In February, the Fifth Prince, the Sixth Princess, and the Seventh Princess set off again.
After all, they've been studying together for the past few years and have developed their own pace.
Before leaving, Shu Chengfeng reluctantly talked with his daughter for a long time. This was the limited time he could squeeze out these days.
On the day he sent his daughter away, he stood on the steps of Beichen Palace, his heart filled with intense reluctance and sorrow.
A sadness that came out of nowhere.
The Seventh Princess also felt very sad. She walked away, then ran back and hugged Shu Chengfeng tightly: "Father, I will come back after studying for two more years and stay with you forever."
"Alright, go ahead. Everything is fine here with Father." Shu Chengfeng took a deep breath.
Yan Nangui stood there without saying a word, but his heart suddenly sank.
She didn't say anything, didn't stop the Seventh Princess, and didn't say anything else.
Because she didn't know where this feeling came from.
Watching her daughter walk away again, until she could no longer be seen, Yunji came to invite her, saying there were still a lot of things to do.
Even if you're reluctant, there's no time to be reluctant.
The fighting on the front lines is fierce and the battle lines are long, so even though her daughter is still in the palace, they can't see each other every day.
Because of the intensity of the war, Shu Chengfeng made it clear that his daughter Xia Tian was not allowed to return.
There might be danger on the road, so we'll talk about it in winter.
The weather is still chilly, but the people of Tuotuo are working harder and harder.
They had no choice; if they didn't fight, they would starve to death.
Meng Haijiang's group, who wanted independence, were also insane.
Fortunately, both the Yan father and son were fearless in the face of death.
Wei Xiao was also a brave general. Although he had only fought some minor battles with His Majesty in his early years, he was still a talented individual.
Xie Yuan went straight to Meng Haijiang, and once there, the battle began, which was fought with great skill.
There are wins and losses now, and the situation remains tense.
Horses shuttled back and forth between the front lines and the capital, carrying messages several times a day, bringing battle reports from the front and instructions from the capital.
Furthermore, provisions and supplies are delivered every single day.
Under these circumstances, Shu Chengfeng had become accustomed to Yan Nangui's service, and she would go to the Imperial Study every day to help review memorials.
Most of the affairs of the harem were left to Consort Jia.
Jiafei's brother has always stood on the side of Dayan, and is now in command of Wei Xiao's side.
Yan Nangui has been spending more and more time at Beichen Palace lately.
The concubines in the harem who wanted to serve the emperor had virtually no chance.
His Majesty is too busy to have any free time.
As the war intensified, the calls within the court to establish a crown prince grew increasingly louder.
Until September of that year.
The situation in the war has finally changed.
The Dayan Dynasty finally gained the upper hand.
After all, they had a continuous supply of food, which was much better than the food shortage faced by the Tuotuo people.
The Tuotuo people would cross the mountains to exchange for food elsewhere, but it was never as plentiful as what they produced themselves.
The Tuotuo people are good at short-term strategies, and now that the war has been going on for more than half a year, they are getting a little nervous.
On the fourth day of the ninth lunar month, Shu Chengfeng had a rare free time.
We've arrived at Zhaochun Palace.
After dinner, he spoke with Yan Nangui: "The calls for establishing a crown prince are growing louder and louder outside, and I can't keep ignoring it. Today, I spoke with my ministers. The situation at the front is now in our favor. I plan to personally lead the princes on an expedition. If any of them performs well this time, we'll establish him as the crown prince."
Yan Nangui's heart skipped a beat: "Can I stop you?"
Shu Chengfeng was also taken aback: "...Don't stop me. I've been emperor for nineteen years, and I haven't accomplished anything. It's just that such wars happened during my reign, so it's my responsibility to deal with them."
"What will be the consequences?" Yan Nangui asked.
Shu Chengfeng was silent for a moment: "There will be no consequences, Tang'er, don't stop me. Many people have already tried to stop me. I hope you will support me."
After looking at him for a long time, Yan Nangui hugged his waist and said, "I must support you."
"Definitely, you know, your support means something different to me." Shu Chengfeng hugged her. "I'm not a belligerent person, but this time, I just want to go."
Yan Nangui remained silent for a longer time: "I can not stop you, but I really can't support you. I'll worry."
"That's enough. Don't be afraid, wait for me to come back..."
Shu Chengfeng's mouth was covered: "Don't say it."
Shu Chengfeng smiled and said, "Okay."
"Let's do something we enjoy," Yan Nangui said lazily. "You've been busy lately and haven't done it in a long time. I want to do it."
Shu Chengfeng paused, somewhat embarrassed: "You, what kind of empress would bring this up on her own initiative?"
"If you don't have an empress, do you have a wife?" Yan Nangui laughed and tugged at his collar: "You're only in your forties, surely you're not impotent?"
"Nonsense! I'll show you right now whether you're impotent or not!" Shu Chengfeng roared.
So His Majesty actually came four times in person.
The emperor almost couldn't get up the next morning.
It's not that I'm really not good enough, it's just that I've been very tired and busy lately, and I was a bit overworked last night.
His Majesty wanted to personally lead the expedition, but the ministers naturally opposed it.
Every dynasty was the same; no matter what they thought in their hearts, they always voiced their opposition.
His Majesty didn't care; he ordered the First Prince, Second Prince, Third Prince, Fourth Prince, Sixth Prince, and Eighth Prince to go together.
They also subtly hinted at it, wanting to see how the princes would behave.
This made it difficult for the ministers to insist on stopping them, as they wanted to groom a prince.
The princes were not afraid of war and were very happy. They had been waiting for this day for so many years.
The princes, in particular, were so excited that they couldn't wait to set off.
The Ministry of Rites gave the date for the divination as September 17th.
Before his departure, Shu Chengfeng issued several decrees.
The Ministry of Rites is not allowed to make a big show of it; it's going to war, not to put on airs.
Then, an order was issued to the cabinet to bring all the memorials, except those sent to the emperor, to the empress for review as usual.
And then there's the entire palace; after he left, he followed the Empress's arrangements.
It wasn't just the harem, but the entire imperial palace.
The concubines in the harem came to find Yan Nangui, subtly expressing their desire to go and serve her. She scolded them away.
"His Majesty is going to war; someone can take care of him. What are you going there for? Even if you want to serve him in bed, wait until he returns. Going to the front lines at this time? Bringing concubines to war? Is that appropriate?"
When this reached Shu Chengfeng, he scolded the group of people again.
The concubines who had been scolded slunk away.
Before leaving, he went to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.
In recent years, the Empress Dowager has not changed much.
They haven't aged much.
These days, he spends his days bickering with the concubines and inviting his relatives to play cards.
They're living a very leisurely life.
Knowing that the emperor was going to personally lead the expedition, she was naturally worried, but this increasingly unrestrained empress dowager was completely missing the point of her concern.
The worry is that the emperor isn't eating well...
Shu Chengfeng himself couldn't help but chuckle.
After leaving Ruining Palace, he smiled and said to Yan Nangui, "You've enlightened someone who hasn't seen the light in years."
These past few years, it's been like the wild geese returning south; after arguing with the old lady, they'd find her chores to do. Like playing cards.
Let the old lady do whatever she wants, whether it's juggling, watching plays, or anything else. As long as she doesn't cause trouble.
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