Extra 4
After Su Qingqing finished speaking, she took a step back and bowed to say goodbye.
Rong Que just wanted to pull her aside and talk to her for a while, or just look at her without saying anything.
But he couldn't even look at her openly.
There cannot be any contact between them.
Clenching his fists and taking a deep breath, Rong Que walked behind Su Qingqing at a distance, looking at the figure's back greedily until the person turned left and disappeared at the first intersection in the long corridor.
Rong Que felt as if something had suddenly been lost from his heart, and his heart felt empty and sour.
Minglu followed beside him, looking at his prince with heartache, but he could not persuade him, so he could only say: "Your Highness, His Majesty is waiting."
Imperial study.
The Emperor sat behind his desk with a look of unease on his face, the Chief Eunuch hunched over him in front of him. "...We met at the palace gate. Your Highness exchanged a few words with General Su, but judging by your appearance, it seems you've been affected by these rumors and are in a state of low spirits."
The emperor snorted coldly, "Is he mentally exhausted, or is he upset because he was rejected when he tried to establish a relationship with General Su?"
The eunuch, his heart pounding, remained calm as he said, "If we talk about a relationship... General Su did show some concern for His Highness."
The emperor raised his eyebrows, his expression becoming more serious. "How do you care?"
"General Su said that His Highness was not in good spirits and asked if it was because of the rumors, and told His Highness not to worry too much."
The emperor's solemn expression immediately softened a bit, "She's not showing concern at all, she's clearly testing me!"
The chief eunuch breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart was relieved a little.
Then, a young eunuch came from outside, reporting, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived."
The emperor's anger, fueled by the rumors, had dissipated considerably, and his voice softened. "Come in."
Rong Que had only been under house arrest for half a month, but he had obviously lost weight. This made the emperor feel a little distressed. After all, he was his own son, and he had patiently raised him, even if it was just to fight against the Duke of Zhenguo. He had invested his feelings in him after all.
"Why have you lost so much weight? How do the people in your house take care of you?"
Rong Que bowed and greeted the emperor, but was reprimanded by him. He did not argue, but stood there with his head down and remained silent.
The emperor looked at him, "Why don't you say anything? Are you blaming me?"
Rong Que stiffened his neck. He missed Su Qingqing so much. Before they met, he could still control the longing, but after just meeting, the longing was like a raging tsunami, hitting his internal organs and causing him unbearable pain.
I couldn't help it, my eyes turned red.
"I dare not."
The voice was trembling with a little sob.
He really misses that person.
The emperor didn't understand the situation and just thought that he was really wronged. He knew exactly how Rong Que had lived since he was a child, but he had never seen Rong Que with red eyes, tears, sobs, or trembling.
"Don't dare? I think you dare." Although he said so, his tone was at least soft. "Why do you believe those rumors outside? If you were not my biological son, would I make you the crown prince? Would I personally teach you about government affairs?"
Rong Que took a breath and said, "That's not why I'm here."
The emperor raised an eyebrow, "It's not because of this? Then it's because of what happened with Concubine Jin earlier?"
Rong Que missed Su Qingqing so much that he felt heartbroken. He simply didn't keep it in and just used this as an outlet to vent, "I am innocent. I didn't do it."
His voice was hoarse and he tried his best to suppress the sound, but the outburst of emotion startled the emperor.
He really didn't expect that this incident would cause Rong Que to react so strongly?
Fortunately, he released Rong Que. If he had been locked up longer...
Looking at Rong Que's furious expression, the Emperor sighed, "I was so angry that I lost my mind."
It can be considered as admitting the mistake to Rong Que.
Rong Que didn't dare to continue to dwell on the matter, so he said nothing. The emperor looked at him for a moment, then said quietly, "Have you met General Su after his triumphant return?"
When Rong Que heard the emperor mention Su Qingqing, his heart immediately became extremely excited.
"When I first entered the palace, I met him at the palace gate and we exchanged a few words." After a pause, Rong Que continued, "General Su showed concern for me and told me not to pay attention to those rumors."
He knew that his meeting with Su Qingqing at the palace gate could not escape the emperor's eyes.
Su Qingqing's last words were paving the way for him.
He wanted to appreciate her kindness.
When Rong Que thought of this person, he felt sour and soft in his heart.
The emperor looked at Rong Que, who seemed quite grateful, and smiled. "Do you think she cares about you?"
Rong Que suppressed his emotions and tried his best to show the doubt he should have at the moment, "Isn't it?"
The emperor said, "Fool, they were just testing you."
Rong Que steadied his voice, "Testing me? Testing me with what?"
He paused, then realized something belatedly, "She wants to test my attitude towards this rumor? Test my relationship with my father? Or test something else!"
The more he spoke, the angrier Rong Que became.
This anger satisfied the Emperor. "Many of the soldiers under her command once served under your uncle. Back then, your uncle was a renowned hero on the battlefield. If rumors like this spread, some in the army will inevitably raise concerns."
Rong Que's face immediately turned ugly.
Let’s not talk about where this rumor came from. The numerous military achievements that Su Qingqing led the Su family army to achieve were all built with the blood and heads of the dead.
The emperor said such words in just a few words, and Rong Que felt sorry for Su Qingqing.
But this unpleasant expression made the emperor think that he was angry because of Su Qingqing's temptation, and he felt more satisfied.
"The Hundred Flowers Festival will be coming soon. At that time, all the noble ladies in the capital will go to the Big Buddha Temple to burn incense. A few days ago, Marquis Rong'an came to talk to me about it. As you know, he has always doted on the third young lady in his mansion.
The Third Miss wants to go to the Big Buddha Temple to burn incense, but he is busy those few days. Can you accompany her?"
The emperor's words were neither explicit nor implicit. Rong Que didn't play dumb and instinctively refused, " Your son dare not delay Third Miss Rong."
The emperor sighed, "You, what kind of fairy can you possibly fancy? At the banquet yesterday, your second brother asked me to marry the eldest daughter of the Qin family. Unfortunately, that girl hasn't reached the age of marriage yet. Your second brother is already thinking about the candidate for the main wife, and why are you so slow? You are going to drive me crazy."
He looks like a kind father.
Rong Que sneered in his heart, but his face remained unmoved. "Your son... doesn't seem to like women."
The emperor was about to drink his tea when he nearly choked to death when he heard this.
Even the chief eunuch looked up suddenly and looked at the prince in surprise.
The emperor coughed several times, his eyes full of bewilderment. "What did you just say?"
Anyway, he said it out loud, Rong Que said with a look of desperation, "This son doesn't like women. This son has no reaction to any woman he sees. This son... This son has tried, but no matter how beautiful she is, it's useless."
