kvmb Chapter 258 Cannot Go on a Marriage Alliance
Chapter 258 Cannot Go on a Marriage Alliance
"mother?"
Li Duan looked at the princess in surprise and hurriedly grabbed her hand, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"
Seeing that Mingruo on the stage had already withdrawn her gaze and become absorbed in the opera, the eldest princess lowered her eyes and returned to normal, smiling as she said to Liduan, "It's nothing, my hand just went a little numb."
Li Duanzi carefully examined the princess's hand and found it was unharmed. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good, that's good. Let me rub it for you."
The eldest princess chuckled, then asked her seemingly casually, "What made you decide to invite Mother to the opera?"
"Let me see if you can help me out, Mother. The Ministry of Rites is currently selecting programs, and they've approached Xianyin Pavilion. I think Young Master Ming and his group sang quite well, but I can't help with that. Otherwise, Mother, could you help them pull some strings?" Li Duan said with a grin.
The eldest princess scolded her, "Nonsense."
Li Duan made a face: "I was just joking. The main thing is that I wanted to give Mom a surprise. How about it? Isn't it great?"
"Hmm, not bad," the princess replied softly.
Li Duan did not notice the low, hoarse tone in the princess's voice.
He continued speaking softly to her, "I ran into Young Master Ming at Yangyang's place a few days ago. Yangyang said he was there to see a doctor because his throat was sore. Sigh, he's had a tough time. I heard he ended up in an opera troupe when he was young and trained hard for many years before finally getting the chance to come to the capital. It must have been really tough for him. But now he's quite famous. Miss Wang goes there every day to book out shows. She's so enthusiastic."
The eldest princess looked at the people on the stage and listened quietly, not knowing whether she was listening to Li Duan speak or to the people on stage performing.
When the song ended, the princess dismissed Li Duan and called Ming Ruo into the room.
Mingruo had changed back into a blue robe, but his makeup was still on. The princess watched him quietly, and Mingruo knelt down before her. The princess dampened a handkerchief with a makeup-dissolving solution, walked to him, and gently wiped away the makeup from his face, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Changyi".
"Changyi greets his mother."
Mingruo's voice choked slightly, and her eyes were already red.
The princess's fingers, which were cupping Mingruo's face, trembled uncontrollably, and her tears fell into his hair.
The eldest princess married Bo Zi'an, a newly appointed third-ranked scholar in the imperial examinations, and they had a son named Changyi.
……
The day before Li Duan's coming-of-age ceremony, she had just climbed into bed to blow out the lamp and go to sleep when she saw a figure walking out from behind the screen.
Li Duan jumped up immediately, "Mother? What brings you here?"
The eldest princess walked around the screen and came in, taking off her shoes and socks and getting into bed. "Mother's little pear will be coming of age tomorrow, she'll be a young lady now. Mother wants to spend time with little pear tonight. Does little pear welcome that?"
Li Duan opened her arms and rushed into the Princess's arms, hugging her tightly: "I used to sneak into Mother's bed at night. Are you copying me, Mother?"
"Yes, I'll learn from you, I'll learn from you so you never grow up." The princess smiled and pinched her nose.
Li Duan tilted her head and winked at the princess: "I will always be my mother's little darling, I don't want to grow up!"
The eldest princess teased, "Oh? Is that so? I heard that Sheng Junyao is returning to the capital in the next few days. He has made great contributions this time. Do you think His Majesty will bestow a marriage upon him? If Xiaoli is not grown up yet, she may not be able to make it in time."
Li Duan's eyes widened immediately. "How can that be! I've finally reached the point where I can get married! Mother, Mother, remember to tell Uncle tomorrow that he's not allowed to bestow a marriage upon Brother Sheng. If he does, it can only be bestowed upon me!"
Then she shook her head: "No, no, it has to be Brother Sheng who proposes to me first. If it's an arranged marriage, wouldn't that be a bit coercive? I'm not that kind of person. I want Brother Sheng to marry me willingly!"
"Our little pear will definitely get what she wants." The princess reached out and gently stroked her daughter's face, looking at her with such affection that she couldn't get enough of her.
"Mother, what's wrong? You're acting strangely." Li Duan sensed that her mother seemed a little odd today.
The eldest princess smiled and gently pinched her cheek: "Mother is just a little reluctant to part with Xiaoli when she thinks about how she will grow up and get married."
Li Duan leaned over and gave the princess a loud kiss on the cheek: "Mother, even when I grow up and get married, you will always be my favorite. Brother Sheng will be second, if I have to. Mother is the greatest! I want to be your daughter in this life and the next!"
"Alright, I'll come back to be Xiaoli's daughter in my next life too." The princess smiled and hugged her daughter.
The next morning, Li Duan hurriedly got up and ran to the kitchen first.
"Have you prepared everything I asked you to?" Li Duan asked the cook.
The cook hurriedly replied, "Everything is ready, Your Highness. When would you like to eat?"
"Wait until I come back from the palace banquet," Li Duan said, looking at the prepared ingredients with a hint of eagerness. "Prepare a lot more. Although today is my birthday, my mother must have had a hard time giving birth to me. I want to make two bowls of longevity noodles to eat with her! Ah, no, I want to make three bowls and call Yangyang. We'll drink until we drop!"
The cook smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I guarantee I'll prepare it for you. You can start cooking as soon as you get back!"
After listening, Li Duan left satisfied.
Upon arriving at the palace, people were still arriving for the banquet. Li Duan searched around before finding Lu Yangyang and Sheng Yunjiao. The three of them chatted for a while before finding a spot to wait for the banquet to begin.
At this moment, Eunuch Cao came over and said that the Crown Prince invited Lu Yangyang to come over, so Lu Yangyang got up and followed him.
Li Duan and Sheng Yunjiao were a little bored. Li Duan looked around and, not seeing the Ninth Princess, said to Sheng Yunjiao, "I'll go call Xiao Jiu. Wait for me for a bit."
Sheng Yunjiao nodded.
Li Duan got up and slipped into the inner palace with practiced ease.
As she passed by the palace where her mother used to live, Li Duan suddenly had a bright idea and found a small hole behind the wall to crawl into. When she was a child, she was naughty. For a while, when she lived in the palace with her mother, she heard people say that when a girl was about to get married, they would dig up the buried "Daughter's Red Wine". So she secretly hid two bottles of wine and buried them behind her mother's palace.
She carefully found the tree where she had buried the wine, and was rubbing her hands together, preparing to dig it out, when she suddenly heard a very familiar voice coming from the hall behind her.
She paused for a moment, then tiptoed along the wall with suspicion towards the window, and quietly opened it a crack with her finger.
This is a grand hall used for afternoon rest. The multi-treasure pavilion is against the window on the back wall, blocking most of the view. In the distance, on that large soft couch, the eldest princess is dressed in an incomparably gorgeous red dress. The open collar has been pulled down to her shoulders, revealing her round and fair shoulders.
The princess raised her chin slightly as a hand gripped her neck.
She looked defiantly at the emperor and said coldly, "Xiao Li cannot go for a political marriage. I disagree. If you want her to go for a political marriage, you can kill me first."