EBE Chapter 475 Where to go?
Chapter 475 Where to go?
Chapter 475 Where to Go
"There is indeed such a rumor in the court, but I didn't expect it to have reached your ears."
"Who on earth helped spread such slanderous news about the emperor so widely?" Ling Rong frowned and pulled the emperor's arm in a worried manner, "Your Majesty, please investigate carefully. Such things must be stopped as soon as possible."
"I already know who did these things." The emperor was not worried, "In order to be with Zhen, the Seventeenth has gone crazy.
I agreed to let him take Zhen away, but before I told him to leave, I wanted to ask Zhen's opinion. "
"Then I will ask someone to go to Yongshou Palace to fetch Zhen," Lingrong said as she stood up. Unexpectedly, the emperor called her back. "Your Majesty, are you planning to go to Yongshou Palace to ask about this later?"
"No, wait until Old Seventeen enters the palace, then go to Yongshou Palace and bring her here. I want Old Seventeen to hear for himself how Zhen made her choice."
Killing people means destroying their hearts. The Emperor has always understood these things better than Lingrong.
Ling Rong naturally stopped and waited for Prince Guo to come over with the emperor.
Soon, Prince Guo was supported by Su Peisheng into the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. As soon as he entered the door, Prince Guo knelt down and begged the emperor to keep his promise with a decadent look on his face.
Lingrong looked up and saw that Prince Guo had an untidy beard, was holding a wine bottle in his hand, and his clothes were askew. He really looked like a lovesick man who had gone mad for the person he loved.
But it looked really sloppy, and Ling Rong subconsciously felt that there would be no pleasant smell, so she raised her hand and covered her nose with a handkerchief.
"Your Majesty, you promised me, why haven't you fulfilled your promise until now?" Prince Guo's cheeks flushed, and a strand of hair fell down. "The Third Prince and the Fifth Prince have already married, and there are no major events in the palace recently. Please allow me and Huan'er to leave the Forbidden City."
"You are begging me like this, but have you already discussed it with Zhen?"
"There is no need to discuss this matter. Huan'er and I are truly in love with each other. Naturally, we are willing to give up everything just to be with each other.
What's more, we two had already decided to spend our lives together when we were in Jiangnan. Not to mention that the husband and wife follow each other, Huan'er is really tired of the intrigues in the deep palace. She is a lady from a wealthy family, and she was criticized by the rumors in the harem as a person who relies on her favor and is arrogant and scheming.
What's worse, she even slandered Huan'er's innocence. If the emperor could believe her, Huan'er would not have lost her name and identity and ended up in a cold place like Ningguta.
Your Majesty, you have lived a life of luxury in the Forbidden City, and you have no idea how much torture a place like Ningguta can cause to one’s body and mind.”
Prince Guo had drunk too much. He spoke in a drunken state, blurting out things that he normally wouldn't dare to say. It seemed that he had made up his mind to lose face for the Emperor and even disregarded his own life.
The emperor's expression was calm. He let Prince Guo kneel there and talk nonsense. Only after he calmed down did the emperor ask Su Peisheng to help him down, under the pretext of letting him have a good rest.
"I think Prince Guo has drunk too much and is a little confused. Your Majesty, please don't let these words make you sick."
Ling Rong had no choice but to comfort the emperor, "When Prince Guo sobers up, he will surely apologize to the emperor immediately."
"I don't care whether he apologizes or not." The emperor smiled happily, "I will make sure that everyone in the court and the people of the world know clearly what he did.
Even if the two of them fled to the ends of the earth after leaving the palace, they would let the people around them know that they were so displaced because of their affair.
I will have them watched, and they will both be branded as adulterers for the rest of their lives."
The emperor's smile looked particularly ferocious. Ling Rong took a breath of cold air. In her previous life, she had never seen the emperor analyze his inner thoughts so bluntly. After all, the emperor never showed his emotions on his face, making it impossible to guess at all.
But now...
Ling Rong stared at the emperor in a daze. She couldn't understand why the emperor told her. Could it be that the old emperor had gone mad and wanted to kill her too?
"Your Majesty, this will affect your reputation. If this is the case, it is best to conceal their identities."
"Since I have made this decision, I will naturally handle the follow-up matters. Rong'er, don't worry."
Lingrong was not worried about whether the emperor could handle these things, she was worried about whether the emperor would get rid of her as well.
After all, in Lingrong's heart, she never thought that the emperor said these words out of trust.
Now that Prince Guo had arrived, Ling Rong sent someone to fetch Zhen Huan. However, there was a delay for a long time before Zhen Huan arrived. She looked a little sick as Xi Shi and bowed to the Emperor and Ling Rong.
However, the emperor did not ask her to stand up, but directly asked Zhen Huan what she thought.
At this time, Zhen Huan didn't know what Prince Guo was planning. When the emperor suddenly asked her, she showed a little confusion, "Your Majesty, what you want to ask is..."
"Prince Guo wants to leave the palace with you and become an ordinary couple. For this, he is willing to give up his status as a prince, just to be able to live with you forever.
The Emperor and I asked you to come to the Yangxin Palace to ask what you think."
Zhen Huan was stunned for a moment, but she quickly concealed it. She kowtowed and admitted her fault to the emperor, "When I was in Ningguta, I was often bullied. An illness almost took my life. In order to save my life, I used the trick of escaping from the shell.
Now that the emperor has discovered this, I am willing to take responsibility for my mistakes. I only ask that the emperor give me a quick death and not send me to a place like Ningguta again."
Zhen Huan did not immediately mention Prince Guo's thoughts, but instead explained her own situation clearly, "In the poor mountains and bad waters, the people there can no longer be called human beings, they are just wild beasts, and they only want to tear apart other people's flesh and eat it to ensure their own survival.
I am just a weak woman, and the only outcome for me in a place like that is that I will be tortured to death, so I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and allow me to atone for my sins with this life. "
Seeing Zhen Huan talking about something else, the emperor took a deep breath, with a slightly unhappy expression on his face, "I am asking you, Prince Guo wants to leave the Forbidden City with you and become an ordinary couple, are you willing or not?"
Zhen Huan fell silent. She had not yet finished what she needed to do. She had not even waited to see the emperor pass away and avenge her parents' lives.
As the daughter of the Zhen family, how could she leave the palace and live her life freely and comfortably?
At this moment, Zhen Huan even felt a little resentful of Prince Guo's self-willed behavior, which used his so-called true love to drag her into the quagmire again.
"Your Majesty, my sister is still suffering in the palace. She is confined to Yongshou Palace and lacks food and clothing. She is also bullied by servants from time to time.
If the emperor can allow me to take my sister with me, I will naturally be willing to do so."
"Ren Wan is my concubine and is not allowed to leave the harem at will."
"If my sister can't leave, how can I bear to live a carefree life by myself?
I am willing to stay in the palace and be your maid to take care of your sister. I hope Your Majesty will show me your grace."
The choice made by Zhen Huan was indeed surprising. Ling Rong did not expect that she could be so flexible and would rather be a slave than stay in the palace.
"You were banished from the palace because you were not self-disciplined enough, and you disobeyed the emperor's order and escaped from Ningguta, which was a heinous crime. I am now showing mercy and saving your life, so you should naturally be grateful.
Now you are going even further and want to return to the harem to continue stirring up trouble. With your status and character, I will never allow you to stay in the palace.
Now I only give you two choices, either you leave the Forbidden City with Prince Guo, or you go to hell with him.
I have analyzed it so frankly, maybe you understand it?"
Given such a choice, anyone who is not a fool would choose the former. However, Zhen Huan knew very well that the emperor would never be so kind, so she refused to give an answer immediately and just kept begging the emperor to forgive Zhen Yurao.
Seeing Zhen Huan was silent, Ling Rong spoke slowly, "I will handle the matter of Concubine Wan. She has not been treated unfairly in the palace.
As for the matter of being bullied by servants, I will immediately send someone to investigate and will never tolerate such evil slaves."
"Of course I believe in the Imperial Concubine," Zhen Huan said earnestly, "After all, the Imperial Concubine is kind-hearted, and a few words from others can make her risk the world's condemnation and help us.
I have seen all these things, and even experienced them myself. I am relieved that my sister can be taken care of by the queen."
What Zhen Huan was talking about was naturally Ye Lan'yi, but Ling Rong was not worried. After all, Ye Lan'yi was safe now. She even wrote a letter to the palace a few days ago to apologize to herself.
"It's good that you know, but Concubine Wan is the master, even if you are her sister, you should still address her as Little Master.
Considering your concern for her, I will not bother with you. If you do it again in the future, I will deal with you according to the palace rules.
Now, you have to think carefully about whether to marry Prince Guo, or... "
"I don't understand why there are only these two choices," Zhen Huan thought for a moment, "Prince Guo and I have always been close friends.
When I was in the palace, I was never too close to Prince Guo, so I naturally kept my distance from him at all times outside the palace.
Your Majesty, perhaps it is Prince Guo who wants to ask Your Majesty to grant him a marriage, but I am also a human being and have the right to make my own choices. I, V, do not want to marry Prince Guo, and even more do not want to die for this matter.
If the Emperor is determined to kill me, he can accuse me of escaping from Ningguta secretly and refusing to accept the punishment of exile.
But I absolutely cannot be closely associated with Prince Guo. I do not want to leave this world with the dirty name of having an affair with a man outside my family, and I cannot let a man like the prince, who has a family, be tied to me. Your Majesty, please think twice!"
"But..." Ling Rong suddenly said, "Prince Guo has already told the Emperor that the woman he brought to the border to marry is you. Since then, the two of you have settled in Jiangnan and have become husband and wife. Why do you deny it at this moment?"
Zhen Huan shook her head, not showing any panic. She knew too well that Prince Guo was obsessed with her. Even if Prince Guo was here, he would definitely change his mind according to her own ideas. "When I was in Jiangnan, I was recuperating. In order not to destroy my reputation, the prince pretended to be husband and wife, but I and Prince Guo were not husband and wife in reality.
As for why Prince Guo made such a plea to His Majesty, I believe he has his own considerations. I really don’t know the reason.”
Zhen Huan was a clever talker who was great at sophistry. She had done everything, yet she still wanted to gain a good reputation. Ling Rong really couldn't help laughing. She shook her head, picked up the teacup and drank tea, trying to suppress her sarcastic smile.
The Emperor was also stunned by Zhen Huan's words. He had seen Zhen Huan's true face repeatedly, and at this moment, her former gentleness had only been worn away a little, and he saw her more like a common woman.
However, the Emperor would not admit that he was responsible for Zhen Huan's current appearance. He would only think that Zhen Huan was good at disguise and was a dissolute woman at heart.
"In that case, you two should explain it face to face." The emperor also laughed when he heard it. He asked Su Peisheng to bring out the drunk Prince Guo and asked Zhen Huan and Prince Guo to face each other.
"Tell me, what's going on between the two of you?"
As soon as Prince Guo saw Zhen Huan, he sobered up a lot. He thought that the emperor allowed them to leave the palace, so he kowtowed and thanked the emperor for his grace.
"Don't be too hasty, Your Majesty. The Emperor wants to grant you and Zhen a marriage, but Zhen seems unwilling. Please discuss this carefully."
"What?" Prince Guo was shocked. He looked at Zhen Huan and uttered the word "Huan'er" with stammering lips.
"Your Highness, I don't know why you said that I had physical contact with you, and I don't understand why you want to marry me and leave the Forbidden City forever."
Zhen Huan had a cold expression, totally unlike when she was in Jiangnan. "My Lord, you have already married my sister. Please don't say these words anymore. They will tarnish our reputations."
"Huanbi...Huanbi has passed away."
"What?" Zhen Huan didn't know Huanbi was dead, and tears fell when she heard it, "Why did Huanbi suddenly..."
Prince Guo avoided her gaze and naturally did not dare to tell Zhen Huan, but Lingrong was a "kind-hearted person" and immediately told Zhen Huan the whole story.
"Prince Guo was willing to give up his status and his wives and concubines just to marry you. I think Huanbi was frightened for a moment and hit her head against the wall to commit suicide."
Upon hearing that it was Prince Guo who insisted on leaving the Forbidden City with her, which led to Huanbi committing suicide by hitting her head against the wall, Zhen Huan could not stop crying. She could not understand why the daughters of the Zhen family were so unlucky, being targeted by the Aisin-Gioro people one by one, and none of them had a good ending.
She couldn't swallow this humiliation, especially for the man who sat high on the throne. She had to make him die in her hands to repay him!