Chapter 407: King Rui Rebelled
Xizhou City.
The day Huo Yanran arrived in Xizhou happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th. She stayed in Xizhou for a month, running to the market almost every day until the beginning of October. She was afraid of encountering wind and snow on the way back to Beili Wangting, so she prepared to return.
The night before departure, Chunzhi and Yuzhu slept with Huo Yanran.
Chunzhi was reluctant to leave Yanran and whispered to her, "The trade between the two countries has benefited millions of people. Beili's original purpose of letting you stay in the Beili Royal Court has been achieved. Xizhou is now able to protect itself. In fact, you don't need to go to Beili anymore and can stay in Xizhou..."
"I know my sister-in-law loves me." Huo Yanran slept next to Chunzhi. "But people from Daxing are the most trustworthy. I want to return to Daxing with dignity, not go back on my word with the people of Beili."
A princess has a princess's mission.
Although Chunzhi felt it was a pity, she did not try to persuade him any further.
The two talked for a while, and Yuzhu suddenly mentioned, "I heard that in the past three years, there have been quite a lot of people trying to matchmake for Liu Tanhua."
When Huo Yanran heard her mention Liu Yan, her thoughts suddenly drifted away.
The princess was far away in Beili. Due to the trade between the two countries, she could still exchange letters with her seventh brother and sister-in-law in Xizhou from time to time, but she had really cut off contact with the capital.
She remembered what Liu Yan said on the day he left the Beili Royal Court.
But Huo Yanran also knew that things in the world change so quickly. For a man like Liu Tanhua, there are many girls who are willing to put aside their pride and pursue him. It is not surprising that he got married and had children after several years of separation.
The princess has been very busy in the past three years, and even when she has some free time, she doesn't dare to ask about Liu Yan.
If you don’t know, you can still dream.
I know, but there's nothing I can do about it.
Even when Huo Yanran came to Xizhou this time, she never mentioned Liu Yan in front of her sister-in-law and others.
It’s not that I don’t like Tanhua.
I like him so much that I hope he likes me the same way, but I don't want him to waste his best years on me.
When you like someone, your feelings are always so complicated and hard to describe.
When Yuzhu brought it up, Huo Yanran wanted to continue listening, but was afraid that she would say something hurtful.
Yuzhu waited for the princess to ask further questions, but she never spoke.
Chunzhi knew what was on the princess' mind, so she continued, "People seeking marriage proposals for Liu Tanhua have nearly broken down the door to the Liu residence, but Liu Tanhua says he already has someone in his heart and is just waiting for her to return."
"He said he has someone in his heart and is just waiting for her to return?"
After hearing this, Huo Yanran didn't turn around for a long time.
Even on the way to Beili, she and Liu Yan depended on each other for life and death, and lived together day and night. When Liu Yan left the royal court, he never expressed his feelings to her.
Huo Yanran has always felt that liking something like this is wonderful as long as it exists.
You don't have to say it out loud.
But she didn't expect that Liu Yan would say such words in public after returning to Beijing.
He didn't mention anyone by name, but Huo Yanran knew that the person Liu Yan was waiting for was her.
Chunzhi touched Huo Yanran's hair and said softly, "How could Liu Tanhua marry someone else when he has been loved by a good girl like our Yanran?"
Huo Yanran leaned in her sister-in-law's arms and sniffed softly.
There is nothing better in this world than the person I like also likes me.
That night, Huo Yanran slept soundly.
She dreamed of Liu Yan.
Even if I did nothing, just dreaming about him would make me feel happy.
The second day is October 7th.
Huo Yanran led the Daxing-bound convoy to the Beili Royal Court. Huo Zheng and Chunzhi took Xiaoxinghui and others to send her out of the city.
As the weather grew colder, Huo Yanran put on a fox fur coat, stopped riding her horse, and waved goodbye to them from the carriage.
The princess smiled brightly because she knew she would meet her date sooner or later.
After this trip to Xizhou, Huo Yanran became more and more certain that it would not be long before she could return to Daxing with dignity.
That day will be in the near future.
Chunzhi watched the princess leave, feeling reluctant to let her go. Huo Zheng held her hand and whispered to her, "Yanran is no longer forced to marry into Beili. She is now a goddess in the hearts of the people of Beili and is loved by all."
Even so, Chunzhi still felt sorry for Yanran.
Huo Zian and Nian'er were particularly reluctant to leave their aunt Princess, and watched the convoy gradually go away.
Huo Zian asked Huo Zheng, "Dad, when are we going to pick up Auntie and bring her home?"
Huo Zheng said, "Soon."
Because of the opening of trade and the vigorous development of agriculture in Xizhou, the granaries are full and the gold and silver are piled up. Even the capital is jealous.
A group of ministers repeatedly mentioned to the emperor the issue of increasing taxes in Xizhou.
The emperor actually wanted to increase taxes, but the ruler of a country cannot change his orders every day. Moreover, his health has been much worse in the past two years and he clearly feels that he is getting old.
The ministers urged the emperor to appoint a crown prince.
The emperor was wary of Huo Zheng, and he also knew that Huo Zheng was the most outstanding of all his sons and the most suitable one to succeed the throne.
But he still refused to accept his old age and was unwilling to give up power, so he favored the sixteenth prince in recent years.
At the end of October of that year, the emperor led his ministers to the Western Hills for winter hunting.
Queen Wang was too lazy to make any effort and claimed to be ill.
The emperor took Concubine Zheng and Concubine Shu with him. Prince Rui Huo Yang, Ninth Prince Huo Yan and others accompanied him, including Ye Ninglan.
On the third day of the winter hunt, there was a heavy snowfall that had not been seen in ten years.
Before the snow fell, the emperor chased a wild deer into the depths of the forest, and everyone followed him, but surprisingly, all of them disappeared without a trace.
Until it got dark and started snowing heavily.
Concubine Zheng and others waited for the emperor to return for a long time, and felt that the situation was not good. They immediately sent more people to find the emperor, but found that the entire palace was controlled by the people of Prince Rui Huo Yang.
The whereabouts of the ninth prince Huo Yan are also unknown.
"It's you! It's you who is trying to usurp the throne and assassinate the emperor!"
Concubine Zheng saw that Huo Yang was not at all panicked when he heard the news of the emperor's disappearance. Instead, he immediately took control of the situation and exclaimed as if he understood something.
Many people thought that after the birth of the Sixteenth Prince, the person most affected was the Ninth Prince Huo Yan.
Because the emperor had previously favored Huo Yan the most, after the sixteenth prince was born, he loved the sixteenth prince the most.
Actually, it is not.
The one who hated Concubine Zheng and her son the most was actually Huo Yang.
Huo Yang considered himself the eldest son of the emperor and had long been resentful of the emperor having one son after another. He had finally managed to get rid of Huo Zheng and had fought with Huo Yan for so long, but when he was in his thirties, he actually had a younger brother who was younger than his son.
Huo Yang had had enough and endured enough.
That's why the Xishan Incident happened.
Huo Yang's heart was filled with joy at the success of his plan, but he suppressed his emotion and pretended to ask, "Has Concubine Zheng been so frightened that she's gone mad?"
He said, "My father is only out hunting and hasn't returned yet. He might be stopping at some beautiful spot, enjoying the wind and the snow. Concubine Zheng is slandering me like this. It really makes me feel disheartened."
Although Concubine Zheng was young, she knew that Prince Rui Huo Yang was no good. As she walked out, she shouted, "Someone come! Someone come! Prince Rui is rebelling!"
Huo Yang stood where he was and raised his hand towards the guard.
The guards immediately stepped forward and covered Concubine Zheng's mouth, forcing her to faint.
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