78 078

◎The crown prince was scolded, and Qin Bing was crowned king.◎

After his daughter went out to play in the palace, Emperor Xingwu lived a very leisurely life in the palace. He would either ride horses, practice martial arts, read books and appreciate paintings, or accompany the Imperial Concubine and the Beautiful Concubine to listen to music and operas. Sometimes he would ask the Crown Prince to bring the little grandson to him, play with him for a while, and then let the Crown Prince take him back when the little guy cried.

Of course, the years before and after the New Year were the time when officials entertained each other, and banquets brought all kinds of fun. Emperor Xingwu would take out half an hour every day to read the various secret reports sent in from outside the palace.

Don't take what men say when they are drunk too seriously, but you can still learn something from listening to them.

Then, in these secret reports, Emperor Xingwu saw the "fun" of his eldest princess and her husband, whom he had not sent anyone to monitor.

Emperor Xingwu suddenly stopped laughing.

Emperor Xingwu was not lustful, but he had many ministers with beautiful concubines. Not to mention those far away, his younger brother Prince Yong and his good brother Deng Chong had never been short of women in the past twenty years. He could not keep up with the number of their wives, so he finally let them take concubines as long as they did not have children. Among the civil officials, wise ministers such as Yan Xizheng and Nie Ao also had young and beautiful concubines by their side.

Emperor Xingwu knew men too well and never expected that the son-in-law he chose for his eldest daughter at the beginning of the country in order to marry her to a meritorious official would remain a chaste woman for her.

If the son-in-law is not faithful to his wife, he will definitely take a concubine, which will make the eldest daughter angry. He expected that the couple would quarrel. The only thing Emperor Xingwu did not expect was that the eldest daughter did not force Fu Kui to continue to be faithful to her, but instead chose two male favorites for herself.

Let him be a male favorite, even though it may not sound good if this matter gets out, there are many princesses who have male favorites in history books. As an emperor born in a poor family, he would not force his daughters to learn to be chaste and heroic women. At least Fu Kui, who made his daughter suffer injustice first, is not worthy of it.

Emperor Xingwu was so angry that the young couple had spread their family affairs, making them a laughing stock for their subjects.

The daughter and son-in-law were already parents, and the couple did not want to bring the matter to his face. Emperor Xingwu also did not want to intervene personally, so he sent someone to call the prince over and handed the secret report about his daughter and son-in-law to his son.

After reading it, Qin Hong's face turned pale. He was shocked that his father, who lived in the palace, knew what happened at the banquet among the officials. He was also shocked that his elder sister had done something that was against the ethics of women!

Facing his father's furious gaze, Qin Hong knelt down with the secret report in his hands and pleaded, "Father, my elder sister was angered by the prince consort. She didn't mean it. Please forgive her this time. I will definitely scold her severely and make sure she doesn't dare to act recklessly again!"

By doing this, the eldest sister not only tarnished her own reputation, but also the reputation of her father and the family tradition of the Qin family. Qin Hong was afraid that his father would severely punish his eldest sister.

Emperor Xingwu had been relatively calm, but when he saw his son kneeling down to him and blaming his own sister for such a thing, he flew into a rage: "Get up! You kneel at every turn! Are your bones made of rice and flour?"

Qin Hong shuddered, his face turned even paler, and he stood up with his head lowered.

Emperor Xingwu could no longer sit still. He came over and slapped the secret report out of his son's hand, gritting his teeth and saying, "It was clearly Fu Kui who first went behind your elder sister's back to touch another woman. Instead of scolding him for his audacity and disrespect for the princess, you're actually blaming your elder sister on his behalf. How can he, the son of a marquis, be more noble than my daughter, the Crown Prince's biological sister?"

Qin Hong then realized that the anger on his father's face was directed at Fu Kui.

He lowered his head and dared not say a word.

Little did he know that the more he acted like that, the more angry Emperor Xingwu became. He pointed at him and said, "Your elder sister is just clueless and not smart enough. She's much stronger than you in terms of character. If you were half as tough as she is, I wouldn't scold you every day!"

The eldest daughter dared to glare at him and even dared to keep a male lover for herself. What about the prince?

Emperor Xingwu was really mad at this cowardly son.

Qin Hong looked at the secret report on the ground that was broken into two pieces by his father's hand. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he forced himself to hold them back because he knew that tears would only bring more disgust and anger to his father.

Emperor Xingwu had already taken a few steps and turned his back to his son, saying, "I'm very busy and don't have time to care about them. You should find a chance to tell them that if they don't want to continue, have Fu Kui come to the palace and ask for my decree to divorce the prince consort. If they still want to continue being husband and wife, they can either stay together or keep their own children. They can do whatever they want in their own house, but be respectful when they go out and don't let everyone in the city know."

Qin Hong agreed with a deathly pale face, and returned to Chongyuan Palace. He sat on the chair and couldn't stand up. He felt weak all over.

Lu Wenrong wanted to show some concern, but Qin Hong shook his head and asked her to take care of the child herself, as he wanted to be alone.

After Lu Wenrong left, Qin Hong lay on the table and did not show up again for the whole morning. After a break in the afternoon, Qin Hong sent someone to summon his eldest sister and her husband to the palace. After the couple arrived, Qin Hong met them alone in the small hall next to the study.

There were two guest chairs in the small hall. Yongkang picked one and sat down after he came in. Fu Kui glanced at the prince who had a strange look on his face and stood there without moving.

Dequan closed the door from the outside, walked to the corner of the corridor and watched from a distance.

Yongkang looked at his brother curiously: "Why did you call us here?"

Qin Hong didn't look at his eldest sister. He said to the floor, "I've heard about your marital grievances."

The couple's expressions changed. They looked at each other and then turned away at the same time. You Yongkang asked, "Who told you that?"

Qin Hong couldn't possibly reveal his father's secret reporting methods, so he just said coldly, "If this matter gets out of hand, it will be embarrassing for you and will also damage the dignity of the royal family. I just want to ask, do you still want to continue as a couple?"

Yongkang smiled faintly: "It doesn't matter whether you do it or not."

Anyway, she has given up on Fu Kui. Fu Kui wants to continue to be a prince consort. As long as he doesn't cause her trouble, Yongkang will keep him for the sake of their two children. If Fu Kui can't stand her keeping a male lover, then he can get out.

Fu Kui really wanted to leave. He was not afraid of Yongkang, but he was afraid of the emperor.

Because Yongkang had already expressed his opinion, Fu Kui hesitated for a moment when he saw the Crown Prince looking at him. He said, "The Princess despises me so much, I don't have the face to occupy the title of Princess's Consort anymore. However, this marriage was granted by the Emperor, and I am afraid that the Emperor will not agree."

Qin Hong understood. Since his elder sister and her husband were willing to let go of each other, the Crown Prince, who was alone in mourning over this marriage, felt even more depressed. He looked toward the window and said, "The Emperor is tolerant and will agree. You can go and ask for his decree to divorce the Prince Consort."

He spoke in a deadpan voice, but Fu Kui was horrified and fell to his knees. "Your Highness, I just said that on purpose to irritate the princess and see if she still cares about me. In fact, I can't bear to leave the princess and don't want to be separated from her!"

Afraid that the prince would not believe him, Fu Kui knelt down and moved in front of Yongkang, hugged Yongkang's thigh and expressed his affection.

Yongkang laughed as he watched. If he had the guts, he would go and ask his father for permission. Isn't this still cowardice?

Qin Hong was stunned until Fu Kui knelt down and promised him that he would follow his elder sister's lead in the future and would never dare to disobey her in the slightest.

Taking his eyes away from Fu Kui's tearful face, Qin Hong asked his elder sister, who was smiling very proudly, "So, do you still want to leave?"

Yongkang: "Forget it, we are husband and wife after all, I will give my husband another chance."

Qin Hong breathed a sigh of relief. This matter could be resolved so easily. It would be easier for him to report to his father, and it would also be good for his elder sister's reputation.

Yongkang listened patiently as his brother admonished them to live in harmony in the future. After his brother finished speaking, Yongkang asked Fu Kui to wait outside while she asked him alone, "Did the emperor tell you to say that?"

Qin Hong didn't want to answer.

Yongkang: "But if you knew, you wouldn't call both of us over at once."

Given her brother's personality, he would first persuade her to send away those two lovers and live a good life with Fu Kui. If she agreed, he probably would not look for Fu Kui again, and even if he did, he would not support her like Deng Chong defended Deng in front of Uncle Wang.

Qin Hong looked at his sister's skirt and said uncomfortably, "Sister, you always ask me to please our father. Why do you want to do something that would damage our father's reputation?"

Even though his father was not very angry, Qin Hong still felt that his elder sister was wrong.

Yongkang sneered, "I am the emperor's daughter. If I were to be servile and obedient to Fu Kui, I would be bringing shame upon him. Brother, you must remember that the imperial family is supreme. The ministers cannot surpass you. And Fu Kui, don't even think of suppressing me, the eldest princess."

.

Yongkang entered the palace on the fourth day of the first lunar month and Qingyang returned to the palace on the fifth day. She didn't know about this, but when she went to Chongyuan Palace to entertain her nephew, she noticed that her elder brother was depressed.

Qingyang quietly asked his sister-in-law, and Lu Wenrong shook her head with a wry smile. She really didn't know anything and didn't reveal the fact that Yongkang had entered the palace. After all, no matter how much she liked the little princess, the eldest princess and the prince were siblings, and the secret between siblings should not be spread.

Qingyang did not ask any further questions. After enjoying his nephew's company, he returned to Jiuhua Palace.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, another family banquet was held in the palace. Qingyang secretly paid attention to his elder sister and her husband. He saw that Fu Kui was trying his best to please his elder sister, smiling more than when they first got married, and his elder sister was also very cooperative. Qingyang thought that the couple had reconciled after the quarrel.

In his heart, Qingyang couldn't understand why his elder sister could tolerate Fu Kui touching other women. If her husband did the same, Qingyang would divorce him no matter how handsome or talented he was.

However, there is a gap between sisters, and Qingyang respects the elder sister's choice.

.

In the 13th year of Xingwu, the weather in Da Qi was generally good, and no major events that shocked the court and the public occurred. The little princess's life was also going well. She continued to select new guards on a monthly basis, and did not keep anyone because she particularly appreciated him.

In March, on the one-year anniversary of the death of Duke Chengguo Lu Guangzu, Emperor Xingwu went to pay his respects in person. After returning to Beijing, he promoted Lu Zan, who had only been in mourning for a year, to the commander of Dongying and did not allow him to continue mourning. This shows how much the emperor valued the Lu family.

In May, the second prince Qin Bing came of age and was granted the title of Prince Jing and entered the Ministry of War. At the same time, the wedding date was set for the end of the twelfth lunar month.

By the twelfth month, all the generals stationed at the border had returned to Beijing to report on their work. Among them were the father of Princess Junjing, Marquis of Weiyuan Mengji, and the father of the third prince's tutor, Duke of Weiguo Zhang Jie.

【Author’s words】

Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~