Chapter 26: The Crown Prince's Official Wife (Part 2)

  The crown prince gently stroked his hair and said, "Just as the empress and I were about to leave, I caught a glimpse of a scroll under several memorials on the desk, which seemed to be deliberately covered by Father Emperor in a hurry. I was also paying attention, but on the exposed corner, I saw a stain of ink."

  Qing Sang didn't understand, looked up at the prince with a glance, and the prince also lowered his head to look at her. After exchanging a smile, the prince said: "Sang'er listen to me slowly"

  Qing Sang smiled slightly and continued to lean her head on his shoulder, listening intently.

  The Crown Prince said: "In the 23rd year of Hongjing, my father chose a consort, and had the painter Liu Jingye paint portraits of all the candidates. One day, I was discussing matters with my father when he accidentally knocked over his tea, spilling it into the inkstone, causing a large blot of ink to splatter out and land on one corner of a portrait... that was your portrait."

  Qing Sang was shocked and lost color, left the prince's arms, and looked at him in horror.

  The crown prince gazed at Qing Sang with deep affection, his slender fingers gently stroking her delicate face as he spoke in a warm and gentle tone: "Sang'er, three years ago, you were already etched in my heart."

  Qing Sang's mouth opened slightly, unsure whether it was surprise or excitement, but no words came out.

  The crown prince continued, "Later on, it was simple. I only told the empress dowager that the painting on Father Emperor's desk was a portrait of Consort Pu Qing from twenty-three years ago when he selected his concubines. The empress dowager understood."

  The young master has completely understood everything

  The empress understood that the emperor was thinking of her again, otherwise he wouldn't have brought out the painting that had been idle for three years. It was precisely because of this that she would not agree to the marriage between the crown prince and his wife, and proposed the idea of finding another person for the crown prince to marry. Before long, the emperor will think of ways to let her enter the palace. A woman who has been thinking about the emperor for three years, how can the empress agree to let her enter the palace? Moreover, she is also the person in the heart of the crown prince. If she enters the palace, it will not only damage the reputation of the emperor but also ruin the relationship between father and son. Furthermore, her own inner self would definitely not be willing to have someone share the favor with herself, even if she has become the empress, this sense of crisis still exists for a long time.

  To put it bluntly, rather than letting this woman enter the palace and share the same man with herself, it's better to think of a way to make her his daughter-in-law, so that her own man can cut off such thoughts.

  However, what made the empress so determined must have been the crown prince's heavy words. Just as the empress said, the crown prince must have said something like "except for you, I don't want to marry any other woman" and that this position of crown princess is also reserved for her. With some emotion in her heart, she asked softly: "You must have said something even more serious, which made the empress determined to help me."

  The crown prince smiled and said, "I know you're clever and can't fool you. I just expressed my feelings to the empress dowager, then told her that if she didn't agree, I would go to Puzi Temple to become a monk."

  Qing Sang was shocked and sighed: "How can the prince say such a thing?"

  The crown prince smiled and said: "Although I was scolded by the empress dowager for a while, at least things have been settled."

  She stared at him blankly, truly unaware of what virtues she possessed that allowed the gentle and elegant person in front of her to treat her with such deep affection.

  In a daze, he arrived at the Pu residence.

  Watching her enter the Pu Mansion, the Crown Prince got into his carriage and left.

  Within seven days, the Emperor issued an edict, appointing Qing Sang as the Crown Princess, and they would be married on the fifteenth of next month.

  This month on the fifteenth of next month, there are two great joys in the imperial family. The Crown Prince marries the Crown Princess and King Qing marries Queen Qing.

  When she first heard the news, Qing Sai was very upset. She still couldn't completely forget about Tong Xun, and now she had to marry him on the same day, but they would be marrying different people. How could her heart not feel difficult?

  But after calming down and thinking about it, I felt that what should be cut off must be cut off, what should be forgotten should be forgotten, and slowly let myself let go.

  Apart from this, Qing Sang also felt that the Empress had used some kind of trick to get the Emperor's agreement so quickly. Thinking about it, Qing Sang suddenly realized that she didn't know anything about the Empress's family background, nor had she ever heard her father or anyone else mention it. All Qing Sang knew was that the Empress secretly pulled strings with officials like the Prime Minister and the General of the Cavalry, but she had never heard that her maiden family was particularly prominent. This made Qing Sang curious, and she didn't even know which family the Empress's maiden family was from.

  But it doesn't matter, she will have plenty of time to understand later on.

  The wedding day is approaching, and the weather is getting warmer. I had gone to see Qian's family when they were producing their daughter, but hadn't visited since then. It suddenly occurred to me that more than four months have passed, so I invited my mother and took Xuepan to visit the Qian residence.

  Sisters chatted idly about family matters and before they knew it, noon had passed.

  After having dinner at Qian's residence, I won't bother you anymore and returned to the mansion.

  It is said that the fourth young lady, Qinghe, who was cultivating at the Clear Water Temple, has returned to the manor.

  Qinghe was introverted by nature and had a hard time opening up his spiritual wisdom. After listening to the words of a wandering Taoist, he sent him away at the beginning of the year to practice meditation in quiet contemplation at Qing Shui Guan, hoping for sudden enlightenment.

  Qing Sang also hadn't been seen for many months, and I really missed him, so I hurried to Qinghe Courtyard.

  As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Qinghe wearing a light blue long dress sitting in the courtyard, holding a book in his hand, carefully reading it.

  Qing walked up and asked: "What book is He'er reading?"

  Qinghe saw her sister and handed over the book in her hand, but didn't say a word, nor did she show any expression on her face.

  Qing Xian let out a sigh: Qing He was still as lonely as ever.

  Qingsang looked at the book in his hand, it was "Taishang Ganying Pian". He asked: "Does He'er like it?"

  Green wheat nodded slightly

  Handing the book back to her, he thought to himself that with Qinghe's temperament, she should actually be allowed to go out more and interact with people, to slightly change this lonely temperament of hers. Otherwise, how could modern people's so-called autism be cured by letting her go to a Taoist temple for quiet contemplation, reading books on self-cultivation and nurturing one's nature? Wouldn't her temperament become even more introverted?

  In this era where traditional etiquette prevails, how can a woman possibly show her face and walk around freely? Moreover, since Qinghe likes it, letting her have her way isn't bad either.

  Qing Sang said a few more words to Qing He, but Qing He only nodded or shook his head, and rarely spoke. Later on, he just focused on reading his book and stopped responding to Qing Sang, so Qing Sang had no choice but to leave.

  Walking to the gate, he turned back to look at Qinghe. His immature face was expressionless, so calm that it made Qing Sang's heart ache. This year Qinghe will be fifteen years old, and after coming of age, he can't avoid getting engaged. Qinghe looked like this, but in Qing Sang's eyes

  He let out a soft sigh and walked away with nothing he could do about it.

  Qinghe returned this time, apart from preparing to attend Qing Sang's wedding, also to attend her grandmother's birthday. Since Wangshi had been promoted to the position of main wife, she hadn't really celebrated before, so they would celebrate together this time.

  Originally, this was just a family dinner party, and the old lady wasn't even having a milestone birthday, she just wanted it to be simple and lively. But unexpectedly, the prince came and brought a big gift, the old lady was overjoyed and couldn't stop laughing.

  After the banquet, Jing Yu exclaimed that he wanted to set off fireworks. The Crown Prince also thought it had been a long time since he saw the victorious scene of setting off fireworks after New Year's Day and nodded in agreement.

  Wang hastily ordered someone to fetch the remaining fireworks from after New Year's and set them off in an open area.

  A burst of dazzling light shoots up into the sky, suddenly exploding into golden, silver, red, green and blue, star-like flowers flying in all directions, like a multitude of flashing blossoms, radiant and resplendent.

  Everyone was watching the fireworks in the sky amidst the cheers, but no one noticed that the prince had already pulled Qing Sang's hand and retreated to a corner.

  "In a few more days, you will be my new bride, my wife. From then on, we can face each other every morning and evening, and together appreciate the beauty of the world." The prince expressed his joy in the most ordinary language. At this moment, the prince was smiling like a child, pure and warm.

  Qing Shang smiled and said: "I want to get along with you in this life, and we will take care of each other together."

  The crown prince smiled and hugged Qing Sang tightly in his arms, whispering in her ear: "In this life, I have no choice but to marry multiple women, but remember, my heart belongs only to you. In this life and the next, I will be faithful to you alone, never betraying you."

  Qing Sang was deeply moved by his sincerity and also raised her hands to hug the prince.

  After a long time, the prince searched for Qing Sang's lips, with a slightly hurried breath, and gently covered them.

  Qing Sang closed her eyes, and her long eyelashes kept trembling.

  The prince gently bit her lip, slowly inserting his long tongue into her mouth, stirring every one of her senses.

  In the sky, another colorful and radiant flower bloomed.

  After a deep kiss, Qing Sang's face turned red, and she buried her head deeply in the prince's arms, her body soft as cotton.

  The prince stroked her black hair and held her green scarf, reluctant to part for a long time.

  "The fiery tree and silver flower bloom in the night sky, as the east wind releases a thousand flowers." The clear and loud voice echoed, startling the two who were lost in their sweet moment. It turned out that the fireworks had already ended, and Jing Yu was reciting poetry.

  The crown prince quickly pulled Qing She behind the crowd.

  The young man beside Qing Shan wore a waistband with golden edges, which set off his broad shoulders and narrow waist. His long, moon-white brocade robe not only showed off his perfect figure but also complemented his noble temperament.

  Watching him chatting and laughing with his family, his elegant demeanor and outstanding talent are all admired by the young photographer.

  Such a man, whose temperament, appearance, talent and status can satisfy the vanity of any woman, including Qing Sang.

  At this time, Qing Sang began to feel a hint of happiness slowly rippling in her heart.