After seven days, the Pei family finally returned to the capital. Ning Jie'er was still a little excited along the way, while Wen was full of sorrow. When she returned to the capital, she thought of the deceased emperor and eldest son. Even after more than ten years, this pain still made her feel unbearable every time she thought of it.
However, Mrs. Wen did not reveal anything and just hugged Sister Yan even tighter.
Sister Yan is the only bloodline left by the eldest son.
Sister Yan is almost ten years old this year. She is a graceful little girl, and her eyes and eyebrows look very much like her father. At such a young age, her eyes and eyebrows already reveal her stunning beauty. When she grows up, she will surely be a beauty with a stunning appearance.
The little girl still remembered how her infant brother was thrown to death in front of her, and how her mother pushed open her mother's room and was hanged on a white silk.
This was an indelible shadow in her life. The little girl was more afraid of the capital than excited about it. She was afraid of the palace.
The little girl was frightened and hugged her grandmother tightly.
In fact, she wanted to ride in a carriage with her aunt. She was exiled to the border town at the age of three. It was her aunt who cooked delicious meals and raised her little by little. In her eyes, her aunt was like a mother.
During the journey, Xu Qinyu was actually a little excited, but she was more worried and uneasy about her future life. If she could stay in the capital, her parents would definitely not want her to return to the southwest. Then, why not open a restaurant in the capital?
If his parents didn't want him to leave, he could stay in the capital, which would be closer to them. Since she had taken over the original body, she also wanted to make up to the original body's parents.
At noon on the fifth day of the first lunar month, the carriage finally arrived in the capital. Xu Qinyu couldn't help but lift the curtain and take a look. She saw the towering city walls. The walls of the capital were taller and more majestic than those of Raozhou City. It was as if she was looking at an insurmountable wall in the sky. However, her fourth brother had crossed such a wall in just one year.
Xu Qinyu took a deep breath and clenched her palms.
The carriage headed towards the city gate. Because a palace coup had just occurred in the capital, everyone entering the capital had to be checked. Dozens of guards escorted three carriages into the city, and the momentum was quite grand.
Even though these black-armored guards were wearing black armor, the officers and soldiers guarding the city gate did not let anyone pass. Huo Ye came over and took out a token. When they saw the token, the officers and soldiers let them pass, and the group entered the city smoothly.
Xu Qinyu had lifted the curtain and looked around curiously when she entered the city, and she did not lower the curtain at this moment. After entering the city, she saw that the road was wider and the houses on both sides of the street were all blue brick and tile houses. Looking forward, she could see buildings with several floors and attics everywhere.
There were quite a few people coming and going in the city, all with smiles on their faces, busy with their own things. They were not surprised to see dozens of guards and three gorgeous carriages entering the city.
Despite such a major event happening in the capital, the people remained calm and showed no fear. It was clear that Fourth Brother hadn't bullied the common people when he entered the capital. Even when the carriage passed by a tea stall, customers could be heard saying, "Who could have imagined that the leader of this rebellion would be Prince Shu? Prince Shu was exiled to the border town and had endured for years. It's a good thing His Royal Highness Prince Shu rebelled, otherwise with the Empress Dowager and Emperor Shengyuan in power, what kind of life would we ordinary people have? Besides, Prince Shu wasn't actually rebelling; he was legitimately suppressing traitors. It was Empress Dowager Fu who poisoned the late Emperor, who had already appointed the eldest prince the crown prince. It's a shame the imperial edict wasn't announced until now. The eldest prince died tragically, leaving only the princess in his family..."
"Isn't it true that Empress Dowager Fu and Emperor Sheng Yuan are traitors? The late emperor was poisoned to death by her. Women are truly the most vicious."
"And the King of Handong. I went there when his house was raided. They brought out boxes and boxes of gold. I've never seen so much gold in my life. It seemed as if all the gold in the world was hidden in the Handong Palace. How much did he embezzle in just a few years? They say the treasury is empty, but it's not empty. It all went into the pockets of those people named Fu. No wonder they want to exploit us ordinary people. Once we pay taxes, we can't even afford to eat..."
Xu Qinyu listened to the discussions getting farther and farther away, then gently lowered the curtain.
The carriage went all the way to the palace.
Xu Qinyu clenched her palms tightly. She was about to see her fourth brother. For some reason, she began to feel nervous. What should she say to her fourth brother when she saw him?
Soon, the carriage stopped, and a palace maid came over to open the curtain and put down an embroidered stool in front of it.
When Xu Qinyu saw the embroidered stool with exquisite patterns, she couldn't bear to step on it, so she jumped down from the side and helped Ning Jie'er down together.
The palace maid said, "This servant greets the Empress and the Princess. Please follow me back to the palace to wash, rest, and have a meal."
Ning Jie'er was ten years old when she was exiled, a half-grown girl. Now Ning Jie'er is almost eighteen. She has only lived in the palace for ten years, and when she comes back again, she feels only unfamiliar. Ning Jie'er originally wanted to stay in the same palace with her fourth sister-in-law, but when she thought about her fourth brother asking someone to hurriedly bring them back to the capital, she must miss her fourth sister-in-law.
When Fourth Brother finishes his work, he will definitely come to see Fourth Sister-in-law first. It would not be good for her to stay nearby.
Ning Jie'er said something to Xu Qinyu and went to her own bedroom first.
Xu Qinyu hurriedly said, "Sister Ning, go ahead and wash up. I'll come over to find you."
Xu Qinyu also followed the palace maid to the bedroom. She had never been to a palace before. She had only seen some palace ruins before, which were very desolate, but at this moment she had a completely different feeling.
Xu Qinyu looked around curiously, while the palace maid beside her kept her head down, not daring to look at the queen at all.
They knew that Emperor Shengwu had once said in the court that he would only have one wife, one empress, in his life, and there would be no other women in the harem. The court officials were shocked, and even all the palace maids were extremely surprised when they knew it, but they also had more faith and respect for the emperor.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, he was given a title. The new emperor was called Emperor Shengwu and the reign was called Wu'an.
After Emperor Shengwu ascended the throne, in addition to dealing with Empress Dowager Fu and Emperor Shengyuan's people, the court also had to deal with other tax matters. In addition, what the court officials were most worried about was naturally Emperor Shengwu's harem and offspring.
Because ever since Emperor Shengwu ascended the throne more than a month ago, the noble families and important officials in the capital have learned everything about what happened during the seven years that Emperor Shengwu spent in the border town.
Know how Emperor Shengwu and the Empress spent the past seven years.
In these years, Emperor Shengwu was busy with his affairs outside, and the Empress Dowager relied on a snack stall to support the family. She gradually earned money and opened a restaurant. It was heard that the Empress Dowager made a lot of money in the border town and was very rich.
Because of this, many people do not believe that Emperor Shengwu truly loved his original wife and therefore vowed to have only one empress in his life. They all think that he did so out of gratitude.
However, at the daily morning court sessions, the court officials no longer dared to persuade Emperor Shengwu to expand his harem, and planned to wait until the court was stable before doing so.
Xu Qinyu followed the palace maids to a palace. She looked up and saw Wu'an Palace.
Xu Qinyu was stunned. On the way, Commander Huo told her that her fourth brother was now Emperor Shengwu and had changed the reign title to Wu'an. Since the palace was named after the reign title, it should be the palace where her fourth brother lived. Yet, the palace maids brought her directly to her fourth brother's bedroom.
After entering the palace, more than a dozen palace maids helped Xu Qinyu wash and dress.
Xu Qinyu felt a little uncomfortable, so she called all the palace maids out while she was washing up.
It has to be said that the palace is indeed luxurious. Even the bathing pools are made of white jade. However, Xu Qinyu missed her hot springs in the southwest even more. When she was tired from traveling, she could take a dip in the hot spring pool to relieve most of her fatigue. Then she could take a good sleep and wake up refreshed.
Xu Qinyu washed up, changed her clothes, and returned to her bedroom. She was indeed very sleepy, so she had a simple meal and planned to take a nap.
The imperial meals in the palace were still very delicious. After she finished eating, she asked the palace maid to guard outside while she went into the bedroom to rest for a while.
Xu Qinyu was awakened by a kiss at some point. She sensed the scent of her fourth brother and hugged him naturally, "Fourth brother, when did you come back?"
She was a little confused in her sleep and thought that she was in the house outside Raozhou City and her fourth brother had suddenly returned from his business trip.
After she finished saying this, she was half awake and opened her eyes. The light was dim and her fourth brother was looking down at her. She couldn't help but raise her hand to touch his face, but it still felt a little unreal.
Pei Weixuan chuckled, knowing that Yu Niang must have been confused in her sleep and thought she was in the southwest when he returned home from a night business trip.
"Fourth brother." Xu Qinyu couldn't help but smile.
Pei Weixuan nodded, held Yu Niang's hand again, and lowered his head to kiss her.
After a long while, Xu Qinyu was almost out of breath, and the fourth brother finally got up.
"Are you hungry?" Pei Weixuan asked.
Only then did Xu Qinyu realize that she was hungry. She looked out the window and saw that it was already dark. She had slept for three hours.
Xu Qinyu really had a lot to say to her fourth brother, so it was a good opportunity for them to talk while eating.
"good."
Wait until the palace maids brought dinner into the bedroom.
It's a simple meal of four dishes and one soup, just enough for two people.
During the meal, Pei Weixuan asked all the palace maids to leave and helped Yu Niang to serve a bowl of soup. "Yu Niang, drink the soup first."
The food prepared by the imperial kitchen in the palace is not as delicious as that prepared by Yu Niang.
As the two of them were eating, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but ask, "Fourth brother, has the imperial edict left by the late emperor always been with you?"
Fourth brother had never told them about this, and she was quite curious.
Pei Weixuan said, "No, the imperial edict has been in the palace all the time. It was given to the pets I raised and they kept it very well. I have seen the edict that my father wrote when he appointed my elder brother as the crown prince..." But at that time, the palace was full of the empress dowager's people, and he could not take the edict out of the palace, so he gave it to his pets. When they attacked the palace, he blew the flute, and the golden eagles flew out with the edict he gave them. It was because of this edict that they were able to break in without much effort.
After Xu Qinyu found out, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised. She believed that Empress Dowager Fu and Emperor Sheng Yuan would never have thought that the imperial edict they wanted to find was actually in the palace all along.
It was probably when they knew that the late emperor wanted to make the eldest prince the crown prince that they finally took action to poison the late emperor.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "When I have time in the future, I will go and see the pets that Fourth Brother keeps in the palace." Just by hearing Fourth Brother say this, she knew that these pets must be as smart as Baiyu Moyu.
Mo Yu had always been by her side before, and she would lie outside before going to bed.
I haven't seen Mo Yu for the moment. I don't know where she went, but Xu Qinyu is not too worried.
Pei Weixuan looked at Yu Niang's smiling face and said, "Yu Niang, the first day of February is a good day for the ceremony of crowning the queen. I would like to marry you on that day, is that okay?"
Xu Qinyu was stunned. She didn't expect her fourth brother to say this suddenly.
Seeing her stunned, Pei Weixuan's eyes darkened little by little.
From Yu Niang's expression and words just now, he sensed a hint of her deliberate alienation from him.
He even knew what Yu Niang was worried about.
Yu Niang is not from here, and she does not accept polygamy.
She was afraid that if he married her as an emperor, he would also have three thousand beauties in his harem.
But he used to be a person without any feelings. Only with Yu Niang did he know what emotions were. How could he fall in love with someone else?
These words were not meant to test Yu Niang.
He had indeed looked at the future and wanted to be crowned queen and marry Yu Niang again.
At the beginning, Yu Niang was sent directly to Shu Wang's Mansion in a sedan chair from Dechang Marquis' Mansion. The two of them had never worshipped heaven and earth. He wanted to marry Yu Niang for real once.
But he didn't expect that Yu Niang would hesitate.
So Yu Niang still doesn't believe him until now?
Pei Weixuan's eyes dimmed in an instant, and there was no light in them anymore. He suppressed his other feelings, but looked at Yu Niang with despair.
Xu Qinyu also noticed that something was wrong with her fourth brother. At this moment, she panicked and stammered, "Fourth, fourth brother, listen to me first."
"Okay, Yu Niang, you go ahead." His voice was also very hoarse.
Xu Qinyu was extremely flustered. She said, "I like Fourth Brother too, but Fourth Brother, you are the emperor now. In the future, you will marry the daughters of other officials, have countless beauties in your harem, and have other children. I don't like this kind of life. I don't like to compete with other women for their affection, and I can't accept several women serving one man. I can't even accept my husband having concubines."
"What if I only want Yu Niang? What if I tell Yu Niang that there will be no one else in this life, even if I reach this position." Pei Weixuan said with a smile.
His laughter was extremely bitter and sad.
Because he knew in his heart that Yu Niang did have feelings for him, but that was all. Without him, Yu Niang would fall in love with other outstanding men if she met them.
For Yu Niang, love is just the icing on the cake, not her everything. She has no compassion for others when it comes to love. If it is not suitable, she will break up. She even cares more about her own restaurant, and love is dispensable.
Xu Qinyu was stunned, but she could hear sadness and pain in her fourth brother's words, and she could hear his feelings for her.
So she had been wrong all along. She did not trust Fourth Brother and did not trust his relationship with her. She even used some concepts from later generations to treat her relationship with Fourth Brother. She felt that if they could be together, they should be together, and she always held an indifferent attitude.
She felt that her relationship with her fourth brother was dispensable and that this relationship was not her everything.
And it was obvious that Fourth Brother's feelings for her were not equal.
Fourth Brother's feelings for her surpassed everything else.
Fourth brother's feelings for her seem a little pathological.
She panicked a little, "Fourth Brother."
Pei Weixuan asked, "Are you willing to believe me, Yu Niang?"
Xu Qinyu didn't hesitate this time. She nodded and said, "I believe Fourth Brother."
"Then on the first day of February, I will marry Yu Niang. Are you willing?"
"Okay." Xu Qinyu nodded. She was willing to believe her fourth brother.
And at this moment, she clearly realized that if she did not agree, who knows what her fourth brother would do, but she did not want to gamble on such an outcome.
Pei Weixuan thought, that’s good.
Because of this, after dinner, both of them were silent. Pei Weixuan said, "Yu Niang, please rest first. I'll go to the imperial study to read the memorials before moving in. I still have a lot of things to deal with."
Xu Qinyu nodded. Seeing her fourth brother about to leave the palace, she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out to him, "Fourth brother, I want to go back to Dechang Marquis Mansion tomorrow. I, I want to go back to see my parents and Shuo Ge'er."
Pei Weixuan turned around and said, "Okay, I'll have Lianhua take Yu Niang back tomorrow."
After her fourth brother left, Xu Qinyu couldn't sleep. It was not until midnight that she felt sleepy and fell into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night, she felt someone hugging her from behind. Knowing that it must be her fourth brother coming back, Xu Qinyu turned over and buried her head in her fourth brother's chest and continued to sleep. In a daze, she felt that her fourth brother was hugging her too tightly and she couldn't breathe.
When I woke up the next day, my fourth brother was no longer around, but Lianhua was there.
When Lianhua saw her, she wanted to call her "Master", but halfway through she realized that she shouldn't call anyone randomly, so she quickly changed her words and called her "Empress".
Xu Qinyu said helplessly: "You should just call me Master."
Lotus immediately changed her words.
After breakfast, Lotus Xu Qinyu left the palace. Before leaving, Xu Qinyu went to see Wen and Ning Jie'er and others.
Only after seeing Wen and the others did Xu Qinyu leave the palace.
Half an hour later, Xu Qinyu brought Lianhua back to the Marquis Dechang's Mansion.
…
The Dechang Marquis' Mansion had already known that the Queen and the Empress Dowager had returned to the capital yesterday.
Xu Li kept asking Cui, "Mother, when will my sister be back? Didn't she arrive in the capital yesterday? She should be back today, right?"
Xue sighed, "She is not only your sister now, but also the empress. Even if she returns to Beijing, it will be extremely difficult for her to go back to her parents' home. Let's see if the emperor will allow her to go back." Her daughter is now the empress, and it will still be difficult to see her in the future.
Xu Li frowned. He was already a teenager, and his eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to Xu Qinyu's. He had grown from a little fat boy into a handsome young man, but his temper was still very bad. Since Prince Shu ascended the throne, Xu Qinhui had come to their room several times, but he scolded her away every time, and Xu Qinhui's face turned a little blue.
When Xu Li heard this, he felt very depressed.
At this moment, the doorman suddenly rushed in in a panic, "Master, Madam, the Empress is back."
Xue was stunned for a moment, but Xu Li was the first to react. He rushed out and disappeared without a trace.
Xu Qinyu is now the queen. When she returned to Dechang Marquis' Mansion, the doorman certainly didn't dare to stop her. Seeing that she was very excited, the doorman threw her aside and ran in to report.
Xu Qinyu and Lianhua entered the gate by themselves. Before they had walked for long, they saw a half-grown boy rushing out and suddenly stopped in front of her. The boy's eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to hers, and he was almost as tall as her. The boy's face was flushed and his neck was thick, and he looked at her excitedly.
Xu Qinyu was also very nervous, until she saw Li Ge'er, her heart softened, and she felt sour and bitter. She couldn't hold back and tears fell.
Then Brother Li also started crying, but without making any sound, he just kept wiping his eyes.
Not long after, Xue and Master Xu also came over. When they saw Yu Niang, their eyes immediately turned red. Yu Niang was still a girl when she left home, and now she is dressed like a woman, but her appearance is not much different from seven years ago, only her expression is slightly different. That's right, seven years have passed, and Yu Niang has been alone in the border town for seven years. How could she not have changed at all?
Xue couldn't bear it any longer, and with trembling hands and feet she went over and hugged her daughter.
Xu Qinyu also felt very uncomfortable.
"Mom." Xu Qinyu finally called out "Mom".
Xue cried, "My dear Yu Niang, I have finally got you back."
Xu Qinyu's tears also fell, and she reached out to hug Xue's thin body.
After waiting and crying for a while, Xue took her daughter's hand and went to the second house.
On the way back, Xue kept chattering.
Xu Qinyu listened obediently.
Brother Li also chattered and told Xu Qinyu what happened after Emperor Shengwu came to the capital.
When they returned to the second room, the family was chatting happily. The maid outside had helped Xue to fend off several groups of people from the old lady and the third room.
Xue spoke for a long time before hesitantly asking, "Yu Niang, has the emperor told you how many days you can visit your family?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. Fourth brother is also very busy right now. The ceremony of crowning the queen will be held on the first day of February. During this time, I plan to stay here and spend more time with my parents and Li brother."
Only then did Xue feel relieved.
She originally didn't know the relationship between Yu Niang and the emperor. Everyone in the capital already knew that Emperor Shengwu said that he would only have one queen in his life and there would be no other women in the harem.
She also thought that Emperor Shengwu said this because of Yu Niang's kindness to the Pei family, but now seeing Yu Niang calling the emperor "Fourth Brother" and their relationship was very good, she thought that Emperor Shengwu must really like his daughter, so he didn't want to have any other women.
It would be a lie for Xue to say that she was unhappy. Her daughter was the empress and was favored by the emperor. The people in the capital envied Yu Niang as much as they did before.
Xu Qinyu originally thought she would feel a little restrained, but now, she found that she had a lot to say to her parents and Li Ge'er.
She didn't rest the whole afternoon and kept talking to her family.
When it was almost time for dinner, Xue said, "Yu Niang has just returned to the capital. How about we go to Jixianglou for dinner tonight? If you have time tomorrow, you can go see your uncle. What do you think?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Of course you can go visit my uncle and the others, but I won't go to Jixianglou for dinner tonight. I want to make a meal for my parents and Brother Shuo."
She used her original body, and now that she has relatives, she wants to cook a meal for them herself.
Xue felt sorry for her daughter and naturally didn't want to do it, but Xu Qinyu insisted. In the end, she went to the small kitchen and let Xu Qinyu prepare dinner.
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