Chapter 8
The journey from Pingzhou to the capital was supposed to take only a month, and according to plan, they would arrive before winter. However, Chu Canglang was frail and could not withstand the long journey. He had to rest for two or three days after every two or three days of walking. By the time they arrived in the capital, it was already the beginning of winter, with gusts of cold wind and falling snow.
Chu Miaomiao lifted a corner of the curtain, glanced at the city gate, and couldn't help but exclaimed.
"As expected of a city at the feet of the Emperor, the city gates and walls are magnificent and imposing." He then turned to Chu Canglang, who was wrapped in a fur coat and holding a hand warmer, and said, "Our Pingzhou City can't compare."
Perhaps finding Chu Miaomiao's words amusing, Chu Canglang and Yu Rongxue exchanged a smile before saying, "If Pingzhou City were to become like this, we'd be in big trouble."
Chu Miaomiao nodded in agreement, then asked, "Will we have a place to stay after we enter the city?"
"Yes. My father bought a house when he came to Beijing many years ago. Before coming here, he wrote to the housekeeper to have him clean it out."
The group from the Pingzhou Chu Palace were allowed to pass after their identities were verified at the city gate. At the same time, the guards at the city gate brought the news to the palace that the Pingzhou Chu Prince and his wife and Princess Pingyang had arrived in Beijing.
When Wei Zhen, who was reading the memorials, heard the news, he suddenly looked up at the palace servant who delivered the message.
The emperor noticed Wei Zhen's actions and asked the palace servants to leave before asking, "It seems that you care deeply about the Pingzhou Chu family."
"The Chu family of Pingzhou truly harbors rebellious intentions, and I, your son, will pay close attention to them."
The emperor nodded slightly. "But that old man, the Prince of Chu, was quite alert. He didn't dare come here himself, but he sent all his legitimate children here."
"How does Father plan to arrange for them?"
"They're just protons. Just send a few people to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't cause any trouble."
"yes."
Wei Zhen agreed and picked up the memorial in his hand again, but he felt inexplicably excited in his heart.
I didn't expect Chu Miaomiao to come this time too. That's great, very good. I can settle the accounts of Pingzhou City with her one by one.
Chu Miaomiao, who had no idea that someone was planning to settle accounts with her, was directing her servants to move things and clean up her residence.
The house, which had not been inhabited for many years, was now full of life again. Servants carrying luggage were shuttling back and forth in the front and back yards, making it very lively.
After everything is cleaned up and everything is in order, it is time for dinner.
The old housekeeper who was in charge of the house had already found a cook and arranged all the kitchen matters. Without waiting for the master to call, he served the hot meals.
After a whole day of tossing and turning, Chu Miaomiao was so tired that she fell asleep as soon as she touched the pillow. But what she saw in her dream made her feel very tired all night long.
She dreamed she was lost in the capital, then met a kind man whose face she couldn't see clearly, who offered to show her the way. She followed him, walking and walking, but couldn't reach her destination. Losing her patience, she tapped the man on the shoulder to ask what was going on. Unexpectedly, the man turned around and revealed a wolf's head with its maw agape!
She was so frightened that she took off running. The wolf-headed man was chasing her closely, howling terribly from time to time. She was so frightened that she ran all the way, tears streaming down her face. When she gradually stopped hearing the wolf howling and felt safe, she dared to go into a small alley to rest.
But before she could even catch her breath, she heard a man's voice next to her: "Why are you running?"
She turned around and saw that the wolf-headed man had appeared at her side without her noticing. She was so frightened that her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
In the dream, Chu Miaomiao fainted. In reality, Chu Miaomiao suddenly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. After a moment of daze, she realized that she was dreaming.
"Luckily it was a dream, fortunately it was a dream."
Chu Miaomiao patted her heart to comfort herself. At this time, Chu He walked in with a basin of water.
"Princess, it's time to wash up."
Chu Miaomiao stretched and reluctantly left the warm bed.
When sitting in front of the mirror preparing to put on makeup, Chu Miaomiao had an idea. She picked up a pen, dipped some rouge cream and applied it on her face.
"Princess, what are you doing?"
Chu Miaomiao explained, "If I get a rash all over my face when I see the emperor today, there's no chance of me marrying the crown prince."
Chu He hesitated: "It's not appropriate..."
"It's okay. If the saint asks, just say it's because of the unfamiliar climate. He won't bother with a kid like me. Go comb your hair."
"yes."
That morning, the sky was gray and hazy, with occasional snowflakes falling. By the time everyone finished breakfast and prepared to enter the palace to meet the emperor, the snow had intensified, with heavy, goose-feather-like flakes fluttering down.
Chu Canglang looked at the red rashes on Chu Miaomiao's face and was so shocked that he started coughing.
"Miao Miao, what's wrong with your face?"
"I'm not used to the climate here, and I've got a rash."
"We just got here yesterday."
"So my acclimatization problem is really serious."
Since Chu Miaomiao insisted on saying this, Chu Canglang had no choice but to accept her statement and thought about asking the doctor to prescribe medicine for Miaomiao when he returned.
The majestic imperial palace was covered in snow, creating a sense of tranquility. The wheels of the car squeaked as they rolled over the ground, leaving behind a clearly visible rut.
When everyone got off the carriage, they found that there were already palace servants waiting there.
"Your Majesty heard that the Crown Prince of Chu has always been in poor health, so he ordered us servants to prepare a sedan chair and wait here. Crown Prince, Crown Princess, and Princess, please get in."
The three of them hurriedly kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace, and thanked the eunuch for his hard work in waiting, then got into the sedan chair.
Chu Miaomiao, sitting in the sedan chair, was really curious about what the palace looked like, so she lifted a corner of the curtain and looked outside.
The palace path was wide, its ground covered with a thick layer of snow. The gentle crunching sound of the palace servants' feet on the snow was remarkably clear. As I looked upward, the towering palace walls obscured a corner of the sky, and in the distance, I could see the majestic palace and its pavilions, clad in silver, a magnificent sight.
At that moment, Chu Miaomiao felt a shock. People are always involuntarily shocked by tall and majestic scenes, and naturally feel a sense of reverence from the bottom of their hearts.
This is the residence of the most powerful person in the world.
This is the concrete manifestation of supreme power.
Chu Miaomiao, who had never felt the slightest fear when facing her father's sticks and bamboo whips, now felt her heart beating faster and faster. She could clearly hear the sound of her heart beating.
This time, Chu Miaomiao felt fear.
For the first time in her life, she realized that there was a place and some people in this world that she absolutely could not provoke.
It's over. It seems that her plan of removing the rash is really inappropriate.
Is it too late to regret now?
Just as he was secretly regretting it, a voice called "Get off the sedan chair" and the sedan chair stopped, and the three of them arrived in front of the imperial study.
The palace attendant announced, "The Prince of Chu, his wife, and the Princess of Pingyang, come to see the Emperor—"
As the voice fell, the door to the imperial study slowly opened, and an older eunuch walked out. He smiled warmly and bowed slightly to the three of them.
"Your Majesty, please enter the palace."
No matter how upset she felt, she had no choice but to go to see His Majesty. She hoped that His Majesty would not discover her little trick. Even if he did, she hoped that he would be kind enough not to expose her.
Chu Miaomiao took a deep breath to calm herself down, then took a step with her heavy and stiff legs and followed her brother.
The imperial study was warm from the heating. After entering the palace, Miaomiao followed her brother and sister-in-law in kneeling and paying their respects to the sage. Only after receiving the order to "stand up" did she dare to stand up.
Chu Miaomiao had become much more obedient by now, standing still with her head bowed. Even though she was curious about the saint's appearance, she didn't dare to look up, and only stared at the flowing cloud pattern embroidered on the shoe upper.
The sage only asked some common questions such as "Is the King of Chu in good health?", "Did you have a good journey?", "How do you feel about arriving in the capital for the first time?" Chu Canglang answered them one by one.
Although Chu Miaomiao, who was listening in, did not see the saint's appearance, she felt from his voice that he should be a handsome man with elegant temperament. His voice was gentle but majestic, much better than her father's rough voice.
"Princess Pingyang has been keeping her head down because she's afraid of me?"
As they were talking, the topic unexpectedly brought up herself. Chu Miaomiao quickly replied, "This is my first time entering the palace, and I am filled with fear and trepidation. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me for any impoliteness."
"I am not a monster, so there is no need to be so afraid. Just raise your head."
It’s terrible. I have no choice but to look up this time.
Chu Miaomiao closed her eyes, made up her mind, and suddenly raised her head to face the emperor.
"you……"
Before the saint finished speaking, he heard the door of the imperial study being pushed open, and a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
"Your son greets His Majesty, Father."
This voice is cold and yet carries a sense of superiority. Have you heard it somewhere before?
Chu Miaomiao, full of doubts, subconsciously turned around and looked back, and a familiar face appeared in front of her.
It does look familiar. Where have you seen it before?
Chu Canglang had the same doubts as Chu Miaomiao. No matter how he looked at this prince, he felt as if he had seen him somewhere before.
The emperor, sitting high before the dragon table, introduced the three people, "This is the crown prince."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stood tall and graceful, his moon-white robe embroidered with light gold dragon patterns, further accentuating his noble demeanor. His face was like jade, his eyes like ink, his nose straight, his lips like vermilion, and his expression indifferent, inspiring respect and a fear of approach.
She had only seen this kind of indifferent and alienated feeling in one person, and that was—
"Mr. Tang?"
Chu Canglang was the first to remember this person's identity. Chu Miaomiao, who reacted at the same time, was dumbfounded and stood there in shock, staring blankly at Wei Zhen.
No way! People can be unlucky occasionally, but they can’t be this unlucky!
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