The episode in the Imperial Garden was quickly forgotten by Xie Yanci.
At the banquet, as an emperor, he followed the original pattern, recreating everything from the previous emperor's time. He treated his courtiers with great courtesy, acted like a brother, and finally gave a closing speech, wishing the Great Zhou Dynasty everlasting prosperity.
The song and dance performances were the same old ones, and he was tired of them. But with outsiders present, he had to keep his spirits up, nodding when necessary, pretending to enjoy the show.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"
The queen standing by was also yawning constantly. Every time she lowered her head to drink, she would cover her face with her long sleeves to hide the slightly rude moment.
By the time she called Xie Yanci softly, her eyes were already filled with tears.
"What's wrong?"
"Noble Concubine Jin is also going to perform. I suddenly remembered... Mother coughed occasionally while talking today. I would like to go to Shoukang Palace to visit her. I wonder if the Emperor would allow it?"
If one were to ask who is the person who is least likely to lie in the Yonghua Palace, he would definitely choose the Queen.
He understood that the Empress and the Imperial Concubine had been at odds for a long time, and that while she was now claiming to be showing filial piety, she was actually just too lazy to watch the Imperial Concubine's dance. To avoid causing a dispute, he naturally nodded in agreement.
After the people around him left, Xie Yanci stared at the scene of singing and dancing, feeling more lonely and empty in his heart.
Yang Mingrui noticed this and thought he wasn't serving the emperor well enough. "What does the emperor need? I'll get it for you. Is the food prepared by the imperial kitchen not tasty, or is the performance by the music department not good enough?"
"It's okay, I'm just a little tired."
Perhaps it was the music from the Imperial Garden that made him miss his childhood so much.
Back then, he was still the carefree Crown Prince. While it was regrettable that he had never met his biological mother, the Queen who adopted him treated him well. She was both lenient and gentle, allowing him to live a comfortable life.
The late emperor favored his intelligence and would frequently take him to banquets to broaden his horizons and pave the way for him. The so-called road to succession was not difficult, but rather smooth sailing.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine has begun her dance! Would you like to see it?"
Yang Mingrui noticed that the people on the stage had been replaced, but the emperor was still staring at the wine in a daze, so he couldn't help but remind him.
Xie Yanci finally came back to his senses: "Okay."
The imperial concubine's dance is actually not difficult to understand.
Colorful feathered clothes...
It was after she entered the palace that she specially performed a dance for him.
In the imperial garden, under the moon and flowers, they made vows of eternal love, each believing that the other was their true love. He once held her tightly, gave her exclusive favor, and even ordered people to make more exquisite clothes for her.
It's the one in front of you.
But for some reason, the effect of being reminded of someone else was not obvious. Instead, it reminded him of another person.
That playmate who is buried deep in my heart and whom I dare never mention again.
"Father, what did Miss Wei's family do wrong? Can't they just deduct their salary and demote them? Even if they can be demoted to commoners, it would be fine! Why must they be killed?"
At that time, when he heard the bad news, he rushed into the imperial study to inquire regardless of anything.
The late emperor held his shoulders, looked down at him and taught him, "My son, you are the future emperor. If you encounter a criminal who collaborates with the enemy and betrays the country, no matter how deep your past friendship was, you must never tolerate this traitor! Do you understand?!"
"The Duke of Wei and the others...can't possibly be that kind of people..."
"Do you have evidence? Or are you just relying on your feelings? What I need is a prince who is brave and resourceful, not a prince who is too soft-hearted!"
He didn't dare to plead any further, and his voice gradually became softer. "But Father, Miss Wei was raised by the Duke of Wei. If he were a treacherous villain, he would never have raised such an outstanding daughter..."
"Absurd!" The late emperor's face darkened, and he didn't want to talk any further. "Yanci, everyone has many sides. He can be a traitor or a loving father. The two are not contradictory. Go back to your palace, think this matter through, and then come see me again!"
Thus, his smooth journey to becoming the crown prince encountered the first obstacle.
The late emperor placed him under house arrest in disguise because he could not distinguish right from wrong and dared to plead for the guilty.
Later, after he begged and pleaded for a long time, the queen finally mediated and gave him a chance to leave the palace.
It was on that occasion that he witnessed the execution at the Meridian Gate with his own eyes.
"Duke Wei!"
Before he could finish shouting, Yang Mingrui covered his mouth tightly: "Your Highness, please forgive me! I cannot bear to watch you make a mistake! He is already dead, not some Duke!"
It seemed that the late emperor hated the people of the Wei family so much that beheading them was not enough. He even ordered their heads to be tied to tall poles and hung at the city gates for public display.
He suddenly felt panicky: "Yang Mingrui! Where are the women of the Wei family? Are they all dead too?!"
“This…this…” “Tell me quickly!”
"I heard that all the women not involved in this incident were exiled to the red-light districts, destined to become courtesans from now on! And they have to be good-looking and strong enough to survive this period. Otherwise, it's questionable whether they can survive until then."
He just felt a tightness in his chest, opened his mouth, but in the end couldn't ask anything.
Miss Wei, are you going to become such a woman?
He didn't dare to think about it.
"I, your concubine, would also like to offer a toast to His Majesty, wishing him everlasting happiness!"
Concubine Jin's voice came, bringing Xie Yanci back to reality.
He was surprised to find that he was staring at the stage in a daze and had not paid any attention to the dance that was used to reminisce about the past. He could only raise his glass awkwardly in response.
After finally waiting until the banquet was over, Concubine Jin even walked over to him and reminded him: "Your Majesty, please don't forget what I asked of you before!"
"Zi Shi, I remember."
"Then...I will wait for you in Chengqian Palace."
Xie Yanci rubbed his eyes, and seemed to hear someone playing a bamboo leaf flute in his ears: Is she back?
impossible.
Want to take another look? Just a passing glimpse will do.
"Yang Mingrui, when you go to Chengqian Palace later, go around to the Imperial Garden. I want to see the stone bridge."
"Yes, I obey your order."
The emperor had never considered the idea of resurrecting the dead. It would have been better for him to be dead than for his bright-eyed, white-toothed playmate from his youth to become a man's plaything.
His mood was complicated, even heavy. After getting off the sedan chair, he looked in the direction of the stone bridge.
Anyone?!
"Your Majesty, please don't blame me for being nosy. You asked me to remind you earlier that we must rush to Chengqian Palace before midnight. We took a long detour on our way here, so please pay attention to the time."
Xie Yanci's mind had already flown to a place not far away. He extended his index finger, signaling Yang Mingrui to be quiet, and then walked carefully into the shadow of the bushes.
Just as he remembered the painting, the woman, dressed in plain clothes, danced alone on the bridge. Her dance moves were slightly different from what he remembered, but that didn't stop him from being attracted to her.
Is there such a coincidence in the world?
He couldn't help but whispered, "Miss Wei!"
The woman paused and her movements came to an abrupt halt.
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