Chapter 130 Leaving the Palace
After staying in Fenghe Palace for a while, Pei Tingyue took his leave.
The sedan chair carried her back to Chengming Palace.
The emperor was indeed waiting for her.
He did not go to the imperial study to handle government affairs, but was reading a book in the warm room. When he saw her, he stood up and took her to sit down.
"Are you tired of listening to the moon?"
Pei Tingyue shook her head and smiled, "I have been sitting in the sedan chair the whole time and have not felt tired at all."
Xie Chen said gently, "This set of clothes and this golden crown look quite heavy. Let's send them away soon."
This is true.
Pei Tingyue felt as if his head weighed more than ten pounds.
After going to the inner chamber, she had the golden crown removed and discovered a red mark on her forehead, but fortunately the skin was not broken.
Pei Tingyue figured it would disappear in a while, so he ignored it.
Pei Tingyue took off her Zhaoyi court dress and changed into a crabapple red long dress embroidered with gold beads. Today was her lucky day, and this color was festive.
After changing, she went to the warm room to look for the emperor, but she couldn't find him. After searching around, she found him at the dining table in the side hall.
Pei Tingyue sat down next to him and asked curiously, "Why are you having lunch so early today?"
Xie Chen gave her two chopsticks of food and said, "Take a rest after eating. I'll take you out for a walk."
Pei Tingyue thought the walk was in the imperial garden or somewhere else, so she asked in confusion, "Does the emperor have any government affairs to attend to?"
Xie Chen thought for a moment and replied, "It's nothing serious. It doesn't matter if you postpone it for a day. I'll spend the day with you."
Pei Tingyue asked casually, "Where are you going for a walk?"
"Let's go boating on the lake, and then take you out of the palace to have a look."
Pei Tingyue was now excited, her clear eyes filled with desire as she kept asking, "Really?"
Xie Chen looked at her like this and said with a smile: "Would I lie to you?"
Pei Tingyue's eyes sparkled as she picked up the dishes and put them into her mouth. She hadn't eaten much in the morning and was a little hungry at this moment. She was also in high spirits, so she ate a lot.
It would be easy to fall asleep after eating, but Pei Tingyue rolled over and over on the bed and still couldn't fall asleep. All she could think about was leaving the palace.
Xie Chen pulled the person over, forced him into his arms, and warned him in a low voice, "Close your eyes and go to sleep quickly. If you wake up late, you will have less time to play."
These words are more effective than anything else.
Pei Tingyue stopped making a fuss immediately and closed his eyes to try to fall asleep.
*
The two of them slept for about an hour.
Xie Chen's wash and grooming was simple. He changed into a moon-white casual outfit and was ready quickly. He sat on the couch waiting for her.
Pei Tingyue had her hair recombed and put on some light makeup. She still wore the same crabapple-red dress, looking charming and beautiful.
After packing up, Pei Tingyue walked around in front of the bed and said, "I'm ready. Shall we go?"
"Slow down." Xie Chen instructed, and asked someone to bring a cloak and a hand warmer. He first tied the cloak on her, and then stuffed the hand warmer into her hand, "Don't put it down."
Pei Tingyue obeyed obediently: "Oh."
A smile flashed in Xie Chen's eyes, and then he took the woman out of the hall.
The canopied carriage was moving slowly along the palace road.
In the car.
Pei Tingyue couldn't help but lift the curtain to take a look and asked, "Shall we leave the palace first?"
Xie Chen was afraid that she would feel cold, so he lowered the curtain again and said, "Let's go to Prince Xuan's Mansion to relax first, and then go boating on the lake in the evening."
Pei Tingyue silently recited the name.
King Xuan.
She had a vague impression.
When she first arrived, she sent people to secretly gather information and also learned about the previous dynasty, but she found very little.
I only heard that the late emperor had four sons.
The emperor is the eldest son, the second and third sons were born to the previous emperor's favorite concubine, and the fourth son was King Xuan, born to a palace maid. The fight for the throne was divided into two lines, one was the sons of the favorite concubine, and the other was the current emperor and King Xuan.
So after the emperor ascended the throne, he named his younger brother King Xuan. Xuan means bright and noble. This title also shows the emperor's satisfaction with his younger brother.
Not only that, his biological mother, who was of low status, also became a concubine because of her son.
only…
She had only heard of King Xuan but had never seen him in person.
All in all, over the past six months, she has stayed in Chengming Palace, either to recuperate, or to take care of the sick, and the total number of days she has stayed in Chengming Palace is more than two months.
During the day, she spent time with the emperor in the imperial study, and she heard cabinet elders or court officials come to ask for an audience, but she never heard of Prince Xuan coming to ask for an audience with the emperor.
Therefore, she only knew that there was such a person, but had never seen him.
Seeing her puzzled expression, Xie Chen explained, "Since I ascended the throne, King Xuan has been working for me in the south and only returned last night."
Pei Tingyue understood and said, "So that's how it is."
"Originally, I wanted him to be your envoy for enthronement, but unexpectedly, there was chaos in the south. He stayed a few more days, and ultimately it was too late."
Pei Tingyue nodded.
She now understood what the emperor meant when he said he wanted to give her the best.
Even though the old prince was highly respected, he was only of a higher generation and not as noble as King Xuan. After all, King Xuan was the only prince in the Xining Dynasty and had an extraordinary status.
Pei Tingyue asked curiously, "Does the prince have a princess?"
"Not now." Xie Chen shook his head. "He found a sickly noble lady to be his principal wife before, but she died within two years. Now the one who is in charge of the palace is his concubine."
"What is the identity of this concubine?"
Speaking of this, Xie Chen seemed quite helpless, "Palace maid."
"Huh?" Pei Tingyue was surprised. "A palace maid?"
Xie Chen replied, "She served him since she was a child. She is several years older than him. When he was still a prince, he took her in as a concubine. After he became a prince, he forced her to be a concubine."
Pei Tingyue was silent for a while.
King Xuan was born to a palace maid. Despite the pressure of being laughed at, he allowed a palace maid to become the person in charge in his palace. It can be seen that he loved this concubine very much.
Even marrying the previous sickly princess was a deliberate act to pave the way for this concubine. Otherwise, if he married a noble lady with good health, there would be no room for his beloved concubine.
It seems that King Xuan is quite infatuated.
Xie Chen took her hand and said softly, "After we meet, I will discuss some matters with King Xuan. This concubine should accompany you. Just tell her what you want."
Pei Tingyue scratched his palm and said, "Then the emperor will come back soon."
Xie Chen agreed: "Okay, it won't be long."
*
The carriage slowly left the palace gate.
Even in the dead of winter, the hawking sounds on Zhuque Street continued, causing Pei Tingyue to frequently lift the curtain of the sedan chair.
Xie Chen was somewhat helpless and had to instruct Liang Yao to stop two streets away from Prince Xuan's Mansion and carefully help her get off the carriage.
The bustling crowd made Pei Tingyue feel as if he were in another world. His eyes felt a little sore, but he had to endure it with great difficulty.
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