Chapter 502 Defeated?
After chatting for a while, a maid in red palace dress came in with a smile and said, "Good luck to the Queen Mother, good luck to the Queen, good luck to all the ladies, the Ninth Princess comes to say goodbye to everyone."
"Announce!" The Queen Mother nodded, with a faint smile on her majestic face.
The palace maids, all dressed in bright red palace costumes, walked into the main hall and stood on both sides.
Immediately afterwards, Chu Paner walked in slowly.
The bright red phoenix coronet and veil made her little face even more charming and eye-catching. Although there was a smile on her lips, the smile did not reach her eyes. Hatred and anger were hidden in her eyes as she walked step by step towards the center of the hall.
"Tsk, the little girl is still a little naive. She thinks she hides it well, but she doesn't know that everything is engraved in her eyes." Concubine Yi quietly turned her head and whispered in Concubine Liang's ear.
Concubine Liang pulled the corner of her mouth awkwardly and nodded perfunctorily.
I thought to myself, Empress Yi, can we discuss this later?
The Queen Mother is still sitting upstairs. If the two of us whisper to each other downstairs, wouldn't that be an insult to her face?
Besides, whether the Ninth Princess hides her emotions or not is none of our business.
Fortunately, after saying this, Concubine Yi sat up straight again. On the surface, she still looked dignified and elegant.
Chu Pan'er knelt on a cushion and listened to the Queen's teachings. Then the Queen Mother said a few more words and she kowtowed and said goodbye.
With a loud voice of "The auspicious time has arrived" outside, Chu Pan'er left the Cining Palace surrounded by palace maids.
Concubine Xian looked at her daughter with slightly red eyes.
The wedding sedan was waiting directly at the gate of the Cining Palace.
Even though Queen Song was not in the mood for the princess's wedding, the Ministry of Rites followed the rules and the scene was extremely grand.
From the Imperial Palace to the Ji Mansion, there was an endless stream of people watching along the way.
The seventh prince rode on horseback at the front of the procession and personally escorted the bride.
As for the other princes, at most they would go to the wedding for a drink in the evening as a formality.
After all, they were not particularly close to their sister Chu Pan'er.
Ji Chong was waiting outside the door early, and the young masters following him laughed and teased him.
"You look so nervous, are you afraid? Are you afraid that the bride will run away?"
"That's a princess. I would be nervous too. Ji Chong is really lucky to marry the emperor's princess."
"Alas, I also went there when the Third Prince married his concubine. Why didn't I react as quickly as this guy and jump into the river to save the beauty? My heart aches."
"Brother, even if you become rich, don't forget us brothers."
“…”
As they chatted and laughed, the wedding procession slowly approached.
Chu Pan'er was a princess, and Ji Chong did not dare to kick her door to establish his authority as a husband. He waited for Nanny Xi to help her out of the sedan chair, then hurriedly held one end of the red silk and walked towards the mansion.
During the wedding ceremony, Chu Paner did not kneel.
How could the Ji couple dare to have any objections?
With the words "The ceremony is over, escort to the bridal chamber", the newlyweds returned to the bridal chamber.
Suddenly, the servant beside the Seventh Prince hurried to him and whispered something in his ear.
Chu Shian's expression changed slightly, and then he left without looking back.
Mr. Ji and Madam Ji looked at each other in panic, wondering why they had failed to entertain her and had allowed the Seventh Prince to leave with such a grim look on his face.
"What's going on?" Ji Benyang asked the servant anxiously.
The servant looked bewildered and said, "Don't worry, sir. I will go and find out right away."
Having said that, the man ran away.
However, before the servants could find out clearly, they saw several people dressed as servants hurriedly walked into the main hall and reported to their masters in a serious manner.
Soon, several more officials left.
Seeing this, the others couldn't help but whisper to each other.
"What happened? Why did the Seventh Prince suddenly leave?"
"And what about these adults?"
"Did the Ji family offend someone? Then should we leave as well?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? If only the Seventh Prince left, it could be said that the Ji family offended him. But if these adults left together, it is clearly not the Ji family's fault."
"That's right. The Ji family married the current ninth princess. How bold must these gentlemen be to be so disrespectful to the Ji family?"
"I just saw Ji Benyang ask his servants to inquire. Let's wait and see."
“…”
After a while, the servant who went out to inquire about the news came back.
Ji Benyang asked hurriedly: "Did you find out?"
The servant didn't even dare to take a breath, and hurriedly said, "General Shen was defeated and seriously injured in the battle with the Western Jin army three days ago. Now he has retreated to Changcheng. I'm afraid that after the Western Jin army recuperates for a while, they will attack the city again. The situation is tense, and the emperor urgently summoned all officials to the court to discuss matters."
"What?" Everyone was shocked: "General Shen was defeated?"
One can imagine how panicked the people of Changcheng are at this moment. The army supporting the court has only set out for two days. Even if they travel day and night, it will take at least ten days to reach Changcheng. The generals' morale is low, and it is unknown whether Changcheng can hold out until the arrival of reinforcements.
It was such a happy and festive day, but because of something like this, everyone lost the mood to laugh and the atmosphere suddenly became a little subtle.
Some people secretly thought that Chu Pan'er was unlucky.
The news of Changcheng's defeat came on such a happy day, which makes people feel that they are not blessed.
…
In the Golden Palace, the atmosphere was heavy and depressing. General Shen was defeated, which was a huge blow to them.
"Your Majesty, the morale of Changcheng is low right now. I think we should send the prince to boost morale and let the soldiers know that the court and Wei are with them."
The Minister of War stood in the hall, bent over and said.
Emperor Chengde looked slightly cold, frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "What do you think, my dear ministers?"
The Minister of War was Liu Xiang's man. As soon as he opened his mouth, people from Liu Xiang's party came out to agree with him.
Some military generals also agreed.
Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and he cannot lead the army to war unless it is absolutely necessary. So sending a prince is the most appropriate way at this time.
If we can return victoriously, it will be a real military achievement...
Prime Minister Liu's words were an indirect test of Emperor Chengde. He wanted to see who the emperor would choose.
In terms of seniority, the Second Prince is the most qualified among the other princes to go to war on behalf of his father.
But if he wants to make the Eighth Prince the Crown Prince, the Emperor will never let the Eighth Prince miss this opportunity to make merit.
Prime Minister Liu wanted to know exactly what the Emperor had done for the Eighth Prince...
Emperor Chengde glanced at Prime Minister Liu casually and sneered in his heart.
Old fox.
Don't think I don't know what's in your mind.
"Pass on my order, ordering the Second, Third, and Fifth Princes to set off immediately, to meet up with Marquis Yongyi's army as soon as possible, and to go to Changcheng for support. Song Yanjun and Wu Wei, listen to my order, select 2,000 soldiers from the Jingwu Guards and the Imperial Guards to escort the three princes."
Emperor Chengde's cold and majestic voice resounded above the hall.
It was like a bolt of thunder, striking everyone head-on, leaving them stunned and unable to recover for a long time.
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