novelhk Chapter 294, Section 294: Face Change
Chapter 294, Section 294: Face Change
Chapter 294 294 Face Changes
An Rong walked up to Chunyu Jing, bowed gracefully, and said, "This concubine greets Your Highness."
Not only her appearance and figure, but even her voice were identical to that of the deceased An Rong.
Chunyu Jing suppressed his shock and looked at her with great interest: "Rou'er, I never knew you could perform such a masterful face-changing act."
An Rong stood up, her face still displaying that shy yet delicate and pitiful expression.
"Your Highness is making fun of me."
Chunyu Jing reached out his hand to her. Ye Yingrou, disguised as An Rong, stepped forward, sat on his lap, and nestled into his arms.
Chunyu Jing raised his hand and carefully touched the edge of her cheek, but found no trace of the human skin mask. His gaze deepened.
Ye Yingrou gazed at him with deep affection and asked, "Your Highness, do I look convincing?"
Chunyu Jing said in a deep voice, "It's very similar. Even if Minister An were standing in front of you, he probably wouldn't be able to recognize you, let alone your father and mother who haven't seen you for a long time."
Hearing the system notification that her favorability and morality values had increased, Ye Yingrou smiled even more gently.
"It is my honor to share your burdens, Your Highness. I only want Your Highness to know that I am willing to do anything for you."
Chunyu Jing's heart skipped a beat. Although the face in front of him was "An Rong's," he inexplicably felt more affection and tenderness towards her. His original doubts and fears about her vanished, and he only wanted to tighten his arms and hold her tightly in his embrace, as if he wanted to become one with her.
"Your Highness, Rou'er truly loves you. One day, Rou'er will openly and legitimately become Your Highness's woman as Ye Yingrou," Ye Yingrou whispered.
"As long as you stay by my side and serve me well, I will give you whatever you want, no matter what it takes," he said confidently, as if he were bewitched.
At midday in late autumn, the sun was just right, and thousands of chrysanthemums of different colors and shapes were blooming in the Imperial Garden of the palace, attracting many butterflies. At first glance, the colorful flowers were truly a sight to behold.
The emperor ordered a banquet to be held. Except for the Crown Prince, who was still under house arrest, all the favored concubines, princes and princesses who had not yet been granted fiefs came. The place was crowded and bustling with activity.
Jingxuan naturally followed Chunyu Yang into the palace. Although the emperor had seen him a few days ago and remembered how well-behaved he was, he liked him even more today. He had Chunyu Yang lead him over and put him on his lap, making others extremely envious.
Those with keen insight, seeing the emperor's favor towards Jingxuan, also stepped forward to inquire about his well-being. Jingxuan nestled in the emperor's arms, obediently answering questions and not saying much, but everything he said was just right, making him exceptionally likable, and thus receiving many gifts.
Consort Zhuang had not seen her grandson for a long time and missed him dearly. She went up to play with him, but Jingxuan had rarely seen her and did not recognize her as his father's biological mother. So he joined the others in calling her "Your Highness the Dowager Consort."
Consort Zhuang felt a pang of sadness for a moment, but she quickly recovered, pinched his fair face, and gave Jingxuan a jade bodhi bracelet.
Chunyu Yang saw this and felt sorry for his mother, but with the Emperor and Empress present, he could only comfort her with his eyes.
Chunyu Jing, accompanied by Ye Yingrou disguised as "An Rong," deliberately arrived a little late. Upon their arrival, they saw the emperor holding Jingxuan in his arms, displaying an extremely intimate manner, and his gaze instantly darkened. However, he quickly composed himself and, together with "An Rong," stepped forward to pay their respects to the emperor.
There were often family banquets in the palace, but Chunyu Jing had taken a concubine for two years and never brought her to the palace to meet the emperor. Over time, some people even forgot that Chunyu Jing had taken a concubine, let alone remembered her appearance.
Therefore, when Ye Yingrou curtsied to the emperor, she surprised everyone.
"Your subject, An, greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty."
The emperor's attention immediately shifted from Jingxuan to Chunyu Jing and "An Rong." He looked "An Rong" up and down, nodding with a smile:
"Good, good. You haven't been to the palace since you married Shaocheng. Shaocheng always said you weren't well and needed to rest at home. Now I see you look rosy-cheeked, so you must be much better?"
Ye Yingrou lowered her head shyly and said, "Thank you for your concern, Father. I often think of you and Mother and always want to go to the palace to talk to you and Mother. But my health is not good. I have been recuperating in the Prince's Mansion for a long time. Now I am finally able to come and visit you and Mother. I hope you will forgive me."
The Empress pressed a handkerchief to the corner of her mouth, trying to make her smile as natural as possible, and said:
"Alright, alright, it's good that you're well. There's a saying that goes, 'A healthy body is priceless.' Now that you're better, your father must be very happy. It's just a pity that he's away on official business and can't come back in time."
"I mentioned to Shaocheng just a couple of days ago that the third prince's child is already able to read the Four Books and Five Classics. The two of them have been married for two years, but there has been no good news at all. Now that Anrong is in good health, I suppose there will be good news in a while."
The Emperor, holding Jingxuan, joked with the Empress. He noticed Chunyu Jing carrying a box and, quite curious, asked:
"Shaocheng, what are you holding in your hand? What good things have you brought for me?"
Chunyu Jing had been waiting for the emperor to ask this question. He glanced at Chunyu Yang with a half-smile, then looked at the exceptionally vibrant "Golden-Topped Ink Lotus" in the Imperial Garden, and said to the emperor:
"Your Majesty, I have presented you with a great gift. Your Majesty can send someone to open it and you will know what is inside."
The emperor had Li Decai take the wooden box, place it on the banquet table, and open it in front of everyone.
Upon seeing what was inside, everyone present turned pale with fright. The more timid screamed and cried out in terror, while some even vomited. The emperor quickly covered Jingxuan's eyes in his arms and shouted:
"Damn it! Take that thing away now!"
Li Decai, his face ashen, hurriedly closed the box again and handed it to the other eunuchs, telling them to quickly take the contents away and destroy them.
The emperor's mood had initially improved because of the family banquet, but Chunyu Jing's outburst at the banquet infuriated him, giving him a splitting headache. He slammed his fist on the table and roared:
"You unfilial son! Don't you know what kind of occasion this is?! Do you think you can just bring something like this into the palace like that?!"
Chunyu Jing knelt on the ground, his words tinged with grievance:
"Father entrusted the case of Ronghua Tower to your son. Your son was eager to share your burdens so that you could go on the autumn hunt in peace. So you went to great lengths to lure the owner of Ronghua Tower into the capital and wipe him out in one fell swoop. In order to get rid of this man, your son almost lost his life at his hands. Your son thought that your father must be eager to know this good news, but you were afraid that your father would not believe that Ronghua Tower had been eliminated, so you brought his head with you."
Chunyu Yang narrowed his eyes and frowned slightly.
He spent so much time and used all the martial arts forces at his disposal, yet he still couldn't find out who the owner of Ronghua Tower was. His younger brother had only taken over the case a few days ago, and yet he was able to kill the owner of Ronghua Tower.
Perhaps there's more to this than meets the eye?
"Ronghua Tower?" The emperor was taken aback by his words. "You mean...that was the owner of Ronghua Tower? You destroyed Ronghua Tower?"
Chunyu Jing said, "That's right! If Father doesn't believe me, I have other evidence that can prove his identity."
The emperor, his face grim, glanced around and noticed that everyone looked terrible. He looked down at his chest and saw Jingxuan huddled in his arms, trembling with fear and his eyes tightly shut.
He patted Jingxuan on the back reassuringly, then said coldly:
"Evidence? What evidence! Even if this person is truly the owner of Ronghua Tower, you shouldn't bring this up at this time and in this setting! Considering you're helping me, I won't pursue the matter today. Now, take your concubine and return to your seats!"
Chunyu Jing brought Ji Hongbo's head to the banquet not to curry favor with the emperor, but because he had achieved his goal. He was not angry at the emperor's wrath, and simply said "Yes" before leaving with Ye Yingrou.
As he returned to his seat, he felt a gaze following him closely. When he turned around, he met his mother's gloomy gaze.