Chapter 69: One More Infatuated
Before the Crown Prince's wedding, these noble ladies from aristocratic families all coveted the position of Crown Princess to some extent.
Not to mention the crown prince himself, the title of future queen alone is enough to attract people.
Unfortunately, they all returned empty-handed in the end.
Now that the emperor, who has had a sham harem for more than a decade, might be planning to establish a queen, they couldn't help but have some small thoughts in their hearts.
Your Majesty is only in his early thirties this year, still in his thirties. If he could become the Empress of the current dynasty, wouldn't that be much better than being the Crown Princess?
It is the time of Jingzhe, the weather suddenly warms up, grass grows, birds fly, and spring is everywhere.
Amidst the crowd of dozens of palace servants, a gorgeous sedan chair with a bright yellow nine-phoenix pattern came slowly in. The noble ladies who had been waiting for a long time in Changyin Pavilion thought it was the arrival of Queen Mother Jiang, and they all stood up to welcome her respectfully.
Who would have thought that the person stepping down from the sedan chair on the gilded stool was a young girl in gorgeous clothes.
Everyone present was stunned.
This bright yellow ceremonial carriage with nine phoenix patterns was clearly a regulation exclusively for the empress and the queen mother. How could the one who came down be Yang, the Shangyi?
For a moment, the atmosphere was tense and silent. A breeze blew by, and the willow trees planted around Changyin Pavilion rustled.
Bright yellow was a color exclusive to the emperor, empress and the queen mother. Even though Emperor Wen had once made an exception and created the title of Imperial Noble Consort for his favorite cousin Tang, which was higher in rank than the vice empress, when Tang wanted to break the rules and use bright yellow, Emperor Wen politely declined.
According to regulations, imperial concubines and concubines could only use golden carriages and sedan chairs.
Everyone couldn't help themselves and began to look at this Shangyi Yang, who came from a poor family, calmly.
I saw that the Shu brocade embroidered shoes on her feet were inlaid with hundreds of South China Sea pearls. She was wearing a royal blue half-sleeve crepe skirt with a cross-collar and a hundred gold butterflies. Her towering bun was decorated with pearls and jade.
Under the sunlight, the pearl hairpins and jewelry are all glittering, setting off her gorgeous face.
Everyone couldn't help but wonder, why was the ceremonial allowance prepared by the inner court so extravagant?
Seeing Yang Shangyi stepping into Changyin Pavilion with the help of several palace servants, everyone quickly came back to their senses and bowed and greeted her respectfully.
Xu Miaohua's eyes were filled with tears, but she could only bow politely to this poor girl who had to live in their house.
They were not the only ones who were surprised when they saw the bright yellow sedan chair. Yang Manyan was stunned for a long time before he boarded the sedan chair.
When asked about this, Xingyun, who was standing nearby, was also confused. It was a young eunuch who was in charge of carrying the sedan chair who took the initiative to come forward and report the whole story.
He only said that since the position of empress was vacant, the emperor had already ordered Yang Shangyi to take charge of the affairs of the six palaces, so he made an exception and allowed her to enjoy all the treatment of the empress.
Since the death of the previous Emperor Yongshun, Empress Zhuangxian Xu moved out of Kunning Palace, and the Emperor ordered various departments of the inner court to take over the management of inner court affairs.
At that time, Queen Mother Jiang was busy worrying about the Jiang family and had no time to fight for power. By the time she reacted, everything had been settled.
Yang Manyan's eyelids twitched when he heard this.
But because she had to arrive at Changyin Pavilion before Queen Mother Jiang, she had no choice but to board the Vietnamese-made sedan chair.
About half a quarter of an hour later, another bright yellow sedan chair with nine phoenix patterns stopped outside the gate of Changyin Pavilion.
A heavily made-up woman walked in slowly and sat directly on the main seat in the middle. Her hair was covered with gold and silver jewelry, and the powder on her face was so thick that it seemed like dust could be raised at any time.
Yang Manyan led everyone in paying respect, and then sat down in the sandalwood carved armchair on the east side of the main seat.
Queen Mother Jiang raised her eyes slightly and glanced at Yang Manyan indifferently, her expression obscure and difficult to understand.
She really didn't know what the emperor and the crown prince were thinking. Not only did they not depose Yang, they also went to great lengths to celebrate her birthday...
When she heard that Yang Shangyi was coming in a bright yellow sedan chair, she couldn't help rolling her eyes.
After spending some time together, she also realized that although Yang had a seductive appearance that could bring disaster to the country and the people, she was actually a timid and cowardly person.
Naturally, all these things were caused by the emperor and the prince, father and son.
Queen Mother Jiang was also puzzled. Why were the men in the Xiao family so infatuated with each other?
First, her husband Emperor Wen loved Consort Tang so much that he was willing to die for her. Second, her eldest son Emperor Yongshun had a special liking for Xu.
Now the second son and the eldest grandson are even more ridiculous, and they have fallen directly on the shoulders of a woman.
After a moment's silence, Queen Mother Jiang's eyes suddenly moved slightly, "Yang Shangyi is now alone in the East Palace, without even a sister to talk to and relieve her boredom. I'm afraid it's very difficult for her, right?"
Yang Manyan smiled and said, "I take care of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's food and daily life every day. I dare not neglect him in the slightest. Naturally, it won't be hard for me to endure."
Obviously, she was making it up.
In fact, the prince took care of her more.
Queen Mother Jiang raised her eyebrows. "Oh? It seems that we still need to add more people to the Eastern Palace, otherwise Yang Shangyi will be too busy."
The noble ladies present held their breath, with a surge of undercurrents rising in their hearts.
It seems that the Queen Mother held this banquet to select concubines for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince...
For a time, some people were even caught in a dilemma between the emperor and the prince.
It is said that the emperor is born strong and fierce, sinister and cold, arbitrary and cruel.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is just the opposite, gentle as jade, dignified and polite, and handsome beyond compare...
The music played by the Nanfu musicians never stopped. The long and slow music poured down like the gurgling water, surrounding the entire Changyin Pavilion.
Yang Manyan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Although I am in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, I cannot make decisions for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. The Empress Dowager should discuss this matter with His Royal Highness."
Queen Mother Jiang snorted coldly. If the prince was willing to give in, she would have stuffed several Jiang family girls into the East Palace long ago.
At today's banquet, several girls from the Jiang family were specially arranged to sit in the very front seats. At the moment, they were all in high spirits and looked confident.
But looking at these nieces and granddaughters who were not outstanding in any aspect, Queen Mother Jiang became even more furious.
In addition to filling the Eastern Palace with people, she also planned to select a suitable queen for her other grandson, the King of Han, at this banquet.
The King of Han did not inherit the throne from the present emperor, but was merely the son of the previous emperor, and had been brought up in another palace since childhood, so naturally there was no need to go through the rigmarole of selecting concubines and granting them marriage.
Queen Mother Jiang carefully looked at the dozens of noble ladies present today, but she felt a little bored.
After thinking it over, she felt that it would be better to leave Princess Han to the girl from their Jiang family.
Then she made the excuse of being tired and left the table with a few maids from the Jiang family.
After Queen Mother Jiang left, Yang Manyan naturally did not stay any longer.
But just as she was about to step on the stool and board the sedan chair, a proud and clear female voice stopped her -
"Does Yang Shangyi know that the emperor has ordered the Ministry of Works to repair the Xiancan Altar?"
Yang Manyan turned sideways and looked back, only to realize that the person who spoke was Xu Miaohua, the eldest daughter of Duke Wei.
Xu Miaohua raised her chin slightly and said calmly, "Isn't Yang Shangyi aware of the fact that His Majesty is about to appoint a queen?"
Although she asked two questions in a row, her words hinted that she would be the one to ascend the throne of Queen.
As early as last month, the Ministry of Works sent people to the Xiancan Altar to start construction. Feeling that they had completely offended the Crown Prince and Yang Shangyi, the Duke of Wei's Mansion began to have other ideas.
Yang Manyan was slightly stunned.
On the other side, the emperor and the crown prince, who had come up empty-handed in the East Palace, frowned slightly when they heard that Yang Manyan was summoned by Empress Dowager Jiang to go to Changyin Pavilion.
The father and son walked out of the East Palace without hesitation and headed north towards Changyin Pavilion.
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