C3 (1/2)
In the Great Gan Imperial City, Phoenix Nest Palace. This was the queen's sleeping quarters, the place where the motherly ceremony took place and the six palaces were governed.
Inside the palace of the Phoenix Maiden Palace, the Qian Huang Yu Yuan Xu and the Empress Lu Xin were sitting facing each other.
Empress Lu Xin, dressed in a bright red wide sleeved palace gown, which was embroidered with two phoenixes' tasseled patterns, with layers and layers of clouds at the bottom. There was a butterfly dancing golden hairpin in between the woman's hair. She wore it in a simple bun with a slim and charming appearance. Although he was not wearing a phoenix coronet suit, he was still in a very dignified manner.
”This concubine didn't know that his Majesty was here and didn't have the time to describe it. I hope that Your Majesty will forgive me.” Lu Xin smiled and bowed slightly.
”It's nothing. I was delayed by some trivial matters and arrived a bit late, so I didn't have the time to inform you.” Yu Yuan waved his hand carelessly.
”What has His Majesty to worry about this festive season?” Lu Xin felt curious.
”It's like this, the mountain Yin Army Commander Zhou Zhishu has already agreed to send a letter to the elders. The commander of the Sky Fire Army, Ning Dairong, has been in office for six years and should be moved according to the ancestral rules. I have already proposed to give him the title of Marquis of War and to transfer him to the Shadow Mountain Troops. As for the Skyfire Commander-in-Chief, he had no idea how the news had leaked out. The prime ministers of the two pavilions had all entered the palace, and the military and the three prefectures had joined in as well. Each had their own choice of person, each had their own argument, and was making a ruckus. ”Then, Zhen will throw them in the Han Yuan Palace and continue arguing, hiding at the empress's place for the night.”
”Seems like chenqie is going to punish this palace city.” Lu Xin's eyes narrowed as she spoke.
Yu Yuan looked at Lu Xin and smiled. He didn't nod or refuse. This was also one of the reasons why their wedding was still harmonious with the empress. Although the empress Lu Xin was born a commoner, she knew the general picture, knew the limits of what she should be, and understood the path of advancement and retreat. She, who had a deep relationship with the Skyfire Army, did not ask who took over the position. Instead, she thought about who had spread the news to the palace. He was obviously dissatisfied with those courtiers and officials who had their eyes fixed on the palace.
”Alright, it's the new year. Let's not talk about those unhappy ones.” Yu Yuan Xu picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. As soon as the cup of tea was placed in his mouth, his eyes couldn't help but light up. ”Qin'er, this should be the Six Paths Green Tea that comes from deep within the mountains of the Southern Wilderness. This tea is not common, I wonder where you got it from?”
Seeing that the four-legged emperor in front of her actually had a child's joyful expression on his face, Lu Xin couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh lightly. On one hand, it was because of the emperor's mischievous expression. On the other hand, it was to hide the displeasure in his heart.
Twelve years ago, his eldest brother Lu Chun and his sister-in-law Yu Chuqing had returned to their hometown with their son, who had just turned two years old, to offer sacrifices to their ancestors. However, on the way back, he was intercepted by unknown people and lost track of his whereabouts in Mountain Shadow County. From then on, it was unknown whether he was dead or alive. The next person to take over the position of commander in chief of the Sky Fire Army was his big brother, the Marquis, Wei Jiu.
Six years ago, Wei Jiu was promoted to the position of commander in chief of Imperial guards, and was succeeded by his elder brother's former deputy general, Ning Dahong. Even though his brother Lu Chun had been missing for twelve years, the Skyfire Army still had his name branded on it. With so many people popping out after the commander in chief had adjusted his position, even though the empress dowager didn't ask about the affairs of the country, Lu Xin was still a little displeased in her heart.
After calming herself down, Lu Xin finally opened her mouth and said, ”It was a few days ago during the new year celebration. The noble ladies of each palace entered the palace and Marquis Wu An asked his wife to send a few taels of silver in.”
”Marquis Wu An, Bai Yi?” Yu Yuan thought about it for a while and continued, ”He will lead the Duskgold army to guard the south, but he might be able to get hold of this thing. ”However, with such a precious treasure in the mountains, instead of offering it to the sovereign, it actually came to curry favor with the empress. It is simply like having no father in the world, greedy for officials, and deceitful for officials.” Yu Yuan Xu pretended to be angry as he said.
In fact, although he had good tea and the six rhymes green tea were also rare, he wouldn't take these small matters to heart. He said those words purposely to make the empress happy, how could he not know the relationship between the Sky Fire Army and the empress?
Moreover, the person who served the tea was Marquis Wu An, Bai Yi, so he wouldn't think too much about it. Who did he trust the most out of all the current ministers? Wu An and Bai Yi, who were the commanders of the Dragonfall Army, and Shen Zhang, who was the commander of the Pan Shi Army, were among the top five. They were his close friends who grew up with him, so how could he not understand their temperament and character?
”In a few days, it will be the best day of the previous Chinese New Year. After the Festival, we will copy it and start our dynasty. By then, Marquis Wu An will probably return to the Southern Territory. Since His Majesty has said that he is a greedy and deceitful subject, why don't we take advantage of Marquis Wu An's presence in the capital and recruit him into the palace so that we can slap him a few times to vent our anger? ” How could Lu Xin, who had known her husband for more than twenty years, not know that he was joking? She followed his words and continued.
Those who didn't know that she was doing it on purpose would think that the benevolent and kind esteemed empress really wanted to send a decree to recruit Marquis Wu An into the palace and give him a beating.
Yu Yuan's right hand holding the teacup paused for a moment. Seeing Lu Xin's stiff face just a moment ago and her smile that was like a flower, Yu Yuan laughed out loud.
”Oh you, he just gave you something good, and you sold him out. If Bai Yi knew about this, he would probably call you in his heart again.”
”I'll say it in my heart, but this concubine can't hear it. Let him say what he wants.” While speaking, Lu Qin picked up a small pot and poured the tea for the Emperor.
”Alright, when I leave tomorrow, load three taels of silver. I'll bring them to Extreme Violet Palace …” Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the gaze of the empress Lu Xin looking at him leisurely, and hurriedly changed his words, ”Two taels, no, one tael, one tael seems a bit less, or rather …”
”Eh ~” The corner of Yu Yuan's mouth twitched. He picked up the teacup and drank it in one gulp before saying, ”How about one tael? If you want to conserve a bit, you can use half a month.” ”When I return later, I will make an order for Bai Yi to pay the tribute of five catties of six rhymes green tea per year.”
”Ten catties?” The Six Cloud Tea Tree is already very rare, and it is very rare every year. It is already rare for the Marquis of Wuan to find two of them. How could he possibly pay ten catties per year? ”
”I am the exalted Emperor. I've already given my orders. As for what we're going to do about it, what does it have to do with me?” Yu Yuan Xu carelessly said as he picked up the teapot, poured another cup of tea and carefully savored the tea.
Seeing the Emperor in such a state, Lu Xin shook her head in amusement. He changed the topic and said, ”Yesterday, I heard that the sister concubine of the Jing Cui Palace isn't feeling well. I wonder if Your Majesty has seen her?”
”I went to check it out during the day, but it was just that I got a little cold while admiring the plum in the imperial garden the day before yesterday. The Imperial Hospital has already opened a prescription and fried it a few times. It will be fine in just three or five days.”
”After the Consort's sister gave birth to Princess Fragrance, she had never been in good health. Since she's now ill, His Majesty should accompany her more.”
”Qin'er, you and I have known each other for more than twenty years. We should know that you are the only one in my heart. If it weren't for the sudden disappearance of my royal sister and Marquis Ping, we wouldn't have brought them into the palace in order to stabilize the court.” Emperor Yu Yuan Xu seriously looked at the Empress Lu Xin.
Looking at Lu Xin's slightly bitter face, Yu Yuan knew that she must have been under a lot of pressure. It has to be said that even though he was near death's door, he only had two women and one son. For an emperor, this could only be described as having very few children. No matter if it was the imperial court or the court, they would always play a few songs every year, inviting the elder-in-waiting to fill the harem. They were all used by him as excuses for violating the ancestor's rules. One must know that the emperor who founded the country was the empress. She had never been married in her entire life. Currently, there were rumors of people living with Emperor Gao Zong who was not a founding ancestor. Therefore, what was the Great Gan Ancestral System? That was, if the emperor wanted to take in concubines, then he wanted to take in as much as he wanted. However, if the emperor didn't want to, then no matter what others said, it would be of no use.
Seeing the empress's expression, Yu Yuan Xu hurriedly changed the topic. ”That's right, Qin'er, why haven't we seen that little girl Tian Xiang in the past few days?”
”This concubine was about to speak of this matter to Your Majesty.” When Lu Xin heard the Emperor mention her daughter, she immediately looked up and said, ”After the New Year, Tianxiang left a message saying that he was going out on a tour. Ten days have passed, and there still hasn't been any news. Your Majesty, any news from the Three Guards?”
He comforted her, ”Tian Xiang has the three elite guards protecting her from the shadows, so there shouldn't be any danger. One must know that with the heavy snow these days, the news must have traveled a little too slowly, so Qin'er doesn't need to worry, I'll send someone to investigate Tian Xiang's whereabouts.”
Although Yu Yuan Xu was also a little worried, he didn't pay much attention to it. From the very beginning, every prince and princess would have twelve elite shadow guards, secret guards, and secret guards protecting them in the dark. Those were all Qi Resisting Realm experts who were proficient in concealment, sneak attacks, assassination, poison, and other methods. To be able to injure the princess under the protection of these thirty-six people, it was impossible for them to not dispatch a thousand-man army.
”Your Majesty, in a few more days it will be the first day of the Chinese New Year, it would be better to send someone to retrieve the heavenly incense.” Lu Xin thought about what the Emperor had said and felt that it made sense, but she couldn't stop herself from saying it.
At this moment, the head steward, Wang Zeng, pushed open the door and bowed deeply. ”Greetings, Your Majesty. Esteemed Empress.”
When Yu Yuanxiu saw Wang Zan, she couldn't help but frown. ”Wang Zian, didn't I give you half a month to rest your son, allowing you to take advantage of the new year to leave the palace to visit your relatives? ”Why are you back so early?”