Chapter 426: A Bamboo Basket Fetches Water, Only to Return Empty

Empress Dowager Ning An's face darkened; what day is it today, and why are so many scolding troublemakers bursting in?

But Princess Ling He is not only the late emperor's most favored princess; crucially, she is also the wife of Dingbei Marquis Cheng Kun.

The Dingbei Marquis once enjoyed slightly higher prestige in the army than Xiao Yin.

Empress Dowager Ning An harbored countless objections yet had to concede, for her son was never fit to be emperor; it was only by relying on the Duan family and her maneuvers in the Imperial Harem over the years that she gradually elevated him to that position.

Now her son has made a grave mistake in governing the state, watching helplessly as the eight great clans seize Southern Qi's domestic and foreign affairs.

Over time, her son is being sidelined; any further unrest in the army would be a catastrophic disaster for his rule.

Empress Dowager Ning An only wishes to reclaim the Duan family's military authority, so that her son can rely on that power to control the realm and implement reforms.

The Southern Qi throne can remain stable and long‑lasting, so at this critical moment Empress Dowager Ning An is reluctant to offend the army's senior officials.

Before long, Princess Ling He slowly entered.

She bowed to Empress Dowager Ning An and smiled, saying, "Mother, I have not entered the palace to visit you for several days; today I heard you were in the Yangxin Hall, so I came to look at you, Mother; I pay my respects."

Empress Dowager Ning An gave a faint smile, but the look in her eyes was as cold as frost, without any warmth.

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She was never his biological daughter; only out of respect for the late emperor did he refrain from doing anything to her, leaving her to follow her own temperament.

Now, she even dares to appear openly in the Yangxin Hall.

Empress Dowager Ning An coldly said, "What exactly have you come for now? It can't be just to pay your respects to me, can it?"

At this moment Empress Dowager Ning An was in a particularly bad mood; after a brief test she saw that Xiao Yin was feigning illness and that Gu Jiu Ling was not dead.

The two people that had been a thorn in her side were alive and well, and now she had dragged the Lin family into it.

She originally intended to stir conflict between the Lin family and Prince Rui's manor; although the Lin family's momentum has waned, its reputation remains.

Especially since Madam Lin is the legitimate second daughter of the Jiangnan Li family; if this matter causes the Li and Lin families to fall out with Prince Rui's manor, Xiao Yin cannot simply walk away.

Moreover, she had previously heard her imperial grandson Xiao Wei say that the young Marquis Cheng Ming of the princess's manor was secretly colluding with the Lin family's Miss Lin.

If this were true and Xiao Yin married the Lin family's eldest daughter, it would certainly provoke Cheng Ming's displeasure.

Should a day come when a dispute erupts between the two and escalates, Xiao Yin would lose a major ally within the army.

Then she and her son could reap the benefits, but by then the situation was already slipping out of control.

Now the person who should have died is alive, the one poisoned and gravely ill is also fine, and they even set a trap to scheme against her.

Empress Dowager Ning An's mood had sunk to the ice point; she had no inclination to show Princess Ling He a friendly expression.

Princess Ling He, however, seemed oblivious to Empress Dowager Ning An's and her imperial brother Emperor Longqing's moods.

She wore a smile as glaring as any ordinary person's.

She bowed to Empress Dowager Ning An, then rose to look at the Lin family's eldest daughter Lin Rujun kneeling inside the Yangxin Hall, her eyes flashing slightly.

This is the young man's beloved lady; whether he lives or dies, he must marry her.

Earlier she had administered medicine to her son and bound him, but unexpectedly he used his own internal force to expel the drug's effect from his body.

This time he even tried to bite his tongue to commit suicide, which terrified the princess.

Suddenly she heard people on the street say that Gu Jiu Ling was still alive and had even returned to Prince Rui's manor.

This time the old Princess Consort Gu Jiu Ling and the newly married Lin Rujun even quarreled in the Yangxin Hall.

The princess suddenly realized that this must be a plot set by that woman Gu Jiu Ling.

In this way her son still had a chance; she had not previously favored Lin Rujun as a daughter‑in‑law.

After all, their lineage was not as prestigious as the princess's manor; in recent years the Lin family's An Guo Gongfu had declined, and it had originally risen thanks to Empress Li.

Empress Li has been dead for many years, and the emperor's owed gratitude has been largely forgotten.

The Crown Prince's wings are still not fully grown, and he cannot shield the Lin and Li families; therefore the Lin family's lineage cannot match that of her princess's manor.

Moreover, although Lin Rujun is fairly pretty, her temperament is terribly unreasonable.

A young woman trained with blades and spears; she never wanted her son to marry such a woman, yet she could not withstand her son's desperate attempts at life and death before her.

This left the princess deeply melancholy; over these days she had observed that her son, spoiled from childhood, had become rather volatile.

If she cannot fulfill her son's wish, other troubles are likely to arise.

She did not expect the boy to be so deeply attached to the girl, though he showed no sign of it daily.

Now, at the crucial moment, he forced the matter with his life, and Princess Ling He, for her son's survival, had to steel herself and force her way into the Yangxin Hall.

Princess Ling He fell to her knees before Empress Dowager Ning An with a thud, lifted her eyes to the dowager and said, "Mother, I have an unreasonable request."

"I have also heard that Ninth Brother's Princess Consort has returned; he does not know her fate, and now he has taken a new wife."

"In a single manor, how can it accommodate two Princess Consorts? To speak of it would be a joke in Southern Qi."

"Coincidentally, that reckless youngster in my family has long been enamored with Miss Lin; now he is causing a ruckus in the manor, threatening to live or die, hanging himself, drinking medicine, even biting his tongue to kill himself."

"I truly have no recourse; since my ninth brother is troubled by this matter, perhaps it would be a favor to that reckless one in my manor."

"If my princess's manor seeks to marry the Lin family's lady, it would settle this issue and make my ninth brother's life easier; I beg you, Mother."

As soon as the princess finished speaking, both Gu Jiu Ling and the kneeling Lin family members widened their eyes in disbelief, all staring at Princess Ling He.

The princess lay prostrate on the ground, kneeling with utmost reverence; her expression was no joke—it was genuine.

Even the elder Madam Lin was extremely astonished; she knew her granddaughter well.

Usually she often practiced blades and spears in the camps, studied military strategy, and her reputation throughout Shang Jing was not good.

Not to mention a high‑status manor like the princess's; even ordinary officials' children are reluctant to take her as a wife.

After all, she is crazy and unhinged, not like an ordinary woman, yet no one expected anyone to still love their own granddaughter, and even to resist marriage by threatening death.

In an instant the Lin family members were dumbfounded.

Gu Jiu Ling was also stunned; she did not expect that the one who liked Miss Lin was that brat Cheng Ming.

The boy's temperament is odd; who knew he also harbored such thoughts?

Gu Jiu Ling instinctively looked at Lin Rujun, only to see her head bowed, her ears slightly reddened.

Between her and Cheng Ming, there was just a hint of feeling in private; neither of them had made it clear what it was.

She didn't even dare to see Ling and the Grand Princess; now the Grand Princess herself came to the Hall of Nurturing Heart to propose a marriage, and in front of so many people, Lin Ru Jun wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.