Chapter 114
The Empress Dowager had made preparations from the very beginning. Whether it was herself or Shen Jin, they were served by her own people. Emperor Cheng arranged more guards. Although he asked the Empress to arrange servants to keep an eye on the Empress Dowager, the Empress had impure motives in sending the Empress Dowager out of the palace in the first place. In order to avoid making things too awkward between her and the Empress Dowager, she did not really arrange any staff, which was considered as currying favor with the Empress Dowager.
Not only that, the Queen also helped the Queen Mother to cover for Emperor Cheng. It can be said that the two of them have a certain tacit understanding in deceiving Emperor Cheng, and they also made concessions. The Queen felt vaguely that the Queen Mother might have a grudge against Emperor Cheng and was thus trying to please her. The Queen did not take Prince Rui seriously. Not to mention that it was unknown whether Prince Rui was alive or dead, the fact that Prince Rui had already left Beijing meant that in the Queen's view he was no match for her. If he really had any intentions for the throne, he should not have left Beijing at this time.
The original Crown Princess was chosen according to the standards of the Empress, while Emperor Cheng's wife was chosen more according to the emperor's preferences. If Emperor Cheng had not ascended the throne, the current Empress would be qualified to be a princess, but it would be a little short of being the Empress, because the Empress of a country must not only take care of the harem, but also have foresight.
Emperor Cheng's wife did not have these qualities, so she could not see through it, and it would be inappropriate for her to stay in the capital at this time.
When the Queen Mother and Shen Jin quietly separated from the ceremonial procession, the people sent by Emperor Cheng did not notice it at all. Shen Jin did not ask the Queen Mother where the preparation place was, but he had a vague guess in his mind when he looked at the route. An Yi and the others also left secret codes on the road while they were resting.
The Queen Mother and Shen Jin were both wearing casual clothes, just like wealthy people going out to visit relatives. The carriage they were riding in naturally could not be compared with the carriages used in the palace, but it was almost the same. Shen Jin and the Queen Mother were not in the same carriage. After all, Shen Jin was a pregnant woman and needed servants around her, and the Queen Mother also needed servants around her. It would be too crowded. The Queen Mother couldn't take care of Shen Jin, or Shen Jin take care of the Queen Mother.
Emperor Cheng in the palace didn't know this, but when he saw the secret message, he frowned and said, "Has Prince Rui gone crazy?"
Li Fu lowered his head and said nothing. Instead, Emperor Cheng asked, "Li Fu, what do you think?"
"In reply to Your Majesty, I am not very knowledgeable, but I just think... no matter what Prince Rui thinks, it is his and Prince Ying's business." Li Fu said respectfully.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Cheng laughed and scolded, "You dog slave."
Li Fu was still smiling even when he was scolded. Emperor Cheng threw the secret report aside and said, "But it is true." Even if all the people of Prince Rui died, it had nothing to do with him. It was not him who asked Prince Rui to do it. "Send someone to monitor him. If Prince Rui is about to lose..." Then he would directly send someone to take over the affairs of Minzhong.
But the Rui Wang Shizi was like this, could it be that he got the news from the Rui Wang? Otherwise, how could he suddenly conflict with the Ying Wang Shizi? If the Rui Wang and the Rui Wangfei were only in the Ying Wang Shizi's hands, the Rui Wang Shizi would not dare to do this, could it be...
"Is there any news about the whereabouts of Prince Rui and his family?" Emperor Cheng suddenly asked.
Li Fu said respectfully, "To reply to your majesty, we have not found anything."
"Keep investigating." Emperor Cheng said sternly.
Li Fu agreed.
Emperor Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Go to the Queen's Palace."
"Yes." Li Fu hurried to pass on the message.
When Emperor Cheng arrived, the Empress was chatting with her three daughters. When they saw Emperor Cheng, all four of them laughed. Emperor Cheng was in a good mood because he had just received good news, and he chatted with the Empress. The Empress poured tea for Emperor Cheng personally. Before Emperor Cheng used anything, Li Fu would test for poison first, but this was poured by the Empress herself, and the Empress and the three princesses all used the same pot of tea, so Emperor Cheng didn't have any suspicion and drank it directly. Emperor Cheng asked a lot of questions about the border town, and Princess Ruyang answered them one by one, and even talked about the son-in-law. "It was a little difficult at the beginning, but gradually the situation opened up. After all, Yongning Hou was not in the border town at that time, and there was only Yongning Hou's cousin, who couldn't handle the situation at all."
"Thank you and your husband for your hard work." Emperor Cheng sighed with satisfaction.
Princess Ruyang's eyes twinkled and she smiled, "This is what a daughter and her husband should do."
Emperor Cheng laughed when he heard this, "I will remember your contribution."
"Thank you, father." Princess Ruyang said with a smile.
Emperor Cheng said nothing more. Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Chenyang were both of a beautiful age. They both amused Emperor Cheng and made him laugh non-stop. When the empress saw that the emperor's tea had run out, she smiled and said, "The tea that Your Majesty just gave me a few days ago tasted good. Why don't you let Chenyang make a pot for Your Majesty?"
"Okay." Emperor Cheng nodded in agreement.
Princess Chenyang's heart was moved, and she said shyly, "My daughter is embarrassed."
Princess Zhaoyang bit her lip and glanced at the Queen secretly. She was somewhat dissatisfied. After all, she could also make tea, and even better than Chenyang. However, the chance to show up in front of Emperor Cheng was given to Chenyang by the Queen. The Queen pretended not to see it. Instead, Ruyang smiled and started chatting with Zhaoyang. Emperor Cheng saw it, but did not care. He thought that the Queen's move was not bad. Although Zhaoyang was the Queen's daughter, it was reasonable for the Queen to take better care of Chenyang. Moreover, Emperor Cheng thought it was interesting that his two younger daughters were jealous.
"What happened to father's Zhaoyang?" Emperor Cheng asked deliberately.
Zhaoyang was not ignorant, she knew that too much was as bad as too little, and said coquettishly, "My daughter also wants to be filial to my father."
Emperor Cheng laughed, and the Queen sighed helplessly and said, "Your Majesty, you see, usually when I ask them to make tea for me, they always refuse." This was of course a joke.
Ru Yang said, "How about Zhao Yang play a song for us?"
Princess Zhaoyang looked at Emperor Cheng expectantly, and Emperor Cheng said, "I haven't heard Princess Zhaoyang play the piano for a long time."
"Then my daughter will go and prepare it." Zhaoyang then smiled happily.
Princess Chenyang lowered her eyes slightly, and then smiled and gently touched Princess Zhaoyang's arm. Princess Zhaoyang smiled and tickled Princess Chenyang. The two played around for a while before going downstairs to wash their hands. The maid also prepared things. Princess Ruyang said, "Both sisters have things to do. If I don't do anything, it would seem that I'm lazy."
The queen smiled and said, "Then go and change the incense."
"Yes." Princess Ruyang went downstairs to prepare.
The queen explained softly, "The fruit fragrance burning in the room now was made by Ruyang himself. It's a bit sweet, and I don't think Your Majesty likes it very much."
Emperor Cheng also noticed it and said, "No wonder it's different from what the Queen usually uses."
The queen pursed her lips and smiled. If only Emperor Cheng knew what kind of perfume she usually used, "I don't like it very much either, but Ruyang is sincere."
Emperor Cheng nodded. Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Chenyang had already discussed it. Ruyang also brought new incense. Both Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Chenyang had learned it seriously. The two of them cooperated well. They made tea to the sound of the piano with graceful movements. Princess Ruyang stood by with a smile on her face.
The prince of England looked at his men and couldn't believe what he heard, "Say it again!"
"In reply to the prince, the mountains..." The man's voice became lower and lower, but he had said everything he needed to say. There was a sudden fire on the other side of the mountains at night, and all the stored food and grass were burned to ashes. If that were the case, the Prince of England could still hold on, but no one knew why the camp over there broke out. The Prince of England's men and the barbarians were originally mixed together, and the relationship between the two sides was only superficially peaceful. In addition, there were those who were forced to come to mine. The fire caused everyone to fight directly, and coupled with the fire... Now there are less than two or three people alive, and everyone is injured. Some of the seriously injured may not survive. In the end, the number of people who can still fight is probably less than ten percent.
The prince of England couldn't hold back and spit out a mouthful of blood. He had kept his poor health a secret from outsiders, and only his confidants knew about it. But now was the time for the meeting, and all the generals were present. It seemed that he could no longer hide it, so the military advisor quickly took the medicine for the prince of England to take, but the prince of England looked grim and was breathing heavily...
When the doctor arrived, he quickly treated the Crown Prince of England. The Crown Prince of England glanced at the people with different expressions. Unless they were all killed, otherwise... The Crown Prince of England lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the expression in his eyes, and said, "All of you go down."
"Yes." Everyone was disturbed after hearing two pieces of bad news. After leaving the house, they exchanged glances with each other, thinking about it. They all knew the importance and seclusion of the mountain range, and some people only knew the approximate location, not the exact location. Now, their background was known to others, and the health of the Prince of England...
When Emperor Cheng learned about the mountain range, Chu Xiuming had already received the survivors. On the way back to the border town, Emperor Cheng's first reaction was to send someone to retrieve Shen Jin. Emperor Cheng didn't care whether the Queen Mother went or came back. Emperor Cheng pursed his lips. Although the Prince of King Ying was also a big worry, this was different from what Emperor Cheng was thinking. If the Prince of King Ying had no power to fight, then Chu Xiuming...
Suddenly, a young eunuch came out to report something. Emperor Cheng looked at Li Fu, and Li Fu bowed and left. After hearing what the young eunuch said, his expression changed. After coming in, he said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the Queen just sent someone to deliver the news... Concubine Lu had a miscarriage."
"What!" Emperor Cheng was already quite old, and there had been no children born in the harem for a long time. In addition, the news just happened to coincide with this. He was furious for a moment, as if he had found a way to vent his anger. "What's going on?"
Li Fu lowered his head and said, "It is said that Concubine Lu was upset because of the house arrest during this period, and she beat and scolded the palace maids all day long. Today... she was careless and fell to the ground."
Emperor Cheng took a deep breath, grabbed the inkstone and threw it at Li Fu, "Get out!"
Li Fu didn't dare to hide at all, and took the blow head-on, saying, "The Queen said that Concubine Lu might be in trouble. Does Your Majesty want to go..."
Emperor Cheng said angrily, "Go to the Queen's palace. I want to see how she is the Queen and how she manages the harem."
Li Fu hurried down to make arrangements and secretly sent a message to the queen. He also needed to choose a retreat for himself.
After the queen got the news, she didn't panic, but just said, "Okay, Ruyang and Zhaoyang, you two go down first."
"Yes." Princess Zhaoyang and Princess Ruyang went down without asking any more questions.
The queen held the nanny's hand and went to the incense burner beside her. After carefully changing the incense, she went to wash her hands...
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