Chapter 461

Chapter 461 Consort Jingde sensed something was wrong. Fearing that the Seventh Prince might act rashly and offend the Empress, she hurried forward to grab his hand: "Lian'er, why are you here?" The Seventh Prince shook off Consort Jingde's hand without a second thought. Consort Jingde stood frozen in place. The Seventh Prince had already bowed to Xie Run: "Your son pays respects to Mother Empress." Xie Run frowned slightly. "Lian'er, you came in such haste—is something urgent? Why not have a cup of tea first..." Before Xie Run could finish, the Seventh Prince spoke up: "I came today to tell Mother Empress that I do not favor the young lady of the Sun family, and I am unwilling to take her as my wife!" Xie Run was startled and instinctively looked toward Consort Jingde. Beside her, Sun Yinong's face turned ashen. To be publicly rejected by a prince—this was the greatest humiliation! If word got out, she feared she would become the laughingstock of the Great Yu Dynasty. How could she ever hold her head up again?! Consort Jingde also stood frozen in place, whether from excessive grief or excessive shock, she did not react for a long while. Xie Run smiled lightly: "Lian'er must be talking nonsense, surely?" "What marriage to Miss Sun? I was not aware of any such matter." Ignoring the slight surprise in the Seventh Prince's gaze, Xie Run said with composure: "Today Consort Jingde brought Yinong here for me to take a look at the young lady of the Duke's household, and I found her quite satisfactory." "As for marriage..." Xie Run smiled: "I do indeed like Yinong very much. I was thinking of introducing her to a few promising young gentlemen. I wonder if Sister Consort Jingde would find that objectionable?" Consort Jingde had already composed herself. Suppressing her distress, she forced a smile: "Sister, I would be more than glad to have you make the decision and choose a young man of good character and bright prospects for Yinong." With that, she stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Yinong's shoulder, soothing her gently: "Lian'er was ill-mannered and has likely offended you." "You are like siblings to him. For the sake of your aunt, do not take it to heart. Your aunt apologizes to you on his behalf." Sun Yinong curved her lips into a faint smile, gracious and understanding: "Yinong would not dare." "The Seventh Prince has always been fond of jokes. Aunt need not take it seriously either." After all, they were in Xie Run's Fengyi Palace, so the Seventh Prince dared not act rashly. He only wore a sullen expression, which was rather irritating to behold. Fearing trouble, Xie Run found an excuse to keep the Seventh Prince for a while longer, allowing Consort Jingde to leave Fengyi Palace first with Sun Yinong. Consort Jingde smiled as she saw Sun Yinong out of the palace. Only when she returned to Yongning Palace did she nearly stumble and fall—had it not been for the quick reflexes of the palace attendants beside her. Tao Yao said worriedly: "Your Ladyship..." Consort Jingde waved her hand, and the other attendants wisely withdrew. Once the main hall doors were shut, tears streamed down Consort Jingde's face. She clutched her chest: "He did it on purpose!" "He resents me!" "I could see it clearly in his eyes—exactly the same look Wu Baolin once gave me!" Consort Jingde leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes in exhaustion, letting her tears flow freely. Tao Yao was deeply worried and quickly said: "Master, perhaps the Seventh Prince was incited by villains and misunderstood Your Ladyship's intentions." "The Seventh Prince has always been filial. Today was merely a moment of impulse..." Consort Jingde's eyes snapped open. She gripped Tao Yao's hand tightly: "A fine 'moment of impulse' indeed!" "His moment of impulse nearly destroyed Yinong's entire life!" "He knows full well how important reputation is to a young woman. When I asked him, he did not refuse—yet he had to publicly reject the marriage today!" "He was not rejecting Yinong—he was rejecting me, rejecting this foster mother of his!" Had she been a fool, she might have demanded to know why the Seventh Prince had done such a thing. But Consort Jingde had a sharp mind, and she instantly guessed the reason for the Seventh Prince's change of heart. She gritted her teeth: "The child I raised with all the blood and sweat of my heart—he is as foolish and vicious as his birth mother!" "Villains may have incited him, and he may refuse to acknowledge me or even resent me—but how could he treat Yinong this way?!" Suddenly, Consort Jingde recalled the warning Mama Du had given her before, and a trace of regret began to surface. After a long moment, Consort Jingde suddenly said: "Send someone to the Empress's palace at once. Say... say that I beg Her Majesty the Empress to consider the bond of so many years and not let today's matter spread. Otherwise, Yinong will be ruined, and what face would I have left to see my brother and sister-in-law?!" "Hurry!" A servant from Yongning Palace rushed out in haste. After the Seventh Prince left Fengyi Palace, those around him urged him to go apologize to Consort Jingde. Growing irritated by their pleas, he shook off the crowd and left on his own. Xie Run had actually anticipated this all along. The older the Seventh Prince grew, the more dissatisfied he became with Consort Jingde—it had already shown in his words and demeanor. It was only Consort Jingde herself, so focused on the Seventh Prince, who was blind to it—the player in the game sees least. As soon as the Seventh Prince left, she ordered the people of Fengyi Palace to seal their lips, forbidding even a hint of today's events from leaking out. Xiaoshu asked with concern: "Your Ladyship, could the Seventh Prince have been incited by villains? If the Emperor learns of today's matter, I fear he will be furious." Xie Run: "He is a prince. If word spreads that he was incited by villains to oppose his foster mother, what kind of reputation would that be?!" "From the moment he did this, he should have anticipated how angry the Emperor would be." Xie Run rather suspected the boy was going through a rebellious phase, deliberately opposing Consort Jingde. Combined with the rumors she had heard, she had lost her composure. Though she had smoothed things over today, she had no intention of saying a single good word for the Seventh Prince—after all, the boy truly needed to be disciplined. Xie Run mused, "Ben Gong observes that Lian'er's temperament is becoming more and more like Wu Baolin's." Xiaoshu was stunned: "This... I'm afraid Consort Jingde will be heartbroken." Xie Run: "Ben Gong advised her back then to treat Wu Baolin better, to preserve that bond between mother and son. But she wouldn't listen, stubborn in her ways... If the Seventh Prince learns of Wu Baolin's death, I fear there will be more trouble." If it escalated, who knew what would become of that mother-son bond? Wu Baolin wasn't killed by Consort Jingde, but matters had been complicated back then—who could truly untangle the causes and effects? All that had been passed down in the palace was that Wu Baolin, before her month of confinement was over, had chased the Seventh Prince all the way to the palace gates, and on her deathbed, braved heavy snow to visit the Seventh Prince at Yongning Palace... The pitiable, devoted mother image Wu Baolin had crafted before her death left a deep impression. The more everyone pitied Wu Baolin, the more detestable Consort Jingde appeared for having taken another's child. Sure enough, when word reached the Zichen Hall, the Emperor flew into a rage and summoned the Seventh Prince for a scolding. The moment the Seventh Prince entered Zichen Hall, a stack of memorials came flying at his face. He lowered his head but still failed to dodge—one struck his forehead, raising a large bump. Then came the Emperor's blistering rebuke. "Fool!" "A lowly palace maid and a eunuch could lead you around by the nose, turning you against the mother who raised you for eighteen years—has your conscience been eaten by dogs?!"