Yun Fenghuang in the palace didn't know that Chao Jingyou was trying to find a way to meet her. She was discussing Gong Xiangxiao's marriage with Princess Fu with great interest.
King Xiao's fiefdom was far or close to the imperial capital, just like the vassal prince's status in the clan. He was not at the bottom of the clan, but there was a clear gap compared with the top ones like King Zhou.
In terms of seniority, Prince Xiao of this generation had just ascended the throne and was a generation younger than Chun Jia.
Although this Princess Xiao was five or six years older than Yun Fenghuang, she kept her attitude very low. When she saw Yun Fenghuang, she called her a "good aunt": "... It's not that great aunt Dongxing said that we are far away in the fiefdom. But they didn’t know that the prince regent is already this age, but he still doesn’t look like him. In the past two days, our prince visited the elders and often heard them mention this matter. It’s just that we are junior, so it’s hard to say anything."
"Not only are you embarrassed to say anything, but His Majesty was also embarrassed to speak before." Yun Fenghuang heard that she should be here to inquire about the news on behalf of the clan members - except for the eldest princess of Dongxing, who has lived in the imperial capital for many years, she can Those who are close to the water can grasp the trends in the temples and palaces on a first-come, first-served basis. Since the vassal princes are far away from the center, news lags behind, and they can only communicate some important things on a daily basis. Even if people come to the imperial capital now, they are not sure of the situation in a short time.
At this time, the eldest princess of Dongxing scolded the regent's step-concubine in public for mistreating her eldest son. Although the eldest princess said to the public that she was entrusted by the eldest son's mother-in-law, the Dou family, everyone who knew the eldest princess knew that this eldest son The eldest princess missed the queue when Shenzong was fighting for the throne.
Although Shenzong didn't do anything to her and her husband's family in the end, the Wei family also lost the Sacred Heart and kept a low profile for two generations before sizing up the situation and sending Wei Hengyan into the palace, thus gradually regaining her voice in the temple.
The eldest princess of Dongxing has suffered a loss once and has acted very steadily over the years.
It goes without saying that the emperor is a basic skill, but she never says anything to a clan member with real power like the regent, and does not dare to act like an elder.
If you do this now, people who are interested will naturally suspect that this is at least Chunjia's tacit approval.
Otherwise, how could the Dou family and Gong Xiangxiao allow Princess Dongxing to offend the regent and his wife
The clan members who have not yet left the imperial capital are very confused. If they are in the fiefdom, they can just pretend to be deaf and dumb. Anyway, no matter who wins, Chunjia or the regent, the meat will end up rotting in Gongxiang's mouth. Not in the cauldron
Except for a few who want to gain wealth and honor in danger, most of the vassal kings who come from afar still don't want to wade into troubled waters.
After all, if they can rush over to participate in presiding over clan affairs, even if they are just watching the excitement as witnesses under the banner of presiding, they at least have hereditary titles.
Especially for the King of Zhou who is already the top among the kings, it is impossible to go further. The vassal kings of the country will have a regent, and it is unlikely that there will be a second one. If there is a second one, regardless of the emperor's position at that time. The person sitting on it is Chunjia or the current regent. This second regent probably won't live long for his whole family.
Once it fails, the consequences will be disastrous.
So the investment and the gains are completely incompatible.
The problem is that they are in the Imperial Capital now, and if the royal uncle and nephew start to fight each other right now, if they don't take a stand or stand in line, who knows whether they will be liquidated by the winner in the future
In particular, this pair of royal uncles and nephews were particularly cruel. For a family as big as the Ji family, they would kill them at any time.
After the slaughter, the Empress Dowager was not allowed to tell the clan members who were visiting the Empress Dowager one after another. The Empress Dowager held hands to reminisce about the past. In the end, the Empress Dowager asked them in a very humble manner to please look aside for the sake of her own face. She looked so helpless. Looks like…
Anyway, it’s better not to offend the uncle and nephew.
Princess Xiao is now here to test Chunjia's attitude on behalf of these people. If this matter really comes from Chunjia's instruction, then they who are on Chunjia's side will naturally follow suit and interfere in Gong Xiangxiao's marriage in the name of their tribe. Put pressure on the Regent's House.
But if this was Princess Dongxing's own whim, then... they probably wouldn't mind their own business.
Seeing Yun Fenghuang speak at this moment, Princess Xiao listened with bated breath - this "good aunt" who was younger than her smiled and said, "Back then, when His Majesty was practicing Zuo, the Prince Regent came to accompany the emperor in reading. At that time, He is no more than two years older than you and King Xiao's eldest son, so he has been watched by His Majesty as he grew up. His Majesty's fifteenth wedding, considering the age of the eldest son, even if there was no marriage in the past two years, the choice of the eldest son's wife will always be It’s time to look.”
"After all, you also know that in a family like ours, how can marriage be accomplished overnight? We must always follow the rules to be decent."
"But there was no movement at all in the Prince Regent's Palace, and there were no inquiries from the palace. Is there any inside story? But His Majesty made several insinuations, and the Prince Regent didn't answer. Your Majesty's biological father and heirs all left early. I have always regarded the Prince Regent as my uncle as a close elder. Seeing the Prince Regent acting like this, I was afraid of causing any trouble, so I didn’t ask any more questions."
"After all, His Majesty is a junior, so it's not easy to talk about this kind of thing."
Princess Xiao thought about the meaning of these words. The emperor was a junior, so it was difficult for him to urge his uncle and aunt to marry his cousin, rather than not wanting to do so... So, the emperor did approve of marrying a wife for the prince regent
She pursed her lips, smiled and flattered a few words, and then asked in a roundabout way whether the emperor had anyone in mind for his cousin's wife.
But this time Yun Fenghuang did not give a more definite answer. He only emphasized the noble status of Gong Xiangxiao like the eldest princess of Dongxing. He was the only male heir among the descendants of Emperor Shenzong!
How could he not find his real wife
Ordinary ladies from famous families are definitely not qualified to be selected!
"Your Majesty is kind to the Prince Regent." After a while, after seeing off Princess Yan, Yun Fenghuang went to see Chunjia and angrily said, "I was afraid that the Prince Regent would be instigated by his step-concubine, so he deliberately chose a wife of a low-born prince for him. It's just Lu Chuncao who was deprived of the title of Marquis of Qingping, but don't let the regent help him because of his marriage."
Chunjia smiled and said: "Uncle Wang, if he planned to use this prince to marry into a high-ranking family and win support, he would have done it long ago. How can he still delay it until now? The reason why he has not allowed the prince to marry is probably because he doesn't want to marry him. Your marriage is so good."
"Oh?" Yun Fenghuang asked with great interest, "Why is this? Is it because of the step-concubine's instigation? But the prince is the eldest son of the regent. It is said that the regent and the former concubine Yuan were very affectionate. , Even if this person has passed away, don’t you still miss this little bit of affection?”
"How do I know anything about the affairs in Uncle Wang's house?" Chunjia mumbled, "However, when I ascended the throne, Concubine Yuan had already passed away, so I have never seen the scene of the love between Uncle Wang and Concubine Yuan. But in my opinion , the relationship between Uncle Wang and his step-concubine is not shallow, otherwise there would be no one in the backyard after marrying the step-concubine. After so many years, the step-concubine gave birth to a child for Uncle Wang, and Uncle Wang didn't even think about it. Please accept more concubines so that the bloodline of the late Emperor Shenzong can flourish."
There was quite a bit of teasing in these words. Yun Fenghuang looked at it carefully and was a little surprised. He whispered: "Is Your Majesty sure about this?"
"Is there anything certain or uncertain? Can I still ask Uncle Wang to stay and take a pulse in front of me?" Chunjia asked back, "I just feel that from Shenzong to Xiaozong, and then to Uncle Wang, all the heirs are weak. , so I’m just a little worried.”
Yun Fenghuang thought to himself, you are probably hoping that the regent will die soon, so why are you worried
However, she also found it strange that the regent was from a noble background but was very affectionate with Concubine Yuan, who was not of a very high background. This was okay. It was understandable that Concubine Yuan's death was particularly critical.
But when Concubine Yuan was there, the regent loved his wife and the backyard was clean, so he just paid it off.
Lu Jifei made it clear that she married for political purposes. Under such circumstances, his backyard was still deserted... It was puzzling.
Even if the regent is not the emperor and cannot offer many official positions to win over high-ranking families, according to the specifications of ordinary vassal princes, there can be two more concubines under the principal concubine. It might be a bit aggrieved to arrange a noblewoman of Luo Hanyi and Ouyang Fulu's level in this position, but it is almost enough to arrange a concubine from these two families or a legitimate daughter from a side branch.
After all, Gong Xiang Ruoji is not an ordinary vassal king, right
As a result, the regent only married an adopted daughter of Marquis Qingping. This... really makes people feel that the regent's style is a bit anticlimactic.
You forced your first wife to death, just to exchange for Lu Chuncao? ?
Or was Lu Chuncao a capable and protective eunuch who helped his daughter control the regent
Well, there is another possibility. It's not that the regent doesn't want to take in concubines and marry into many families to build up his reputation, but it's not convenient for him to do so. As for why it is inconvenient, the most likely reason is that he may have some hidden diseases... But in the years since Concubine Lu Jifeng entered the family, she also gave birth to a young prince
Considering the fact that Gong Xiangzhen had never appeared in front of anyone, Yun Fenghuang couldn't help but have a dark guess, that maybe this so-called young prince was just trying to cover up the regent's "incompetence".
In fact, it is unknown whether this young prince exists, or whether he is actually the bloodline of the regent.
But if this is the case, then the regent has no reason to ignore Gong Xiangxiao, let alone not to cultivate him!
It's impossible that even Gong Xiangxiao... No, no, no, it's impossible. If the regent doesn't have a real heir at all, why would he take such a big risk to fight for the throne
Yun Fenghuang composed himself and stopped himself from continuing with such far-fetched assumptions: "What your Majesty said is just this matter. As a junior, you can't tell the regent whether you want to take advantage of the fact that the clan members are here to entrust a few Will the elders take care of you?"
She thought that since Chunjia had spoken out this speculation, whether the Shenzong lineage really had some problems with the heir or not, this would probably be used to suppress the regent.
Anyway, it is a fact that the three descendants of father and son, Shenzong Xiaozong and the regent, are rare.
Unless the regent immediately takes in ten or eight concubines and lets them get pregnant within a few months, if this rumor spreads too much, no one will believe it... With Chunjia's character, he must be capable of being so cruel. thing.
But Yun Fenghuang didn't want to get involved.
Now she is no longer the little concubine she was when she first entered the palace. She needs to take the eccentric position.
I don't want Chunjia to be entrusted with the important task of meddling in this matter, so I'd better leave it to the clan members to stir up hatred.
"How can you say something like this?" However, Chunjia didn't seem to mean it. He shook his head slightly and said, "It's just a discussion between you and me alone in the room. After all, Uncle Wang still has two sons, and the late Emperor Xiaozong has no one." Zicai adopted me. If this word spreads, wouldn't even the late Emperor Xiaozong be criticized?"
"Your Majesty is truly filial." Yun Fenghuang thought to himself. It seems that you still have some bottom line. Well, maybe you think it's not easy to offend the regent like this right now
Anyway, she didn't believe that Chunjia's filial piety towards Xiaozong could be so great, and that her love for the house would extend to the regent.
Just as he was thinking about changing the topic, Chunjia said, "By the way, I heard that you haven't been to Chunyou Palace in the past few days?"
"...Does Your Majesty feel that I have neglected my mother-in-law, the Empress Dowager?" Yun Fenghuang raised his eyebrows and said, "But look at these two days, Concubine Xuan and the others are lining up to approach the mother-in-law, the Empress Dowager. I see It's too late for the loving mother Queen Mother to deal with them, so how can she dare to cause more trouble?"
Concubine Xuan and the others are usually very respectful to their loving mother, the Empress Dowager, but their recent attentiveness is of course for the sake of their successor.
Yesterday, Empress Ji had already written a letter of apology because when she was the empress, she did not discover that Lu Qidao was such a poisonous woman, so that many of the emperor's heirs, concubines, and even concubines, including herself, were brutally poisoned.
As the head of the middle palace, she had no shirk of responsibility, so she took the initiative to petition the emperor to punish her.
The emperor expressed on the spot that he couldn't bear it and was reluctant to part with it, and his wife refused for three consecutive times.
According to the tacit understanding, the queen would have to apologize at least twice, each time with more sincere and heartfelt words. The emperor would have to refuse until the third time before... asking the empress dowager to make the decision.
After that, he would "bear the pain with tears" and abandon Ji Lingzi, sending him to Shanyuan Temple to practice.
... Normally, it would not be so troublesome to abolish the queen. The reason why it is acted out this time is because the Ji family's destruction was too bloody.
So even if everyone knows that Ji's daughter cannot continue to be the queen, and everyone knows the real reason why Ji Lingzi was deposed, but in terms of the scene, the regulations have to go like this, and history books can record it with confidence. Chunjia is a true, tolerant and kind person. Mingjun.
Empress Yuan is already waiting to step down, but there is still no clear sign of success.
Can Concubine Xuan and their family not be in a hurry
It's not easy for them to go directly to Chunjia and ask His Majesty whether you plan to establish a concubine as your successor, or which sister you plan to establish... Then of course they will work on Empress Dowager Yuan.
Yun Fenghuang was not happy at this moment: "I feel sorry for the hard work of my loving mother, the Empress Dowager. How come in your Majesty's eyes, I have become a concubine, isn't it?"
"Why are you aggrieved before I say anything?" Chunjia smiled helplessly, "You also know that they have been looking for the queen recently? The queen has not seen you, why don't you ask? I thought you were being arrested. What happened?"
The voice lowered, "You are stupid too. Why do you need to be left behind when they all go? You just took a few steps and refused to move. For those who don't know, I thought you were separated from your mother."
Yun Fenghuang thought to himself, I and the old woman are tired of each other and are still at odds with each other. When have we ever been intimate
Besides, Concubine Xuan and Concubine Rui felt that if they were diligent enough to run around Chunwu Palace, they could change it to a queen. Of course they were very motivated. She knew there was no benefit, so why bother
Moreover, she also suspected that it might not be a good thing for Empress Dowager Yuan to mention her specifically to Chunjia.
With such vigilance, Yun Fenghuang smiled and said: "Well, Your Majesty has said so, I will go to harass my loving mother, the Queen Mother, tomorrow."