Yongle looked at him, her eyes no longer filled with the tenderness between husband and wife, but with anger.
"What is marriage? Is it about abandoning each other when disaster strikes? Putting aside the fact that I am your wife, I am also a princess of the Great Chen Dynasty. How could I possibly abandon the people and run away when the enemy is at the gates of the city! Shen Qingque, you say such things just because I am a woman! We women can't do anything but be protected by you men, right!"
Upon hearing her words, Shen Qingque immediately explained, "That's not what I meant! Yongle, I just felt..."
"I don't need your opinion! Don't I have my own thoughts?!" Yongle sneered and shoved his clothes into his hands. "Get out!"
Shen Qingque wanted to say something more, but Yongle had already covered her ears. Seeing her resistance to communication, Shen Qingque took a deep breath and could only put on her clothes and go out.
The maids and servants had only finished packing halfway outside when they saw the prince consort emerge, and they were all taken aback. Wasn't this a case of absence making the heart grow fonder? Why wasn't the prince consort staying overnight?
Feeling a little embarrassed by their stares, Shen Qingque felt awkward.
"Take good care of the princess. If anything happens, send someone to the yamen to let me know."
After he left, Granny Feng immediately went in and saw Yongle looking furious. She couldn't help but sigh.
"My dear princess, why are you arguing with your husband again? Aren't you just pushing him away?"
Yongle pouted. She didn't want to either; she knew Shen Qingque meant well. But how could she not be angry that he was letting her leave after only meeting her!
"Granny, do I look that unreliable? Why does he think I'm untrustworthy?"
Granny Feng was speechless and asked Yongle to recount the conversation between the two of them. After listening, Granny Feng was completely speechless.
"Princess, the Prince Consort is a man. Any man should protect his wife. He doesn't want you to suffer on the front lines because he cares about you from the bottom of his heart. Why are you angry about this?"
"But I don't want to be protected by him! Do I, a princess, need a man to protect me?"
Granny Feng patted her head and smiled, "You are a princess, and you have the responsibilities of a princess. I can understand your desire to protect your people. But at the same time, you are also the wife of the imperial consort, and I can understand his desire to protect her as well. Princess, you and the imperial consort are husband and wife now, you are one, you can't just think from your own perspective!"
In truth, Yongle had long since stopped being angry; she was just a little embarrassed. If Shen Qingque had been willing to coax him a little earlier, she wouldn't have chased him away.
"Granny, I understand," she muttered, pouting.
That evening, Yongle sent someone to ask Shen Qingque if he was coming over for dinner, only to find out that he had already gone to a county town below.
Yongle was speechless. He had just arrived, and the man had already abandoned him to go to work!
He has so much energy!
Forget it, I can't get angry, but there's no need for him to get angry!
Yongle was determined to stay, so she naturally made thorough preparations. She did bring her advisors with her; she also picked two of her father's strategists to help her write memorials.
After hearing Yongle's words, Advisor No. 1 decided to write a letter to Prince Xuan, since this involved troop deployment; Advisor No. 2 suggested that while Shen Qingque was redistributing land, he should also expand the number of troops stationed in Yunzhou.
The new prefect of Yunzhou has not yet been busy with this matter since taking office. After all, the population of Yunzhou has decreased sharply after the drought, and many people have died in the digging of the canal, so this matter has been put on hold for a long time.
With Yongle's approval, the prefect naturally took action and posted a conscription notice the next day.
Dongfang Shi frowned upon hearing that Yunzhou had begun conscription. The New Year was just days away, and Yunzhou was conscripting soldiers at this time—did they think Donglin was about to rebel?
Dongfang Shi was secretly surprised, but his movements were now strictly controlled, making it difficult to send a message out. Moreover, his people hadn't contacted him yet, and he didn't know where to send the message.
So we can only wait and see.
"There's no snow in Yunzhou in winter," Yongle remarked, resting his chin on his hand. "The temperature here is much higher than in the capital."
"Yes! But this old servant always feels that it's cold and damp here."
Yongle nodded, "Take out a sheepskin vest from the box and have someone deliver it to Shen Qingque."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "And the lambskin gloves and boots too."
These were originally meant for him, but he bought them all in his haste to leave. Arguing is one thing, but we can't let him get cold; after all, he only got to her because of his good looks!
Achoo!
"A sneeze means someone is thinking of you!" Granny Qin smiled and handed the handkerchief to Song Yaozhu.
Song Yaozhu wiped her nose. "It's clearly from the cold."
She came to attend the palace banquet. Xie Liwei had to attend the sealing ceremony at the county government office, so he asked her to go to the palace first.
When Granny Qin said that someone missed her, she felt a chill run down her spine. It was true that someone missed her, but they probably wanted her dead.
Upon entering the palace, Song Yaozhu was immediately met by the Dowager Consort. The Dowager Consort glanced at her indifferently, as if she had never known her before.
Song Yaozhu stared at her, trying to see through her body to understand what was going on in her heart.
Because she firmly believed in the saying: "When the enemy is quiet, they must be up to no good."
The fact that the Empress Dowager is behaving so well now means she must be plotting something big.
After entering the banquet, Song Yaozhu saw Yuwen Wuji again. Yuwen Wuji's cheeks were flushed, and his face was as white as paper, much like the immortal in the portrait. Perhaps because he was now focused on seeking the Dao, his eyes had lost much of their utilitarianism and ruthlessness, and he looked as gentle as jade.
However, no matter how much he tries to whitewash it, he cannot cover up his past sins.
Halfway through the banquet, Song Yaozhu left her seat to see Song Wenyue.
"Did you receive Father's letter?" Song Wenyue asked impatiently. Without the support of her maternal family, she was already short of money for her expenses in the palace. Now Song Chengzhang was writing to ask her for money. How could she possibly get any money?
During the New Year, shouldn't she reward the palace servants? The monthly allowance in the palace is simply not enough for her!
"What letter?" Song Yaozhu pretended not to know. "My father has never sent me a letter."
Song Wenyue looked at her incredulously and said, "Grandfather is sick, and Father is having financial difficulties back home. He needs some money. How much are you planning to contribute, sister?"
Song Yaozhu smiled and said, "What are you saying, sister? How could Father possibly be short of funds back in our hometown? With a man as capable as Grandfather, a single painting of his can be worth a thousand taels of silver. He would never lack money! Besides, with Second Uncle and Third Uncle still alive, it's not our place to be filial to Grandfather, is it?"
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