Not only Emperor Xuande, but all the court officials in the Ganyang Palace were in an uproar.
Li Jingchuan was stared at by everyone and could only lower his head.
Shen Zhixiu still had an expressionless face, his drooping eyelashes concealing the cold light in his eyes.
Emperor Xuande looked at Princess Yongjia, then at Li Jingchuan, and shouted loudly.
"Li Jingchuan, what's going on?"
How could Yongning have a child with him? Emperor Xuande was full of surprise and felt a little guilty.
During those years, due to the struggle for the throne, he paid little attention to his sister. Later, when he ascended the throne, he worked hard to govern the country and rectify the government in the first few years. Yongning only came to the palace a few times a year for major festivals. He had no idea that she had a child, and it was Li Jingchuan's.
Li Jingchuan immediately walked to the center of the hall and knelt down, "I deserve to die. That child... is indeed mine."
Emperor Xuande came down from the main hall, walked up to Li Jingchuan and Princess Yongjia, and looked down at them.
"Tell me, what's going on?"
Princess Yongjia said, "Royal brother, let me tell you. As you all know, the prince and I were childhood sweethearts, and we were deeply in love. At that time, he was still the heir of the Shanjun Palace. He rarely spent time in the capital, and most of the time he was stationed in the border towns with the old prince."
"After that, he returned to the capital and proposed to the emperor, and we got married. Later, I found out that Sister Ning also had feelings for the prince."
"Later, Sister Ning became disheartened and moved to the villa outside the capital. One time, the prince was injured while hunting and was rescued by Sister Ning. The two of them just..."
"The prince felt guilty towards me and didn't tell me about it after returning home. It was only when he was suppressing the War King that he found the child in the other courtyard. Only then did he know that Sister Ning had given birth to his child."
"The prince brought the child back to the palace, so I naturally have to take good care of him. He is my sister's blood."
Emperor Xuande pondered for a moment, "Why haven't you revealed a single word in all these years?"
Princess Yongjia burst into tears, "Brother, I am doing this for Sister Ning's reputation. If this matter gets out, it will ultimately ruin her reputation."
"I originally wanted to raise Yunzhou well so that my sister could rest in peace. That's why I never let him go to the Northern Frontier, and I never let him get involved in leading troops. I was afraid that something might happen, and I wouldn't be able to explain it to my sister."
Speaking of this, Princess Yongjia burst into tears. Even the courtiers with shallow eye sockets shed tears, sighing that this was the true love between sisters, and the broad-mindedness and generosity of a royal princess.
Princess Yongjia wiped her tears and continued, "This time it's because Yunzhou died on the battlefield. I want his life story to be revealed to the world so that he can be reunited with his sister in the underworld."
Although she didn't say a word to Princess Yongning, everyone present understood. Princess Yongning had a crush on Li Jingchuan, and by some strange coincidence, they had ended up in his bed. As for how they ended up in his bed, everyone seemed to understand.
All the men present were men, so how could they not understand this? One was obsessed with the other and wanted to leave a bloodline behind. The other followed suit and had an affair.
But no one expected that this romantic affair would be brought to the Ganyang Palace and discussed many years later.
Emperor Xuande was not familiar with this illegitimate son of the Li family, but he vaguely remembered his appearance. Upon closer inspection, he found that his outline was indeed similar to the child in the painting.
Emperor Xuande felt unhappy when he recalled Li Jingchuan's expression towards the child in Ganyang Palace last time. Since the child was Yongning's, how could he dare to treat him like this?
I thought so in my heart and asked so out loud.
Li Jingchuan's forehead was covered in sweat as he knelt down to plead guilty. "Your Majesty, please calm down. I am guilty. Because of this incident, I have always felt guilty towards the princess, and of course, towards Princess Yongning. That's why I was more strict with the child than gentle. I was worried that he wouldn't become a successful person, and I did have selfish motives, fearing that the princess would be upset."
"But I assure you that the princess will treat that child the same as her own."
Li Jingchuan's words were so sincere that even his selfish motives were revealed, which made people less suspicious. It only made people think that they were in love and that it was Princess Yongning's wishful thinking that led to today's big mistake.
Only Shen Zhixiu, with his eyes lowered and a cold look in his eyes, felt sorry for Li Yunzhou and Princess Yongning.
Emperor Xuande thought of Princess Yongjia's reputation and nodded slightly. Since this matter concerned Princess Yongning's reputation, he didn't ask any further questions.
He acknowledged Li Yunzhou's identity in his heart. The person had already gone, so there was no need for Yongjia to tell such a lie.
When Emperor Xuande thought of Yongning's child fighting for him at the border and then dying unexpectedly, he felt an indescribable pain in his heart. He already felt guilty towards his sister, and now he felt even more sad.
If only he could have acknowledged this nephew earlier, he would have definitely protected him.
Princess Yongjia then recounted the hardships of raising Li Yunzhou and her years of dedication. She described herself as a mother who raised her stepson as her own. Their love was deep, and now that her son had tragically died, she wanted to honor him.
This is the heart of a mother and the best interpretation of the mother-son relationship that has lasted for more than ten years.
Emperor Xuande's eyes turned red when he was so excited. For the sake of Yongning's reputation, it was not easy for Yongjia to endure all this alone.
It wasn't that Emperor Xuande was biased, but rather that the image Princess Yongjia had created over the past decade had worked. Furthermore, the involvement of Princess Yongning had disturbed Emperor Xuande's mind.
Immediately afterwards, Emperor Xuande issued an edict, posthumously conferring the title of Prince of Ning on Li Yunzhou. One hundred days later, his adopted son became the Prince of Ning and inherited the family line.
He also bestowed numerous titles upon the ancestors of the Li family, and even Li Yunsi, who died in battle, was posthumously honored.
It was said that Li Yunhuai had avenged Li Yunzhou by slaughtering all the horse thieves in Quanyan Valley and had even been injured. Emperor Xuande issued an edict, appointing Li Yunhuai as a general of the second rank and giving him the title of "Dingbei".
In addition, an imperial decree was issued to allow Princess Yongjia's children to inherit her fiefdom.
The Great Zhou Dynasty stipulated that princesses had fiefs, but princesses did not. The fiefs of princesses were not allowed to be inherited, and only guaranteed the interests of the princesses during their lifetime.
Therefore, this reward was an exception for Princess Yongjia.
A court meeting ended with Princess Yongjia's performance.
Shen Zhixiu walked out of the hall and looked towards the north with deep eyes.
Yunzhou, you must return to Beijing safely.
The events of the morning court quickly spread throughout Kyoto. Su Qingyu's expression grew even more stern when she learned that the Li family had ascended to power by stepping on her brother's corpse.
She told Feicui to collect the banknotes she had, which totaled over 1.7 million taels. Part of it was the dividends Su Shunci had given her from selling cotton-padded clothes last winter, and part of it was the money she had earned from her dowry.
After packing everything up, Su Qingyu got up and went to Lin Wuchen.
When it comes to a life-and-death battle with the Li family and Shen Zhao, some things should be planned.
When Lin Wuchen saw Su Qingyu coming over, he led her to the study.
After entering the room, he carefully looked Su Qingyu up and down. Although she looked tired, she was in good spirits.
"Cousin, sit down. Are you going to ask me about the person I'm looking for?"
Su Qingyu shook her head. If there was any news about the missing person, her third cousin would send someone to tell her.
She pushed the box of banknotes in her hand to Lin Wuchen.
"Cousin, please help me check something. It might not be easy to find out."
"But don't worry, our family has plenty of money. If there's a big reward, there will always be someone willing to tell."
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