The last time Zhao Mian came to Shengjing was in winter. In his memory, Shengjing was a capital hidden under the snow, with monotonous colors, solemn buildings and palaces, and the emperor's imposing and oppressive aura was greater than the bustling and prosperous, which was completely different from Shangjing in Nanjing.
Now that spring has come to Shengjing again, this feeling has not diminished, but has become even stronger. Just after dusk, there are no pedestrians on the streets. The people stay indoors, and the number of imperial guards patrolling the city is several times that of the past. Being in it, I just feel depressed and dull, and even my breathing is filled with vigilance.
Shengjing suffered a great change two months ago. Inside the city, the long-planned deposed prince launched a coup in the palace. Prince Heng, holding the order of the emperor, led the imperial guards to kill the prince's party; outside the city, the Liangzhou army marched straight to Shengjing under the name of serving the king, but in fact intended to support the deposed prince's rebellion. Fortunately, Prince Heng's Western Expedition Army was well prepared and arrived in Shengjing in advance, waiting for the enemy to tire, and joined forces with the imperial guards under the command of King Ying to attack from the front and back, defeating the Liangzhou army at the gate of the city.
Outside the city, blood flowed like a river, but the people inside the city were spared. Only the sound of horses neighing from fighting for several days and the smell of blood drifting in the wind accompanied them through the long winter nights.
After that, the deposed crown prince was defeated and committed suicide, the emperor fell ill and never recovered, and all power fell into the hands of Prince Heng.
This is what the common people of Beiyuan heard about the incident on the ninth day of the first lunar month, and it was also recorded by the Beiyuan historian. But the truth is known only to the parties involved.
Zhao Mian was riding on his horse and saw a large group of people standing at the city gate, led by a young boy about eight or nine years old. The boy had good-looking eyebrows and eyes, and his manners were no less than those of an adult. He stood upright with a humble look on his face, and it was obvious that he was waiting for an important person.
Ji Chong said: "It's the Fifth Prince."
The fifth prince of Beiyuan, the fifth brother of Wei Zhenfeng, was named Wei Congchen. His biological mother was Consort De, who held a high position in Wei Zhaoxiu's harem. The mother and son chose to protect themselves and stand aside in the factional struggle between the crown prince and Prince Heng. It was not until the night before the palace coup that they joined Wei Zhenfeng's camp.
With Wei Zhenfeng voluntarily giving up the throne, the fifth prince, whose biological mother is of noble status, is undoubtedly the popular candidate for the new crown prince.
Zhao Mian asked Wei Zhenfeng: "Did you deliberately reveal the news of your return to Shengjing, just to see how the various forces would react."
Wei Zhenfeng hummed, looked up at the word "Shenyang" on the city gate, and sneered: "At least I already know that someone will come to pick me up, and someone will send an assassin to the border town to greet me."
Wei Zhenfeng rode his horse to Wei Congchen. Wei Congchen was young to begin with, and looked even smaller on the horse. He bowed respectfully to his second brother, his waist almost bent to the ground.
"My brother, you have worked hard on your journey." Wei Congchen looked mature and steady, but his voice was still as childish as a child's. "Congchen respectfully welcomes my brother back to the capital."
Wei Zhenfeng noticed that Wei Congchen's face was pale and his lips were chapped, so he asked, "How long have you been waiting here?"
Wei Congchen smiled shyly: "My dear brother, I didn't wait long."
Standing behind Wei Congchen, a middle-aged man who looked like a eunuch said, "Your Highness, the Fifth Prince has been waiting for you at the city gate since early morning, and has been waiting for three hours."
Wei Congchen pursed his lips, lowered his head and said nothing.
Zhao Mian thought to himself that the Wei family was really a nest of foxes. Then he heard the most beautiful fox with double teardrop moles say, "Thank you for your hard work, fifth brother."
Wei Congchen said hurriedly: "It's not hard, this is what Congchen should do."
Wei Zhenfeng nodded and asked with concern, "How are your studies going recently?"
Wei Congchen then told Wei Zhenfeng in detail about the books he had read recently. Wei Zhenfeng praised him by saying "not bad", and the two of them looked like brothers in a friendly and respectful relationship.
Wei Zhenfeng did not go to Prince Heng's mansion, but went directly to the palace. After the coup, he had been living in Chengming Palace, where the emperors of all dynasties in Beiyuan lived. Although he did not have the title of emperor, he was already the emperor in reality. But because he did not have this title, Wei Zhenfeng always slept in a side hall.
Thus, Chengming Palace became Zhao Mian's temporary residence in Beiyuan. Boxes of gifts were moved in, the tea in Chengming Palace was replaced with Dianchunzhi, the Art of War and the Collection of Poems were placed next to each other on the bookshelf, and the Youlong Spear also had a little friend named Jinghong Sword.
Before Wei Zhenfeng had time to lament the size of Zhao Mian's dowry, troubles came knocking on his door one after another.
First, it was Concubine De and her son. Concubine De seemed to think that her son’s waiting at the city gate for three hours was not enough, so she sent someone to bring the lotus seed and red date soup she had cooked herself. In the end, all the soup went into Zhou Huairang’s stomach.
Then there is Wei Zhenfeng’s fourth brother whom he had mentioned before in Nanjing, the fourth prince of Beiyuan, Wei Huaiyi.
Wei Huaiyi's mother died during childbirth, and he himself was born prematurely and was weak and sickly since childhood. He was the least visible of the Beiyuan princes, and only Wei Zhenfeng had a good relationship with him. Wei Zhenfeng's original words were that they "at least wouldn't think of killing each other."
After Zhao Mian learned that Wei Huaiyi was weak, he ordered Bai Yu to select a batch of elixirs from the tribute of Dongling for Wei Huaiyi. Wei Huaiyi's request for an audience this time was not only to welcome Wei Zhenfeng back, but also to express his gratitude.
Wei Huaiyi is two years younger than Wei Zhenfeng. He has beautiful features and a gentle and moist temperament. His words are soft and gentle, like a trickle of drizzle, which makes people feel very comfortable.
Wei Zhenfeng was not bragging, his brothers and sisters all looked better than ordinary people, and it was very important that none of them had dark skin.
Wei Huaiyi saluted Wei Zhenfeng, and seeing Zhao Mian sitting next to Wei Zhenfeng, he asked cautiously: "Brother, who is this?"
"She is my princess." Wei Zhenfeng said with a smile, "Call her Second Sister-in-law."
Wei Huaiyi said obediently: "Second sister-in-law."
Zhao Mian: “…”
He didn't even let his younger brother and sister call Wei Zhenfeng "sister-in-law", which was a mistake.
"The medicine my brother brought back from Nanjing last time was very effective. I have been sick less and less often in the past six months. The imperial physician also said that my condition has improved a lot." Wei Huaiyi smiled, "It seems that I have a chance to live to see the day when my brother becomes the emperor."
"It's good that it works." Wei Zhenfeng pretended not to hear Wei Huaiyi's last words and said with a smile, "The Nan Jing doctor who gave you the medicine is in the palace now. Let her take a look at you later."
The last person to ask for an audience was Wei Zhenfeng's sixth uncle, the King of Ying, who was in charge of the Shengjing Imperial Guard, Wei Tingqian. The King of Ying was a typical Beiyuan general, resolute and taciturn, and he valued bloodline. If Wei Zhenfeng had not rescued his only legitimate son from the Tianque Sect, he would not have easily taken sides.
Along with the King of England, the regent ministers also requested to see Wei Zhenfeng. It was obvious that they were not there to chat with him, so Wei Zhenfeng naturally could not meet them in his bedroom.
Therefore, His Royal Highness Prince Heng, who had just returned and hadn't even sat down yet, had to change into a dragon robe and summon all the ministers to the Xuande Hall where the King of Beiyuan governed the country.
When Wei Zhenfeng arrived, all the ministers bowed to him and said, "Your Highness."
Wei Zhenfeng smiled and told these seniors not to be polite, which showed that his way of being a king was different from Zhao Mian's. Most of the time, this young ruler was always smiling and talking, and when he was in a good mood, he would even talk and laugh with his subordinates. But everyone present knew that His Royal Highness Prince Heng did not rely on his good temper to control the country of Beiyuan.
The King of England replied, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. Everything is fine at home."
When taking his seat, Wei Zhenfeng's gaze lingered on the dragon throne for a moment, his eyes darkened, and then he naturally sat on the armchair next to the dragon throne.
Zhao Mian, who was standing behind the bead curtain, saw this scene and gently lowered the bead curtain.
Wei Zhenfeng had been away from the capital for a month, and the regents had a lot of things to report to him, the most important of which was to confirm the candidate for the crown prince. Under the premise that Wei Zhenfeng gave up the throne, the Fifth Prince and the King of England were the two most qualified people, and the court was divided into three factions: the eldest son, the youngest son, and trying to get His Royal Highness the King of Heng interested in the throne.
Zhao Mian knew that Wei Zhenfeng was not uninterested in the throne, but that he did not want to be interested.
It was already late at night when Wei Zhenfeng returned to Chengming Palace. He searched the side hall for a long time but couldn't find the princess he brought back. However, he discovered that the lights were on in the uninhabited main hall.
Wei Zhenfeng walked in and saw his princess inside, sitting under the lamp in a light and thin nightgown made of Nanjing silk.
Even though he was not wearing a dragon robe and was not on his own territory, Zhao Mian still looked noble. He had the majesty of an emperor, but also looked like a princess waiting for her husband to come home late. There is something special about looking at a beauty under the lamp.
Wei Zhenfeng admired it for a while before asking, "Why are you here?"
Zhao Mian said, "Come and see if Beiyuan's dragon bed is as big as Nanjing's."
"turn out?"
"About the same size."
Wei Zhenfeng laughed and sat down next to Zhao Mian: "You have met so many people today. Who do you think is the mastermind behind the assassination in Border Town?"
Faced with this problem, Zhao Mian brought out his old method: "It depends on who can benefit from it."
Wei Zhenfeng analyzed, "The mother and son of Concubine De want to win the position of Crown Prince by pleasing me. The King of England has not shown any intention to compete for the throne, but his wings are growing stronger. He has to compete even if he doesn't want to, otherwise his good days will be over when Concubine De sits on the throne of Queen Mother." Wei Zhenfeng paused, "As for my fourth brother..."
Zhao Mian said: "But if we rule out the impossible answer, the remaining one, no matter how impossible it is, is still the truth."
Wei Zhenfeng nodded in agreement: "Indeed."
Zhao Mian stood up and said, "I'm tired, let's go to sleep."
Wei Zhenfeng glanced at the brand new dragon bed behind Zhao Mian and asked, "Shall I carry you back to the side hall to sleep?"
Zhao Mian laughed at him: "You dare to sit on the dragon throne of Xixia and sleep on the dragon bed of Nanjing, but you dare not sit on the dragon throne of Beiyuan and sleep on the dragon bed of Beiyuan."
Wei Zhenfeng raised his eyebrows slightly: "It's not that I don't dare, it's that I'm too lazy to sit."
This kind of nonsense can only fool the people of Beiyuan.
"I told you not to let me become your weak spot." Zhao Mian looked at him, "And don't let Fanfan become your weak spot."
Wei Zhenfeng crossed his arms: "I also said that you have no idea how much I want to stay with you."
He knew, how could he not know.
He also hoped that Wei Zhenfeng could stay by his side, but he could not deprive Wei Zhenfeng of the joy of sitting on the throne.
As long as Wei Zhenfeng no longer has the title of Son of Heaven, he will call others "Your Majesty" in Beiyuan and will pay respect to everyone except himself.
It makes me unhappy just thinking about it.
Zhao Mian said calmly: "You have fought your way through all the difficulties and finally made the imperial power within your reach, but in the end you can't get past the beauty. Don't you think it's ridiculous?"
Wei Zhenfeng said teasingly: "How can you say that you are a beauty?"
Zhao Mian's forehead jumped: "Don't try to divert my attention. I... am just like this."
"What is it? A beauty?"
"Don't think I won't draw my sword in your territory—change the subject!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Wei Zhenfeng said in a gentle voice, "But I already have the imperial power in my hands, so why should I cling to a title? If you want, I can give you the seal of Beiyuan right now."
"What if you gave it to me? After the new emperor ascends the throne, the Queen of Beiyuan will sooner or later belong to someone else. In the eyes of the people of Beiyuan, I am just a princess - do you think I can bear such an injustice?"
"I don't want to be a princess. I want to be the queen of the palace." Zhao Mian said arrogantly, "If you want to sleep with me, you can only sleep on the dragon bed."
Wei Zhenfeng remained silent, and as he looked at Zhao Mian, his eyes gradually became excited, but he said, "I understand. I will immediately order someone to move the dragon bed to the palace."
Zhao Mian gnashed his teeth in anger: "Can you please stop playing around! Let's talk business!"
Wei Zhenfeng smiled softly, suddenly took a step with his long legs, strode to Zhao Mian, picked him up and put him on the dragon bed.
Before Zhao Mian could react, the young man grabbed his chin. Wei Zhenfeng kissed him on the lips, and they fell into the dragon-shaped quilt together.
(End of this chapter)