Jiuzhu thought that His Highness would take her to some fancy music hall, or some favorite place for talented men and beautiful women, but unexpectedly His Highness took her to a bridge.
There are a few lonely red lanterns hanging on the bridge, and few pedestrians pass by, making it very deserted. Lights were floating slowly across the river, like lazy shooting stars.
"Your Highness, what are you taking me to see?" Jiuzhu looked around curiously.
"Hush, here they come." Prince Chen pointed under the bridge. A wooden boat was slowly moving upstream with two people on it. Jiuju noticed that the two men were holding fishing nets.
"We're going fishing on the Lantern Festival. Are there any fish in this river?" Jiuzhu looked around curiously.
Then she saw the two men using fishing nets to scoop up the lanterns floating on the river one by one.
Jiuzhu: “…”
"Every year, many people release lanterns on the river, causing countless dirt to float on the river. Later, Jingzhao Yin came up with an idea and sent people to secretly salvage the lanterns downstream." Prince Chen did not tell Jiuzhu that he had also released lanterns on the river when he was young and ignorant.
"Sincerity is the key to success. Sincerity is the key to success." Jiuzhu pinched her fingers to perform a Taoist gesture, "God will understand everyone."
Then the two of them just lay on the edge of the bridge and watched the lantern fishing for a long time.
Ever since he found out that his lantern was fished out, Prince Chen developed a hobby of watching other people's lanterns being fished out. Since he stood in a secluded place every year to watch people fish out lanterns, his other brothers thought that he did not like to join in the fun of the Lantern Festival.
"It's almost midnight." The Prince took out two red ropes from his sleeves, took Jiuzhu to a tree, and handed one of the red ropes to her: "Come, tie this to the tree."
Jiuzhu imitated him and stood on tiptoe to tie the red rope to the branch: "Your Highness, what is the meaning of this?"
"It means peace and safety, no illness or disaster." Prince Chen let go of his hand, looked at the red rope that tied the two together, and smiled: "Let's go, I'll take you home."
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a pair of lovers standing under the tree, kissing each other, and tying their red ropes affectionately.
"My dear, we are tied together with a red string, and we will never be separated again."
"Of course, you are the only one in my heart."
Prince Chen coughed dryly and said, "Let's go. These two people must be outsiders who don't understand the customs of the capital."
"Oh." Jiuzhu looked back at the lovers, nodded slowly, and chose to believe what His Highness said.
Only the dragon guards following behind the two men felt that they could not hold back their laughter.
Who among the locals in Beijing doesn’t know that during the Lantern Festival, lovers tie red strings together to represent a long-lasting love that will never be separated?
The easier it is to lie now, the more embarrassing it will be when you are caught later.
Men are always full of energy when they are lying, but look around and talk about other things when they are exposed.
Prince Chen held Jiuzhu's hand and walked very slowly, but they still arrived at the door of the Ming family. He asked the Dragon Guard to knock on the door, and only when the Ming family's door opened did he let go of Jiuzhu's hand: "Go back and go to bed early."
Jiuzhu nodded obediently, lifted her skirt and stepped onto the stairs. Prince Chen stood there looking at her.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu raised the puppy lamp in her hand: "Thank you for the lamp, Your Highness. I like it very much."
Prince Chen looked down at the lamp in his hand and said, "I like this lamp, too."
Although she walked several streets and failed to buy it, he bought it for her.
Maybe, this is what it means to be in sync with each other.
Jiuzhu walked into the yard holding a lantern and saw her father, mother and brother all sitting there. The three of them turned to look at her and asked, "Are you back?"
She was so scared that she took a step back: "You all are back?"
"Come and sit down." Shen glanced at the lamp in Jiuzhu's hand and waved for her to sit down next to her.
"Did you have fun with His Royal Highness Prince Chen?" She touched her daughter's hand and felt relieved to find that she was warm and not cold.
"Happy." Jiuzhu nodded: "Halfway through, Your Highness and I met His Highness Prince Huai, and he said some strange things."
She repeated what King Huai had said to her family.
"Prince Huai looks simple but is actually careful. You can only take his words half as true." Ming Jingzhou said, "Prince Huai's wife is the daughter of Wu Mian, the Minister of Works. Although Wu Mian has some small thoughts, he is not a big problem and can be considered a good official. When you interact with Prince Huai's wife in the future, as long as you don't talk about politics, you don't have to worry too much about other things."
"Father, you mean that King Huai wants to..." She lowered her voice: "Want to sit in that seat?"
"How many princes don't want to?" Ming Jingzhou analyzed the princes and princesses for Jiuzhu: "The one who benefited the most from the Fourth Prince's loss of power was the eldest prince. In the past, the Fourth Prince was well-known for his talent. Although Prince Huai is the eldest son, he is not as popular as the Fourth Prince."
"He is telling Prince Chen these things now, not because he really wants to follow Prince Chen's lead, but because he is afraid of Empress Su who is favored by the emperor." Ming Jingzhou shook his head: "Compared with the princes of the previous generation, this generation of princes is far inferior."
As soon as Su was crowned Queen, the eldest prince showed his goodwill towards Prince Chen. This was too eager and too hypocritical.
Unless Prince Chen is a fool, how could he be fooled?
"What did the King Chen say?"
"His Highness didn't say anything. He took me out to play." Jiuzhu remembered that after leaving the restaurant, His Highness told her not to pay too much attention to the eldest prince. She couldn't help laughing: "His Highness doesn't seem to like to pay too much attention to Prince Huai either."
Ming Jingzhou felt relieved. His Majesty was now young and strong. He was afraid that Prince Chen would have other inappropriate thoughts because of Su's enthronement.
"It's getting late, let the child go to bed." Shen said, "In the next few days, relatives and friends will send gifts to us. If you don't sleep well now, you will be tired when you wake up tomorrow."
As the wedding drew closer, she felt empty inside. She checked the dowry list again and again, worried that something might be left out.
Even in my dreams at night, I was worried about my daughter's marriage.
She...can't bear to leave.
It was already very late when Prince Chen returned to Zhangliu Palace. The eunuch helped him take off his outer robe and asked, "Your Highness, is it lively outside the palace tonight?"
"It's lively." Prince Chen took off the jade crown that bound his hair: "The stars are shining, quite interesting."
As he washed his face, he thought of the lamp he brought back: "Please keep the lamp I brought back carefully and don't break it."
"Please rest assured, Your Highness. We have packed everything." Seeing that he looked fine, the young eunuch said boldly, "Your Highness is crowned Queen today. All the servants in the Zhangliu Palace are very happy. We would like to come and pay our respects to Your Highness. See..."
"Who brought this up?" Prince Chen's face darkened, and he looked up at the eunuch, his eyes as dark as night: "There are five princes living in Zhangliu Palace. Are all the palace people here to pay their respects to this prince?"
The young eunuch was so scared that he knelt on the ground.
"Come here, find out who started this." Prince Chen sneered, "After you find out, hand it over to the Palace Department and report it to the chief eunuch Liu Zhongbao. I don't want to bother with these trivial matters."
Ever since my father ascended the throne, no one dared to say anything even if he acted arrogantly in the harem. Would he lack the courtesy of a few servants from the six palaces?
Early the next morning, what happened in Zhangliu Palace reached Liu Zhongbao's ears.
"When would a noble man like His Royal Highness the Prince of Chen care about the flattery of these things?" Liu Zhongbao sneered: "It has come to this, and you are still not content. Do you all want to follow in Zheng's footsteps?"
"Those who don't know what's right don't need to stay in the palace." Liu Zhongbao raised his hand and said, "Deal with them according to the palace rules. Don't bleed. Your Highness is getting married soon. Don't let these cheap bastards dirty the palace."
"Eunuch Liu, a maid from the Shangyi Bureau was missing last night."
"Oh?" Liu Zhongbao rubbed his temples, and immediately a young eunuch came forward to serve him.
"What's your name? Where did you serve originally?"
"This maid's name is Hongmei. She was originally a top maid beside Zheng."
"Hongmei?" Liu Zhongbao had some impression of this palace maid: "How did she die?"
"He ate something by mistake. He wailed for half an hour before he died."
"Then bury her. Don't make any noise. Hang two feet of red cloth in her room to avoid bad luck." Liu Zhongbao sighed with an ambiguous tone, "In this harem, those who betray their masters will never have a good ending. All of you should remember this. No matter which master you follow, you should serve him well. When the master humiliates the servant, the servant dies. When the master is happy, the servant is happy. When the master is sad, the servant is worried. If anyone forgets this, you will suffer."
"Thank you for your teachings, eunuch." The young eunuchs were silent.
"Little Li, Little De." Liu Zhongbao pointed at the two young eunuchs and said, "You two should accompany me to check how the Qilin Palace is being cleaned up. His Royal Highness Prince Chen is getting married soon, and there can't be any mistakes."
Qilin Palace is where the prince lives. Since the founding of Dacheng, a total of five princes have lived here, and each prince was deeply loved by the emperor.
If it weren’t for the beloved Qilin, how could there be the name Qilin Hall?
When you step into Qilin Palace, you will find that every blade of grass and every tree inside is new, the door porch and pillars are freshly painted, and the best incense is used every day to repel mosquitoes and ants.
Because Prince Chen specifically stated that there should be no incense in the house, all the rooms were filled with fresh flowers and fruits, which were replaced every three hours, so the entire Qilin Palace was filled with the fragrance of flowers and fruits.
Red candles, red silk, red lanterns, and even every palace servant serving inside were carefully selected. Liu Zhongbao used a white handkerchief to carefully wipe every corner, and finally nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, everyone cheer up. If anyone messes up, don't blame me for being merciless."
"Eunuch." A young eunuch walked up to Liu Zhongbao and whispered, "Eunuch, the Fourth Prince's wife sent a message saying that she wants a palace maid to serve in Qianyi Pavilion."
Liu Zhongbao flicked his whisk and said, "Since it is the Fourth Prince's wife who asked for it personally, I must give her face and send her over."
He remembered that there was a senior palace maid named Bai Shao beside Zheng, and this might be the one the Fourth Prince wanted.
Bai Shao was standing outside Zhangliu Palace carrying a package. She straightened her half-worn clothes and walked into the gate of Zhangliu Palace with her head lowered.
In the outer courtyard, several princes were doing their own things, and when a palace maid came in, no one paid any attention to her.
"Your Highness." A eunuch hurried past her and walked quickly to the side of Prince Chen: "Your Highness, the Palace Department says they don't have what you want."
"If you don't have it, make it now." Prince Chen said with a sigh, "It must be done before my wedding."
Bai Shao came back to her senses in a daze. The wedding of Princess Ming and His Royal Highness Prince Chen would be held in a few days.
"Wait a minute." Prince Chen called the eunuch back and said, "Go out of the palace for me first and deliver this to Princess Ming."
Bai Shao looked around and saw that what His Royal Highness Prince Chen was holding seemed to be...
Is it a letter?
"Your Highness, there is only a letter, nothing else?"
"Why are you wasting so much time talking?" Prince Chen frowned slightly. "If the county magistrate wants to write back, you can wait at Ming's house. When she finishes writing, bring the letter back to me."
The servants in Zhangliu Palace were ultimately inferior to the attendants and servants he was used to.
Tsk, you have no tact at all!
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