Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Liang Yuan should know this thing...
All things welcome the spring and bid farewell to the last days of the year, and the end of the year is tonight.
Time passed quickly and it was New Year's Eve. Although it was a closed season and officials no longer had to attend court, the New Year's Eve banquet was an annual royal banquet, and officials of the third rank and above, princes, and ladies with imperial edicts were invited.
But this year was different. When the virtuous prince arrived in the capital, the emperor and empress wished to select a wife for him, choosing from among the noble ladies of aristocratic families. Therefore, this year's ceremony was extended beyond the limits of officials of the third rank and above, extending to officials of the sixth rank and above. Furthermore, unmarried daughters of marriageable age were also permitted to participate.
The nobles, having heard the news, began to prepare. After all, while the virtuous prince might not be as powerful as the crown prince, he was still a legitimate prince, sharing the same mother as the crown prince. He had been crowned king before even having been crowned, and he was the youngest son favored by the empress and empress. If they could marry him, the entire family would not only prosper, but would also have a strong backing.
What made the noble ladies in the capital even more excited was that they heard that His Royal Highness the Virtuous Prince looked very similar to the Crown Prince, with a strong back and waist, and a muscular body. He was also a handsome man rarely seen in the world.
Therefore, as soon as the news that the queen wanted to find a wife for the virtuous prince spread, all the families, big and small, who were eligible to attend the banquet urged their daughters to dress brightly and appropriately.
In a short period of time, many officials sent people to invite female teachers to teach their female relatives the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, hoping that their own children would win the first prize at the New Year's Eve dinner and win the position of the virtuous princess.
For a time, the officials in Chang'an City were so excited and nervous about the annual New Year's Eve banquet for the first time, and they wished they could be chosen by His Royal Highness the King and the Queen on the spot.
However, none of this had much to do with the Eastern Palace. Liang Hanzhang continued to carefully nurture her baby every day, following the imperial physician's instructions for moderate exercise. The weather was freezing cold, and the outside was covered in ice, so going out would be a risk of falling.
Therefore, his daily strolls through the East Palace's back gardens became a direct route to Zhilan Residence, circling the bedroom. Since his confinement and rest period, the soon-to-be crown prince, Li Cheng, had found much more leisure, now living and eating at Zhilan Residence. He would first practice a few boxing techniques in the back gardens in the morning, then return to wash and wake the woman in bed.
The daily homework of reading to the child still needs to be done. Not only that, the prince dislikes Liang Yuan's handwriting because it is too ugly and she thinks she cannot be a good role model for the child in the future. He has nothing to do so he can teach her himself.
Therefore, if an outsider wanted to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince about something, Li Fu would have to lead the person to wait outside the study.
At this moment, in the study, a handsome man dressed in a green shirt, his hair tied in a bun, stood attentively behind the woman, teaching her step by step, occasionally correcting her.
"This word is written wrong."
"The muscles and bones of these people are too soft and their skeletons cannot stand up."
"This line looks like spring worms and autumn snakes. If a child sees it, he will be scared."
He carefully traced the large characters with a red brush, criticizing them while sighing helplessly. There was also a ruler next to him. As a teacher, he would normally spank students if they didn't do well, but considering that she was pregnant, he owed her a few spankings.
Unable to bear it any longer, he bent his fingers and gently tapped her forehead. Then, as if to vent his anger, he rubbed her face vigorously and said with a wry smile, "Haven't I told you this several times? Why haven't you learned it yet? With your understanding, what would I do if my child became like you?"
Liang Hanzhang was already unhappy after being confined to the study to practice calligraphy with him day after day. When she heard the man say this, her almond-shaped eyes widened and she said angrily:
"I'm not a man who needs to pass the imperial examination to achieve a career, nor do I want to become a famous calligrapher like Madam Wei, whose name will be passed down through the ages. For me, just being able to survive and have food and drink is enough. It would be best if I had enough money to open a few big shops! Why do I have to make it difficult for myself to learn these things?"
As he said that, he snatched the large calligraphy from his hand and threw it to the ground, saying bitterly: "I can't learn it anyway, no matter how much effort Your Highness puts in. The ability is right here, but you just can't do it. If Your Highness really wants to teach, just take a few more women into the mansion, and you can teach them well."
Li Cheng saw her half-smile and knew that if he really brought a woman in, she would probably be unhappy again. He wasn't interested in other women anyway, so why would he offend her and himself?
Wu Ke He waved his hands helplessly and said, "Okay, okay, I'm the one who's eager to teach you, I'm begging you to learn, so that's fine." Then he bent down and picked up the rice paper.
"But a gentleman's word is as good as gold. Since you have already owed me a few beatings, you will have to pay me back when the baby is born. I remember everything clearly, the year, month, time and place, and you can't get away with it."
"Your Highness!" Liang Hanzhang became anxious upon hearing this, grabbing the man's arm and begging for mercy: "Can't you just not hit me? If you do, the child will feel sorry for his mother." He looked at his belly, hinting at something.
"Such a little brat, what does she know?" Li Cheng said softly, his slender fingers stroking across her pink face, suddenly stopping at her chin, and lifting her face frivolously.
He said with an unclear expression: "However, considering your ladyship's good looks, it's not impossible for me to take your place."
Liang Hanzhang: “!”
Is this what she would hear from the prince? What kind of lewd words are these? When she slept next to the prince at night, she often felt his emotions, but the prince did not seek help or ask her for help, so Liang Hanzhang automatically ignored it.
Now it dawned on her that he was waiting here. Was this still Qingfeng Jiyue's prince? How come she almost didn't recognize him after spending so much time with him?
"Your Highness, this, this..."
"Don't panic. It's not too late to wait until you've given birth and recovered." Li Cheng was at ease, brushing the corner of his robe and sitting on the armchair.
"This, isn't good?"
"I think it's great," the man said in a voice that brooked no argument.
After practicing calligraphy, the two of them had lunch together. During this time, Liang Hanzhang couldn't help but feel anxious and couldn't help asking, "Your Highness, do I really have to enter the palace?"
Sometimes, when she was nervous and her tongue was tangled, she would often call herself "Chenqie". Li Cheng knew that this name could not be changed overnight, so he stopped correcting her.
Hearing this, he nodded and said, "Well, you come with me to the palace tonight. If there were no women in the East Palace and I were alone, it would be fine, but now that you are in the backyard, if I don't show up, there will inevitably be criticism."
Knowing that she was nervous, he immediately comforted her: "Just sit next to Luo Hua at that time. Don't eat the food if you don't want to. You can't drink much, so don't drink even fruit wine casually."
Liang Hanzhang's nervousness dissipated a little when he heard that he could sit next to someone he knew.
"Then what am I doing sitting there? Just sitting there like this?" Unable to eat or drink, she must be a New Year picture doll.
"There's a reason why I don't let you eat. Although it's an annual banquet hosted by the royal family, the food is cold and tastes bad. It's far worse than what you can eat in the East Palace. You will definitely not like it when you see it. I'm also afraid that you're too weak to eat it."
Liang Hanzhang was even more surprised by this. "Isn't the palace full of delicacies from land and sea, even dragon liver and phoenix marrow? How could it be worse than the Eastern Palace?"
Although Emperor Hui'an advocated frugality and was not as extravagant as the previous Emperor Li, he would not hold a banquet so shabby, right?
Li Cheng tapped the other person's nose lightly, helplessly: "You are pregnant, so what good things from the national treasury should not be given to you first? What's more, the New Year's Eve banquet focuses on sharing happiness with the people and the unity of the monarch and the people. Even if you put a lot of effort into the food, with a large group of people in the room, it will be cold by the time the food is served in such a cold weather. Even the most delicious dishes cannot withstand such storage."
So that's how it is. This was the first time Liang Hanzhang had heard the inside story. He couldn't help but hold his chin in his hand and said in frustration, "Then why should I attend the banquet? I might as well stay in the East Palace and let Yuhu teach me needlework."
"Although the food at the banquet doesn't taste that good, there are still various songs and dances, right? You can watch the singing and dancing performances. If you really don't want to sit down any longer, you can ask Yuhu and the others to accompany you back to the East Palace."
Although she was asked to attend the banquet in the palace to meet etiquette, once she arrived, she was free to choose what to do at the banquet and how long to sit.
Since she didn't want to go, she could just go and sit for a while and come back, and no one would dare to gossip.
The prince continued, "You are pregnant, so be extremely careful. If anything goes wrong, let me know immediately. I will also bring Li Gui with me this time to serve you. He is very skilled, so you can just tell him what you need." As for Yuhu and Mingyue, they were to stay by Liangyuan's side.
After such a long chatter, it finally reached the afternoon of the twentieth hour. The two of them rode in a carriage to the palace. The banquet was held in Yiyuan Hall, not far from Xuanguang Hall. Li Cheng again reminded her that if she felt tired and didn't want to return to the Eastern Palace, she could rest in Xuanguang Hall for a while.
This Xuanguang Hall was where the Crown Prince conducted official business, housing secrets of state, large and small, and was off-limits to ordinary people. The Crown Prince again allowed someone in, suggesting he had completely trusted Liang Hanzhang since the two had opened up to each other that time.
As they disembarked, they repeatedly encountered officials of varying ranks. Because they were outsiders, their carriages could only stop at the Imperial City and not directly at the Palace. Therefore, upon seeing the carriage bearing the Eastern Palace emblem stop nearby, many people approached to pay their respects.
Li Cheng wrapped the woman tightly, asked his ministers to stand behind him, and then supported Liang Yuan as he walked in.
The ministers and their families who fell behind naturally saw this scene and were secretly shocked in their hearts. They had always heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince favored Liang Yuan, and there was only this one female mistress in the entire Eastern Palace.
But rumors were one thing, and witnessing the prince supporting Liang Yuan and gently admonishing her to watch her step was another. Such a powerful and considerate man, even among ordinary people, was rare, let alone in the royal family.
I don't know what luck this humble lady has. She actually managed to bewitch the prince to such an extent, which is truly astonishing.
Walking into the main hall, the sound of people filled the air. Candles the size of a baby's arm illuminated the entire hall as if it were daylight. Officials, bestowed with purple gold and jade, sat according to their rank, while on the other side were seats for the ladies of the imperial court.
The eunuch guarding the door uttered a shrill voice: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone who was greeting each other put down their wine bottles, stood up and knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the Lord".
The crown prince wore a twelve-beam crown and a four-clawed ochre-yellow dragon robe, symbolizing his supreme dignity. Liang Hanzhang realized at that moment that the power wielded by the man beside her was so immense that he could make dignitaries, those she would never reach in her lifetime, bow down before her.
This man, who holds the power of life and death, should be unkind and cold like a statue sitting high in a temple, but he is so approachable and gives all his tenderness and love to her.
Sometimes, Liang Hanzhang was puzzled. Why did the prince have a special liking for her? Was it because she was pregnant, and he valued having an heir? Or was he more interested in her appearance and was more pleased with her looks?
I couldn't think of it, so I simply gave up. Liang Hanzhang stood beside the prince, trying to free her hand from the man's tight grip within his wide sleeves, but the prince refused to let go. He even gave her a quiet look that said, "Don't move."
The officials dared not look directly at the Crown Prince's face, especially since their movements were obscured by their sleeves, making them invisible to outsiders. However, the virtuous prince had always been close to his brother, and after kneeling, he quickly turned his attention to the woman standing beside Li Cheng.
She had almond eyes, rosy cheeks, and a skin as white as ice. Her slightly bulging belly was hard to ignore. She was dressed in a pink dress and wore a golden hairpin on her head. She was incredibly bright and beautiful.
Still, it looked the same as he remembered.
Li Xuan stared intently, then shook her head and smiled wryly. She was different now. She was a distinguished concubine in the Eastern Palace, pregnant with the Emperor's heir. She was a regal figure. Her every move was elegant, no longer the timid, delicate young woman she once was.
But I haven't seen her for just one year. When did she grow up to look like this?
Liang Hanzhang's attention was focused on their interlocked hands, not looking around carefully. Li Cheng had always been very sensitive to the outside world, and the moment Li Xuan looked over, his cold gaze turned towards him.
When his eyes met with the prince's, Li Xuan smiled awkwardly and returned to his usual nonchalant appearance.
After the Crown Prince and his concubines took their seats, the Emperor and Empress soon arrived. After the distinguished royal family had arrived, the ceremonial officials, clutching silk and silk, chanted aloud eulogies, praying for a prosperous new year, peace, prosperity, and prosperity for the nation.
After the eulogy was finished, the emperor ordered the banquet to begin. Musicians from the Imperial Music Bureau and the Music Bureau entered the hall, and the Yiyuan Hall suddenly became lively with the dancing and the harmony of the orchestra.
Because the purpose was to select a concubine for the wise king, in addition to celebrating the festival and having fun with the people, the banquet also included a special program. Young ladies of marriageable age who were unmarried could choose a performance item of their own and perform it on the spot for everyone to watch.
After the singing girls from the Imperial Music Bureau left, the young ladies in their twenties from the aristocratic families were all as pretty as pearls and jades, and were good at writing poems, singing songs, and playing musical instruments.
Liang Hanzhang couldn't help but think of the time when he had just learned the zither from Princess Changping for a few months, but he couldn't help but show off his skills in front of the prince. Thinking about it now, it was really embarrassing.
Looking at the prince at the top of the table, he was drinking fine wine with his brows tilted back, his eyes were dull, and it was unknown what he was thinking about. His attention was not on the stage at all.
Looking away, Zhao Yu, who was standing next to Princess Changping, was clamoring for a drink, but was scolded back by Li Luohua. The little guy couldn't help but envy the men opposite him, chatting and laughing and drinking with gusto. His stubborn temper came out and he insisted on drinking.
The princess was already tired of taking care of children, let alone such a naughty one. She was about to ask a servant to take the child away, but Liang Hanzhang saw that Prince Yu was so aggrieved that he was tearing up, and he couldn't help but soften his heart and said, "This wine is too strong, Prince, you can't drink it."
He also advised the princess, "Why not ask someone to bring some fruit syrup to the young prince? Most children like to drink these sweet things. I think with the fruit syrup, the prince will not miss drinking anymore."
Li Luohua nodded and asked someone to get it.
When Zhao Yu heard the conversation between the two, he knew that the fruit pulp was not wine. He became anxious for a moment and said coquettishly, "I just want to drink wine."
"The prince is too young and will get drunk if he drinks. Look, your aunt didn't drink."
"Why doesn't my aunt drink?" Zhao Yu asked puzzledly.
Liang Hanzhang pointed at the bearded old men who were drinking and chatting opposite, smiled and whispered: "Because drinking will make you old and ugly. Look at the uncles opposite, they look like this because they drank too much."
"Then why didn't he become old and ugly?" Zhao Yu didn't believe it and pointed at other young and handsome officials.
"Because they drink less, and they only drink when they grow up. If they start drinking at such a young age like the prince, they will definitely grow old and ugly."
Although Zhao Yu was young, she was still quite concerned about her appearance. Hearing Liang Hanzhang and her mother say this, she said sullenly, "Fine, I won't drink."
Anyway, the fruit puree tasted good, so he just made do with it.
After playing with the child for a while and chatting with Princess Changping about some trivial matters, Liang Hanzhang always felt that someone's eyes were always on him.
Looking up, she met Li Xuan's gaze. Since she had honestly explained her instructions to the Crown Prince last time, and had just seen the virtuous king in person, she hadn't lost her composure due to shock.
The virtuous prince Li Xuan is indeed the man who appeared in the Di Mansion. So, does this mean that the Di family is also on Li Xuan's side?
Why did he say such irrelevant things to her that day? What was his purpose in coming to Di's house secretly to say these things?
After being discovered by the woman opposite, Li Xuan was not embarrassed and smiled brightly.
Liang Hanzhang felt extremely uncomfortable under the other party's gaze, and she also had the prince's oral instructions, so she told Yuhu Mingyue beside her that she wanted to rest in Xuanguang Palace for a while.
The maids carefully helped her out of the palace. Although Li Cheng didn't pay attention to her the entire time, he still saw the woman leave. He immediately suppressed his emotions and remained calm.
Not long after, Li Xuan also left on the pretext of going to the restroom. As he walked out of the palace gate and around the long red corridor, he saw the woman who had just left.
He walked quickly to the woman and stopped, still smiling, with his arms folded across his chest. He glanced up and down at Liang Hanzhang before saying, "I suppose you are Donggong Liangyuan?"
Even if Liang Hanzhang didn't know his identity, he could still guess it from his face, which bore a striking resemblance to the Crown Prince. Furthermore, he was wearing a prince's formal attire tonight.
So he knelt down and said, "Greetings to His Majesty the Wise King."
"Get up," Li Xuan said with great interest, and then asked, "I finally understand why my royal brother is so fascinated by you. You are so beautiful that even I can't help but feel pity for you."
Even if Liang Hanzhang wasn't the Crown Prince's concubine, the virtuous prince's words were extremely frivolous, not to mention that one of them was his brother-in-law and the other was his sister-in-law. As soon as these words came out, everyone present except Li Xuan's expression changed.
"What do you mean, Your Highness?" Liang Hanzhang suppressed the discomfort in his heart and looked extremely ugly.
"It's nothing special," Li Xuan whistled frivolously, pulled out a small straw trinket from his sleeve, and said with a smile, "I think Liang Yuan should recognize this thing, right?"
Liang Hanzhang saw clearly what was in his hand and his face suddenly turned pale with shock.
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The author has something to say: All things welcome the spring and bid farewell to the last days of the year, and the end of the year is tonight - Dai Fugu's "New Year's Eve"
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