Astute Princess: Married to be the Empress Novel - Chapter 36

Chapter 36 Identified
Speaking of this topic, both of them fell into silence. They didn’t say anything along the way. Soon, they arrived at Duanwang Manor. The coachman stopped the carriage. Prince Shuo helped Ying Ran out of the carriage and entered Duanwang Manor together. The butler saw Fu Yingran and quickly bowed, “Greetings, Princess.” Then, he looked at Huyan Mingshuo who was walking beside him. He didn’t know what to call him.

“This is His Highness the Crown Prince of Ye Lan,” Ying Ran introduced.

The housekeeper was also a person of vision. He had already heard about the marriage, so he knew that this was the future uncle. Thus, he hurriedly bowed and said, “Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Then he said to Fu Yingran, “Imperial Daughter, His Highness and Princess, as well as Duanmu Manor Master are waiting for you in the main hall. The Crown Prince asked this servant to come out to welcome the Imperial Daughter and His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Mm, let’s talk about it first.” Ying Ran pulled Crown Prince Shuo inside.

When they arrived at the main hall, there were really many people. Prince Duan and his wife, Fu Tianyang and his two brothers, Duanmu Yuan and his wife, Duanmu Jing were all present. Seeing the two of them helping each other in, the others were fine, Duanmu Jing’s eyes immediately turned red.

However, he was powerless. The imperial edict had been issued, and he was already an unmarried couple. Because of his greed, he had already lost the chance to stand beside Ying Ran. He could only watch silently now.

After Ying Ran entered, he greeted everyone one by one. “Greetings, Father, Princess, Master, Mother, and three elder brothers.”

As for Crown Prince Shuo, he simply said, “Greetings, I am Huyan Mingshuo.” Simply introducing himself, not mentioning his identity, only mentioning his name, this caused people to have an inexplicable good impression of him.

“It’s good that you’re here. Hurry up and sit down.” Prince Duan pointed at the empty seats and said, those were the two seats that Fu Tianchen had set up. According to the seniority of Prince Duan’s mansion, there was nothing wrong with this arrangement. If it was according to the status of the court, Prince Shuo would have to sit on top of Fu Tianyang.

Ying Ran also knew what father meant. This was an indirect acknowledgement of Huyan Mingshuo’s identity, so she didn’t say anything. She pulled Crown Prince Shuo over and sat down. After seeing Crown Prince Shuo sit down, Prince Duan nodded and said, “Crown Prince Shuo, don’t blame me. According to your status, the throne is also seated. But according to our seniority, you can only sit at the head of the Heavens.”

This meant that he had acknowledged his status as the uncle of Duanwang Manor. Otherwise, he would either sit in the main seat or as a guest with Duanmu Jing.

“Thank you father-in-law and mother-in-law.” Crown Prince Shuo was also a smart person. Since his identity was determined, he quickly changed his tone.

“Yes.” Prince Duan nodded at him. Fu Tianchen had already told him what Ying Ran had told the Empress Dowager. He knew that marriage was necessary. Although he was reluctant to part with his daughter, the lives of a large family were more important. He could only grieve for his daughter. Besides, this Prince Shuo was reliable.

“Ying Ran, father heard that you want to worship your master as your foster father. Is that true?” Although he had no objection to it, he still had to ask it clearly.

“Yes, Father, not only did my daughter bow down, she even accepted the greeting gift. A very formidable greeting gift. In the future, when I go to Ye Lan, I can also take it out to show off.” As he spoke, he took out the medicinal jade.

“Since that’s the case, your mother and I are both here today. You can propose a cup of tea to your foster father and foster mother in person.” Prince Duan wasn’t confused, and he knew that with the protection of Tian Yizhuang, she wouldn’t suffer any grievances if she went to Ye Lan in the future.

“Yes, daughter obeys.” Then Ying Ran stood up to two cups of tea and walked to Duanmu Yuan and his wife with a tray. He knelt down and said, “Please have some tea, foster father.” Duanmu Yuan took a sip and Ying Ran turned to the other side. “Please have some tea, foster mother.” Lady Duanmu’s eyes were red as she took a sip and pulled Ying Ran up without saying anything.

What a pity. If it weren’t for the Sun Clan’s incident, this wife would have belonged to the Duanmu Clan. She wouldn’t have fallen back to the point of being related. However, it was good to be a daughter now. Without the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, the relationship would be easier to get along with. However, seeing that she was going to marry another country, it would be difficult to see her again in the future, and her heart would inevitably be sour.

Then Ying Ran poured another cup of tea and walked to Duanmu Jing’s front, “Big Brother, please have some tea.”

Duanmu Jingmeng took the teacup and drank it all in one gulp. He put a bracelet in the tray without saying anything. Before the wedding, he deliberately went to find a bracelet for her. Originally, he wanted to use it to compensate for the grievances she had suffered in terms of status. Who knew that everything was not going as he had imagined? This bracelet had never had the chance to be sent out. Since it was for her, he could give it to her.

When Ying Ran took the bracelet and retreated to his seat, he couldn’t help but glance at it. It was really good jade, sparkling and translucent.

When Prince Duan saw Ying Ran return to his seat, he said to everyone, “Well, let’s do this today. Let’s split up. It will be New Year’s Eve in two days. Let’s spend the New Year with Ying Ran this year.” I wonder if we can spend the New Year together in the future.

“Alright, let’s spend New Year’s Eve together.” Duanmu Yuan’s heart was also filled with sadness. After all, this girl had been with him for ten years, so she couldn’t help but feel reluctant to leave when she suddenly wanted to leave.

Then Duanmu Yuan brought his wife and son and planned to leave Prince Duan’s Mansion. Before leaving, he said, “Let’s settle this. Then we’ll go back to Prince Jing’s Mansion first. Ying Ran, if you have time, you can accompany your foster mother. Ever since she knew that you were going to get married, she has been crying these past few days.”

After Ying Ran heard this, her eyes turned red as she choked, “Ying Ran remembered that she must accompany her two mothers these few days.” This was what she feared the most and was also the most reluctant to part with her family.

After sending the Duanmu family off, Prince Duan said, “You can stay in Orchid Garden for the next two days. Anyway, Orchid Garden is not much smaller than your imperial daughter’s mansion. Only the two of you can stay here.”

Prince Duan also knew that Huyan Mingshuo was too eye-catching. He didn’t dare to let him live alone in the guest house. There were still two concubine daughters living in Duanwang Manor. He didn’t want Duanwang Manor to stage a big show of sisters robbing husbands. He also believed that his daughter would respect herself even if she lived in the same courtyard as Huyan Mingshuo. This was also a test for Huyan Mingshuo.

“Yes, father.” After saying that, Ying Ran took Huyan Mingshuo to Orchid Garden. Everyone also dispersed, speechless for a moment.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year’s Eve. According to the usual practice, Ying Ran and the others would go to the Imperial Temple to pay respects to the Fu Clan’s ancestors in the morning. They would accompany the Emperor and Empress Dowager to a reunion dinner at the Shoukang Palace at noon. They would enjoy the afternoon with the officials.

That was why Ying Ran was called out early in the morning. He followed his parents and elder brother into the palace. Because only direct descendants could go, the rest of Duanwang Palace could not go. They could only wait for them to come back, eat dinner together, and watch the year together.

As a foreign minister, Crown Prince Shuo could only enter the palace in the afternoon, so he stayed in Orchid Garden to rest in the morning. During lunch time, Jin’er Cui’er served the food. Crown Prince Shuo was about to enter the palace after a short break from lunch. As soon as he left the manor, he saw Prince Jing riding his horse and waiting there long ago.

Hence, Huyan Mingshuo mounted his horse and searched beside him. This was Prince Jing saying, “Let’s go, let’s go into the palace together.”

Crown Prince Shuo did not say anything. He rode his horse and walked side by side with Prince Jing. Suddenly, Prince Jing said, “Treat her well. She has a very small heart. She doesn’t want much, but not everyone can afford it. Don’t squander her emotions so as to avoid regretting it.”

After Huyan Mingshuo heard this, he mercilessly attacked Prince Jing and said, “Is this your experience of failure?”

‘”It can be said that this king said this to you today. I just don’t want Ying Ran to get hurt again. Ying Ran once said something. I wonder if she said it to you.” Even though he no longer had a chance, he still hoped that she would be happy.

“What did she say?” Huyan Mingshuo was also curious as to what was worth paying so much attention to.

‘”She said that if you want to win a heart, you can’t abandon your head. You can’t have both fish and bear paws. At that time, I didn’t think so. I just thought that the little girl’s family was in a bad mood. I didn’t want to be careless and cut off from her husband and wife. Since she chose you now, you should grasp it well.” After saying that, Prince Jing entered the palace alone.

“Whitehead will never abandon someone who is willing to give up.” Crown Prince Shuo muttered silently. So this was what she wanted, but could she really afford it? How could his identity allow him to be a single-minded person?

Along the way, Crown Prince Shuo was thinking about what Prince Jing said. He couldn’t have both fish and bear paws. He had to make a choice. He had a fianc é e in Ye Lan. If it wasn’t for the snowstorm and the lack of food in the country, he would not have come to Great Wei to seek the support of Great Wei.