Song Ran felt uneasy.
Following Xiao Anzi, he walked through the imperial garden anxiously. On the way, she also met a few little palace maids with somewhat familiar faces, but Song Ran had no time to care about which palace they were from.
Let them greet her by her side, she just waved her hand hastily to let them go.
Song Ran felt that every step she took was difficult.
She has no friendship with the Queen. Suddenly summoning her alone would definitely not be as simple as reminiscing about old times.
Thinking about Concubine Chen's "reminiscing about the past" last time, Song Ran's heart sank, and she would not be relaxed today.
Song Ran stepped into the inner hall of Changkun Palace. The queen was sitting on the phoenix chair with a phoenix hairpin on her head. Her face was as calm as water, but it was not difficult to see between her eyebrows that she looked a little tired. She looked around and couldn't help but feel suspicious. In the huge inner palace, the queen actually had a maid by her side to serve her. What on earth was she going to say when she was called here today?
"Your Majesty, please see the Queen." Song Ran leaned down and saluted.
"Princess, there is no need to be polite." The queen's voice was gentle but distant.
"Thank you Queen."
The queen nodded with a smile, then pointed to the chair next to her, motioning for her to sit down.
"I heard that a few days ago, my naughty niece took the princess out of the palace and was almost killed. Fortunately, the princess rescued her and saved her from danger."
Hearing this, Song Ran's nervousness eased slightly. She lowered her head with humility and replied, "This is the duty of a court lady."
"The princess is highly skilled in martial arts and outstanding in talent. She is truly a pillar of the Chen Kingdom."
"Thank you Queen for your compliment."
The queen picked up the tea cup and glanced at Song Ran. He gently put down the teacup and stopped talking.
She tilted her head slightly and asked the maid next to her to pour tea for Song Ran.
After a few words of greeting, Song Ran felt something was wrong.
She looked at the calm queen in front of her, a trace of doubt flashing in her eyes. The queen's words revealed her gratitude to her, but her tone was very cold.
Although she is a queen and must have the majesty she deserves, she should not be so indifferent.
"On the day of the Empress Dowager's birthday, the princess seemed to have a dispute with Princess Wei." The queen glanced at Song Ran, with a sneer on her lips, which made Song Ran very uneasy.
The Queen continued: "At first, I and the Emperor were still wondering what was going on?"
Song Ran took a breath, knelt on the cold ground, and quickly apologized: "My daughter made a mistake after drinking that day, which made the third princess unhappy. I apologized to the princess afterwards. If this incident caused trouble between Chen and Wei, I am willing to be punished for my disapproval.”
What happened that day was actually seen by the queen. Song Ran felt heavy in her heart and could not help but feel a little irritable.
The queen looked at Song Ran who was kneeling with her head bowed and respectfully, and felt a little happy.
"Princess, please get up quickly. The ground is cold, don't freeze." The queen winked at the maid. The maid understood the order and immediately stepped forward to help Song Ran get up.
With the support of the palace maid, Song Ran stood up slowly and cautiously. When she raised her head, her eyes met the queen's. Song Ran's eyes met the queen's, and the cold and arrogant look in her eyes made Song Ran tremble inadvertently.
The queen gave her a kick today. But what did she get? Song Ran was puzzled.
The queen laughed contemptuously and continued unhurriedly: "A few days ago, Princess Zhaohua had a dispute with the emperor. It was said that letting His Highness Prince Xuan marry the third princess of the Wei Kingdom was also a marriage, not to mention -"
The Queen paused.
A ray of cold light shot toward Song Ran, and the chilling murderous aura caused her body to take a small step back involuntarily, and her heart beat faster.
"What's more, Princess, you don't want to marry Prince Xuan." The queen said lightly.
Song Ran was greatly surprised by these words. This is the truth, the obvious truth, but no one puts it on the table.
Song Ran was really angry that Zhaohua almost cried. Why does this girl say anything to the emperor? I'm afraid this will hurt her.
Song Ran bit her lower lip, clutched her sleeves, and tried hard to calm down her mood.
"I thought the emperor would be furious after hearing this, but he actually thought about it for several days. Later, I don't know what His Highness Prince Xuan said to the emperor, so he gave up the idea and agreed to the marriage between the second prince of Wei and Princess Zhaohua."
The queen touched the tea cup on the table with a half-smile and looked at Song Ran with deep eyes.
"Since the Emperor has given up this idea, what is the purpose of the Empress summoning the ministers to come today?"
Song Ran's courage has been frightening since she was a child. It's not that she was so afraid of the queen. She was respectful and modest before, but she just didn't want to cause trouble for herself, but trouble seemed to come to her on her own.
At this time, it was the Queen who summoned him, not the Emperor. So today's conversation must be the Queen's own intention. And she probably didn't want the emperor to know, otherwise why would she have shut out everyone else around her, leaving only a personal maid?
"Princess, I have no other intention, I just want to remind you. The emperor originally had the idea of including you in the harem."
Song Ran frowned slightly.
The queen stood up and walked over slowly. Song Ran stood there, looking at her intently. The queen walked around Song Ran, looking her up and down, the air filled with oppression.
The atmosphere was so oppressive that Song Ran felt suffocated, but she couldn't show it.
The queen suddenly reached out her hand and held Song Ran, her face darkened, "Since you can't choose your own marriage, then weigh the pros and cons and choose the one that's most beneficial to you."
Song Ran was startled by this sudden move. She looked at the Queen suspiciously. Her expression was ferocious at this time, and she was not at all as dignified as when she first entered the door.
The queen is jealous, and she finally learned her lesson today. The emperor only intended to include her in the harem at first, which already made the queen jealous. Thinking about Concubine Chen who was favored before and Meiren Zhao who is now favored, how the queen should deal with herself.
"How did the Queen know that choosing Prince Xuan would be in my best interest?" Song Ran's tone was cold and hard, not as humble as before.
At first, Song Ran didn't understand the Queen's intention, but now that she had made it clear, Song Ran had nothing to worry about. Her original intention was to leave the capital and return to Nanjun.
This queen is really worried.
Now the palace is like a prison to her, which only restricts her freedom. She has no time to escape, so why is she interested?
She doesn't even have the phoenix position. Song Ran didn't even want to marry Chen Chaobai, let alone enter the palace to compete with other women for a man.
From the previous dynasty to the present, in just over ten years, countless people have been in positions of power. The queen in front of me will be next if she doesn't protect her.
"Haha, the princess doesn't know the emperor's fear of the Nanjun Palace, right? Do you think he would let a prince's daughter give birth to a prince?" The queen looked down at her flat belly and laughed to herself.
So the Queen still has no heirs. Is this also the reason?
The uncle-in-law Lu Jiang relied on himself to help the emperor win the throne. He always made nonsense in the court, fought for power with Taifu Jiang Kanzhi, and made Chen Chaoci angry three times.
Raising a tiger is a disaster, let alone giving birth to a prince with Lu's bloodline? With his suspicion, he would never have brought the situation to this point.
The queen held Song Ran's hand, and then pulled her hand to Song Ran's abdomen. "Does the princess want to have no heirs in her life?"
Song Ran understood the queen's move.
Song Ran relaxed her frown and laughed suddenly: "Queen, don't worry, the most important thing for me is freedom."
The sound echoed throughout the inner hall and penetrated into the Queen's heart.
She is ultimately a person without confidence. The posture he just put up was just to bluff people.
Look at Song Ran's expression now. After all, she is a princess who has been raised in the palace for a long time. How can such a few expressions and a few words scare her.
"I hope the princess will remember what she said today to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future." The queen's eyes were gloomy, but she seemed to be relieved.
Song Ran did not shy away and expressed her thoughts directly: "If you can help me leave the capital, you will feel more at ease."
"If I can't even protect my own child, how can I help Her Royal Highness leave?" The queen shook her head bitterly, and she walked back to the phoenix chair.
Can't keep it?
Song Ran was full of doubts and couldn't help asking in a low voice: "What do you mean, Queen?"
The queen's deep eyes looked at Song Ran quietly, and then she chuckled softly. Obviously he had no intention of continuing.
There were many complex emotions in those eyes, which Song Ran couldn't understand.
Footsteps suddenly came from the window, and Xiao Anzi's voice sounded outside the hall.
"The Queen, Concubine Chen is outside the palace asking to see you."
Why is she here too?
What did Song Ran think of? The little palace maid who looked familiar to her in the imperial garden just now seems to be from Concubine Chen's palace.
Is this the news that she was invited to Changkun Palace by the Queen? Her relationship with Concubine Chen was not so good that she could come to rescue her without fear of the Queen.
Besides, it was normal for a princess to be invited by the queen to sit in Changkun Palace.
"Invite her in."
The maid beside the queen has stepped forward and tidied her clothes gently.
The door was slowly pushed open, and a figure appeared at the door. It was Concubine Chen, followed by two palace maids. In fact, one of them was the one Song Ran met just now.
"I have met the Queen." Concubine Chen was particularly brightly dressed today. Facing the Queen, his posture was not as humble as usual. As if there was some happy event, he walked in proudly with a spring breeze on his face.
"How did Concubine Chen find time to come to Changkun Palace today? It's such a rare visitor." The queen's voice returned to its original coldness, and she didn't even raise her eyelids when facing Concubine Chen who came in.
"Sister, I have been feeling very unwell these past few days. Today I would like to ask the Queen to summon an imperial doctor to come and take a look."
The queen fell down on the phoenix chair, her eyes instantly dimmed and lost her focus. Her heart seemed to be torn apart so much that she almost couldn't breathe.
She held the handle of the chair tightly, tried her best to control her emotions, and said in a hoarse voice: "Just send a eunuch to invite him, why bother me?"
"The person taking care of the Queen is Imperial Physician Ling Liu. If his diagnosis is the result, there will be no mistake."
It seems that Concubine Chen is pregnant.
Song Ran didn't want to wade into this muddy water. She wanted to retreat, but it was too late.
