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 kind of pain still makes her feel unbearable every time she thinks of it.
However, Mrs. Wen did not reveal anything, but 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 young girl, and her eyes and eyebrows look very much like her father. Even at a young age, her eyes and eyebrows already reveal her charm. When she grows up, she will surely be a stunning beauty.
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 the shadow that would linger 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 for her and raised her little by little. In her eyes, her aunt was like a mother.
Along the way, Xu Qinyu was actually a little excited, but she was more nervous 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 her parents didn't want her to leave, she could let her stay in the capital, where she would be closer to them. She had taken over her original body, and she also wanted to make up for her original parents.
At noon on the fifth day of the first lunar month, the carriage finally arrived in the capital. Xu Qinyu could not help but lift the curtain and take a look. She saw the towering city wall. The city wall of the capital was taller and more majestic than the city wall of Raozhou City. It was as if she saw an insurmountable wall in the sky. However, her fourth brother climbed over 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, making a rather grand scene.
Even though these black-armored guards were wearing black armor, the 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 soldiers let them pass, and the group entered the city smoothly.
Xu Qinyu had opened the curtain and looked around curiously when she entered the city, and she did not put down 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 made of blue bricks and tiles. Looking forward, she could see several-story buildings everywhere.
There were many pedestrians 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.
Such a big thing happened in the capital, but the people remained calm and showed no fear. It was obvious that the fourth brother did not bully the people when he entered the capital. Even when the carriage passed by the tea stall, the guests on the stall were heard saying, "Who would have thought that the leader of this uprising was actually Prince Shu? Prince Shu was banished to the border town and endured for several years. Fortunately, His Royal Highness Prince Shu rebelled, otherwise the Queen Mother and Emperor Shengyuan would be in power, and we ordinary people would have a hard time living. Besides, Prince Shu was not in rebellion. He was justified in fighting against traitors. It was Empress Dowager Fu who poisoned the late emperor. The late emperor had already appointed the eldest prince as the crown prince. Alas, it is a pity that this edict has not been announced to the world until now. The eldest prince died tragically, and only the princess is left in the family..."
"I mean, Empress Dowager Fu and Emperor Sheng Yuan are traitors. The last emperor was poisoned to death by her. Women are truly the most vicious."
"And the King of Handong. I also went there when his property was confiscated. Boxes of gold were carried out. I have never seen so much gold in my life. It seems that all the gold in the world is hidden in the King of Handong's palace. How much gold has he embezzled in just a few years? They also say that the treasury is empty, but it is not empty. All the money went into the pockets of those people named Fu. No wonder they want to squeeze 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 she gently lowered the car 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, opened the curtain, and placed an embroidered stool in front of her.
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 maidservant said, "I pay my respects to the Empress and the Princess. Please follow me back to the palace to wash up, 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 years old. However, after living in the palace for ten years, she felt only a stranger when she came back again. 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 bring them back to the capital in a hurry, she must have missed her.
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 by her side.
Ning Jie'er said something to Xu Qinyu and went to her own bedroom first.
Xu Qinyu said hurriedly, "Sister Ning, please go first. After you wash up, I will come 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 maids beside her kept their heads down, not daring to look at the empress 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 learned about it, but they also had even more faith and respect for this emperor.
After the new emperor ascended the throne, he was given a title. The new emperor was called Emperor Shengwu, and the reign title was Wu'an.
After Emperor Shengwu ascended the throne, in addition to dealing with Empress Dowager Fu and Emperor Shengyuan's people, there were also other taxation 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 aristocratic and important officials and marquises in the capital have found out everything about what happened during Emperor Shengwu's seven years in the border town.
Know how Emperor Shengwu and the Empress spent those seven years.
In these years, Emperor Shengwu was busy with his affairs outside, and the Empress Dowager supported her family by running a snack stall. She gradually earned money and opened a wine shop and a restaurant. I heard that the Empress Dowager made a lot of money in the border town and was very rich.
It is also because of this that many people do not believe that Emperor Shengwu truly loved his original wife and therefore made the vow 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 the harem, and planned to wait until the situation in 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 fourth brother is now Emperor Shengwu and has changed the reign title to Wu'an. Since the palace is named after the reign title, it should be the palace where fourth brother lives. However, the palace maids actually brought her directly to 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 must be said that the palace was indeed luxurious. Even the bathing pool was made of white jade. However, Xu Qinyu missed her hot springs in the southwest even more. After a long journey, she could just soak 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 ate a simple meal and planned to take a nap.
The food in the palace was delicious. After she finished eating, she asked the maid to guard outside while she went into the bedroom to rest for a while.
At some point, Xu Qinyu was awakened by a kiss. She sensed that it was Fourth Brother's breath, so she 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.
By the time she finished saying this, she was half sober 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 and 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 that he was in the southwest and had just returned home from a night of business.
"Fourth brother." Xu Qinyu couldn't help but smile.
Pei Weixuan nodded, held Yu Niang's hand again, bent down and kissed her.
After a long while, Xu Qinyu was having trouble breathing, and 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 did have 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 just a simple set of four dishes and one soup, and the portion is 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 in the palace kitchen 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 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 edict has been in the palace all the time and was given to my pets. They are keeping 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 to 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 be 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 had been 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 and Moyu.
Mo Yu had always been by her side before, and even lay outside before she went to sleep.
Mo Yu was nowhere to be seen at the moment, and no one knew where she had gone, but Xu Qinyu was not too worried.
Pei Weixuan looked at Yu Niang, who was smiling with her eyebrows curved, and said, "Yu Niang, the first day of February is a good day. We can hold the ceremony of crowning the queen. On that day, I also want to marry Yu Niang, is that okay?"
Xu Qinyu was stunned. She didn't expect her fourth brother to suddenly say this.
Seeing her stunned, Pei Weixuan's eyes darkened a little.
From Yu Niang's expression and words just now, he sensed that she was deliberately distancing herself 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 as an emperor, after marrying her, he would also take three thousand beauties into his harem.
But he used to be a person without any feelings. Only with Yu Niang did he know what feelings were, so how could he like anyone else?
These words were not meant to test Yu Niang.
He had indeed thought about the future and wanted to be crowned queen and marry Yu Niang again.
At first, Yu Niang was sent directly to Prince Shu's palace in a small sedan chair from the Marquis of Dechang's mansion. The two of them had never worshipped heaven and earth, as he wanted to truly marry Yu Niang once.
But he didn't expect that Yu Niang would hesitate.
So Yu Niang still doesn't believe him until now?
Pei Weixuan's gaze dimmed in an instant, without any light in his eyes. He suppressed his other feelings, but looked at Yu Niang with despair.
Xu Qinyu also noticed that something was wrong with her fourth brother. She panicked at this moment and stammered, "Fourth, fourth brother, please listen to me first."
"Okay, Yu Niang, you go ahead." His voice became extremely 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 give birth to other children. I don't like this kind of life. I don't like to compete with other women for love, 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? 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 will not be sad about love. If it is not suitable, she will break up. She even cares more about her own wine and restaurant. Love is just 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 was wrong all along. She didn't trust her fourth brother, and didn't trust the relationship with him. She even used some concepts from later generations to treat the relationship between her and her fourth brother. She felt that as long as they could be together, they should be together, and she always held an indifferent attitude.
She feels that the relationship with her fourth brother is dispensable and she feels that this relationship is not her everything.
And it was obvious that Fourth Brother's feelings towards her were not equal.
Fourth Brother's feelings for her surpassed everything else.
Fourth brother's feelings for her seem a little morbid.
She panicked, "Fourth Brother."
Pei Weixuan asked, "Are you willing to believe me, Yu Niang?"
Xu Qinyu did not 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 bet on this outcome.
Pei Weixuan thought, that’s good enough.
Because of this, after dinner, both of them were silent. Pei Weixuan said, "Yu Niang, please rest first. I will go to Yu's 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's Mansion tomorrow. I, I want to go back to see my parents and Brother Shan."
Pei Weixuan turned around and said, "Okay, I'll let Lianhua take Yu Niang back tomorrow."
After Fourth Brother left, Xu Qinyu couldn't sleep. It was not until the hour of Hai 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 who had returned, Xu Qinyu turned over and continued to sleep with her head buried in her fourth brother's chest. She was half asleep and 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 by my side, but Lianhua was there.
When Lianhua saw her, she wanted to call her "Master", but halfway through she realized that she couldn't call her randomly, so she quickly changed her words and called her "Empress".
Xu Qinyu said helplessly: "You should just call me Master."
Lianhua immediately changed her tune.
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 Marquis Dechang's Mansion.
…
The Dechang Marquis' Mansion had already known that the Empress and the Queen Mother had returned to the capital yesterday.
Xu Li kept asking Cui, "Mother, when will my sister come back? Didn't my sister arrive in the capital yesterday? She should be back today, right?"
Xue sighed, "She is not only your sister now, but also the Empress Dowager. Even if she returns to Beijing, it will be extremely difficult for her to visit her parents' home. Let's see if the Emperor will allow her to go back." Her daughter is now the Empress, and it will be difficult to see her in the future.
Xu Li frowned. He was already a teenager, with eyes and brows somewhat similar to Xu Qinyu's. He had grown from a chubby boy to a handsome young man, but he still had a bad temper. Since King Shu ascended the throne, Xu Qinhui had come to their room several times, but was scolded away every time. Xu Qinhui's face turned a little blue.
When Xu Li heard this, he felt upset.
At this moment, the doorman outside suddenly ran in in a panic, "Master, Madam, the Queen 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 empress. When she returned to the Marquis Dechang's Mansion, the doorman certainly didn't dare to stop anyone. The doorman saw that she was very excited, so he left her behind and ran in to report.
Xu Qinyu and Lianhua entered the gate by themselves. They had not walked for long when they saw a half-grown boy rushing out and suddenly stopping 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 the moment she saw Li Ge'er, her heart softened, she felt sour and bitter, and she couldn't hold back her tears.
Then Brother Li also started crying, also silently, and just kept wiping his eyes.
Soon, Mrs. Xue and Mr. Xu also followed. When they saw Yu Niang, their eyes turned red. Yu Niang was still a girl when she left home, and now she was dressed as a woman. However, her appearance was not much different from seven years ago, only her expression was 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 she ran over and hugged her daughter.
Xu Qinyu also felt extremely uncomfortable.
"Mom." Xu Qinyu finally called out "Mom".
Xue cried, "My dear Yu Niang, I finally got you back after waiting for you."
Xu Qinyu's tears also fell, and she stretched out her arms to hug Xue's thin body.
After waiting and crying for a while, Xue took her daughter's hand and went to the second room.
On the way back, Xue kept talking on and on.
Xu Qinyu listened obediently.
Li Ge'er 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. Outside, the maid had helped Xue to block several calls from the old lady and the people from the third room.
Xue spoke for a long time before hesitantly asking, "Yu Niang, did the emperor tell you how many days he would allow you to visit your relatives?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. Fourth brother is also very busy now. On the first day of February, the ceremony of crowning the queen will be held. During this time, I plan to stay here and spend more time with my parents and Brother Li."
Only then did Xue feel relieved.
She originally didn't know what the relationship between Yu Niang and the emperor was like. Everyone in the capital already knew that Emperor Shengwu said that he would only have one empress 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 that Yu Niang called the emperor "Fourth Brother" and they had a good relationship, 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 had the emperor's exclusive favor. People in the capital envied Yu Niang just as much as they did in the past.
Xu Qinyu originally thought that 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 the Jixiang Building to eat tonight? If you have time tomorrow, you can go and see your uncle. What do you think?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Of course you can go visit my uncle, but you can't go to Jixianglou for dinner at night. I want to cook a meal for my parents and Xu Ge'er."
She used her original body, and now 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 for her.