My Lord, the princess doesn't want you anymore.

royal palace.

The Queen Mother did not wait for Princess Pingjin to cry, make a fuss, or even hang herself, which made her even more worried.

The child was only fourteen years old. She had always been well-behaved and considerate. The Queen Mother could not bear to send her to Xiling to marry.

But she also knew that the emperor had no choice but to do so, and he must have felt extremely uncomfortable when he made this decision.

"Madam Kuang, please help me go to Pingjin." The empress dowager had been waiting for two days, but finally couldn't wait any longer and wanted to go there in person.

Nanny Kuang had no choice but to support her and slowly walked towards the Huansha Palace.

Princess Pingjin was born to Concubine Xian, and the mother and daughter lived in the Huansha Palace.

The virtuous concubine was originally a concubine. The emperor just issued an edict the day before yesterday to raise her status and confer her the title of virtuous concubine.

One was to appease Consort Xian, and the other was to elevate Ping's status.

In the Huansha Palace, Pingjin was sitting in the yard in a daze, watching the last pile of snow on the eaves slowly melt and then slowly drip.

"One drop, two drops..." she counted softly.

Concubine Xian stood under the eaves, looking at her daughter's appearance, her heart ached.

She knew that from the moment the emperor's edict was delivered to the Huansha Palace, she would never see the innocent and lively Pingjin again.

When she first entered the palace, she had some ideas. She wanted to give birth to a son so that she could gain status as a mother through the son.

But the emperor never favored her and seldom summoned her to sleep with him.

After much difficulty, she got pregnant, but the baby she gave birth to was a daughter.

At first, she was disappointed, but soon she fell in love with the glutinous rice dumpling that fell from her body.

Gradually, she no longer had any other thoughts and focused entirely on her daughter.

The little glutinous rice dumpling became her sweetheart and was loved by the emperor and the empress dowager.

In her impression, among all the emperor's princesses, Pingjin was his favorite.

As her daughter grew up, her every smile, every tear, could deeply touch her heart.

She had nothing to ask for in her life, not even the emperor's favor.

She only hopes that her only daughter can grow up happily and safely and have a good home in the future.

She also vowed to protect her with her life.

But she couldn't do anything now.

The emperor issued an imperial edict very suddenly.

That night, Cui Qimo, who had not stayed in the Huansha Palace for many years, stayed here for the whole night.

Cui Qimo said a lot to her. In her memory, the emperor had never spoken to her like this before. Even in her entire life, she had never spoken to him as much as she did that night.

She could see that the emperor was distressed about sending Pingjin to Xiling for marriage. When he talked about it, tears even flashed in his eyes.

She understood that the matter was a foregone conclusion, and all she could do was to persuade Pingjin to accept it.

"If you want to blame someone, blame your mother for giving birth to you in the royal family!" said the virtuous concubine with tears in her eyes.

Pingjin was unexpectedly calm, "Don't be sad, mother. I understand everything. Father is right. I am a princess of Dazhen. I have enjoyed wealth and glory that ordinary people cannot even dream of since I was born. Therefore, as long as the country needs me, I have the responsibility and obligation to go and sacrifice myself."

The virtuous concubine burst into tears all of a sudden.

Pingjin was just too sensible, which was why she felt so distressed.

She even hoped that Pingjin would cry loudly or do something extraordinary in desperation.

That way, she, as a mother, might feel less pain in her heart.

The Queen Mother stood outside the door, silently watching the mother and daughter, silently listening to their conversation, and couldn't help crying out loud.

"Grandmother..." Pingjin heard the noise, ran over, and threw herself into the Queen Mother's arms, "Grandmother, don't cry. Pingjin will leave next year. There is still a year, and I can still massage your legs and embroider for you. When you make osmanthus cake, Pingjin can also help you."

"Pingjin..."

Nanny Kuang's eyes also turned red. Who wouldn't love such a sensible child?

But her biological father was willing to do it!

The emperor's heart is so big that it can accommodate an entire country.

But don’t people always say that family, country and the world are one? What about family?

Can I give up my home for the sake of my country?

Is the emperor's heart too small? If he puts other things in it, he really can't have room for his own home?

***

Prince Jing's Mansion.

Cui Hongjing stood in front of the osmanthus tree in a daze.

It is the beginning of spring, and the willow trees in the yard have sprouted tender green buds.

But this osmanthus tree shows no sign of sprouting.

"Xiang, tell me, is it dead?" he asked softly.

Seeing his prince like this, Zhuang Xiang felt sad.

He knew very well how important this tree was to the prince.

"Your Majesty, isn't it just the beginning of spring? Don't be anxious." Zhuang Xiang was ready to persuade the prince, "This tree is just like people, some grow fast, and some grow slowly. For example, I couldn't speak when I was three years old, but now I am fine, smart and capable..."

Cui Hongjing glanced at him and said, "According to what you said, even if the tree comes back to life, it will be useless."

Zhuang Xiang: Your Majesty, everyone has self-respect, okay?

"Xiang, the princess left the capital but left Wen Yi behind. Do you know the reason?"

Zhuang Xiang shook his head. "The princess only told the public that he was staying behind so that he could be taken care of if there was anything going on in the prime minister's residence. Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have already arranged for someone to accompany you secretly and will definitely not let the princess be in danger."

Cui Hongjing said nothing more. He looked up at the gloomy sky and sighed, "This kind of weather is not suitable for a large army to march out."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Prime Minister Mei is still in the capital!"

"Prime Minister Mei has already asked for his resignation, but the emperor has never agreed. He is just pretending. Prime Minister Mei can ask for his resignation three times at most, and then the emperor will happily agree. It will probably be soon. I must settle the matter of Changguo before Prime Minister Mei resigns. Notify Li Mo and ask him to act quickly."

Zhuang Xiang was somewhat reluctant: "Prince, that Li Mo is both good and evil, and behaves erratically. Do you trust him so much? Besides, he still has evil intentions towards the princess. He even had a meal with the princess on pig intestines a few days ago..."

Cui Hongjing raised a trace of sneer at the corner of his lips, and stroked the dry tree stump with his slender and bony fingers. "At least for now, I can cooperate with him. As for the future, it would be fine if he behaves himself. If he always has ill intentions towards my woman, I will not care about the friendship we once had. Besides, right now, I and he are just using each other, and there is no friendship to speak of. He is such a smart person, he knows it clearly in his heart."

As he was speaking, a secret guard hurried over and presented a small roll of paper to Cui Hongjing, "Your Highness, this is what Concubine Wan secretly sent from the palace."

Cui Hongjing quickly took it and opened the note.

After just one look, his face changed drastically.

He looked at the note again and again in a daze, his thin lips trembling.

"Prince, what happened?" Zhuang Xiang had never seen his prince lose his composure like this, so he couldn't help but feel anxious.

Cui Hongjing handed the note to him.

There was only one sentence on it, "Eunuch Fu is still alive, Dali Temple."