan's niece. She was thinking about everything along the way, regardless of whether it was proper or honorable, as long as it was useful.
Qin Yizhen disagreed with her behavior: "If it's up to you, I'll naturally wish you all the best. As for what method you use, I can't control that. But if you ask me to help you deceive Young Master Xie, I won't agree."
She wouldn't stop Hye-jin from pursuing the man she liked, but she also had her own principles.
Princess Huizhen got angry as soon as she heard this. She reached out and poked Qin Yizhen's head hard: "Are you a blockhead? I'm your elder sister. What's wrong with you helping me?"
"No."
"I've tried everything to persuade you, but you just won't listen. What, you're not even giving me any face anymore? Are you trying to force me to fight you?"
Seeing that she was still talking, Qin Yizhen simply covered her ears, pretending that she hadn't heard anything.
Princess Huizhen was so angry that she was about to roll up her sleeves.
Those nearby quickly stepped forward to separate the two. Just then, a palace maid came to report that a noblewoman had come to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, which finally relieved Qin Yizhen of her predicament.
Princess Huizhen didn't want to deal with these people, so she angrily turned and left, saying, "You go and see them for your mother. I'm leaving."
Qin Yizhen breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her leave quickly.
Granny Jin reminded her, "Princess, you must not agree to Princess Huizhen's request. The Empress Dowager has also said that the Xie family is complicated, and it may not be good for Princess Huizhen to marry into it. If you agree, and Princess Huizhen does not live well in the future, your guilt will be great."
Qin Yizhen hadn't thought that much about it, but upon hearing this, she was startled and secretly glad that she hadn't agreed: "What Granny Jin said makes sense, I certainly won't agree."
Granny Gui opened her mouth as if to say something, but Granny Jin glanced at her and immediately fell silent.
"Let's go to the side hall and greet the ladies on behalf of the Empress Dowager."
After catching her breath, Qin Yizhen led the group to the side hall. Soon after, palace maids led in several noble ladies and young women.
Qin Yizhen saw that there were two ladies, each with a little girl who looked to be around ten years old, and smiled knowingly.
"Your humble servant greets Your Highness, may Your Highness be blessed."
"Please rise, everyone." Qin Yizhen invited them to sit down, and then ordered tea to be served, saying as she did so.
"The Empress Dowager just returned from the Taiji Palace not long ago. There will be a palace banquet later, so she will go and rest for a while. However, the Empress Dowager also guessed that you all might come, so she asked me to wait here. We must not neglect you."
"Thank you, Empress Dowager, thank you, Princess." The ladies expressed their gratitude in unison.
One of them said, "It was our oversight that we almost disturbed the Empress Dowager's rest. However, my daughter has heard of the Empress Dowager's great reputation and greatly admires her. She wanted to get closer to see the Empress Dowager's appearance, so she came to Xingning Palace to pay her respects."
"Since the Empress Dowager is resting, it is her honor to pay her respects to the princess. Yutong, quickly step forward and greet the princess."
The speaker, the wife of the Marquis of Wu'an, was about forty years old. Her husband's surname was Zhao, and Zhao Yutong was her youngest daughter, who was only eleven years old this year.
As soon as Lady Wu'an finished speaking, a young girl dressed in a peach-pink spring dress with gold embroidery of twin lotus blossoms stepped forward to pay her respects.
"Yutong greets the princess and wishes her good health."
The young girl wore a flowing, pleated skirt that trailed on the ground, her hair styled in a tassel bun, simply adorned with a gold hairpin featuring twin lotus blossoms, and accented with turquoise and tourmaline. Though not extravagant, her attire was nonetheless dignified and appropriate.
Although her features were not exceptionally beautiful, she was still elegant and dignified, with a graceful demeanor.
She is indeed a beauty.
Qin Yizhen suddenly remembered that this seemed to be Emperor Jing'an's empress.