The Qi family moved quickly this time.
Five days later, a servant of the Ministry of Rites took the lead in performing the performance, telling the story of the married woman going in and out of the palace at night, and even publicly accused the emperor of being lewd and repentant.
As soon as the words were spoken, seven or eight ministers stood up and agreed, all pointing at the young emperor.
Xiao Kezhi just sat on the seat calmly, and carefully looked at the expressions of these people. There was no expression on the stern face, making it difficult to understand what it meant.
Theoretically, when an ordinary king encounters such a righteous accusation, he almost always feels ashamed and regretful subconsciously. If it were replaced by a late emperor, or even a prince, he would have already confessed his mistakes with sincerity and fear.
After all, although the emperor is the supreme person in the world, anyone who still wants to be a wise ruler is most afraid of being wronged and criticized by others.
The current new emperor, who has been on the throne for half a year, has been in the frontier for a long time in the past, and he still does not understand the rules of the court, so he acts a little more flamboyantly.
But a pair of eyes watched carefully for a long time, but never got a response from him.
Everyone hesitated, not knowing whether the words were too heavy, or the emperor had other ideas.
At this time, Qi Mu, who had not spoken since the Minister of Rites mentioned this matter, slowly got up from his seat and cupped his hands: "You colleagues don't have to worry too much, Your Majesty is now at the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the blood is full of energy. Occasionally Mistakes do not damage morality. In my opinion, this matter is more or less caused by the lack of a master in the harem. There is no one to rectify the harem, and no one to persuade Your Majesty. This is not a long-term solution!"
Afterwards, everything was rehearsed as well. Just now, several ministers said "yes" one after another, and gradually turned the topic to the emperor's twenty-sixth year. He should marry a wife as soon as possible, and have children to comfort the ancestors.
Xiao Kezhi listened patiently to what they had to say, until the hall gradually regained its calm, and then he said blankly, "Have all the ministers finished speaking?"
Everyone looked at each other, hesitantly nodded and said "yes".
"Now that I've finished speaking, it's time to come to me. I only have one word," he sat up straight and glanced at Wei Fujing, the minister of punishment, who had a livid face, and the others.
After that, he got up slowly, adjusted his robes, and said solemnly: "Okay, I'll be here today."
The courtiers who were left with a look of astonishment were silent for a moment, and all of a sudden it was as if the pot had exploded, and they all speculated about the emperor's meaning.
Wei Fujing stayed where he was, his eyes were so complicated that he couldn't even listen to the comments and questions of the people around him.
He is a staunch princeling. Although he was born in Jingzhao Weishi, but because he was a side clan, he was almost in decline. Deenyin took up a position in the army. Later, he visited and walked around many times, and was recommended by many people, and gradually joined the prince's office. Eye, only then was transferred to the Ministry of Punishment, and after several years of ups and downs, he was appointed Minister of Punishment.
He just listened to Qi Mu and others' singing and harmony, he already felt very dangerous - once the emperor established a family and gave birth to children, it meant that the current East Palace would be useless.
But who knew that the emperor, who should have agreed, used the prince as an excuse to shirk!
Everyone knows that the Qi family intends to send Qi Mu's young daughter to the Taiji Palace as the queen, and the sage refused to do so.
If this is the case, now should be a good opportunity for the prince!
Thinking of this, his face changed and changed, he simply left his colleagues who were still talking beside him, and walked quickly towards the direction of Zhan Shifu.
…
Qi Mu's words were blocked on the spot, and of course he would not be reconciled.
Next, for several days in a row, he waited for the other political affairs to be finished, and then brought up the matter of persuading him to marry again.
Everyone in the court knew that after the Qi family wanted to send Liu Niang to the palace, if they were so easily rejected by the emperor and gave up, how would they treat the Qi family in the future
And Xiao Kezhi, uncharacteristically, did not resolve the matter directly with his usual tough hand. Instead, he listened to a righteous remonstrance every day with extra patience, and then used the same "East Palace is here, the country is strong". grounds for refusal.
It all seemed to hit a dead end.
It was not until the end of February that the prince, who was far away in Huazhou, suddenly started to dredging, saying that the dredging of the channel had been completed, and he would return to Chang'an in a few days, which broke the stalemate.
The servant of the Ministry of Rites, who was the first to provoked the incident, suddenly turned his attention to the prince Xiao Yu, saying that he had been married for many years and had not given birth to a child or half a daughter.
At the end of this sentence, it is just to persuade the emperor to marry a wife and expand the harem.
But the prince's party seized the opportunity.
Under Xu Rong's arrangement, Wei Fujing and others immediately transferred the conversation to the East Palace, saying that although the prince has been married for many years, the East Palace has always only had the crown princess Chu, and the others, not even a small concubine. , which is the real reason why it has not produced anything for two years.
After arguing for days, things finally changed.
Chu Ning waited patiently in the East Palace every day, until this day, he finally felt that there was only one last play left.
…
Three days later, on the first day of March, Xiao Yu finally rushed back to Chang'an from Huazhou.
In the evening, he did not enter the Taiji Palace to meet him, but went straight back to the East Palace. After discussing the matter of entering the palace the next day with Xu Rong and others, he went to the bedroom with a solemn expression.
In the evening breeze of spring, the birds and insects chirped, the plants and trees were fragrant, and the whole place was full of vitality, revealing faint joy and excitement.
Chu Ning stood by the door of the dormitory, her skirt fluttering in the breeze, her beautiful and peaceful face reflected in the splendid sunset, with a magnificent and hazy moving soft light.
This should be the last time, she had to stand here to greet Xiao Yu. The depression and suffering of the past disappeared, and she felt a burst of peace in her heart.
"Your Highness is back."
"A Ning..." Xiao Yu's footsteps stopped on the steps, looking at her with complicated eyes from a short distance away, feeling inexplicably discouraged.
Tomorrow, she will follow him into the palace and take the initiative to give up the position of the crown princess. He suddenly felt a little timid in his heart, for fear of seeing any sad and desperate expressions on her face.
"The warm water and clothes have already been prepared for His Highness. Come in, His Highness." Chu Ning entered the room with his back to him. As usual, he was naturally gentle and flawless.
Xiao Yu felt a sigh of relief and stepped into the house with heavy steps.
The room was silent, except for the sound of her pattering as she wringed the warm water off her hand towel.
She wiped his face and hands for him, took off his dust-stained robe, and put on a loose and clean robe. The movements were soft and comfortable, and his favorite faint fragrance was still on the front of the clothes, even the belt. The tightness is also just right.
Everything was to his liking.
"A Ning." He couldn't help reaching out and hugging her into his arms, whispering in her ear, "It's just a fake name."
I don't know if he is comforting her or comforting himself.
Chu Ning lowered his head, allowed him to approach, and made a low "um".
"It's still the same from now on, you can still live in the East Palace, I come back every day, you come to greet me, wash and change my clothes, and then eat together, and in the morning, it's all the same, nothing has changed..."
He slowly tightened his arms, as if to confirm something, and kept kissing her neck.
Chu Ning listened quietly. She originally wanted to reject him like the previous few times. In the end, she held her breath and endured it. She softly leaned her body against his chest and let him peel off the clothes little by little.
Last time.
At first, he was extra gentle, kissing her eyebrows from time to time, as if she was a treasure to be held in his hand.
But she soon revealed her true nature, and no longer cared about her feelings.
His face was pale, but his eyes were red, and pulling the long hair behind her head forced her to kneel at his feet and asked eagerly, "A Ning, we have been husband and wife for two years, you won't be swayed by this matter. Hate me, don't you?"
Chu Ning's knees were already red, and the long hair at the back of his head was also pulled painfully. Tears welled up in his eyes, but he still showed a peaceful smile.
"No, Your Highness, Aning won't hate His Highness because of this."
This is the truth.
Her hatred had already been planted when she learned the truth about her father's death—no, it was likely earlier.
"That's fine, that's fine..."
As if he was relieved, he slowly relaxed, and the hand that was pulling her hair changed to hold the back of her head.
He felt an irresistible pleasure rising from his tail vertebrae, but the hole in his heart was getting bigger and bigger, and the sigh that came to his mouth suddenly turned into a choked sob.
He finally couldn't help leaning on the mat, covering his red eyes with one hand, and choked down two tears.