Chapter 74 Chapter 74 "Enter the palace."
When Xue Yuanyin woke up the next day, it was almost noon.
Before her brain could react to the situation, she just sat up and felt pain in her waist and legs, especially the base of her thighs and the area under her body. She was about to get off the bed, but the discomfort in her body forced her to lie back down.
Some vague memories of last night came back to my mind.
The cloak was wrinkled, the strong wind was blowing violently through the narrow window, the chains kept echoing in the cell, the secret joy was piled up layer by layer, and finally he retreated in a hurry and a bit embarrassed...
Now that all impulses and desires had faded away, and facing the cold prison again, Xue Yuanyin wrapped his head tightly with the quilt. He felt relieved, but at the same time, he felt that he was doomed.
The thrill was that she'd actually had physical contact with Zhang Jingxuan. Even though she didn't sleep with him, and he slept with her instead... it didn't make much of a difference. It felt even better than she'd imagined, and she was incredibly satisfied.
The worst part was that she actually slept with the eldest son of the Zhang family. Xue Yuanyin couldn't imagine that after she finished serving her sentence today, if some old-fashioned elders of the Zhang family found out about it, she would be dug out of her grave and whipped.
Never mind...what happened has happened.
Xue Yuanyin lifted the quilt again, sat up from the couch, and looked around again. He found that the cell was clean and tidy, spotless, as if it had been cleaned.
She remembered something and looked down. Her plain clothes were clean, and even her undershirt was changed into a new one.
Was it Zhang Jingxuan who cleaned it?
Before this thought could be realized, Ah Zhen opened the iron gate and walked in, holding a bowl of black medicine and handing it to her, saying, "Miss, the master said this is your medicine."
Xue Yuanyin paused after taking the bowl, then drank it all in one gulp without changing his expression.
Ah Zhen was shocked. "Miss, I don't know what kind of medicine this is. Are you drinking it now? What if it's poison?!"
Xue Yuanyin found it funny and said, "It's not poison."
Ah Zhen asked doubtfully, "Could it be a tonic? But didn't the adults say that tonics are in medicinal food..."
Xue Yuanyin said: "No."
I thought to myself, isn’t it just contraceptive soup? Zhang Jingxuan must have accidentally put it in there last night.
Ah Zhen thought for a moment, then said hesitantly, "Girl, someone came here to check on you this morning, but when he saw you weren't awake, he left."
Xue Yuanyin was surprised that Zhang Jingxuan had come and asked, "When did you come?"
Ah Zhen said, "We came at the hour of Mao, when it's still dark."
Mao hour? So early? Did Zhang Jingxuan not sleep all night?
Maybe he was going to court, so he stopped by to see her?
Xue Yuanyin didn't ask any more questions and returned the bowl to Ah Zhen. Ah Zhen went out with the empty bowl.
Because Zhang Jingxuan was mentioned just now, Xue Yuanyin recalled a dream she had last night.
Perhaps it was because Zhang Jingxuan was not in a good state yesterday, so even after experiencing an impulsive love, she was still thinking about his abnormal mood. Even in her dreams, he was asking her:
“What if one day I’m gone?”
Zhang Jingxuan once talked about a similar topic. When she first arrived in Qingxi Town, she played chess with him on the sand table, and his attitude was very casual.
At the time, Xue Yuanyin didn't take it seriously, and even worried that Zhang Jingxuan would misunderstand that she liked him. But now, she had a vague and uneasy suspicion, always feeling that Zhang Jingxuan was doing something behind her back.
But in last night's dream, Xue Yuanyin didn't think too much about it. She just smiled and replied, "If you, the one who no longer opposes me, died, I would definitely celebrate with wine, visit brothels, eat delicious food, and be very happy."
Thinking about it now, Xue Yuanyin was a little glad that it was just a dream.
Then she was even more thankful that she had seduced Zhang Jingxuan into taking her body last night.
If something like this happened to him, the eldest son who lived under the family rules, could he still act as if nothing had happened and not worry about it?
Xue Yuanyin didn't think she was stingy, but when it came to him, she always wanted to be selfish.
Even if she died, she would leave a mark in his heart.
In this way, she can leave without regrets when she serves her sentence this evening.
-
As the army was about to set out, the morning court meeting of the Great Zhou Dynasty was cancelled and replaced by a small court meeting in the imperial study.
The prince summoned his ministers to discuss matters. They would come if there was something to discuss and leave if there was nothing to discuss. At a time when his father was ill in bed and the army was about to go out to war, he had no time to chat with other idle ministers.
Zhang Jingxuan left the prison and walked straight back to the Zhang Mansion in the morning fog.
Although the old man of the Zhang family lives in the Zhang Mansion, he is old and no longer in charge of affairs. The position of patriarch and head of the family has long been handed over to Zhang Chengli.
By the time Zhang Jingxuan found his father, Zhang Chengli had just gotten up and was at the stove, watching the servants prepare medicine for Madam Zhang. Madam Zhang had been in poor health in her youth, and had been taking medication to recuperate over the years. Zhang Chengli was deeply concerned about this matter.
Seeing Zhang Jingxuan, Zhang Chengli seemed to know what he was doing there. He went to the study without saying anything. After closing the door, Zhang Chengli said:
"Are you finally going to convince me?"
Zhang Jingxuan was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I'm here to borrow my father's seal."
Zhang Chengli asked perceptively, "You want to write a letter? Who is it to? What is the content? If the risk is too great, do you want the Zhang family to bear it with you?"
Zhang Jingxuan said calmly, "I think Father has already guessed it, so I won't say any more. I am willing to go to the ancestral hall with Father, and I will bear all the consequences myself."
Zhang Chengli looked at him calmly. After a while, he sighed in the quiet study and said, "It's not that I don't want to, but you can't protect her. You can't even take care of yourself."
Zhang Jingxuan raised his eyes and said slowly, "If I give my father the answer, I must protect her."
After a few seconds of silence, Zhang Chengli slowly said, "The seal is of great importance. It's not that I don't want to give it to you, but I want to know your true thoughts so that your grandfather and I can come up with a plan to cover it. And you? You've never told me the truth, have you?"
After a brief pause, he continued, "You once said that until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has achieved his great cause, you will prioritize His Highness above all else and will not give in to any personal feelings or selfish desires. Now, let me ask you, do you still dare to swear this oath in front of the tablets of your ancestors in the ancestral hall?"
Zhang Chengli stared at him quietly, and Zhang Jingxuan also looked back. Neither of them said a word. They confronted each other, and the air was almost frozen.
Zhang Jingxuan knew what his father meant. He could give him the seal, but he needed to think it over and acknowledge it. Once he said it, he couldn't regret it.
But facing an elder like his father, for a legitimate son of a noble family who has always followed clan rules to admit that he has had personal feelings and selfish desires in the face of family responsibilities, is not just a matter of dignity and face.
This requires asking for forgiveness from the grandfather and kneeling in the ancestral hall to accept the punishment according to the clan rules.
Zhang Chengli looked at the person in front of him calmly.
He knew his son very well. He was a proud and cautious man who seldom spoke frankly. This move was tantamount to stabbing himself in the ribs.
However, beyond his expectation, Zhang Jingxuan lowered his head, his Adam's apple rolled, his voice slightly tensed, and he whispered something like a plea:
"Father."
-
In the blink of an eye, the sun sets in the west.
The evening court session today was the time when all the ministers were responsible for making recommendations and supporting the crown prince to ascend the throne. Civil and military officials should have been present, but a considerable number of people were missing from the palace.
It was as if a number of officials had sudden emergencies at the same time, such as diarrhea, oversleeping, or urgent matters, and could not come. They had to postpone their arrival for an hour or two. Although it was not too much of a delay, it also meant that the time of the evening court was also postponed, and they could not all be in the court to guard the prince's enthronement, and it might even be postponed to tomorrow.
The prince did not like this feeling. This period of time was the time when he needed the unanimous support of his ministers the most. This sudden accident made his ascension to the throne go particularly smoothly. It was as if his status as the crown prince was being questioned, and he felt that his weakness was being grasped, and he was even being threatened.
The most important thing is that all the ministers asked for leave at the same time, as if they had made an appointment.
This matter cannot help but make people suspect that there is something fishy going on.
The prince paced anxiously in the imperial study. It was getting dark early, the sky thick with twilight, and it looked as if snow was about to fall. It was clearly an auspicious sign, yet he had a bad feeling, as if something terrible was about to happen.
…
After Zhang Jingxuan finished writing his last letter and ordered it to be mailed, he put down his pen and rubbed his aching wrist.
Even though there are not many people who collude with other nobles, aristocratic families and officials to do this kind of thing, they are not few in number. Even the seal of the head of the Zhang family cannot convince all of these people. He needs to spend a lot of time and effort to promise them benefits before they are willing to do this small favor.
But he couldn't just let them ask for benefits. Zhang Jingxuan had to leave a way out for the Zhang family. It was not easy to have a conversation with them in just half a day.
But he did it anyway.
As long as they delay past tonight, he can use this method to capture the prince before leaving Beijing.
Zhang Jingxuan glanced at the clepsydra. There was still half an hour before he was to serve his sentence, and the jailer had not come to report yet, so there was still time.
He stood up from his desk, stood in front of the bronze mirror, and called out, "Huaizhou, undress."
Huaizhou walked in and brought the young master's robes, a dark blue fur velvet robe with lotus pattern, a jade leather belt with gold thread, deerskin boots, and a waist ornament. Just as he was about to take the dark blue headband, Zhang Jingxuan glanced at it and said:
"Change into something, bring me the scarlet official robe."
His rank was not high enough to wear a red robe, but because he had been a minister in the Eastern Palace for several years, he had long been the prince's confidant. The red official robe was a special honor bestowed upon him by the prince as regent, along with a ring. He was allowed to go to court without paying homage, to meet the crown prince without kneeling, and to wear the red robe across the stairs.
He was the only one in the court to receive such treatment.
Huaizhou was surprised, but turned around and put the clothes back. He took out a scarlet official robe with a crane pattern, matched it with a scarlet headband, ink-black soap boots, tied a token for entering the palace around his waist, and finally took out a black crane cloak and put it on the young master.
After doing all this, Huaizhou asked cautiously, "Sir, what are you doing dressed like this? Are you going back home for dinner later?"
Zhang Jingxuan didn't answer for a moment, and silently looked at the person in the bronze mirror.
The young man had a handsome face, a gentle and modest demeanor, and a stature as tall and straight as a bamboo. When he gazed straight ahead, he remained calm, as if facing a mountain collapse. His expression was unwavering. His brows and eyes seemed restrained, yet they hinted at an inherent pride and pride, seemingly unaffected by any external influence.
It is indeed a good appearance that should lead to a successful career in the inner court.
The house was quiet for a while, and outside, dark clouds were falling. It was already Youshi, and the time to serve the sentence was about to end.
I guess the prince also received the small gift he prepared for him.
Zhang Jingxuan gathered his crane cloak, stepped out of the house, and walked into the evening sky swept by the cold wind. Then he slowly replied:
"Enter the palace."
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The author has something to say: Hey, the next chapter will be on the copywriting!
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