Chapter 174 I'll Wait for You in the Palace (Two Chapters in One)
Two flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty.
At this time, Zhao Shiqing was still wandering in the melon field, and on the second floor of the antique shop, Yang Shengqiu and Princess Huiming were sitting opposite each other.
Because of the word "Queen Mother" relayed by Xiaoguai, Zhao Shiqing mistakenly believed that the "Queen Mother" referred to the Queen Mother. In fact, it was indeed the Queen Mother, but not the one in the palace, but the late Queen Xiaokang!
This antique shop was part of Empress Xiaokang's dowry.
After Empress Xiaokang passed away, her father, Lord Meng, begged for his remains and left the capital with his entire family back to his hometown. Empress Xiaokang had no children, and Zhao Yuan, who was registered in her name, had died young. The Meng family took back most of the dowry, but seeing that Princesses Huixin and Huiming were alone and helpless, Lord Meng still gave them four of the shops as future dowries.
Over the years, these four shops are still run by the stewards left by the Meng family in the capital. In the past, the two princesses lived in the palace and the stewards were not allowed to enter the palace.
Half a year ago, Princess Jiarou was going to leave the palace for meditation. There was no precedent in Dayong for a princess waiting to be married to become a nun. Princess Jiarou could neither become a nun nor even live in Zizhu Temple for a long time. Therefore, Emperor Yongjia gave Princess Jiarou a house not far from Zizhu Temple.
Normally, princesses should live in the palace before getting married, but Princess Jiarou clearly does not plan to get married, so it is understandable to grant her a house now.
Princess Jiarou is the daughter of the retired emperor. She is one year younger than her niece Huixin. In addition, she is devoted to Taoism and rarely interacts with the female members of the royal family. Huixin and Huiming are the closest to her.
Princess Jiarou set up her own residence, and Princess Huixin secretly asked the Empress for help. The Empress also said a lot of good things on their behalf in front of Emperor Yongjia. As a result, the two of them were able to leave the palace with Princess Jiarou and temporarily live in the Princess's residence.
Although Princess Jiarou was their elder, her age was still there. In addition, Princess Jiarou spent ten hours out of the twelve hours a day in meditation. The maids she brought out of the palace were the same as her, either chanting scriptures or meditating. Therefore, after Huixin and Huiming moved in, they lived a much more comfortable life than before in the palace.
For example, today, Princess Huiming was able to avoid the maids and old women and go out alone, something she would never have dared to dream of in the past.
At this moment, she was sitting there cautiously, like a child who had done something wrong.
"Brother Qiu, the Empress has chosen a marriage for my sister and me. One is You Lang, a scholar in the Imperial Academy, and the other is Jiang Shaoyuan, a minister in the Imperial Rites Temple. The Empress said they are both good matches. I... I..."
In fact, after the last flower viewing party, the Empress Dowager called them into the palace and listed several good candidates for prince consorts for them to choose from. Her sister asked the Empress Dowager to make the decision, and she followed her lead, but she felt more and more uneasy.
Her sister had already analyzed it for her. Since Yang Shengqiu was the top scholar in the imperial examination, the emperor would not allow him to marry the princess as a son-in-law.
When the world was not yet unified, there was a mutiny. The initiator of that mutiny was Taizu's brother-in-law, the first son-in-law of the Yong Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Taizu, two imperial consorts were involved in the biggest corruption case. Emperor Taizu was furious. From then until today, the imperial consorts in the Yong Dynasty have only held sinecure positions where they only received salaries but did not have to work.
The main job of the princes-in-law is to accompany the princess and please her.
Therefore, the princes-in-law often acted lowly in front of the princesses, and it was normal for the princesses to call the princes-in-law here and send them away at will. If the princess was particular about what she did, after getting tired of the prince-in-law, she would reward him with a letter of divorce, and then they would part ways without owing each other anything. But if the princess was not particular about what she did, she would not even give him a letter of divorce, but would directly bring her new love into the mansion and make a mess of things. The princes-in-law dared not say anything and could only let him go.
There was only one princess like Princess Jiayi in the Yong Dynasty who treated her husband as a treasure even after being married for twenty years.
As for her sisters, except Jiale who is waiting to be married and Jiarou who wants to become an immortal, the other two, Jia Ning, who left her father behind and kept her son, and Jia An, who has more than 20 lovers, are old enough to be her sons.
Princess Huiming was no longer a child. She knew that Yang Shengqiu, as the top scholar, would not be willing to stay with her all day long. She also knew that the emperor would never let someone he wanted to use become his son-in-law.
She understood everything, but she just couldn't accept it.
She was unwilling to be married to a man she didn't like, and she was even more unwilling to watch Yang Shengqiu marry another woman.
She looked at Yang Shengqiu, and tears welled up in her eyes without her knowing.
Yang Shengqiu's gentle voice echoed in his ears: "You Lang and I are from the same class. Jiang Shaoyuan is a scholar who was dismissed this year. He entered the government as a sixth-rank official and has a bright future. Both of them are first-class in character and appearance. No wonder the Empress said they are good relatives."
Princess Huiming raised her tearful eyes. Today, Yang Shengqiu was not wearing the wooden hairpin she had given him, but she knew that Yang Shengqiu had worn it before. After hearing about it, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night.
"These are all good kisses, but I don't like them..."
A warm hand touched her face, and Princess Huiming tensed up instantly, as if a ball of fire spread from her face to her whole body. She knew her face must be very red. The hand gently stroked her face, and she remembered that when she was very young, someone also stroked her face, but the feeling was different. The memory of her childhood was kindness, but now it was love, the love of a man for a woman.
Brother Qiu must like her, just like she likes him.
Princess Huiming mustered up the courage to raise her head, but was caught off guard by Yang Shengqiu's dark and cold pupils, and her heart skipped a beat.
The aura of Yang Shengqiu was the same as his temperament, faint and cold, enveloping Princess Huiming like a mist.
Princess Huiming has infinite tenderness in her heart, but along with this tenderness comes anxiety and uneasiness.
That hand was so warm, something she hadn't felt since she lost her parents. The feeling was so good, so good that she wanted to immerse herself in it, even if it meant eternal damnation, she was willing to do so.
But the hand was still pulled back, just like those days in the East Palace, completely and thoroughly withdrawn from her life.
Princess Huiming wanted to cry, but she ended up with a smile that was uglier than crying.
"Brother Qiu, it's enough for me to know that you have me in your heart. I will never forget you in my life."
Her hand gently stroked her cheek, which seemed to still retain the warmth of Yang Shengqiu's palm. She thought this was the closest she had ever been to Yang Shengqiu, so close that he touched her face.
Princess Huiming stood up and bowed deeply to Yang Shengqiu. "I'm going back now. My sister must be looking for me. Brother Qiu, thank you for today."
Thank you for coming to the appointment and thank you for your gentle treatment.
"Wait a minute." Yang Shengqiu suddenly called her from behind.
Princess Huiming was pleasantly surprised. She stopped, turned slowly, and met Yang Shengqiu's eyes again. At this moment, she felt as if she was in a gentle lake. She never knew that Brother Qiu, who was as gentle as a chrysanthemum, also had a side as gentle as water.
And this tenderness is for her.
The girl's heart was pounding, and the sound of her heartbeat even drowned out Yang Shengqiu's voice. It was not until Yang Shengqiu repeated it that she reacted.
"I will be in the palace for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. Will you be there too?"
Princess Huiming was stunned. It was the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet. Princess Jiarou had decided not to go early in the morning. She and her sister didn't want to go either. They were redundant in the palace. The more such occasions there were, the more people would cause trouble for them. If Princess Jiarou also went, they could still stay by her side. People like the Princess of Qingchuan would be considerate of Princess Jiarou and would not be too harsh on them.
But now Princess Jiarou has made it clear that she will not go. If they go on their own, they will definitely be plotted against like last time at the flower viewing party.
It is better to have less trouble than more, so she and her sister have made preparations and will just say they are not feeling well and won't go.
But now, when Yang Shengqiu asked this question suddenly, Princess Huiming hesitated.
Brother Qiu will attend the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet.
Yes, although the sisters have an awkward status, they can decide whether to go to such a palace banquet. But Brother Qiu cannot do that. As long as he is not too sick to get up, he must go.
Princess Huiming once again met Yang Shengqiu's gentle gaze, and the words "I won't go" that were on the tip of her tongue could no longer be said.
"I will go, but there are so many rules in the palace that we may not be able to meet."
Yang Shengqiu said softly, "As long as you want to see me, you will definitely be able to see me. I will be waiting for you in the palace tomorrow under the Mid-Autumn Moon."
Princess Huiming hummed, her voice so low that even she couldn't hear it clearly: "I, I'm waiting for you too."
After saying this, she turned around and walked away quickly. She didn't dare look back, as she didn't want Yang Shengqiu to see her shy and happy look.
Princess Huiming did not look back, so she did not see the flash of regret in Yang Shengqiu's eyes behind her.
He liked the girl who was of noble birth and simple-minded, but unfortunately her nobility could not bring him any benefit.
Yang Shengqiu remembered the two names Princess Huiming had just mentioned.
You Lang was a Jinshi from a poor family, and there were two Jinshi in his family.
His elder brother was ranked last in the second list of the previous imperial examination and failed to pass the examination to become a scholar. He was sent to a county under the jurisdiction of Yunnan Prefecture to serve as a county magistrate.
You Lang did better than his brother in the exam. He ranked 28th on the second list and passed the examination to become a Shujishi. He observed politics in the Hanlin Academy for three years. If he did not marry a ruler, he would most likely join the Censorate after the academy was closed. After a few years of training, he would be transferred to one of the six ministries and start his official career step by step.
But if he married Huixin or Huiming, his official career would end before it even began.
He will stay in the Hanlin Academy for another three years. After three years as a scholar, he will return to the princess's mansion, close the door and become her husband's son-in-law.
If he could resume his official career in this life, he would have to wait until the princess got tired of him and gave him a divorce letter. Like the other divorced princes-in-law in the past, he would get a chance to be sent to a remote place and serve as a sixth or seventh rank official, but he would not go too far and would usually only stop at the fifth rank.
It is also for this reason that the princes-in-law do not want to be divorced. After all, the prince consort is of the third rank. The drop from the third rank to the sixth or seventh rank is too big a gap. Not only will he be laughed at by others, but he himself will not be able to get over this hurdle.
Therefore, almost every prince consort who was divorced would beat his chest and stamp his feet, swear to the sky, and hug the princess's legs and beg bitterly.
Yang Shengqiu sighed. He had seen the whole life of You Lang. All those years of hard study and his former high spirits would eventually be wiped out while he was painting his eyebrows in front of the mirror, and he would become a dog lying at the feet of the princess.
Yang Shengqiu thought of another person mentioned by Princess Huiming, Jiang Shaoyuan.
Jiang Shaoyuan is different from You Lang. He comes from a prominent family, but unfortunately he is an adopted son.
The Jiang family also made their attitude clear early on, and by promoting him to the sixth rank, they had done their utmost.
Jiang Shaoyuan is now a sixth-rank official. In the future, he will no longer have the support of his family and can only rely on himself.
This will most likely not work.
Therefore, if Jiang Shaoyuan could marry the lord, it would be a shortcut for him.
Unfortunately, if Jiang Shaoyuan knew that the princess he was going to marry was not the daughter of the current emperor, but the orphan of the former crown prince, Jiang Shaoyuan would probably regret it so much. If he had known this would happen, he would not have attended the flower viewing party that day.
Yang Shengqiu smiled coldly. This kind of loser who had to rely on his family for even a sixth-rank official position was only fit to accompany the princess to entertain her.
Yang Shengqiu saw Princess Huiming get into the sedan chair from the window, and the sedan chair gradually disappeared from sight.
Yang Shengqiu straightened his clothes, pushed the door open and walked out.
After leaving the antique shop, Yang Shengqiu did not go home, but went to Feng's house.
Feng Ke was practicing calligraphy in his study. This was Feng Ke's unchanging habit for decades. No matter how busy he was, he would take out an hour every day to practice calligraphy.
When Yang Shengqiu came in, Feng Ke didn't look up and was still concentrating on practicing calligraphy.
After finishing writing on a large piece of paper, Feng Ke put down his pen, washed his hands, and then looked up at Yang Shengqiu who had been standing there.
"Are you here? Sit down."
Yang Shengqiu thanked him and sat down carefully.
Feng Ke watched coldly. He had noticed Yang Shengqiu since he was still a juren, but this was the first time he saw tension and restraint on Yang Shengqiu's face.
"Tell me, what makes you so uneasy?"
Although both of them were sitting, Feng Ke's aura of having been in a high position for a long time still made Yang Shengqiu feel a kind of pressure from above.
Yang Shengqiu calmed down, stood up, and bowed deeply to Feng Ke: "Master, please accept my student's greetings."
Feng Ke and Yang Shengqiu were teacher and student in name, but they were not teacher and student in the sense of imparting knowledge to each other. Instead, they were purely master and apprentice in the officialdom. Feng Ke would accept several students every year, all of whom were young people he liked and had a bright future.
At this moment, Feng Ke slowly raised his eyelids and glanced at Yang Shengqiu's face: "Do you want something from me?"
Yang Shengqiu: "Yes."
Feng Ke: "What do you want?"
Yang Shengqiu gritted his teeth and pressed his lips into a line. Finally, he made up his mind. His voice was not as calm as usual, but had a bit more excitement and nervousness that a young man should have.
"I have long admired the Fifth Young Lady of your family and wish to marry her. I beg you, Master, to grant my blessing!"
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