Jingtan didn't notice the actions of the two people in front of her and the thoughts in her heart. She just lowered her head and hesitated for a moment: "Call... call, Shang Rui."
Everyone was shocked.
The female official fell to the ground in panic and kowtowed, saying, "I hope the emperor will consider that our princess is young and ignorant. We are willing to accept the punishment of death on her behalf." Then the others also knelt down. They had accompanied Jingtan into the palace from southern Xinjiang.
Perhaps the most leisurely person present was Shang Rui himself.
"Shang Rui..." He ignored the people kneeling on the ground, supported his chin with one hand, leaned on the table in the pavilion, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He recited his own name, as if recalling something, and suddenly said: "I haven't heard anyone call me for a long time, I miss it." A complex smile that was difficult to interpret appeared on his lips.
Everyone knows that the King of Huai is very cautious in everything, but he spoils his daughter to no limit. Princess Jingtan has been raised in a honeypot since she was a child. She can get whatever she wants, so how can she read people's expressions? Seeing Shang Rui smile, she thought she was encouraged, so she knelt down and kowtowed again, and continued: "Jingtan has another thing to ask Uncle Jiu to help me."
"explain."
"Uncle Jiu must know the story of the marriage between the founding emperor Taizu and his niece Princess Jiayi. This is a great marriage story in our Da Dynasty." In the previous dynasty, there was a rule that people with the same surname, clan and family could not marry. In the current dynasty, people were somewhat taboo about it, but the royal family did not care.
The female official behind her looked pale, and she did not dare to pull Jingtan in front of Shang Rui, so she could only kowtow and say, "The princess is young, please forgive me, please forgive me."
"Uncle Jiu, I just want to finish what I want to say." Jingtan knelt on the ground and straightened his back and continued.
"What if I don't want you to say it?" Shang Rui asked.
"Then Jingtan will never be at peace for the rest of his life. He is afraid that when he returns to the Southern Region one day, Uncle Jiu will never see Jingtan again."
"Nonsense!" Shang Rui waved his sleeves and prepared to turn around and leave.
"Uncle Jiu!" Jingtan knelt a few steps behind him, "Jingtan has admired Uncle Jiu since she was a child, and she only wants to marry him in this life." After saying that, she hurriedly bowed to the queen, "Please help me, Queen. Jingtan will not compete with you for your favor, but only ask to give birth to a child for Uncle Jiu, find a place in the harem, and accompany Uncle Jiu for his whole life."
"Princess, please don't say that. The matter of taking a concubine is entirely up to the emperor." The queen threw the words to Shang Rui.
Shang Rui turned around and asked calmly, "Does your father know about this?"
"He doesn't know, no one knows, and he doesn't care who I like." Jingtan's delicate face, like a jade carving, was pink and childish.
Shang Rui stared at his niece. "You are the upright princess of David. It is against the rules to beg the queen for your blessing without informing your parents or the royal family."
“But…” Jingtan felt a little aggrieved when she saw Shang Rui’s expression suddenly turned stern. She bit her lower lip, frowned, and her eyes were slightly red.
"Princess! Apologize to His Majesty!" the female official behind her said hurriedly.
Jingtan pursed her lips reluctantly, but tears still flowed out despite her efforts to hold them back.
The queen glanced at Shang Rui.
Shang Rui stood up and left. After walking a few steps, he said, "The rest of you stand up and leave her kneeling alone." He spoke with his hands behind his back and without turning back.
In the following hours, the open space in the crabapple grove of the Imperial Garden seemed to be infected with a plague. If one had to pass through there for business, one would try to take a detour.
The palace maid Yun Jin took a quick look from a distance and then hurried back to Jinde Palace.
"Still kneeling?" asked the Queen.
"To answer your Majesty's question, I am still kneeling alone, crying."
The queen thought about it and ordered someone to prepare some food and deliver it personally.
When we arrived at the Imperial Garden, it was already completely dark and it started to rain again, making a crackling sound on the umbrella. It was pitch black all around and the eunuch was carefully holding a lamp in front of us.
When the queen walked outside the crabapple forest, she suddenly saw Shang Rui standing behind the crabapple branches with his hands behind his back. Following his line of sight, she saw Jing Tan kneeling on the ground.
Because of the sound of the rain, I couldn't tell if she was still crying, but her body was still shaking. The flowing ribbons that were originally wrapped around her bun had fallen down with her long hair, and the rain was flowing down her chin, and her wet clothes were sticking tightly to her body.
Shang Rui just looked at the kneeling girl from a distance. From the side, her thin lips were tightly pursed, and her dark eyes were complex, and no one could see the secret hidden in them. The eunuchs behind him carefully held an umbrella for him, and they did not move for a long time.
The Queen walked over and bowed softly, "Your Majesty."
Shang Rui turned around and was not surprised to see the Queen. His eyes paused on the food boxes held by the palace maids.
"Your Majesty, the princess's body cannot bear this hardship. You just..." She didn't know how long he had stood with Jingtan in the rain. Maybe he came before it rained, or maybe even earlier.
Shang Rui murmured, "When she left the capital with her second brother, she was only five or six years old. Later, she came back with her mother a few times. Because of her aunt, she was very close to me. I didn't know that she would develop a romantic relationship with me. She has such a pure heart, I..."
The queen was speechless.
It turned out that he was not angry about Jingtan, but was angry with herself. She understood what Shang Rui was thinking in the moments before and after Jingtan proposed to marry her. As proud and frivolous as he was, she hated herself for instinctively treating her as a chess piece.
She thought for a moment, sighed in her heart, and said: "The emperor is a young and talented man, the emperor is supreme, which woman in the world would not want to be by his side forever."
Shang Rui turned to look at her when he heard this, and suddenly sneered, "Other people say I believe it, but it becomes a joke when the queen says it."
Wang Xiaoxiang avoided the topic and said, "The King of Huai has no legitimate son. If Princess Yanqing can marry the emperor, it will be a hundred benefits for the emperor and no harm."
Shang Rui smiled again: "The Queen is very far-sighted. I can't compare to her."
"Your Majesty is wiser than me, but you are overwhelmed by trivial matters and have been blinded."
"If she really gave birth to a son for me first, Queen, do you think that given her involvement with the Xu family, will the Wang family still have a chance? Queen, you can't even protect yourself, why are you planning for the future for others?"
"I have my own way of living. Your Majesty need not worry." Xiaoxiang stood with her eyes lowered.
At this point, Shang Rui was really annoyed. His brows were furrowed, his lips were pursed, and his eyes were gradually getting colder.
The rain had been falling, and small puddles had formed on the ground, splashing up with rain and mud onto the tops of his boots.
In the end, he was not really angry, but suddenly smiled and said softly: "How can there be a couple like you and me in the world."
"Your Majesty, you are joking. I don't know how many people in this world envy me and Your Majesty for being husband and wife. This is the good fortune of several lifetimes."
"Forget it. Queen, there is no need to say these words anymore. Go and ask her to go back to her room first, and send her back to the South Region in a few days."
Jingtan was ill for several days and was unable to show up at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet.
It was half a month later that Shang Rui met Jingtan for the second time. He went to the empress dowager's bedroom to pay his respects and found Jingtan sitting inside with the queen next to her.
Her face had become much thinner, and her eyes looked melancholy, not as energetic as before. When she saw Shang Rui, she did not greet him and just sat there stiffly.
"Are you still sulking with your Uncle Nine?" the Queen Mother teased her.
When the Queen Mother said this, Jingtan's tears fell again. The Queen Mother held her in her arms and said to Shang Rui: "This child is also stubborn. You might as well give in to her."
"What's wrong with me?"
The Queen Mother glanced at him and said, "Don't play dumb with me. You can accept Xu Zhaoyi and Wu Xiurong, so why can't you accept Jingtan?"
Shang Rui glanced at the queen, put the teacup aside and said, "How can Jingtan be compared with others, mother, you know I watched her grow up, so I treat her differently. But my son and the queen are of the same mind, and we can't tolerate others. It's okay for ordinary people, but if Jingtan is neglected and wronged in this palace for me, how can the prince of Huai, the princess of Huai, and you, mother, rest assured?" After saying that, Shang Rui took the queen's hand next to him and held it in his palm. The queen didn't move, her face flushed, and she lowered her head.
Jingtan looked up and said, "If I stay in the palace, Uncle Jiu might like me in the future."
Shang Rui glanced at her and said, "There is only the Queen in my heart. There is no possibility for anyone else." After that, he led the Queen out of the Queen Mother's Palace.
Wang Xiaoxiang followed him silently until they reached Jinde Palace. Shang Rui let go of her hand and said calmly, "Queen, go back and have a rest. I won't go in if I have something else to do."
Wang Xiaoxiang waited for Shang Rui to leave, then looked at his hands.
It's quite sad for a couple to end up like this.
Fortunately, she didn't love him, and neither did he.
five
In the middle of summer, a major case broke out in the court.
Murong Si, one of the Nine Ministers and the Imperial Household Department, was found to have had ties with a rebellious cult in the Central Region and was secretly conspiring to commit treason. His letters and evidence were seized by the Imperial Censorate.
Helan Xun was slightly shocked when he heard the news in the court, and quietly looked up at Shang Rui on the throne. Shang Rui said, "The case will be handed over to the Censorate for a thorough investigation." His face was calm, and his answer was as if it was a routine matter, and then he added, "Everything will be reported to the Empress Dowager."
Murong Si is the eldest son of the Murong family. He grew up with a group of princes and was a companion to the Prince of Wei Shang Quan when he was in the Imperial Academy. Later, Shang Rui ascended the throne, and the eighth prince, the Prince of Wei, was granted fiefdoms in the border areas, and the Murong family lost power. However, Murong Si worked diligently in the court, and after ten years, he was only a second-rank official.
It is quite strange that such a person was accused of treason.
Shang Rui suddenly felt a little ominous. Even so, he could do nothing about it. He was just a puppet with no military power, sitting in the court all day taking care of trivial matters.
Half a month later, things turned out just as Shang Rui had worried. Behind Murong Si was King Wei Shang Quan.
Wei Wang Shang Quan secretly returned to Beijing several months ago to report the movements of Huai Wang to the emperor.
After listening to what Helan Xun had learned from the Imperial Censorate, Shang Rui's face froze, and a little emotion flashed across his eyes. Shang Quan was the eighth son of the previous emperor, and was the closest in age to Shang Rui, so they got along well.
Given the King of Wei's cowardly character, the word "treason" was almost impossible for him.
This is just another strategy of the Xu family to remove obstacles.
He is still young and powerless. Those people want to get rid of the Wei people around him one by one.
At noon, Shang Rui was taking a nap in a side hall of the imperial study, tossing and turning because of the affairs of the King of Wei, when he suddenly heard a noise outside the hall.
Ming Lian lowered his voice and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness, please go back. The Emperor is resting, and we cannot afford to disturb him."
Shang Rui called out in a deep voice: "Ming Lian, let them in." Then he ordered people to set up the tent and put on clothes.
"Your son pays respect to His Majesty, Father."
"Your Majesty, I wish you good health."
The two children saluted respectfully. Children of five or six years old also did this in a very methodical and unambiguous manner.
One was the eldest son Ran Jun, and the other was the companion he had been given to study with last time—the prince of King Wei, Ran Hong. Shang Rui had already guessed the purpose of the children's visit.
Ran Hong knelt on the ground and cried, "Uncle Emperor, please save my father."
Ran Jun also knelt down and begged for mercy: "Father, the prince accompanied me to study in the Imperial Academy and regarded me as a friend, but now he is unhappy, and I am unhappy too. Please pardon my uncle, the eighth prince."
Shang Rui stared at the two crying children and suddenly remembered the time when he and Shang Quan played teasing tricks on the palace maids in Qiantai Palace together when they were children, were punished together, and apologized to their father together.
Shang Rui asked Ming Lian to help them up and asked Ran Hong, "Do you know what crime your father committed?"
Ran Hong sniffed his nose and wiped his tears: "Hong'er doesn't know, but the saints said that brothers are like brothers. Although Hong'er and His Highness are only cousins, he said that if I am sad, he will be sad too, and the same is true for Hong'er. You are the emperor, and my father is your brother. No matter how serious the crime is, isn't it the emperor who has the final say?"
Shang Rui turned to his son Ran Jun and asked, "Do you think so too?"
Although Ran Jun was anxious, he was quite well behaved. He clasped his chubby little hands together and bowed, "In reply to your father's words, I was wondering if your father would be more sad when he lost his siblings than I was when I saw Brother Hong crying."
Shang Rui smiled calmly upon hearing this, waved his hand and asked the eunuch to take the two away, and said to Ming Lian: "Let the eunuchs in charge of the eldest prince and the crown prince in Chuxi Palace go to the forbidden room and receive 20 sticks each, and be fined three months' salary. How are you looking after the children?"
After they left, Shang Rui found it even harder to sleep, so he simply sat down in front of the imperial desk and continued reviewing memorials.
The cicadas outside were chirping in the trees, and even after adding two ice basins, it still felt hot. He unzipped his shirt in annoyance, and tore the edge with his fingers.
He took a sip of the iced white tea and put it heavily on the table. He finally said angrily, "If I hear those things outside in the tree screaming again tomorrow, watch out for your heads!"
The serving eunuch responded in a meek manner, and then immediately asked someone to fetch a long bamboo pole to quietly drive away the cicadas.
Ming Lian, who was standing by, understood that every word of the two children's childish words struck the emperor's heart.
Afterwards, Shang Rui went to Jinde Palace. The Queen knew his purpose, dismissed everyone, and said bluntly: "Your Majesty, I cannot help you with the matter of the King of Wei, and I advise you not to entangle with the Queen Mother over this matter. Since it is none of your business, Your Majesty should just wait and see what happens."
Shang Rui, who had just sat down, stood up suddenly upon hearing this and suddenly smiled: "Xiaoxiang, are you telling me the Wang family's position?"
"I don't have any, and the Wang family has no position either."
Shang Rui suddenly laughed: "Does your Wang family still have a choice? Do you think that one day you can let the Xu family depose me, and they will not be the emperor themselves, but will establish Jun'er as the new emperor and then support you to sit on the throne of the queen mother, and then ensure the prosperity of the Wang family for a hundred years? Have you forgotten the poison of the gourd vine that day?"
When the queen heard about Hu Man, her face turned pale and she said, "I didn't poison you."
"It doesn't matter who it is. What matters is that the Queen Mother believes that you, the Wangs, have endangered her son's life. She can depose or enthrone her own son, but she will not allow anyone else to touch him in the slightest. Do you understand?" Shang Rui smiled lightly, but that smile was like a lake that had been frozen for thousands of years, full of coldness.
The queen shuddered.
She understood that when the Queen Mother held her hand and said "I believe you", she already understood that she had no choice. Otherwise, why would she suddenly say those words to Shang Rui today to wait and see. Her father was right. He told her that as long as she said that to Shang Rui, Shang Rui would understand immediately with his intelligence.
Their Wang family has already placed their bet.
Shang Rui slowly sat down again, picked up the teacup and poured himself a cup of tea: "So, the first requirement of the Prime Minister for cooperating with me is that I watch the death of the King of Wei?"
"They are just using the King of Wei to test the emperor's heart. Now that the Xu family holds the military power, it is like hitting a rock with an egg to resist them on the issue of the King of Wei."
Like an egg hitting a stone. What a good way to hit a stone with an egg.
Shang Rui clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white: "Okay, tell your father, I agree." After all, he and Wang Xiaoxiang came back here after all - it was just a deal.
That night, Shang Rui did not stay in Jinde Palace.
Two months later, the King of Wei was convicted and all males over the age of fifteen in the King of Wei's palace were taken to the capital and beheaded.
Crown Prince Ran Hong was demoted to a commoner.
On that day, Shang Rui came back from the court of Qiantai Palace. When passing by the Imperial Garden, the Queen happened to run into him. Wang Xiaoxiang bowed, but was stopped by him halfway through the ceremony: "It is not necessary for the Queen." His behavior was normal, his expression was normal, and even the temperature of his palm was normal. However, the address and tone became distant and polite.
After dismissing all the palace maids and eunuchs, the two stood beside the lotus pond.
Every summer, I go to the capital very early. Once the summer heat is over, only a pond of withered lotus leaves remains.
Wang Xiaoxiang saw that he was depressed, so he advised: "Your Majesty has the people in his heart, and his decisions on life and death are all for the peace of the world."
Shang Rui couldn't help but chuckle: "In order to celebrate the Queen's family and I'm about to join forces, I want to tell the Queen something now, a past event that you really want to know."
Wang Xiaoxiang raised his head and looked at Shang Rui suspiciously.
"Do you remember the bowl of lotus seed soup you made for me?"
She used him.
Isn't he the same
From then on, there was no longer husband and wife between him and her, but only king and subject.
He leaned over in front of her and whispered at her temple: "I poisoned her myself."