Chapter 236 - The Emperor's Love!

As soon as Yang Yingxue finished speaking, the hall quieted down. Many people’s envious eyes fell on Baili Jinchuan.

This Miss Yang’s appearance was delicate and beautiful, and her qin skills were outstanding. She was obviously a person of insight and courage. With her talent and her charming appearance, there were countless people who were willing to marry her.

Moreover, as a woman, she was willing to take the initiative to ask for a chance of serving the Second Prince. It must be because of her deep-rooted love for the Second Prince.

Judging from this, the Second Prince was the biggest winner who had great military merits, high titles of nobility, as well as stunning beauties. Tsk tsk, how enviable his life was!

Yang Yingxue knelt in the hall. She could not see anyone else’s expression, and her heart was filled with anxiety. Baili Qingcang only hesitated for a moment, but she felt that it had been a hundred years long. She finally heard his dignified words.

“Yang Yingxue, are you sure you only want to serve the Second Prince in his mansion?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Baili Qingcang pondered for a moment before suddenly laughing. He turned to look at the silent Baili Jinchuan and said, “Jinchuan, what do you think of this?”

Baili Qingcang’s voice carried a hint of mockery and he was obviously teasing the Second Prince. Many people around him revealed a knowing smile. How could the Second Prince reject such a good offer?

Baili Jinchuan looked at Yang Yingxue on the ground, and a ripple flashed in his eyes. “Miss Yang, did you volunteer to enter my Second Prince Mansion?”

Yang Yingxue raised her head and looked at the man who had a cold face. Her entire body trembled nervously and her voice also trembled. “Yes, I volunteer to serve Your Highness.”

“Serve? So you want to be a maid?”

Yang Yingxue was stunned, and a feeling of being hurt flashed through her eyes. “Even just serving as a maid, I’m willing.”

Looking at the pain in her eyes, Baili Jinchuan’s heart trembled. He had the illusion that he was facing Shen Ninghua. He suddenly raised his eyebrows and his icy cold gaze fell on Shen Ninghua.

However, Shen Ninghua’s eyes had been kept slightly lowered. Her thick eyelashes covered her black pupils, not revealing the slightest bit of emotion.

As he stared at Shen Ninghua, he slowly stood up and walked to the front of Yang Yingxue. He lowered his head and looked down at the somewhat similar face, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

Yang Yingxue’s entire body trembled, and she was almost unable to suppress the trembling in her heart. “Your Highness…”

The corner of Baili Jinchuan’s lips suddenly raised. A trace of a smile appeared on his ice-cold face like an icy flower blooming, which instantly confused people’s minds. “How can I let such a beauty serve me?”

Yang Yingxue’s face turned pale. Was he going to reject her?

Baili Jinchuan looked up at Baili Qingcang and saluted. “Father Emperor, I want to take Yingxue as my side concubine. Please agree to my request.” Side concubine meant she was not a servant.

Yang Yingxue was stunned and didn’t know how to react. A side concubine? Her background was too low, and her father’s position wasn’t high. Side concubine was the highest position she could wish for. Father Yang was also extremely happy in his heart that his daughter judged the situation very well. Now that Baili Jinchuan was a royal prince and had a lot of power, he must build a strong connection with him.

Baili Qingcang laughed loudly. “Alright, I was just thinking about choosing a princess and two side concubines for you. Now, one of the side concubines has been determined at this welcoming banquet. What a surprise!”

Shen Ninghua did not have too much expression on her face, but her heart was extremely uncalm. Her cousin was now a silent admirer of Baili Jinchuan, and she could endure his negligence and coldness. Once she became his side concubine, would she still be so willing?

People can endure a lot of things when they didn’t reach their goal. Once they got what they wanted, they became greedy and always felt that they deserved to be rewarded for their efforts.

Shen Ninghua hoped she could stay true to her heart, at least not getting lost.

“Thank you, Father Emperor.”

Baili Jinchuan stood up and personally helped Yang Yingxue up. He smiled warmly at her and said, “Yingxue, go back to your seat first. The ground is too cold.”

Yang Yingxue’s tears fell in an instant, but the smile on her lips was exceptionally gorgeous. Her cheeks also turned red with embarrassment. “Yes, thank you, Your Highness.”

Zhao Huiying’s expression had been sullen as she looked at Yang Yingxue with a murderous look in her eyes.

Lanling Tune seemed to be a trap by Shen Ninghua and Yang Yingxue. Otherwise, why would Yang Yingxue play such a tune that was rarely heard of? Thinking about it, the killing intent in her eyes grew more intense. Could it be that Shen Ninghua knew something and did this today to test her?

It seemed that she had to make a move as soon as possible and not allow what had happened back then to be revealed!

The atmosphere was exceptionally lively until the end of the banquet. Baili Qingcang drank a lot and his face turned slightly red. He was directly helped out of Chengqian Hall by Zhao Huiying.

The chief eunuch did not know what to do. The Emperor did not say which concubine’s palace he was going to, and the Empress was here, so he did not dare to ask. This was really tricky.

Zhao Huiying’s nurse Fangxue was clubbed to death. Beside her was a newly selected palace maid named Meixue.

Seeing the chief eunuch’s expression, Meixue smiled and stepped forward to block his path. “His Majesty has drunken too much today. Her Majesty is worried that the palace maids will not take good care of him, so she wants to personally take care of him. This sentiment is really touching, isn’t it?”

The chief eunuch was stunned for a moment and then nodded. “Yes, yes, Miss Meixue is right.”

A smile flashed in Meixue’s eyes. She turned her sleeve and took out a purse. Before the chief eunuch could react, the purse was already in his hand.

Zhao Huiying helped Baili Qingcang to Ningkun Palace and let Baili Qingcang lie on the bed. She waved her hand to let the palace maids retreat and personally wiped his face with a wet handkerchief.

The liquor that Baili Qingcang had drunk had a strong aftereffect. He also was blown by some cold wind on the way to the palace and so his mind became blurry. He felt the coldness on his face and slowly opened his eyes. In his blurry vision, he suddenly saw Xia Jingyan smiling at him and wiping his face with a handkerchief.

He suddenly held that hand and his eyes reddened with excitement. “You’re here? You’re finally willing to see me?”

Zhao Huiying suddenly trembled. Looking at Baili Qingcang’s blurry vision, she instantly understood something. She probed and asked, “Your Majesty, do you know who I am?”

Baili Qingcang’s expression was excited as he tightened his grip on Xia Jingyan’s hand. “How could I forget you…Jingyan…For so many years, I have never dreamed of you. Are you still blaming me?”

Zhao Huiying’s mouth was dry, and her lips trembled slightly. “How dare I blame you? You are the Emperor.”

“Emperor? Jingyan, if possible, I would rather not be an Emperor…” Baili Qingcang’s voice was desolate as he held Zhao Huiying’s hand against his face. His normally cold eyes were filled with tears. “Jingyan, how are you these years? I miss you so much…”

Zhao Huiying felt as if her heart had been pierced by thousands of sharp knives. Her gaze towards Baili Qingcang constantly changed between love and resentment. “The underground is so cold. How can I be well? Your Majesty, have you ever fallen in love with someone after so many years?”

Baili Qingcang suddenly opened his eyes. The gaze made Zhao Huiying’s heart tremble. “I love only one in a million. Other than you, how could I fall in love with anyone else?”

Zhao Huiying sat stiffly on the bed. The corners of her lips twitched. Suddenly, a gorgeous smile appeared on her face and she abruptly pulled her fingers out of Baili Qingcang’s hand. “You won’t fall in love with anyone else? What about the Empress? She married you since young and accompanied you all the way to this day!”

Baili Qingcang did not respond. He had actually fallen asleep.

Zhao Huiying stood up abruptly. Her fingers tightly gripped the silk handkerchief. After a while, she threw the handkerchief into the basin and strode out of the bedroom.

Leaning against the pillars in the hall, Zhao Huiying breathed deeply and it took her a while to suppress the tremors in her heart. “Xia Jingyan! You’ve been dead for so many years and you still have a place in his heart. You bitch! You bitch!”

“You’re dead. I can’t get even with you, but your daughter is still alive! And she’s pregnant now. I wanted to kill her directly, but now I’ve changed my mind. I’ll torture her bit by bit and make her life worse off than death!”

“It makes sense for the daughter to repay her mother’s debts, doesn’t it?”

The candle flames in the hall shone brightly and illuminated half of Zhao Huiying’s face, while the other side of her face was hidden in the shadows, carrying a strange sense of beauty.

Shen Ninghua and Chu Junyi left the Palace and returned to the princess’ mansion. Along the way back, Shen Ninghua kept frowning and pondering.

“Ninghua, what’s wrong?” Chu Junyi asked with concern.

“Although the Lanling Tune was touching, it shouldn’t have made the Emperor and Empress lose their composure like that.”

“What did you think of?”

Shen Ninghua shook her head. “I don’t have a clue.”

Chu Junyi helped her to the side to sat down and put his palm on her belly. “Don’t think about it. I’ll have someone check to see if there’s anything hidden we don’t know about.”

“Alright.” After having a long and eventful day, Shen Ninghua was also a little tired, so she fell asleep not long after leaning against Chu Junyi.

Chu Junyi turned his head slightly and brushed the hair on her face with his fingers. He kissed her forehead and carefully helped her to lie on the bed.

How could he fail to notice the abnormal behaviors of the Emperor and Empress? Not only did he notice, but he also found something else.

Before he married Ninghua, he had secretly found out about the story of the Xia Clan. During the confrontation between Shen Ninghua and Zhao Yunxiang, he helped her find evidence that led all the way to the Imperial Palace.

Ninghua’s mother was extremely good at playing the qin. Her best piece was the Lanling Tune. However, she had never touched the qin since she married Shen Dong. The last piece she played was this Lanling Tune.

The Emperor drank much at the banquet today and got drunk, which might have something to do with this tune. It seemed he should do some further investigation.

The next day, Shen Ninghua got up and was having breakfast when Hong Ling walked in with a face full of anger.

“What’s wrong?”

“Miss, Patriarch Xiao is here. He is seated in the flower hall and ordering our people to serve tea. He said that he wants you to come over and he has something to tell you.”

Shen Ninghua suddenly frowned. “Xiao Jingran?”

“Yes, he acted as if he was the master of the mansion. He also said…that you were impolite because you didn’t go out to welcome your foster father although you knew he was here…”