Chapter 69 Chapter 69 [VIP]
Shen Yupu seemed to have just woken up from a dream. He hurriedly thanked the heavens for their grace, but Emperor Yuanshuo's thoughts were clearly not solely on him. He casually asked about Bai Shi, "Your Highness has been in the palace for many years and is now pregnant. Madam, are you not planning to find a suitable husband for Weixing?"
The smile on Mrs. Bai's face froze slightly. She looked at her daughter hesitantly, but saw Yi Niang gently shook her head.
Shen Youyi didn't know what kind of wife Emperor Yuan Shuo would choose for her brother, but the emperor obviously didn't know that Shen Huaian was not her parents' biological child.
Otherwise, given the emperor's temperament, he might not have discussed the matter in such a gentle manner, but would have directly granted the marriage.
Shen Youyi said slowly: "Your Majesty, my brother has had his fortune told. He believes in these things and is unwilling to let his wife take risks."
Mrs. Bai also agreed repeatedly. She smiled bitterly and said, "Wei Xing has always been a dull person. It is his father and I who have brought him down. He has remained single until now and has not found a woman he likes. However, he is still young, so my husband and I have no choice but to let him go."
Although Shen Yupu knew what his son was thinking, everyone had a youthful past. Seeing that Yi Niang had become a royal concubine and was extremely favored by the emperor, and might even give birth to a prince, Huai'an would have no difficulty marrying any woman in the future.
What's more, if someone says that he got married too late, that is an outdated view from twenty years ago. Young men and women were in danger of losing their jobs at any time, and the trend of early marriage was everywhere.
Young men nowadays are very ambitious. In order to marry a wife of noble birth, they would rather wait until they are thirty or forty to get married. Naturally, he and Bai Shi could only agree.
As for taking a concubine and having children, that is up to him. If necessary, the couple will not stop him. However, there is no need to bring up the banner of continuing the family line. It is the way of a gentleman for scholars and officials to remain single. Shen very much approves of such self-disciplined behavior.
Emperor Yuan Shuo glanced at the brother and sister, and Shen Youyi could understand the teasing joke in it.
——In his eyes, the two siblings were liars who never spoke a word of truth. They moved between the emperor and his son. However, she relied on the emperor's favor and was more flamboyant. Her brother depended on the prince and had to disguise himself as a gentleman who was different from the mainstream. He sometimes thought of retiring to Zhongnan.
But the emperor was wrong about this. Shen Youyi quietly tugged at his sleeve and said warily, "Your Majesty, have you already found a suitable candidate? Is it a princess from the royal family, or one of the sisters of the Wei family?"
Emperor Yuan Shuo did have a favorite candidate, but it was completely different from what she imagined. He smiled and said, "Weixing is your parents' only son. It would be a pity to marry him into the Wei family."
Regardless of whether Duke Yan was willing or not, in the eyes of outsiders, Wei was tied to the imperial concubine, and it was not cost-effective to marry her. Naturally, he had to look for other noble families and have the emperor arrange a marriage for them.
Shen Huaian stood up and bowed again, saying respectfully, "Your Majesty, I am still young and only wish to study hard, practice archery and horsemanship, and serve my king and father. I have no intention of starting a family. I hope Your Majesty will grant my consent."
He was always forthright and spoke in a clear voice, without any sign of evasion. Marriage was not the turn of his children to become kings, so his opinion was not important. Emperor Yuanshuo felt slightly displeased, but thinking of his chosen Yi Niang, he stopped talking about it. "I was just asking casually. Since you have such ambition, go back to the Hanlin Academy and be a scholar."
Drafting an imperial edict for the emperor was already a great honor and a shortcut to becoming prime minister. However, Shen Huaian hesitated. He leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have a humble request. I hope Your Majesty can allow me to serve under General Xue and experience the scenery of the frontier."
Shen Youyi's expression suddenly changed. Luosu is covered with snow-capped mountains, and the area is vast and sparsely populated. People in the Central Plains can hardly withstand that kind of climate. It was only because that was the location of the Tubo royal tent that the emperor ordered the Luosu Road marching general to attack the royal tent. It was just a strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao in exchange for peace in the four towns of Anxi. She vaguely heard that General Xue was stopped as soon as he arrived in Songzhou. If such a veteran was like this, wouldn't he be in danger of death if he went there even if he didn't charge into battle?
Is it because she refused to accept her brother's love, and did not allow his love to exist after breaking that layer of paper, and even returned to Emperor Yuan Shuo to give birth to the royal heir, so he, a scholar, would go thousands of miles away to seek his own death?
How could she not know that her brother was such a rebellious man!
Not only her, but also Shen Yupu and Bai were shocked. They thought at most that their son was tired of officialdom and wanted to be an idle young man under the protection of his sister. They didn't expect that he would have the idea of going to the frontier. That was not just for sightseeing!
Emperor Yuan Shuo looked down at the young man kneeling on the ground. His face was stern and calm as water. It didn't seem like a sudden thought. But his parents were still alive, and it was unfilial for him to suddenly have such a thought.
The female musicians gradually stopped, and the family banquet, which should have been filled with joy, fell silent for a moment. The king, sitting at the head of the table, slowly said, "Wei Xing, do you know what you are saying?"
Shen Huai'an nodded. "I know that the Imperial Concubine and I have long since agreed on our future marriage, and my parents have nothing to worry about. A true man is born between heaven and earth, and should journey from the sea to the dark woods, even across vast distances. I have long wanted to abandon my pen and join the military, but I still have parents and younger sisters to care for, so I dare not travel far. Now that the Imperial Concubine has received Your Majesty's favor, and the Shen family has benefited from your grace, I, too, would like to beg for Heaven's grace."
Shen Youyi stared at him blankly, her mind in a mess, like the raindrops flying under the eaves. She suddenly found it difficult to confide in him anymore, but how could her brother not know about this?
He naturally knew that she was distant from him. In the quietness of these days, he actually had the idea of going thousands of miles away from her!
Both his parents and himself knew that he did not have the blood of the Shen family, and there was no tragedy that would end the family line...it would just make them sad.
The beauty saw that she suddenly came back to her senses and still remembered to smile at herself sideways, and looked at herself inquiringly.
This is her family affair, so the emperor can't do it arbitrarily. Shen Youyi suppressed the bitterness and said to the talented young man, "Since Your Majesty loves me, then let my brother go. At his age, he has to endure hardships and sufferings."
Emperor Yuan Shuo understood what she meant. As long as it was not out of line and was suitable for the family, it would be no different from his, so he agreed.
After lunch, Emperor Yuan Shuo considerately went to the study with the Shen family father and son, leaving Shen Youyi to talk to Bai for a few words.
When Bai first met Emperor Yuanshuo, she felt that the emperor was tolerant and gentle towards them because of Yi Niang. However, Wei Xing's actions today were still a bit too extreme. She was uneasy and asked softly, "Yi Niang, what exactly did His Majesty mean by bringing you back today? Will he be angry with Wei Xing?"
Shen Youyi felt a little helpless. This was the emperor's temper. He would hold anyone he liked to a higher standard than others. Even if they were relatives who tried to curry favor with the imperial concubine, they had to serve the emperor loyally and make many achievements before they could be promoted. Not to mention causing trouble for her father and brother, she was afraid that her mother would have to run around for her to become the queen in the future. Only close relatives like the Second Prince and Prince Zhao, who had already reached the highest level of officialdom without having to work hard, would he indulge them a little and only get angry occasionally because of their behavior.
She joked, "Your Majesty has no other intentions. He simply wants to give my father and brother some opportunities after marrying your daughter. For my sake, he won't be angry with my brother. If he can accomplish something earth-shattering, that would be great. Even if he just suffers in vain, there's nothing wrong with that. Your Majesty will not treat him badly in the future."
Bai was relieved. She used to be most worried about Yi Niang's marriage. Yi Niang was not the type to be served. She was afraid that she would find a bad in-law and suffer a lot of trouble. She was also worried that she would not serve the emperor well and her life would be in danger if she said the wrong word. But now, seeing her getting along with Emperor Yuan Shuo, the emperor was quite indulgent. Even when he was by her side, he often kept his eyes on Yi Niang. She could put her mind at ease for the time being.
It's just that they are interfering a little too much. In the past, Yi Niang complained about her brother and the emperor, but she and her husband didn't feel much. However, since they moved back to their old house in the capital, eunuchs from the palace came from time to time to instruct on the repair and restoration of the imperial concubine's boudoir, check on their food, clothing and expenses, and inquire about any relatives and friends who had visited them recently. Now, she had to teach her elderly husband to go to Yongzhou to be an official. She actually felt a little breathless.
But the child who had given her the least worry had become rebellious after reaching adulthood. Mrs. Bai sighed softly, "Having children isn't always a happy thing."
As soon as she said this, she thought of her daughter. The emperor and she were looking forward to the arrival of this baby. This statement was a bit disappointing and discouraging. She wanted to add a few words to comfort her that the prince of the royal family was different, but Yiniang smiled mischievously.
"When they couldn't give birth to me, my father and mother went to the temple to pray for a child, burned incense, and performed many good deeds, but they were also worried."
After Shen Youyi teased her mother, the worry on her face gradually dissipated. She said softly, "Of course, there are many troubles in raising children, but didn't my mother also get a lot of joy? Now that I am a mother myself, I have realized this. Although there are many more troubles, when I think about it, it is Your Majesty and my child, and it will grow up one day, I feel happy again and don't want to worry about anything."
She would occasionally get startled, worrying that she would not be in good health when the child came, and that it would be missing limbs. She would also worry that it would not grow up to be what Emperor Yuan Shuo expected, and she would shed a few tears when she was sentimental.
But when it made a slight sound through her belly, it aroused her infinite love and surprise. She had a premonition that she would shed more tears for this child in the future, but she could not refuse the scenery along the way.
The Shen residence had been expanded and renovated, but it was still too small for an emperor. Emperor Yuan Shuo did not want her to stay outside the palace for long, so he stayed with her in her old boudoir for a while before carefully asking, "Did Yi Niang's mother ever tell you about me?"
The new bed was exactly the same as she remembered. She could smell the fragrance of the piles of fruit outside the screen and said lazily, "No, my parents and I are all His Majesty's subjects. Who dares to talk about His Majesty?"
Of course she knew what Emperor Yuan Shuo wanted to hear, but in order to gain the emperor's approval, her father and mother had to offend the nobles and royal family at his instruction at such an old age. Her brother's marriage was probably also regarded as a bargaining chip by the emperor, and he still wanted to hear a lot of good things from her.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to listen. Everyone likes a flatterer, but the problem is that he won't believe it after hearing it!
At most, I would smile at her and then it would be over!
Even though the emperor still looks the same as before and even has acquired a lot of maturity, she still feels that it is not worth it!
Emperor Yuan Shuo was helpless. He gently stroked her back and slowly taught her to lie on her side. He said gently, "Then, could this minister, Yi Niang, lie flat for a while instead of leaning on me?"
He didn't mind her being heavy, but this close-fitting position inevitably put pressure on her abdomen... It also made it difficult for him to control himself and act like a gentleman.
Yi Niang was a delicacy that no one could get enough of. He had originally wanted to cultivate his character and only wanted to eat a few bites of her once a month. However, she was not always palatable to him. It was often several months before he could indulge in her once or twice, but he would be immediately distracted by other things.
Shen Youyi had been worried at first, but now she was used to his pure heart and few desires. In addition, he really valued this child, so she didn't doubt anything. She found a comfortable position to lie down in his arms. Suddenly, she heard him ask, "You are really willing to let Weixing go far away. If he stays in the Hanlin Academy, I will gradually promote him, and no one will say anything."
After all, he was the emperor's uncle, the only son of the Shen family, and a graduate of the imperial examination system. Emperor Yuanshuo did not want him to win over the people with his military achievements, but Shen Youyi was very open-minded, which surprised him.
She smiled briefly. The afternoon was warm and quiet, so quiet that it made one want to commit a taboo. "Not everyone is cut from the same cloth. Everyone has their own choices, perhaps quite unconventional. Your Majesty, do you regret estrangement from the Crown Prince because of me?"
This person's presence had reached the point where most of the time, the two of them would tacitly avoid each other. Emperor Yuan Shuo hesitated for a moment, then said gently, "Yi Niang, I don't regret it, but sometimes I can't help feeling sad."
Shen Youyi pecked him on the cheek a few times and said softly, "I think Your Majesty wanted to be a sage king like Yao and Shun in the past twenty years... But there is no such thing as perfect in the world. After weighing the pros and cons, you made up your mind, which is actually not very satisfactory. Even if you are Yao or Shun, is there no stain on your life?"
When her brother chose to express his affection in front of her, she knew that things would never go back to the way they were before. He was a man with strong royal aspirations and had stubbornly stayed where he was for many years. There was nothing wrong with going out for a walk. She chose to stay with Emperor Yuan Shuo and only let him take his parents away from Beijing, which showed that she had hurt his heart.
Emperor Yuan Shuo smiled for a moment, his face a little sad. He often thought of the child in the East Palace. In fact, when the child was just born, he also had high hopes for him. He even hoped that he and Yang Xiuyuan would live in peace and happiness for a long time because of his growth.
He also invested a lot of effort, allowing the prince to cultivate his own trusted ministers, so that when the emperor was in his prime, he could often act as regent on behalf of his father, paving the way for him to become the king in the future.
However, this child was cowardly in major matters, obsessed with sorcery, and in love with Yi Niang, his father's imperial concubine. He was heartbroken and would still give him up even if his heart was bleeding. Therefore, many ministers were still watching his attitude, wondering whether the emperor would one day remember the father-son relationship again.
But he doesn't regret it.
Zihui still has no worries about food and clothing and enjoys the treatment of a prince. He will also try his best to find someone to treat him. Instead of wasting his energy on worrying about the pain, he would rather think about how to resettle the refugees after the first snow in Chang'an, and how to respond to the enemy when the battle report from the front line in Songzhou comes.
Shen Youyi hugged him tighter and whispered, "I never regretted becoming your majesty's concubine, nor did I regret coming back, so do you still think I would mind my brother's travels?"
Perhaps when he figures it out, he will return to Chang'an City and become his internal minister. Perhaps before he even has time to figure it out, he will be buried deep in the snow-capped mountains. She and his parents will also be heartbroken, but he is already over twenty years old and should pay the corresponding price for the decision he made at this moment.
Emperor Yuan Shuo caressed her lovingly, and the two of them got up at Shenshi and went to the Duke of Yan's Mansion again. Wei Jingzhong and his son were implicated by the imperial concubine and were imprisoned for a few days, but when they saw Shen Youyi again, they were still affectionate and respectful.
The price they paid was finally rewarded handsomely. In order to appease this father-in-law whom he had almost brought upon himself, Emperor Yuan Shuo not only doubled the annual rewards, but also promoted several of the Wei family's sons.
Shen Youyi even went to see the wife of Duke Yan again. Under the acupuncture of the imperial physician, she has calmed down a lot recently, but she still calls the current Concubine Shen "Azhen". When she saw that she was pregnant, she gave her a few small gifts.
Emperor Yuan Shuo accompanied her for a day of wandering outside, and Shen Youyi almost had some illusions. He was not just accompanying her to visit her parents to show the emperor's grace, but he had a secret thought in mind, wanting to see what she had done when they once lived in the same capital, and what regrets she had that could be remedied.
There is one thing she still has to talk about, but it is not convenient to mention it now.
Emperor Yuan Shuo had long stopped being jealous of the crown prince, but he never mentioned the family affairs of Marquis Lingyang in front of her. The heir to the marquisate seemed to be old enough to serve in the imperial guards. She had caught a glimpse of the familiar title on the imperial desk, but the emperor had casually closed it and she had never seen it again.
At that time, the child's mother had the support of the crown prince, and she made things difficult for her in every way, wanting to expel the wife of the former Marquis of Lingyang. Even though she guessed who was behind it, she could only swallow her anger and wanted to leave the capital as soon as possible.
But the child in her belly might be able to replace the prince. The current Marquis of Lingyang will have to bow down to her child in the future and won't even be qualified to enter the court. What is there for her to be angry about?
The days nowadays were considered a rare period of peace. Shen Youyi was not willing to be petty and was much more tolerant in many things. However, when she was pregnant, she felt that she was becoming more and more dependent on Emperor Yuan Shuo and always wanted his company.
The imperial physician said that she would feel better in the next two or three months, but she had rarely been left alone for too long by Emperor Yuan Shuo since she entered the palace. However, Emperor Yuan Shuo, who had just wanted to press her down on the table to have sex with her, had been behaving very well for two months. Apart from accompanying her for walks, discussing poetry and books with her, telling her some bedtime stories, and holding her for a while, he had not been overly affectionate with her.
She mustered up the courage to flirt with him, but she didn't get much of a response, it was as flat as a drop in the ocean.
Shen Youyi felt extremely aggrieved, but she could neither blame her completely nor the child. Emperor Yuan Shuo ate and lived with her every day, just like an ordinary couple in the folk. However, Emperor Yuan Shuo would occasionally teach her to serve and change clothes according to the rules.
She was not unfamiliar with this job. As long as she did not have to sleep with him, Emperor Yuan Shuo would expect her to get up early with him. He would teach her to wear only a small set of clothes, take care of his imperial attire, and admire his upright posture and majestic appearance in the bronze mirror.
But this did not include his service after he practiced boxing and swordplay every morning. At that time, she rarely stayed in the Zichen Palace obediently.
Now she got up later, and Emperor Yuan Shuo had more time to accompany her. After moving the martial arts training venue to the Zichen Palace, she woke up in a daze when she heard the sound, and was helped by the maid to put on her clothes. She went to the bathroom to talk to him. Sometimes she couldn't avoid him in time, and could see big beads of sweat sliding along the smooth lines to his waist and abdomen, and even some traces of sweat dripping from his hakama.
Perhaps the eunuchs in the Zichen Palace had broken hands, and he thought these people were clumsy, so he insisted that she wipe them gently and carefully.
Shen Youyi couldn't help but have some wild thoughts. His body seemed to be much whiter than before, but this made the scars more obvious. However, they were still clear and even more heartbreaking.
She was almost seduced by him to the point of burning with fire, but he was at most physically sensitive. Whenever her fingertips wanted to linger on her clean waist and abdomen for a while and gently stroke them, the tight skin under her hands would slide away half an inch before her. She watched helplessly as this agile king nonchalantly ordered someone to send new clothes over, and even pecked her cheek nonchalantly, praising her hard work and virtue in a soft voice.
The palace was the most eventful at the end of the year. Without the Empress and Yang Xiuyuan fighting each other, none of the remaining high-ranking concubines were willing to take on this burden, for fear of attracting the attention of the Imperial Concubine. Although Shen Youyi had no such intention, it was still interesting to do something to pass the time. She put aside these annoying thoughts for the time being and went to Jiade Hall to discuss this year's arrangements with the Empress Dowager.
The Queen Mother still followed her son's wishes on major issues. Instead, it was Shen Youyi who spoke up, urging the Eastern Palace to have a happy and peaceful New Year, and ordered everyone to add something to the Eastern Palace and not to treat it coldly.
——Although Yang was still imprisoned, the prince had recently lost his princess and her unborn baby.
But without Emperor Yuan Shuo's intention, no one would ask him to release the prince.
Shen Youyi asked herself if she was such a tolerant and generous person. She took all the favors and just pretended to be so. Without her order, Emperor Yuan Shuo would not agree to let the prince have such a miserable New Year.
However, just as night fell, she was looking at the tributes from various places this year, and listening to the female officials in the Sixth Bureau talking about how the tributes were recorded in previous years, when she heard the eunuch announce the arrival of Emperor Yuan Shuo.
The nights were long in winter, so Shen Youyi ordered everyone to leave and went to greet him, but she could sense that the emperor was in a bad mood.
She put away her smile, sat gently in his arms, and whispered, "My dear, are you worried about something, or are you working hard?"
Emperor Yuan Shuo smiled slightly when he saw her and said softly, "Even if there is something, it won't be hard to see Yi Niang."
Shen Youyi was still a little unaccustomed to his glib tongue, and said with a smile: "Who would believe you? Your Majesty doesn't want to tell you, so how can I force you to do it?"
Emperor Yuan Shuo looked at the beauty in his arms, lost in thought for a moment, and said softly, "Yi Niang, why don't you take a guess?"
If it was good news, Shen Youyi would still be willing to guess, but since she had made the emperor unhappy, she didn't want to say much. She smiled and said, "It can't be because I ate two extra bowls of ice in the afternoon. Who was so talkative as to tell His Majesty?"
She felt very restless, and the warm and dry weather in winter exacerbated her thirst. She wanted to eat ice from time to time. The imperial physician also said that eating ice in winter was not against the season, and she could eat a bite or two occasionally.
Emperor Yuan Shuo showed a helpless expression. He was reluctant to punish her further, but he also didn't want her to become so complacent and lawless. "It's better to send your mother to the palace as soon as possible after the New Year. When I'm not around, no one can control you."
Shen Youyi almost felt sleepy when she heard him asking about her diet and daily life again. Suddenly, she heard him call out softly twice: "Yi Niang."
She was a little puzzled, guessing that he was a little upset, and she became more gentle when she responded. However, unlike the seriousness of the past few months, he pulled her closer and held her lips, sometimes lightly, sometimes heavily, which made her almost panic and she had no strength to resist.
Emperor Yuan Shuo valued the child in her womb very much, so he treated her with courtesy as much as possible. Such a somewhat crazy intimacy was rare.
The strings in Shen Youyi's mind almost snapped in an instant. If someone who had not eaten salt for half a year suddenly tasted salty and fresh food, she didn't know what had upset him, perhaps the prince, or perhaps the bad war on the front line. But she couldn't control her lustful thoughts. For a moment, evil thoughts arose in her heart. She smiled and blew into his ear, gently calling out "Aye".
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