usatvline Chapter 316 Prince or Princess?
Chapter 316 Prince or Princess?
"Why are you in my house?" Shen Chuning widened her eyes and looked at the fifth prince Xiao Yuanyi in front of her with astonishment.
Xiao Yuanyi stood there, looking a little uneasy. He kept fiddling with the corners of his clothes with his hands, his head lowered. He didn't dare to look Shen Chuning in the eye. He stammered, "I... I came to the mansion to ask Shen Xiang about something. Sister Aning, actually... actually, I've always wanted to have a good talk with you. Is that okay?"
Shen Chuning frowned slightly, glanced at him coldly, and responded expressionlessly: "It seems that there is nothing to talk about between us."
Her voice was cold and resolute, as if she wanted to keep Xiao Yuanyi at a distance.
Hearing this, Xiao Yuanyi's body trembled. He slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with disappointment. "Sister Aning, are you really going to be so heartless? As long as there is something you don't like, I'm willing to change it. I just hope we can still be like before, okay?"
His tone was low and earnest, like a helpless puppy drenched in rain.
Seeing this, Shen Chuning's heart softened, but she quickly regained her composure, sighed softly, and said helplessly: "Forget it, since you insist on saying it, then just say it quickly."
When Xiao Yuanyi heard this, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes for a moment, but when he saw the servants around him, the smile on his face quickly disappeared, replaced by an embarrassed look.
He hesitated for a moment, and finally mustered up the courage to speak: "I...I hope to talk to Sister An Ning alone."
After saying this, he carefully observed Shen Chuning's reaction.
Shen Chuning thought for a moment, then nodded slightly, turned around and took Xiao Yuanyi to the nearest empty yard.
After entering the yard, she waved her hand to signal all the servants to leave, and closed the gate. Suddenly, there were only the two of them left in the yard.
"No one is disturbing us now, so just say whatever you want to say." Shen Chuning turned around and looked at Xiao Yuanyi calmly, waiting for him to speak.
"Sister Aning, it may not be long before I have to leave the capital." Xiao Yuanyi said solemnly.
Hearing this, Shen Chuning couldn't help but look puzzled: "Leaving the capital? Where are you going? Did His Majesty assign you an errand?"
Xiao Yuanyi sighed softly: "Once the prince reaches adulthood, he will be granted land."
"Although they have fiefs, they can only enjoy the tax revenue of the fiefs. They are not necessarily required to go to the fiefs. For example, the eldest prince and the third prince were forced to go to the fiefs after they made mistakes."
Xiao Yuanyi shook his head helplessly. "That's because the late Queen and the late Crown Prince were kind. My brothers didn't want to leave the capital, so they were able to stay. Empress Su isn't that kind-hearted, and she can't tolerate us princes. When my eldest brother returned to Tanzhou, she originally planned to send me to the fiefdom with him, but I was still young at the time. But now that I'm about to come of age, how could Empress Su easily let go of a thorn in her side like me?"
"Actually, going to a fiefdom might not be a bad thing. At least I won't be bullied by others anymore and can live a more comfortable life."
"Sister Aning, I really don't want to leave...I don't want to leave the capital!" Xiao Yuanyi muttered with a face full of grievance.
Hearing him say this, Shen Chuning couldn't help but recall what happened in the North Third Office of the palace that day.
At that time, Xiao Yuanyi grabbed her shoulders tightly with such force that he almost crushed her bones. The pain is still vivid in her mind.
"I've told you a long time ago that if you really don't want to go to your fiefdom, then go and explain the situation to His Majesty yourself! But what about you? You want to disobey the order, but you're afraid of getting a reputation of being disobedient in front of His Majesty. Where in the world can you have the best of both worlds?" Shen Chuning frowned and complained unhappily.
However, facing Shen Chuning's rebuke, Xiao Yuanyi showed an extremely hurt expression, with tears welling up in his eyes, as if they would roll down at any time.
He choked up and said, "Sister An Ning, are you really unwilling to help me? You weren't like this before! No matter how unreasonable my request was, you would agree. Why are you so cold and heartless now?"
Shen Chuning felt annoyed and very annoyed with Xiao Yuanyi's persistent attitude.
She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, and then responded coldly, "If the Fifth Prince came here today just to reminisce about the past, then I cannot continue to accompany you."
After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the gate of the yard, her steps hurried, as if she didn't want to stay any longer.
At this moment, Xiao Yuanyi shouted loudly behind her, "Sister Aning, since the Shen family has chosen me, if I lose, the entire Shen family will lose. Can you really bear to watch this happen and stand by and do nothing?"
Hearing this, Shen Chuning stopped abruptly.
She never expected that the Shen family would make their position clear so quickly and stand on Xiao Yuanyi's side.
She had even advised her grandfather to be patient and wait and see for a while, but she had never expected things to develop so quickly...
She slowly turned around, staring straight at him with her beautiful eyes, and asked softly, "Don't you just want to leave Beijing?"
Xiao Yuanyi nodded slightly, his eyes dimming as he spoke slowly, "The only way to find a good opportunity is to stay in the capital. But Empress Su will never allow such a thing to happen. Her baby is about to be born, and by then I'm afraid I'll have no place to stand."
Hearing this, Shen Chuning narrowed her eyes and said thoughtfully, "A few days ago, when I went to the palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, I happened to run into Empress Su. I noticed that her belly was rounder, and her skin was smoother and more delicate than before. She looked even more beautiful."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanyi snorted disdainfully, "It's because of this look that she's bewitched enough to make Father obey her in everything."
Shen Chuning shook her head slightly and explained in a low voice, "From my observation, judging by Empress Su's current figure and complexion, she is very likely pregnant with a princess. His Majesty is already aging, and it is difficult to predict whether he will give birth to another prince in the future. Therefore, for Empress Su, only by successfully giving birth to a prince this time can she truly consolidate her position in the harem. Only by giving birth to a prince will His Majesty send you away."
After hearing this, Xiao Yuanyi's eyes were full of disappointment.
He couldn't help but retort, "But all you said is just speculation. What if Empress Su really gave birth to a prince? In that case, he would be a legitimate son! Are you going to let me just sit there and gamble on whether she's carrying a prince or a princess?"
"If you don't want to gamble, does Queen Su want to gamble?"