The border troops were brave and Doyan was defeated. At this time, Emperor Yuanyou went to accept the Doyan leader's request for peace, which not only brought honor to Emperor Yuanyou, but also boosted the morale of the army and the people.
Emperor Yuanyou wanted to go, and Empress Dowager Qi also supported him, so the matter was settled.
However, it is no small matter for the emperor to leave the capital. He cannot just leave at will. Every aspect along the way must be carefully prepared.
But the list of ten accompanying Beijing guards had already been finalized, and the Daxing Left Guard led by Chen Jingzong was on the list.
Chen Jingzong was quite happy. The last time he fought against Prince Yu, the places he passed through were all in the Central Plains, which he was already familiar with. His opponents were also comrades with the same blood. Even though he won, he felt heavy-hearted. He was determined to guard the border and drive out foreign enemies. Now he had the opportunity to go to Jizhou, one of the nine important border towns, and have the opportunity to see the style of the Qin family army. As smart as Chen Jingzong was, he could not hide his anticipation for this trip in front of Huayang.
Huayang looked normal, as if whether he went on a long journey or not had nothing to do with her.
Chen Jingzong didn't think much about it at first. He just drank and ate until he went to bed at night. Then he realized belatedly that this time he went to Jizhou and might not return to Beijing until September.
If you really count it, a month is not that long. Including in the garrison, many soldiers from other places cannot see their families all year round. When Chen Jingzong himself was in Lingzhou, he never felt sad because of missing his home in the capital.
But even though he and Huayang had been married for so long, the longest time they had been apart was when she took Wu Run and others to Yueyang to visit Dongting Lake!
"Are you unhappy that I've been away for so long?" Chen Jingzong squeezed the eldest princess's hand.
Huayang: "I wouldn't say anything even if you were out there for a year or two."
Chen Jingzong took a deep breath. Even though he knew she might just be being stubborn, he didn't like to hear it.
Unfortunately, Huayang had her period these two days, so he couldn't do anything.
After struggling for a while, Chen Jingzong hugged her and said, "I will write you a letter, one every three days."
Huayang: "You are not afraid of being laughed at by your colleagues, but I am. Jizhou is not far away. You should concentrate on your work and stop thinking about random things."
Chen Jingzong: "Other women would regret teaching their husbands to seek titles, but you are so cruel."
Huayang: "This time you are going to accept Duoyan's surrender, and there is no need to fight. When the war really comes, I will tell the emperor not to send you to fight. Then you will feel my softness."
Chen Jingzong: "No, it's better for you to be ruthless. I will earn more military merits to be more worthy of you."
Huayang: "It's really strange that there are times when you feel that you are not worthy of me."
Chen Jingzong: …
He held her face and if he really wanted to have a verbal fight, he might as well try another way.
.
Two days later, Huayang entered the palace. After all, her younger brother was going on a long journey, and as an elder sister, how could she not come to show concern for him.
Emperor Yuanyou's childish face was filled with excitement and joy. When he mentioned his trip to Jizhou, his eyes became brighter than usual, like an eagle with growing wings that was about to break free from its cage and fly.
Huayang leaned lazily on the beauty couch, playing with a newly opened pink rose in his hand, listening absent-mindedly.
Emperor Yuanyou reacted quickly and asked with concern: "Sister, are you worried?"
Huayang shook his head and sighed, "No, it's just that when you mentioned the Great Wall, the artillery forts, and the vast grasslands, all of which I may not be able to see in my lifetime, I couldn't get excited."
Although Emperor Yuanyou was young and sometimes could not understand some of the topics discussed by his mother and sister, he immediately understood what his sister meant and said with a smile, "It's not difficult for sister to see what she wants to see. Just come with me this time."
Huayang's eyes lit up, and he immediately looked in the direction of the Qianqing Palace, leaned back in his chair again, and said quietly: "If it's really that simple, I would have told you a long time ago, but my mother would not agree."
Emperor Yuanyou thought for a moment and said, "Just because you can't bear to part with your husband?"
Hua Yang burst out laughing: "Mother can see through this kind of lie at a glance."
Emperor Yuanyou: "That means you can't let me go and you have to follow me and take care of me."
Huayang turned the flower in her hand and looked at her brother with a smile in her beautiful eyes: "Although I want to go to Jizhou to appreciate the frontier scenery, I am indeed a little worried about you. I am afraid that this is your first time traveling far away and you may not be able to adapt to the climate or something."
Emperor Yuanyou: "You can follow the army for half a year without any problem. I practice martial arts every day, so I am definitely stronger than you."
Boys aged fifteen or sixteen are just growing taller. Last year, Emperor Yuanyou was taller than Huayang. Now, when the brother and sister stand together, Huayang is just below his brother's earlobe.
My father is tall, and when my younger brother grows up, he may not be much shorter than Chen Jingzong.
After Emperor Yuanyou finished speaking, he saw his sister begin to look at him with the eyes of a farmer admiring the thriving crops in his own field.
Emperor Yuanyou's face felt slightly hot and he was also slightly proud. In the past, his sister always treated him like a child, but from now on, it would be his turn to protect his sister. He could support his sister in anything that the queen mother forbade her to do.
"Come on, I'll go with you to see the Queen Mother."
Huayang smiled and said, "You help my sister, and my sister won't let you get in trouble. Later in front of the mother, you can just say that I can't bear to part with my husband and I'm obsessed with you, and you had no choice but to agree."
Emperor Yuanyou thought to himself that it was really useful to have a son-in-law by his sister's side!
The brother and sister returned to the Qianqing Palace together.
Huayang sat next to Empress Dowager Qi with his eyes downcast, feeling guilty, while Emperor Yuanyou was responsible for pleading for him.
Empress Dowager Qi looked at her son and then at her daughter. She didn't ask any more questions. She just said, "Go ahead. You two siblings should take care of each other and don't play too crazy outside."
Both the brother and sister were surprised at how easy it was for their mother to talk to.
Empress Dowager Qi smiled.
With Chen Tingjian and He Qingxian around, she was not afraid of the children making big mistakes.
.
She asked her brother not to tell him about Huayang's trip to Jizhou. She just needed to follow her brother in her carriage on the day of departure, and there was no need for the court to make any additional arrangements because of her joining.
She was calm and composed. Several maids around her packed their bags skillfully during the day. As soon as the prince consort came back, they all tacitly kept the princess' mouth shut.
Chen Jingzong, on the contrary, became the one with the most complicated emotions in the mansion. He was happy to go to Jizhou, but also reluctant to leave as the separation was getting closer.
"You must be mad at me."
Sitting on the bed, Chen Jingzong looked at the eldest princess lying with her back to him with a headache, "She was angry that I was too happy when I first got the news."
Huayang: “No.”
Chen Jingzong: "Then why are you giving me the cold shoulder?"
Huayang: "I have to go to the palace to see my brother off tomorrow morning, so I have to go to bed early."
Chen Jingzong was unable to refute.
He lay down again, hugged Huayang, and kissed her neck again and again. After each kiss, he said, "You'll feel bored living alone when I'm not around. You can go to the palace to accompany the queen more. You can also stay there for a few days. Wanyi, Dalang and the others all like you very much."
Huayang: “Yeah.”
Chen Jingzong: "I write to you every day and send it once every ten days."
Huayang: "That's really not necessary."
Chen Jingzong: "I am not like some people who have no conscience."
Huayang just smiled.
Chen Jingzong fell asleep feeling depressed. He reached out to her twice in the middle of the night, but was ruthlessly pinched away by Huayang each time. Finally, he gave up.
At dawn, Chen Jingzong woke up, got out of bed, drank a bowl of water, crawled back into bed, and hugged Huayang and kissed him.
Huayang tried to dodge, but was easily held down by him. When the long kiss was about to end, Chen Jingzong actually moved to her ear and bit it with a little force.
Huayang took a breath, anger showing in his eyes.
Chen Jingzong looked at her and said in a muffled voice: "You just have no conscience."
Huayang turned over and continued to sleep.
Chen Jingzong fiddled with her long hair a few times and had to walk away.
Only after the footsteps disappeared did Huayang open his eyes again.
.
Outside the capital, the commanders of ten garrisons, including the Yulin Guard, Jinwu Vanguard, and Daxing Left Guard, have all arrived, and behind them are more than 5,000 elite soldiers from each garrison.
When the first rays of sunlight in the early morning slanted across the sky, the emperor's procession finally appeared at the city gate. In the front were two teams of Jinyiwei riding on fine horses, followed by a canopy held high, and then the emperor's carriage, which was as spacious as a mobile home.
Chen Jingzong and other soldiers knelt down together.
After the chief eunuch Cao Li shouted on behalf of Emperor Yuanyou that they should excuse themselves from the ceremony, the soldiers stood up again.
Chen Jingzong mounted his horse and prepared to set off. The 50,000 guards from the capital would surround the emperor's carriage and the carriages of the ministers following behind.
Just as Chen Jingzong turned around and wanted to take a last look in the direction of the Princess's Mansion, another car drove out of the city gate.
Chen Jingzong was more familiar with this carriage than with his own husband's carriage as prime minister.
Chen Jingzong looked at the carriage in disbelief.
The soldiers of Daxing Zuowei were all looking at him. They noticed that the commander had been tilting his neck. They then followed the commander's line of sight. What else was there to not understand
Someone laughed and said, "My Lord, you come back home every day and still can't see me enough. Why do you act like you haven't seen me for years?"
The soldiers burst into laughter.
Chen Jingzong gritted his teeth secretly while laughing. Even though she was patient and pretending, she had already decided to accompany him. She had to act as if she didn't care about being without him, which made him unable to sleep well these past few nights!
Gripping the reins tightly, Chen Jingzong looked coldly at the guards behind him and said, "Let's go!"
All the soldiers responded in unison, with great momentum!
Huayang sat in the carriage, while Chaoyun and Chaoyue lay down in front of the window. Soon, Chaoyun said happily to the princess, "The prince consort is there!"
Huayang didn't take it seriously: "We see each other every day, what's so strange about it?"
Chao Yun: "You don't care, but the prince consort does. He just looked over here for a long time and was laughed at by the guards."
Huayang could imagine Chen Jingzong's stupid look.
The long convoy moved slowly along the official road. After more than an hour, someone suddenly knocked on the left window.
Chaoyun lifted the curtain, Huayang glanced over and met Chen Jingzong's handsome and serious face, as if he had come on the emperor's order, as if he was just an ordinary commander, not her son-in-law.
"Is there something?" Huayang moved closer to the window.
The curtains were only half-raised, revealing the princess' bright face like a peony. Chen Jingzong looked from her eyebrows to her lips, then leaned over and whispered, "Nothing, come and see if the person sitting in the car is Her Royal Highness the Princess."
As expected, he was not serious again. Huayang glared at him: "Who else could it be except me?"
Chen Jingzong: "That's hard to say. Maybe one of the peony flowers in the Princess's mansion garden finally became a spirit and couldn't forget me, so it transformed into your appearance to come and see me."
Huayang was about to lower the curtain when Chen Jingzong suddenly blocked her hand and said with a hint of resentment that was hard to tell whether it was real or fake: "But as soon as I saw your cold eyes, I knew it was the eldest princess herself."
Huayang: …
(End of this chapter)