On the third day of September, Princess Xunyang returned to the capital with her troops, entered the palace to meet the emperor, and spent an hour describing the military situation in Southern Xinjiang and the possible movements of Southern Qi.
Emperor Mu ordered a banquet to be held in Shuhuang Palace to entertain Princess Xunyang, and asked Princess Qi Jin and Princess Qixia to bring Jun'er into the palace.
"My mother is a very easy person to get along with." Qi Jin was worried that Princess Qixia would be nervous and reassured her in advance, "Although she is also a princess, she has no airs. You don't need to be too nervous when you meet her."
Princess Qixia looked at her strangely: "When did you see me nervous?"
Qi Jin: "..."
The two of them took Jun'er's hand and arrived at Shuhuang Palace. Looking from a distance, they really looked like a harmonious family of three.
In addition to Emperor Mu and the Queen, there was also a beautiful middle-aged woman in her forties sitting in Shuhuang Palace, with a gentle and graceful appearance and heroic features.
After staying at the border for nearly twenty years, Princess Xunyang's skin is not as white, tender and delicate as the ladies of the capital, and her clothes are not as luxurious and exquisite as those of the ladies of the capital, but her whole body is full of heroic demeanor after returning from the battlefield, which makes people involuntarily respect her.
Qi Jin entered the palace to pay homage to the emperor and the queen, and then he respectfully knelt down and kowtowed to his mother: "My son, please give my mother my regards."
Princess Xunyang ignored him, her eyes passed over Princess Qixia and landed on Jun'er's face.
The two-year-old child still had baby fat on his cheeks, and was white, tender, soft and waxy. He looked at her curiously with a pair of big black and clean eyes, not recognizing her as a child at all, which made people particularly fond of her.
Princess Xunyang could confirm at first glance that this child was indeed Qi Jin's child, because he looked almost exactly like Qi Jin when he was a child.
However, she has been at the border for more than ten years and has a clear-cut attitude towards issues concerning the two countries' positions, with no room for ambiguity.
"Princess Qixia." Princess Xunyang raised her eyes and looked at Princess Qixia, "I already know the ins and outs of the matter. There are a few issues I want to discuss with the princess right now."
Princess Qixia bowed slightly: "Elder Princess, please speak."
"I heard that you and the prince have signed an armistice agreement and handed over the map and border defense map."
Princess Qixia nodded: "Yes."
"Do you hate your country so much?"
"I don't hate my country, I only hate the Mobei royal family." Princess Qixia corrected her in a moderate tone, "I made an agreement with the prince. Except for the Mobei royal family and the few generals agreed in the agreement, the Chu army cannot Burning, killing, and looting are not allowed, and the women of the people are not allowed to be raped. The people of Mobei should be treated the same as the people of Chu State, and there should be no distinction between superiority and inferiority."
Princess Xunyang raised her eyebrows: "After you hand over the defense map, you may no longer have the final say on everything in the agreement."
Princess Qixia said: "I believe that His Highness the Crown Prince is a gentleman. A gentleman keeps his promises and will not break his promises."
Princess Xunyang turned to look at Emperor Mu, who looked very happy with a smile on his face: "Although Rong Cang may not be a gentleman, he is indeed a man of great promise."
Born in an imperial family, and taking the position of crown prince, Rong Cang had to consider the interests of his family and country, and could not always keep his promise as a gentleman.
But in addition to the gentleman, there are two people in this world who must keep their promises. One is the king, who has no words to say, and his words are true;
But kings and military commanders are all people in power. If they want to break their promise, no one can really do anything to them.
Princess Xunyang knew that Rong Cang had become the prince, and she also knew that her son had a good relationship with the prince. However, too many things had happened in the past year, and she could not digest them all yet, so she could only solve the immediate problem first.
"Princess Qixia." She quickly got to the point, "What will you do if I don't agree to your marriage to Qi Jin?"
"Not at all." Princess Qixia was neither humble nor arrogant, "Qi Jin and I haven't decided yet whether we want to get married. If we can become husband and wife, then we will raise this child together. If we cannot become husband and wife, I can also raise Jun'er myself."
Princess Xunyang glanced at Jun'er: "What if I want this child to recognize his ancestor and return to the clan?"
"Since we want to recognize our ancestors and return to the clan, the child's mother must have a title, otherwise the reputation of Prince Qi will not be very good. Besides, the child cannot live without a mother." Princess Qixia said calmly, "But if the eldest princess doesn't want us to get married, But I want Jun'er to become your grandson, and I won't stop him. You can let Jun'er grow up by my side when he is young, and when he gets older, he can return to his father at any time he wants."
After hearing this, Princess Xunyang looked a little strange.
She turned to look at the emperor and the queen, wanting to ask them what they thought when Princess Qixia had such a straightforward attitude.
She originally thought that even if Princess Qixia was out for revenge, since she saved Qi Jin, she would at least have some feelings for Qi Jin. Unexpectedly, she was completely indifferent to whether they got married or not.
"Mother." Qi Jin looked up at her, "Would you like to hug your eldest grandson first?"
Princess Xunyang glared at him: "Need you to remind me?"
Qi Jin pouted.
"Okay, okay, you get up first." Emperor Mu raised his hand, "Sit down and talk."
Qi Jin stood up, took Jun'er's hand and walked to Princess Xunyang: "Jun'er, this is grandmother."
Jun'er opened a pair of dark and pure eyes and looked at the eldest princess Xunyang in a daze. She didn't recognize her at all: "Grandma."
Princess Xunyang's heart almost melted as she looked at this little baby bun. She quickly responded, picked him up and put him on her lap: "Your name is Jun'er?"
"...Sijun." Jun'er's voice was waxy, "Grandma, my name is Sijun."
Princess Xunyang's expression paused, thinking of you?
She silently glanced at Princess Qixia who was sitting beside her, and couldn't help but wonder in her heart, was this emotional or not?
How can you name your child such a name if you have no emotions?
"Qi Jin, what are your plans?"
"My son is twenty years old, and he has yet to meet a woman who really makes him fall in love." Qi Jin said in a steady voice, "Since Princess Qixia was kind to me three years ago and gave birth to another child, my son feels that he will marry her. It’s not something that’s unacceptable.”
They had a child out of love, and maybe they were destined to be destined for each other. Qi Jin thought it was good to let nature take its course.
Princess Xunyang was silent for a moment, "What do Princess Qixia think?"
"I can do anything." Princess Qixia said, "Don't force, don't force, don't refuse, just let nature take its course."
Emperor Mu's expression was subtle. If Princess Xunyang still had a trace of her mother-in-law's attitude of showing off her power when seeing her daughter-in-law, now facing Princess Qixia's attitude, she might not be able to show off her attitude.
After all, people don't care at all.
If you want to marry her, you can marry her. If you don't want to marry her, don't force her. Everything doesn't matter. You don't care whether a woman giving birth to a child out of wedlock will bring her more infamy.
But then I think about it, has she done too many shocking things for revenge? Whether she dedicated herself three years ago or sold the Mobei royal family three years later, it was much more serious than her having a child out of wedlock.
"Their marriage is not in a hurry for the time being." Emperor Mu said, "Rong Cang plans to ask Qi Jin and Princess Qixia to lead the troops to Mobei after you meet. After they return with the heads of the Mobei royal family, Let’s discuss the wedding again.”
When everything is settled, the family and country affairs are completely resolved, and there are no more worries, then the marriage and Princess Qixia's fiefdom will be settled.
It will take at least half a year to go back and forth, so we should give them a chance to think carefully.
