Chapter 133 The Unloved Princess 8
The old emperor did not hide his actions. Princess Lingqiao was now very famous in the imperial capital, and his actions were soon known to outsiders.
Almost all the nobles in the imperial capital have known that His Majesty intends the son of Marquis Zhenbei to become Princess Lingqiao's consort.
As soon as this news came out, it was like stirring up a hornet's nest.
After all, there has always been a chain of contempt in the court. Civil officials have always looked down on military commanders, and noble sons have always looked down on those from humble backgrounds.
Even though they had only met once, in the eyes of many young men, Princess Lingqiao was already like the bright moon in the sky, worthy of the best things in the world.
How can the bright moon be worthy of a noble son who can only play with guns and sticks and has no knowledge of literature?
The Zhenbei Marquis Mansion has been welcoming visitors one after another these days, as if it has incurred public wrath.
There were those who thought they had decent martial arts skills and came to challenge him in the name of asking for advice; there were also those who boasted of their literary talent and wanted to use their writing to take advantage of the opportunity to despise him... They came and went, and set up countless competitions, all hoping that His Majesty would see the vulgarity and incompetence of the son of the Marquis of Zhenbei and change his mind about marrying the princess to him.
It’s a pity that their plan ultimately failed.
Perhaps because of the long time, many people in the imperial capital have forgotten that Wei Ce was once a well-known child prodigy when he was young.
He could speak at the age of one and read at the age of two, and was not much different from the children of the noble families in the imperial capital.
It's a pity that he was born into a noble family and could not take the imperial examination. But even though he led troops to war at the age of sixteen and fought on the frontier for nearly ten years, he was not a man of courage but strategy.
Therefore, most of the children of powerful people strode into the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion with confident looks on their faces, and soon they walked out of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion with pale faces.
After seeing off the last provocative guest of the day, Wei Ce looked at the other person's slightly pale face, smiled, signaled the servants to close the door, and walked back.
But before he had walked further into the courtyard, he heard someone jogging up behind him and whispering, "Prince, the eldest prince is here."
The eldest prince.
Wei Ce paused, then took a few more steps and said, "Take the eldest prince to the main hall and tell him that I am not well-dressed and need to take a bath before meeting the guests."
The servant responded and left.
Wei Ce felt uncomfortable with his black boots with white soles stepping on the gravel road and his body covered in sweat. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and thought of the eldest prince who had been taken to the main hall.
He had just returned to the imperial capital when the prince came to see him.
It's so urgent.
What an idiot.
However, judging by this situation, the old emperor may not be able to hold on for much longer.
The handsome man narrowed his eyes slightly, but soon his brows relaxed. He looked at the soap beans placed aside. The fragrance of lotus was slightly light.
Wei Ce hesitated for a moment, and when he thought of the light fragrance he smelled when he held the prince in his arms, his Adam's apple moved, and he picked up the soap bean.
It's not as good as the smell when I'm beside His Highness, but it's better than nothing.
I heard that the ladies in the imperial capital all like handsome men with fair skin. Shouldn't he also be raised to have fairer skin?
As if facing a difficult problem, Wei Ce frowned and looked at his slightly darker but still handsome face in the mirror. He was a little undecided...
When Wei Ce arrived at the main hall, the eldest prince seemed to be sipping tea seriously with a warm expression, but a hint of impatience still appeared in the corners of his eyes.
Looking at Wei Ce who walked in slowly from the main hall, anger flashed in his eyes, and he forced a smile and said, "Zhenbei Hou's son has kept me waiting."
Wei Ce showed no fear and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness. I was just comparing myself to others, and I'm inevitably sweating. To avoid offending Your Highness, I'd better bathe and change my clothes."
With something in mind, the eldest prince could only suppress his anger and say, "Your Highness, you are so polite."
It was obvious that he didn't want to chat for too long, and he quickly got straight to the point. "I came here at this time because I have something to discuss with you. I heard that there was an error in the military pay allocated by the court to the Northern Frontier..."
Wei Ce's eyes turned cold, and he had completely understood the purpose of the eldest prince in front of him.
There was indeed a problem with the allocation of military pay for the northern border defense. If it were not for this matter, Wei Ce would not have returned to the imperial capital.
The Wei family, which holds military power, has always been the first target for the princes to win over in their fight for the throne. However, the Wei family has been loyal to the emperor for generations, so it is not easy to win them over.
This time, the eldest prince just wanted to use the method of solving the military pay problem to pull the Wei family into his camp to fight for the throne.
Fighting for the throne would have been fine, but he actually extended his hand into the army. He really doesn't know how to live or die. Suppressing the coldness in his eyes, Wei Ce sneered in his heart.
The eldest prince seemed unaware of the Zhenbei Marquis's feelings towards him, and continued, "I heard that my father intends to marry Qiao Qiao off to the Wei family. A talented man and a beautiful woman are a perfect match..."
He paused, then continued, "It's just that Qiao Qiao is incredibly beautiful, and countless people in the imperial capital admire her. Right now, my father hasn't made up his mind yet, so every day from now on is full of uncertainty..."
As long as you surrender to me, I will help you solve the issue of military pay for the northern border defense, and I will also work hard to promote the relationship between you and Princess Lingqiao in front of the emperor!
The meaning of the eldest prince's words is obvious.
This is using Princess Lingqiao to threaten him.
The frail prince seemed to appear before his eyes again, and Wei Ce's eyes turned completely cold.
Use Princess Lingqiao as a bargaining chip to seize the throne.
How dare he!
*
"As long as His Majesty allows, Your Highness can naturally leave the palace." The maid in pink palace clothes answered respectfully.
The young palace maid was still very young, and she was facing a fairy-like princess. Her pretty face flushed red, and even though she tried hard to lower her brows and eyes, she still couldn't help but look up from time to time at the princess who was in deep thought.
Woo woo woo!
The palace maids in Cuiwei Palace are so lucky to be able to see Her Royal Highness the Princess every day!
Your Majesty approves.
Therefore, she needed to find her nominal father and get his permission before she could leave the palace.
Her eyelashes twitched, and Nan Qiao thought of her father who was quite kind to her when they first met, and she still felt a little complicated.
In fact, she had long forgotten her childhood memories. Her impression of the so-called emperor father came entirely from the first time she met him at the emperor's birthday banquet after returning to the palace.
It has been two months since she returned to the palace. Except for the first time they met, she rarely stepped out of Cuiwei Palace, let alone go to pay a visit to her father, whom she had always been somewhat resistant to.
She didn't know why, but she always felt that there was something else behind the other party calling her back to the palace.
Now, even if the other party acts like a kind father, she still feels very resistant in her heart.
Forget it, I’m not going.
Although Cuiwei Palace is boring, it is still relatively safe.
Nan Qiao's brows relaxed, and he was about to continue flipping through the Buddhist scriptures in his hand when a low voice suddenly came from beside him.
"...If Your Highness really wants to leave the palace, I believe you will have the opportunity soon."
Unable to bear the sight of the princess's dejected expression, an older, more informed palace attendant said, "...It's almost autumn now. I heard that Your Majesty wants to hold an autumn hunt. I will certainly take Your Highness along then."
Autumn hunting?
Nan Qiao's eyes lit up slightly, but after a moment, they quickly dimmed.
She had been in the palace for two months, and with the palace governess teaching her the rules, she knew a little about the autumn hunt.
In previous years, those who went autumn hunting, from the concubines in the harem to the ministers in the court, were all personally selected by the emperor, and were all people favored and relied upon by the emperor.
Nan Qiao asked herself, "I'm just a princess who just returned to the imperial capital and wasn't particularly favored. How could I possibly have this opportunity..."
Rubbing his brows, and looking at Jintang, who was standing beside him with a smile on her face, Nan Qiao paused. He already knew what the other person was thinking, and felt a little helpless.
But she didn't know that the palace servant, with whom she had been living for nearly two months, also looked at her with a bit of helplessness in his eyes.
Their prince is good in everything.
It's just that I'm a little unaware of it.
…
News in the palace always spread very quickly, so within two days, everyone knew that His Majesty was going to hold an autumn hunt.
This news was like a stone falling into a lake, causing ripples in the palace.
Your Majesty is old and has not visited the harem for a long time. Now the entire harem is as calm as a stagnant pool of water. The palace is magnificent, but when you look up, all you see is the sky. After staying there for a long time, it will become boring.
Finally having a chance to see other scenery, how could the harem not be eager? For a while, snacks and soups were delivered to the imperial study without charge, all in an effort to please His Majesty and gain a chance to accompany him on the autumn hunt.
The news of the autumn hunt not only caused a sensation in the harem, but also caused a great shock in the previous dynasty.
His Majesty is getting older and has been in poor health recently. They secretly guessed that this year's autumn hunt would be cancelled, but they never expected that His Majesty would still insist on holding it.
The ministers looked at each other, but no one dared to step forward to advise him.
Lin Qinghuai bent over and listened to the imperial edict announced by the palace servants. His expression remained unchanged, but the smile at the corners of his lips deepened.
Older people are always unwilling to accept their age. This is especially true for emperors who have been in power for a long time and hold the power of life and death.
He is reluctant to give up his supreme status, nor is he willing to give up his wealth and glory.
It seems that the old emperor has been feeling unhappy recently when he sees his young and strong sons jumping around below him.
Lin Qinghuai's eyes darkened, not knowing what he was thinking about.
He was a pure official of power. He did not care whether His Majesty held the Autumn Hunt or not; nor did he care about the purpose of holding the Autumn Hunt.
What he cares about is...
...Will His Highness accompany him on this autumn hunt?
If you really go with the carriage, can Your Highness really withstand the fatigue of traveling by boat and carriage all day?
Feeling a little more worried, after the decree was announced, Lin Qinghuai immediately walked towards the palace gate, leaving behind the people who wanted to come forward and talk to him, and did not notice the cold gazes cast at him from behind.
There was no one else around him, and Wei Ce walked slowly, but his eyes were sharp when he fell on the figure in the crimson crane official uniform in front of him.
Lin Qinghuai.
Lin Shoufu.
A treacherous minister in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
It turned out that this was the master of the secret guards encountered in Cuiwei Palace.
Placing the secret guard beside Princess Lingqiao was a move that made it clear what kind of dirty intentions he had. Wei Ce grinned.
Looking at the figure disappearing at the palace gate, his eyes were filled with coldness.
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Please prepay!
Sorry, fixed it.
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