The night is deep, and the time for the palace gate to be sealed is coming.
After Derong finished speaking, the palace remained silent.
Hua Jincheng's face looked particularly terrifying in the dim candlelight.
The Queen Mother still looked compassionate, holding a string of Buddhist beads in her hand.
Derong knew that this was his only chance.
In the palace, he shouldn't have thought about anyone who could still retain kindness, but many years ago, it was the Queen Mother who extended a helping hand and saved his and his sister's lives.
Although Hua Jincheng treated him badly in the palace these years, without Hua Jincheng, it would be difficult for him to survive today.
Derong said tremblingly: "The fifth prince cannot choose his birth, and he doesn't know anything about the affairs of the servant's family. He, he doesn't know anything."
The Queen Mother sighed quietly and said: "Amitabha, how could you be such a child?"
Derong's eyes lit up, wondering if the Queen Mother also had sympathy for the fifth prince, even just a little bit.
Otherwise, the Queen Mother would not have just come back and handed over the Buddhist beads that she had used for sixteen years to the fifth prince.
The Queen Mother said: "You should go back first."
Derong didn't get a definite answer, so he bit the bullet and said: "Slave's sister."
The Queen Mother said: "Kongjing is a good child, and the Ai family will treat her well."
Derong did not dare to believe this "kind treatment" and said: "I am willing to use my humble life in exchange for my sister's safety. As long as the fifth prince is not involved, I am willing to die for the Queen Mother."
Hua Jincheng looked at Derong with cold eyes, but the corner of his scarlet mouth raised a smile and said: "What a loyal slave Yangzi."
Derong buried his body lower.
The Queen Mother glanced at Hua Jincheng displeasedly.
Hua Jincheng still said: "Derong, do you really think that the fifth prince doesn't know anything?"
Derong suddenly raised his head and said, "I don't understand what Eunuch Hua means?"
Hua Jincheng said: "Do you think it was a coincidence that the fifth prince saved you in the Royal Beast Garden? Why do you think the fifth prince only beat you and was only kind to you?"
Derong had a bad guess in his heart and said, "Please tell me, Mr. Hua."
Hua Jincheng wanted to continue speaking, but was coldly interrupted by the Queen Mother, saying: "Hua Jincheng! The Ai family hasn't spoken yet. When will it be your turn?"
Hua Jincheng slapped himself in the face, bent down and said, "I know my mistake."
The Queen Mother's frown deepened.
The Queen Mother said: "Derong, please go back first."
Derong is still trapped in various mysteries.
He did not give a clear choice between the fifth prince and his sister.
The Queen Mother did not give a clear answer.
Derong stared at Hua Jincheng, hoping to know Hua Jincheng's unfinished intentions.
Hua Jincheng looked at him with a pair of cold eyes.
The Queen Mother glanced at the white fungus soup next to her, and Hua Jincheng hurriedly picked it up and said: "I serve the queen with soup."
The Queen Mother refused, so she took it herself and drank it sip after sip.
Hua Jincheng looked at Derong and said, "What are you still doing here?"
Derong quickly lowered his head, pretending to be worried, and retreated from Cining Palace.
As soon as Derong left, Hua Jincheng said: "Why don't you let me make it clear to you?"
The Queen Mother said: "Ai Jia is afraid of making things too clear, but he still insists on his own way. Young people have not experienced many storms, so they don't know how ridiculous this kind of sacrifice for others is."
Hua Jincheng said: "That's right. After all, he has been with the fifth prince for many years, and this affection is what he deserves. He was only seven years old when something happened to his family. Who can tell which one is more serious?"
There was a gloomy look in the Queen Mother's eyes, and she said: "The Ai family hates talking about friendship the most. For the sake of a man, you are ungrateful and don't care about anything."
Hua Jincheng smiled: "These words really make me sad."
The Queen Mother glanced at Hua Jincheng with disgust.
Hua Jincheng said with a smile: "This slave talks so much that it taints the Queen Mother's ears."
The Queen Mother said: "Let Jingtang come tomorrow. Since you want to be protected by the Ai family, you have to pay something."
Hua Jincheng said: "Actually, the Sixth Prince is the one who is most like the Holy Emperor. Do you really feel at ease using him?"
The Queen Mother said calmly: "When I was playing with an eagle in my early years, I was pecked in the eye by an eagle. Now sixteen years have passed, how can I allow a second eagle to peck me again?"
Hua Jincheng said: "I think your Majesty has a perfect plan."
Early the next morning, the Sixth Prince entered the palace to pay his respects to the Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother looked at him lovingly and said: "Your fifth emperor brother is about to marry the prince's concubine, and you have only been married for the past two years. Can the emperor's concubine help you find a candidate for the prince's concubine?"
The sixth prince seemed a little shy and said: "This matter is not urgent. The mother-in-law is not in good health and has to take care of palace affairs. It is possible that she was not taken care of for a while."
The Queen Mother said: "Your mother and concubine have a lot of things to do, but the Ai family has a lot of leisure time. There is a candidate in mind. Please listen to it."
The Sixth Prince said: "I would like to hear the details."
The Queen Mother said: "My daughter-in-law, Jiang Yuqing, is one year younger than you."
The Sixth Prince's heart tightened.
If he can marry the legitimate daughter of the Queen Mother, it means that the Queen Mother will wholeheartedly support him to ascend to the throne.
But on the other hand, it also means a complete break with the imperial concubine.
Without the power of the imperial concubine, he could only be at the mercy of the empress dowager.
He didn't know why the Queen Mother chose him, but he did not dare to underestimate the Queen Mother who once had the power of the harem and was so famous.
But having said that, even if he was not manipulated by the Queen Mother, how could he not be manipulated by the Imperial Concubine and Gu Yu?
Especially this year, Gu Yu's preference for the fifth prince has surpassed him.
The Sixth Prince suspected that Gu Yu had seen through something and had already changed his stance.
The Queen Mother is already in her sixties, so she is obviously a better choice than the young and ambitious Gu Yu.
Besides, the Jiang family's family status is not obvious. Once the Queen Mother dies, the Jiang family will not be mentioned.
In a few moments, the Sixth Prince had already figured out the stakes.
He stood up, cupped his hands to the Queen Mother and said, "My grandson once met Sister Jiang, and he was astonished at that time. It will be my grandson's luck if I can marry Sister Jiang in the future."
The Queen Mother said: "What a good boy. He is much better than your Fifth Emperor brother."
The Sixth Prince couldn't help feeling sour at these words.
Since childhood, everyone has compared the sixth prince with the fifth prince, but the result of the comparison is often that although the fifth prince has a bad personality, he is far better than him in all aspects.
But the fifth prince was two years older than him, and he lived in the cold palace until he was eight years old. He couldn't even write his own name at that time.
When the fifth prince was reading the Four Books and Five Classics, he was still reading the Thousand-Character Classic.
When the fifth prince was riding around, shooting arrows, and wielding swords and spears, he couldn't even ride a horse.
He is not a genius, so he is naturally inferior to the fifth prince in every aspect.
As the saying goes, diligence can make up for clumsiness, but no matter how hard you try, you can't make it up.
Now I actually heard the words "You are much better than your Fifth Emperor brother" from the Queen Mother's mouth.
Even if he knew it was false, he couldn't calm down the sixth prince.
The sixth prince's breathing was a little disordered, and he pretended to be calm and said: "My grandson is really flattered that my grandma thinks so."