northernbook Chapter 284: Recruiting a Consort
Chapter 284: Recruiting a Consort
"But... but he won't marry me..." Princess Tianning's dim eyes were instantly covered with a layer of mist. She knew better than anyone who Kang Xiaorong liked, and she knew better than anyone that she was just a sister in his heart. She had clearly decided to give up, but in a corner of her heart, there was always a glimmer of hope... hoping that one day he would change his mind.
After hearing the Queen Mother's words, Princess Tianning, who was already wavering and unable to make a decision, became even more shaken.
Marrying Brother Xiaorong... What a wonderful wish. It was once just an unattainable dream, but now as long as you take one more step forward bravely, this seemingly impossible wish, this dream that you almost gave up... can come true.
This is a beautiful temptation and also a huge challenge.
Faced with this critical choice, Princess Tianning became afraid, hesitated, and stopped moving forward.
"He won't marry me... He won't marry me..." Princess Tianning kept mumbling these words as if she was possessed. It was like a spell that could not be shaken off, leaving an eternal mark in her heart. She was immersed in the pain brought by this mark, unable to see the light or happiness. When she thought about it, her head began to ache. When she talked about it, her heart began to tighten.
The Queen Mother held Princess Tianning's slightly trembling hand tighter and said in a low voice, "He has no choice." No matter who Kang Xiaorong loves, as long as Princess Tianning likes Kang Xiaorong, the Queen Mother will do everything she can to force Kang Xiaorong to become a royal consort.
Princess Tianning was frightened by the sudden coldness in the Queen Mother's eyes. She begged blankly, "Mother, please don't force him... Please don't force him, otherwise I'm afraid he will hate me..."
Although I can't be his beloved wife, at least I can continue to be his beloved sister.
If I push Kang Xiaorong too far, not only will I not be able to be his sister, but he might even resent me...
Whenever Princess Tianning thought that Kang Xiaorong might hate her, she felt as if her skin was peeled off and her whole body began to twitch.
However, the Queen Mother ignored Princess Tianning who kept shaking her head and said unwaveringly, "Tianning, I will help you decide on this matter."
In fact, during the time when Princess Tianning was in a coma, the Queen Mother had been thinking about the issue of a consort. She had long known that Princess Tianning had a special liking for Kang Xiaorong, but because Kang Xiaorong was the heir to the general, a descendant of the Kang family, and an enemy of the An family, the Queen Mother had never included Kang Xiaorong in the list of candidates for a consort.
But after what happened last night, the Queen Mother was also moved by Kang Xiaorong's vow to protect Princess Tianning, and she gradually realized that Kang Xiaorong was the right person to be the son-in-law. What family background, what power group, none of them mattered. What mattered was that Princess Tianning loved Kang Xiaorong wholeheartedly, and Kang Xiaorong, at the critical moment, even risked his life to protect the princess - if he couldn't be the son-in-law, who else was qualified?
The only difficulty now is that Kang Xiaorong has no romantic feelings for Princess Tianning.
But this is not important, because feelings can be cultivated slowly.
The Queen Mother has full confidence in Princess Tianning and also wants to help her daughter achieve happiness with her own hands.
She had thought it through very clearly and had already decided on Kang Xiaorong as the candidate for the prince consort.
Even though Princess Tianning still had doubts and was hesitant to move forward, the Queen Mother advised her with her experience: "Tianning, if you don't force him to marry you now, you will drive yourself crazy in the future."
The Queen Mother felt this more deeply than anyone else. If she had insisted on her love for Minister Bao, then there wouldn't have been a decade of hatred and the tragedy of Bao'er's death. It's too late to regret now. The only thing she can do is to prevent the same mistakes and regrets from happening again to her children.
Princess Tianning was always weighed down by a dark cloud in her heart, and she murmured, "What if he still doesn't like me..."
What if he still only has someone else in his heart and has no room for me?
Princess Tianning, who has always been competitive and daring, only appears so timid when it comes to love.
I love you, you love her, the love goes back and forth, the entanglement comes and goes, and the simple things become complicated.
The Queen Mother is an outsider. Her gaze is much calmer than Princess Tianning's, and she won't be bound by excessive considerations.
She didn't care about Kang Xiaorong, she only cared about Princess Tianning's feelings.
"Tianning... What's important is not whether he likes you, but whether you like him." The Queen Mother stared at Princess Tianning's flustered eyes and asked solemnly, "Tianning... Your Majesty asks you again, do you really like him?"
I like it... Of course I like it...
Just because you like him, can you keep him by your side like a pet?
Can you force him to do things he doesn't want to do and force him to accept your arbitrary and domineering love just because you like him?
The more Princess Tianning thought about it, the more confused she became.
But the Queen Mother nodded at this time, with an expression that showed she understood everything, and whispered, "Mother, I understand."
How could the Queen Mother understand something that even Princess Tianning herself didn’t understand?
That was just the Queen Mother's clever idea.
The Queen Mother's judgment criteria are very simple. She does not consider Kang Xiaorong's feelings at all, but only considers Princess Tianning's feelings. If Kang Xiaorong also loves Princess Tianning, that would be the best. Even if he doesn't love her, she will never give him a chance to say no - this is the Queen Mother's determination.
Princess Tianning opened her mouth, but without saying a word, she gently closed her mouth again.
Since I can't make a decision, I'll let my mother make the decision for me...
My mother is the person who loves me the most in this world, and the decisions she makes will never hurt me.
Tian Ning was really confused about whether it was right or wrong. But she was willing to try to believe the Queen Mother's words, to try to believe the person in the world who loved her the most and wanted her to be happy the most...
Forced marriage? I didn't expect it would end up like this. Princess Tianning didn't feel a bit happy about this hard-won marriage.
By doing this, is it giving yourself a new chance, or is it directly sentencing love to death?
My heart is filled with anxiety and hesitation, and the future becomes more and more uncertain because it is out of my control.
Love is in chaos from this moment on, everything is in chaos...
#
The next day, at the Imperial Hospital.
In addition to the clinic and pharmacy, the Imperial Hospital also had four residences, Qingchun, Zhuxia, Baiqiu, and Xuandong, which were equivalent to the current inpatient department. Each residence was independent and had a special courtyard and scenery, which was specially provided for the treatment of the dignitaries.
Kang Xiaorong was placed in Zhuxiaju, where he had been sleeping for a day and a night.
Judging from the severity of his injuries, it would take him about three days to slowly regain consciousness. But at noon the next day, when the sun shone into his room, Kang Xiaorong miraculously opened his eyes.
As soon as I opened my eyes a little, I was immediately dazzled by the dazzling white light that squeezed into my eyes, causing bursts of pain.
In fact, at midnight last night, Kang Xiaorong had slowly regained consciousness and realized that he was in the Imperial Hospital.
Although he was conscious, his body was too badly injured to move. The anesthetic was still there in the more serious wounds. He could only lie quietly in bed, unable to open his eyes, speak, or move.
Later, because I was too sleepy, I fell asleep again. When I opened my eyes again, it was already noon the next day.
At first, Kang Xiaorong thought that the dazzling white light was sunlight, but the Imperial Hospital would not place the patient's bed in direct sunlight. So he endured the discomfort from his eyes, slowly opened his eyes, and saw clearly.
Only then did I realize that the white light was not sunlight, but light from a small hill piled in the corner of the room.
No, not one, but two... one gold and one silver.
Kang Xiaorong was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had seen it wrongly. No matter how he blinked or how he concentrated, the two mountains of gold and silver did not disappear, but became clearer and clearer - they were clearly pieces of gold and silver.
This...this is...
Kang Xiaorong was dumbfounded and didn't react for a long time.
At this time, the half-closed door was pushed open again, and several eunuchs came in carrying several large boxes. They did not notice that Kang Xiaorong had woken up, and just as they were about to leave after putting the boxes in the corner, Kang Xiaorong weakly shouted, "Wait... wait a minute..."
The eunuchs were startled and exclaimed, "Young General, are you awake?"
Just as Kang Xiaorong was about to answer, he saw them pushing each other out of the room, shouting in panic, "Quick, hurry up and invite Eunuch Lian in."
Eunuch Lian was close to the Queen Mother and was organizing the eunuchs to move the treasure chest outside the door. After learning that Kang Xiaorong had woken up, Eunuch Lian hurried into the room.
Before he could ask about her well-being, Kang Xiaorong barely straightened up from the bed and asked weakly, "Eunuch Lian, what...what...is going on?"
Eunuch Lian hurried over to help him up, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, young general, take care of yourself."
"What the hell is going on!" Kang Xiaorong didn't have time to listen to his nonsense, and he raised his voice anxiously and shouted. This shouting seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and he suddenly felt dizzy and almost fainted again.
Eunuch Lian said worriedly, "Young General, don't worry. I will read the imperial decree to you right away."
As he spoke, he took out a scroll of brocade from his bosom, unfolded it, and read: "The Imperial Palace Supervisor Kang Xiaorong has protected his master with his own body and has made outstanding contributions. I hereby grant you five boxes of gold, five boxes of silver, five boxes of jewels, five boxes of white jade, and five boxes of silk..."
Before he finished reading, Kang Xiaorong shook his head and said, "No need to read, I won't accept the order. Please help me reply to the Queen Mother, saying that as long as the princess is safe and sound, it will be the greatest reward for my subordinates. There is no need for gold, silver and jewelry, you can find someone to move them back."
Eunuch Lian smiled and said, "Young General, why don't you listen to the imperial decree?" Without waiting for Kang Xiaorong's consent, he took the initiative to read it again, "Now he is promoted to the second-rank general of the Tianyou Holy Dynasty, and recruited as the consort of Princess Tianning. After the general recovers, he will choose a day to marry the princess..."