The Xiao family spent this New Year in a lonely and deserted way. Xiao Jingkang hardly went a day without regretting why he agreed to send his daughter away. Without his precious daughter, even the New Year seemed to have lost the joy of previous years.
So Qin was worried about her husband and youngest son; Xiao Jingkang's family missed Xiao Yao; Li Jiaoying missed her husband; Yuan Yutong thought she could spend the New Year freely and happily after getting rid of the little devil, but others were thinking about their families, eating poorly and sleeping unsteadily. If it seemed inappropriate for her to be so cheerful, she had to go with the flow and pretend to be a loving mother.
Xiao Jun was the most restless person during the Chinese New Year. He asked his parents countless times a day, "When will my sister come back? We both have birthdays coming up. Let's go get her!"
With a husband and a son, Tong Mingyu was overwhelmed every day. She wanted to ask them, "You can manage Ping'an now, but what about after she gets married?" Would she still be able to return to her parents' home every year for the Lunar New Year? Unless, as her father-in-law and husband had suggested, she found a live-in son-in-law for Ping'an, but such a choice wasn't always available. What if there wasn't a suitable one? Would she have to support her daughter forever? Tong Mingyu had a feeling that of her four children, her daughter's marriage would be the most vexing and daunting.
The atmosphere in Prince Jing's mansion was no better than that of the Xiao family. Empress Dowager Han had actually issued an imperial decree to send Concubine Han and her daughter back to the palace. When the Emperor received the news, Concubine Han was already on her way back to the palace. Yun Yichen could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything.
Yin Qianhua was much calmer than the emperor and Yun Yichen. She had been in charge of the palace for nearly a year, and the necessary rules had been established and the necessary personnel had been replaced. Concubine Han could only show off her power in her own Jinxiu Garden. She no longer had a say in the palace.
However, just in case, Yin Qianhua warned her children to be careful of the people in Jinxiuyuan and not to trust even the words of a maid. The brother and sister nodded quickly to indicate that they had remembered their mother's words and would definitely be on guard against Concubine Han and her gang.
Although the Emperor had been tricked by his own mother, who would accept such a fate? Shortly after Concubine Han returned to the palace, the Emperor ordered the deployment of numerous experts to surround Jinxiu Garden. The reason for this was that he feared that if Concubine Han were away from the palace for too long, someone in the palace might bully them. Therefore, he sent troops... In essence, he placed the three people under house arrest for protection.
When Queen Mother Han heard the news, she immediately went to question her son about what he wanted to do.
"Mother, I am doing this for the good of Concubine Han. She is of noble status and much more respectable than my brother's principal wife. In case the servants in the palace are negligent, the people I send out can support her!" The emperor said with sarcasm and indifferent tone.
"What's wrong with your mother letting your cousin return to the palace? Which married daughter would return to her parents' home and live there for a whole year?" Queen Mother Han did not think she had done anything wrong.
"Can you only see Concubine Han in your eyes? Given her personality, it's hard to guarantee that she won't do something when you're not around. If something happens in the palace, how will your son explain it to you?"
"The Queen Mother has already warned her to behave herself, and she will never do anything foolish again."
"Confused, haha, mother is really concerned about the Han family and the people of the Han family. Since you are so worried about the people and affairs of the Han family, you must not have extra time to take care of the harem. I will order the queen to take charge of the harem, and you only need to take care of the affairs of the two Dukes' Mansions."
"You..." She was already trying to seize power. Empress Dowager Han didn't really consider that throughout the harem, the empress was the legitimate mistress, never the sole ruler of any dynasty. The emperor, mindful of Empress Dowager Han's sacrifices for his son, had turned a blind eye to her arbitrary and nepotistic behavior. If it weren't for the Han family's impending actions, if it weren't for Empress Dowager Han's increasing desire to promote her own family, the emperor might have continued to feign ignorance.
"My son has something else to do, so I'll go back to the Imperial Study. Chen He will have someone inform all the palaces that from now on, the affairs of the harem will be entirely under the control of the Queen, and the Queen Mother will no longer interfere."
"Yes." Chen He went downstairs to convey the order.
"Empress Dowager, what's wrong with you?" The palace maids and eunuchs in Fengxiang Palace shouted loudly.
The emperor paused, stood still for a moment and then continued on his way. Now was not the time to be soft-hearted. If he compromised today, things would become difficult in the future.
In the past, whenever she felt unwell, her two sons would be very nervous. But now her youngest son has become estranged from her, and her eldest son has become indifferent to her today. At this moment, Queen Mother Han was really panicked and scared.
Returning to the Imperial Study, the Emperor sat there in a daze for a long moment, finally sighing helplessly before turning to read the memorial. It wasn't that he was heartless and ignored his own mother. Even knowing that their mother often used this method to threaten and intimidate him and his younger brother Xuan, the two brothers had always tried their best to cooperate. But what had they gotten in return?
Empress Dowager Han did not attend the first day of the New Year banquet due to illness. The emperor sent people to deliver many supplements, and then asked the empress to attend with him. Empress Dowager Han was so angry that porcelain was broken all over the floor of Fengxiang Palace.
Because Prince Jing was away this year, Yun Yichen entered the palace alone. He first went to Fengxiang Palace to wish Queen Mother Han a happy new year. After expressing a few formal greetings, Yun Yichen turned around and wanted to leave.
"Achen, do you also blame the Imperial Grandmother?"
"Grandson dare not." It was not that he did not dare, but that he did not blame. Yun Yichen lowered his head and answered.
"Don't dare." Queen Mother Han chewed on these two words slowly. These were her good children and grandchildren. Now they had grown strong and learned to resist her. Humph, the more you look down on the Han family, the more I will respect them. Since she was able to get her two nieces into the palace and the palace more than a decade ago, she can definitely marry her niece's granddaughter to her two outstanding grandsons now. No one can stop her plan.
"The Imperial Grandmother is also thinking about your father. If Concubine Han doesn't return, there will definitely be people in Kyoto who will point fingers at the palace, your father, and even you. Besides, many of these things are just rumors and cannot be believed. Ah Chen, you must trust the Imperial Grandmother. The Imperial Grandmother will never harm you."
"Thank you, Empress Dowager, for always considering the palace and my grandson." Yun Yichen replied with his head lowered, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
"Someone recently sent a few top-quality horses to the Duke of Korea's mansion, and the Duke immediately thought of you. He refused to let others choose first, saying that he had to wait until you picked before the brothers in the mansion could have their turn. How about going there when you have some free time?"
Seeing that he wasn't interested in the Han family's granddaughter, was Duke Han planning to take matters into his own hands? Haha... Yun Yichen simply couldn't comprehend the Han family's way of thinking. They'd already sent a concubine like Han, who had stirred up chaos in the palace, and now they were actually trying to get a granddaughter in. Even with a quick thought, he knew he wouldn't agree. Not to mention that Han Yueyan wasn't very good, even if she were the most beautiful woman in the world, he would never marry her.
"Grandson thanks the Duke's Mansion for its kindness, but there are already many famous horses in the palace, and there is really no extra space to accommodate more horses. Please decline on my behalf, Your Majesty! If you have nothing else to do, your grandson still has to see my uncle, so I will take my leave first." After saying this, Yun Yichen turned around and left the hall without even looking at Empress Dowager Han's expression.
Yun Yichen thought as he walked, even if he could never get married in his lifetime, he would never want the granddaughter of the Han family. He didn't know who made the rule that men could get married after they turned fifteen. He also wanted to learn from his father and not get married before he was twenty. It would be best if he could be like the fourth master of the Xiao family and wait until he was twenty-five to propose marriage. Hey, why did he think of the Xiao family again!
A face that was sometimes playful and sometimes tearful appeared in his mind again. Yun Yichen shook his head quickly after realizing this. He must have not slept well last night and his brain was not working well, otherwise why would he suddenly think of the little girl?
After the banquet, Yun Yichen was summoned to the imperial study by the emperor again.
"What have you been doing recently?" The emperor knew his nephew's temper very well. If you didn't ask, he would remain silent. This kid never took the initiative.
"Practicing martial arts and reading." Yun Yichen answered simply and concisely.
"You kid..." He's even more frugal than the emperor himself. Except when he's with Xiaojiu, I've never seen him talk much. What will he do when he gets a wife in the future? Do you expect a girl to always accommodate you, a man? The emperor thought wickedly, why not marry the Han family's granddaughter to him? That way, he won't have to deal with this unromantic, unromantic guy every day.
"Is there any news about my father?"
"Your father is doing well now. He has already met with General Xiao. They will probably be back in a while."
Yun Yichen looked up and looked at the emperor seriously, as if he was afraid of being deceived. This made the emperor very unhappy. This guy was definitely the first one who dared to openly question the emperor. Should he consider writing an imperial decree to grant the marriage or something, otherwise this kid would become more lawless.
"I'm not only your uncle, but also the emperor. Is there any need to lie to you?" How could I not be angry? I had wanted to praise him for taking good care of the palace over the past year and give him something as an encouragement. Now? It's gone, all gone. Who made me angry?
"Um... General Xiao has done a great job in picking up my father. When he comes back, my uncle should reward him well."
"For example?" the emperor asked.
"As for what to reward and how to reward, that's up to you."
"Are you asking for something? Or are you begging me?" How can you beg someone like that? That's not right! Didn't everyone say that Ah Chen and General Xiao didn't get along? What's he singing now?
Yun Yichen’s idea was very simple. He had already obtained the reward for the old man, so the little girl would not be angry anymore, right?
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