Extra 1
In March, the grass is green and the birds are singing.
Prince Rong Que, who had been under house arrest for half a month, stood in front of the desk in his study, writing with great concentration.
Suddenly, there was a sound of stumbling and running outside.
"Your Highness, Your Highness!"
It was Minghe's voice. The wolf-hair brush in Rongque's hand trembled slightly. He raised his eyes and looked towards the door. The dark look in his eyes made people feel uncomfortable.
Minghe rushed in breathlessly, "Your Highness, General Su has returned safely!"
Rong Que's hand holding the pen trembled, and the pen fell on the table with a click.
A beautiful picture of snow-viewing was stained with ink by a fallen brush.
Minglu stood nearby, looking at his Highness, his heart aching. He hurriedly said, "General Su's safe return is worth it, Your Highness. General Su will surely stay longer in Beijing this time, and Your Highness will be able to see him someday."
Rong Que raised his chin and turned his face to the side arrogantly. Tears welled up in his sore eyes, but they didn't fall in the end.
Three months ago, battle reports came from the front line that Su Qingqing led his troops to attack Da Qi and won a great victory.
On the way back to the capital, they encountered a rebellion by bandits.
The emperor ordered the Su family army to deal with the bandits along the way.
There was nothing wrong with dealing with the bandits. It was what the army should do when passing through the border. But there were people in the court who were trying to trick Su Qingqing into writing and acting out the story of the bandits herself in order to magnify her merits and become famous.
How many battles has Su Qingqing led the Su family army in? How many bandits does she need to act in order to become famous?
Rong Que immediately secretly sent people to the area where the bandits were infested. After several inspections, he found that the bandits were indeed man-made, but it was not Su Qingqing who wrote and performed the show, but the Duke of Zhenguo who wrote and performed the show.
The group of bandits was small in number, but they were plotting a plague.
They were all the death warriors of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. They fought against the Su family army for no other reason than to bring the epidemic into the army.
The Su family army, which had just expanded the territory for the Great Yan Dynasty, fought bravely and won the battle against the enemy, but was stabbed in the back by its own people when it returned.
Rong Que was afraid that these people would succeed. Even if there was a one in ten thousand chance, the consequences were unimaginable. He immediately sent his own people to destroy this group of troublemakers.
The Duke of Zhenguo's plan failed. It was found out that he was the one who interfered and caused the second prince's mother in the palace to find a serious fault with Rong Que, forcing the emperor to confine Rong Que for half a month.
If a woman in the palace deliberately wants to harm someone, and she is the one favored by the emperor and can influence him, it will be extremely easy for her to do so.
Rong Que suffered because he had no mother.
After all these years of stumbling and falling, he finally grew up and managed to survive to the age of starting a family.
He had been losing for the past ten years and had gained almost nothing, but there was one thing: he would not let her get hurt even if it cost him his life.
Closing his eyes, Rong Que waved his hand, signaling Ming and Ming Lu to go down.
The study door was closed. Minglu sighed and said to Minghe in a low voice, "What do you think of General Su's complexion?"
Minghe shook his head. "It's too far to see. His Majesty personally led the civil and military officials out of the city to welcome him. Our Highness is under house arrest. There's no way I can get away with that."
After a pause, Minghe tugged at Minglu's sleeve and took two steps outside. He glanced at the study door and said with a bitter face, "I heard the chief eunuch mention it today. It seems that His Majesty wants to marry General Su to His Majesty."
Minglu was immediately shocked.
They both knew exactly how much their Highness loved General Su. If General Su really married the Second Prince, their Highness's hard life would be completely ruined.
"I have to talk to His Highness about this." Minglu said with clenched fists.
Minghe shook his head, "No matter what, His Highness is under house arrest and can't go out. If he knew about this, he would be so angry that his body wouldn't be able to bear it.
Besides, if His Highness knew about this, he would definitely try his best to get out.
What if he angers His Majesty again? His Majesty doesn't like our prince very much. If it weren't for his struggle with the Duke of Zhenguo, our prince would have already ceased to be the crown prince."
"So we should tell His Highness that as long as His Majesty doesn't find someone new to rival the Duke of Zhenguo, His Highness is the most suitable candidate, and he will be fine."
Here, Ming and Ming Lu thought about it and finally told Rong Que the news.
Over there, in the palace.
Su Qingqing won a great victory in the battle and was welcomed into the palace by the emperor himself and all the civil and military officials. The palace had already prepared a celebration banquet, just waiting for the whole court to celebrate.
After entering the palace, a palace servant led Su Qingqing to a side hall prepared early in the morning to take off her armor and change into ordinary official robes.
Finding an excuse to dismiss the serving palace maid, Su Qingqing called out to her confidant, Right Lieutenant General Wang Yu, "Did you see the Crown Prince in the crowd today?"
Wang Yu shook his head. "No, I checked once at the city gate, and the Crown Prince wasn't there. Then, when I returned to the palace, he wasn't there either."
Su Qingqing frowned.
In such an occasion, even the five-year-old prince came out, so why was the crown prince not here?
"You'll have a chance to find out what happened."
Wang Yu accepted the order, paused, and then said: "General, we are military generals, and now we have such merits. I am afraid it is not good to get close to the princes."
Su Qingqing certainly knew this, so after leaving and returning to Beijing, she never had any contact with any prince and avoided them completely.
Can……
The body can avoid it, but what about the mind?
She couldn't control her care and concern for that man, even though she knew that there was no possibility of a good outcome for a prince of a delicate status and a military commander with numerous military achievements. But precisely because she knew there would be no good outcome, she would not suppress the feelings in her heart.
These are the only feelings she has left.
The frontier is vast, and on a cold night, looking up at the starry sky, my heart always needs to be filled with something.
When it is full, people will feel at ease.
Su Qingqing twisted her fingers and was about to say something else, but a palace maid came to inform her that the banquet was about to begin, so she had to give up.
The celebration banquet was extremely lively. His Majesty was in high spirits, and the ministers were cheering him on. There was an endless stream of people coming to toast Su Qingqing.
When the second prince came over with the wine cup, Su Qingqing had already drunk three jars of wine. She couldn't be said to be drunk, but she was staggering.
Seeing the Second Prince coming forward, he hurriedly stood up and accepted the glass of wine from the Second Prince politely and respectfully but with a sense of alienation. His whole body clearly conveyed the message: Stay away from me.
The second prince looked at the Duke of Zhenguo with a scornful smile on his face, and there was a stern look in his eyes: My mission is accomplished!
He put away his wine glass, turned around and went back to his seat without saying another word.
The Duke of Zhenguo gritted his teeth in anger, but he was helpless.
The Emperor squinted his eyes and looked at her vaguely. Suddenly, he turned to the Empress beside him and said, "Isn't it time for the Crown Prince to choose a concubine this year?"
