Half a month later, the emperor arrived in Yunzhou on his southern tour, and the crown prince Zhong Lishuo wore a mian robe and bowed down to greet the dragon boat at Nanfeng Ferry.
On that day, the mother and daughter, who had been separated for eight years by the flag of Yunzhou, met, which was very touching.
A few days later, under the escort of the general Xuan Jingchen, the emperor and the prince returned to Yuanzhou.
In Zhong Lishuo's impression, her mother Zhong Lichen was a very cold person by nature. Except for meeting on the day of reunion, the emperor once rudely took her into his arms in front of everyone, and he ignored her the rest of the time, as if he had forgotten that he had an extra prince.
However, judging from the teacher selected by the emperor for her, the emperor is still very attentive to her. Jin Paowei, the Privy Council, the Hongwen Museum and other places have all selected people as her teachers. Even Qing Lan, who had just returned to Yuanzhou and was decreed by the emperor to replace Ran Ran as the chief commander, came to guide Zhong Lishuo. In other words, the emperor granted Zhong Lishuo the power that the princes of all dynasties could not match.
Jian Tiansi has always been a place where princes cannot touch. The emperor not only gave Zhong Lishuo, but also left a sentence that anyone can ask the chief minister for any matter, big or small. After that, she continued to be a king in the palace who did not hear anything outside the window. .
After returning from Yunzhou, the emperor's health deteriorated, and it was common for him not to go to court for ten days and a half. After winter entered, the emperor decreed that the crown prince should supervise the country.
A young man who has not yet been trained in government affairs is helpless in the face of cunning ministers, so he has to put on a smiling face and retreat to advance, and let them fight to the death for a piece of meat.
The source of corruption is becoming more and more intoxicated in this winter. The imperial city has been renovated up and down, and there are countless wealth scattered. Even if it was so expensive, Zhong Lishuo was surprised to find that the treasury was not empty as she imagined, but it was only barely enough.
The emperor has been recuperating for many years, and he has saved countless silver coins, but none of them are in the treasury.
Facing the extravagance of Yuanzhou, Zhong Lishuo thought about the barbarians in the north, and he felt very worried.
The emperor has been in power for many years, except for the Xuan clan who died in the battle at Wangyueguan many years ago, after that, the Chu state and the barbarians were just a small fight. The nobles had been at ease for a long time, and they panicked a little because of the rebellion of the King of Zhongzhou, but the barbarians did not attack the rebellion of the King of Zhongzhou, which made them feel more at ease.
In addition, this winter, the barbarians have changed to a new monarch, and many people feel that the country of Chu, which is now strong and powerful, will not be able to fight.
Only General Xuan Jingchen and his group were worried and wanted to lead the army back to Lanzhou on the grounds of guarding the border of Lanzhou. But the emperor refused and ordered her to stay in Yuanzhou.
Xuan Jingchen had no choice but to order his subordinate Le Zhengying Xu Renqing to return to Lanzhou to guard the border.
Anyone with a discerning eye knows why the emperor kept Xuan Jingchen in Yuanzhou. It's just that she has just won a beautiful victory, and the emperor is not ready to kill the donkey.
Zhong Lishuo looked at the situation of this great general, thought about her merits in the society, and then looked at a group of flattering traitors facing up, suffocating in his heart. Therefore, during the period of her supervision of the country, Zhong Lishuo gently let go of all the papers of Xuanjingchen.
Before New Year's Eve, the emperor's health finally improved a lot. So, before New Year's Eve, the emperor went to court once.
All eyes of this court meeting fell on Zhong Lishuo.
Prince Zhong Lishuo is almost sixteen years old, and the cornerstone of the country has reached the age of big marriage. The Ministry of Rites selected a group of young talents for her, just like coercing the emperor more than ten years ago, forcing the emperor to give the prince a marriage.
But today's emperor is not afraid of these ministers. The people who only speak good things in the palace are just pigs that she has raised. The emperor did not accept the proposal to choose a husband for the crown prince, but looked at the ministers and said: "In the past, the ancestor Chu Xuandi succeeded the throne at the age of eight, and married the elder Huiwen Empress on the grounds that she was too young to be in power. , to make the queen govern for her. Now my son Zhaoming is unfamiliar with the government and is not good at state affairs, so he should marry an elderly and mature crown princess and teach her. As for the royal husband, I am not old enough to want to hold a grandson. ."
The indifferent emperor laughed, and the cold blade in his eyes made the courtiers in the court bow down tremblingly. Therefore, the matter of choosing a crown princess for Zhong Lishuo fell on the Ministry of Rites and the Supervisor of Tiansi.
Older than the prince, but also proficient in government affairs, the ministers looked at the general who had not returned to the north for a long time, and there was nothing they didn't understand.
The emperor was reluctant to bear such a general, and he did not want military power to fall by the side, so he could only let the general marry the prince.
As smart as Zhong Lishuo, how could she not understand the emperor's mind
In this regard, Qing Lan smiled slightly and said, "What are you worried about, Your Highness? You are the cornerstone of the country and the future ruler of a country. There are men and women in this world that you cannot marry."
She has a noble status and can have any marriage.
Zhong Lishuo sighed softly, "Even if you are the ruler of the world, there are some women you can't marry. Otherwise, why didn't Emperor Wenkang marry him for the rest of his life?"
Marriage is such a simple thing. It's not a deal, it's a heart-to-heart.
Qing Lan was surprised, "So Your Highness really thought about marrying General Xuan?"
Zhong Lishuo was speechless. After thinking for a moment, he said, "A great hero like General Xuan should marry a hero like her, rather than marrying a sick child like me who lives every day."
"Your Highness, please don't belittle yourself. Didn't I tell you that, your Highness is taking care of yourself, at least you can live past the age of forty." Qing Lan looked at her solemnly.
Zhong Lishuo laughed, "Then borrow Mr. Ji's words."
Qing Lan smiled and asked again: "Let's not talk about His Majesty's thoughts for now, I want to ask His Highness, what do you think about General Xuan?"
"I asked Mr. this before, why did Mr. come to ask me today." Zhong Li was surprised, looked at Qinglan in front of him, and replied, "The Xuan family guards the border and is loyal from generation to generation. General Xuan is after the loyal door. , love the people like a son, be loyal, and be the pillar of the country."
Qing Lan sighed and said, "His Royal Highness has a very high opinion of the general, but now the ministers in the court have rumored that General Xuan has self-respect for his troops, and he has the heart to rebel against his ministers."
"Sir, please be careful." Zhong Lishuo looked at Qing Lan with serious disapproval.
Qing Lan smiled relievedly, and said to Zhong Lishuo, "Don't tell me Your Highness isn't worried, will the general be against it?"
"Well, what did she oppose? Besides, did she oppose it?"
Qing Lan was astonished and greeted Zhong Lishuo's warm smile. She was stunned for a moment, then smiled at her, and said nothing.
She could clearly see the meaning in Zhong Lishuo's eyes, even if Xuan Jingchen really turned against her, what did it have to do with her? This corrupt and extravagant court has long been riddled with holes.
After New Year's Eve, it is the Lantern Festival, and the emperor feasts his ministers at the Yulong Pavilion.
At that time, the prince had just passed his birthday. The crown prince, who had just passed sixteen years old, was wearing a heavy crown suit and sat under the emperor's head. On her right hand, is Xuan Jingchen specially arranged by the emperor.
The commanders on the lotus leaf stage danced on the East Emperor and stepped on the Lantern Festival, with a little sadness in the joy that made the emperor stare. The emperor looked at the witch who was embraced by the East Emperor, and suddenly turned his head to look at the prince beside him.
The young prince and her have a face that is 90% similar to her, except that one is very cold and beautiful, and the other is tender and green. The emperor stared at the familiar face, as if seeing another self, and asked, "Do you remember how to play shakuhachi?"
Zhong Lishuo was stunned and replied, "I remember."
The emperor nodded and ordered someone to take a shakuhachi to the prince. Seeing that the prince took it, the emperor stretched out his hand, held her, and walked towards the lotus leaf platform in the pavilion.
While the ministers chanted, the emperor said that the ruler and the minister were happy together. She asked the prince to play a song about seeing the moon, and accompanied by the melodious shakuhachi, she stepped on a consonance.
The bright moonlight leaked in from the top of the pavilion. Zhong Li Shuoxun sat under the moonlight and looked at the ragged mother in front of him. A trace of warmth melted from the cold that came from all directions.
Zhong Lishuo's shakuhachi once resounded throughout Yunzhou, and was also nicknamed "Seeing the Deer Master". But after that night, many people knew that this prince of Shanshuhachi was the "Jianlu Master" of Yunzhou. And, because she made the emperor happy with her song, she also called her shakuhachi the sound of the dragon.
Many people know that the prince's shakuhachi is beautiful, but no one knows that the emperor's shakuhachi is even worse, but the emperor no longer has anyone who can listen to her shakuhachi.
After seeing the moon in one song, the emperor looked at the next song, General Xuan and said, "I heard that the general's marksmanship is very good, how about playing the drum for the general alone, and the general playing a gun dance for the solitary?"
Xuan Jingchen couldn't refuse, but when he saw the emperor took off his heavy cloak, he stood in the field in a golden robe.
The drums were rushing, the generals speared like dragons, and the monarchs and ministers seemed to be at war, which made everyone watch heartily.
With the last blow, the drum hammer slammed hard on the drum surface. The emperor raised his eyes, panted, and looked at the junior in front of him with wolf-like eyes. Aggressive and stubborn.
This is a good boy, thought the emperor.
Just because he was a good boy, the emperor was relieved. The emperor shifted his gaze and saw his daughter, who was full of astonishment not far away, with a rare curved lip smile.
She raised her eyes, gasped, and looked at the woman who was half-kneeling in front of her with her weapon taken away, and said to the ministers in the Yulong Pavilion: "General Xuan is both civil and military, a hero, he is truly a first-class hero in the world. Such a character can only be matched by an orphaned prince."
She laughed and pointed to the woman in front of her and said, "Come here, serve the general."
Ignoring Baiguan's surprise, she stared fixedly at the woman in front of her, revealing the vicissitudes of life.
The state of Chu will die sooner or later. If the person in front of her is destined to win the country, why didn't she choose a better way.
She promised her sister, and she didn't want the white-haired person to send the black-haired person. Then, let her pave the way for Shuo'er, and then walk safely for the next few decades.