Sir Song, do you want to pledge yourself to me?

The affairs of Prince Yu's Mansion are also the affairs of the royal family. Prince Yu's daughter is, after all, a royal heir. There is no reason for her to be left outside. Moreover, the royal bloodline is dying out, and there are only two brothers left in the direct line.

Therefore, the emperor and the prince went to the Weiyang Palace together with a letter. This matter was about recognizing his niece, so naturally the empress had to know.

"Is this true? Zi Ning actually left a daughter behind in this world? Hurry, bring her back! How can our royal princess be left wandering around like this forever?"

When the queen heard the news, she burst into tears and wiped away the tears with a handkerchief. She said in a firm tone that she must bring her niece back as soon as possible.

The late princess, a close friend of her younger sister Shen Songhe, later married into the royal family and became her sister-in-law. She had always treated her with respect and affection. When the news of Zi Ning's death reached the empress, she was heartbroken. Now that she knew a surviving descendant of hers still existed, she couldn't wait to bring her back to the capital.

The emperor was about to speak when he caught a glimpse of the fact that in addition to the queen's personal nanny standing by the side, there was also an unfamiliar little eunuch holding brocade, standing in an inconspicuous corner with his ears perked up.

It seems that the queen was too excited and careless after hearing about the incident of the late princess.

This young eunuch retreated to the side after he and the prince came in, and he had the ability to make his presence felt. He and the prince didn't even notice that there was an extra person here. It was obvious that he was not simple.

The emperor suddenly assumed a dignified air, his gaze sharp as a torch, and asked in a deep voice, "Which palace is that from?"

"My name is Xiao Fuzi, and I work in the Zhen Embroidery Room." The young eunuch suddenly felt like a thorn in his back and knelt down with a plop.

Upon hearing this, the queen was stunned for a moment, then she came to her senses following the emperor's gaze and realized that there was indeed a stranger in the hall.

She waved her sleeves lightly, "Forget it, let him go first."

After the young eunuch left, the Empress slowly explained, "Those are from the Zhenxiu Room. They just sent me a piece of material and asked me to choose a matching embroidery pattern. I haven't had time to examine it carefully when you arrived. Your Majesty, what are your plans regarding the child?"

The emperor pondered for a moment and said, "The royal bloodline cannot tolerate any confusion. I also want to claim the child as soon as possible, but the old Duke has not yet seen the child. He only heard from Jin Bai that the child born by the late princess was found. Before confirmation, we should wait for news from the old Duke before making any plans."

After hearing this, the Queen's eyes flashed with heartache. She whispered, "Since it was the child Jin Bai found, and he was able to send a letter to the Northern Territory, he must have had evidence to confirm the child's connection to the Xu family. Your Majesty, that child should have been a precious princess of our royal family. If the Rong family hadn't interfered, Zi Ning wouldn't have gone to the Northern Territory, and her child wouldn't have been left homeless and without a mother. Your Majesty, she should have enjoyed a life of wealth and prosperity, with no worries about food and clothing, but she suffered alone in the countryside for so many years. Just thinking about it makes my heart ache."

The emperor looked at the queen's expression and understood that she was not only worried about the late princess's child, but also remembered that when they had just gotten married, the queen mother was eager to arrange for the daughter of the Rong family to enter the palace.

The late emperor was deceived by a traitor, which not only damaged his own dragon body, but also almost plunged the entire Dongchu Dynasty into irretrievable disaster. His descendants also died out, and those who survived were all weak and sickly.

The Empress Dowager had once given birth to a prince, but he died before the age of two. Later, she adopted the eldest of Concubine Liu's two sons, who was himself, Xiao Qilong, the current Emperor of Dongchu.

The Queen Mother worried that he would no longer be under her control after ascending the throne. If she lost control of the harem, her family would also lose support and fall into decline. Therefore, despite knowing that he and Shen Songjing had been engaged since childhood, the Queen Mother still used the debt of raising her as a threat to force him to break off the engagement and marry the Rong family's daughter as his empress. Had Xiao Qilong not enlisted the help of the old Grand Tutor to intercede, promoting the Rong family from a Marquisate to a Dukedom and promising the Rong family's daughter the title of Imperial Consort, the Queen Mother would never have relented so easily.

Thinking of this, the Emperor couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. He gently patted the Empress's clenched hands as a gesture of comfort: "The old Duke loves his grandson dearly and has already asked me to confer the title of Princess on that child. Don't worry, once her identity is confirmed, I will bring her back with great fanfare to recognize her ancestors. However, the time is not yet ripe, and it would be inappropriate to let too many people know about her, lest it bring disaster upon them."

At this time, Xiao Jiting spoke.

"Father, I have received a letter from the northern border stating that small groups of barbarian soldiers have been harassing the border recently. I am worried that this is because the northern barbarians have been suffering from a large-scale drought this year, resulting in a decrease in grain production, and they are planning to attack us again.

"This year's military rations are still being collected. I think it would be better to hand this over to Jin Bai. Let Jin Bai and his wife take my cousin and collect food as they journey north. This will save the trouble of sending additional grain transport officers and allow the old Duke to reunite with his granddaughter sooner."

After hearing this, the emperor laughed heartily, his eyes full of admiration, and said, "My prince is indeed very thoughtful. The Northern Territory cannot do without the Duke of Zhenguo right now, so having Jin Bai make a trip here will indeed save a lot of trouble. By the way, is Pei's mistress still in Kaiyun Mansion? Let him take over for Jin Bai first. Go and convey my secret order now, and make sure this matter is handled as soon as possible."

"My son, please retire."

Xiao Jiting bowed and left in a hurry.