Chapter 2
Having been reborn for more than ten years, every time I dreamed back to the past, it was so tragic.
Rong Xiangmian wiped away her tears and thought back before realizing where she was.
Today, Princess Zhaoren went out to surrender, and she ended her mission as the Princess’s companion and returned to the home she hadn’t returned to for nearly eight years, the Duke of England’s Mansion.
“The girl has been busy with the Princess’s affairs for the past few days, exhausted,” Linlang assisted her to get up, “Returning to the residence after leaving the palace, she fell asleep without eating lunch, and slept through dinner. I’ll go to the kitchen to get some more food?”
Rong Xiangmian shook her head, signaling that she had no appetite. She got up and went around alone to the backyard of Fufeng Xuan, which was connected to a lake. That lake used to be where the burnt down small courtyard was located, and the mansion drew in living water on the advice of a Feng Shui master to remodel it to avoid the fire.
In the darkness, Xiangmian squatted by the lake, watching the moonlight cast down, only to feel the silence of the world. The newly transplanted Jianlan flower has a pleasant fragrance. It is said that this is Mother’s favorite flower. Although this life and mother hurriedly one side, or the pain of death parting, but better than the last life, she forgot her mother.
A few bright spots suddenly appeared on the originally quiet lake. Aiming to look over, vaguely distinguishable is a few stewardesses with lanterns standing at that end.
There seems to be a girl in the center, dressed very thin.
That girl in the mother-in-law’s support, down the stone steps of the lake, slowly into the lake, and finally leapt.
What is this for?
Before Rong Xiangmian could react, the grannies yelled, “Someone’s coming! Someone jumped into the lake!”
Startled, she hurried out of Fufeng Xuan and ran that way.
A few lanterns shining on the lake, shadows, someone in the lake is struggling. Some people on the shore yelled to save people, some people shouted to call the master and madam to come, some people have taken off their shoes, jump down.
To the front of the eyes, only to find that the lake jump is the third sister Rong Xiangchi, she has been fished up, soaked, shivering.
Acacia rushed to hold her, took off his cloak to wrap her, and looked at her eyes, good thing people are still awake. A group of subordinates have long panicked, afraid of being chastised.
“Quickly go find the Imperial Doctor!” Rong Xiangshi shouted.
In the blink of an eye, the Duke and Duchess of State also arrived, and Lady Liu hugged her daughter as she cried loudly, “This bitter child of mine! Your father and father for the sake of glory, to sell you to that place where people and ghosts are not distinguished, mother might as well die with you!”
At this moment, the situation is chaotic, the father looks miserable, Xiangmian can’t care to salute, only went over to call out to the father, asked: “What’s going on here?”
Father shook his head, “Xiangmian, come here, my father has something to tell you.”
Inside the Yu Qing Hall, the lights were on. The British Duke sat in the main seat and told his daughter, “Today, the princess came out of the surrender, and after the Daming Palace banquet, the Emperor stayed with me and said that the Empress wants to talk you to the Knight King as a side ……”
“Daughter is not willing!” Rong Xiangmian was in a hurry, couldn’t wait for her father to finish his words, and knelt down. She didn’t understand why she had been avoiding that person all her life and would still be targeted.
She took out the speech she had prepared long ago, “Father, you are a first class public official, Marquis Yongan is a first class marquis, even though he is a state uncle and is powerful in the dynasty now, but his Zhang family’s daughter has become the Li Wangfei, if I become this side consort, won’t it be a disgrace to you? There is also big brother, he is about to take the imperial examination, in the future to join the dynasty as an official, and the son of the Marquis of Yongan became a colleague, is not the beginning of the career, there is a shortcoming in the hands of the people.”
Hearing his daughter’s fierce words, Rong Sheng sighed in relief, “You know how to consider for your father and brother, this is good.”
“?” Rong Xiangmian was a bit surprised that her father didn’t use the word “filial piety” to force her to be a concubine as he did back then.
“Since father also doesn’t think highly of this marriage, why didn’t he return the message in the palace?”
English Gong Dao: “His Majesty said that you were originally his preferred candidate for a righteous daughter to marry for the Princess in the Northern True Kingdom. Unfortunately, Princess Zhaoren fell in love with the son of the King of Beijin and insisted on marrying far away in the grassland, which delayed your marriage. And think you in the palace for so many years, and Li Wang deal with more opportunities, now the Queen to say, most likely because Li Wang asked her to make the decision. If you are also interested, why don’t you fulfill a beautiful thing?”
Rong Xiangmian desperately shook her head, “Not really! My daughter has not even spoken a few words with King Li! If father is in trouble, my daughter will go to the palace to beg Princess Hui and ask her to speak clearly to His Majesty.”
Lord British was a bit surprised, not understanding why Rong Xiangmian was so against the Li King, said, “That’s all, my father will go to the palace tomorrow to explain to His Majesty for you.”
Hearing the British Duke say this, Rong Xiangmian immediately gave his father a big salute.
Living a new life, Rong Xiangmian realized that there were many things that she was powerless to change, such as her mother’s death, the Princess marrying far away from the Northern True Kingdom, and her second uncle’s sacrifice. However, big brother was unharmed by her efforts and grew up safe and healthy. Now, the fate of the Knight King’s side consort, she had also escaped it.
She was breathing a sigh of relief when she heard a voice from outside the house, “Master, they are both your daughters, why don’t you reject the marriage for Xiangzhi!”
The Duke of England’s wife complained loudly without fear, rarely uttering such blunt words. She entered the hall and glanced at Rong Xiangshi, “You go back first.”
Rong Xiangshi honestly got up and just went out the door when he heard the British Duke and his wife arguing.
The Duke of England grunted, “What do you know? Xiangmian was originally one of the false companions when the Emperor mentioned Xiangchi’s marriage, a side consort only, there is no harm in answering or not.”
“Why not agree? Princess out of the descent, the emperor did not let the king of qi to send, also did not let the king of qing to go, only let the king of li to send, this meaning is not obvious? This is what the Crown Prince did. If you marry King Li as a side consort, you will be a noble consort in the future, what’s wrong with that?”
Liu didn’t wait for her husband to respond, then continued, “Both are princess companions, and the Sun family’s girl is about to be married to the King. I had hoped that I would be able to marry in the Northern Realm, but I didn’t realize that there would be a complication. This Li Wang side consort position do not see, is there any other family’s consort position waiting for her not? Even my brother’s and sister-in-law’s incompetent son minded her origins!”
Rong Xiang saw that he understood, the lady is blaming her for being useless, wasting the opportunity to be the princess’s companion, and not getting any benefits.
The Duke of England laughed coldly at this time: “You just know that people are hot, have you ever dealt with that Li Wang? Although he is now face, but act impetuous, but on the Zhang family and the Queen’s support, I see that the Emperor likes King Qing more than him. The world does not know who owns it! We do not have to for a small side consort position, wade into the muddy waters of the throne, the future for nothing.”
Only then did Rong Xiangmian realize that her father did not force her because he did not think highly of King Li.
Although she avoided King Li everywhere, she had heard a lot about him from Sun Mingyue. Compared to his last life, this Li Wang was not that popular with His Majesty, but he had the support of the Empress’s clan.
What the British Duchess wanted to wait for was this sentence from the Duke of State, and busily said, “Since His Lordship doesn’t want to get involved in the muddy waters of the royals, why did he agree to marry Xiangshi to the Fourth Highness ……”
Rong Xiangshi’s heart wondered, so the third sister pretended to jump into the lake for this?
A group of grannies and maids guarded the courtyard door, she walked more slowly, but also can not dawdle further, only to leave.
The next morning, Rong Xiangmian went to the second aunt to greet.
Second Aunt Long already knew about this and quietly said to Xiangmian, “Seeing that King Yun has settled for the Sun family girl, Empress Dowager is worried about Fourth Highness’s marriage.”
Seeing that Xiangmian was at a loss, sixth sister Rong Xiangwen grabbed the opportunity to add, “It’s the Abolitionist Empress Yu’s son, the one who left the palace and never came back, and followed Old General Qi to Yangzhou to garrison the border!”
Actually, Rong Xiangwen knew about the Fourth Highness. Several adult royal sons in the palace had received titles of Prince and County King. However, His Fourth Highness, so far, does not have a royal title and royal residence, and does not even have the decency of a royal clan son.
His biological mother, Empress Yu, plotted to murder the current Empress Zhang and her heir in the womb, was deposed and imprisoned, and the Yu family also committed several major crimes, His Majesty’s dragon face was furious, and ordered a copy of the family. With such an in-law and out-law family, I’m afraid there is no way for His Fourth Highness to have the decency of an ordinary prince.
What she was confused about was that the Fourth Highness in her last life did not go to Yangzhou. After Yu was abolished, he repeatedly made wild and paradoxical remarks, broke with the Emperor, and invited himself to be abolished as a commoner to accompany his mother at the Imperial Tombs. Although the Empress Dowager favored this grandson, she couldn’t stop the Emperor from secluding him along with him in a fit of rage.
Why wasn’t Fourth Highness like this in this life? Where has it changed?