A few days later, Yufu hosted a banquet at Zhang Hua Terrace in the Imperial Garden to receive Dong Ling and his party.
Compared with the bustling and bustling capital, the solemnity and solemnity of the imperial palace is even more awe-inspiring. Concubine Li can't see it all the way. She only feels that every step and scene is full of the majesty of the emperor's family.
Ning Chengzhi didn't take the time to look at the scenery, the more he looked at it, the more he felt ashamed, so he simply lowered his head and just walked away.
Walking to the promenade outside the imperial garden, I suddenly saw a tall man in armor coming from not far away, with a sword on his waist. It is conceivable that he is an important general in the palace, so he can walk around with a sword.
When someone approached him and took a closer look, Ning Chengzhi straightened his back.
Isn't that... Gu Hanmo
The general who led them in from outside the palace cupped his hands towards Gu Hanmo, "Commander, the man has already been brought here."
Gu Hanmo nodded slightly, "Leave it to me, you go."
The general cupped his hands and left, Gu Hanmo looked at Ning Chengzhi and the two, and Ning Chengzhi subconsciously took a step back to protect the woman beside him.
Concubine Li Gui was looking around vigorously, when she suddenly saw a strange expression on his face, she unconsciously looked at Gu Hanmo, feeling familiar.
She used to live in the deep palace in Dongling for a long time, even though she met the Gu family's children, only Gu Shubai had a deep memory, and the rest was just an impression.
Therefore, she stared at Gu Hanmo for a long time before realizing that such a handsome man was naturally not an ordinary person. Seeing Ning Chengzhi's reaction, the impression in her mind finally matched.
"Are you... the third son of the Gu family?"
There are six young masters of the Gu family, among them the third young master with a cold face, she remembered.
Ning Chengzhi frowned, the thing he was most worried about all the time was still met, the last thing he wanted to see was the members of the Gu family!
Gu Hanmo only nodded slightly, took a look at Ning Chengzhi's movements, and knew what was going on in his heart.
He didn't care, just pretended not to see and raised his hand towards the two, "This way please, Your Majesty has been waiting at Zhang Huatai for a long time."
After all, he took care of himself and led the way, so that Ning Chengzhi would not be afraid when he saw him.
Seeing that he was walking ahead, Ning Chengzhi felt much more relaxed. Seeing Concubine Li following aggressively, he casually grabbed her loose sleeves.
This is a new spring dress she made after she came to the capital. The wide sleeves imitate the palace clothes of the court ladies in Beili. will be arrested.
Concubine Li Gui turned to look at him strangely, "What's wrong?"
Ning Chengzhi felt depressed and didn't tell her all this time, but now he has to say, "Back then, the whole family of Guhou Mansion was almost ransacked, I was worried..."
Concubine Li Gui immediately understood.
Now that the Gu family is more powerful in Beili than in Dongling back then, if they want revenge, the couple will be in danger.
Concubine Li Gui paused for a moment, then suddenly showed him a big smile, "Your husband is with me, don't be afraid."
She had never done anything earth-shattering in her life, and even she had a bad record in the harem. It was only after she became a queen that she knew what it meant to govern the harem and convince people with virtue.
But at least she still has this life, she can live and die with him.
Ning Chengzhi looked at him with complicated emotions. Gu Hanmo, who was walking in front, saw that the two of them didn't keep up, and turned around, "You two?"
Concubine Li quickly laughed and said, "We're coming!"
Arriving at Zhanghua Terrace, the place here is not too big, and there are less than ten seats in total.
Apart from Yufu and Gu Shubai, there was only Chen Jingxing and a group of officials from Honglu Temple.
Some of these courtiers came from Dongling to vote, some were exiles from Dongling and later passed the Jinshi examination, and some were local people in Lin'an.
Ning Chengzhi took a look in the crowd and saw some familiar faces, feeling complicated.
Get a little closer, and you can see Yufu and his wife sitting on the golden throne above.
Yu Fu's face is more open than before, her eyebrows are more slender, her eyes are brighter and deeper, and her cheeks are more plump and crystal clear.
From this angle, one can vaguely see that her belly is really big, about eight or nine months old.
The two stepped forward to salute, "I have seen Your Majesty."
Although they haven't been rewarded yet, the two have already changed their titles as ministers, the purpose is to let Bei Li Chaozhong see more of their sincerity.
Yu Fu smiled and invited the two of them to take a seat. They hadn't seen each other for many years, so they had a lot of emotion.
"I haven't seen you for many years, you two look pretty good."
Yu Fu spoke first, and his tone of greeting was like that of an old acquaintance, without the intention of being superior or using power to overwhelm others.
Ning Chengzhi felt rather flattered. After thinking for a while, he stood up and replied, "I haven't seen you for many years, and His Majesty is more attractive than before. I haven't congratulated Your Majesty on the upcoming birth of a dragon son, but I also congratulate the Regent."
In the past, he was the ruler and she was the subject, but now he wants to call her Your Majesty. The identities of the two are reversed, and Ning Chengzhi feels sour.
Yu Fu stroked his stomach with a smile, then looked at Concubine Li Gui, "Have you two not had any children yet?"
In her impression, Concubine Li was a side concubine when Ning Chengzhi was the second prince, and later became Concubine Li, and then Empress, at least seven or eight years ago.
Ning Chengzhi was about to shake his head, when he suddenly heard Li Guifei say: "Your Majesty is concerned, my wife is already pregnant for three months."
Her voice was filled with joy, and Ning Chengzhi looked back at her in surprise, unable to believe it.
He's having kids too
He always thought that he had committed too many crimes, so the harem was not prosperous, and he had no heirs.
Unexpectedly, Concubine Li Gui quietly conceived him a child. He was overjoyed and didn't know what to say for a while.
Gu Shubai raised his wine glass, "Then congratulations to both of you."
The feeling of being a father is sympathetic to each other, Gu Shubai's congratulations are sincere, and Ning Chengzhi hurriedly picked up his wine glass to respond.
The women beside them each looked at their husbands with love in their eyes.
After drinking for three rounds, Ning Chengzhi said through the wine: "I did many wrong things in the past. I'm sorry for your majesty and the Gu family. I'm willing to be punished. It's just them... their mother and child are innocent, so please hold your hand high."
As he spoke, he was about to kneel down to plead guilty, and several officials from Honglu Temple hurriedly helped him up.
Yu Fu couldn't help laughing, "It's a good recounting of the past, why are you talking about this? I invited you to the capital for rewards, not punishment."
Concubine Li Gui couldn't help laughing and said: "Actually, my husband has been worried... Since His Majesty said so, I can rest assured."
Yu Fu glanced at Chen Jingxing, "I heard that you guys had a lot of fun in the capital these few days, so I thought you were not worried, so it turns out that you are also aware of fear."
Ning Chengzhi was even more embarrassed when he heard this, and Concubine Li Gui said shamelessly: "It's my fault, I can't blame my husband. I like those clothes and jewelry, Bei Li's clothes and jewelry are beautiful, I couldn't hold back!"
After finishing speaking, he looked at Ning Chengzhi shyly.
Come on.
Yu Fu thought in his heart, it was Ning Chengzhi who asked the doctor to see a doctor after eating too much, not Concubine Li.
She didn't say anything, but said: "Actually, you don't have to blame yourself too much. Apart from other things, I am very relieved that you took the initiative to surrender your heart and land this time. The reason why the Sanyi people dared to invade is because the mainland of Kyushu fell apart. People have found an opportunity to take advantage of. The Dongling will be attached, and Kyushu will be unified from now on, and there will be no situation where foreigners are slaughtered. You have contributed to the mainland of Kyushu, and you will also contribute to the people of the world."
Ning Chengzhi was already blushing because of wine, but when he heard Yu Fu's praise, he blushed even more.
He looked at Gu Shubai, Gu Shubai was always smiling, and he didn't look like he was holding grudges.
It's because he thought too much. With the Gu family's current status in Beili, does it take hypocrisy to deal with him
From the beginning to the end, he was treating the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain.
After the palace banquet, the imperial decree was quickly passed to the post house.
"Emperor Ning was named Duke Ning, and the land of Lin'an was enfeoffed. The rest of the Ning clan's royal family should be treated preferentially, and the Ning clan's ancestral temple should be preserved to continue the incense."
Ning Chengzhi and his party were overjoyed when they received the decree. If it weren't for worrying about the fetus in the womb, Concubine Li would probably jump up for joy.
He demoted himself to be a Marquis, and Kun Wushang even said that he was whimsical, and he didn't want Yufu to be so generous, so he directly made a duke.
The duke is male, the status of the duke is far higher than that of the marquis.
Happiness came so suddenly, he couldn't believe it, and asked the palace servants who passed the decree, "Your Majesty has treated you so favorably, and I am sincerely frightened. I don't know how to repay him?"
The palace servants were probably ordered by Yu Fu, and they were very polite, "Duke Ning, please don't be too careful. Your Majesty said that this is what Duke Ning deserves. Since Lin'an is a town of Duke Ning, His Majesty will send officials to take over the local government affairs. However, the income from the fiefdom is still yours, and the Lin'an Palace allows you to continue to live in it."
The more Ning Chengzhi heard it, the more he found it incredible, he hurriedly said: "Then...then your Majesty can tell, when do we need to return to the fief?"
"Your Majesty said that since Madam is pregnant, you can play in the capital for a while and go back. Or maybe Ning Gong is concerned about Lin'an affairs and wants to go back earlier. It's all up to Ning Gong's own wishes. If he wants to stay for a long time, His Majesty will also order someone Choose a suitable house in Beijing as a gift."
Ning Chengzhi hesitated.
This decree came too unreal, he worried that he would regret if he didn't leave Yufu sooner, and felt that if he left like this, he might never see Yufu again in the future.
What's more, Concubine Li is pregnant with a child, and it may not be good for the pommel horse to be tired at the moment.
Concubine Li Gui ate the imperial snacks sent by the palace staff, sobbing in her mouth: "There are so many interesting things in the capital, my husband, can we stay for a while?"
I don't know if Concubine Li is heartless, or if she trusts Yufu more than Ning Chengzhi, she doesn't seem to worry about what will happen if she stays.
Ning Chengzhi made up his mind, "Then let's stay in the capital for a while longer, and please tell His Majesty for us when the father-in-law returns. As for the house, we don't need it, we will settle it ourselves."
The palace man said with a smile: "Duke Ning, you don't have to be polite, this is also His Majesty's intentions for old acquaintances."
…
A few days later, Ning Chengzhi and others moved out of the post house and lived in Yu Fuci's mansion.
When Kun Wushang heard the news, he almost fainted on the spot.
"He was also an emperor, why did he change to such a high title, the palace can continue to live, and there are fiefs and fiefs, is this fair?"
He was sitting in his shop, his face flushed with anger, and he was busy fanning him, "Master, please calm down, isn't it hard work for those who can? Look at our shop, what a good location, now the first Three branches are also about to open, and they are making a lot of money every day! He Ning Gong sits and eats, how can he be as noble as you?"
"Pooh."
Kun Wu spat at him in pain.
Don't think he doesn't know, these guys in the shop often boast outside that their boss used to be an emperor.
The people in the capital are good at everything, but they are too rich. When people have money, they are idle and like to listen to gossip. These guys have made a lot of money by selling gossip about the "Emperor".
So that one day when Kunwu was injured and went out, there was a person who looked like a young lady who chased him for three blocks. He happened to meet him when he was shopping and eating. Just thinking about it, he knew who had sold him.
Lun Yue walked in from outside the shop, "Master, the horse is ready, but where are you going?"
"I'm going to Gufu."
Kun Wu walked out angrily, "I went to Gu Houye and they said, how can Ning Chengzhi get such a big advantage? Forgot who made them almost steal all the family in the past?"
"Don't make trouble, it was Yin Shuo's instigation, after all, it has nothing to do with Ning Chengzhi."
Suddenly a woman's voice came from outside, and Kun Yuyang came in from the outside in a well-dressed outfit, sat down at the counter familiarly, and the waiter immediately brought tea to her as if to flatter her.
In addition to Kun Wushang's gossip, selling Kun Yuyang's gossip is also very profitable. There are many young men of marriageable age in Beijing who admire her heroic appearance and want to marry her even though she is a widow.
But the one who bought her the most vicious news here is not those aristocratic sons, but a little-known general in the army, whose surname seems to be Lin.