Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Chapter 280. Fulfillment
Rong Ruiyuan calmed down and thought about it carefully. This was indeed a good idea. "Do you think Father Emperor will grant your request...?"

"Your Highness, you are a prince. You only want a woman for the sake of the royal family's continuation. Why do you think His Majesty is stopping you?"

“What you say makes sense. My eldest brother and the others already have children, while I have no offspring. I believe Father will grant my wish.”

He then looked at his other staff members and found that they were also considering the feasibility. They discussed it for a while, and then parted ways when it was getting light.

Rong Ruiyuan hadn't slept all night, but he was still full of energy. After changing his clothes, he headed towards the palace.

After the court session ended, he did not rush to leave the palace, but instead went to find Consort Liang first.

The mother and son waved away their attendants and talked for a long time.

When it was time for the meal, Consort Liang specially sent someone to invite His Majesty, saying that she had personally prepared several of her signature dishes for the emperor to taste.

The emperor could not hide the commotion in the palace, but he also wanted to know what Rong Ruiyuan was up to.

They had just finished eating when Rong Ruiyuan knelt before him, begging for his permission.

The emperor looked at the mother and son, and it seemed that they had been given too much favor recently and were somewhat dissatisfied.

But thinking of his other sons who were still jumping around, the emperor restrained his temper and said, "Then the previous rumors are true. You really have taken a fancy to Gu Baijiang's granddaughter."

"Tong'er loves me, and I have already promised to bring her into my household. I do not want to break my promise."

"So you've made me lose the trust of the world. You've been running around like crazy these past few days, trying to get the Gu family back to the capital. You're really something."

“Your Majesty, please calm down,” Consort Liang hurriedly knelt beside her son. “Yuan’er was just blinded for a moment. He is always restless when he can’t have what he wants. Why don’t you grant his wish and let him settle down so that he can share Your Majesty’s burdens?”

"It seems this banquet is never a pleasant one. Are you and your son trying to force me to agree?"

"Your Majesty, I dare not,"

"Your subject dares not,"

"No, then what are you doing?"
Rong Ruiyuan, you've already taken wives and concubines. Aren't the women in your harem enough?
"You're now making your mother kneel here with you for the sake of a woman; is this your filial piety?"

Consort Liang quickly bowed her head, "Your Majesty, this has nothing to do with Yuan'er. It is because I, as his mother, love my son and am afraid that he will have regrets in his life, that I want to ask Your Majesty to grant my request."

Born into the royal family, there are too many things we cannot do. Yuan'er only wishes for his beloved to be by his side. We, as his mother, are merely trying to fulfill his wish.

"Get up first," the emperor's voice softened. He had once had a woman he admired, but he gave her up for the throne. Although he had long forgotten her voice and smile, the void in his heart could not be filled.

If Rong Ruiyuan had come to beg him to pardon Gu Baijiang, he would definitely be disappointed in his son. But now it's for a woman, so he, as the father, might consider it.

"Consort Liang, Gu Baijiang's granddaughter is very beautiful?"

Consort Liang breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed she had made the right move. "She has a good reputation in the capital. I heard that she is very filial to her elders at a young age and helps her mother manage the entire Gu family. I used to think about reserving a concubine position for her, but who knew that something would happen..."

"Oh, so they've already taken a liking to each other before, why didn't they mention it when the marriage was arranged?"

Rong Ruiyuan said, "Your subject knows that the position of the principal wife is decided by Father, but I did not expect that something would happen later..." This makes sense. The emperor thought of how this boy ran into the exile team and went in and out with the Gu family girl. So the root of the problem is here.

He now understands to some extent why Gu Baijiang sides with Gu Kaiyuan. If the Gu family really wants to enter the prince's residence, then they are naturally on the same side.

Unexpectedly, the third brother is quite the romantic. He can't have other things, but he can have this one.

"She's just a woman," the emperor said indifferently after he had come to terms with it. "Since you want her, just send someone to bring her into your residence and have her serve you."

“Father, but what about her identity…”

"She'll serve as your concubine for now. Once she bears you children, we'll elevate her rank." In the Emperor's eyes, this was already an immense favor, and the Gu family should be grateful and have his granddaughter serve the Third Prince well.

"But I can't bear it," the Third Prince said with a troubled expression. "Because of what happened between her and me, the families of the women in my harem have already started to take action. If I hadn't sent people to protect her beforehand, Tong'er would probably already be..."

Rong Ruiyuan's tone was filled with barely concealed anger, "If she were to enter the manor with such a low rank, I'm afraid she would suffer all sorts of grievances there."

"How come you can't even manage the inner quarters?" Of course, the emperor knew about this. The struggles in the royal inner quarters have always been brutal. Even if Rong Ruiyuan is just a leisurely prince in the future, the inner quarters will still fight to the death for that title.

“Father, I deserve to die,” Rong Ruiyuan admitted his mistake regardless of right or wrong.

“You are too soft-hearted. Although your mother and I chose the principal wife and the concubine, you are also the head of the family. You should be disciplined when necessary.”

"But my in-laws..."

The emperor also thought of what had happened in court yesterday: the families of the women in his son's harem had been doing everything they could to hold their son back.

Their gazes toward Rong Ruiyuan were filled with sympathy, and they also felt much more at ease. Although the third brother was ambitious, he was not without flaws.

Now, to offend several of my ally over a woman is a losing proposition.

Thinking about it this way, I felt it wouldn't hurt to grant his wish. If the Gu family girl entered the backyard, she would have to deal with so many families by herself. I'm afraid it wouldn't be long before she would disappear silently from the backyard.

He finally understood why Rong Ruiyuan had gone to such lengths to bring Gu Baijiang and the others back. Perhaps, besides the money, he also wanted to give the Gu family girl some support.

"Your grandmother is about to celebrate her sixtieth birthday, so you should prepare well." After saying this, the emperor got up and left.

Rong Ruiyuan looked dejected; today's plans were doomed to fail again.

Consort Liang, however, was excited, feeling that she and her son were indeed somewhat different in the Emperor's eyes. "It is time to prepare a generous gift for the Empress Dowager."

Rong Ruiyuan said, "Mother, I have no generous gift to offer."

Rong Ruiyuan was somewhat reluctant. His grandmother had always valued his eldest brother the most and had even wanted his father to make his eldest brother the crown prince. How could he possibly send her a generous gift?
"You're really stubborn," Consort Liang said, unable to resist the urge to hit her son, no matter how much she loved him. "Your father made it so clear, how could you not understand?"

Rong Ruiyuan, "..."

"When your grandmother celebrates her birthday, will there be a general amnesty?" Consort Liang asked, exasperated.

(End of this chapter)