Chapter 101 Chapter 101 This is after Zhou Congshan got married, they...
The wedding dates of the two princesses were set for mid-September and early October respectively.
Because the Hu cavalry had already engaged in battle with the Xiongzhou defenders, the emperor issued an edict that the wedding ceremony for the two princesses should be simple, and the Ji family only went to the Duke of Ju's mansion to offer congratulations.
"Then you haven't seen Princess Kangning?" Zhou Congshan asked.
Princess Kangning is the second princess, who married the second son of the Duke of Ju. Although Ji Si Niang has not married yet, the two families have already been married, so she must go to drink in the wedding wine.
Fang Ying nodded: "Only the Liu family members went to the princess's residence, and we took our seats directly."
"I've seen her a few times recently, and she seems better than Princess Heqing."
Princess Heqing is the eldest princess born to Concubine Zhang. Her mother has been in power in recent years, and she has two brothers. Fang Ying is not surprised that she is more arrogant than Princess Kangning, born to Concubine Li.
Zhou Congshan lowered his voice and said, "You don't know, our eldest princess even lost her temper because of the curtailment of the wedding ceremony."
"But isn't this what the emperor wants?" Fang Ying was shocked. "Princess Heqing isn't even afraid of the emperor?"
Zhou Congshan sneered: "If she had such courage, I would admire her a little bit."
Fang Ying pondered for a moment: "Could it be that they are going after the Empress?"
Zhou Congshan put down the hot water bottle in his hand and replied, "That's right. Mother and daughter, a pair of idiots."
"They really dare to challenge the Empress Dowager?" Fang Ying was a little surprised. "Isn't it said that the Empress Dowager is fair and just, and everyone in the inner palace respects her?"
"Is that what's being said outside?" Zhou Congshan was also surprised.
Fang Ying nodded. "I've been going out with our wife to attend weddings and banquets these days, and everyone says the same thing."
Zhou Congshan seemed to be lost in thought. "That's what they say..." She suddenly sneered twice. "Before Empress Wu Yue entered the palace, strict internal and external palace restrictions were already in place. The concubines were not allowed to summon their relatives at will. Now, the Empress's reputation for virtue has spread."
"You mean..."
Zhou Congshan exchanged a glance with his friend, a sneer on his face. "The Emperor's family has always prided itself on being a family of friendly brothers, loving fathers and filial sons, unlike those families of the previous dynasty where brothers fought against each other and killed each other. But then something happened with the King of Chu..."
She paused briefly, her tone becoming even more caustic: "There's no other way, I can only make up for it by having harmonious relationships between my wife and concubines and a stable home."
Although they were the only two in the quiet room, Fang Ying still pressed the back of her friend's hand and advised her to be careful with her words. "Even if it's Xiangguo Temple, there are still ears behind the walls."
This was the first time they met after Zhou Congshan got married. Given her current status, the only place where they could sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk was at Xiangguo Temple.
"Don't worry, I brought all the people inside and outside with me."
Zhou Congshan was really feeling very depressed. There were some things he couldn't say to anyone except Fang Ying.
"Seriously, the Empress's virtuous reputation is praised everywhere, but why hasn't anyone mentioned the day of my wedding to the Prince of Qin, when the Prince of Cai got drunk and recounted his youth to the Emperor, tearfully pleading for mercy for his brother, who had been demoted to a commoner?"
Fang Ying was shocked: "Is there such a thing?"
Zhou Congshan nodded: "The Fifth Prince said it himself. Several other princes were present at the time."
"The government isn't angry?"
"No, but they didn't say anything. The Fifth Prince said the hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. They were so frightened they couldn't breathe, and Prince Cai didn't dare cry. Finally, Prince Qi pretended to be drunk and collapsed on the table. Only then did the Emperor say, since everyone was drunk, let's go."
Fang Ying was curious: "The Fifth Prince has learned so much, is he very close to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin?"
Zhou Congshan shook his head. "We can't say we're close. Concubine Li was chosen by my aunt to serve the emperor after she became pregnant. In her early years, when my aunt was alive, she relied on herself to be my aunt's and looked down on the two outsiders."
By the time Empress Zhaomu passed away, Concubine Li had already been promoted to a concubine and had a son and daughter, so she no longer needed to associate with Imperial Concubine Hui. As for the Fifth Prince, who was still young, Concubine Li kept a close eye on him, fearing he would be bullied. She never allowed him to visit the other concubines' palaces, and she was especially vigilant against the Prince of Qin and the other three princes.
"The only person Concubine Li allowed the Fifth Prince to be close to was his cousin. Every time his cousin was sick, he would ask the Fifth Prince to visit him. But he was just a child, and his cousin didn't have much to say to him. He was also afraid of passing on his illness to him, so at most he would exchange a few words through the screen and then send him away."
This Concubine Li is quite a thinker. Fang Ying then asked, "So, is he interested in getting close to you now?"
“…” Zhou Congshan glanced at his friend and refused to answer.
Fang Ying took her hand and asked with a smile, "Why? Didn't you say that His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin was not bad to you?"
"I didn't say that," Zhou Congshan corrected her. "I said 'Let it be like that.'"
This was her exact reply when Fang Ying asked her how she had been doing in the past month after her marriage and how the King of Qin treated her after they met.
"That's it, isn't it not bad?" Fang Ying said with a smile.
Zhou Congshan had no way of refuting her, so he simply answered her previous question: "The Fourth Prince's consort has already been chosen. The Emperor intends to have the Fifth and Fourth Princes marry and be crowned kings together next year."
When she said this, she felt a little thirsty and stopped to offer the tea.
"Is it cold?" Fang Ying touched the teacup first and added some hot tea to her tea before letting her drink it.
Zhou Congshan finished his tea and continued, "That day, a few days before the eldest princess passed away, in the Queen's Palace, Concubine Li, in front of the Queen, the Imperial Concubine, and Concubine Hui, asked me and the King of Qin to take good care of the Fifth Prince in the future."
She had originally just agreed to it casually because she was embarrassed to refuse in public, but the imperial concubine was so rude and said in a sarcastic tone that the Kaifeng government was busy with official business. The King of Qin then reiterated the ban on visiting the emperor, and no prince or princess was exempted from it.
"Aren't you making things difficult for others?" Zhou Congshan said in a controlled tone.
Fang Ying burst out laughing: "So what did you say?"
"I said that being imprisoned is not like being imprisoned. How can you not allow visitors for twelve hours a day? Besides, there is still a ten-day holiday."
"Then the Fifth Prince came to you to learn about Prince Cai's affairs?"
Zhou Congshan glared at his friend and corrected him, "What do you mean by you? He told the King of Qin."
Fang Ying was surprised. She had just heard Zhou Congshan talk about Prince Cai's plea for mercy and the emperor's displeasure. He described it so vividly that it was as if it were happening right before her eyes. She even thought that she was present when the Fifth Prince was telling the story.
"And then His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin told you everything exactly as it was?" Fang Ying asked.
Zhou Congshan said: "It may not be intact."
Fang Ying originally wanted to say that the King of Qin looked quite serious, and he could actually imitate her words like this. However, her friend's attitude clearly showed that he still had doubts about the King of Qin, so she lowered her voice and asked, "Have you discussed the King of Chu and..."
Zhou Congshan shook his head: "Just this once." He paused and added, "There's nothing more to talk about."
Yes, the emperor didn’t even treat King Cai well, and it was obvious that he didn’t want to bring up the past again.
Fang Ying stopped there and went back to the previous question: "Princess Heqing got angry about cutting short the wedding ceremony. Was it also Concubine Zhang who instigated it?"
Without her mother's support, a princess of sixteen or seventeen, no matter how spoiled she was, would not dare to lose her temper under the emperor's order.
"If not her, who else could it be? This idiot must have thought that Princess Heqing was about to surrender, and no matter how much trouble she made, the emperor wouldn't punish her at this moment."
"But what can be done if there is a fuss?" The emperor could not take back his order and would only think that his daughter was extravagant and ignorant.
"This is causing trouble for the Empress. Hasn't Princess Wei been gone for almost a year? Concubine Zhang wants to take advantage of the opportunity to choose a concubine for the Fourth Prince to also decide on the Princess Wei."
Fang Ying frowned: "This is too hasty."
"Yes, it wasn't even September yet. She took advantage of the emperor for not remembering the date, but she didn't expect the emperor to hand the matter over to the queen."
Empress He was not in Bian Jing last year, but it was still easy to find out the month when Princess Wei passed away. She had just entered the palace and acted prudently, not seeking merit but avoiding mistakes. When she heard that Princess Wei had passed away less than ten months ago, she hurriedly found an opportunity to report back to the emperor.
Fang Ying said, "So the Imperial Concubine holds a grudge against the Empress because of this incident."
"That's not the only thing. Isn't the thing she holds the greatest grudge about the Empress sitting on the throne?"
Fang Ying laughed and shook her head, "If it wasn't someone else sitting there, it wouldn't be her turn." At this point, she thought of the Prince of Qin's biological mother, Concubine Hui, and whispered, "Where's Concubine Xu Hui? Have you ever spent time together in private?"
"I've been to her palace twice, each time for only a cup of tea, and exchanged a few polite words."
This was because the two princesses had been married off, and Zhou Congshan had to go to the palace more often, so he had to go to Huifei's palace to pretend to be there.
Fang Ying looked at Zhou Congshan and saw that she looked no different from when she was waiting to get married, and she finally felt relieved - although she had known for a long time that her friend was getting married to be a princess and no one would let her suffer, she had never met her and was still worried about her.
The two chatted for a while, and Fang Ying glanced at the sky and said, "I have to go back. You know my family. Second sister-in-law is pregnant, and Fourth sister-in-law is getting married soon..."
"Yes, I know. Go back. If you have any problems in the future, just send someone to see me."
When the two met just now, Zhou Congshan had already said this - although Kaifeng Mansion has a ban on visitors, there is another door in and out of the back house. Although it is not convenient for Fang Ying to be a guest, it is no problem to send a maid to pass messages back and forth.
"When your fourth mother gets married, I'll be free. I'll ask someone to pick you up on a day off, and we can talk." Zhou Congshan said finally.
Fang Ying agreed with a smile, asked someone to come in, helped her put on the cloak, then said goodbye to her friend and went home.
Today was not a day off, and when Fang Ying got home, Ji Yanlang was still on duty. She changed her clothes and went to see Li first.
"You're back so early? It's rare for us to meet, why don't you talk for a while?" asked Li.
"I've already said a lot." Fang Ying smiled, "Besides, she's going to perform a ritual, so she can't keep talking to me in the meditation room."
Today is the anniversary of Zhou Congshan's late mother's death. She went to Xiangguo Temple in person to pay tribute to her late mother, and asked Fang Ying to meet and talk as a convenience.
Upon hearing this, Li just nodded and asked some small questions like whether it was cold outside.
Seeing that no one else was around, Fang Ying told him about Princess Heqing's temper over the cancellation of the wedding ceremony, and concluded by saying, "The princess said that Princess Kangning's personality is much better than this one's."
Although Princess Kangning has her own residence and does not live in the Duke of Ju's Mansion, she is still Ji Si Niang's sister-in-law, and they will inevitably meet in the future. The princess's temper is not that bad, so it will not be so difficult for Ji Si Niang to deal with her.
"It's hard to think of anyone worse than this one." Li, herself a princess, couldn't help but say to Concubine Zhang, "How could you raise your daughter like this?"
"She taught me that." Fang Ying couldn't help herself and told him the whole story. "Now, the emperor is unhappy, but he didn't attack Princess Qing. But the matter of Prince Wei remarrying will have to wait until next year."
But Li said, "That's still showing leniency to Concubine Zhang." Otherwise, even if Princess Heqing was not punished, wouldn't it be a good opportunity to reprimand Concubine Zhang and establish the Queen's authority?
Prince Wei already has children and has no shortage of concubines in his palace. How can it be considered a punishment if he remarries a few months later?
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