Chapter 116 Could it be because he was demoted and no longer had anyone to appease his wife...?
When Roland came to the Marquis's residence to deliver festival gifts before the Mid-Autumn Festival, she mentioned the marriage between Pei Yi and Ying'er to her sister.
The engagement between the two families was arranged last summer, with the wedding date set for March of this year. However, with Xiao Lin, the bride's father, going to the battlefield, the children's wedding date naturally had to be postponed.
Roland: "Your brother-in-law said that the Emperor has been in a bad mood lately, and all the officials in the capital are being very cautious. At least until the Emperor's mood improves significantly, it's not advisable for either of our families to hold a big celebration. Here's what I'm thinking: since we'll have to postpone it again anyway, why not just wait until next winter? Maybe my brother-in-law will be able to come back after making some achievements this year. He's both Ying'er's third uncle and Yi'er's uncle-in-law, and the wedding would feel incomplete without him."
Luo Fu: "Ying'er will be eighteen next year, and you and brother-in-law have been putting it off. Second Master thinks you're afraid of being implicated by Xiao Yu. Wait, sister, you..."
Roland reached out and pinched her sister's lip: "Nonsense! Do you think your brother-in-law and I are those kinds of people? You're forcing me to say something unpleasant, aren't you? Well, I'll tell you then. It was only Ying'er's third uncle who was demoted, not her biological father. Master Xiao is very popular with the Emperor. We'd love to climb up to him!"
One tried to pinch the other, and the two sisters playfully wrestled for a while before Luo Fu, slightly out of breath, said, "We definitely don't need to wait for Xiao Yu. Who knows how long he'll stay in Jizhou? I'll go ask Second Master and Second Sister-in-law what they think. They're marrying off their daughter, so it's their turn to set the date."
Roland said with satisfaction, "Then I'll leave this matter to you."
That afternoon, Luo Fu made a special trip to Jingxian Hall.
Upon hearing that she had come for Yingjie's wedding, Li Huaiyun looked at Xiao Lin, appearing submissive as if Xiao Lin was in charge of all household affairs.
Among Luo Fu's circle of relatives and friends in the capital, only Li Huaiyun had this kind of temper. Everyone else, from her mother, mother-in-law, elder sister, sister-in-law to the eldest princess and Princess Shun, were all capable of managing the household, or at least half of it. Empress Xie was a bit special. Whether before or after entering the palace, Empress Xie never mentioned her relationship with Emperor Xianping. Luo Fu could only infer from Emperor Xianping's favoritism towards Consort Li and his intolerant nature towards his ministers that Empress Xie probably couldn't control Emperor Xianping.
Come to think of it, Li Huaiyun was timid and cowardly because she grew up under the nose of her stepmother. Empress Xie left her hometown at the age of fifteen to marry a high-ranking prince. How could Empress Xie have the confidence to challenge her noble husband? Luo Fu dared to order Xiao Yu around because she understood his personality. If Xiao Yu had been colder or fiercer to her, Luo Fu would have long ago... abandoned him and remarried.
Suppressing the image of Xiao Yu that kept popping into her mind, Luo Fu also looked at Xiao Lin.
Xiao Lin first asked, "Does Lord Pei truly wish to continue fulfilling the marriage agreement?"
Luo Fu: "Of course, Yingjie is a good girl, Second Sister-in-law is gentle and easy to get along with, Second Brother has a bright future, and Third Uncle, who is just a troublemaker, is not enough to scare my brother-in-law."
Xiao Lin: "..."
It sounds like they're praising him, but the boy being criticized is actually his younger brother, who is also his uncle.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Lin said, "The timing isn't quite right right now, so why not postpone it until next spring?"
Luo Fu said, “Unless there are special circumstances, ordinary people rarely keep their daughters until they are eighteen. If Second Brother really waits until next year to send Ying’er off to get married, when the news reaches the ears of the nobles, they will be able to guess Second Brother’s thoughts after a little thought. That would be like poking at the scar in the nobles’ hearts that has just healed.”
The fact that the emperor's personal expedition was futile must have been the most upsetting thing for Emperor Xianping. But if his ministers also thought that he should be depressed about it, that he had made a wasted trip and lost face, would Emperor Xianping be happy? On the contrary, the less the ministers valued this failure of the personal expedition and the more they treated it as a common occurrence that every emperor might encounter, the more calmly Emperor Xianping would be able to deal with it.
When their own child commits a serious mistake, elders would be eager to punish the child by making them kneel in the ancestral hall to teach them a lesson. But if it were an emperor who held the power of life and death, without Xiao Yu's courage, ordinary officials and commoners would rather obey the emperor to avoid suffering the consequences.
Xiao Lin seemed to wake from a dream, and then smiled and said, "What you say is right, sister-in-law. Then I will trouble you to tell Lord Pei to ask him to ask a matchmaker to set an auspicious day in October or November."
It will take time for both families to prepare for the wedding; a month or two should be enough for the Emperor to recover his spirits.
.
After Emperor Xianping returned to the capital, apart from attending court as scheduled to prove that he was still alive and well, he rarely summoned his ministers. In the harem, he only had Consort Li, who would feel sorry for him and shed tears whenever she saw his haggard appearance, come to serve him. Of course, Consort Li's service was limited to massaging his shoulders and back and serving him tea and water. Emperor Xianping, who had just lost face, did not have the leisure to sleep with his concubines.
"It's all that vicious old woman from Yin Kingdom's fault. The Emperor was so kind to her, yet she repaid kindness with enmity. Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have been injured, and Emperor Yin would already be the Emperor's prisoner."
Consort Li would occasionally look at Emperor Xianping's medicine bowl with red eyes, and curse that old woman from Yin Kingdom again and again.
Emperor Xianping, unwilling to admit his mistakes, needed exactly these kinds of words.
After being comforted by Consort Li for more than half a month, and with the careful care of the imperial physicians, Emperor Xianping finally recovered from the physical damage caused by his injuries and the bumpy ride. Although his energy was still not as good as before, he at least looked much younger.
The court officials were worried that they might accidentally touch a sore spot and incur the emperor's wrath. Little did they know that Emperor Xianping also did not want to face those mournful faces every time he went to court. So, with the Double Ninth Festival approaching, Emperor Xianping visited the Empress's palace for the first time since returning to the capital and instructed Empress Xie to hold a chrysanthemum banquet, inviting all the noble ladies in the city.
Empress Xie agreed, glancing at Emperor Xianping's chest with concern.
Regardless of their opinions on Emperor Xianping's failed northern expedition, the two had been husband and wife for over twenty years. On the day the emperor returned to the palace, Empress Xie was worried when she suddenly saw the haggard and emaciated Emperor Xianping. However, before she could speak, Consort Li rushed over crying, and together with her three children, they surrounded Emperor Xianping. Empress Xie stopped where she was and did not disturb the emperor and consort's whispered conversation.
Noticing Empress Xie's gaze, Emperor Xianping felt much better and said nonchalantly, "It's all better now, Empress, you don't need to worry."
That night, Emperor Xianping stayed in the central palace and held Empress Xie in his arms, saying many things, including his heartache for the Liao people who had betrayed his benevolence, his expectations for Xiao Yu who remained in Jizhou, and how he had not shown up to Empress Xie during this time because he did not want to see her with a haggard face. However, Emperor Xianping did not do anything, not because he did not want to, but because he had lost too much energy and was afraid that Empress Xie would be disappointed.
Whether Consort Li was disappointed or not, she would flatter and fawn over him as if he were a god, but Empress Xie was different.
Fortunately, the two are already an old married couple, so it's not unusual for them to simply sleep in the same bed.
Empress Xie, who was quietly leaning against Emperor Xianping's chest, had no such thoughts at all. She was not usually interested in such things. After listening to her emperor husband's many hypocritical sophistry, Empress Xie was only glad that Emperor Xianping did not intend to let her serve him in bed that night.
The following day, Empress Xie handed over the banquet guest list she had prepared to Emperor Xianping for review.
Perhaps the more one cares about a particular family, the more likely one is to notice it. Following the title of Princess Kangping, the second person to catch Emperor Xianping's eye was the Third Lady of the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion.
Emperor Xianping simply didn't want to see Xiao Yu; he wouldn't hold a grudge against his wife, especially since he knew that Empress Xie had always been on good terms with Luo Fu.
"Let's do it this way."
.
The fact that a flower banquet was to be held in the palace indicated that the emperor's mood had improved, and the officials and common people of the capital breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the news.
Luo Fu, along with Cheng Jie'er, happily followed Yang Yanzhen and Li Huaiyun into the palace. Empress Xie, having learned of Deng Shi's temperament, had long since stopped inviting her.
After some socializing, Cheng'er went to admire the flowers with her two aunts, while Luo Fu sat down with Empress Xie, Princess Kangping, Princess Shun, and Princess Qi, who had come over on her own initiative. Princess Qi was arrogant in her youth, but had become much more restrained in recent years. However, she disdained to curry favor with Consort Li, a newly favored concubine whom she would not have previously taken seriously.
These imperial relatives all knew that Emperor Xianping valued Empress Xie and the Crown Prince the most, and that Consort Li was just making a fuss over nothing, like a clown.
"How is it? Has Xiao Yu sent you any letters recently?" Kang Ping asked with a smile.
Empress Xie, Princess Shun, and Princess Qi all looked at Luo Fu. Did they still remember how interesting the letters Xiao Yu wrote to his wife when he was in Loujiang were?
Luo Fu sighed, "He did ask his second brother to bring back a letter before, saying that he was busy with his work and asked me to take good care of the two children and to take good care of his parents. He also said a few perfunctory words about missing me. Sigh, we are an old married couple after all, and he is no longer willing to go to great lengths and use sweet words to coax me like he did when he was young."
The four royal nobles, who were expecting to hear something interesting, fell silent. Then, Princess Qi, feeling quite empathetic about Luo Fu's later marital relationship, harshly criticized Prince Qi for not treating her as warmly as he had in his youth. Princess Shun followed suit.
Kangping, whose husband had died long ago: "..."
Empress Xie, whose husband was still alive but whom she couldn't scold: "..."
It wasn't just the women in Xiao Yu's family who remembered his love for writing letters home; Emperor Xianping also kept track of them, especially wanting to know if Xiao Yu had complained about anything in those letters.
That evening, Emperor Xianping visited Empress Xie's palace again and casually inquired about the matter after dinner.
Empress Xie relayed Luo Fu's words truthfully and sighed on Luo Fu's behalf: "The sudden separation of a newlywed couple is naturally different from the sudden separation of a middle-aged couple who have been together for more than ten years."
Emperor Xianping, who didn't want to hear about his children's sentiments: "..."
Before falling asleep, Emperor Xianping suddenly found an excuse for Xiao Yu not to coax his wife: because he had been demoted, he had lost the interest in coaxing her!
Imagine Xiao Yu feeling dejected because of his neglect. Emperor Xianping felt much of his frustration dissipate. If Xiao Yu really didn't take his neglect seriously, Emperor Xianping would have trouble sleeping.
As discussions about the Northern Expedition gradually gave way to new topics, the winds sweeping through the capital grew colder, and October arrived in the blink of an eye.
On this day, Xiao Lin personally came to ask Emperor Xianping for leave, explaining that he was going to marry off his daughter.
Emperor Xianping had just granted Pei Xingshu leave, but Pei Xingshu arrived with a beaming smile. Although Xiao Lin was also smiling, his smile was not as radiant as Pei Xingshu's.
"What, you're not too satisfied with Pei Yi?" Emperor Xianping teased.
Xiao Lin smiled bitterly: "Pei Yi is very good. I just can't bear to part with my daughter whom I've raised for more than ten years. I always feel that no matter how well she lives in her husband's family, it's not as comfortable and carefree as it is with my wife and me."
Emperor Xianping immediately thought of the time when his eldest daughter, Princess Yi'an, got married. Her husband was overjoyed, but he, as her father, was not happy at all.
Understanding Xiao Lin's feelings, Emperor Xianping also granted him three days' leave.
After Xiao Lin left, Emperor Xianping inexplicably thought of Xiao Yu again. His niece had gotten married, leaving him, the third uncle, all alone.
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Author's Note: The second generation still harbors feelings of loyalty and respect for Xiao Yu, [doge emoji]
Hehe, if Fu'er puts in a little more effort tomorrow, she should be able to come back!
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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