The emperor summoned the crown prince back to the palace.

Qin Yi was at his ease and asked his men to prepare the horses.

In fact, although Datong is called a border, it is not far from the capital. It would only take a day and a night to get there by galloping. If he was in a hurry and did not rest at the post station, he would set out before dawn and perhaps he could enter the city at night before the city gate.

But seeing the emperor was not a big deal, so why did Qin Yi torture himself like this? He went out when the sun was shining brightly and rested well at the post station at night. It was not until the next morning that his figure appeared outside the Zhengyang Gate. People from the six ministries had heard the news long ago and were waiting on both sides of the corridor. When they saw Qin Yi appear, many old officials were filled with tears and knelt down tremblingly to perform the great ceremony of kneeling three times and knocking nine times: "Your Highness, you are finally back!"

This sentence was spoken with great force and he burst into tears. No matter whether they were officials or eunuchs, they all bowed their heads when they saw Qin Yi, as if the entire imperial city was silent at this moment. This is the highest peak of power in the world. From bridges and Hejin to national prestige, every decree that can change this huge empire is issued from here. However, now, everyone here bowed their heads and kowtowed, silently, respectfully waiting for Qin Yi's footsteps to pass by.

The more people there are, the more terrifying the power can be demonstrated. It is really a chilling thing to be in order. As Qin Yi walked along, no one moved, no one stood up, and no one tried to look him in the face. Everyone waited for Qin Yi to approach, and the moment he passed by, they shouted "Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Qin Yi entered from Zhengyang Gate, passed through the Imperial City, unloaded his weapons at Chengtian Gate, and then walked through the long palace road, only with his personal eunuchs, to the Qianqing Palace.

When the former eunuch saw Qin Yi, he bowed politely and smiled, "Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you are back."

"Yes." In this red brick and green tile, solemn and solemn palace, Qin Yi unconsciously put away all his expressions, and became perfect in demeanor, without any flaws.

This is the place where he grew up, but it never gave him any sense of belonging.

After a while, the eunuch came out, bent down and opened the curtain for Qin Yi: "The emperor already knows you are here, and is waiting for you inside."

Qin Yi nodded slightly, then stepped into the palace. The emperor was in the innermost room, wearing a bright yellow casual dress, standing in front of the window playing with birds. After he turned around and saw Qin Yi, he turned his head away as if nothing was wrong and looked at his birds again.

"You're back."

The tone was casual, as if the person standing here was not his son, but some minister who rarely met him.

"Yes."

"Have you been doing well at the border these years?"

Qin Yi smiled very lightly, not disguising his sarcasm: "Thanks to you, I am still alive and can still stand here and listen to you."

The maids and eunuchs serving in the palace all lowered their heads, not daring to get involved in the conversation between the most noble father and son in the world. The emperor has rarely heard anyone dare to speak to him in such a tone over the years, and it is also thanks to his son that he can hear these unpleasant words every once in a while.

It is naturally irritating, but fortunately the emperor is used to it. It's strange to say that if Qin Yi was gentle and polite, filial and respectful, and courteous to the wise and humble, the emperor would have been unable to sleep long ago, but Qin Yi's attitude was so thorny that it made the emperor uncomfortable every moment, but he was strangely unsuspecting.

The emperor was very clear in his thoughts. His eldest son resented him because of his mother's affairs, and he still refused to talk to him and the empress properly. Of course there was resentment, but the emperor didn't believe that Qin Yi had treasonous intentions.

People are so strange.

The emperor was stabbed and felt a little embarrassed, but he also had a calmness that was used to it. He did not get angry, but continued: "You don't want to see me, and I don't want to see you either. Just talk about it, and then go away. Last time you wrote to me, you asked me to grant you a marriage with a girl from a marquisate?"

"It's not a marriage, I want you to issue an imperial decree to confer the title

of Marquis." "Qin Yi, I tell you, there is no reason in the world for children to decide their own marriages, even if you are the prince. I am not dead yet."

Since ancient times, any prince would be very sensitive and embarrassed when the emperor talked about "death", but Qin Yi snorted half sarcastically and half mockingly, and passed on the topic: "You don't have to worry about it, just issue the decree."

"Hey you..." The emperor was successfully angered by Qin Yi. When the situation was at a stalemate, a voice came from outside: "The Empress is here."

Qin Yi said nothing, turned around and was about to leave, which made the emperor very angry: "Come back here! That's your mother, how can you treat her like this?"

"My mother is Empress Wenxiao, who is she?"

The little queen heard this as soon as she entered the room. The servants immediately lowered their heads and pretended not to hear it. The little queen was also slightly embarrassed. She only paused for a moment, and then continued to walk in as if she didn't notice.

"So it's the prince who's back. That's great. The emperor has been feeling lonely these days, and it just so happens that the prince has returned. It's just right that the prince can chat with the emperor and relieve his boredom."

Qin Yi didn't even look at the little queen, and said directly to her: "Relieve boredom is your role, not mine."

Even if the little queen had good qi-cultivation skills, she couldn't save her face when someone said this to her face. The little Queen looked at the emperor aggrievedly, and the emperor was furious: "You idiot, you dare to say such things in front of me, you can imagine how domineering you are in private. It seems that the wind at the border in the past two years still hasn't taught you the ethics of loyalty and filial piety. Get out of here, and come back when you know how to be filial to your mother."

Qin Yi was about to go out when he heard it, but the old lady in front of him saw it and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, Prince, we are a family, why can't we talk properly? Qin Yi hurried back in a hurry, he must want to see the emperor earlier. His Royal Highness is young and energetic, he can't lose face, why bother to compete with the prince? Your Highness, you are really something, although the emperor didn't say it these days, he has been thinking about you in his heart, how can you hurt the emperor's feelings as soon as you open your mouth! "

This is the time for the subordinates to see the value of the eyes. With the help of this old eunuch who has served the emperor for many years, the emperor and Qin Yi can save their faces, at least the matter of the crown princess is over.

The emperor's expression relaxed for a while, and he said, "Marriage is the fate of the parents. Your choice of concubine is a big deal, let's talk about it later. If you really like her, first..."

"You also said that this is my choice of concubine." Qin Yi didn't want to hear the word after the emperor's words, so he simply interrupted, "Since I wrote back, I must have thought it over carefully. I have decided to make her the crown princess. The others have nothing to do with me, and I don't want to care. If you still think that I am your son, you'd better not cause me trouble on such an important matter that concerns the rest of my life."

Although no one in the court dared to say anything about the events after the Great Qi Dynasty, the emperor always felt guilty when facing his eldest son, who had experienced the whole thing. Qin Yi had said this, and even mentioned "the rest of my life", so the emperor was too embarrassed to refuse. He paused and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

"Yes."

"Qin Yi, you are the crown prince." The emperor was rarely serious, and his tone revealed the majesty of a king. "Your choice of wife is not only your own business, but also the business of the entire court and even the whole world. You can take anyone you like into the East Palace, but you can't be careless with your first wife. She is not only your wife, the crown princess of the royal family, but also the future mother of the country!"

The little queen was listening with a smile, but when she heard the words "future mother of the country", her face immediately turned cold. She couldn't understand why the emperor was so determined to make Qin Yi the crown prince, a man who was arrogant and conceited, and repeatedly disrespected the emperor and her?

Qin Yi also said calmly: "Of course I know. Since I dared to write to the Prime Minister and all the ministers, I have naturally considered all aspects. She is gentle and dignified, worthy of being the Crown Princess; she has a pure mind and is open and honest, worthy of being my wife. Your Majesty, please issue an edict to confer the title of Crown Princess on Chu Jinyao, the fifth daughter of the Marquis of Changxing."

After hearing what Qin Yi said, the emperor felt the seriousness behind Qin Yi and gradually became serious. He was a little surprised and asked puzzledly: "Who is she that can make you say such a thing? I am your father. I have raised you and I have never heard you praise anyone like this. Haven't you been stationed at the border in Datong for the past two years? How did you get to know this woman? Could she be a civilian woman from the border... No, you just said she was the daughter of the Marquis of Changxing."

The emperor was even more confused: "She is not from the border either, so how do you know her and why do you want to marry her?"

Qin Yi was a little embarrassed and said, "Don't worry about it."

"How can I not care!" The emperor used me when he was anxious. He suddenly froze and looked at Qin Yi suspiciously, "You wouldn't..."

"No!" Qin Yi strangely guessed what the emperor meant. He secretly cursed the old pervert in his heart, thinking that everyone is the same as you! But Qin Yi was unexpectedly speechless when he thought about the strange way he and Chu Jinyao met. In fact, his behavior was not gentlemanly. He entered someone's bedroom without Chu Jinyao knowing, and silently watched Chu Jinyao's every move for several days, from meeting guests in public to sleeping in private. If Chu Jinyao hadn't cried in front of him, Qin Yi really couldn't help it, then Chu Jinyao would probably have no idea what happened until Qin Yi recovered from his injury and left.

Because of this reason, Qin Yi always felt a little guilty, especially towards Chu Jing. Fortunately, Changxing Hou Chu Jing knew nothing about this, and the emperor in front of him knew nothing about this either, so Qin Yi could say righteously, "Don't think I'm so dirty, she's very obedient and has never made any mistakes." After saying this, Qin Yi added, "Neither have I."

The emperor looked at Qin Yi for a while and felt that his eldest son was disobedient, but he was clear about the major issues and would never do anything mean. Since Qin Yi said this, the emperor gradually softened a lot. The most important thing was that this was the only time Qin Yi made a request to him since the death of the Queen of Daqi.

If it was anything else, the emperor would have already agreed, but Qin Yi wanted to be named the Crown Princess. The emperor felt that it was a bit hasty to confer the title of Crown Princess in this way. He had never even seen or heard of this woman. The canonization of the Crown Princess is a major event second only to the establishment of the Queen and the Crown Prince. How can it

be done so lightly? The Emperor frowned and asked, "Who is she? What is her character? How old is she this year? Who is her father? Why haven't I heard of the Marquis of Changxing in the capital?"

Qin Yi secretly mocked him. Look at him, the emperor, who doesn't even know what kind of marquis there is in the capital. Qin Yi had to remind him: "Changxing Marquis Chu Jing, his grandfather made great contributions in quelling the rebellion in the south, so he was granted the title of marquis. As early as the time of the first generation of Changxing Marquis, the Chu family moved back to their ancestral home in Taiyuan."

"So this girl grew up in Taiyuan?"

"Yes."

"That's even more strange. You grew up in the capital since you were a child, and the first time you left the capital, you went directly to Datong, but this girl was born in Taiyuan. Datong is so far away from Taiyuan, how did you know her and want to make her a concubine?"

Qin Yi thought to himself that it was really troublesome, raised his eyebrows and asked back: "Are you willing to issue an edict?"

"Look at what you are saying." The emperor glared at Qin Yi angrily. If someone else dared to urge him to write an imperial edict, the emperor would have had them pushed out and beaten to death. But when it comes to Qin Yi, the emperor thinks it is very normal, which is in line with his eldest son's domineering and self-centered character. Moreover, these behaviors are even more believable because they are for the woman he loves.

The emperor already believed it in his heart, but he refused to show it on his face. He just waved his hand and said, "You go down first. I have my own ideas."

Qin Yi knew that this matter could not be rushed. The rules of the royal family are endless, and the Crown Princess is especially important. It would be a problem if the emperor agreed all at once. Moreover, in addition to convincing the emperor, the selection of the Crown Princess also requires consideration of the power in the court.

Qin Yi pretended to question for a while, and then withdrew. During the whole process, he did not look at the Queen.

The Queen kept smiling, as if she could not feel Qin Yi's attitude at all. After Qin Yi left, Empress Xiao Qi leaned against the emperor, stamped her feet and said in a coquettish voice: "Your Majesty..."

The emperor hugged Empress Xiao Qi and comforted her: "He has this kind of temper, don't worry about it. You are his elder, please tolerate him a little."

It was like this again. Empress Xiao Qi secretly hated that the emperor obeyed her most of the time, but once it came to the prince, the emperor would be tolerant all of a sudden. In these years, Empress Xiao Qi had blown a lot of pillow talk openly and secretly. If it were any other minister, he would have died a thousand and eight hundred times, but Qin Yi was still trusted by the emperor, and the position of the prince was as stable as a rock. Empress

Xiao Qi really couldn't understand why the emperor didn't like his well-behaved and filial son, but chose the most thorny and evil one as the heir. As expected, all men are bastards. The worse others treat them, the more they like them. They can't stand it!

Empress Xiao Qi thought with gritted teeth, but she had to show her kindness and gentleness on her face: "Your Majesty, don't worry. Although the prince is not my son, in my heart, he is no different from my own son."

The emperor liked to hear this very much. He said: "Qin Yi and you are close by blood. You two should be closer than ordinary concubines. As early as when he was a child, he liked to be close to you. You two should not be alienated."

Empress Xiao Qi smiled stiffly and agreed.

Empress Xiao Qi and Qin Yi are not close. She is Qin Yi's aunt.

After Qin Yi met Xiao Qi in the Qianqing Palace, he was in a very irritable mood all day. After Qin Yi came out from the emperor, he returned to the Ciqing Palace. Outsiders often refer to this palace by another name - the East Palace.

Qin Yi has lived here since he can remember, but unfortunately this palace cannot give Qin Yi any feeling of "home". In fact, since entering the palace, Qin Yi's emotions have been lowered again and again, and he can't even make any other expressions on his face.

Qin Yi suddenly thought of Chu Jinyao. It seems that anyone can relax easily around Chu Jinyao. Even if it is some meaningless things, watching Chu Jinyao do it makes people feel unexpectedly at ease. Qin Yi knows that not only he has this feeling, but others also have it.

But from now on, no one else will know.

...

In the palace, the issue of the crown prince's concubine caused a silent but violent earthquake in the inner court and the deep palace. The emperor did not express his opinion, and several elders had their own thoughts, but they all felt that it was a bit hasty. However, Empress Xiao Qi, contrary to her usual behavior, actively lobbied the emperor to agree to this matter.

The reason is simple. Empress Qi investigated the background of the mysterious fifth lady of the Marquis of Changxing Mansion and almost woke up from her bed with laughter. Although her mother had just entered the palace a few days ago and recommended a lady from the Prince's Mansion to her, it didn't matter. She was the empress, who else did she need to be responsible to? As long as there was a better choice, it didn't matter who lost face. If the Marquis of Zhenbei Mansion refused, it would be refused. Empress Qi would not ruin her own plan to protect her mother's face.

Compared with the granddaughter of Prime Minister Fan and the legitimate daughter of the eldest princess, Empress Qi really liked Chu Jinyao too much. In Qin Yi's list of candidates for the Crown Princess, the county lord of the Prince's Mansion of Huailing was not even on the list. A county lord with a different surname, in the eyes of the real dignitaries in the imperial city, can't even be considered a real county lord. There are so many princesses and princes in the capital, have they spoken?

Empress Xiao Qi actively persuaded the emperor to agree to Qin Yi's marriage, and the sooner the imperial decree of marriage was issued, the better. On this point, Empress Xiao Qi unexpectedly thought the same as Qin Yi.

The ladies in Taiyuan City knew nothing about what happened in the capital. They were now gathered in the backyard of the prefect's house, admiring the flowers and laughing happily.

Chu Jinyao was also invited. Because of the last incident, the relationship between Chu Jinyao and the Prince's Mansion was completely ruined. Chu Jinyao didn't dare to show it, but she was actually very happy. Old Madam Chu was unsure about what Wei Wulin said when he left, so she didn't dare to rashly find a marriage for Chu Jinyao. Chu Jinyao liked the current situation very much. She was happy and focused on her own affairs without having to worry about getting married. To put it bluntly, the husband and the mother-in-law were strangers, and who would be willing to care about them.

On the contrary, Chu Jinmiao's position in Changxing Marquis' Mansion became more and more embarrassing because of the Su family's affairs. She said that she didn't know Su's father and mother, and this matter had nothing to do with her from beginning to end - but who would believe it?

Chu Jinmiao finally felt that the situation was not good. On the one hand, she tried to curry favor with the county lord, and on the other hand, she wanted to reconcile with Lin Xining and leave a way out for herself. However, Lin Xining's attitude was so obvious that everyone in the mansion could understand it.

Before the matter was concluded, Madam Chu was unwilling to say it to the end, so she had been letting Chu Jinmiao jump around all this time. In comparison, Madam Chu was actually more worried about Chu Jinyao.

Chu Jinyao has now completely become an old saying, neither high nor low. The Prince's Mansion is bankrupt, and other similar high-ranking families are also difficult to enter. If she were to choose from the families that like Chu Jinyao, Madam Chu would think it was a pity. Chu Jinyao is a legitimate daughter, with stunning looks and a stable personality. At first glance, she can only be supported by a powerful family. If she is told to marry into an ordinary official family, Madam Chu will always be unwilling.

The most important thing is, what did Wei Wulin mean by that sentence when he left? Old Madam Chu originally thought it was Wei Wu, but she saw that Wei Wu was very respectful to Chu Jinyao, and it didn't seem like he liked her, but rather treated her like a mistress. This made Old Madam Chu even more puzzled. What on earth did Wei Wu want to do?

Chu Jinyao felt much brighter because she didn't have to worry about getting married for the time being, but deep down, she always felt something was weird. It was as if something was getting out of control in a place she couldn't see at all.

Chu Jinyao also inquired about the Su family's affairs and learned that Su's father and mother were unharmed, but Su Sheng was expelled from the imperial examination for the rest of his life and could no longer participate in the imperial examination, let alone become an official. Chu Jinyao was very surprised. Could a word from Lord Zhong of the Jinyi Guard have such great power? This time, Chu Jinyao completely understood what the secret service agency Jinyiwei represented and what kind of power they held.

Chu Jinyao was very grateful for the handling method of Lord Zhong of Jinyiwei. The Su family almost ruined her life - in fact, it had already been ruined, so let Su Sheng have a taste of the feeling of being delayed for a lifetime. Su's father and mother killed their only son for their own daughter. It was really a relief and they deserved it.

Chu Jinyao sighed silently, it was great to have power.

After sighing, she returned to her own world and listened to the ladies around her talk about the most fashionable clothes and jewelry.

Today, the wife of the prefect hosted a party, and many families came to attend. Many wives of officials brought their daughters

with them. The ladies gathered together to talk, while Miss Miaoling sat in the garden, laughing and playing with them. The wind gradually became a little cooler, and soon, it started to drizzle. The rain was not heavy, so the girls did not move indoors, but sat in the pavilion, watching the rain and talking.

Chu Jinyao was listening to a lady talking when suddenly there was laughter outside. A maid ran in with a smile and reported: "The young lady from Huailing County Prince's Mansion is here."

Chu Jinyao's movements froze slightly. Because of the matter of the Crown Prince's Consort and the concubine, Chu Jinyao and Huailing County Prince's Mansion were completely at odds. Although they did not become enemies, it was better not to meet.

If Chu Jinyao knew that the county lord and the young lady of Huailing County Prince's Mansion would come today, she would not attend. Unfortunately, things did not go as she wished. It had come to this point. Chu Jinyao could only pretend not to know and sit in the innermost part, slightly avoiding the girls of the Lin family.

Unfortunately, she was willing to avoid them, but others might not. After a while, the county lord came here specifically to find Chu Jinyao with all the attention. As soon as they met, he didn't wait for Chu Jinyao to react and said, "I heard that the second aunt came to you and talked about it a few days ago, and you put on airs to embarrass her? Where do you get the courage to look down on our palace?"

Chu Jinyao didn't want to say more. She was now half-disengaged. No matter who was at fault in this kind of thing, the woman would always suffer. Chu Jinyao was in a good mood at first and didn't want to talk about marriage, especially the insulting marriage to the Prince's Mansion: "County Lord, this matter involves reputation, it's not something we girls should talk about. If you have anything to say, let's talk about it alone later."

However, the county Lord was originally a self-centered person. She was flattered these days and regarded herself more and more as the Crown Princess. She couldn't stand anything that didn't go her way. Seeing that Chu Jinyao did not speak to her wishes and asked her to speak later, the county lord was displeased and said in a sharp voice: "How dare you refuse me? Do you know who I am? You are my tutor, and you dare not answer me when I ask you a question?"

"County lord, it is true that I am your tutor, but not your maid." Chu Jinyao stood up, thinking that if she can't afford to offend, she can afford to avoid it. Since the county lord is willing to stay here, she might as well find another place to shelter from the rain.

The county lord was furious when he saw Chu Jinyao's expression. He pointed at Chu Jinyao and shouted, "I've been so good to you, but you are so ungrateful! What they said is true. You have been harboring evil intentions and want to use me to climb higher branches!"

"Ungrateful?" Chu Jinyao almost laughed out of anger. A person who was a concubine of someone else dared to say that he was ungrateful in front of her. Chu Jinyao glanced at Yang Qixia and Chu Jinmiao behind the county lord, and she already knew who the "they said" the county lord was talking about.

"County Lord, before you say that others are ungrateful, you'd better find out in advance what your family has done." Chu Jinyao stood up and said coldly, "Please make way, I want to go out." The

county lord also held his breath, raised his chin high, and said fearlessly: "You are rude to our palace, and you still want to leave? Your disrespect to me is disrespect to the royal family. I don't think anyone dares to let you go."

The county lord's "royal family" is a double entendre. It is true that their family is a king of a different surname, but the county lord's posture and tone clearly refer to something else.

As early as when the county lord brought people over, the girls in the pavilion saw that something was wrong and found excuses to go out. After hearing what the county lord said, many girls kept their expressions unchanged, but when they glanced at Chu Jinyao, they all had some consideration and disinterest in their eyes. Now

there were quite a few people who had heard about it, and many of them vaguely knew that the county lord of Huailing County Prince's Mansion might be very lucky.

Regardless of whether the rumors about the Crown Princess are true or not, the county lord's rank cannot be false. She was originally a second-rank county lord, and her family background is much higher than these ladies. Now she has the possibility of marrying into the real royal family. Who would embarrass the county lord at this moment?

It was drizzling, and the group of people walked towards the rain and stopped at the gate of Changxing Marquis's Mansion.

"Master." A man dressed in shorts ran back to report, "The gatekeeper said that their wives and daughters went to the prefect's house for a banquet, and now only the old lady is in the mansion."

"At the prefect's house?"

The person who spoke was young and handsome. The fine raindrops hit his body and face, as if gently wiping water off porcelain, further highlighting the bright and delicate background of the porcelain.

"Prince, the rain seems to be getting heavier. Do you want to take shelter first?"

"No need." Qin Yi held the reins with one hand, turned the horse's head, and said in a low but unquestionable voice, "Let's go directly to the prefectural government office."