Chapter 278 Finalization
On the day Zhao Yuanrong left Beijing, the emperor personally saw him off to the outside of the city.
She brought Hou Xu and all the guards of the Eastern Palace.
Qu Ling stood beside the emperor and said, "Sister, have a safe journey."
She lowered her voice and said, "I will have the people from Fengzao Pavilion follow you secretly, and any news will be reported back to the capital in a timely manner."
Zhao Yuanrong nodded and said, "The capital is in your hands. Prince Ping may not be trustworthy, but Zhao Chongxian has a pure heart."
Qu Ling understood that Zhao Chongxian and Prince Heping should be treated separately.
At dawn, three thousand imperial guards escorted the prince to Yunnan.
The most eye-catching thing is the ebony coffin in the middle of the team, which contains the daughter of the King of Yunnan.
The emperor straightened his daughter's clothes and watched her mount her horse.
"I will definitely live up to your mother's trust."
Zhao Yuanrong bowed on horseback.
The emperor nodded slightly and said, "Remember, no matter what happens in Yunnan, you are first your mother's daughter, and then the crown prince of the dynasty."
Zhao Yuanrong left the capital with great fanfare, and the news spread from the capital to all parts of the country.
Those who were ready to make a move could not hold back and began to act.
Ten days later, the former son-in-law Pei Qi died of illness.
In the court, Pei Jingming knelt in the hall.
"Your Majesty, I was raised by my father. Now that he has passed away, I will take care of the funeral and return to my old home."
The emperor was silent for a long time, and finally spoke, with just the right amount of lament in his voice.
"I and him were married by the Empress Dowager's permission, so we had no choice but to become husband and wife."
"Even though we've never slept in the same bed together, we're still husband and wife. It's been difficult for him all these years."
The court officials lowered their heads and rolled their eyes inwardly.
Everyone knows that the emperor, who was still the eldest princess, never had a good face towards Pei Qi.
When these high-sounding words are spoken now, it gives people goosebumps.
The emperor sighed a few more times, then changed the subject, "Although Prince Rui is the heir of the Pei family, he is also my son."
She raised her voice a few notches, "When you return from the funeral, I will record you in my name and revise the family tree."
Everyone has different thoughts.
The emperor is going to officially bring Prince Rui into the royal family.
No matter how favored Prince Rui was in the past, it was still a little lacking.
If the sect is really changed, the meaning will be very different.
Pei Jingming knew that this day would come sooner or later, but he still felt sad.
Perhaps, those unreasonable desires can only turn into mist and rain from now on, and can no longer be savored.
"Your Majesty, I thank you very much." He kowtowed to express his gratitude, and when he looked up, he was filled with joy.
The emperor added, "I feel guilty towards your father, but he is no longer with us, so I can only reward you."
As a result, he was rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold, countless fields and houses, and even a private army.
"The Crown Prince is leaving the capital, escorted by the Imperial Guards. You are leaving with the funeral procession, and I will also send someone to see you off."
The court officials were envious from the bottom of their hearts.
Prince Rui is such a lucky guy.
The emperor was clearly rewarding him in various ways.
Those who are quick-witted have already keenly smelled a different scent.
The Crown Prince had just left the capital, but the Emperor lavishly rewarded Prince Rui. What was his intention?
Could it be that he thinks the Crown Prince is too powerful and wants to support Prince Rui to compete with the Crown Prince?
It seems that no matter whether the emperor is a man or a woman, they will naturally be wary of the crown prince.
I have to pay more attention to Prince Rui in the future.
Those who have daughters at home are thinking about whether they can get married.
After all, no one can be sent to the prince's place.
In case Prince Rui has great fortune in the future, it would be good to reserve a position first.
Pei Jingming quickly felt that the way the court officials looked at him had changed.
Especially the older ones.
There was a hint of obscure scrutiny in the greeting.
He ordered his servants to keep an eye on the goings-on in the capital, and sure enough, more and more people were asking about his preferences recently.
Someone is eyeing his marriage.
Pei Jingming rushed to the princess's mansion without stopping.
"Where's that Miss Hu next to you?"
"In Fengzao Pavilion."
Qu Ling was very confused by the sudden visitor, "Why? Are you looking for her?"
Pei Jingming said bluntly, "I want to bring her into the palace. Please grant us marriage, Your Majesty."
"Your father just died, and you are granting me a marriage at this time. Isn't that a bit unfilial?" Qu Ling was surprised.
Although they never cared about their reputation, Pei Jingming was too outrageous.
"I'm afraid of complications," Pei Jingming sighed. "Your Majesty has rewarded me so many times that this piece of fat meat of mine is starting to attract flies."
He tapped his head with his fan. "I'm going to Bingzhou now. Maybe someone there is also interested in me. It would save a lot of trouble if we could make a decision sooner."
Qu Ling smiled and said, "The prince is really a popular person."
Pei Jingming gritted his teeth and said, "If I die, your Miss Hu can still inherit the wealth of the palace. Didn't you say that her wish is to marry into a wealthy family?"
"I will fulfill her wish. In the future, people will burn incense at my grave."
"You will live a long life and will not die," Qu Ling said expressionlessly, "I, you, and Sister Yuan Rong will all live to be a hundred years old."
The next day, Qu Ling specially brought Hu Yingyue into the palace.
Hu Yingyue was so nervous that she couldn't speak clearly.
"Princess, will His Majesty tell that I'm lying?"
"Am I guilty of deceiving the emperor?"
"If His Majesty gets angry, Princess, you have to save me..."
The two of them were sitting in the carriage. Qu Ling saw something next to her hand. It looked like a short opera piece?
"What's this?"
Qu Ling took it and looked at it, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"You made a drama out of your story with Pei Jingming?"
It is also written vividly, which is interesting and very nice.
Hu Yingyue explained,
"I'm afraid that after a while, I might misremember what we said the first time. Princess, you know there are many who covet the prince. I'm sure many will ask me how I met the prince in the future."
"Those things are all made up. It's easy for them to be inconsistent and exposed in the end."
"Just write it down and memorize it. When I marry into the palace, I'll give it to the troupe to perform a few times."
If someone asked her about it, she would just shyly say, "The troupe has the lyrics. They were written by the prince himself. You should go and have a look when you have time."
Or someone asked her, "Is that true?"
All she had to do was nod.
Qu Ling was amazed, "You are simply a genius."
"Before it arrives, I'll recite it twice more," said Hu Yingyue.
Qu Ling wanted to laugh but was too embarrassed to do so.
I can only comment a few words, "This word is not good, please change it."
The emperor received the three people in the imperial garden.
"Is this the girl Jingming hid?"
She pulled Hu Yingyue closer and looked at her carefully.
"She's good-looking, lively and generous."
Hu Yingyue was so excited that she almost jumped up.
Mother, I saw the emperor!
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask you to grant me a marriage with Yingyue."
At this point, Pei Jingming was calm.
The emperor was delighted. "So you were hiding it because you were afraid I would break up the couple and insisted you marry a noble lady."
Pei Jingming did not bow his head this time.
Instead, he met the emperor's gaze and grinned, "At that time, she had not yet agreed to marry me."
The emperor asked Hu Yingyue many more questions.
Hu Yingyue answered eloquently.
Occasionally showing just the right amount of shyness makes it impossible to find any flaws.
Finally, the emperor said to Pei Jingming, "I know you are afraid of complications, but at this critical juncture, the imperial decree granting the marriage cannot be issued."
But she still called the female official and said, "Draft the decree granting the marriage, stamp it, and give it to the prince before he leaves the capital."
"Just go to Bingzhou without worry," the emperor said with a smile, "she will stay in the capital and will not come to any harm."
Things are finally settled.
The news that Prince Rui asked for a marriage spread like wildfire.
Countless young ladies in the capital were heartbroken, and people in teahouses and taverns were talking about this lucky Miss Hu.
"I've never heard of such a person. Who is he?"
"I heard she's the Prince Consort's cousin, a girl from a humble family, who was brought to the capital not long ago."
"The prince is very chaste and doesn't usually interact with the women in the family. He only has a close relationship with the princess. I heard that the girl is close to the princess. She is so lucky to be close to her."
After Zhang Yun heard the news of the arranged marriage from her father, she hid in her room and cried.
After she had cried enough, she went to her mother with red and swollen eyes and said, "You have been worried about my marriage. This time, you can find me someone."
Mrs. Zhang felt relieved when she saw that she had not done anything wrong.
She felt sorry for her daughter and said, "Don't worry, take your time. It's not like our family can't afford to support you, so why should we rush to marry our daughter off?"
Zhang Yun's sisters-in-law also tried various ways to cheer her up.
One of them said unintentionally, "At that time, I thought you were going to be his concubine."
Zhang Yun's eyelashes drooped slightly. "If I were to be a concubine, my parents would have raised me in vain."
In fact, after meeting Hu Yingyue that day, she had not completely given up.
What really made her let go was the meal at the princess's mansion.
After Zhang Yun had a serious illness, she realized that she was not worthy of sitting at the same table with the princess and the others.
Even if she was given the chance to become Princess Rui, she would not go.
It's really scary.
She can't beat anyone.
Crying is just a farewell to a girl's first love.
Mrs. Zhang observed her daughter several times and saw that she had really let it go. She began to worry about the choice of son-in-law again.
"I still think that the child from the Jiang family is good. He is steady and has a good family background." Mrs. Zhang discussed with Zhang Jing.
"Why do you always think about him? I told you that he has someone in his heart." Zhang Jing was unhappy.
He would never let his daughter marry a man who was thinking about someone else.
Mrs. Zhang had a different idea. "Will he be able to marry the girl of his dreams?"
Zhang Jing was stunned, "No."
"That's all," Mrs. Zhang said slowly. "As for men, if you can't have them, they'll fade away over time. Our Yun'er will marry him and live a good life."
"The important thing is that we are all in the capital, Jiang Yanzheng doesn't have to be sent away, and Yun'er doesn't have to suffer with him."
Her daughter also had thoughts about someone, but when she couldn't get him, she let it go.
Men just let it go faster.
All I want is to be able to protect my daughter for the rest of her life. I can ask for anything, such as affection or love, but not these.
Zhang Jing was still unhappy.
He was thinking of picking a young talent after the palace examination next year.
Mrs. Zhang knew what he was thinking.
That is absolutely not possible.
What a poor and ambitious scholar, just get out of here as far away as you can.
"How about we let Yun'er and Jiang Yanzheng decide for themselves?" Mrs. Zhang did not force her husband.
This suggestion was good, and Zhang Jing agreed.
Outside the window, a bright moon hangs high in the sky.
In the palace, the emperor walked slowly towards Qingliang Palace under the moonlight.
There, her younger brother, the deposed Emperor Zhao Ji, was imprisoned.
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