Chapter 281: Got a Helper!

Baili Junyi changed his clothes and walked out. When he saw his grinning son, he stepped forward and scratched his little nose. “Bad boy, when you grow up, I will tell you about this and see how you will face your wife.”

With a smile on her lips, Shen Ninghua put the sleeping daughter aside and soothed the son. When the two children both fell asleep, the couple walked to the room outside.

“Junyi, who is in charge of the selection?”

“The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of collecting the statistics on the candidates, and the Internal Affairs Department is in charge of the preliminary selection to filter out the unsuitable candidates. Then the imperial concubines will host the second round of selection, and the Emperor will make the final decision. Generally speaking, the second round is almost decisive. Only a few people with insufficient status will be eliminated, and the number of people in the final selection basically remains unchanged.”

Shen Ninghua frowned slightly. “If a girl has a scar on her body, will she be chosen?”

“Normally no, but some girls with high status will be an exception if His Majesty cares more about her family background than her body conditions. But this is very rare. After all, a girl with high status is usually served by several maids and nurses. How can she get injured for no reason?”

“What is the possibility of a woman with a low status and scars being chosen?”

“This is impossible. She will not even pass the preliminary selection. Ninghua, why do you ask this? Did you find any problem with the candidates?”

“The girl Xia Rouqin I brought back has scars left behind by the thorns grass on the back of her hand, but she entered the second round.”

Baili Junyi’s eyes darkened. “Just arrange for Xia Rouqin to work at a remote courtyard first. I will send someone to investigate her background and make sure there are no problems before you take her as a disciple.”

Shen Ninghua nodded. “Yes.” Although she felt guilty about Si Qin, many things had changed in this life. Even Si Qin’s identity had changed. So it was better to confirm her background. She hoped that there would be no problems.

Baili Junyi pulled her into his arms. “Prince An will arrive tomorrow. Father Emperor will be holding a banquet in the Palace and the Empress will attend. You should be more careful.”

“Yes, I know. You too.”

The marriage between Bu Tinghe and the Third Prince was actually not indispensable, but with the participation of the Great Yue Kingdom, the significance of their marriage was different. There was even news that the Great Yue Emperor offered six cities as Bu Tinghe’s dowry.

This kind of dowry could be said to be unprecedented, and the Third Prince was extremely happy. He even disdained to go against the Crown Prince and was in a good mood every day.

The next day, the sky was extremely clear. Bai Ruo helped Shen Ninghua put on her makeup. “Miss, what hairpin do you want to wear today?”

Through the window, Shen Ninghua saw the branches outside. The look in her eyes became a little warmer. “Before I know it, spring has arrived. Get me a jade hairpin with orchids and a butterfly-shaped hairpin. As for the clothes, I would like to wear the dress with silver patterns embroidered with a hundred butterflies and the dark flower brocade dress with rabbit fur on it. Now that it is warm, I might as well wear some light clothes.”

“Yes, Miss. You will definitely outshine all the others.”

Shen Ninghua smiled. After dressing up, she changed her clothes, picked out a small pair of East Pearl earrings and put them on. She looked at herself in the mirror. She had a beautiful face, slender eyebrows, a delicate nose, and red lips. She was like a jade sculpture, emitting a dazzling light from her entire body.

She went to the inner room and kissed the two babies, telling them that she would only come back at night. She then asked Bai Ruo and the others to take good care of them. After that, she walked out of Huajun Pavilion.

Baili Junyi was instructing Ye Yi and the others in the front hall. When he saw Shen Ninghua coming out, he waved his hand to let them go down. “Ninghua, are you done dressing?”

“Yes.” Shen Ninghua looked in the direction where Ye Yi had left. “Have guards been arranged around Huajun Pavilion?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve asked Ye Yi to deploy additional guards. Huajun Pavilion is extremely safe. I definitely won’t let anything happen to Yongchen and Luoyao.”

Shen Ninghua smiled. “Alright, let’s enter the Palace then.”

The banquet this time was held to welcome the Great Yue Kingdom’s Prince An, so those who were qualified to participate in the banquet were all officials above the fifth rank. In addition, the legitimate wives of the officials with official mandates and the young ladies who had passed the second round of selection were also present.

When Baili Junyi and Shen Ninghua arrived, except the Emperor, Empress, and the Crown Prince, everyone else was present. After rounds of greetings with the people present, Shen Ninghua saw Baili Anning standing at the side.

“Ninghua.” Baili Anning was extremely happy. After Ninghua told her that she was pregnant, she went back and investigated the imperial doctor who had been responsible for checking her pulse. She did not expect that she really found out some problem with him. The imperial doctor was the uncle of Qu Yi’s cousin. Under the pleading of his niece, he concealed the fact that Baili Anning was pregnant. Qu Yi was furious and directly drove his cousin’s family away and broke off relations with them. Fortunately, Ninghua told her in time. Otherwise, she did not know what would happen later.

Shen Ninghua glanced at her protruding belly. “It has been almost five months, right?”

“Yes, only three more days to go before I am pregnant for five months.” Baili Anning’s gratitude towards Shen Ninghua could not be expressed in words. Back then, she only helped Shen Ninghua out of momentary kindness, but Shen Ninghua helped her countless times for such a long time. She would forever remember this kindness.

Shen Ninghua smiled and suddenly they heard the eunuch’s announcement.

“His Majesty has arrived. Her Majesty has arrived. His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived.”

After the salute, Shen Ninghua looked up at Zhao Huiying. She had been living in Bailu Palace for almost three months. Although Ningkun Palace had been rebuilt for a long time, the Emperor had no intention of letting her move back. The Zhao Family tried various means to figure out the Emperor’s intention, and they were as anxious as ants on a hot pot. Now that they saw the Empress finally had the opportunity to attend the banquet, they were relieved.

Zhao Huiying’s appearance was not much different from before, except that she was much thinner, and the beautiful phoenix robe swayed a little on her body.

After the salute, Baili Qingcang did not say a word and directly let the Crown Prince go to welcome Prince An in.

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The great hall was silent, and the sound of music seemed particularly loud in the great hall.

“Great Yue Kingdom’s Prince An and the envoys have arrived!”

Shen Ninghua looked at the door. A tall and bearded middle-aged man walked in. He wore a black robe embroidered with python patterns, a crimson gold hairband on his head, a dragon scale python belt on his waist, and a pair of cloud pattern boots on his feet. His eyebrows were sharp and his eyes were bright. He exuded a steady aura.

After entering the hall, he swept his gaze around the hall before bowing to Baili Qingcang. “Greetings, Your Majesty.” His voice was a bit rough, and he spoke neither slow nor fast, but every word he spoke was exceptionally clear and firm.

“As you were. It must be a long journey for Prince An to come all the way here.”

“It’s nothing. To be able to see my beloved daughter get married and also come to witness Da’an’s strength, no matter how long the journey is, it won’t be hard.” As he spoke, he looked towards the VIP seats at the side. His gaze was exceptionally gentle. “Tinghe, why don’t you come over to greet your father?”

Bu Tinghe’s face was full of excitement and her body was trembling slightly. She supported her waist and stood up. She quickly walked to Prince An and reached out to pull his sleeve. “Father…” As she spoke, tears rolled down her face.

Prince An, namely, Bu Fengyun, immediately frowned, “What’s wrong? You weren’t as thin as you are now before you came here. Did you suffer a lot during this period?”

Bu Tinghe’s tears flowed even more violently. Previously, she had tied up her belly. Later, she was so angry that she got a breakdown, causing the fetus to be extremely unstable. For the past three months, she had been taking medicine to recuperate. Moreover, she vomited whatever she ate. She did suffer a lot.

When the officials at the side heard Bu Fengyun’s words, they also thought in their hearts. When Bu Tinghe first appeared, she was dressed in white and looked stunning. But now, her face was waxy yellow and her hair was dim. Where was the beauty who was almost on a par with Shen Ninghua?

On the other hand, after giving birth to the auspicious boy-girl twins, Princess Zhaohua became even more shockingly beautiful. Now, she was dressed in an ordinary outfit but she still looked so beautiful that no one dared to look straight at her.

Prince Yi was really blessed. They heard that he had refused to marry anyone else for the sake of Princess Zhaohua. Well, if they had a chance to marry her, they wouldn’t marry anyone else either. In the face of the queen of all flowers, who would bother to look at the grass?

Bu Tinghe shook her head and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears. She smiled at Prince An and said, “Father, it’s nothing. You worry too much. Is your journey smooth?”

Prince An did not stop frowning. Hearing that Bu Tinghe was unwilling to say more, he stopped asking and said something else.

“Your Majesty, although my daughter and the Third Prince have not been married yet, she is already pregnant. She is a member of the royal family now. How can she still sit in the guest area?”

Baili Qingcang’s face darkened. “Prince An, you also said that although she is pregnant, they are still not married. Moreover, she is a side concubine. It is not suitable to let her sit among the royal family.”

“Side concubine?” Prince An narrowed his eyes slightly and asked Baili Qingcang, “Your Majesty, I have a few questions since this is the first time I’ve been to your country. Can I ask?”

Baili Qingcang nodded. “Please.”

“I have studied the etiquette of your country and found that our two countries share many similarities. For example, the legitimate wife of a prince is nobler than his side concubine. Is this the case?”

Baili Qingcang’s eyes were cold. He understood that Prince An wanted to help Bu Tinghe. “Yes.”

Bu Fengyun smiled. “Tinghe is the Great Yue Kingdom’s Princess Wenhe, and after knowing that she is going to get married, our Emperor personally bestowed her the title of First Princess, equivalent to Da’an’s Noble Princess. Is this kind of status noble enough?”

Of course, First Princess was noble enough. She could be said to have the highest status among women.

“That’s enough.”

“If Tinghe marries the Third Prince, she will have six cities as her dowry. Is this dowry large enough?”

“Enough!”

Bu Fengyun’s voice turned cold. “Since her status is high enough and her dowry is large enough, how can Tinghe be placed in the position of a side concubine?”

Baili Qingcang’s eyes were as cold as ice. “If Prince An thinks so, it proves that the customs of our two countries are not quite the same.”

“How is it different? Please enlighten me, Your Majesty.”

“Your country pays attention to status, but do you also pay attention to behavior?”

“Of course we do.”

“Is it common for women to get pregnant before marriage in your country?”

“…” Bu Fengyun suddenly paused and raised his head to look at Baili Qingcang. “Your Majesty, one palm can’t make a sound. Can Tinghe be pregnant by herself? How can you put the blame on her only?”

“Heh, Prince An, you just arrived and still don’t know what happened. It’s better for you to make clear the facts before bargaining with me.”

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