Chapter 222: Wei Family Siblings (Two Chapters Combined into One)
The next day, Zhao Shiqing got up early, changed into men's clothes, and went to block people outside the Imperial College.
Yan Jiu, Yan Shi, Yan Shiyi, Yan Twelve, together with Zhao Tingluo, were all students in the small class of the Imperial College.
The students in Zhongyi Hall were lazy and idle for three days, but the students in the small class were different. They were young and had family stewards with status following them wherever they went, so it was difficult for them to skip school, so they could be caught without any problems.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhao Shiqing arrived outside the Imperial College, he saw Zhao Tingluo getting out of the carriage yawning. An elderly steward handed him a small bookcase. He took it, lowered his head, and walked forward listlessly.
It was the first time that Zhao Shiqing saw Zhao Tingluo like this. The child had been full of energy and intelligence since the first time he met him, but now, he was like a wilted fruit hit by frost.
Zhao Shiqing sighed, fortunately she didn't have to go to school.
"Little Luo Luo!"
With just this one sound, Zhao Tingluo was revived as if he had been injected with chicken blood. Although Zhao Shiqing had changed into men's clothes, her face was still her own face. Zhao Tingluo recognized her at a glance.
"Sister...Brother!" He ran over quickly, and Zhao Shiqing handed him an oil-paper bag. "I bought these Fengrun Old Shop chess piece pancakes for you."
Zhao Tingluo smiled so hard that her teeth were showing. "Sister, how did you know I like to eat this? You are so nice to me."
Zhao Shiqing was also guessing. Although she didn't know what Zhao Tingluo liked to eat, she knew that most children who grew up in the palace would be interested in the snacks sold on the street, unless they were particularly awkward.
Why?
Because from childhood to adulthood, the nannies around them never allowed them to eat food from outside. Children have a rebellious mentality, and the more they are not allowed to eat, the more they want to eat.
She is like this, and so is her second brother. When they were young, their sister often secretly took them out of the palace to eat at small stalls.
When she saw Zhao Tingluo's expression, she knew she had guessed right.
"Sister, how come you have time to come and see me today?" Zhao Tingluo lowered his voice.
Zhao Shiqing said, "You must have heard about the marriage arranged by His Majesty for my second brother. What is the character of the lady from Changling County like? Do you know her?"
So that's what it is.
Zhao Tingluo looked around and whispered, "I only recently learned about this person. She hasn't come to the capital yet. Old Madam Wei has been living in the palace lately, and Concubine Li has been calling one or two young ladies from her relatives into the palace every now and then, saying that they want to meet their children.
Later I learned that they wanted to choose people for the princes, but none of these girls caught their eyes, so Old Lady Wei suggested bringing her brother's granddaughter into the palace. Concubine Li disagreed at first, but later agreed for some reason and even called the emperor over to tell him about it.
But the emperor rejected it. He said that the Crown Prince had not yet been decided, and marrying the Wei girl to any prince would cause unnecessary trouble.
But Concubine Li refused and went on a hunger strike for several days. Later, the emperor went to see Concubine Qiao. After returning, he conferred the title of Princess Changling on Wei Yaer and promised Concubine Li that when Wei Yaer got married, she would be conferred the title of Princess County.
By the way, sister, you don't know yet. Although Wei Ya'er is only a county lady now, her fiefdom is already at the standard of a county lady. I heard that her fiefdom is very large, twice that of the Qingchuan County Lady. I have never been out of the capital, so I don't know where this Changling is. "
Zhao Shiqing's expression was solemn. She said, "Changling is only fifty miles away from Furong County in Liangdi. I've been there before."
Zhao Tingluo took a deep breath. It turned out to be so close to Liangdi. He didn't know whether the emperor gave Changling to Wei Yaer as a fiefdom to make it easier to manage after she married into Liangdi, or for some other purpose.
Zhao Shiqing asked, "Do you know when Wei Ya'er will come to the capital? Or will she wait until before the wedding?"
Whether Zhao Yunnuan or Zhao Tingxuan, although they are engaged now, they have to wait until the mourning period is over before they can get married, which is after June next year.
There is still a year and a half left until now. Wei Yaer has been staying in the Wei family. It is also in accordance with the rules for her to come to the capital when she is about to get married.
Zhao Tingluo actually knew about this.
"She should be on her way now. By the way, Concubine Li and Old Madam Wei are not satisfied with this marriage. Although Concubine Li has stopped her hunger strike, she is always feeling unwell. I've inquired about her and she is in good health and has no illness. The only prescriptions the Imperial Hospital has given her are to help with digestion or help with sleeping.
Wei Yaer did not enter the palace alone, she also brought two sisters from her clan. According to the news from the Cining Palace, these two sisters are here for His Majesty.
Zhao Shiqing nodded. Concubine Li's mischief was definitely the work of Old Lady Wei. Old Lady Wei had no good intentions when she entered the palace. She forced Concubine Li to select a girl from the Wei family to bring to Beijing. Whether she was given to the emperor or the prince, it would definitely cause an uproar.
Although Concubine Li did not have the title of empress, she was the emperor's biological mother, and her maiden family was the maternal family of Emperor Yongjia.
Once the prince marries a girl from the Wei family, it means that the Wei family is likely to have a real queen.
If the daughter of the Wei family entered the harem, with the support of Concubine Li, Emperor Yongjia would have no choice but to favor her. Over the years, apart from the empress, Concubine Qiao was the only one in power in the harem. As for the other concubines, Emperor Yongjia did not favor any of them particularly. Concubine Qiao was good at dealing with people and she respected the empress very much. Even if other concubines gave birth to princes, they could not surpass her. Therefore, over the years, the harem has maintained superficial calm.
However, although Concubine Qiao was favored, she was no longer as beautiful as she used to be. She was a few years older than Emperor Yongjia, and no matter how well she took care of herself, she lacked the vitality of a young woman.
Emperor Yongjia liked mature and charming women when he was young, but that doesn’t mean he still likes women older than him now. Otherwise, why has he frequently favored young concubines in recent years?
Once there is a daughter of the Wei family among those young concubines, and once this daughter of the Wei family is pregnant with the prince, it means that the status and interests of those concubines with princes, headed by Concubine Qiao, will all be affected.
The disadvantage of Concubine Qiao is that she is of low birth, and the Third Prince has no support from his relatives.
The queen was of high birth, but she had no children.
Concubine Shu had a good family background and a son, but her fifth prince had fallen out of favor with the emperor.
As for the fourth prince's biological mother, Concubine You, she was stupid.
But the Wei girl was different. She had a powerful family outside and the support of Concubine Li inside. Her son was stronger than other princes even when he was in the womb, and the only difference between him and his brothers was age.
However, Emperor Yongjia had just turned forty. If he could have reigned for another fifteen years, the Wei woman's son would have been fourteen or fifteen years old. With the help of his in-laws, he would have been able to compete with his brothers.
Therefore, there is no need to wait for fifteen years. As long as the Wei girl enters the palace, the current harmony will be broken, and there will be no more peaceful days in this palace.
What Old Madam Wei wants most now is to turn the palace into a mess. She wants Concubine Li's adopted grandsons to kill each other. She wants Concubine Li to become the target of public criticism. She wants to let Concubine Li taste everything she has experienced. Since she has no grandson to see her off in her later years, Concubine Li will have to pay a greater price.
Zhao Shiqing figured out the whole thing in almost an instant.
The unlucky Zhao Tingxuan had no choice but to do so when Emperor Yongjia was unable to refuse the unreasonable request of Concubine Li.
Concubine Li wanted to let Wei Yaer enter the prince's mansion. Emperor Yongjia didn't want to agree, but Concubine Li was trying to commit suicide, and he was helpless.
Concubine Qiao, a sweet-talking girl, had been exchanging letters with Nie. It is very likely that Nie had asked her to ask the emperor to arrange a marriage for Zhao Tingxuan with a noble lady.
Nie wanted to marry a noble lady to Zhao Tingxuan, but it was not for Zhao Tingxuan, but to use this second daughter-in-law to pressure Princess Liang.
Although the Princess of Liang was of noble birth, she was not as good as the princess with a title and fiefdom. Nie was unable to defeat her daughter Zhao Yunnuan, so she asked Concubine Qiao for help and married Zhao Yunnuan to the capital.
Now that Nie couldn't defeat Princess Meng Xiaotang of Prince Liang, she asked Concubine Qiao for help to marry Zhao Tingxuan a wife of noble birth to suppress Princess Liang.
It just so happened that Wei Yaer was a hot potato at this time. When Concubine Qiao mentioned Zhao Tingxuan, Emperor Yongjia immediately saw an opportunity.
The more chaotic the Prince Liang's mansion is, the better it is for him.
Wei Yaer's fiefdom was in Changling, which was so close to Liangdi. If Emperor Yongjia secretly did something in Changling, it would be like having a tiger at the side of Liangdi, which would be a great threat to the country.
Thinking of this, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Zhao Shiqing's forehead. Although Zhao Tingluo was smart, he was only a ten-year-old child after all. When he noticed that Zhao Shiqing's expression was different, he was stunned for a moment, and suddenly remembered that Zhao Shiqing said that Changling was only fifty miles away from Fuchun County in Liangdi. He seemed to understand something.
Zhao Shiqing suddenly thought of the second prince. Yan Xia said that the news of the second prince's death would not be revealed until the end of the first month of the lunar year. Now that the first month of the lunar year has passed, the capital city might be about to face a funeral.
"The Second Prince's matter..."
As soon as she opened her mouth, Zhao Tingluo asked, "Is he dead?"
Zhao Shiqing believed that Yan Xia would not reveal such an important matter to him, so he asked, "How did you know?"
Zhao Tingluo: "He was in good health, but this time he is so seriously ill. It's okay for him to be sick, but he still closes the door to visitors. I accompanied the Seventh Prince to visit him, but the Second Prince's Mansion only accepted gifts and kept us out, saying that they were worried about passing the disease on to us. And the Second Prince's biological mother, Consort Xian, was a famous talented woman before she entered the palace. Although she has never been favored, the Emperor would visit her palace every now and then to talk with her about poetry and songs, or play a few games of chess.
However, since the news of the second prince's illness came out, the emperor has never visited the palace of Concubine Xian again, and people in the palace said that Concubine Xian was in tears every day.
With so many doubts, I have to suspect that the Second Prince is already dead."
Zhao Shiqing smiled and patted his head: "How did your little head grow? I don't know what you ate to grow up."
Zhao Tingluo grinned innocently.
Zhao Shiqing looked up at the sun and said to Zhao Tingluo, "Okay, it's almost time for class. Go in quickly. When you have a day off, I'll treat you to a roasted whole lamb."
"Sister, don't worry. I'll keep an eye on Wei Yaer's affairs for you. I'll tell you as soon as she arrives in the capital."
Zhao Shiqing watched the small figure walk into the Imperial College, then turned around and prepared to go home. Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he saw a horse galloping towards him. Zhao Shiqing was shocked. Who was that person? He was riding a horse in front of the Imperial College.
The rider on horseback pulled the reins in time, and Zhao Shiqing saw the face of the person coming clearly at this moment.
He was a young man of about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in brocade clothes, with phoenix eyes, red lips and white teeth, a red teardrop mole at the corner of his eye, a purple gold crown on his head, purple clothes with arrow sleeves decorated with round flowers, and a bright red cloak.
Zhao Shiqing felt that his eyes were not enough to see. Who was this person?
Well, she looks pretty good, thanks to her face, otherwise she wouldn't be able to carry off this fame.
The young man looked down at Zhao Shiqing and exclaimed.
"Whose servant are you?"
Zhao Shiqing ignored him and turned away.
The young man turned his horse around and chased after her. Zhao Shiqing only had two legs, so no matter how fast she walked, she could not catch up with the one on four legs. She was stopped after only a few steps. The young man looked at her curiously on his horse.
"Are you a woman?"
Zhao Shiqing...If she had known she would meet such a troublesome person, she would have changed her appearance before going out.
Zhao Shiqing rolled her eyes, turned around again and ran in the opposite direction. The young man followed her again. Seeing that he was about to catch up, Zhao Shiqing was thinking about how to get rid of him when she saw her savior.
"sister......"
Before she could even call out "brother-in-law", Yan Xia saw her.
He was also riding a horse, followed by seven or eight followers. He recognized Zhao Shiqing and saw the young man chasing Zhao Shiqing.
"Wei Wubing, you want to cause trouble on your first day at the Imperial College, right?"
Wei Wubing was stunned. Who was this person? How did he know his name? Was he really that famous in the capital?
"Who are you? It's your turn to meddle in other people's business. I can do whatever I want. Hey, don't run! Don't run!"
Zhao Shiqing would not listen to him. While Yan Xia was talking to this Wei Wubing, she ran away.
Wei Wubing rode his horse to chase after him, but Yan Xia rode his horse in front of him and blocked his horse's head.
"This is the Imperial College, not a place where you can act wild!" Yan Xia said coldly. He had been in the Ministry of Justice for a long time and exuded a fierce aura at this moment. Wei Wubing was surprised. Who on earth was this person?
He is the great-nephew of Old Madam Wei, and Wei Yaer is his twin sister. Originally, the clan asked him to go to the capital with Wei Yaer, but because there were two other sisters from the clan coming with them, he thought these sisters were pretentious, and also thought the carriage was moving too slowly, so he rode his horses all the way to the capital with a group of followers. Now Wei Yaer and her group are still halfway there, but he arrived in the capital the night before yesterday.
Old Madam Wei was afraid that he would be idle and follow in Zhu Yu's footsteps, so she sent him to study at the Imperial College. Today was his first day at the Imperial College.
Wei Wubing didn't know Yan Xia, but Yan Xia was in the Ministry of Justice and already knew a lot about him.
I even saw his portrait, especially the red mole, which left a deep impression on me.
Wei Wubing was weak and sickly when he was young. The Wei family was worried that they could not support him, so they invited many famous doctors to save his life. His life was saved, but he became spoiled. Although he was not as evil as Zhu Yu, he also got into trouble a lot.
But he was born with a good appearance and was good at pleasing the elders. Old Madam Wei had seven or eight nephews and nieces, and Wei Wubing was her favorite one. Even Wei Yaer benefited from him.
Wei Wubing was a little bully at home, but he had just arrived in the capital and knew that the capital was full of hidden talents. Seeing Yan Xia surrounded by people and having the aura of a superior despite being young, he could only suppress his dissatisfaction. He glanced at Yan Xia, dismounted, threw the reins to his followers, and strode into the Imperial College without even taking the book box.
He has always had good eyesight. The kid just now was a girl dressed as a boy. What a beautiful and smart girl. The capital is really fun. He will definitely find her.
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