Chapter 78 Young Hero
Fu Chen came back from the hunting ground. As he had something to report to the emperor, he asked about the whereabouts of the Emperor of Southern Qi. He followed him all the way to the corridor outside the Imperial Concubine's palace, where he met the eunuch Liu San who was waiting outside.
Liu San did not report to the inside, but whispered: "His Majesty is summoning Tang Yao's daughter inside. Isn't it interesting? It turns out that the one in the Second Prince's mansion is a fake. The real one is hiding in the Forbidden Cavalry Department. Does your Excellency know who it is?"
Fu Chen pretended not to know, tilted his head to think for a moment, and lowered his voice: "Recently, there have been no new people in the Forbidden Cavalry Department, except for Zhang Ying who was brought into the department by the Ninth Princess."
Liu San smiled brightly, he was actually shocked by this new thing. Moreover, this matter would probably spread throughout the Hunting Palace soon, and there was nothing to hide. He could tell Fu Chen about it first and make a good impression on the young commander.
"Your guess is absolutely correct, sir. It is indeed Zhang Ying from your company." He stared and listened carefully, motioning Fu Chen to listen to the lawsuit as well.
In the Imperial Concubine's Palace, the Emperor of Southern Qi was somewhat unhappy.
However, the Tang family is full of loyal and brave people, so it is not easy to argue with an orphan girl: "Are you unwilling to marry the second prince?"
Fu Chen listened carefully, his heart starting to tighten.
"Yes!" Tang Ying said in a sonorous voice: "I have a few more questions to ask the Second Prince, please allow me, Your Majesty."
Liu San praised in a low voice: "I didn't expect that Miss Tang is such a stubborn person. She refused right away."
Fu Chen finally let out a breath, then listened carefully to see that His Royal Highness, the Emperor of Southern Qi, had spoken again.
"You ask."
Tang Ying turned to the Second Prince and said, "I heard that when Your Highness asked for marriage, it was because he met that person in Baicheng and he took good care of him along the way, and they developed a friendship. That's why he asked Your Majesty to grant him marriage. Is that true?"
Yuan Lang was in a dilemma. If he had developed feelings for the fake lady, why did he want to marry the real lady now? If he had no feelings for the fake lady, what was the point of proposing marriage in the first place?
The Emperor of Southern Qi was accustomed to seeing his officials arguing with each other in the court. When he heard Tang Ying point out the problem so sharply, he couldn't help but become interested and looked directly at Yuan Lang, wanting to see his answer.
Concubine Wan couldn't bear to see her son in trouble, so she wanted to help him out: "Isn't it normal for a prince to have three wives and four concubines?"
Tang Ying seemed not to have heard what Imperial Concubine Wan said. Her eyes were as bright as stars, as if they could see straight into people's hearts. She kept chasing the Second Prince and asked, "Is it difficult for Your Highness to answer truthfully?"
Yuan Lang avoided the sharp edge and said with a stiff face: "At that time, the prince thought she was the orphan of a loyal hero, and saw that she was weak and sickly, so he took good care of her."
"Have you taken good care of her to the point of wanting to marry her as your concubine?"
Concubine Wan frowned, and suddenly felt disgusted with Tang Ying's aggressiveness. As Xiaojiu said, this girl was really a troublemaker. She was about to speak again, but was stopped by the emperor with a look - let it be a dispute between children, let them be.
Imperial Concubine Wan: "..." You're already blackmailing my son before he even gets married?!
Tang Ying was never behind in cunning. The Second Prince looked unhappy when she asked him a question, but she acted as if nothing had happened, ignoring the different expressions of the Emperor's concubines and the palace servants and eunuchs waiting in the hall, and said loudly: "That man's father also died in the battle of Baicheng. In terms of birth is no difference between her and me. We are both orphans of soldiers who died in the battle of Baicheng."
Emperor of Southern Qi: “…” This girl has such a sharp tongue.
"No, you are different from her." Yuan Lang said hurriedly.
Tang Ying taunted, "Is my father's official position different from his father's?"
Yuan Lang was hit by her words, as if someone had peeled off a layer of his mask, revealing his naked calculations.
Tang Ying pressed the issue: "So when Your Highness married a concubine, he didn't care about the concubine herself, but the background of the future princess?" She smiled softly: "Unfortunately, my father and brother are both dead, and I have no one to support me. My brothers in the family have not entered the government either. It's not that I am weak and sick, and I need Your Highness to take care of me!" She said word by word: "I don't have any friendship with Your Highness!"
She concluded bluntly: "Your Highness and I have no moral or profit. I don't understand why Your Highness wants to enter into this marriage. Please help me understand."
Yuan Lang was a man praised by countless people outside, and his adaptability was naturally good. It was no use denying it now, so he insisted: "I proposed to marry Miss Tang because I admired the Tang family for being loyal and brave. Although I later found out that I was deceived, I wanted to take care of Miss Tang and sincerely wanted to marry her. Miss Tang, you can't accuse me like this, as if I was only interested in profit. This hurts my heart too much!" He couldn't defend himself, so he simply played the emotional card.
Tang Ying had her own response: "In the past, marriage proposals also depended on the woman's wishes. Although my father has passed away, he arranged a marriage for me when he was alive. I and my future husband have been childhood sweethearts, we love each other and are willing to be together forever." She changed the subject: "Your Majesty issued the decree without knowing the reason, but the woman that Your Highness wants to marry mentioned in the decree is not me. It just her surname is also Tang, and she is deeply in love with Your Highness. As long as she doesn't marry under my name, I am happy to give her a generous gift!"
Fu Chen, who was standing in the corridor outside the palace, heard the words "future husband" from her mouth for the first time. He felt mixed emotions and had no idea what to feel. Then he heard her say "childhood sweethearts, loving each other, and promising to be together through life and death", which made him feel sour and astringent, as if he had swallowed an unripe green fruit raw, with an indescribable bitterness that was so painful that it made people feel distressed.
This was the first time Yuan Lang had heard of Tang Ying's "future husband" in his two lives. He was even more unconvinced: "The young lady didn't want to marry me, so she made up this person to fool me. I don't believe it! Tell me, who is that person?"
Tang Ying knelt upright, no longer entangled with him, but faced the Emperor of Southern Qi and Consort Wan, kowtowed solemnly to them, and said loudly: "My husband Yu An is the son of General Yu Wanqing. He and I grew up together, and we have a deep friendship. I will marry him and I will marry him! The fathers of our two families have already made a love alliance, and we are only waiting for the war..." Her eyes were red, and she took a deep breath before continuing: "The fathers of our two families have already made a promise to marry us after the war!"
"Yu Wanqing's son...isn't he dead?" Yuan Lang said in a lost voice with a pale face.
He was not a fool, and he could tell whether what Tang Ying said was true or false as soon as he heard it.
Tang Ying raised her voice and questioned: "My husband is a young hero, a man of steel, fearless of life and death, far superior to many other men in the world! Even if he has served the country with all his heart, can I be a fickle person? Your Majesty, I would like to ask, I am a filial son to my father and husband, do you really want me to marry the Second Prince?"
Fu Chen outside the palace was completely immersed in the icy lake, and felt frozen from the inside out - it turned out that she had never forgotten Yu An for a moment, and regarded herself as a widow?
Inside the hall, everyone was silent.
The Emperor of Southern Qi was looking at the girl kneeling on the ground. Her back was as straight as a pine or cypress, and her eyes showed a strong determination, like the edge of a sword. For a moment, it was unbearable to look at her. Forcing her to obey the order of marriage would destroy her loyalty and bravery. His long-hardened heart could not bear it.
The second prince was completely defeated and speechless.
She didn't cheat this time, but she used justice to pressure him.
The Southern Qi Emperor said in a gentle voice, "This matter is my mistake. I shouldn't have rashly issued an imperial decree to grant the marriage without asking clearly. I withdraw the imperial decree to grant the marriage. Your father and the Yu family are both loyal and brave, and they are the pillars of my country. I am heartbroken to lose them. I originally wanted to take good care of the loyal ministers, but I didn't expect such a misunderstanding to occur. Don't take it to heart, get up quickly and sit down to answer."
A palace maid came to help her, and Tang Ying stood up and sat down properly: "Thank you, Your Majesty. This matter was not your Majesty's mistake." If it was not your Majesty's mistake, then it was someone else's mistake. As for who the person at the mistake was, it was self-evident.
The second prince's plan failed, and he knew very well that after this incident, it would be difficult for him to marry Tang Ying again.
He couldn't understand what had gone wrong.
Same appearance, but completely different personalities.
"It's all my fault! I was negligent, please punish me, Father!"
The second prince knelt on the ground and apologized. Imperial Noble Consort Wan felt sorry for her son. She didn't care whether Tang Ying was the descendant of a loyal hero or not: "How can it be my son's fault? My son wanted to take care of Miss Tang with good intentions, but it's fine if Miss Tang doesn't appreciate it." What an ungrateful girl!
"Besides, the prince was deceived. Your Majesty, you can't punish him!" She was old, but she was very good at acting like a spoiled child. The Emperor of Southern Qi was very fond of her. "Okay, okay, I won't punish the prince. Get up quickly."
Yuan Lang thanked his parents, stood up and sat down again, looking at Tang Ying thoughtfully.
The Southern Qi Emperor summoned her. Even if she couldn't be his daughter-in-law, the orphan of a loyal and brave man still had to be comforted. He also asked about her work in the Imperial Cavalry Department. When he heard that it was the Ninth Princess who brought her in, he smiled and said, "Little Nine has a good eye."
The loyalty of the Tang family is beyond doubt, so it is appropriate for them to join the Forbidden Cavalry Division.
"I would also like to thank the Ninth Princess for giving me the opportunity to serve Your Majesty loyally!" Tang Ying was never vague when it came to flattering.
The Southern Qi Emperor chatted with her for a while about the White City, and then turned back to the winter hunt: "Since you were raised by Tang Yao, I think you are skilled in archery and horse riding. Why don't you join the winter hunt with the emperor's sons tomorrow?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Tang Ying's face was full of confusion. "Speaking of which, there is a very strange thing. Today, I was patrolling with my colleagues and encountered the Fourth Prince being chased by several wild boars . I worked together with my colleagues to hunt and kill seven wild boars. As a result, when we returned to the camp, we saw the seven wild boars in someone else's prey pile. I came here to respond to the call, and I felt strange along the way. Who actually used the wild boars that I and my colleagues hunted to make up the number?"
She mentioned the seven wild boars with such certainty that the Second Prince inexplicably thought of the seven wild boars that Yuan Ying and his men had brought over. His heart sank - could this be such a coincidence?