"..." Chunjia was silent for a while, saying nothing, but stretched out his arms and motioned for her to come into his arms.
Yun Fenghuang walked over and was hugged by him on his knees. He buried his face in her neck and closed his eyes in silence.
At this time, she couldn't clearly see the emperor's face and expression, but she could feel that he was very tired.
Or rather tired.
No wonder, for Chunjia, apart from the young and ignorant emperor's heirs, the most important people in the entire harem were probably Empress Dowager Yuan, Empress Dowager Qu and Yun Fenghuang.
But there are many conflicts between these three people.
In the past, it was only Yun Fenghuang and Empress Dowager Yuan who openly showed discord. Due to the gap in seniority and status, Chunjia coaxed and persuaded Yun Fenghuang to give in on the scene, and at the same time he also coaxed and persuaded Empress Dowager Yuan to turn the big issue into a trivial one. Now... Although this life may not be very comfortable, at least I can still get through it with a lot of stumbling.
But now the conflict lies between the two empress dowagers.
One is the adoptive mother and the other is the biological mother.
How does one choose
Emotionally speaking, Chunjia should be more partial to Queen Mother Yuan, after all, this is the elder who raised him single-handedly.
And for a long time, he always thought that Queen Mother Yuan was his biological mother. He didn't even know about Queen Mother Qu's existence until he was very old.
But after all, close relatives are not so easy to part with.
In particular, Queen Mother Qu has been shown to be a character who has been wronged and even narrowly escaped death in these conflicts.
Chunjia said words of comfort to her, feeling distressed in her heart.
During the summer vacation, he would privately agree to betroth Kunze to Yuan's son. This was not without the idea of prompting the two empress dowagers to turn their hostility into friendship.
But after what happened today, no matter how lucky Chunjia was, he had to admit that the grudge between Queen Mother Yuan and Queen Mother Qu was deeper than he thought.
They would not shake hands and make peace because of this marriage, and even this marriage intensified the conflict.
Queen Mother Qu even did not hesitate to join forces with the Queen Mother.
The death of Bai Lu was covered up under the tacit understanding of the emperor and his ministers as a "good omen". What could not be covered up was the intense tension between the two empress dowagers.
After the ancestral empress dowager experienced the loss of her husband, the loss of her son, the destruction of her family, and the deaths of nieces and nephews, she frequently complained of illness but still lived well. The two empress dowagers who are a generation younger than the empress dowager, It is conceivable that if there are no accidents, they can live for a long time.
So in the coming years, will they stop
impossible.
It's almost getting worse.
As their common son, Chunjia couldn't help but feel physically and mentally exhausted facing such a situation, even though he was strong-willed and profound.
He couldn't even express it in front of the two empress dowagers.
Because in Empress Dowager Yuan's view, she had worked so hard to raise Chunjia, helped him obtain the title and the throne for him, and stayed with Chunjia for nearly ten years. All the hard work had finally come to an end. At this time, the emperor had to continue to follow her. She told her about her hardships and hardships, asking her to endure Yun Fenghuang and then Queen Mother Qu... Chunjia really couldn't bear it.
As for Queen Mother Qu, due to her humble background, she worked as a lowly servant to serve the late king. She got pregnant by chance, but her biological child was taken away by the royal family as soon as it was born. For a long time, her son did not even know about it. she.
In terms of patience, Queen Mother Qu endured it longer than Queen Mother Yuan.
She had never complained before, she just suffered it silently... Now when she had an attack, it was all justified.
What could Chunjia say to her? I can't tell this mother. Although I now know that you were the one who gave birth to me in October, my relationship with my loving mother, the Queen Mother, is deeper after all. In order not to disturb our mother-son friendship, and in order not to embarrass me, please Be smarter, continue to be a low-key person, or simply kill yourself because you can't think about it anymore
The previous affairs were enough to worry about, but housework was even more troublesome.
However, as the emperor, Chunjia could not show such weakness.
He could only hug his beloved concubine at this moment and relax a little.
Although Yun Fenghuang understood his difficulties, it was the first time he saw him showing off like this. He felt a little soft-hearted for a moment and couldn't help but suggest: "It doesn't matter whether the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother, or even the Queen Mother have anything to do with Kunze's marriage." What do you think, you are just such a biological sister, why don't you call her over to ask her for details and let her make her own decision? Such three elders of the clan, out of consideration for their love for the younger generation, will probably not say anything else."
The main reason is that Chunjia can't bear it now, whether she is following Queen Mother Yuan to disobey Queen Mother Qu, or following Queen Mother Qu to teach Queen Mother Yuan to be disappointed.
Moreover, the fight between the two empress dowagers has reached this point, and even the empress dowager has been involved. No matter which side loses, it will be difficult to step down.
It would be most appropriate to push Kunze out as a shield.
The person who loses in this way is not so shameless at least. After all, he gave in because he "loved the younger generation", rather than losing to the other party in the fight for a son.
"..." Chunjia didn't move when he heard the words, as if he hadn't heard anything. After a while, he said in a slightly tired tone, "Kunze and I are not on friendly terms. When I asked her in private before, she always said Refusing to speak. I don’t know what she is thinking about at this age. Although it was indeed Empress Dowager Yuan who brought up the matter between her and Yuan Shizi, but as you said, Ahuang, the late king only has such a little bit of his own flesh and blood, and I Although I can’t elevate her above Ming Hui and the others, I don’t want her to be as wronged as I was when I was young.”
The reason why he was willing to agree to this marriage was actually based on Kunze's own attitude.
Although in Chunjia's opinion, Kunze was probably fooled by the Queen Mother Yuan and thought that marrying Yuan Ke was a good marriage.
However, he intended to use this marriage to ease the relationship between the two mothers and stayed silent, because although Yuan Ke was not a particularly outstanding talent, he was not bad either.
When choosing a reading companion for Chunjia, Uncle Xingning did not have a suitable son, so he could only choose from his direct nephews. Yuan Ke stood out because his talent, appearance, manners, conduct, etc. were all due to the Yuan family in Fuyang. The leader of a generation.
And although the Yuan family is not as good as the Ji family, the Luo family, the Meng family, the Yin family, and the Ouyang family, which are time-honored and famous families that have stood in temples for many years, they are still considered to be the first-class famous families in the local area.
If he were not surrounded by peers who were even more talented than him, looking at the whole world, Yuan Ke could actually be considered a carefully selected and cultivated noble son, but he was not the top one.
Chunjia felt that Kunze's life might not be uncomfortable if he married Yuan Ke.
The relationship between the Yuan family and Queen Mother Yuan determines that they cannot have great respect for Queen Mother Qu, and they may not be so kind to Princess Kunze who was raised by Queen Mother Qu.
But as long as they still need the shelter and grace that comes with being a princess, they don't dare to treat Kunze badly.
The emperor made this decision after weighing the two sides and thinking that there was no big problem, and stopped Yun Fenghuang's search for a county horse for Kunze. Who knew that the two queen mothers resented each other so much
Now looking for Princess Kunze... Chunjia did not have many opportunities to get along with Kunze. Although the brother and sister had the same father, they were not close. Kunze was not very willing to tell the truth to him, and the second one also felt a little ashamed. To my young sister.
He somewhat had the intention of taking advantage of her.
"Then Aji, if you don't mind, can I go and talk to the princess?" Yun Fenghuang rubbed Chun Jia's back and asked slowly.
Chunjia said "hmm" but didn't let her go. After a while, Waijian Yanyin cautiously reminded her that it was time for the emperor to return the table. Otherwise, the empress dowager and the two empress dowagers would not be at the table for a long time. It's not appropriate that only the queen is there.
Yun Fenghuang pushed him gently, and then he slowly let go and responded quietly: "I will go in a while."
"You go to the banquet. There are the Queen and Shu Fei De Fei taking care of them over there. I will go directly to find the princess." Yun Fenghuang discussed with him in a low voice, "But where is the princess now? If she is with the loving mother The Queen Mother is there, I’m afraid the Queen Mother doesn’t want to see me.”
Chunjia said: "You wait here, I will send someone to call Kunze over."
So it seems that Princess Kunze is really with Empress Dowager Yuan at this moment
Yun Fenghuang became more and more curious about what the princess was thinking. If she didn't follow Queen Mother Qu at this time, would she really make Queen Mother Qu angry to death
After all, it doesn’t matter if Chunjia is closer to Empress Dowager Yuan. Although he is the biological son of Empress Dowager Qu, after all, he was raised by Empress Dowager Yuan when he was born. As the saying goes, giving birth to kindness is not as important as cultivating kindness. Regardless of whether Empress Dowager Qu understands it or not, most of the world Everyone agreed that Chunjia should be more filial to Queen Mother Yuan.
But Princess Kunze, this was the child raised by Queen Mother Qu, and Queen Mother Yuan basically ignored her.
Now that I have grown up, I am still close to Empress Dowager Yuan. Isn't this poking at Empress Dowager Qu's heart
Her biological child is not close to her, and the children she raised are not close to her... This is a mother, who can bear it
If they were in another place, Yun Fenghuang felt that if Zhao Qing grew up and left her to get in front of Gu Zhen at the critical moment, she could tear this white-eyed wolf alive!
Ordinarily, Queen Mother Qu looks like An Jingjing, and she doesn’t seem like someone who would treat Kunze badly, right
She thought about various possibilities. After a while, the palace servant led Princess Kunze in and then closed the door behind her.
"Empress." Princess Kunze was a little uneasy, the kind of uneasiness that could not be concealed even if she tried hard. She lowered her head, pursed her lips, came up to say hello softly, and then lowered her eyes to look at the palace bricks not far away. , standing like a log.
Yun Fenghuang gently asked her to sit down not far from him. After saying this two or three times, Princess Kunze reluctantly sat down.
To be honest, Yun Fenghuang felt very strange to such a princess.
Although like Chunjia, she had not paid much attention to the princess in the two years since she entered the palace, she still remembered that when she went to the palace for the first time to escape the summer heat, she bumped into Kunze once when she visited Queen Mother Qu. Kunze is very lively and likes to ask about this and that. From head to toe, he is full of the unique freshness of a young man.
Now this little family's angry look is really different.
"Princess, there is no one else around right now, so I will get straight to the point with you." Yun Fenghuang thought for a while, ordered the place to be cleared, and then said directly, "I heard from Your Majesty that you voluntarily married Yuan Ke, but is that so?"
Kunze nodded lightly.
"Can I ask the reason?" Yun Fenghuang looked at her and asked slowly.
But before the princess could speak, she added, "Of course, there is no need to mention that the princess sincerely likes Yuan Ke."
"...Why?" Princess Kunze frowned and asked subconsciously, "Can't I like Yuan Ke?"
There was clear displeasure in this rhetorical question, which was a bit like two years ago.
No matter how close she is to Chun Jiasheng, she is the only sister in the blood of the Emperor. Even though the Queen Mother Qu who raised her is the least status among the three Queen Mothers, her status as Queen Mother is already high.
Princess Kunze is a low-key person. Her status and treatment are actually not bad.
So how is it possible to develop a cowardly character? She must be somewhat temperamental.
There is no hiding it now.
Yun Fenghuang didn't care either. She said that just to provoke Kunze to speak.
After all, Chunjia agreed to let the imperial concubine come and talk to the princess because the princess was silent to him, leaving him unable to make a move or judge Kunze's thoughts.
"Of course not. The princess is your eldest daughter and your majesty's only blood sister. Whoever you like is his honor." Yun Fenghuang shook his head and said, "That's why I feel that how could the princess see this? What about Yuan Ke? In terms of talent, appearance, future, and power and status, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is outclassed among the disciples with similar backgrounds. How can he be worthy of the princess's attention? "
Kunze looked at her and said slyly: "So, the imperial concubine's admiration for Your Majesty is mainly due to His powerful position?"
"Of course, there is also outstanding talent and appearance, wisdom and martial prowess." Yun Fenghuang said indifferently, "Otherwise? If a man is not good-looking, has no bright future, has no power, is poor, confused and indecisive, how can he win the love of others? Or even entrusted to you for life?”
"..." Kunze choked. She thought that the imperial concubine would deny coveting Chunjia's power and position, but then she said, "This is too snobbish. Couldn't it be because he treats you with gentleness, consideration and kindness?" Understanding?"
Yun Fenghuang snorted and said: "If a master like this doesn't want anything, if he is not gentle, considerate and humble, who's parents would be wise enough to promise their daughter to him?"
He added, "And if you are an ordinary woman, following the words of your parents and matchmaker, regardless of whether you like it or not, you can only live like this. Is the princess an ordinary woman? No matter if she is the Queen Mother or Your Majesty, she is right. The princess is very concerned about her life-long affairs. When she was still in the palace earlier, your majesty did not know about the affairs between the princess and the Yuan family, so she repeatedly told me that she must choose someone who will fulfill her wishes, and that she must not wrong the princess. host!"
"There are many people in this world who just make do with things and get by. They have no choice but to do so. But the princess is not one of them because she has a good life, so why should she have to wrong herself?"
Kunze looked around and said nothing.
Chunjia had told her similar words before, and even recalled the situation when the brother and sister were still in Fuyang County when she was just born. It can be said that they are moved by emotion and reason. However, Kunze has remained silent, and Chunjia has been struggling. All his words were fruitless, and in the end he had no choice but to wave her away.
So she just muddled through.
But this trick was not so easy to use against Yun Fenghuang. Seeing that she did not speak, Yun Fenghuang said: "Your Majesty is a man, how can he understand the thoughts of us girls? I am slightly older than the princess by two years. Years old, since the princess refused to say anything, let me guess what the princess was thinking: The princess did not choose the young talents from the civil and military families of the entire dynasty, but chose the Yuan family son who was most opposed by the Queen Mother. Actually, it’s not because you really like Yuan Ke, but because you want to take revenge on Your Majesty, right?”
"!!!" Kunze's originally leisurely expression suddenly froze, and for a moment, she stamped her feet angrily, "That's nonsense!!!"
Now Yun Fenghuang calmed down, took a sip of tea, and asked her calmly: "Otherwise? I all know that the Queen Mother of the Holy Mother will never let the princess marry into the Yuan family, not to mention that the princess is the Holy Mother. How could the only adopted daughter of the Queen Mother not be aware of the attitude of the Queen Mother? But she still did this. Isn’t she intentionally trying to embarrass Your Majesty? What is it?”