After the emperor left, Yong'an, who was covered in alcohol and laughed at by others, could no longer stay. Unlike the emperor, she did not care about anything and just left with a dark face.

She was filled with rage. She had been a noble daughter since birth and had never suffered such a great injustice.

Now that the master has left, the others don’t know whether to leave or stay.

Qingping quickly calmed down. She tapped her hands twice, signaling the pleasure boat on the lake to continue playing music, and then said, "Don't worry about my mother. Let's continue playing. I'll show you a trick..."

The peaceful and natural atmosphere calmed the others, and soon the waterside pavilion became lively again, with people listening to music and watching dances, playing games of throwing pots and catching covers, and chatting and laughing.

The turmoil just now seemed to have left no shadow.

Sheng Xiyan lowered her eyes, her eyelashes were long and curled, and the corners of her mouth curved in a happy arc.

She had been taught to repay evil with kindness, but now she felt that there was nothing wrong with revenge. Rather than being the one who suffered the loss, it was better to let others suffer the loss.

She had no worries at all about being hated by Princess Yong'an or even the emperor.

Anyway, she was going to marry into the Zhenbei Palace. She had already boarded this boat and could not get off even if she wanted to. The Zhenbei Palace and the Emperor were originally opposing sides. In this case, what was there for her to be afraid of?

"Come and sit with me for a while." Princess Jingle smiled and waved to her. Sheng Xiyan sat with her on the beauty's seat and took the fruit wine she handed over.

She took a small sip carefully. It tasted sweet and had a special fruity aroma.

It tastes good! She smiled with her eyebrows curved.

The sound of stringed instruments could be heard again on the lake. The graceful dancers waved their sleeves and their big skirts fluttered.

Sheng Xiyan watched intently, and before he knew it, he took sip after sip of the fruit wine in his hand. It was so delicious!

One dance after another.

After drinking a glass of wine, Princess Jingle's mood calmed down from her excitement.

There was a momentary pain in her chest, she frowned, and it soon went away, as if the chest pain just now was just an illusion.

She didn't care. She seemed to be watching the song and dance, but her mind was no longer there.

This time, the emperor must complete what he promised today before his son returns to the capital. This is such a good opportunity, and we can definitely do more.

One song after another.

"Sister Yan."

Jingle's eyes became softer.

Upon hearing that, Sheng Xiyan looked over and stared at her blankly, her big black and white eyes were wet. It took her several breaths to react and she raised her lips to smile.

Jingle: “…”

Is this girl drunk?

She subconsciously glanced at the glass cup in Sheng Xiyan's hand. This was the one she had just given her. There was only some fruit wine in it, for girls to drink. It was not strong at all. An ordinary person could drink a few pots of it without any problem. But she... was drunk already?

This alcohol tolerance is really so poor that it's kind of cute!

Meeting her gaze, Sheng Xiyan seemed to have guessed what she wanted to say and nodded obediently.

"I'm drunk."

Her eyes were hazy and the corners of her mouth were curved in a small arc, making her look well-behaved and cute.

Jingle blinked, blinked again, and then burst out laughing.

It looks like he's not too drunk.

"Sister Yan."

"ah……"

She couldn't help but want to tease her: "Do you want to go home with me?"

Sheng Xiyan nodded obediently: "Okay."

Jingle rubbed her head and said, "You are so good."

Xigui: “…”

If she hadn't known that her daughter was already engaged to the Prince of Zhenbei, she would have almost thought that the princess wanted to abduct her daughter home.

Sheng Xiyan stood up and obediently let her lead her.

When she passed by Cheng Chuyu, she asked, "Ayu, I'm going back. Do you want to go with me?"

She was just a little tipsy, and apart from her slow reaction and dazed eyes, at first glance, she looked no different from usual.

"You go first, I'll play for a while." Cheng Chuyu said with a smile and winked at her.

She was very interested. Sister Yan was going to marry into the Zhenbei Palace soon, so of course she had to give her more opportunities to spend time with Princess Jingle.

So, Sheng Xiyan followed Jingle.

At noon in midsummer, the sound of cicadas chirping and the hot wind blowing on her face made her feel very comfortable.

Princess Jingle's carriage stopped at the ceremonial gate. Xigui hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether to tell the girl. Their carriage was also there, and she saw that she was obediently led up by Jingle without any hesitation.

Xigui had no choice but to let the driver go back by himself and followed him, telling herself in her heart that it was fortunate that Princess Jingle was not a beggar. Thinking of this, even she couldn't help laughing.

The carriage of the Zhenbei Palace was nearly twice as big as that of the Sheng family's. It was extremely spacious inside, with a soft cushion inside the carriage and a layer of bamboo mat on top of the cushion. Incense was lit in the carriage, emitting a very elegant scent.

There was an ice basin in the corner of the carriage, which was quite cool and comfortable.

After getting on the carriage, Princess Jingle personally took a clean handkerchief, soaked it in water, wrung it dry, and passed it over while it was still wet.

As she walked along, Sheng Xiyan's forehead was covered with sweat. She put a cool handkerchief on her face, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief.

The veil was lifted and another glass of iced fruit juice was handed over.

"This is fruit juice." Jingle said with a smile, "It won't make you drunk."

Sheng Xiyan smiled sweetly and obediently, and took it and took a big sip without any hesitation.

In the middle of summer, she squinted her eyes in comfort as the cool fruit juice went into her stomach. At this moment, she was almost 70% sober, but she was still a little dizzy. She felt sleepy, so she covered her mouth and yawned.

Princess Jingle looked at her with a smile, in a very good mood.

Now she believed even more that Sheng Xiyan was the person that Zen Master Kongming mentioned, and it must be she who brought her son a turning point from death to life.

Feeling her gentle gaze, Sheng Xiyan raised her head and smiled sweetly. Her almond eyes were clearly black and white, the corners of her mouth were curved, and there were two pear-shaped ridges on her cheeks. She was as sweet as could be. Jingle's heart almost melted when she saw her.

When they were at the waterfront pavilion, Jingle actually wanted to ask why she was picking apricot blossoms, but now, Jingle felt that it didn't matter whether she asked or not.

This girl is a smart one, she knows what she is doing, and that's enough.

"Sister Yan." Jingle called her affectionately, and then said solemnly, "I thank you on behalf of the soldiers of the Northern Frontier."

Sheng Xiyan: “…”

She was stunned for a moment, then quickly avoided her gift.

Jingle held her back and said with a smile, "It's not for me, it's for the soldiers in the northern border."

Sheng Xiyan: “…”

Jingle didn't treat her as an outsider either, and said with great joy: "My boy should be able to arrive in the capital next month." Once Chu Yuanchen comes back, the wedding date between him and the little girl can be officially set. She can't wait to marry him into the family as soon as possible.

"If that jerk treats you badly in the future, tell me and I will teach him a lesson for you."

Under the influence of alcohol, Sheng Xiyan's reaction was obviously a little slow. She blinked her eyes, her eyelashes were long and curled, and her cheeks slowly turned red. Chu Yuanchen told him that he had returned to Beijing, but even Princess Jingle didn't know about it. Therefore, Princess Jingle didn't know that she and he had already known each other...

For some reason, her cheeks felt hot again.

Well, she must have gotten even drunker.

Jingle also thought that she was probably drunk again, and smiled. She originally wanted to take the little girl back to the mansion, but seeing that she looked sleepy, she sent her back to Sheng Mansion.

Sheng Xiyan stepped down from the carriage on a footstool and waved to her obediently.

She rubbed her still dizzy head, and the midday sun made her even sleepier.

After watching her enter the Sheng Mansion, Jingle ordered, "Go back home."

With a smile on her face, she sat lazily and said to Nanny Lan beside her: "Achen is really blessed by God. The ancestors of the Chu family are also taking care of him."

"Yes, Princess." Nanny Lan was also very happy. "It's obvious that Miss Shengda is a blessed person."

"Whether she is blessed or not is secondary." Jingle's eyes were a little warm, "It is enough for her to be loyal to the Zhenbei Palace..."

This little girl obviously grew up in the capital city, a place of wealth, luxury, singing and dancing, but she has the blood of a girl from the northern border in her bones.

Thinking of this, Jingle said with relief: "Achen will definitely like it."

No one knows a child better than his mother. Jingle believes that Achen will definitely like this marriage.

Nanny Lan said jokingly, "Then you can rest assured, Princess... Princess?!"

“Hmm…”

A painful groan escaped Jingle's mouth, and she subconsciously grabbed the collar of her shirt at her chest. The back of her hand turned white, but in just a moment, cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

"Princess!" Lan Ruo's face changed, and she quickly took out a pill from her purse and stuffed it into her mouth, then hurriedly poured a glass of water and placed it on her lips.

Jingle took two sips and swallowed the pill with the help of water, breathing heavily, with her chest heaving.

Just now when she was at Princess Yong'an's mansion, Jingle already felt a little uncomfortable in her chest, but she was able to bear it at the time and didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it was just caused by momentary anger.

I didn't expect that at this time...

Jingle's back was covered in cold sweat, her breathing was rapid, her teeth were biting her lower lip tightly, her slender white fingers were tightly grasping the cushion of the carriage seat, and blue veins could be faintly seen on the back of her white and delicate hand.

Nanny Lan was so anxious that she didn't know what to do and kept stroking her back with her hands.

Jingle tried hard to breathe steadily, again and again. After several breaths, her breathing became steady, and the pain in her chest gradually eased.

She let out a long sigh and slowly loosened her hands. The soft corners of the mattress had been wrinkled into a ball by her.

"I'm fine." Jingle's lips were pale, and the thin layer of makeup could hardly hide her ugly complexion.

Nanny Lan was still a little nervous. She first said "Buddha" in her heart, and then said, "Let's ask Doctor Zhou Liang to come over when we get back."

There is a good doctor's office in the palace, which is responsible for the medical care of the nobles in the palace. There is one chief eighth-rank good doctor and two deputy eighth-rank good doctors.

Jingle used to be in very good health, and was good at riding and archery. But four years ago, after hearing the news of the death of the old town's King Bei, she fell seriously ill and was bedridden for more than half a year. Her health suddenly collapsed, and she also suffered from this heart pain.

This problem is sometimes better and sometimes worse. Sometimes it doesn't occur for several months, and sometimes it occurs three or five times a month. Doctor Zhou Liang prescribed these pills and kept them with him.

Jingle waved her hands and said weakly, "No need. The good doctor looked at me and I took medicines, but they are just these. My mouth is bitter after taking them."

Nanny Lan moved her lips, looking worried.

Jingle smiled and said, "Don't worry, the situation is good now. Ah Chen is coming back soon and I still have to arrange his wedding. How could I fall down at this time? The doctor at Baicaotang also said last time that I was just depressed and I would recover without medicine after I feel relaxed. I am in a good mood now."

Even though he said that, Nanny Lan was still worried. But Jingle had always been a person with her own ideas. Once she made a decision, she would not be affected by anything. Even the old prince could not persuade her.

Jingle pondered for a moment and said, "Don't tell anyone about this, including the guests." She was referring to the heart attack she had today.

Nanny Lan was stunned for a moment, then nodded solemnly.

The carriage drove very steadily, and when they returned to the Zhenbei Palace, Jingle had completely recovered. Except for being weak, she was no different. She reapplied her makeup in the carriage, adding rouge and lip balm to cover up the gray and sickly look on her face, and then got off the carriage.

“Princess!” The palace’s chief official had been waiting at the funeral gate. When he saw her return, he immediately reported with a look of joy, “The emperor has just issued an edict to mourn for you and the soldiers who died in the battle of the northern border, and also said that ‘all officials in the country will be released from mourning within three days.’”[1]

This means that everyone from civil and military officials to peddlers and hawkers must observe mourning for three days.

That's enough.

Jingle's eyes were warm.

She didn't care how long she would mourn. What she wanted was just an attitude. She wanted the people of the world to remember how much Northern Frontier had paid, instead of being able to easily label the Zhenbei Palace as a group of ambitious people just because of the emperor's words in the future.

She raised her eyebrows and said to Nanny Lan beside her: "Our emperor is really flexible."

Earlier at the princess's mansion, the emperor showed almost no abnormality on his face except for his initial forbearance.

"This is the same idea as when we dealt with Uncle Wei's family." Jingle's mouth curled up with a hint of sarcasm.

The three vassal kings of the Dayong Dynasty included Chu Shen, King of Zhenbei, Xue Chong, King of Lingnan, and Wei Jingyan, King of Pingliang.

The King of Pingliang committed suicide along with his entire family because he had attempted to "raise an army for rebellion" but failed and "felt" ashamed to face the emperor's grace.

The present emperor has the same character as the previous emperor, both appearing to be righteous.

He wanted to deal with the vassal kings and take back their fiefdoms and military power, but he did not want to be tainted in any way.

"Master Gu, call a few uncles to come to the palace." Jingle ordered calmly, "There are some things they need to do immediately."

Jingle's brows were raised and she looked very arrogant.

Gu Changshi was also happy, knowing that she had a plan in mind, and immediately obeyed the order and retreated.

The Zhenbei Palace would certainly not let go of this golden opportunity.

The emperor's edict was like a thunderbolt that exploded in the capital, shocking all the civil and military officials.

Four years ago, many people in the court requested the emperor to defend the country and mourn for the King of Zhenbei. Unexpectedly, four years later, the emperor took the initiative to bring up this matter, which made everyone in the court confused.

But this was not a bad thing after all. Except for a few who knew the emperor's thoughts well, most of the others speculated that it was because the Prince of Zhenbei was about to return to Beijing and had made great contributions that were rare in a century, so the emperor specially bestowed favor on him. They could not help but sigh that the emperor really favored the Zhenbei Palace to the utmost.

Since Xian couldn't enter the Zhenbei Palace, Sheng Xing'an, who had just become a relative of the Zhenbei Palace, received many goodwill gestures, and some even hinted that his position could be moved. Sheng Xing'an was happy in his heart, and he looked humble, saying humbly, "It's my duty to serve the court and share the emperor's worries."

Sheng Xiyan also heard all these things. She curled her lips.

As soon as she came back from the Princess's Mansion, Sheng Xiyan fell asleep on the beauty couch and slept until the morning and evening times of visiting her parents. Even though Mrs. Liu was still sick, she symbolically went to the main courtyard for a stroll. She had originally thought that she would come back after a stroll, but unfortunately she ran into Sheng Xingan.

Sheng Xingan was in high spirits and spoke a lot to Sheng Xiyan excitedly. Then, Sheng Xiyan knew that the emperor had issued an edict and the discussions in the court, and she understood why Sheng Xingan was so excited.

He was thinking about getting promoted! What a pity...

Sheng Xiyan narrowed her eyes and said tentatively, "Father, today in the Princess's residence, the Emperor specially wore apricot blossoms for the soldiers of the Northern Frontier."

"Yes. I heard about it, too." Sheng Xing'an stroked his beard and said with relief, "The emperor is really a wise ruler, but Princess Yong'an is a little too willful. Alas, I heard that when the princess was in the palace, she often had conflicts with Princess Jingle. Whenever the two met, neither of them would give in."

Sheng Xiyan: “…”

In other words, the emperor did a good job of pretending to be nice on a daily basis, and many people in the court even felt that the emperor was too fond of the Zhenbei Palace.

That's fine...

After hearing Sheng Xing'an remind her once again to spend more time with the Zhenbei Palace, she found an opportunity to interrupt him and returned to her own yard.

Then he told E Rui to find all her plain clothes.

She had a lot of plain clothes, but not many bright ones. She used to wear plain clothes, but since she was reborn, she rarely wore plain clothes, especially the new ones she made, which were all made of bright materials. Xigui noticed the change in her preferences and put all the plain clothes into another box.

Not only clothes, Sheng Xiyan also replaced all the pearl flowers with silver ornaments, and said, "Let's be vegetarian starting tomorrow. Xigui, go tell the kitchen that everyone in the house will be vegetarian for three days starting tomorrow."

This was originally something the mistress of the house should have ordered, but seeing that Liu was unlikely to recover for ten days or half a month, Sheng Xiyan simply stepped in. Other matters were fine, but this matter could not be taken lightly.

After returning to respond to the call, he left in a hurry.

When Erui had sorted out all the clothes, she came back and reported, "The nanny in charge of the kitchen said she knew about it and it wouldn't violate any taboos."

She paused and continued, "Miss, I heard them say that Prince Chu will be returning to the capital soon."

Sheng Xiyan chuckled and said, "Probably not that fast." He still had to return to Jiangyue City from the capital first.

Xigui thought so too, otherwise how could Princess Jingle not know about it.

"The more they talk, the more mysterious it becomes. Some even say that the prince is just outside the city and will be in the city tomorrow morning. That's why the emperor hastily issued an order to defend the country."

Sheng Xiyan covered her mouth and smiled.

I don’t know how Chu Yuanchen’s injuries have recovered, but just think about it, the long journey from the capital to the northern border, and then from the northern border to the capital again, I guess even the strongest person can’t stand it.

He says that his medical skills are very good, but if his injuries get worse, will he feel that his medical skills are not that good?

Will you still praise her in the future?

Before she knew it, Sheng Xiyan's thoughts drifted away.

A-choo!

Chu Yuanchen, who was almost in Yuzhou, sneezed three times in a row. He touched his nose and thought he didn't have a cold. That meant someone was thinking about him!

Hmm...

In the past, Chu Yuanchen would most likely have thought of Princess Jingle, but now, what appeared in his mind was a slender figure. She was like a cat, looking cold and indifferent to people, full of vigilance, but if he could gain her trust, he would still be able to stroke her fur affectionately.

Chu Yuanchen felt that he was still a little far from this "intimacy", but he could keep trying.

Thinking of this, Chu Yuanchen's hands felt itchy, and he couldn't wait to return to the capital.

Chu Yuanchen did not return to Northern Frontier. It would take at least two months to travel back and forth between the capital and Northern Frontier. In addition, his unhealed injuries did not allow him to travel back and forth.

Therefore, he gave orders early in the morning to let the Northern Frontier go ahead and meet him halfway. In this way, he could wait directly in Yuzhou.

Of course it was impossible for Chu Yuanchen to stay at the post station, so after arriving at the county town, he just found an inn to rest. Not long after he fell asleep, someone knocked on the door.

The door opened, and a young man in blue came in. He had an ordinary appearance and expressionless face, except for a pair of narrow black eyes that seemed to carry a hint of coldness.

After he entered the room, he clasped his fists and called out, "Master."

Chu Yuanchen yawned lazily and sat with his legs crossed in an awkward position: "Jiang Li, is there a pigeon message?"

"Yes, master." Jiang Li handed over a small piece of folded silk paper with both hands.

The Zhenbei Palace secretly set up bases in various states. If there is an emergency, pigeons will be released directly to the corresponding bases.

Chu Yuanchen unfolded the silk paper and read it all at a glance. There was surprise on his face, and then there was unconcealable ecstasy.

He put the silk paper on the candle and burned it. Then he raised his hand and waved it, and the black ashes flew away, leaving no trace.

Chu Yuanchen said calmly: "The emperor issued an order. To mourn for my grandfather and the soldiers who died in the battle of the Northern Frontier."

His heart was so excited that he almost wanted to roar to the sky.

"Jiang Li, send a pigeon message to Jiang Yuecheng."

Chu Yuanchen was full of energy, all the tiredness on his face had disappeared, and his beautiful peach blossom eyes were so bright that they seemed to be glowing.

"I changed my mind. Let's go back to Jiangyue City!"

"Let them wait for me in Yuzhou first."

He is going back to Jiangyue City to do something very important!