Chapter 225 A Marriage Even the Cat Appreciates
The lofty imperial palace was tall, with layers of steps. Two rows of imperial servants lowered their heads and stood respectfully, not daring to move.
The gate of the upper palace opened wide, and Empress Dowager sat in the main hall. Around her were several beautiful and charming imperial concubines, who were talking with Empress Dowager to amuse her.
The Queen also sat beside Empress Dowager, but she didn’t look well. Although she also smiled, the smile was a little stiff.
She felt humiliated for being reprimanded by Empress Dowager just now. Looking at the several concubines who were talking to Empress Dowager with enthusiasm, she was somewhat gloomy.
A maid rushed in and said, “Empress Dowager, Prince Chen is here!”
Empress Dowager said urgently, “Invite him in quickly!” She sat up straight and seemed to look forward to seeing him. Such an expression made the Queen even more resentful.
Prince Chen was a sick and weak cripple, but Empress Dowager regarded him as a treasure and ignored her healthy grandson. She felt so angry at Empress Dowager for being partial.
But even if she was angry, the Queen couldn’t expose it. She adjusted her smile, restrained the resentment that she showed inadvertently, and looked at the door with a gentle smile.
Chu Liuchen was pushed in in a wheelchair. Everyone knew that he wasn’t disabled, but his legs were not very strong. Empress Dowager and the Emperor took pity on him and let him enter the palace in a wheelchair.
Xiao Xuanzi carried Chu Liuchen to the palace, and he then held a cat in his arms and stood behind. Two nannies carried Chu Liuchen to the place where Empress Dowager was.
The concubines who were close to Empress Dowager immediately gathered around the Queen in order to give way to him.
Prince Chen was also known for another characteristic. He didn’t like women to get close to him.
Once there was a palace concubine who thought she won the Emperor’s favor. When Chu Liuchen went into the palace, she got close to him purposely. But Chu Liuchen kicked her without any hesitation.
The Emperor also knew about that matter, but Chu Liuchen wasn’t punished in the end, and the Emperor even asked if he had gotten hurt. And the concubine who used to be pampered was directly banished to the cold palace under the accusation of intending to approach Prince Chen and do him harm.
With such a story, let alone the report about such a thing they heard from the Queen just now, who would dare to get close to Chu Liuchen? They all looked at Chu Liuchen with shock and panic.
“Grandmother, Empress!” Chu Liuchen was about to stand up to salute, but his hands were held by Empress Dowager. She looked Chu Liuchen up and down, and found that he was still pale and weak. Then her eyes teared up.
“Chen, sit down first!”
Chu Liuchen coughed, clutching his chest, and did not decline but sat down elegantly. He seemed weak and mild with a pair of tired eyes. But even so, he was as handsome as Adonis, making a few newcomers flush and forget what the Queen had said before, stealing a glance with obsession.
“Chen, Rui’an said you agreed before? Why did you… kill all four of the palace maids sent by the Queen!” Empress Dowager said helplessly.
The four palace maids were all exceedingly beautiful and outstanding. They left with happiness, but came back dead.
It was said that they had just entered Prince Chen’s Mansion. Then the eunuch along with them received four heads on the way back. The eunuch was so frightened that he scratched and scrambled back to the Queen. The Queen was so angry that she complained to Empress Dowager, but was scolded by her.
Up to now, the Queen found it difficult to get rid of her anger.
How could Empress Dowager be so partial? Fortunately, her son would die soon. Otherwise, she might be a great enemy of her son.
“The four palace maids had bad intention toward me!” Chu Liuchen coughed again in a low voice. He raised his eyes and looked at the several concubines who were peeping at him and smiled.
Some perceptive imperial concubines quickly lowered their heads and dared not to look into his beautiful eyes.
“Queen, you’re not careful enough, how dare you send maids with unclear backgrounds to Prince Chen’s Mansion? If something happened to him, could you take full responsibility?” Empress Dowager snorted and looked at the Queen.
The Queen was fuming with rage. Empress Dowager had checked the maids she sent to Prince Chen and she was satisfied with both their appearance and family background. Why should she take full responsibility now?
“Sorry, Mother, I did wrong!” Even though the Queen was filled with anger, she could only suppress it and lower her head.
She had been the daughter-in-law of Empress Dowager for so many years. Of course, she knew that the more she argued with Empress Dowager at this time, the angrier Empress Dowager would get. So the only thing she could do was to be meek and subservient.
“In fact, she’s not to blame. The maids were… too yucky!” Chu Liuchen excused the Queen gently.
Empress Dowager waved her hand, and all the imperial concubines, including the Queen, stood up and bade Empress Dowager farewell, knowing that she wanted to talk to Chu Liuchen in private.
When the Queen led all the imperial concubines away, Empress Dowager sighed and looked at Chu Liuchen piteously. “Chen, your uncle promised me. You’ll be fine if you take good care of yourself. And both your uncle and I agreed to find someone to take care of you!”
Chu Liuchen lowered his head and seemed sad. He gave a harmless and pure smile, stretched out his hand and touched the chubby cat in his arms with no words.
“Rui’an Great Elder Princess said that you also agreed with it. And I felt relieved when she said so. But why didn’t you listen to us!” Empress Dowager, of course, knew that Chu Liuchen deliberately killed those maids in public, but she still chose to support him in front of the people in case he would be scolded by the Queen.
“Imperial Grandmother, they’re not sincere to me!” Chu Liuchen lowered his head. “You also knew it. When you said you’ll find a daughter-in-law for boys from the royal families, all the ladies from aristocratic families looked at my other brothers. It has nothing to do with me.”
Chu Liuchen stroked the fat cat in his arms. The fat cat meowed a few times, raised her green eyes, and looked at Empress Dowager.
“The ladies of those aristocratic families are not well-educated. I will choose a better one for you!” Thinking of that day, Empress Dowager also got angry. She also felt sad when she saw her most beloved grandson be depressed. His life was hard enough, and she wouldn’t allow anyone to tease him again.
“No, Imperial Grandmother, ladies in the capital city all know about my illness. Maybe I’ll die in the near future. And it’s natural that they don’t want to be a widow. Forget it!” Chu Liuchen raised his head and looked at Empress Dowager with a gentle smile.
It seemed that his sadness never existed because he was calm, gentle, and cultivated then. If it weren’t for his illness, he would be her most excellent grandson!
Empress Dowager was about to cry!
“Since the ladies who grow up in the capital city have a prejudice against you, I will choose one who has just come here. It doesn’t matter if she is a little young. I will help you educate her and make sure you’ll be satisfied with her. Tell me who you like, I will help you!”
Empress Dowager promised Chu Liuchen. She really wanted to help Chu Liuchen choose a good wife. Then in the rest of his life, he would not be pitiful because no one cared about him.
What Chu Liuchen said before reminded her of the advantages of being young. At least, a young girl was not so sophisticated and maybe she would admire Chu Liuchen deep in her heart. What had happened to her most excellent grandson really distressed Empress Dowager.
She always felt indebted to him.
“Young! My cat should also like her!” Chu Liuchen said casually and stroked the fat cat’s head. The fat cat gave out a purr for being comfortable and gave a soft “meow” to Empress Dowager!
“Have the cat like her? Prince Chen, you must be kidding!” Empress Dowager complained, “How can this be your criteria for choosing a wife?”
“Then I won’t choose. If the wife that grandmother chooses for me will be harsh to my cat, and I am so weak that I can’t even protect my cat, it’s better dead than alive!” Chu Liuchen smiled, and he was so sincere as if he were not joking.
It felt like his death had nothing to do with himself. Empress Dowager felt so depressed about it. “What nonsense are you talking? Okay, okay. I will then choose a woman that your cat likes!”
It should not be difficult to make a cat like her. Have the person she chose accompany and stroke the cat as much as possible.
Empress Dowager already made a decision in her mind. The person she chose had to be warned to be kind to the cat. Chu Liuchen could not have such feelings.
How could her grandson feel as if he was not living?
“Then don’t send me maids anymore. I don’t like them, especially their hypocritical behavior.” Chu Liuchen nodded gently. He raised his eyebrows and continued making a request to Empress Dowager.
“Okay, okay, there won’t be such hypocritical maids sent to your mansion anymore. You shall wait for me to choose a good girl for you so that others will all envy you!” Chu Liuchen was finally relieved, and Empress Dowager would agree with all his words at this time. She smiled with delight and began to compare the little girls she had seen before.
She shouldn’t be mature in case she was too sophisticated, she would despise Chen if she had a noble identity, she couldn’t win her admiration if she had a low identity, and she also had to satisfy Chen’s cat. Empress Dowager also felt it a headache thinking of all of this. It was ok to win a human being’s appreciation, but she should also have the girl win the cat’s appreciation. What was wrong with the world!
But even if it was not a reasonable request, Empress Dowager felt that she still needed to satisfy him. He never made a request to her, and it was his first time to do so.
Empress Dowager was serious about finding Prince Chen a wife. However, Qin Wanru, who was in Ningyuan Army General’s Mansion, got amazing news.
Di Yan had eloped…