Chapter 191: After all the fighting, it’s just a matter of one word from him?
Song Yunhe's smile froze on his face instantly. His eyes involuntarily fell on Xi Qingtong's flat belly, and the emotions in his eyes became complicated.
"Are you pregnant?" His voice suddenly became dry, and the words he had prepared in his mind disappeared in an instant.
Xi Qingtong suppressed the discomfort in her heart and gently touched her abdomen with her hand: "It's been a month, don't you want him?"
She had a faint smile on her face, as if she was really happy about the arrival of the baby in her belly. This made the haze in Song Yunhe's heart dissipate a lot, and the previous disagreements seemed to no longer need to be mentioned and could only be put behind them.
Of course he didn't want to mention it because he really wanted a child.
Song Yunhe lost both his parents and had no brothers or sisters. He had imagined countless times how great it would be if he had a relative. Now that he knew he had a child, the joy that surged in his heart instantly overwhelmed all the previous sadness.
He was going to have children! He was going to have family in this world! Family with strong blood ties!
Song Yunhe's expression changed several times, but he couldn't help but smile widely. "Yes, of course I do. Come in quickly. It's hot outside. Don't let the child get too hot."
Xi Qingtong should have been happy, happy that Song Yunhe's attitude was so gentle and that she returned to the Song family so smoothly, but after hearing what he said, she couldn't be happy at all.
Don't overheat the kids...
Xi Qingtong's throat moved. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't. In the end, she could only suppress all the uncomfortable emotions and forced a smile and a slight nod. She walked past him with her back straight, and every step felt like stepping on the edge of a knife.
On this day, Xi Qingtong returned to the Song family. She was not ridiculed or harassed by Song Yunhe. Even the old housekeeper who had always disliked her became more submissive to her. Dong Ning, who had just been promoted to a concubine, also obediently bowed to her, as honest as a quail.
Everyone in the Song family held her in their hands. She should have been happy, but Xi Qingtong couldn't smile at all. Looking at the bright moon outside the window and feeling the cool night breeze, Xi Qingtong tried hard to force a smile in the mirror. For the first time, she felt that her smile was ugly.
This made Jinzhu and Yinzhu feel uneasy. They had informed Madam Zheng about the matter, and the fact that their master did not punish them already scared them. Now that he showed such an expression, they felt really uneasy.
"Ma'am...what's wrong with you? Are you unhappy about something?"
After all, Jinzhu and Yinzhu were the maids who grew up with her. Hearing that they cared about her at this moment, Xi Qingtong finally felt a little relieved, but how could she express the emotions in her heart?
Saying that she was unhappy because of the child?
Just as Xi Qingtong was thinking about how to express her inner feelings, Yinzhu added, "Madam, you are pregnant now. I heard that if you are happy, your child will have a good temper in the future."
Xi Qingtong's lips suddenly closed, and then began to tremble uncontrollably.
When her mother scolded her and beat her, no one cared that she was pregnant. But since she returned to the Song family, people have paid attention to her in every aspect. Song Yunhe gave her instructions, and the cook specially prepared dinner for her.
"...Don't overheat the child."
"These are good for your health...especially for children."
She couldn't describe the feeling. The influence she had received since she was a child made her know that these were all good for her, but Xi Qingtong just felt inexplicably unhappy.
As for why she was unhappy, she was still confused. She knew it was because of the child, but what was it about the child? Was it because he was Song Yunhe's child? Was it because she felt it would diminish her appearance?
It seems like, but it also seems like more than just...
However, this made Xi Qingtong's life of slight discomfort just begin. While she was taking care of her pregnancy here, her life was as calm as a dead water, but Qingwu Xiaoji's life began to have waves.
Qingwu first invited Shanshan to visit the palace. The two little girls were very happy to see each other. Of course, this behavior was seen by other princes as evidence that Xiao Ji was trying to win over Xu Huaiyu.
The return of the Grand Princess of the State seemed to be just the return of an elderly person, nothing to be surprised about, but the deep pool of the capital was already surging because of her.
After returning to Beijing, Xiao Yuluan seemed to have done only one thing, which was to help the deposed crown prince return to Beijing to be reinstated. Apart from that, she lived in the princess's mansion and never left the house. In fact, she did a lot of things in private. She didn't move or attend court just to appease Xiao Yuancheng.
One of these was to instruct the Marquis of Zhenbei to drink with his old friends in the army while secretly contacting King Wen. These things were all "carried out in secret" and even covered up a lot, but they were eventually "exposed" to the eyes of various forces.
The already heated relationship between King Wu and King Wen suddenly intensified.
Although King Wu had retreated to the second line for several years, he was still the most powerful among the princes in the army. He had been on the battlefield for many years, so his management of the capital was naturally not as good as King Wen. He claimed that he was not inferior to King Wen, but who knew that King Wen had the ability to seduce the Marquis of Zhenbei?
This was passed on to King Wen through the spies, and he could not help but pace back and forth and curse: "What seduction? What does he think of me?"
"When did the Marquis of Zhenbei support me? That's pure nonsense."
"But the Marquis drank with you in the Lotus Garden yesterday." The aide pointed out the reason.
"But that's just drinking. Does drinking mean you are my man?" King Wen slammed his hand on the table, very unconvinced.
"Then Your Majesty, do you want to draw a clear line between yourself and the Marquis?" the aide asked again.
Hearing this question, King Wen immediately withdrew his hand and said calmly, "Of course not."
He stood still beside the desk, a meaningful smile on his face. True and false, real and fake—this was the subtlety of court politics.
*
"Prepare some good wine and go find out where Lord Zhenbei is. We can 'encounter' him by chance someday. Maybe it will work out."
The aide stroked his beard, hesitant. "This Marquis Xue used to be so indifferent to you, Your Highness. Could he be plotting something this time?"
King Wen's face turned red when he thought of what happened yesterday. He was embarrassed to tell his staff that he had indeed used some tricks to invite the Marquis into the garden yesterday. Could it really be considered "seduction"?
"It's alright. I just want to create an atmosphere. With Lord Xue here, won't anyone in the army be tempted?"
Although the Marquis of Zhenbei is old, his influence is still there. Regardless of whether he is really his man or not, he can get some benefits from this. It would be best to let some people really think that the Marquis of Zhenbei is on his side, and then come to him.
This also made King Wen a little puzzled. A few days later, he met Marquis Xue by chance and invited him to drink again, which actually worked. King Wen was pleased with himself for a while, thinking that he might have some charm of a wise leader that attracted Marquis Zhenbei, but he also secretly suspected that this seemed too easy.
As they drank, he also used a joke to test Xue Chen, "I thought the Marquis would refuse me to avoid suspicion."
Xue Chen heard this and slowly picked up the wine glass, gently swaying the turbid wine in the glass. He first squinted his eyes and sniffed the aroma of the wine, then raised his eyes to look at King Wen.
"Avoid suspicion?" Xue Chen laughed twice. "At my age, what's there to avoid? First, I don't hold military power, and second, I'm not young and strong. I'm half buried in the ground anyway. If I can't do whatever I want, what's the point of living like this?"
He spoke meaningfully, then tilted his head back and drank the wine in one gulp. When he put down the glass, Xue Chen deliberately shook his hand, causing the glass to "accidentally" roll to the ground.
"Oh, I'm so old that I can't even hold a cup steadily." Xue Chen sighed, shaking his head. "Your Highness, look, what use is there for an old man like me? I can only drink a little wine."
This made King Wen swallow his words of recruitment. It was not that he really believed Xue Chen's lies, but it was obvious that he didn't want to get involved, at least not for now. However, King Wen didn't think he could succeed in one try, and thought to himself that he would fight next time.
But this meeting was already unsettling. King Wu was secretly angry, and King Ning looked at him sideways.
Although Prince Ning did not have military power, Prince Wen's dominance would squeeze his living space. So when the other princes came down from court to pay their respects to the emperor, Prince Ning could not help but flirt with Prince Wen.
Prince An was unwell and had requested leave to stay home, so he did not come. After the three princes exchanged greetings, Prince Ning smiled casually and said, "Your Majesty, I have heard that my third brother has been quite close to Marquis Xue recently. I even heard they were drinking and chatting happily at Zuixianlou the other day."
The second time, King Wen did not deliberately conceal it, so everyone who was interested knew about it.
Xiao Yuancheng paused slightly while flipping through the memorials. In fact, he knew all of this, but he didn't expect that one of his sons would be impatient and bring it up so soon. He thought it was the eldest son, but he didn't expect it to be the third son.
The emperor's sharp eyes swept back and forth between the three people. His eyes were like a blunt knife, not sharp but making people feel uncomfortable.
King Wen had anticipated this and remained calm this time. "Third brother, what you said is true. Everyone in the capital knows that Lord Xue loves wine. It was just a coincidence that we met and drank together. How can that be considered close?"
Seeing Prince Ning's attack, Prince Wu naturally joined in, saying, "Oh, Lord Xue is a military commander, and you, my second brother, are just a weak scholar. If we weren't so close, would a military commander be willing to drink with a scholar?"
Xiao Yuancheng listened to his sons' verbal battle in silence, his eyes still fixed on the pile of memorials. Then he heard the second son say, "If drinking together is considered close, then what about Sixth Brother's wife inviting Xu Zhuangyuan's wife to a gathering at the mansion? Is that considered forming a clique for personal gain?"
Hearing this, Xiao Yuancheng finally raised his eyes and sneered. This laugh immediately silenced the three princes, who all stood with their eyes lowered.
In their limited vision, they saw their father slowly pull out a memorial from the pile and throw it on the table with a dull sound.
"Since you are all so worried about your sixth brother secretly forming a clique for personal gain, then let him be among the officials."
Under the astonished gazes of the three princes, Xiao Yuancheng said calmly, "The Minister of the Left's grandmother passed away, and he has returned home to mourn. Let the Sixth One take his place first."
The Shangshu Zuo Cheng is the executive deputy director of the Shangshu Province, assisting the Shangshu Ling in handling daily government affairs and supervising the circulation of documents in the six ministries. The Zuo Cheng is in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Rites. Although he has no power to handle and make decisions, he has undoubtedly entered the center of power!
He had the opportunity to review all three documents, which was something he had never achieved before when he was the crown prince!
For a moment, the three princes almost stopped breathing. They only managed to build some power in one of the six tribes...
Their hearts were almost broken in an instant. They worked hard to cripple Xiao Ji, but more than three months later, he was back to the top.
Xiao Yuancheng looked at his sons in disbelief, with a sarcastic smile hidden under his thick beard.
That's the feeling. After all the fighting, it's just a matter of one word from him, right?
When he wants to, they can succeed; if he doesn't want to, no one can succeed.
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