That night.
Chen Huai'an held a grand victory banquet in Longcheng to welcome back the soldiers who had returned from the western expedition.
During the banquet, Chen Huai'an not only raised his glass and drank heartily with the generals of Longcheng, but also carried a wine jar and personally went among the soldiers of the Longcheng Iron Cavalry, drinking heartily with the rank-and-file soldiers.
The victory celebration banquet lasted until late at night, and it only ended when generals such as Pang Xianchu and Fan Wuji were all drunk and passed out under the table.
Chen Huai'an had also drunk quite a bit of alcohol; his face was flushed and he reeked of alcohol.
But he was still relatively clear-headed, and there were still a lot of things waiting for him to deal with.
Upon returning to the Prince of Jin's residence, Chen Huai'an immediately locked himself in his study, preparing to thoroughly review the [Born to Be an Emperor] system.
Just as he was about to communicate with the system through his thoughts, there was a knock on the door outside the study.
Immediately, Empress Xu Ruoyun's voice came: "Huai'an, I have ordered the kitchen to prepare a hangover soup for you. Shall I bring it in now?"
"ah--"
Chen Huai'an was taken aback, shook his head and let out a long sigh of relief, then stood up and said, "Mother, come in!"
He knew perfectly well that his mother's offer of hangover soup was a pretense; she really wanted to chat with him.
Soon, the door to the study was pushed open by a maid from the Prince's Mansion, and then a maid brought Chen Huai'an a bowl of hot hangover soup.
Another maid helped the Dowager Consort Xu Ruoyun of the Prince of Jin's residence into the study.
Chen Huai'an gulped down two large mouthfuls of hangover soup and immediately felt refreshed, even the smell of alcohol on his breath became less noticeable.
Seeing this, Xu Ruoyun's face lit up with a loving smile.
Then, she waved her hand and instructed the maids, "Qiuxiang, Dong'er, you may leave now!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Chen Huai'an thought to himself, "Just as I expected, my mother has something to say to me!"
The two maids left the study, thoughtfully closing the door behind them.
In the vast study of the Prince's mansion, only Xu Ruoyun and her son Chen Huai'an remained.
Xu Ruoyun said, "Huai'an, after thinking it over, I think the question that Longxiang asked you when we welcomed you into the city at Yongding Gate today is indeed a question."
"Tell your mother frankly, did you have any female confidantes in the Western Regions during this expedition?"
After a pause, Xu Ruoyun seemed to realize that her wording was somewhat inappropriate, and added, "My son, your mother is not here to interrogate you."
"You are in the prime of your life, and as the Prince of Jin, who is revered by thousands, it is perfectly normal for you to seek out women and even have three wives and four concubines."
"Your mother means that you are now in a high position, and it is also a critical moment for the Jingnan Army to march south. You must be extremely cautious in handling your marriage."
Xu Ruoyun said, "Back then, when you led your troops to conquer the Western Regions, you had barely left Longcheng when Prince Wu Ning, Liu Xinwu, brought Princess Liu Shujun to the palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager."
"The Empress Dowager has met Shujun; she is a gentle, graceful, and charming girl!"
"but--"
Then, Xu Ruoyun changed the subject and continued, "That girl, Shujun, has been pampered by Prince Wuning since childhood. She has a gentle personality and no guile whatsoever."
"Mother is worried that if you have a confidante in the Western Regions and bring her to your residence, will that girl Shujun have any thoughts about it?"
"In the future, will there be any conflicts between you, my confidante, and Shujun?"
"These are all things that Mother is worried about!"
Cough cough!
After hearing his mother Xu Ruoyun's words, Chen Huai'an coughed awkwardly twice.
Judging from what my mother said, she must have tacitly approved of Liu Shujun, the daughter of the Prince of Wuning, becoming the princess consort during my western expedition.
I came tonight under the guise of bringing hangover soup to try and gauge my feelings.
Faced with his mother Xu Ruoyun's questioning, Chen Huai'an had no intention of hiding anything.
He said half-jokingly, "Mother, if I said no, would you believe me?"
hehe!
Xu Ruoyun smiled meaningfully and said, "My son, when your father returned from his campaign in the Western Regions, your mother asked him the same question when she welcomed him into the palace."
"Your dad also swore to me back then, 'No!'"
"But then, in less than a month, they married your second and third wives into the mansion!"
Cough cough!
Chen Huai'an coughed twice more and said bluntly, "Alright, Mother, if you put it that way, then maybe there really is one!"
"However, she cannot be considered my confidante!"
After a pause, Chen Huai'an continued, "Strictly speaking, it was a condition attached to the surrender document that she presented to me by the Uyghur Khanate in the Western Regions."
"By the way, she is Princess Bilge, the daughter of the valiant Khan of the Uyghur Khanate."
"In addition, she saved my life. When I returned to Jin in triumph, I promised her that I would personally bring her to my fiefdom of Longcheng after she recovered from her injuries!"
Hearing Chen Huai'an's words, Xu Ruoyun nodded slightly.
Finally, with a smile, she asked, "Oh? What exactly happened? Tell your mother slowly!"
"Mother, this is what happened..."
Next, Chen Huai'an poured out his experiences from his journey to the Western Regions to Xu Ruoyun in a detailed and detailed manner.
He told Xu Ruoyun everything, including the causes and consequences, and the concerns he had.
After listening to Chen Huai'an's account, Xu Ruoyun smiled in surprise and remained silent for a long time.
After a long silence, she finally spoke: "It seems that Princess Yue Qiluo of the Uyghur Khanate is destined to have a tragic fate with you!"
"My son, this means you'll face a difficult choice in the future!"
Xu Ruoyun said, "One is Princess Yue Qiluo of Bika, who represents the interests of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions."
"The other is Princess Liu Shujun, who represents the interests of the former officials of the Great Xin Dynasty and the military generals of the Fourteen Prefectures of Youyun;"
"Whether it was the valiant Khan Moyanchuo of the Uyghur Khanate, or Liu Xinwu, one of the eight non-royal princes of the Great Xin Dynasty;"
"Their decision to place their bets on you, and to have their daughter come to sign the marriage agreement, is all because they see your limitless future potential."
"Although my mother is a woman, in the more than twenty years since she married your father, she has been exposed to the intrigues and power struggles within the court."
"Whether it's Liu Xinwu or Mo Yanchuo, what they care about is the position of empress after the Longcheng army succeeds in quelling the rebellion and you, Huai'an, are crowned emperor."
At this point, Xu Ruoyun paused deliberately, staring intently at Chen Huai'an, and asked:
"So, could you tell Mother that if Princess Bijia Yue Qiluo and Princess Shujun Liu Shujun both marry into the Prince of Jin's household in the future, who will be the princess consort and who will be the concubine?"
"Which of the two princesses is older?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com