Chapter 139: Marquis Cousin
Yun Qiao was lying down reading a storybook when she heard the maid say that the master's family had moved away and Zhang Yuqing had been sold. Someone also saw Zhang Yuqing being dragged away half-dead.
There was a sigh of discussion.
Yun Qiao, however, felt nothing.
All we can say is that when Zhang Yuqing decided to have an affair, she should have thought about the possibility of ending up like this.
"Auntie, I'm tired. Do you want to take a nap? I've been reading too many storybooks and my eyes are hurting."
Yun Qiao nodded and put down the notebook.
"It's still very hot today. I really miss the big watermelon on the farm."
Yun Qiao had just finished speaking when she heard Chen Jingyan's voice coming from outside the door.
"If you want to eat it, it's easy. Send someone to pick it right away. Hurry up and you'll have it ready to eat tonight."
Yun Qiao had just laid down and didn't want to get up.
He just raised his neck and asked, "My Lord is here? You were supposed to be busy, so why are you back at this hour?"
Chen Jingyan sat next to her.
"Good news has come from Guangcheng, saying that a small foreign nation has come to pay tribute. The emperor has entrusted me with the task, so I'm afraid I'll have to stay in Kyoto for a while."
"Foreign small countries? Which small countries are they?" Yun Qiao was curious.
To be honest, she had never seen foreigners in ancient times.
However, according to ancient records, there were foreigners in Kyoto, with blond hair and blue eyes, as well as some small overseas countries, chiefs and patriarchs.
Because of the rampant piracy and heavy local taxation, some small overseas countries dared not come to trade.
Now that the pirates have been killed, maritime trade is much more prosperous than before. In addition, after Chen Jingyan opened up maritime trade, the customs reduced the tax by half, and then collected the full tax after three years of trading with the country.
The emperor is willing to make friends with the surrounding foreign countries and is very willing to meet them.
Let Chen Jingyan be in charge because he thought that if these foreign countries showed any intention of causing trouble, they would be dealt with directly to prevent future troubles.
Chen Jingyan only talked about the good things and didn't say a word about the potential dangers.
Chen Jingyan also promised Yun Qiao that if he saw foreign envoys bringing interesting things, he would bring them back to her because they were thinking of her.
Yun Qiao laughed a lot.
Yunqiao wanted to eat watermelon at noon, so she ate it for dinner.
However, the Marquis did not accompany her for dinner, but was summoned to the palace to accompany the Imperial Concubine for dinner.
The old lady had a daughter who entered the palace, but she was not favored at first. It was only after Chen Jingyan made many outstanding achievements that this Concubine Chen gained favor.
Concubine Chen gave birth to three children, but only one survived.
He is about the same age as Chen Jingyan. Now he has been made a king. His fiefdom is in the territory, which is a bit far from Kyoto. His Royal Highness Prince Yu rarely comes back.
This time, as envoys from a small country on the edge of the territory came together, Concubine Chen called Chen Jingyan over and asked him to get closer to his cousin, Prince Yu.
When Chen Jingyan went over, he saw the emperor just getting up to leave.
"Your humble servant, I pay my respects to the Emperor..."
"Get up, your aunt is calling you to eat. It's a family dinner today, no need to be polite."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Chen Jingyan stood up and waited until the emperor left before he walked towards Concubine Chen's bedroom.
"Sanlang is here, come in quickly." Concubine Chen was happy. "The emperor just came and gave him many gifts. I thought you must have done something to please him again."
Chen Jingyan didn't say anything.
Sitting in the room was his cousin Prince Yu, who had arrived earlier than him.
"I greet Prince Yu."
"There's no need to be so polite between brothers. Sit down and talk."
Chen Jingyan looked at the atmosphere in front of him and felt something was wrong.
"I just saw the emperor leave..."
Prince Yu didn't say anything, but his expression didn't look good.
Concubine Chen, on the other hand, smiled and said, "It's still about the fiefdom. Your cousin's fiefdom is outside and he can't stay in Kyoto for long. After my birthday is over, your cousin will leave."
Prince Yu is still accompanying the foreign envoys.
But now he cannot stay in Kyoto with the envoy for a long time. The reason why he can stay in Kyoto for this period of time is because Empress Chen’s birthday is approaching, and the emperor has allowed him to stay here for some time.
Otherwise, Prince Yu should have returned to his fiefdom and garrisoned in Snow Mountain City long ago.
Prince Yu was very upset that His Majesty did not consider the relationship between father and son, so he had a sullen face and was in a bad mood.
However, Concubine Chen felt that her son was doing well in the frontier, and she had no intention of getting involved in the chaos and strife within the palace.
The Crown Prince and his party control the government. If Prince Yu returns, it will inevitably arouse the Crown Prince's suspicion.
Concubine Chen said it, but Prince Yu refused to listen, so she called Chen Jingyan to come and persuade Prince Yu.
Concubine Chen had wine and food prepared, saying only that her nephew was coming with her son to have some drinks, and sent away all the palace maids and nannies outside.
"You two brothers, sit together and talk for a while. I'll go to the outer room."
"Sanlang, please persuade your cousin."
"Don't worry, auntie. Prince Yu has been in the border areas for many years and doesn't know much about the situation in Kyoto. I will talk to the prince and he will understand a little."
His Royal Highness Prince Yu snorted coldly, "Who cares about the throne? If it weren't for my mother, why would I agree to go to the border? The Queen is intolerant, and now the Crown Prince is too. The government is full of people who support the Taiyi Party, and the Emperor himself turns a blind eye and doesn't care."
"Your Highness Prince Yu may not know this, but His Majesty is fully aware. However, the general in charge of the army is the Crown Prince's uncle, and the current battles in Northeast China and Shaanxi and Gansu are all fought by members of the Tang family. I believe that Prince Yu understands the pros and cons of this without me having to explain it in detail."
Tang Mingyao, the emperor's brother-in-law, naturally wanted to support his nephew as the new emperor. If the emperor touched the prince now, it would affect Tang Mingyao's interests.
As long as the prince doesn't make a serious mistake, he cannot be touched.
The prince is becoming more and more arrogant and wants to replace everyone in the court with his party. How could the emperor not know this?
The reason why Chen Jingyan knew all this was because the emperor planned to support Chen Jingyan and let him raise an army to strengthen it and use it to check and balance Tang Mingyao.
However, the relationship between Chen Jingyan and Concubine Chen made the emperor worry that he would become the second Tang Mingyao and support His Royal Highness Prince Yu to become king.
Prince Yu never thought about the throne, but the emperor was wary of him and the prince suppressed him.
He was the king of a fiefdom, but he had only 8,000 soldiers under his command.
He went to the Territory Snow Mountain City when he was eighteen, and it has been fifteen years now.
The emperor didn't care about him at all.
What he cares about is the relationship between father and son.
It was obvious that when he was young, his father had held him in his arms and sat him on his lap while he read and asked questions.
Now it is impossible for his father to love him at all.
This is the reason why Prince Yu felt disappointed.
"Sanlang, you don't understand. The territory is remote and supplies are scarce. My Snow Mountain City is covered in yellow sand and suffers from two sandstorms every year. The livestock suffers severe damage. Every time I ask my father for food and fodder, the crown prince obstructs me. He wants to kill me."
"I told my father all this, but he ignored me completely. I clearly said that I had no desire for that position."
Chen Jingyan said, "If the emperor doesn't say it, he must have a reason for not saying it."
"Emperors have always been unfeeling."
When Concubine Chen in the outer room heard what Chen Jingyan said, her heart was shocked. Yes, emperors have always been so heartless.
When she entered the palace, she was also favored. She entered the palace at the age of thirteen. Now her grandsons are thirteen or fourteen years old. She has gone from a young girl to a yellow-faced woman in the palace.
It's not that she didn't truly love the emperor.
But when she watched her children die at the hands of the queen, the emperor ignored her and allowed her to lose two children.
As compensation, she was given the position of imperial concubine.
But later, because Prince Yu offended the Crown Prince in the court, the Emperor granted him a kingdom of his own. Concubine Chen was willing to demote herself to a concubine, but she still couldn't save her son.
Since then, Concubine Chen has given up on the Emperor.
Since her son went to the frontier, she rarely saw him, so she begged the emperor to raise Prince Yu's two daughters under her lap.
Now the two children, one five years old and the other eight years old, are very close to their grandmother.
Empress Chen felt greatly comforted.
All she was thinking about was marrying her two granddaughters off to good families in the future so that they wouldn't grow up in the frontier and forget the rules of aristocratic women in Kyoto.
"My son, please listen to what Sanlang says. Now Sanlang is highly valued by the emperor. If we want to be safe, we have to see the emperor's mood."
"Look, ever since Sanlang returned to Kyoto, His Majesty has been able to visit my palace frequently. I was thinking of asking His Majesty to arrange a marriage for Zhilan and Tinglan. At this moment, you shouldn't worry about whether your father has any affection for you. First, stabilize the situation and don't let the Crown Prince control you and suppress the border area."
There is love between father and son, but it is very rare.
Not worth looking forward to.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
