Zhao Yuanrou and Sheng Xiyan looked at each other.

She said calmly, "Cousin Yan, don't worry. I, Zhao Yuanrou, swear that from now on I will never ask you for anything again."

Sheng Xiyan said calmly, "No problem."

"You'll regret it!"

"will not."

Zhao Yuanrou choked, bit her lip, snorted coldly, and without looking back, she pulled Sheng away.

She did not take Nanny Wang away, nor did she even call her.

Nanny Wang stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether to leave or stay. She was the housekeeper of the wife of Marquis Yongning, and even the prince would be courteous to her. She had come to the Sheng family on behalf of the wife before, and even Mrs. Liu was very polite to her at that time. But now, she was slapped hard in the face by Zhao Yuanrou in front of the Sheng family.

"Master Sheng, I'll take my leave now." After saying this awkwardly, Nanny Wang couldn't help but look up at Sheng Xiyan.

She was seen with her hands clasped on her knees, a smile on her lips, not frightened by the insult, and having the bearing of a lady from an aristocratic family.

Nanny Wang had an indescribable feeling in her heart. In the past, the Madam always disliked Miss Sheng because she was the eldest daughter of a widow and was not worthy of the Crown Prince. However, Miss Sheng was about to marry into the Zhenbei Palace, and would rise rapidly to a high position from then on. It would probably not take a few months before even the Madam would have to bow and greet her whenever she saw her.

Nanny Wang sighed in her heart and walked away hurriedly. She wanted to go back quickly to tell the lady what happened today.

She didn't believe that Zhao Yuanrou would really not marry. This was a marriage given by the Queen Mother, and she couldn't just not marry if she wanted to! Moreover, with her family background, it was a great honor for her Zhao family ancestors to marry their prince. Oh, she just relied on the prince's favor to flirt with him. How could she be a legitimate wife? She was no different from a little girl who only acted coquettishly to the princes.

As soon as Nanny Wang left, Sheng Xingan couldn't help but say angrily, "How can this be possible!"

He was filled with anger and paced back and forth in the main room, his steps becoming heavier and heavier.

It was clearly the mother and daughter of the Sheng family who begged him to take over the family lineage, and he only said a few words. How come they were even more irritable than him? Could it be that he had to beg Zhao Yuanrou to take over the family lineage?! What a joke, he is not childless!

"From now on, if we talk about the return of the family and the succession, just postpone it." Sheng Xingan said angrily, "If they insist on doing this, then don't blame me as the eldest brother for not helping them!"

Sheng Xing'an had thought carefully about what benefits he could give to the Zhao family so that they would agree to let Sheng take her daughter home, but he didn't expect that his thoughts would be so harshly trampled upon.

"From now on, you are not allowed to meddle in the affairs of my eldest sister's family!"

Liu agreed reluctantly, not daring to say no, because she felt sorry for the 12,000 taels of silver that she had not yet received.

Sheng Xiyan curled the corners of her mouth, stood up and said, "Father, mother, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave first." After that, she took Xigui away.

Walking out of the main room, Sheng Xiyan couldn't help but sigh slightly.

When she mentioned her brother, she felt heavy in her heart.

When her brother went missing, she was far away in Liangzhou and on her way back to the capital. Even her mother was gone. During that time, she was living in complete darkness.

"Miss." Seeing that she looked a little heavy, Xigui changed the subject and said, "Miss Rou just said that the marriage was over. Is she serious?"

Sheng Xiyan reminded him, "This is a marriage gift from the Queen Mother."

The Empress Dowager granted the marriage and issued an imperial decree, which could not be cancelled at the will of anyone.

Otherwise, when she was just reborn, she would not have tried every possible means to obstruct the Queen Mother's decree to establish a legitimate wife.

"She thought about inheriting her father's name. This must be the idea of ​​the wife of Marquis Yongning." Sheng Xiyan stroked the jade pendant around her waist.

Although the Sheng family was just a peasant family in the eyes of the powerful people in the capital, Sheng Xingan was at least a third-rank minister of the Ministry of Rites.

"The wife of Marquis Yongning cannot accept the family background of the Zhao family." Sheng Xiyan smiled slightly, "Maybe she is afraid that her daughter-in-law's family background is too low and she will be laughed at if she takes her out in the future. Even if it is to cover up the truth, she wants to cover it up symbolically."

Sheng Xiyan was too lazy to care about so many things. The right and wrong of the Yongning Marquis' Mansion had nothing to do with her in this life.

"When I first came home, there was a small porcelain vase with a green background and white flowers in my study. You can give it to Amber and tell her that it can help to strengthen her body." After Amber's younger brother recovered from his shock coma, he still needed care, so this was a way of thanking Amber for coming over to deliver the message.

She looked at the sky, frowned and said, "It's going to rain soon, let's go back quickly."

The sky was a little gloomy and the dark clouds were getting thicker.

As soon as I stepped into Caicen Courtyard, accompanied by a few muffled thunders, a rainstorm that had been brewing for a long time poured down like a waterfall. The rain was pouring down, and the whole capital was shrouded in rain.

The emperor stood in his study with the door wide open, letting the rain pour in and wet his dragon robe.

The chief eunuch Song Yuan held a white towel in his hand and wanted to wipe the rain off his face, but he waved him away.

Looking at the heavy rain, the emperor's face was full of excitement and joy.

If the Ministry of Rites had gone according to its original plan, today would be the day Chu Yuanchen's coffin would be escorted into the capital.

He could almost imagine that Chu Yuanchen would use this rainstorm to force him to make concessions and say with his own mouth that Xue Zhongzhi was not guilty.

But now, no matter how beautiful Chu Yuanchen’s dream is, it will be in vain!

His face was full of smiles, and the dark clouds that had been lingering in his heart for the past few days were also taken away by the rainstorm.

The heavy rain lasted for an hour before it stopped. As a ray of sunlight shone through the clouds, the sky gradually cleared up.

In the next few days, the whole court was busy with Chu Yuanchen's visit to the capital. Because the ceremony was temporarily changed to the emperor personally welcoming him, all the etiquette had to be changed, and the Ministry of Rites went back and forth to confirm it.

The entire road from the South Gate to the Imperial City in the capital was guarded by imperial guards, and the people were allowed to watch.

The streets were swept several times, and the beggars on the streets were driven to the west of the city. The Five Cities Army and the Imperial Guards jointly took charge of patrolling and guarding.

On September 28th, just after the hour of Chen, Sheng Xiyan brought Sheng Yan to Yunlai Restaurant.

They came out early, but there were already quite a few people on the street and it was quite lively.

Yunlai Restaurant is located near the South City Gate. Its prime location attracts many customers. Not only are the private rooms fully booked early, but some people even reserve seats in the lobby and sit at several tables in groups of three or four. The sound of various voices mixed together, making the place a bit noisy.

Sheng Xiyan walked in wearing a veil. After Xigui showed the small wooden sign of the reservation to the waiter, the waiter enthusiastically led them to the second floor.

"I heard that the Prince of Zhenbei will bring back Xue Zhongzhi's coffin today. Didn't Xue Zhongzhi collude with Nan Huai and invite a wolf into the house, so he got what he deserved and made the people of Zhan Ancient City be buried with him? Why did the Prince of Zhenbei..."

Sheng Xiyan paused and glanced towards the table.

"This is complete nonsense!" A muscular man at the same table slammed the table and shouted, "The Lingnan Palace and Nanhuai have a blood feud for generations. On the day when Zhan Ancient City was burned, Prince Xue was still leading the troops in the front. Otherwise, how could he let his wife and children die tragically? On that day, locusts covered the sun and the sky was dark. Who would believe that there was no injustice?"

"Brother Liu, you don't talk about strange things."

"Anyway, I don't believe it..."

Sheng Xiyan climbed the stairs and entered the private room, then shut out the noise outside the door.

She walked to the window and looked out. She could see the direction of the city gate at a glance. The view was very good.

"This private room is well booked!" Sheng Xiyan praised happily.

She pinched the purse in her sleeve pocket and looked carefully. If she threw it from here, Chu Yuanchen would probably be able to catch it. Thinking of this, the smile on her face became brighter.

"Sister." Sheng Yan glanced at the door and said, "I heard that recently, people outside are discussing how the King of Lingnan died. Some people say that he colluded with the people of Nanhuai and deserved to die, but others say that it was because Nanhuai was destroyed that the remnants of Nanhuai hated Prince Xue and deliberately spread rumors to sow discord."

Sheng Xiyan just asked: "What do you think?"

"Take my word." Sheng Yan said without hesitation, "Someone must have deliberately spread the rumor of colluding with Nanhuai people! What kind of person is Prince Xue? If he wanted to collude with Nanhuai, he would have done it long ago. How could he be so short-sighted that he didn't get any benefit at all and even caused his family to be destroyed. If he was really so stupid, Lingnan would have been lost long ago."

He raised his chin, his eyes full of arrogance, and muttered: "This group of people are really just a bunch of people, completely smart and aggressive like me."

Sheng Xiyan couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.

"There's more." Sheng Yan felt that he had been praised, and continued smugly, "Sister, I think someone has been deliberately spreading the news about the Zhenbei Palace recently! Think about it, it's been so many years, if I hadn't heard people talking about it these past two days, who would still remember that incident?"

This boy really sees things clearly. Sheng Xiyan nodded secretly.

She only knew that after the late emperor buried Xue Chongzhi's family in a grand cenotaph, about a year or two later, rumors suddenly emerged that Xue Chongzhi had colluded with the people of Nanhuai and had fallen into depravity.

Not long after that, the Xue family's cenotaph was dug up and the clothes and hats buried in it were burned in a fire. It was said that it was done by angry people.

Sheng Yan leaned over the open window, watching the people coming and going below, and couldn't help but say, "Sister, is the Prince of Zhenbei as described in the opera, eight feet tall, with eyes like copper bells and a fierce appearance? "

"I asked Yuanyi, but Chu Yuanyi said that he hadn't seen the prince for many years and had long forgotten what he looked like."

"But, I thought, Chu Yuanyi looks so gentle, the prince will definitely not be too..." Thinking that the prince of Zhenbei will soon be his brother-in-law, Sheng Yan turned the word ugly in his mouth, "strong..."

He shouted excitedly, his eyes shining as if they would glow.

Just now he was acting like a young master who didn't believe what others said, but now he is talking about nothing but rumors.

It wasn't until the waiter came over to serve breakfast that he finally shut his mouth.

After breakfast, Sheng Yan ordered a pot of tea and some snacks. Just as he was about to continue his chatter, Jingle came and brought Chu Yuanyi with him and went straight into the private room.

"Princess."

Sheng Xiyan and Sheng Yan greeted Jingle with a smile, and Chu Yuanyi also bowed politely and called her "Miss Sheng", looking very gentle and polite.

Then Sheng Yan pulled him to look for the royal chariot.

According to the etiquette given by the Ministry of Rites, Jingle was supposed to enter the palace today. After Chu Yuanchen met the emperor, there would be a palace banquet. Jingle should be waiting for the banquet in the palace.

But when she heard that Sheng Xiyan had reserved a private room, she decided to bring Chu Yuanyi over to use the room and enter the palace later. The Queen Mother didn't care too much about this little thing and agreed.

Jingle happily waited for her son here with Sheng Xiyan.

"Sister Yan, please come with me to the palace."

"Just follow me when the time comes. Don't be too restrained."

Sheng Xiyan responded.

The street suddenly became quiet, the imperial guards cleared the way, and the people were blocked on both sides of the street.

About an incense stick later, deafening cheers of "Long live the emperor" were heard outside, and the people on the street all knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

First came the Qingyou Troupe and the twelve dragon flags, followed by the civil and military officials, a bright yellow dragon chariot pulled by six horses, followed by a group of palace ladies holding canopies. King Zhao rode on a tall horse, and the Jinyi Guards stood on both sides.

This team of over a thousand people is very powerful.

Since the emperor decided to go in person, he would not do it too shabby, and he did it to show his respect. All the civil and military officials in the court, as well as the nobles of the royal family, followed the emperor's order and accompanied him. It made people sigh that the emperor was indeed very kind to the Zhenbei Palace.

After the dragon chariot left the city gate, the people kneeling on both sides of the street stood up one after another. Their faces were full of excitement and enthusiasm. No one moved, just waiting to catch another glimpse of the Prince of Zhenbei.

After the Holy Chariot left the city, it came all the way to Shili Pavilion under the protection of the imperial guards.

When they left the capital, the sky was clear and windless with few clouds. But as they were on the road, the wind gradually picked up, causing the dragon flags to fly.

The Ministry of Rites had already arranged the time. The emperor had just got off the dragon chariot at Shili Pavilion at the exact time of 9:00 p.m. when he heard the sound of horse hooves like thunder coming from far away. It sounded like there were thousands of people marching in an orderly and uniform manner without any sign of disorder, which showed that their military discipline was strict.

Then, a black flag with a golden eagle came into view. The eagle's wings were clearly visible, its eyes were sharp, and it had a proud demeanor when it spread its wings. The flag fluttered in the wind, making a sound of hunting. On the other side was a flying dragon and dancing phoenix character "Chu". This was Chu Yuanchen's military flag.

This flag was invincible in the northern border, and made the Northern Yan people feel terrified and frightened at the mere sight of it.

The emperor's eyes fell on the flag for a long time, and he did not move away, with no expression of joy or anger on his face.

"Your Majesty," said the chief eunuch Song Yuan, bowing, "the wind seems to be strong. Please put on your cloak."

The emperor nodded.

There was a chill of autumn in the air. Not only were the flags and banners rustling in the wind, but even the branches of the big trees beside the Shili Pavilion were swaying. The court officials around them all had their official robes flying around, and they had to hold them down with their hands from time to time to avoid losing manners in front of the emperor.

Song Yuan spread out his cloak and put it on the emperor. A strong wind blew and the cloak in Eunuch Song's hand was almost blown away. Some people hurriedly held their official hats with their hands. Many people looked at each other, and even if they didn't say anything, their expressions were a little subtle.

This wind is really strange.

In the past few days, whether in the restaurants and teahouses in Beijing or in the streets and alleys, people have started talking about the Lingnan Palace again, and those details that have been forgotten by many people have been dug up one by one.

It is said that on that day, the sky above the ancient city of Zhan was covered with dark clouds, the wind was blowing and the clouds were rolling, even the sun seemed to be swallowed up.

That's because Shang Cang felt that the Xue family shouldn't have ended up like this.

And now, this sudden strange wind always makes people feel a little uneasy.

The Minister of Rites cleared his throat and reminded him, "Emperor, you should step forward a hundred steps to greet him."

The emperor calmed down and said, "That's what should be done."

He led the civil and military officials forward a full hundred steps.

Chu Yuanchen was wearing silver-white armor and riding on a black horse with four snow-white hooves, looking very heroic.

Behind him was a black coffin pulled by four white horses. When the emperor saw the coffin, his heart couldn't help but beat wildly.

Behind the coffin were soldiers from the Northern Frontier Army in uniform, all of them riding on tall horses, exuding a unique chilly aura of having fought on the battlefield. They looked solemn, and apart from the sound of horse hooves and the wind, there was almost no sound, which unconsciously affected people and made them concentrate.

There was total silence, except for the sound of the wind which was getting louder.

Chu Yuanchen rode his horse closer, dismounted, took a few steps forward, clasped his fists and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty, I, Chu Yuanchen, will not disgrace the Emperor's order. Beiyan is willing to sign a letter of credence and take Darong as its master. For generations, we will never betray you..."

His voice was loud and clear, reaching the ears of everyone present.

The emperor couldn't help but get excited.

Beiyan will regard Darong as its master, which means that Beiyan will become a vassal state of Darong.

During his reign, he would expand the territory for Darong, which would be his greatest achievement in his life. Just like the previous emperor conquered Nanhuai, he would become a wise ruler who would be praised for eternity and leave a strong mark in history books.

Over the thousands of years, there have been countless emperors whose names were recorded in history books as nothing more than names, but not him!

The emperor laughed heartily and said in a good mood: "Yuanchen, please stop being polite."

He raised his hand to support Chu Yuanchen, who was only halfway through his ceremony, and stood up. Seeing that he did not even kneel firmly, the emperor frowned, his expression remained unchanged, and he raised his hand to pat his shoulder: "Yuanchen, I remember that you were still a boy when you returned to Beijing last time. Now you are not only taller than me, but you have also made great contributions. You are truly a great general that I have honored. Your grandfather's spirit in heaven will surely be comforted."

Chu Yuanchen said modestly: "Your Majesty is kind."

The emperor looked at him with a smile, looking very comforted.

Both of them had smiles on their faces, looking like a king and his subjects who were of one mind and in harmony.

"Your Majesty," Chu Yuanchen followed, "I also brought back the coffin of King Xianlingnan."

He slightly moved his body to expose the black coffin to the emperor, and then said, "I heard from my grandfather that before the prince died in battle, he said that if he died, he would become a heroic spirit and continue to guard the land of Darong to repay the late emperor's friendship. Therefore, I traveled thousands of miles to bring him back to the capital."

The emperor nodded with satisfaction and said, "Then let's keep it in the Hall of Heroes for now. When the Ministry of Rites chooses an auspicious day, you can rest in peace."

He sighed and said with emotion: "The late emperor built a tomb for Mr. Xue. Now the tomb has finally welcomed Mr. Xue's coffin, which can be regarded as the fulfillment of the late emperor's wishes. Yuanchen, what do you think?"

The cenotaph was destroyed twenty years ago, and the late emperor only sighed a few times about it back then. This is why all kinds of rumors have continued for the past twenty years.

Whether Xue Zhongzhi was loyal or treacherous is no longer certain.

Now the emperor ordered Xue Chongzhi to be buried in the cenotaph, which actually shows his attitude.

Chu Yuanchen still smiled, looking very easy to talk to, and said, "Your Majesty is right."

The emperor was a little surprised that he agreed so readily. He always felt that there might be some conspiracy. But then he thought that Chu Yuanchen had already arrived in the capital and was right under his nose, so he would not dare to cause trouble.

The emperor was feeling more and more happy, and then he heard Chu Yuanchen ask, "What should be written on the tablet?"

"I've thought about it, let me write..."

Before the emperor's voice had completely fallen, there was another sudden gust of wind. The wind came so fast that the emperor almost couldn't stand. Song Yuan, who was standing beside him, quickly helped him up.

The other court officials were also blown to and fro, and they frantically supported each other. For a moment, several official hats flew up into the air.

I don't know which horse neighed at this moment, and more and more horses began to feel uneasy. They stamped their hooves anxiously, paced back and forth, and some neighed loudly. The neighing of one horse was okay, but when the neighing of ten, twenty, or even a hundred horses mixed together, it was like the roar of thunder.

Chu Yuanchen's black hoof shook its head uneasily, but the hoof did not move at all.

The wind was getting stronger and stronger, and the sky seemed a little gloomy near noon.

"Brother." King Zhao Qin Wei exclaimed in surprise. He raised his hand and said with a trembling voice, "What is that?"

Following the sound, I saw a group of black clouds rolling up in the sky not far away. The black clouds kept overlapping, and soon there were not just one but two, three, four... There were more and more black clouds, and they were rushing towards this side at a very fast speed, just like black waves rushing onto the shore.

The emperor was almost stunned. He stared at the black clouds dully. The scene in his memory that he dared not recall at all suddenly appeared before his eyes again.

The nightmare came true and made him shudder.

The emperor's hands hidden under his cloak were trembling. This completely uncontrollable trembling was like his uncontrollable fear, surging from the depths of his heart and difficult to suppress.

"It's bugs!" Qin Wei shouted in horror, "How could there be bugs? There are so many bugs."

Everyone's terrified eyes were all fixed on the dark clouds in the sky. No one noticed that Xiao Shuo winked at Song Yuan, who immediately said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, these look like locusts."

The word "locust" weighed heavily on the emperor's heart.

He subconsciously took a few steps back, his face pale and ugly, as if he had seen a ghost.