uprising
Chu Chanyin styled her hair into a bun and adorned it with pearl flowers, making Zhao Youyi look incredibly beautiful.
Zhao Youyi took his hand and said with a smile, "Brother Huai Cong's cooking skills are still as good as before."
Hearing the noise from inside, Xiao Rui knocked on the door. "Miss, young master, would you like to wash up?"
Zhao Youyi glanced back at his disheveled appearance, quickly straightened her hair, went to the door to take the toiletries, and stopped Xiao Rui who was about to go in: "Go and see if the young master and young lady are awake yet, and tell them to come for lunch."
Xiao Rui stared blankly at the door that had closed in front of her. When she looked up, the sun was high in the sky. Children love to play and naturally get up early, unlike her daughter and son-in-law, who were already past midnight.
Xiao Rui belatedly realized what had happened inside last night, and couldn't help but blush with embarrassment. She quickly asked someone to fetch water for the two of them to bathe.
Chu Chanyin looked at Zhao Youyi, who was holding the toiletries and looking nervous, and asked with some confusion, "Why is A-Wan so nervous?"
Zhao Youyi glanced at him, "Look at yourself now, do you think I can let anyone else see you like this?"
Chu Chanyin subconsciously looked down and, seeing his loose collar, hurriedly pulled it up, saying innocently, "I didn't look in the mirror just now, so I didn't know. You clearly saw it, why didn't you remind me?"
Zhao Youyi coughed a few times, naturally refusing to admit that she deliberately didn't remind him because she wanted to see it.
"You kept me up so late last night, how could I have the energy to observe this?" Zhao Youyi said matter-of-factly.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Chu Chanyin had no choice but to take the toiletries from her and prepare to wash up.
After the two finished washing up, there was another knock on the door.
"Miss, sir, the water is ready. Would you like to take a bath?" Xiao Qing asked in a low voice.
The two exchanged a glance and agreed that it was necessary. Zhao Youyi straightened the vixen's clothes and went out to open the door. Before leaving, she didn't forget to glare at him, the meaning of which was clear: don't make a sound and don't talk nonsense.
Chu Chanyin blinked innocently.
The two took a bath together and couldn't help but make a ruckus in the tub until they heard Chu Muqing and Zhao Zhile's voices outside the door, at which point they stopped.
"Aunt and Uncle! Why haven't you come to eat yet?" Zhao Zhile said.
"Yes, yes! Uncle and Aunt! Mumu is hungry!" Chu Muqing said, not very happy.
Zhao Youyi quickly released her hands from Chu Chanyin's neck. The two looked at each other and saw embarrassment in each other's eyes.
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and that the night is too short for love; they're just overwhelmed with emotion.
Hearing the two little ones urging them on from outside, the two quickly tidied themselves up, went out of the room, each carrying one of the little ones, and went to the dining room for their meal.
"Yesterday I saw a plum grove in the courtyard. Did you have it planted by A-Wan?" After the meal, the two little ones ran off to play again, while Chu Chanyin and Zhao Youyi walked along the corridor, looking at the scenery of the mansion.
“Yes, Brother Huai Cong likes plum blossoms, so I had someone transplant them. If Brother Huai Cong wants to go for a stroll, then we can go back to our room and change into warmer clothes,” Zhao Youyi said.
Chu Chanyin naturally wouldn't refuse her suggestion.
Zhao Youyi took out the tiger-skin cloak she had made in advance for Chu Chanyin. The outside was bright yellow. In principle, only the emperor and the crown prince could not use bright yellow, but she felt that this color suited him. Now that she had put it on him, it was indeed a good fit.
Chu Chanyin bent down slightly to let her arrange him, and when he saw that the cloak was bright yellow, he couldn't help but say, "You can't wear this out, or people will say I have ulterior motives or that you have grand ambitions."
"What are you afraid of?" Zhao Youyi straightened his clothes. "One day, I will openly and honorably let you wear bright yellow, and let my brother Huai Cong become a queen revered by all."
Chu Chanyin took her hand and kissed it: "Okay, I'll be waiting for this day."
Zhao Youyi led Chu Chanyin through the plum grove, where the white snow and red plum blossoms were a delightful sight.
"My lord!" An urgent voice broke the peaceful scene.
Just as Zhao Youyi was about to pluck a red plum blossom and tuck it behind Chu Chanyin's ear, he heard the voice and turned to look in the direction of the sound. He saw that the person who came was Qian Huan. Seeing her anxious expression, Zhao Youyi knew that she had something important to report, so he waved his hand and told her to get up.
Qianhuan said urgently, "King Zhao has rebelled!"
Zhao Youyi raised an eyebrow, her gaze falling on Chu Chanyin, the meaning in her eyes clear—You did this?
Chu Chanyin took the red plum from her hand and tucked it behind her ear. "It was just adding fuel to the fire. The Prince of Zhao is ambitious and loves to make a big splash. Moreover, he is old and can't wait that long. So I had someone deliver the news that the emperor was neglecting state affairs and trying to depose the empress to him. I didn't expect him to wait so long."
Originally, the emperor intended to summon the princes from various regions to the capital at the end of the year, but Chu Chanyin declined the palace banquet, citing serious illness. With the empress dowager's downfall and the emperor being a brainless lecher, he did not want to clashed with Fuzhou so soon, since Chu Chanyin commanded hundreds of thousands of troops and was not someone to be trifled with.
"Brother Huai Cong, it seems we don't have many peaceful days left." Zhao Youyi sighed, feigning sorrow.
Chu Chanyin smoothed her brow. "The King of Zhao's wife and daughters have been distributing porridge to the public for many years. The King of Zhao is quite famous among the people. If such a person were to cause you trouble in the future... then let the Emperor take action. Do you think I'm acting on my own initiative?"
“Of course not,” Zhao Youyi held his hand and placed it on her heart. “I know that whatever Brother Huai Cong does is for my own good. Even if I had known about these things back then, I would have made you do the same.”
"How is the King of Zhao doing now?" Zhao Youyi asked, turning his head to the side.
"The army under King Zhao fought against the Imperial Guard, and both sides suffered heavy losses. King Zhao narrowly lost and is now imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court," Qianhuan said.
Chu Chanyin smiled slightly upon hearing this: "The emperor is unlikely to spare his life. I estimate that in a few days, news will spread that the Prince of Zhao has suddenly died of a serious illness."
Zhao Youyi shared the same idea as him. After all, even a loyal minister like Zhao Youli was poisoned by the emperor, let alone the rebel Zhao Wang. The emperor was very petty and had been ignored and treated as a puppet emperor for many years. Now was the time for him to show that he had great power.
"Brother Huai Cong, are you trying to wear down the Imperial Guards' strength by doing this?" Zhao Youyi looked at him with a smile.
"It's just a plan to kill two birds with one stone," Chu Chanyin replied with a smile.
"Qianhuan, continue to keep an eye on the situation in Shenjing," Zhao Youyi said.
Upon hearing this, Qianhuan withdrew.
Zhao Youyi and Chu Chanyin exchanged a glance, both knowing that such sweet and peaceful days would soon be over.
“I’ve found a zither for Brother Huai Cong. I heard it was left over from the previous dynasty. Why don’t you play ‘High Mountains and Flowing Water’ again, and I’ll dance along with you?” Zhao Youyi called for someone to fetch the zither.
Chu Chanyin smiled and agreed, "That's excellent."
A servant brought over the zither, and Chu Chanyin casually sat on the stone bench. Today, Zhao Youyi was wearing the same bright red dress as yesterday, but compared to yesterday's bright red, today's dress was light red, and she wore a fox fur cloak over it.
Zhao Youyi still held a sword, dancing to the beautiful music. The red plum blossoms in the snow brought back the beautiful scene, but their feelings were quite different. Their eyes met, and there was a warm feeling even in the cold winter. Zhao Youyi danced gracefully in the plum grove, her water-red dress swaying with her movements, and a fragrance wafted over, whether it was the fragrance of plum blossoms or her own body.
Chu Chanyin played the zither with her delicate and powerful fingers, which danced on the strings. The melody gradually became cheerful from the beginning, as if it were a transition from a cold winter day to a spring day with flowers in full bloom. It was crisp and melodious, and people could easily feel the thriving spirit in her music.
When the song ended, the two looked at each other and smiled, their eyes filled with deep affection.
Sure enough, news spread throughout the capital in just three days that the Prince of Zhao had died of a serious illness. Although the emperor was not very bright, he did not abandon the Prince of Zhao's body in the wilderness after being persuaded by the officials. Instead, he hastily found a place to bury him.
Zhao Youyi and Chu Chanyin spent their few peaceful days in the general's mansion, applying makeup and other cosmetics. After the Lantern Festival, as expected, the emperor detained the various vassal kings in the capital, causing panic among the people in their fiefdoms.
In the spring of the eleventh year of Chongren's reign, the armies of the various princes' fiefdoms rose up in rebellion, claiming to be "acting on behalf of Heaven" and directly criticizing the emperor for being incompetent and tyrannical, and pleading for the people.
When Zhao Youyi received this news, he was escorting Zhao Zhile and Chu Muqing back to Fuzhou. Fuzhou was under the full control of Chu Chanyin, which was much safer than the borderlands. Besides, they couldn't bring the two children with them if they ever rebelled in the future.
The Chu army and the Zhao family army had cooperated on the battlefield many times because of the early friendship between Chu Chanyin and Zhao Youli. Moreover, now that Zhao Youyi and Chu Chanyin were husband and wife, they were naturally in the same boat. After Chu Chanyin, she went to the Chu army's garrison to summon the troops and make arrangements.
The armies of the various vassal kings were quickly defeated due to the lack of a leader. Just as the emperor was feeling triumphant, he learned that Fuzhou and the border regions had rebelled. Enraged, he smashed his favorite vase.
"Chu Chanyin, that hypocrite!" The emperor smashed his teacup on the ground. "Didn't he say he was seriously ill and couldn't get up? How could he rebel like this!"
Eunuch Gao dodged the teacup, avoiding being hit. He thought to himself, "The Prince of Chu has encountered so many assassination attempts on his way out of the capital, so naturally he won't come back to Shenjing. Doesn't Your Majesty think that the Prince of Chu's claim of being seriously ill is genuine? It's clearly an excuse, yet Your Majesty believed it."
Eunuch Gao thought of Empress Dowager Song. If Empress Dowager Song had not fallen from power and the Song family were still around, King Chu might still have some reservations. But now the court is in disarray, and His Majesty is indulging in women. The State of Jin... will probably soon have to change its name and surname.
The emperor stared intently at the memorial: "The borderlands... Zhao Family Army? Wasn't Zhao Youli dead? What was that bastard Min Guo doing! How could he let the Zhao Family Army change hands!"
He chose to kill Zhao Youli after he had served his purpose by poisoning him, fearing that Zhao would join forces with Chu Chanyin to rebel. Unexpectedly, even after Zhao Youli died, the Zhao family army still joined forces with the Chu army!
“Your Majesty, the people we sent to investigate said that General Min died of a serious illness last year. However, since the border region has been under the control of the Zhao family for many years, the news only spread to a few counties in the border region. It took our men a lot of effort to find out about it,” said Eunuch Gao.
"Then who is the commander of the Zhao family army now?" the emperor asked, staring intently at Eunuch Gao.
"Yes... Miss Zhao."
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