The Prince Returns
Song Chenyu led his men out of Yu'an and returned to the imperial city as soon as possible in order to resolve the Xindong problem more quickly.
He suddenly decided to take a hundred people on a boat and rush to Fengxiang day and night.
In the end, they arrived a day earlier than planned.
Although Jin Jie had received the news that Crown Prince Song Chenyu was leading his troops to war, he had also made arrangements in advance.
However, they did not expect them to arrive so early, so due to the carelessness of the defenders, the granary was attacked by these hundred people.
At the same time, the two sides launched a fierce life-and-death struggle.
Although these one hundred people were all elite soldiers, the enemy had as many as three thousand people, so the whole process was extremely tragic.
Song Chenyu was surrounded during the fight and eventually fell off his horse covered in wounds.
The remaining soldiers led the enemy in different directions at the same time, and he was able to break through the encirclement and escape. Fortunately, he met Wang Qingsheng who came to join him on the way.
At that time, he had a head injury and multiple wounds on his body. He fainted the moment he saw Wang Qingsheng.
He didn't wake up until the next day.
Most of the troops, Wang Qingsheng and Ma Chong who came to reinforce finally reunited.
After Ma Chong and Wu Yue eliminated the rebels in Pingwang, they were worried about the crown prince, so they rushed to Fengxiang without stopping.
Song Chenyu received the news that the imperial city was attacked by rebels and the emperor had passed away.
The death of the official made him extremely sad.
Although they had just become relatives not long ago, because he had been going in and out of the Eastern Palace since he was a child and had often had the opportunity to meet the emperor, he had always treated him well.
Considering that the granary in Xindong had been destroyed and the capital was full of crises, he planned to turn back to the capital himself, and let Wang Qingsheng and Ma Chong lead the rest of the soldiers to continue attacking the Xindong army.
On the bed in the East Palace, the unconscious Fuyao fell into a mist.
The wet mist wrapped her up and floated forward.
Suddenly, the fog dissipated.
She stood at the edge of the training ground and saw from afar that Prince Song Chenyu's battle robe was dyed golden red by the setting sun.
He held the enemy general's head on a spear in his hand, and behind him was the red flag of the Lan Kingdom.
"Chen Yu!"
Fuyao shouted, picked up the hem of her skirt and ran away.
But just after taking two steps, his figure suddenly became blurred, like ink smeared by water.
"Chen Yu!"
She screamed and rushed forward, but missed.
The fog came back, making it impossible for her to open her eyes.
"Fuyao, Fuyao!"
Someone was calling her in her ear.
Fuyao opened her eyes suddenly, and what she saw was Concubine Feng's tear-swollen eyes and Chaoyue's trembling hands holding the medicine bowl.
"The Crown Princess is awake!"
The midwife knelt on the ground with her forehead resting on the brick floor.
“The bleeding has stopped!
You are a little Bodhisattva, a blessing to our country!"
The imperial physician held Fuyao's wrist and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Replying to the Imperial Concubine, the Crown Princess's pulse, although weak, has stabilized.
Although the fetus is injured, as long as you take good care of it, it will recover in the future."
There was a moment of silence in the hall, and then suppressed crying broke out.
Chaoyue was holding the swaddling clothes and laughing till tears came out. Concubine Feng held Fuyao's hand tightly and refused to let go.
"My son, you scared me to death!"
At this time, outside the East Palace, Captain Xu Jing's hand was still clutching the jade token at his waist.
Before Song Chenyu went to war, he knelt at the steps of the East Palace and promised to "protect Concubine Yao."
At this moment, he looked at the candlelight coming from the hall, his Adam's apple rolled, and he finally couldn't help but raised his hand to wipe his face.
Shao Hansu, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, was always calm, but at this moment he was staring at the raindrops dripping from the eaves in a daze.
He was waiting in the side hall just now, and the documents he was holding were soaked with sweat.
Li Xian, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, was even more direct, leaning against the pillar and gasping for breath.
As for the Privy Councilor Zhao Qun, who was always steady and self-possessed, he tilted his head and his eyes were red.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, and congratulations to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
I don't know who spoke first, but everyone outside the hall knelt down.
Zhao's voice became hoarse.
"It was the Crown Princess who protected the roots of the Lan Kingdom. It is a blessing for all of us!"
Concubine Feng wiped her tears and walked to the window holding her little grandson.
The rain stopped at some point, and the moonlight penetrated the clouds, shining on the baby's rosy cheeks.
When Fuyao fell asleep again, she dreamed that the prince had returned.
His armor was still stained with blood, but he smiled and held her in his arms.
"Fuyao, thank you for your hard work."
The sycamore leaves outside the window rustled, as if responding to the reunion after surviving the disaster.
In Feiwei Palace, Concubine Feng had not had a good rest for several days.
Only after knowing that Fuyao was out of danger did he sleep peacefully for a while.
In the evening, after drinking some porridge, I heard Chaoxia say,
"Han Qing wants to see you for something."
The imperial concubine nodded, then got up from the couch and went to the outer room.
"Your Majesty, I have something to present to you."
As Han Qing spoke, he took out a handwritten edict written by the emperor during his lifetime from his sleeve.
Concubine Feng was quite shocked holding the imperial edict. She originally thought that the emperor wanted to spare Song Cangyuan's life, but this would bring a threat to Chen Yu's regime.
Unexpectedly, the imperial edict clearly stated that when he left, Song Cangyuan would be dying.
So she asked Han Qing to handle the matter quietly.
After several days of trial, the Zhao region confirmed that Fan Zhong was collaborating with the enemy and collaborating with Zhou She and Zhao Yan in rebellion.
The reason why it was kept so secret was all thanks to Concubine Qi.
She had been sending people to and from them, and she was the one who had slipped through the net during the previous surveillance.
It turned out that Qi Zhaoyi had a miscarriage because she wanted to save Concubine Feng who fell into the water. After the miscarriage, the emperor no longer favored her.
She blamed Concubine Feng for this, after all, she lost her child because of her.
Therefore, over the years, she has been pretending to be on good terms with the imperial concubine.
Thinking of this, Concubine Feng felt a little uncomfortable. It was indeed difficult to find someone with whom she could confide in such a huge palace.
She sighed lightly and decided to wait until the prince returned to decide how to deal with these people.
The evening clouds were hanging low, Song Chenyu was riding on a horse, his black cloak whistling in the river breeze.
He raised his hand and pressed his forehead. Three days ago, when he set fire to the Xindong military camp, he was hit by a stray arrow.
Although the skull was not injured, half of the scalp was torn off, and a faint red color was still seeping under the gauze.
"Your Highness, Yu'an is ahead."
The voice of the guard interrupted his thoughts.
He looked up and saw a half-worn "Lan" flag fluttering on the city wall in the distance, and his heart suddenly tightened.
The accompanying military doctor came forward carrying a medicine box.
"Your Highness, the wound needs another dressing."
"No need."
Song Chenyu raised his hand to stop and glanced at the soldiers on the side of the road.
Several wounded soldiers were supporting each other and eating cold steamed buns, and they knelt down when they saw him.
He quickly reined in his horse,
"No need to be polite.
What unusual movements have occurred in the city recently?
The guard lowered his voice.
"Someone just came to report that the Crown Princess..."
The reins of the horse suddenly tightened, and Song Chenyu's Adam's apple rolled.
"explain."
"On the day the rebels set up their ladders, Yang Diansi died for his country, and the Crown Princess's maidservant died protecting her.
The Crown Princess insisted on going down the city wall despite the danger.
She stood behind the parapet and beat the drum. The arrow grazed her hair and blood flowed down her temples into the cracks of her armor.
The guard spoke softer and softer, but Song Chenyu could hear a roar in his ears.
He remembered that when she left Beijing, she had become plump and her eyes were full of honey when she smiled.
"Your Highness?"
The guard called him.
Song Chenyu closed his eyes.
The wind blew the smell of blood towards him. He touched the eggplant bag at his waist. It was sewn by his Crown Princess and was now stained with blood.
"Order, all troops, dress in plain clothes, and follow me into the city on foot."
The bluestone pavement in Yu'an City was soaked in blood and turned black by rain.
Song Chenyu walked in front, the hem of his black mourning clothes was covered with mud.
When he was about to reach the Meridian Gate, he stopped and said to the military doctor,
"Change the bandage on your head."
The old medical officer was stunned.
"Your Highness, this injury."
"Make it thinner, with plain yarn."
Song Chenyu took off his hair crown, revealing a hideous scar on his forehead.
The white gauze covered it, barely hiding the most eye-catching part.
"Don't show it, she'll be scared if she sees it."
Xu Jing came out of the palace gate holding a medicine box, his eyes red.
"Your Highness!
The Crown Princess asked you last night.
"How is she?"
Song Chenyu's voice trembled.
"I had a massive hemorrhage on the day of delivery, and the ginger tea at the Shangshi Bureau went cold three times.
The midwife knelt on the ground and cried, saying that she was afraid the baby could not be saved.
But the Crown Princess gritted her teeth and said, 'My son is of royal blood. If I die, he will accept this kingdom as his wet nurse.' She managed to hold on."
Xu Jing's eyes were red.
"The little prince is now waiting in the East Palace, held by the Crown Princess and his wet nurse."
Song Chenyu staggered a step and held onto the vermilion lacquered doorpost.
He recalled the day when he was enthroned as the crown prince, and Fuyao's voice was like honey.
"I don't want to be a peony in a greenhouse. I want to be a kapok tree that can stand shoulder to shoulder with you."
Now the kapok trees are really blooming in the blood rain.
Calming incense was burning in the bedroom. Fuyao was leaning on a soft pillow, holding a baby wrapped in a brocade quilt in her arms.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up and the light in her eyes hit her before the sound.
"Chen Yu?"
Song Chenyu took a few steps to the bed and knelt on the footstool.
He reached out and touched her cheek.
"Fuyao."
Astringency in the throat,
"I'm back."
Fuyao's tears fell first and hit the baby's face.
She wanted to raise her hand to touch his wound, but Song Chenyu held her hand.
"Don't touch it, it still hurts."
He placed her hand on his forehead.
"But you, on the day of your hemorrhage, why didn't you ask Xu Jing to pass on the message?"
"Yes."
Fuyao smiled.
"Xu Jing said you've already arrived in Fengxiang, and I'm worried you might be distracted."
She bent down and kissed the baby's forehead.
"I have our flesh and blood in my belly, I can't die."
The baby suddenly started crying.
Fuyao undressed to breastfeed, and only then did Song Chenyu see the bruise on her wrist that had not yet healed.
"Ning'er looks a lot like you."
Her voice was as light as a feather,
"Eyes as bright as yours."
Song Chenyu looked at the small, wrinkled red ball, feeling extremely guilty.
"It's my uselessness that has caused you so much suffering."
"What nonsense!"
Fuyao wiped the dust off his face with a handkerchief.
"You guard the country, and I guard you.
This is how we should be as a couple.
By the way, his nickname is Ning'er, I gave it to him.
Looking at the faint smile on her face, Song Chenyu felt a pang in his heart.
"Good start."
Three days later, Daqing Palace.
The white flags are falling and the incense and candles are about to go out.
Song Chenyu was wearing linen clothes and kneeling in front of the coffin.
In the coffin was his father, the man who said "Chen Yu will be the most heroic emperor" on the day he was enthroned as the crown prince.
All officials were dressed in mourning, and their cries shook the roof tiles.
Fuyao came in holding the hand of a palace maid, followed by a wet nurse, holding Ning'er wrapped in a dragon-patterned swaddling cloth.
She walked to the coffin and gently placed the child on the cushion. This was the eldest grandson of the Lan Kingdom, and he wanted to see the vast territory on behalf of his grandfather.
"Your servant, Shangguan, kowtows to His Majesty on behalf of Ning'er."
She bowed gracefully, the wound on her abdomen still not healed, her movements were as slow as a falling leaf.
"Your Majesty, rest assured. Chen Yu will be a good emperor."
Song Chenyu turned around and saw sweat oozing from her forehead again. He hurried forward but was stopped by the ceremonial officer.
He clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms.
I used to think these etiquettes were cumbersome, but now I understand that every rule is to protect the people I cherish most in my heart.
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