Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Does this count as a family of three?

Chapter 68 Chapter 68 Does this count as a family of three?

In addition to conferring the title of princess on Cheng Yian, the first batch of rewards promised were also not reduced.

Lu Xusheng naturally handed over all these rewards to Cheng Yian.

After a moment of lovemaking, Cheng Yian took a shower, changed his clothes, got up and looked through the reward list again.

"There are quite a few paintings, calligraphy and antiques here. If I'm not mistaken, Your Majesty allocated these directly to you from those treasures?"

Lu Xusheng held her in his arms while holding the light for her, "I guess that's the case."

These funds had not yet entered the national treasury, and the emperor was afraid that the officials in the Ministry of Revenue would steal them, so he transferred them directly. In this way, instead of going through the Ministry of Revenue accounts, they came from the emperor's private accounts, and the court officials had nothing to say.

"Have you finished? I want to turn off the lights."

Cheng Yian was so tired that he kept yawning. He threw the list back onto the dressing table beside the bed and thought,

"Our warehouse is too small. I have to dig a cellar."

There were some gold ingots among the rewards, and I felt uneasy leaving them anywhere.

Lu Xusheng said, "There is a cellar under my study."

Cheng Yian could sleep peacefully, thinking about how this man had gone through life and death together and how she finally got the better of him. Cheng Yian got up from his arms and kissed him. She originally wanted to kiss his mouth, but it was too dark to see clearly, so she kissed his Adam's apple.

The wetness flashed away, like a shiver and numbness running through his body, and Lu Xusheng froze.

Seeing that the culprit was lying down, he dragged him out again.

May 22nd is the Longevity Festival.

In previous years, the emperor advocated frugality and never extravagantly spent money. Now that the national treasury has improved greatly this year, the officials under him have written to the emperor asking him to take drastic measures.

Since the emperor ascended the throne, he has been troubled by internal and external troubles, and the two factions have been fighting each other. He has rarely had a good sleep. Recently, it has been different. Since Lu Xusheng married into the Cheng family and the daughter of the Zheng family married Prince Ning, the emperor has obviously noticed that the Empress Dowager's party is stretched to the limit, while the situation on his side is very good.

Now that Lu Xusheng had pacified Jiangnan for him, it was not only Lu Xusheng's merit, but also the political achievement of the emperor. People inside and outside the court praised the emperor for his courage to use people and being a courageous monarch. The emperor was in a good mood and allowed his court officials to celebrate.

The Honglu Temple sent letters to all four borders early, inviting neighboring states to come and celebrate the birthday.

On the 20th day, the imperial city was decorated with lights and streamers, and envoys from foreign countries could be seen everywhere on the roads.

The government and the people rested for three days and the whole country celebrated.

On the twenty-second day, the emperor held a grand banquet in the Guanghan Palace on Qionghua Island.

There was a reason why the banquet was held in Guanghan Palace. The weather was really too hot recently, and Guanghan Palace was surrounded by water, so it was cool and pleasant. People could drink during the day and row boats to admire the lanterns at night. How pleasant it was! So the Imperial Household Department held the banquet here.

In the morning, Liu Xi handed the list of envoys for today's banquet to the emperor for review. The emperor took a look at the list of envoys from various countries. People from border countries including Northern Qi had come. "The one coming from Northern Qi is the Prince of Nan'an, the son of Prince Nankang?"

Liu Xi said, "This man has always regarded General Lu as a serious threat. I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with him this time."

The Prince of Nan'an once threatened to kill Lu Xusheng to avenge his father.

"Tell the Royal Guards to secretly monitor his every move and report any unusual movements to me. Also send a copy of the intelligence to Xusheng."

"Yes, sir."

"By the way, how is the Queen Mother?"

In the past, the Empress Dowager never participated in the Emperor's birthday celebrations. She didn't want to give him face, but the Emperor had to follow the etiquette.

Liu Xi said, "It's strange. When I went to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager yesterday, she said she would come to celebrate your birthday today."

The emperor was stunned.

The Queen Mother would not show up on such an occasion if she had nothing else to do. She might have another purpose for her appearance.

However, he had been fighting with the Queen Mother for many years, and he had to fight against the enemy with his generals and block the water with his earth.

Before the morning, when it was just dawn, Cheng Yian rushed to the Yunnan Palace.

Today is the Emperor's birthday. My mother must go to the palace to pay her respects no matter what. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the Emperor.

So Cheng Yian came over early in the morning to do her makeup, help her tidy up, and explain the rules and etiquette of the palace to her.

Xia Fu wore makeup befitting a princess. She wore a dark blue, red, double-breasted, long-sleeved gown inlaid with gold phoenix and peony patterns. She wore a kingfisher-inlaid phoenix crown on her head. Her hair was tied in a lily bun. The crown covered her beautiful egg-shaped face. She was radiant and charming even without makeup.

Such an outfit needs to be matched with heavy jewelry. Cheng Yian opened her dressing box and saw a coral bracelet at first sight. The bracelet was dark in color, similar in quality to hers, and obviously had a thick pulp, which meant she had been wearing it for many years.

Cheng Yian subconsciously took out the necklace and handed it to her, "Mom, wear this one. I have one too. Let's wear it together. It looks good."

Cheng Yian showed her the necklace in his hand.

Xia Fu smiled and put it on as she was told.

Yunnan is close to Myanmar and jade is produced in abundance here, so there was a box of jade in Xia Fu's dressing box. She took out ten small jade boxes from one box, a total of ten, all of which were of the highest quality in terms of water content and color.

"Mom, why have I never seen you wear it before?"

Of course Xia Fu would not wear them, as these were jewellery belonging to the "Princess of Yunnan". Since she was not a real princess, she would not wear them unless necessary.

But since I have to go to the palace for a banquet today, it would be inappropriate not to wear it.

Cheng Yian picked out the most intense green jadeite for her. Xia Fu shook her head and said, "I'd rather go with this glassy colorless bracelet."

She is used to keeping a low profile.

Cheng Yian glanced at her wrist. The coral bracelet fit perfectly on her wrist and matched her skin tone.

After Xia Fu tidied herself up, she looked at her daughter. Cheng Yian was dressed more lively than her. She was a young girl, just the age of a flower, with skin as white and tender as water. She wore a double-breasted blouse with a silver-red embroidered crabapple red pattern, a horse-faced skirt with ruyi knots embroidered on the buttons, and a heart-shaped bun with a gold beaded phoenix double-strand hairpin inlaid with pigeon eggs. Ruhui did not match her with too extravagant a headdress, nor did she apply too much rouge, for fear of covering up her good looks.

When going out, she would put on the shawl which symbolized the rank of a princess and it would be perfect.

The King of Yunnan rode ahead with his son, while Cheng Yian accompanied Xia Fu in a carriage. The carriage entered the palace from Xi'an Gate and stopped outside Lingxing Gate. After entering the gate and heading east, there was a long white jade bridge, which was the Yuhe Bridge. From the Yuhe Bridge, they entered Chengguang Hall, and then went north across Taiye Bridge to reach Guanghan Hall.

At this time, all civil and military officials and ladies of honor were entering the palace. People were coming and going on the bridge. Those who knew each other either walked together or stopped to chat, but because there were so many people, they did not dare to stay for long. After entering the Lingxing Gate, Cheng Yian did not go with the King and his wife of Yunnan. She looked too much like her mother, so her mother deliberately avoided suspicion and asked her to stay a few steps behind.

After seeing Xia Fu and King Yunnan enter Chengguang Palace, Cheng Yian headed towards Yuhe Bridge. Halfway through, he suddenly heard a long-lost voice coming from behind him.

“An An!”

Isn't this the eldest princess?

Cheng Yian was overjoyed and turned around immediately. As expected, he saw the eldest princess coming with two female officials.

"Your Highness, when did you return to the capital? Why didn't you send someone to let me know so I could go to your house to greet you?"

The princess held the lady-in-waiting's arm and stood there waiting for her to come over. She hummed softly.

"Now that you have a godfather and godmother, how can you still remember me? Even if I tell you, I'm afraid you won't be in the mood to come over."

It’s over, this is too bitter.

In the past, the eldest princess had wanted to adopt her as her goddaughter, but she was worried that her father would not agree, so she refused. As a result, she took advantage of the princess's absence and adopted her as the daughter of the Prince of Yunnan.

Cheng Yian thought to himself that this was not good, and immediately went over to make amends.

"Your Highness, there is a reason for this matter. Please listen to An An's explanation."

The princess walked straight ahead onto the bridge, saying, "No need to explain, I know everything. You must say that the emperor allowed you to get close to the princess in order to win over the Yunnan Palace, right?"

Yan stopped her from staying, but still pulled Cheng Yian's little face with dissatisfaction, "An'an, little girl, can you just accept these godfathers and godmothers casually? I was reluctant to let you kowtow to me, and now you want to kowtow to others? Wait, after the banquet, I will find the emperor and ask you to resign this godparent."

Cheng Yian pouted in pain, "Your Highness, please spare me."

But I know this is

Since she could not tell the truth, she asked another lady-in-waiting to take the princess to Taiye Bridge, while she told the truth.

"Your Highness, I am only telling you this, and you must not make it public. Princess Yunnan is my mother, and I became her godparents because of this."

Instead of waiting for the princess to ask the emperor, it would be better for her to confess on her own initiative. This matter cannot be kept secret.

The princess was stunned for a long while. "Is it such a coincidence?"

Cheng Yian told her how the Yunnan Palace rescued his mother. The princess was silent for a moment.

"He is a poor fellow."

Then he walked away without mentioning it again.

Cheng Yian couldn't figure out the eldest princess's thoughts. Even though the eldest princess had clearly said she wanted to let go of her father, he didn't know what her attitude was towards the woman her father had been with.

Now that mother has remarried to the Prince of Yunnan's Palace, the princess should not make things difficult for her.

When they arrived at Guanghan Palace, all the courtiers and women inside and outside the palace stood up and saluted, and the eunuchs respectfully led the princess to her seat.

The main hall of Guanghan Hall is larger than that of Fengtian Hall. There is a stage in the middle with white marble pillars as railings. On the left are civil officials, and on the right are military officials. Behind each of the civil and military officials is a pearl curtain, which accommodates the female relatives of each mansion.

Because we have foreign guests today, the seats on the east side were given to envoys from various countries, while the country's civil and military officials sat on the west side according to their rank.

The rest of the royal family members sat at the upper seats.

There are seats for the Queen Mother and the Empress on the left and right of the Panlong Throne, and there are three levels of stairs below. The first level is for the seats of the Crown Prince and Prince Ning, the next level is for the Princess and Prince Yunnan, and the last level is for the rest of the royal family.

The first thing Cheng Yian saw when he entered the hall was the seats at the top of the Yunnan Palace. Sure enough, he saw the Yunnan King and his mother sitting down, and behind them sat the second young master Mu Xun.

Looking around, he saw Lu Xusheng and several governors, as well as the ministers of various ministries, but the only ones missing were the Minister of Rites Kong Yunjie and his father.

Cheng Yian didn't know why he felt inexplicably nervous.

Daddy will definitely come on such occasions.

The princess took two steps forward and saw Cheng Yian following her. She turned around and saw the little girl trying to go around to the women's seat, so she stopped her.

"An An, you sit with me today."

Cheng Yian had already noticed that the Second Madam and the others were sitting at the table for the women of the Lu family, and was about to go over, but when he heard this, he was stunned.

"Your Highness, this is inappropriate, isn't it?"

The princess said expressionlessly, "If I say it's suitable, then it's suitable."

Cheng Yian glanced at the Eunuch Bingbi who was leading the way. The Bingbi gave her a wry smile and nodded. Cheng Yian had no choice but to follow the eldest princess. The eldest princess then pulled Cheng Yian to sit on the high seat on the second step in full view of everyone.

After all, this was not the first time that the princess had "captured" Cheng Yian. The officials were obviously used to this kind of situation.

Lu Xusheng glanced at Cheng Yian who was passing by, and Cheng Yian winked at him.

Lu Xusheng took a sip of tea and said nothing. The princess had promised in Jiangnan that she would not teach Yi'an anything bad, so he would not interfere with their interactions.

When the eldest princess went up the stairs, the King of Yunnan and his family had already stood up.

The King of Yunnan bowed to the Princess.

"Your Highness the Princess is well and safe."

The princess brought Cheng Yian to the couple and bowed to the King of Yunnan.

"I haven't seen you for many years, but the King of Yunnan is still as elegant as ever."

Pingping greeted her and turned his gaze to Xia Fu.

This time his gaze lingered for a little longer.

Prince Yunnan didn't know about the past affair between the eldest princess and Cheng Mingyu, so he was a little curious about her looking at Xia Fu.

Cheng Yian's palms were sweating, but he dared not move.

Xia Fu didn't care about the eldest princess's gaze. She looked at the eldest princess' hand holding her daughter and paused for a moment.

After looking at Xia Fu, the princess turned her gaze to King Yunnan again, nodded, and walked around to her seat.

When Cheng Yian sat down, he could hear his heart pounding.

She always felt that today was not a birthday banquet, but a Shura banquet.

After sitting for less than a moment, a group of people stepped into the hall. The person in the lead was dressed in a black robe, tall and handsome. It was none other than her father Cheng Mingyu. Cheng Mingyu and the Minister of Rites Kong Yunjie were leading a tall man in Hu clothing into the hall.

Needless to say, that man must be the son of Prince Nankang, the Prince of Nan'an of Northern Qi.

I saw three people talking and laughing as they walked towards the guest seats in the east.

Cheng Yian couldn't help but shift his gaze towards his mother sitting opposite him.

Xia Fu was passing a piece of carrot cake on the table to the second young master Mu Xun behind her, and she ignored everything below.

As for the eldest princess, she was drinking tea from the cup brought by the lady-in-waiting, without even glancing at her father.

After a while, Daddy escorted the Prince of Nan'an to his seat, then retreated to the first seat on the right, sat upright, and waited for the Emperor to arrive.

Everyone was extremely calm and composed; she was the only one who broke out in a cold sweat.

Cheng Yian was sitting right next to the white marble railing.

When he raised his eyes, he could see Xia Fu opposite him. When he lowered his eyes slightly, he saw Cheng Mingyu, the head of all officials.

The expressions of the two of them were almost the same; they both lowered their eyes, poured tea, and drank it in silence.

This was the first time Cheng Yian saw his father and mother in the same setting.

Even though they each have their own families.

Cheng Yian suddenly wondered, does this count as a reunion for their family of three?

She curled her lips and smiled in her heart.