Ever since the two imperial envoys arrived in Lingzhou City, the people outside Lingzhou City have been rushing into the city in waves, as if they were going to celebrate the New Year in advance.
The imperial envoys borrowed the prefectural office and tried the Prince of Xiang before trying the stewards, guards, servants and maids in the palace. The Prince of Xiang was stubborn and refused to plead guilty, but he had the confessions of his servants who helped him commit atrocities as evidence. In addition, the Prince of Xiang's son was still in the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The Prince of Xiang was only stubborn for one day and one night. From the next day, under the pressure of a large amount of witnesses and evidence, the Prince of Xiang was willing to confess everything.
However, he had committed so many crimes that the imperial envoys had to investigate them one by one, and the interrogation took four days and four nights.
On the morning of April 14, Shi Yao and Zheng Hong finally walked out of the prefectural government office and came to Ningyuan to pay a visit to the princess.
After not seeing them for just a few days, Huayang discovered that both of them looked haggard, with dark circles around their eyes, which was enough to prove that they had been staying up all night to investigate a case.
"Thank you for your hard work, adults. Please sit down and talk."
The little maid also brought tea.
Shi Yao and Zheng Hong bowed and thanked him. After they sat down, Shi Yao said, "Princess, you have accused the King of Xiang of seventeen crimes. The King of Xiang and his followers have all pleaded guilty. We have already sent the case file to the capital by express delivery over 600 miles to submit it to the Emperor for his decision. It will take about ten days to know the result."
Huayang showed no joy, but a look of regret: "Prince Xiang is my uncle, how can I bear to see him fall into this state today."
Zheng Hong advised bluntly: "Princess, don't be sad. The Prince of Xiang was corrupt and abused his power to bully the people, causing the people of Lingzhou to suffer and complain. He violated the ancestral precepts of the Grand Ancestor in enfeoffing the princes, and failed the emperor's great favor to him. He is a sinner to both the royal family and the common people. No matter how the emperor punishes him, he deserves it."
Shi Yao: "Master Zheng is right. Princess, please take care of yourself and don't worry about this."
Hua Yang sighed, "Well, the child is innocent. If there are any young relatives in the palace, the adults should instruct the guards to take good care of them until the emperor's order arrives."
The two imperial envoys left the table at the same time, cupping their hands and saying, "The princess's kindness is truly a blessing to the clan members and the people."
Huayang smiled faintly and told them to go back to the inn and have a good rest.
Wu Run sent the imperial envoys out, and Huayang no longer had to act like a princess, so she returned to Qifeng Palace with her maids.
Chao Yun was beaming with joy: "Since the Prince of Xiang has confessed his guilt, the Emperor will certainly not let him off easily. Finally, the dust has settled, and the princess can celebrate her birthday properly."
Huayang was not very interested: "I celebrate my birthday every year, but it's just the same old routine. I'm tired of it."
Chao Yue: "Princess, this is your second birthday after you got married. Last year, it coincided with the funeral of Old Madam Chen, and we had just arrived in town, so we basically just got by with it. This year, we have to make it more grand."
Huayang shook his head: "No, the King of Xiang is my uncle after all. Their whole palace is waiting for the imperial decree, but we are singing and dancing here. It is inevitable that we will feel that we are gloating over others' misfortune. Even if we think so in our hearts, we can't let people talk about it."
"Ah, are we going to just muddle through this year again?"
Huayang didn't expect anything, so she wasn't disappointed. The birthday was just a small matter. The Prince of Xiang was going to be convicted, and the court had lost a big termite. This one thing alone was enough to make her happy for a whole year.
Chaoyun and Chaoyue, however, felt sorry for the princess. When she was still married, the emperor and the empress would make great arrangements for her birthday every year, making it lively and festive. How could she let it become deserted once she left the palace
In the evening, Chen Jingzong came back. Chaoyue stopped him outside the Qifeng Palace and asked quietly, "Does the prince consort know what day it will be four days from now?"
It would be strange if Chen Jingzong didn’t know this.
Before her birthday last year, her mother called him over and gave him a mutton-fat jade Qilin jade pendant that could be split into two pieces, one for Qilin and one for Lin.
According to my mother, this was the dowry her grandmother gave her. She was reluctant to share it with the old man and kept it as a family heirloom, waiting to be passed on to her son and daughter-in-law.
However, because her sons had many children, there were not enough heirlooms to go around, so the mother changed her mind and decided to keep it for herself.
But unexpectedly, the youngest son was lucky enough to marry a princess as his daughter-in-law. The princess had seen all kinds of treasures, and it would be difficult to show his affection for his son with any birthday gift. So he simply gave him the heirloom and asked him to give it to the princess as his first birthday gift to show his respect.
Since his mother had thought it through for him, Chen Jingzong couldn't think of a better birthday gift than the pair of jade pendants, so he gave them to her on the morning of April 18 last year.
As a result, the princess was not interested in it at all, and did not care whether the jade pendant could be separated into two pieces. She just took a look at it, said thank you lightly, and asked the maids to put it in the box.
This year, on the holiday at the end of March, because of the incident with Prince Xiang, he and his wife, as well as his elder brother and his wife, did not return to the ancestral home. A few days later, his mother even sent a maid over to remind him not to forget that her birthday was coming up and the gifts had to be prepared in advance!
Is it him who is getting married, or his mother
Facing Chaoyue's question, Chen Jingzong thought for a moment and said, "It's time for the princess' birthday."
A smile appeared in Chaoyue's eyes. Although the prince consort was rough, he remembered the princess' birthday, so he was still a good prince consort.
"The princess doesn't want to have a big celebration, but what do you think, Prince Consort? The princess didn't have a good birthday celebration last year, so this year we should have some fun, even if it's just in Ning Garden."
Chen Jingzong: "That's right, but I'm a rough man and I don't know the princess's preferences. You've served her for so many years, so I'll leave this matter to you. Tell me in advance if you need my cooperation."
Chao Yue: "How can that be? You are the closest person to the princess right now. You must make the decision on this matter. No matter how well we prepare, the princess will just watch the formalities and won't be happy about it."
Chen Jingzong: …
He hasn't even decided what gift to give her, and you're asking him to figure out how to celebrate her birthday
Chen Jingzong really wanted to refuse, but when he thought of how skinny and pitiful she looked when she first arrived at the Chen family's ancestral home last year, he had to agree.
When they got into bed at night, he hugged Huayang and asked, "Is it time for your birthday?"
Huayang raised his eyebrows: "Did Chaoyun and the others tell you?"
Chen Jingzong: "Can't I remember it myself?"
Hua Yang: "Okay, just assume you remember it, but the timing is not right, so don't mess around. I'm not in the mood to listen to any opera or music."
Chen Jingzong had already excluded the opera troupe. When the sound of opera was heard from Ningyuan at this time, the people thought that the couple hoped that Prince Xiang would suffer misfortune.
"How did you celebrate your birthday before leaving the palace?" Chen Jingzong asked, hoping to gain some experience.
Huayang thought for a moment and said, "My father and mother asked people to organize all these events. They would invite the noble ladies of the capital to the palace to attend the peony banquet, hold a lantern festival at night, or ask the opera troupe to rehearse a few plays. One year, the palace set off fireworks for a whole hour..."
Chen Jingzong: "No wonder you are so precious, it turns out you were raised on silver."
Huayang pinched him hard.
Chen Jingzong: "I just want to help you, but I don't have that much money. Unless I learn from Xiang Baoshan and others to be greedy, and then be beaten to a cripple by the old man, or be killed by you for the sake of justice."
Huayang: "I didn't ask you to do it, don't listen to Chaoyun and the others."
Hua Yang glanced at him: "Why, you don't want to send it off?"
Last year she had personally embroidered a handkerchief to celebrate his birthday. If Chen Jingzong dared not give her a gift this year, Liuyun Palace would be empty!
She could choose not to accept Chen Jingzong's gift and not like it, but it was another matter entirely if Chen Jingzong himself did not want to give it.
Chen Jingzong asked in return: "Do you remember what I gave you last April?"
Huayang was stunned.
She was reborn on the night of April 24th last year, and what happened on April 18th was in her previous life, seven or eight years away from now.
She tried to remember.
Chen Jingzong suddenly sneered, pulled his hand out from under her neck, lay aside and said, "Look, what's the point of giving you a gift? You won't take it to heart at all."
Hua Yang sneered back at him: "The fact that I forgot it only shows that the gift you gave me was not thoughtful, which is not surprising at all."
Chen Jingzong: "Of course, I am a poor boy, and all my private money is just a few taels of silver. What kind of rare treasure can I give you?"
When it comes to sarcasm, Huayang admits that he is not as good as him, so he simply sits up and calls Chaoyue who is on guard tonight.
Chen Jingzong was still lying there.
Tonight is Huayang's day off, and the lights in the inner room have been turned off early.
Chao Yue hurried in with a lantern in hand: "Princess, what's wrong? Do you want a lantern?"
Huayang: "Light it up, and then find the birthday gift that the prince consort gave me last year. I want to see it."
Chao Yue thought for a moment and said, "Princess, please wait a moment. I will go to the storeroom right away."
The princess brought more than a dozen boxes and cages when she came to Lingzhou. The emperor gave her several more as a reward last year, and those that were not used normally were put in the warehouse.
After Chaoyue left, Chen Jingzong sneered, "I didn't put the handkerchief you gave me that far away."
Huayang: "Where did you put it?"
Chen Jingzong: "When I was in the ancestral house, I put it in the east wing. I took a bath there and could take it out whenever I wanted to read it. After moving here, I put it in the study room of Liuyun Hall, which I use almost every day."
Hua Yang: "Isn't this what you should do? In the whole world, I have only given a handkerchief to a stranger like you. Even my father, the emperor, I only gave him a handkerchief a few times when I was just starting to learn needlework."
If the calligraphy works of Chen Bochong and Chen Xiaozong were to be circulated in the market, they would be worth hundreds of gold coins. If her handkerchief were to be circulated, it would be worth thousands of gold coins.
Chen Jingzong: …
He said nothing, but moved towards her and reached out to hold her in his arms.
Huayang slapped his hand away.
Chen Jingzong knew that she was angry and did not move.
About a quarter of an hour later, Chaoyue came back, turned on the lamp, and looked at the bed with curtains hanging. She suddenly didn't know how to get the box in. After all, the prince consort was still lying there.
At this time, Huayang kicked Chen Jingzong and said, "Go get it."
Chen Jingzong stood up, straightened his clothes, and went out to get the box.
Chaoyue bowed her head and left.
Chen Jingzong handed the box to Huayang and took the initiative to help her open it.
Huayang lowered his eyes and saw a mutton-fat jade pendant.
The same mutton-fat jade is also divided into three grades: high, medium and low. The one Chen Jingzong has is considered low-grade, so it would be strange if it could leave a deep impression on her.
Before she could open her mouth to complain, Chen Jingzong explained, "This is the dowry my grandmother gave to my mother. They are all from small families, and to them, this is already a treasure. Moreover, the important thing about this thing is its meaning."
After saying this, he sat down, took out the jade pendant, and with a little skill, he successfully split it into two. He looked at Huayang and said, "Two unicorns, one male and one female. Do I need to tell you what this means?"
Huayang: …
It was clearly something used as a token of love between a man and a woman, but when it came out of his mouth it became a male and a female.
She said firmly: "You definitely didn't tell me this at the time."
Chen Jingzong: "You received the jade pendant, took a look at it and threw it to the maid. How can I speak?"
Huayang: "That's because you were so sloppy and I disliked you first, so I treat you like this."
Chen Jingzong couldn't refute it. He touched the jade pendant in his hand, raised his head, and looked at her again inquiringly: "You really disliked me at that time, why did you suddenly stop disliking me later?"
He remembered clearly that the change happened on a night that he still occasionally reminisced about.
Huayang had been fighting him for so long, and finally lost his temper at this moment. He turned away and said, "I also dislike you now. Stop flattering yourself."
Chen Jingzong: "Who are you kidding? When you really disliked me, I was offended by just looking at you. Now that I'm a little slower, you..."
Huayang slapped him in the face!
Chen Jingzong smiled and accepted the offer, then pushed the man onto the bed.
"No more words, this year I promise to give you a gift you will never forget."
(End of this chapter)