In the eighth year of Jianwu, the mountain torrent washed away the Qingxuan Temple, and the five-year-old crown prince was accidentally lost. Of course, the Empress Dowager Yang knew that she was not lost, let alone an accident. But it would be good if the person disappeared. Without the two words "Prince" being tortured in my ears every day, Empress Dowager Yang felt much more relieved and even smiled more.
She handed over the harem to her niece with confidence, and then waited for her niece to become pregnant, give birth to a son, and give birth to a prince with the blood of the Yang family.
When the palace servants came to announce the good news and said that the Queen Mother had given birth to a prince, the achievements of Empress Dowager Yang and Yang Fu had been confirmed. No matter whether the child was smart or stupid, playful or motivated, he would be the next emperor. Fortunately, the second prince was more promising than they expected, which was a pleasant surprise. Slowly, even the courtiers acquiesced to the status of the second prince.
Empress Dowager Yang thought that all they needed was a title. The harem of the previous dynasty was unimpeded, and the second prince himself could do it. The so-called establishment of a prince can only be done on an auspicious day.
It's just that they have to care about the emperor's mood.
Empress Dowager Yang felt that she was kind to the emperor, and the emperor should repay them to the Yang family. The emperor was supported by Empress Dowager Yang to ascend to the throne. The glory of his ninety-five-year-old honor and the good days that have been echoed in these years are all bestowed by Empress Dowager Yang. The Yang family re-created the emperor's kindness, otherwise, with Li Huan's humble background and mediocre aptitude, why would he sit on this dragon chair
Empress Dowager Yang felt that all this was deserved by the Yang family, but the emperor was not her own after all, and the face of the Lord of the world had to be given to her, so Empress Dowager Yang did not force the emperor too much. Empress Dowager Yang didn't think he was in a hurry. Anyway, the emperor only chose this one. Besides the second prince, who else could he pass the throne to? There is no need to tear up the face with the emperor for what is in the bag, so the emperor has not mentioned the establishment of the prince for years, and the queen mother Yang has been waiting.
Empress Dowager Yang had previously thought that the emperor might be trying to sharpen the heart of the second prince. After all, it is not a good thing for a prince to be too smooth, so the emperor was reluctant to give the position of the prince to the second prince. I think Empress Yang and the second prince thought the same way, so the second prince studied harder, and Empress Yang encouraged her son even more.
The Yang family thought they had reached a consensus with the emperor, so they dragged on for years and years in their default "tacit understanding". Who would have thought that the emperor's reluctance to let go is not to wait for the second prince to grow up, but to have another favorite heir.
The lost, eldest son of the emperor who hadn't shown up in 14 years, the prince Li Chengjing who had been almost forgotten, is still alive.
The Queen Mother Yang looked at the young man who had grown very tall and could not see the shadow of his childhood at all, and tugged coldly. Oh, it's not that he hasn't shown up for 14 years, but that he has always been there! The child she and Fu Cheng thought was long dead had actually been living under their noses all these years. In front of all of them, she was a senior high school scholar, became an official, and dazzled the Yang family and Yang Fucheng in a grand manner. .
This is simply a loud slap in the face of the Yang family in front of the whole world. It's ridiculous that the Yang family is still waiting for the emperor to appoint the second prince, but they don't know that this father and son teamed up to tell a big lie.
After Cheng Yujin saluted as instructed by the maid of honor, the queen mother did not respond for a long time. Cheng Yujin's brows moved slightly, and she noticed that Empress Dowager Yang's eyes were deeply locked down and fell on Li Chengjing.
Cheng Yujin knew that she was jealous when she met an enemy, especially an enemy you thought was dead. Cheng Yujin can probably imagine the mood of Empress Dowager Yang at the moment, but Li Chengjing, how can he feel better
Deprived of his identity, forced to remain anonymous, and to live as another person for fourteen years, why did he endure these disasters? Empress Dowager Yang regarded Li Chengjing as a thorn in his side, and Li Chengjing looked at Empress Dowager Yang and Yang Fucheng, so why not.
Empress Dowager Yang didn't speak for a long time. Although she didn't say any bad words, who could not understand the meaning behind it. The atmosphere in the palace was gradually getting wrong, and the palace people held their breaths and restrained their voices.
Li Chengjing was very calm, Empress Dowager Yang did not speak, and he did not take the initiative to break the cold scene. Cheng Yujin and Li Chengjing are both superficially good people. Their salute postures are not messy at all, they are always at ease and polite. On the contrary, Empress Dowager Yang deliberately left the younger generation behind, and was compared by her two grandchildren, some of which were not on the stage.
The Empress Dowager Yang finally said lightly: "You have your heart. Get up."
Li Chengjing and Cheng Yujin bowed unhurriedly and saluted, and then stood up slowly, without showing any signs of anxiety and dissatisfaction. This time, even Empress Dowager Yang's mother couldn't help sighing in her heart when she saw it.
The prince is introverted and deep, the princess is beautiful and square, and the appearance of the Ming Lord that the world expects is all on them. Even the Yang family members who saw them felt that they were impeccable and perfect. In this case, what reason is there to abolish the prince
Until the Donggong couple left, Empress Dowager Yang's face was icy cold. Mammy helped Empress Dowager Yang back to the inner hall, carefully waited for the Empress Dowager to change her clothes, and tentatively said: "Empress Dowager, what do you want now, if nothing goes wrong, what are you worried about? Don't be alone with you. The body can't get over it."
The Empress Dowager Yang sneered and said, "Aijia thought everything went smoothly, and when the second prince established the reserve, Aijia would have no regrets. Who would have known that the eldest son was born out of thin air. He and the queen have been husband and wife for so many years, yet they can hide it for so long. Oh, it turns out that the Aijia underestimated our saint."
Mammy didn't dare to accept this, let alone persuade it. She could only wait for Empress Dowager Yang to calm down, and then vaguely said: "The Empress is a blessing. The Empress and the Second Highness respect you the most, and you will not be bothered in the future."
They are already queens, how can they be blessed? The Queen Mother Yang did not respond when she heard this, but her attitude was obviously tacit. After a while, Empress Dowager Yang said solemnly: "The matter has come to this point, it's useless to say anything. Since the prince is still alive, it is not the way to go out, and it is always necessary to find it back. The Aijia heard that the prince fell into the torrent and fell. When I didn’t know it, I thought it wouldn’t be so simple. Now that people are back, it’s actually not a surprise. It’s just that I didn’t expect that he has been in the capital and has been an official under Fu Cheng for several years.”
Speaking of this Empress Dowager Yang, she became angry, her face was ashen, and after a while, she continued: "It's not too late to mend the prison. The Aijia originally wanted to point Xiyin to him, but unfortunately there are no girls in our Yang family. , Xiyin is also half of the Yang family. With the prince concubine tied, the prince will not be separated from the Yang family. I just didn't expect that he has already found a candidate, and the will of the Ai family to give marriage is not ready. Well, the emperor over there issued the imperial decree to seal the concubine. As soon as the emperor exited, it fell to the ground, how can Aijia talk about Xiyin?"
Mammy asked tentatively: "The Queen Mother, what do you think of today's Crown Princess..."
This is also the place where Empress Dowager Yang is confused. She has been the queen for many years, and later became the empress dowager. Her eyes have been exercised for a long time. But Cheng Yujin made her very confused.
This woman is naturally beautiful and slim, but beauty is not a rare thing in the harem, character ability is the most important thing. But it is also strange that Cheng Yujin's character... seems to have no character.
Her every move is too standard, just like the virtuous, virtuous, smart, capable, dignified and beautiful lady in the world imagined by the world. Because everything is too imaginary, there is no personal trace, but it makes people feel unbelievable.
Empress Dowager Yang has lived for many years, but she has never seen such a complete person. Can't see the depth of the other party, so Empress Yang didn't know what to do with the other party. This feeling seems to bring Empress Dowager Yang back to the time when the late emperor was alive and she tried her best to fight with other concubines.
Empress Dowager Yang herself thought it was absurd. She was just a little princess. How could it remind her of how she felt when she fought against her old enemy? Her former opponent has been killed by her all these years. How can a mere Cheng Yujin turn out the waves
The Empress Dowager Yang shook her head and smiled, feeling that she had been thinking too much these days and had become suspicious. She didn't care, and said, "But a fifteen-year-old yellow-haired girl, who is a human or a ghost, what does it matter."
Cheng Yujin and Li Chengjing came out of Cining Palace and went to Kunning Palace. The emperor was also in Kunning Palace today. He seemed very emotional when he saw Li Chengjing bringing his wife to greet him. Cheng Yujin was called up by the emperor as soon as he bent down: "It's all from his own family, so there is no need to be too polite. Li Chengjing got married late, and he has been too late in these years. It's not easy, since you are married, you must live a good life."
The two responded in unison, "Yes."
The emperor gave a few more words of encouragement and generously gave a greeting. Seeing the emperor like this, how can Empress Yang speak, she can only choose good words with a smile.
However, although Empress Yang smiled, the expression on her face was very reluctant. On the contrary, she was in a bad mood at the moment.
Empress Yang looked at the Crown Princess in front of her. This woman was young, beautiful, dignified and generous, just like everyone imagined the Crown Princess. She was wearing a dress that was second only to the Queen, but younger and more vivid than Queen Yang.
Empress Yang has dominated the harem for many years, and no one dares to compete with her for favor, so Empress Yang has never felt the passage of time or real evaluation. In fact, Empress Yang's appearance is only average, and her temperament is also very ordinary, but with the support of Empress Dowager Yang and Yang Fucheng, it is too late for everyone to say flattering words, how dare they poke at her shortcomings
Therefore, Empress Yang has been living a comfortable and self-sufficient life all these years. Until this moment, when she looked at the young Crown Princess, she felt very clearly that she was getting old.
The frail and sickly child of those years has grown into a handsome young man, Li Chengjing is growing up, but Empress Yang has been growing old. Now Li Chengjing brought his wife, the crown princess, Zhai clothes, and jewelry, all of which reminded Queen Yang that the princess was here to replace her.
Prince, Prince also. The crown princess is naturally the queen in reserve.
Cheng Yujin was called up before dawn yesterday, and she tossed it from the third watch to the night. She almost closed her eyes for a while, and then woke up again. She had a lot of tossing in the face today, with a hair crown weighing six or seven catties, and a heavy dress dragging on her body, especially in front of Empress Dowager Yang and Empress Yang, she could not show her timidity. After a while, she can't hold it even if she is a hard-hitting person, and it all depends on her willpower for many years.
Fortunately, she didn't have to be tense all day today. After seeing the emperor, the emperor didn't embarrass them too much and quickly let them go. Empress Yang sat next to her with a stiff smile on her face, but naturally she couldn't say anything.
Cheng Yujin and Li Chengjing went to another palace to meet the prince and princess in the palace. After the emperor and empress, they did not worship people, but others worshiped them. Because of Empress Yang, the people in the palace are not prosperous these years. Apart from Li Chengjing, there is only one prince and two princesses, both of whom came from Empress Yang.
The court ceremony is over now. Cheng Yujin came to see the prince and princess just to recognize his face, and then he can move freely. The second prince, Li Chengjun, stepped forward and said, "Congratulations to the newly-married brother, and I wish the brother and sister-in-law a hundred years of happiness and grow old together."
Li Chengjun congratulated him, and Li Chengjing naturally came forward and promised: "Second brother has a heart."
Although the two of them called brothers, they were cautious and distant, and there was no brotherly closeness. Come to think of it, Li Chengjing had disappeared when the second prince was born, and the second prince had never seen this brother at all, let alone talked about brotherhood. As for Li Chengjing, Empress Yang was pregnant when he was crowned the prince at the age of five, and when he returned to Cheng's house at the age of six, he just heard that there was a new prince born in the palace, and it was Li Chengjun. He was almost buried in the hands of the Yang family, and had to give up his identity and live in the name of others, but when he returned to Beijing, he learned that Empress Yang had given birth to a prince.
It is obvious that the Yang family has replaced his heart.
It is really embarrassing to expect Li Chengjing and the second prince to have a deep sibling relationship.
The positions of Li Chengjing and the second prince are very delicate. Both of them are direct descendants, but their biological mothers are two generations of queens, and the grievances and interests of the previous generation are also mixed in between. Originally, Li Chengjun was the candidate for the crown prince, and Li Chengjun has also regarded himself as this for several years, but the appearance of Li Chengjing undoubtedly shattered all of this.
As long as Li Chengjing does not die, this prince will not be replaced.
As soon as the two of them spoke, no one else dared to speak, and the palace suddenly became quiet. Li Chengjun smiled gently and said, "The big wedding of the emperor's brother is a happy event in the whole world. I hope that the court will hope, and the minister can't help it. I specially set up a small banquet for the elder brother, and I hope that the emperor's elder brother will definitely appreciate his face."
The other two princesses and Cheng Yujin didn't speak, but their eyes moved quietly on the two of them. No one dared to join in the battle between the two direct princes, but they watched the battle with heart. Both princesses want to know how their new prince brother will respond
The second prince took the initiative to invite him, but if Li Chengjing refused, he would be afraid. Cheng Yujin noticed the change in Li Chengjing's attitude, and spoke at the right time, showing the image of a virtuous and generous prince: "His Royal Highness and the second prince are deeply in love, this is the blessing of the society. Since His Royal Highness has an appointment with the second prince, it is inconvenient for my concubine to disturb me. , then retire first."
Cheng Yujin's words were very thoughtful, completely in the tone of the elder sister-in-law, but if you listen carefully, there are East Palaces everywhere. When the second prince heard it, he bowed his hands to Cheng Yujin and saluted: "Thank you, Crown Princess. The Crown Princess and the Emperor Brother have just got married. The minister took up the Emperor Brother's time today, but the minister and brother can't help the Crown Princess."
"Second prince, what are you talking about." Cheng Yujin said with a smile, "His Royal Highness's preference is my preference, and the reunion of your brothers is a good thing for the benefit of the country and the people. How can I have any objection."
Li Chengjun couldn't help but look up at the young sister-in-law. Cheng Yujin is about the same age as him. When Li Chengjun heard that his brother, the prince who appeared out of thin air, had married his former niece, Li Chengjun was at first disbelieving, and then he despised him, feeling that the eldest brother had been working hard for 14 years, and he had not really made much progress. . He wasted such an important position as Concubine Zheng.
But now, Li Chengjun somewhat understands why Li Chengjing married her. If it is such a beauty, Li Chengjun is also willing to bear the infamy and marry her regardless of her seniority. What's more, it seems that this beauty has not added all the attributes of her body to her appearance, and her conversation and advance and retreat are very good.
Li Chengjun's invitation was inevitable. Li Chengjing didn't speak before, so he was worried that Cheng Yujin was alone. Since Cheng Yujin took the initiative to give the steps, Li Chengjing no longer refused. He glanced outside and said, "You have a second brother. But the princess has just entered the palace, and the road is not familiar, so I will send her back to the palace first, and then go to the banquet by myself. ."
Li Chengjun was stunned for a moment, and the other two princesses were also surprised. Cheng Yujin said, "Your Highness, there is no need to be so troublesome."
"Your business is more important." Li Chengjing's tone was flat, but his meaning was very firm, "I'll send you back."
Cheng Yujin was also stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Li Chengjing to say "your business is more important" without hesitation in front of so many people.
Li Chengjun can't stand it anymore. Could it be that the requirements for being a prince are so strict now? Not only must you be diligent and self-disciplined, be polite to the corporal, but also treat your wife with respect and family harmony. You must achieve self-cultivation, order the family, govern the country, and develop the world in an all-round way, and become an example of the world's scholar-officials in all aspects
Li Chengjun didn't think he was in a hurry at first, but now he can't help thinking, isn't he going to marry a princess soon
Cheng Yujin left under the different eyes of everyone. Li Chengjing, as he said, sent her back to Ciqing Palace in person, changed into her normal clothes, and went out again.
After Li Chengjing left, Cheng Yujin breathed a sigh of relief, as did the other people serving in the hall. Suddenly changed from uncle and nephew to husband and wife, and Li Chengjing also changed from her ninth uncle to prince, Cheng Yujin didn't know how to face him.
The prince is not here, everyone is much more relaxed. Cheng Yujin asked the maid to take off her hair crown, take off her fancy clothes, and finally take a good rest. Du Ruo came in and asked in a low voice, "Prince Concubine, lunch is ready, do you want to eat?"
Now Li Chengjing went out to the banquet, and only Cheng Yujin was left for lunch. Cheng Yujin was tossed with cumbersome etiquette for a day yesterday, and at night because of Li Chengjing, she was no less tossed than in the daytime. It was another early morning today. Cheng Yujin was very tired. She just wanted to hurry back to bed to catch up, so she nodded and said, "Let's pass the meal."
Duroyonno. It is also clean to eat alone, and all the people in the palace serve Cheng Yujin according to Cheng Yujin's preferences. Cheng Yujin only ate 70% full, so he put down the dishes and went back to the inner hall to rest.
There was a dinner party in the evening, so Cheng Yujin didn't dare to sleep too much, she had already asked Du Ruo to wake her up soon.
Without Li Chengjing making a fuss, Cheng Yujin only had a good sleep now. She slept very deeply this night, and when she woke up, her eyes were full of darkness. The hour could not be seen in the bed, so Cheng Yujin lay down for a while, and whispered to the maid outside: "Du Ruo, water."
She had just woken up, her voice was lazy and hoarse, and her tone was soft. As soon as the voice fell, the outermost tent was pulled open, Cheng Yujin covered her mouth and yawned, propping up her elbows to sit up.
She played halfway, and put a strong palm behind her, supporting her firmly. This strength is obviously not Du Ruo, Cheng Yujin turned around in surprise, and found that Li Chengjing was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding her with one hand, and placing the tea cup on the table next to him with the other.
"Awake?" He put down the tea cup and freed one hand, and stroked her forehead very naturally, "Do you still have a headache?"