Although Chu Yuanchen had just stepped into Yizhou today, the emperor had already sent the Jinyiwei to keep an eye on him, so they learned at the first time that he had come to Beijing carrying Xue Chongzhi's coffin. Upon hearing this, the emperor was shocked and angry, and his face was as gloomy as water.
He had always thought that Xue Zhongzhi had been killed, but he never expected that Chu Shen had secretly taken him back to Northern Xinjiang and kept it a secret for so many years. Chu Yuanchen even wanted to bring him to the capital!
No wonder the late emperor always said that these three princes of the Darong Dynasty had long been connected and colluded with each other. If they were not dealt with as soon as possible, they would become a serious threat to Darong.
Sure enough...as expected!
The emperor was so angry that his hands were shaking. He finally managed to control himself, but the folding fan in his hand was already wrinkled and the landscape painting on it was deformed.
"Chu Yuanchen." The emperor gritted his teeth.
He had been in a bad mood for the past few days, not only because of the trick Chu Yuanchen played under his nose, but also because he was forced to issue an order to mourn for the soldiers in the northern border. The Chu family attempted to challenge his imperial power, but he took the overall situation into consideration and endured it. Unexpectedly, Chu Yuanchen even went further.
The emperor threw his folding fan on the desk and said coldly, "Does he really think I dare not punish him?!"
The emperor’s wrath left millions of people dead.
All the servants in the study were trembling with fear, fearing that the emperor's anger would burn them.
Even the commander of the Royal Guard, Lu Lianxiu, was the same.
Only a young man in a red Qilin robe remained calm and said slowly, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
His feminine voice was neither light nor heavy, and his outstanding appearance was like a piece of fine jade, clear but not turbid.
"Your Majesty, Chu Shen never went to Lingnan back then." Xiao Shuo said meaningfully, "It should be Wei Jingyan."
His eyes and brows were gentle, and he was not at all frightened by the emperor's rage. He seemed to be out of tune with the extremely depressing atmosphere in Yu's study, but he could control everything in his hands.
With just two short sentences, he had already taken control of the situation and even the emperor's mood.
The emperor's expression calmed down, and the anger that had just risen up gradually subsided. He tapped the table lightly with the handle of his fan.
The northern border and Lingnan are separated by thousands of miles. Whether it was when the incident happened or in the years that followed, Chu Shen almost never left the border. It was impossible for him to find Xue Chongzhi's body.
The emperor gradually calmed down and said thoughtfully: "A Shuo, do you mean Wei Jingyan?"
The eunuchs raised their sleeves to wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads. Lu Lianxiu also breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Xiao Shuo in awe.
Xiao Shuo said slowly: "The only person who had the opportunity to take Xue Zhongzhi's body away from Lingnan without anyone noticing was Wei Jingyan."
The emperor's eyes darkened and he said, "Sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After Xiao Shuo bowed, he lifted his robe and sat on an armchair beside him, gracefully and calmly. Immediately, a eunuch brought him a cup of tea, and then the eunuch respectfully stepped aside.
Lu Lianxiu couldn't help but think: Even the important officials in the inner cabinet can't be as calm and composed as Governor Xiao in this study. That's right, all those people in the inner cabinet can't compare to Governor Xiao.
The emperor was silent for a long time. Apart from Xiao Shuo sipping his tea leisurely, the atmosphere in the study was extremely cold.
Finally, the emperor spoke, and said in a deep voice: "The late emperor really trusted the wrong person back then."
At that time, Wei Jingyan reported to the emperor that Xue Zhongzhi's body had been completely corroded by the poisonous mist in the swamp. The poisonous mist was too strong and anyone who entered it would die. The bones could not be retrieved. The late emperor believed him and ordered a tomb for Xue Zhongzhi. Unexpectedly, he actually deceived the late emperor!
Xiao Shuo spoke at the right time, saying gently, "Your Majesty, the court must have an explanation for whether Xue Zhongzhi colluded with Nan Huai and ended up burning himself. The more they suppress him, the more room the Zhenbei Palace will have to manipulate things in secret."
The emperor was in his prime, and when he heard this, his eyebrows raised, his face looked heroic, and he asked angrily, "What rumors are there among the people?"
Xiao Shuo replied: "There are rumors among the people that Xue Zhongzhi was murdered by the late emperor."
The emperor's hand shook violently and the folding fan almost fell from his hand.
Xiao Shuo immediately continued, "Especially in the northern border area, almost everyone is saying that the late emperor was jealous of Xue Zhongzhi's military power, so he colluded with the Nanhuai people and lured Xue Zhongzhi away. And it was not the Nanhuai people who set fire to Zhan Gucheng, but the imperial guards..."
His voice was neither hurried nor slow, calm and composed, but when he said the word "Imperial Guards", he deliberately emphasized it.
The sound was as heavy as a drum, hitting the emperor's head twice.
Bang!
The emperor slammed the desk, his face turned pale, and his back teeth clenched together.
Everyone in Yu's study knelt down at once.
"Your Majesty, calm down." Xiao Shuo said the same thing, and then continued slowly, "The Zhenbei Palace is unwilling to give up, so it deliberately spreads such rumors. In the past four years, both the people and soldiers in the Northern Frontier have been discussing privately that the reason why Beiyan was able to capture Yanshan Pass and kill Zhenbei King was the same as Nanhuai back then, that is, the court was supporting the outside world. The difference is that Chu Yuanchen is still in Zhenbei Palace, so Zhenbei Palace is still there."
The emperor's face turned pale and blue, his right hand clenched tightly on the desk, and veins bulged on the back of his hand.
"Good, very good." The emperor sneered, "The people in the northern border are really unruly. They only know about the Zhenbei Palace and don't know about the court?! How dare they talk nonsense about court affairs!"
The late emperor's considerations back then were indeed correct!
The princes who have lived in one place for a long time are most able to win the hearts of the people.
"Your Majesty." Xiao Shuo said meaningfully, "Although Chu Yuanchen is using the Xue family's name to force Your Majesty this time, in fact, he wants to put Your Majesty in a dilemma."
He stopped at the point and gave the emperor enough room for thought.
Xiao Shuo picked up the teacup and slowly used the tea lid to skim off the floating leaves on the tea soup.
Since he didn't say anything, no one else dared to speak either. The study was completely silent.
After Xiao Shuo took a few sips of tea, he nodded slightly to Lu Lianxiu who was still kneeling on one knee. Lu Lianxiu quickly stood up and stepped aside. Xiao Shuo only gave a look, and the kneeling eunuchs stood up one by one. They were all thankful in their hearts. Living with the emperor is like living with a tiger. Fortunately, Governor Xiao was here, otherwise someone would have been in trouble today.
The emperor stroked his jade-like finger, paying no attention to all this, thinking: Xiao Shuo is right, Chu Yuanchen appears to be a dandy and simple-minded man, but how can a dandy man control the Northern Frontier? He is very scheming.
He brought Xue Chongzhi's remains back to the capital, probably just to wait for me to take action!
I have just issued an edict to mourn for the soldiers who died in the northern border. If I now insist on not allowing Chu Yuanchen to escort the coffin into the capital, it would be biased and it would be difficult to convince the people of the world. At that time, people would definitely say that it was the late emperor who could not tolerate Xue Chongzhi.
The timing was so unfortunate!
The emperor even suspected that this was a trap set by the Zhenbei Palace. Jingle deliberately let Yongan target her, which put him in a dilemma and forced him to issue the imperial edict. However, he went to Yongan's mansion that day on a whim, and Jingle had no way of knowing it.
And the girl from the Sheng family...
After returning from Yong'an Mansion last time, the emperor asked Dongchang to investigate. However, no matter how they investigated, Sheng Xiyan had no connection with the Zhenbei Palace in the past. If the empress dowager had not gone to the trouble to arrange a marriage for Chu Yuanchen, she would have been married to the Yongning Marquis Mansion by now.
The emperor rubbed his aching forehead.
It was because of this inconspicuous little girl that the originally good situation was disrupted into what it is now, making him wonder whether to blame the Queen Mother or King Zhao.
The emperor thought about it and said in deep thought: "In this case, we can only let Chu Yuanchen bring back Xue Zhongzhi's remains first, and then make a long-term plan."
When I said this, my chest felt like it was blocked by something, and I felt stuffy and uncomfortable.
The late emperor also said that ignorant people are most easily instigated and most easily exploited. They only see the immediate benefits and only talk about how brave the princes guarding the border are, but they cannot see the ruler of a country sitting in the court. They are too easily blinded.
The emperor asked solemnly, "How many days will it take for Chu Yuanchen to arrive in the capital?"
Lu Lianxiu quickly replied: "He just entered Yizhou yesterday, so it should take him another seven or eight days to get there."
If he rode alone, it would definitely be faster, but Chu Yuanchen's group had thousands of people, so the speed would inevitably be affected.
"Someone, come here. Xuan Neige."
As soon as the emperor gave the order, the eunuchs went to the Wenhua Palace to summon people.
Xiao Shuo half-closed his eyelids, hiding the sharp edge in Feng's eyes, like a sword being unsheathed.
In the next few hours, the emperor summoned many people to his study.
As a result, the entire court soon learned the news that Chu Yuanchen had arrived in Yizhou. They also learned that Chu Yuanchen not only brought envoys and letters from Northern Yan, but also brought back Xue Chongzhi's body.
This shocked many people.
The Lingnan Palace was completely destroyed more than ten years ago. Unexpectedly, more than ten years later, Chu Yuanchen was able to find Xue Chongzhi's body.
There was inevitably a lot of discussion in the court.
After Sheng Xingan returned, he also told Sheng Xiyan about this. He didn't care whether Xue Zhongzhi could be found or not, what he cared about was that Chu Yuanchen was finally coming back.
He stroked his beard and said with a happy face, "Prince Chu should arrive in the capital in seven or eight days. You should make good preparations by then and let your mother take you to the Zhenbei Palace to congratulate the princess."
It was the time for morning and evening visits. Liu had been lying in bed for nearly half a month before she finally moved from the inner room to the main hall.
Before Sheng Xiyan could say anything, Liu frowned and said in embarrassment: "Master, it's not that I don't want to go, it's just that my body is..." As she spoke, she coughed twice, looking weak.
Sheng Xingan's good mood was dampened by her, and she said coldly: "Then you don't have to go. From now on, just treat our Sheng Mansion's Madam as dead."
Liu's heart choked.
She had been pretending to be sick for so many days, but Sheng Xingan didn't show any sign of softening, so she thought of taking advantage of this incident to gain some control, but she ended up with another setback.
Liu smiled and said, "There are still seven or eight days left. I, I will be well by then."
Sheng Xingan nodded coldly.
Everything was quiet again.
No one else dared to speak and could only sip their tea and eat their snacks.
Mrs. Liu could only make small talk and said, "Sister Yan, where is the nanny the princess gave you last time? I haven't seen her for a few days."
Sheng Xingan also raised his eyebrows. He had heard Liu talk about this, but had never seen it.
"I'm going back." Sheng Xiyan said with a smile, "I went to the Zhenbei Palace today and brought Nanny Wu back with me."
Liu was surprised for a moment and blurted out: "Going back?!"
Didn't you just come a few days ago? Why did you leave?
"Didn't the princess ask Nanny Wu to teach you, Sister Yan, how to behave? Could it be that..." Mrs. Liu wanted to say, could it be that you pissed that person off?
"No." It was Sheng Yan who spoke up. "The princess really likes my sister, mother. The pearl hairpin on my sister's head was given by the princess today. Chu Yuanyi said that the prince specially sent someone from the northern border to bring it to the princess."
Sheng Xingan's eyes could not help but fall on Sheng Xiyan's hair. He knew nothing about jewellery, but the South China pearls hanging on the hairpin were of extremely rare quality. He nodded repeatedly with a smile and said with satisfaction: "It must be that the princess thinks Sister Yan is well-behaved and does not need to be taught more." The girls from their Sheng family are naturally good!
"When you have nothing to do in the future, go to the Zhenbei Palace more often. Your father has heard that when the Prince of Chu returns to the capital, it will be time for him to be promoted to the title."
The King of Zhenbei has passed away for four years, and Chu Yuanchen is still just a prince. Now that the Northern Frontier has been settled, it is time for the prince to become a prince.
Sheng Xing'an looked expectant. After giving Sheng Xiyan instructions, he said to Sheng Yan, "Brother Yan, since you want to learn martial arts, study hard in the palace and don't slack off..."
He talked a lot, repeating the same old things over and over again. Sheng Xiyan was playing with the jade pendant on her waist, rubbing the patterns on it with her fingertips. When he was dry-mouthed, she interrupted him and asked, "Father, I heard that Jiang Yibin was the third place winner of the imperial examination during the reign of the previous emperor?"
Sheng Xingan knew this, and stroked his beard and nodded slightly, "Jiang Ting... is Jiang Yibin. He was born in a poor family. I heard that he was a farmer's son. He has three older sisters. Back then, the whole family devoted all their efforts to support his studies. He is indeed talented and outstanding. He was already a man of honor before he was 20 years old. He had just passed the imperial examination that year. During the palace examination, an essay won great praise from the late emperor. I heard that the late emperor wanted to select him as the second place, but seeing that he was outstanding and young, he finally selected him as the third place."
In each palace examination, the one with the most outstanding appearance, as long as his performance is relatively good, will usually be selected as the Tanhua. He is also jokingly called "the most romantic Tanhualang" among the people.
When the Zhenbei Palace came to exchange the engagement letter, Jiang Yibin came with Jingle. Sheng Xiyan had also seen him at that time and nodded slightly upon hearing this. In terms of appearance, Jiang Yibin was indeed outstanding, and his temperament was also quite elegant. He looked like a scholar.
Sheng Xiyan asked again: "Then why did he enter the Zhenbei Palace?"
People at that time were quite prejudiced against adopted sons-in-law. Although the Chu family was the Zhenbei royal palace and had a high status, Jiang Ting was already a top scholar in the imperial examination, so his future prospects would not be too bad. Why would he be willing to marry adopted sons-in-law?
If he really didn't care about the clan name, why would he have immediately changed his second son's surname and returned to the clan as soon as Princess Jingle died in his previous life?
But it's hard to say. Maybe it was to prevent the emperor from killing them all. But if the emperor really wanted to kill them all, it wouldn't make much difference whether Chu Yuanyi's surname was Chu or Jiang.
Husband and wife are one body. If a man commits a serious crime, it will also affect his wife and children. No family can avoid disaster by letting the child take the mother's surname. Then on what basis can the child be exempted from the emperor's reckoning by taking the father's surname?
Sheng Xingan also wanted her to know more about the Zhenbei Palace, so he answered her questions: "I heard that it was a marriage granted by the late emperor." As for why Jiang Ting was chosen, he didn't know. At that time, he was busy studying and taking exams, so how could he have time to care about other people's affairs.
Seeing that nothing could be learned from the question, Sheng Xiyan was too lazy to waste time, so she changed the subject and said, "Father, have you forgotten that there is something you haven't given me yet?"
Sheng Xingan was just about to say that he would go ask someone about it tomorrow and come back to tell her, but he was stunned for a moment when he heard this and didn't react.
Sheng Xiyan smiled innocently: "It was the day of the thunder." Sheng Xingan promised to compensate her with 20,000 taels of silver on behalf of Liu. She was very busy a few days ago and had no time to pay attention, but that didn't mean she wouldn't come to collect the debt. 20,000 taels is a lot of money!
Hearing the word "thunder", Liu shuddered, swallowed her saliva, rushed ahead of Sheng Xingan, and said: "...I have been in poor health recently, and my memory is not very good. If you didn't mention it, I would have almost forgotten it."
She winked at Nanny Sun, who immediately went into the inner room and brought out a plain blue purse, which she presented to Sheng Xiyan.
Liu smiled and said, "Here are 20,000 taels of silver notes. Take a look."
Sheng Xingan glanced at Liu. He had given her the banknote long ago and asked her to pass it on to Sheng Xiyan. She was so brave that she dared to keep it for herself.
Liu didn't dare to look him in the eye. She knew of course that she couldn't keep the money. She had wanted to take it out when Sheng Xiyan brought Nanny Wu to see her last time, but then she had met Nanny Wu. She thought Nanny Wu might be able to teach Sheng Xiyan to be more gentle and polite.
Why.
This Aunt Wu is really useless. It's only been a few days, and she ran away without being taught well.
Mrs. Liu was really heartbroken. All the money in the public treasury belonged to her son. To give it to others would be like digging out her heart.
Sheng Xiyan took the purse, opened it and took a look, confirmed the authenticity of the banknote, then put it in her sleeve pocket and said happily, "Thank you, mother."
20,000 taels?! The third girl, Sheng Xiyun, could not help but show envy, thinking: Big sister is going to marry into the palace, it is really different, 20,000 taels of silver, father also said to give it. It's a pity that she is just a concubine's daughter, she doesn't have such good fortune.
After getting the money, Sheng Xiyan covered her mouth and yawned at the right time, with a little tiredness showing on her face.
Sheng Xingan was now looking forward to his daughter's rapid success. Seeing this, he immediately said, "Your mother is tired too and needs to rest. Go back quickly."
Mrs. Liu: “…” She wasn’t tired at all.
Sheng Xiyan stood up and said goodbye: "Father, mother, your daughter is leaving first."
Sheng Xiyan went out with Sheng Yan. Along the way, she asked him about his recent homework. After listening to his bragging, she returned to Cailuyuan.
She put the banknotes into a rosewood box with bamboo-knot patterns carved on it. There was also a note of 20,000 taels in it that she had received from the wife of Marquis Yongning. Sheng Xiyan looked at the two banknotes with great satisfaction and suddenly felt that her purse was full. She didn't have that much money in her two lifetimes combined.
How to spend it...
Should she buy a hot spring villa? In her previous life, she heard that there were several hot spring villas with beautiful scenery near the capital, but she didn't know if they were willing to sell them.
Sheng Xiyan was doing two things at once. While thinking about the hot spring manor, she took off the pearl hairpin, shook it in her hand, looked at the pearls on it, and said with a smile: "Xigui, go ask tomorrow and book a table at the wine shop near the city gate. That day, Prince Chu will come back."
Xigui agreed with a smile.
Sheng Xiyan said cheerfully, "What do you think? Should I bring something for the princess next time I go to the palace?"
"Miss, please make some incense to calm your nerves." Xigui let her hair go and combed it gently with an ebony comb, saying, "I saw a dark shadow under the princess' eyes today. I guess you haven't had a good rest recently."
Sheng Xiyan was silent. She recalled the recipe in her grandfather's notes and decided, "Then let's make a calming incense."
However...if she is too emotionally troubled, perhaps the calming incense will not be of much use to Princess Jingle. And if she is determined, the calming incense will be even more useless.
It was getting darker.
Since the beginning of September, it has gotten dark earlier and it has become chilly at night.
Jingle sat in front of the chessboard, arranging the chess record by herself.
"Guest of honor." A greeting voice came from outside the curtain, and then the curtain was opened, and a refined and elegant middle-aged man walked in.
Jiang Ting has a handsome appearance, wearing a royal blue brocade robe and a jade crown on his hair. Even though he is already in his forties, the years have only added a bit of maturity to his appearance.
"Awu."
Princess Jingle's real name is Chu Wu, and Jingle is her title.
The two had been married for many years, so naturally they didn't have so many formalities. Jiang Tingjing walked straight to the other side of the chess table and sat down. He took a look at the chessboard, where the black and white pieces were evenly matched. The black piece was moving cautiously at every step, while the white piece was able to counter each other's moves. The chessboard was the world, divided by the two powers.
Jiang Ting retracted his gaze and said with a gentle look, "The emperor summoned us today to discuss going to Shili Pavilion to welcome Ah Chen. We will let Prince Zhao go on your behalf."
Originally, it would be most appropriate for the crown prince to welcome the emperor on his behalf, but the emperor has no prince yet, and there is only a five-year-old princess in the palace.
The inner cabinet then suggested that the emperor should go out of the city in person, and after much discussion, they finally changed the title to King Zhao.
The incense burner in the corner was emitting wisps of white smoke, and a sweet aroma lingered in the room, just like the sweetness emitted by ripe fruit.
"I have been in the palace and have only just returned now." He took the warm water handed to him by the maid, drank a sip, and said with a smile, "Awu, did you change the incense? ... This incense smells pretty good."