Princess Qing wasn’t particularly interested in the food. Since Prince Qing was eating, she said, “Mother, please speak.”

“This matter was actually suggested by His Majesty. You’ve been married for over three years now, and you see how each of your brothers’ households have children, including the Eastern Palace with Yuanbao.

Meanwhile, Prince Qing’s residence is quite lonely, so His Majesty and I thought it would be good to add a new member to the Prince’s residence.” The Empress glanced meaningfully at Princess Qing. “If you have any thoughts, feel free to tell me, and I can discuss them with His Majesty.”

“I have no objections,” Princess Qing replied with a smile. “The Prince’s residence is indeed a bit lonely. I have been hoping for someone to keep me company and bring some joy.”

“Don’t you have anyone to talk to or amuse you usually?” The Empress suddenly asked, glancing at the couple.

Prince Qing’s hand holding the jasmine tea paused slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.

However, the smile on Princess Qing’s face was as usual. “The prince has official duties to attend to and can’t always stay in the inner quarters to talk and entertain me.”

This was clearly just a polite remark.

If they were still in their fief, Prince Qing might indeed have many matters to handle.

But now that they were back in the capital, he only held an honorary position in the Ministry of Works, with no real duties to keep him busy.

The Empress naturally didn’t point this out.

Instead, she smiled and said, “The Inner Court sent many bolts of fabric yesterday. Anru, take the princess to have a look and pick out a few good ones.”

Princess Qing was delighted. “Thank you, Mother. I saw the clothes Liang and Xue girls were wearing in the Eastern Palace last time and was envious of Mother’s fabrics. Now I finally have the chance to visit Mother’s storehouse.”

The Empress’s expression slightly changed, but Anru, standing beside her, smiled and said, “Those few bolts of fabric aren’t much. There are even better ones in the storehouse. I’ll take the princess to see them right away.”

“Thank you, Aunt.” Princess Qing bowed to the Empress and followed Anru out.

In the inner hall, only the Empress and her son, Prince Qing, remained.

“Why didn’t you ask me which family’s daughter I chose for you?”

Prince Qing finally finished his jasmine tea, put down the empty cup, and smiled. “Since Father and Mother chose for me, it must be good.”

“You’re not concerned at all?” The Empress had always thought of Prince Qing as having a good temperament, almost no temperament at all.

However, Princess Qing’s subtle words reminded the Empress that perhaps her son wasn’t as easygoing as she thought.

So today, she wanted to dig deeper and test him.

“Which family’s daughter did Father and Mother choose for me?” Prince Qing asked.

The Empress felt slightly relieved.

Her son was still obedient and perceptive, understanding her displeasure and following her lead with his question.

“It’s Liang Muchen from the Weiyuan Marquis’s residence. You saved her in the Eastern Palace before, which was a kind of fate between you two. She is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s residence, so making her your secondary consort might be a bit of a slight to her!”

Prince Qing nodded seriously. “Indeed, it is a slight.”

“Muchen is a child of excellent appearance and character. I hope she can get along well with Jinniu in the future.” Even now, the Empress still felt a bit regretful.

Liang Muchen, being so beautiful and sensible, would have been most suitable as the Crown Princess.

“This son believes that what Mother chooses for the Crown Prince is always the best. The princess was also selected by Father and Mother, so they must have a lot to talk about.”

At first, this seemed fine.

However, as the Empress listened, she suddenly sensed something and her hand holding the tea cup shook.

She looked at Prince Qing in disbelief.

Prince Qing sat there calmly, with no special emotions on his face.

In the stillness, it felt like something in the Empress’s heart had collapsed. Indeed, indeed…

“Is that how you really feel?”

“Does Mother dislike it?” Prince Qing lowered his gaze slightly, then looked back at the Empress. “Mother, please forgive me if I was out of line. Rest assured, I have no objections to the arrangements made by Father and Mother. I am very pleased to have Miss Liang as my secondary consort.”

“No,” the Empress looked at Prince Qing’s smiling face, and for some reason, it felt like a knife twisting in her heart. “Originally, His Majesty and I never intended for you to marry a daughter of the Chen family. It was… it was because…”

“There’s no need for Mother to explain,” Prince Qing said calmly when the Empress brought up old matters. “I understand. The Crown Prince insisted on breaking the engagement to preserve the Chen family’s honor, and I was the best choice. Father and Mother were also forced into this. As for Miss Liang, since I saved her, she naturally cannot marry the Crown Prince and can only marry me. I understand perfectly. My earlier remark was not meant to imply anything else. Mother must be overthinking.”

Indeed, what Prince Qing said was the consideration of the Emperor and Empress.

However, at this moment, it sounded extremely harsh to the Empress.

Prince Qing smiled and asked, “Does Mother have any other instructions?”

“I have no instructions.”

“Then I will take my leave.” Prince Qing stood up, bowed, and left the Kunning Palace without looking back.

……

After finishing the formalities, Rongrong and Xue Xiaoshan rested for a while at the Huibin Building before returning to Wutong Alley together.

Grandmother and Chunxing came back from buying groceries and were very pleased to see Rongrong.

The three of them cooked a simple lunch together in the kitchen, bustling with activity.

Since Xue Xiaoshan mentioned that Rongrong would be living here in the future, after lunch, he accompanied Rongrong to choose a room in the courtyard.

Coincidentally, it was the same room where the Crown Prince had once burst into the house and pulled Rongrong in to hide from Xue Xiaoshan.

Rongrong took a short nap in the room but found it hard to sleep soundly, so she returned to the Eastern Palace early.

At this time, Yuanbao was still napping in Fengyang Palace.

Rongrong went straight into Yuhua Palace, contemplating how to discuss with the Crown Prince her unwillingness to go to Liangzhou.

As she was thinking about this, she saw Fu Quan coming out of the small study.

Upon seeing Rongrong, Fu Quan quickly bowed and said, “Miss, you’re back.”

Recently, everyone in the East Palace treated Rongrong as if she were the mistress, and Rongrong had become accustomed to it.

She nodded and asked, “Is His Highness inside?”

“Yes, Miss, please come in. The Master has something to discuss with you!”

Something to discuss?

Rongrong tensed slightly and stepped into the small study.

Liu Zhen was standing in front of the bookshelf, seemingly searching for a book. Hearing the noise behind him, he turned around and, upon seeing Rongrong, threw the book he was holding onto the desk and said in a deep voice, “Close the door.”

Rongrong’s face turned red.

She didn’t want to comply, but she knew Liu Zhen could do anything.

Yuhua Palace was filled with his people, and he was someone who avoided no one.

If he wanted to be rude, he would do it regardless of whether she closed the door or not.

It was better for her to save some face and close the door.

As soon as the door closed, before she could turn around, he embraced her.

“Why did it take you so long to pass on a message home?” His voice was slightly cold, clearly very dissatisfied.

Rongrong was unfazed and replied confidently, “I haven’t been home for a while. Grandmother insisted I stay for a meal, and after eating, I felt sleepy and took a nap.”

“You sleep so soundly, with no sense of gratitude!”

He was too close to her, causing her heart to race and her cheeks to flush.

But if he had so many objections just from having a meal and a nap at home, how could she tell him she didn’t want to go to Liangzhou?

Would he agree?

As she hesitated, he said, “The Ministry of Revenue sent a message saying that the accompanying officials have been selected, and the disaster relief grain from several major granaries has been arranged. We can leave for Liangzhou at any time.”

“Then…” Rongrong was stunned, “When are you leaving?”

“Tonight.”

“Ready today, leaving today?” This was too sudden, “Then I…”

“Urgent report from the Ministry of War: There’s unrest among the refugees in Liangzhou. You don’t need to go this time.” If it were just a locust plague, it would be fine to take Rongrong along, but dealing with unrest caused by refugees was different.

He couldn’t risk taking her into danger.

Rongrong had mentally prepared many arguments to persuade him not to take her to Liangzhou.

However, now that he had proactively said she shouldn’t go, she felt uneasy.

Would he be in danger because of the unrest among the refugees?

The Crown Prince smiled gently and held her tighter. “You don’t want me to go?”

Of course, she didn’t want him to go.

Although they had only been sharing the same room for a few days, Rongrong had already grown accustomed to falling asleep with her head resting on his arm.

Today, even though she napped at home, she felt uncomfortable and only managed a light nap before returning to the Eastern Palace.

Seeing that she was silent, the Crown Prince’s gaze shifted, and he held her face in his hands. “Let me see where you don’t want me to go.”

He tickled her nose and asked, “Is it here?”

Rongrong’s nose was pinched and she could hardly breathe, turning her head with a huff.

He then pinched her pale cheeks and asked, “Is it here?”

“Stop it,” Rongrong said, displeased.