The middle palace was vacated, and everyone thought that the position of queen was prepared for the princess of Yunlan Kingdom. Even the Ministry of Internal Affairs had tacitly begun to prepare things for the new queen to enter the palace, such as the cloud patterns and patterns of Yunlan Kingdom, the house
The vases and tea cups displayed inside are all newly prepared.
Even the screens are embroidered with gold threads, showing the luxurious atmosphere. Every corner of Fengyi Palace has been cleaned, and there is no trace of where Concubine Shu once lived. Everything is brand new.
Emperor Mingwen also heard some rumors and said angrily: "Who said that Princess Yunlan will definitely enter the middle palace?"
"Your Majesty, isn't it?" Eunuch Mo was confused.
Emperor Mingwen glanced sideways at Chu Yunning, who was helping him organize the memorial, and snorted coldly: "Of course not, Princess Yunlan already has someone she likes, so I won't do anything to beat the couple."
"Huh?" Chu Yunning raised his head in surprise, met Emperor Mingwen's half-smiling eyes, and asked doubtfully: "Why don't I know at all that the princess has a sweetheart?"
"Thanks to the help of Chu Shang Palace, I sent the prince of Zhongguo to pick him up. The two have already developed a secret love. Princess Yunlan wrote a letter and asked to marry into the palace of Zhongguo. I have approved it."
"When did this happen?" Chu Yunning's eyelids twitched, as if he had a premonition of something.
Looking at the proud and leisurely look on Emperor Mingwen's face, this matter had most likely been reported to him a long time ago, but Emperor Mingwen suppressed it.
"Three days ago." Emperor Mingwen replied honestly.
Chu Yunning felt an inexplicable anger welling up in her heart, and couldn't help but ask: "Then why didn't the emperor say anything?"
Not only did she not say it, she also asked her to think of ways to seduce Concubine Shu. Although Emperor Mingwen didn't say it explicitly, his actions hinted at this.
Emperor Mingwen covered his mouth in embarrassment and coughed twice: "This matter..."
Chu Yunning held it in her heart, glared at Emperor Mingwen angrily, and stood up abruptly: "Your Majesty, I suddenly remembered that I still have some matters to deal with, so I will leave first."
After that, he walked away without giving Emperor Mingwen a chance to explain, leaving Emperor Mingwen and Eunuch Mo looking at each other.
"Your Majesty, Chu Shanggong seems to be angry." Eunuch Mo said cautiously.
"Why are you so angry?" Emperor Mingwen didn't quite understand. He fell out of love so easily and didn't even listen to the explanation.
Eunuch Mo wondered in his heart, could he not be angry? He tried so hard to scheme against the queen and offended the prime minister, but in the end she didn't need to do this at all. Anyone else would be angry.
"Perhaps Emperor Qi didn't tell this matter immediately. Of course, I also made my own guess."
Emperor Mingwen was silent for a while, cleared his throat and said again: "I remember that the foreign domain sent a box of pink pearls last year. Please go there yourself."
"yes."
Eunuch Mo went to Chu Yunning and said all his good words: "Chu Shanggong, please calm down, the emperor didn't mean it."
"Is that intentional?" Chu Yunning asked back.
"This..." Eunuch Mo choked.
Chu Yunning glanced at the box of pink pearls, which were full of pearls. She remembered that when Ling Guiren asked Emperor Mingwen for it, Emperor Mingwen didn't give it to him, but found an excuse to send it away.
"Chu Shanggong, the emperor has been wary of the prime minister for a long time. Maybe he has some difficulties." Eunuch Mo said so hard that he softened his expression and raised the corners of his lips: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, I understand.
."
"Chu Shanggong, you are outspoken when you say this. You are the one the Emperor trusts the most."
"My father-in-law, please don't say anything. I understand."
He is the king of a country, and there is no need to tell him everything. This time, Chu Yunning also saw the situation between the two of them clearly.
When Eunuch Mo saw this, he could no longer persuade him, so he had to go back in despair. He knew that Chu Yunning had a grudge in his heart, and the knot could only be untied by Emperor Mingwen himself.
Chu Yunning was indeed in a depressed mood for several days, and finally got good news on the night of the third day. Ling Guiren got part of the antidote from the Ling family.
"Chu Shanggong, I got this antidote from my father. You are not allowed to take all the credit." Ling Guiren looked at her warily, treating the antidote as a life-saving straw, and was reluctant to give it to Chu.
Yun Ning.
Chu Yunning was not in a hurry, as if he had seen through Ling Guiren's little thoughts: "Ling Guiren will not be the one who will forgive you after giving this antidote to the emperor, right?"
Ling Guiren was a little embarrassed when his inner thoughts were revealed.
"Ling Guiren, this is your own atonement. The Emperor didn't come to you, which means that the poison in your body is slowly getting under control. If I develop an antidote, you don't have to take this."
Chu Yunning smiled coldly and raised her feet to leave. Ling Guiren hesitated for a moment and immediately called her out: "Wait a minute, Chu Shanggong, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just that this antidote is really precious. What my father means is hope."
The Emperor pardons the Ling family."
"Confused!" Chu Yunning suddenly said coldly: "The reason why the emperor was poisoned was because of the Ling family. How could he pardon the Ling family because of this?"
It would be nice not to blame.
Ling Guiren was speechless, so he had no choice but to offer the antidote with both hands, and said solemnly again: "Don't forget to promise me, Chu Shang Palace."
Chu Yunning gave a faint hum, took the antidote and rushed to the political hall.
"Chu Shanggong is here." When Eunuch Mo saw Chu Yunning, he greeted him very affectionately, his face almost turned into a flower with a smile: "I haven't seen you for several days, why do you think Chu Shanggong has lost weight again?"
"Thank you, Eunuch, for remembering me." Chu Yunning looked inside expressionlessly: "Is it convenient for the Emperor now?"
"It's convenient and convenient. It will be convenient for the Emperor when Chu Shanggong is here." Eunuch Mo personally stepped forward to open the door for Chu Yunning, bowed his body to welcome the person in, and said, "Your Majesty, Chu Shanggong is here."
Already."
This was the first time the two met in three days. Emperor Mingwen rarely put down the cinnabar pen in his hand and raised his eyes to look at Chu Yunning.
"Your Majesty, this is the antidote handed over by Mr. Ling. I have verified it and it is true."
Chu Yunning placed a small bottle of antidote on the table. She had already written down the ingredients of the medicine so that she could make another one herself when she got back.
When Emperor Mingwen heard this, there was no expression of joy on his face. He reached out to take it and drank it down without hesitation.
"Isn't the Emperor afraid that this medicine is poisonous?"
Emperor Mingwen looked at her strangely: "I believe you."
Chu Yunning was stunned.
"The emperor trusts Chu Shanggong for a long time. Chu Shanggong is really good at joking." Eunuch Mo spoke appropriately, easing the awkward atmosphere.
Immediately afterwards, Emperor Mingwen handed a stack of memorials to Chu Yunning: "These are for impeachment of Prince Xiao. Take a look and tell me what to do."
Since the death of Li Shanshan, Prince Xiao has become the laughing stock of the whole capital, laughing at his fake infatuation. Gradually, Prince Xiao has fallen into despair and become increasingly decadent. He spends all day drinking and having fun in the palace, and even brings thin horses from Yangzhou into the palace.
He even rode his horse in the street several times and was caught by the imperial censor, who angrily reported Prince Xiao to the imperial court.
After reading the memorial, Chu Yunning first asked, "What does the emperor plan to do with Ling Guiren?"
Ling Guiren gave him the antidote, which at best made up for his fault. She was the one who had administered the poison in the first place. Giving the antidote could only relieve the emperor's anger, but it could not absolve the Ling family of their sins.
"How about sending it to the imperial mausoleum?"
Guarding the imperial mausoleum for a lifetime is boring, and you cannot leave even half a step for the rest of your life. This is more uncomfortable than death for some people.
Chu Yunning pursed her lips and asked, "Does the Emperor want to see Ling Guiren again?"
Emperor Mingwen frowned, and nodded at Chu Yunning's eyes. A faint smile appeared on Chu Yunning's lips, which was considered an explanation to Mr. Ling.
So Emperor Mingwen immediately went to visit Ling Guiren, while Chu Yunning stayed in the Yizheng Hall, eating snacks leisurely.
An hour later, Emperor Mingwen rushed back angrily, and ordered Ling Guiren to be sent to guard the imperial mausoleum, and then demoted the Ling family to an even more bitter and cold place.
"At this moment, Chu Shang Palace has figured out how to deal with Prince Xiao?"
Chu Yunning murmured in her heart, no matter how bad Prince Xiao was, he was still the biological son of the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother treated her as if she were her own son. For the sake of the Queen Mother, Chu Yunning could not kill Prince Xiao, let alone Beibei.
layer relationship.
"Does the Queen Mother know about this?"
Emperor Mingwen nodded, and he immediately sent a letter to Cihe Palace. When the Queen Mother learned about it, she was very angry. She only said that the emperor would decide, but did not say a single extra word.
"I heard that the old prince has a granddaughter who has delayed her marriage because of her filial piety. She has a bad temper and is the only one in the old prince's house. Even the Queen Mother has to give her three cents of noodles. It is better to give Prince Xiao a marriage and give her a marriage.
How about elevating this woman's status to that of a princess?"
If you can't fight or scold Prince Xiao, you can only use roundabout tactics. The emperor supports this little girl, but Prince Xiao can't do anything to him.
The smile in Emperor Mingwen's eyes gradually deepened when he heard this, and he agreed to the matter. He also gave the little girl the word "weiwei" as a title and called her "Princess Mighty". He also gave a hundred slaves and a hundred guards and ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to arrange the marriage as soon as possible.
This matter reached the ears of the Queen Mother, who was surprised and sighed: "It's hard for the Emperor to think of this method because he cares about brotherhood. The Ai family heard that Princess Weiwu had an open-minded personality since she was a child. She was not good at playing chess, calligraphy and painting, but was good at dancing with swords and guns.
I am very interested. Princess Mighty is not afraid of the imperial power, so if she can suppress Xiao Er, it will be a good thing."
So the Queen Mother very generously gave Princess Weiwei a generous betrothal gift as a dowry, and also asked someone to marry her from the palace to express her love for Princess Weiwei.
Unfortunately, the person involved was not happy, and after the imperial edict was issued, he came to Emperor Mingwen as soon as possible to refuse the marriage.
"Brother Imperial, I don't want to get married. Please take back your will."
In just one year, the title of Princess Xiao has passed through three people, and many people secretly laughed at him.
If another joke happens this time, he will be even more shameless.
After not seeing Prince Xiao for several months, Chu Yunning almost didn't recognize how the high-spirited young man in the past had become slovenly, with sunken eye sockets and a gray face. He had aged more than ten years.
Perhaps he noticed that someone was looking at him, so Wang Xiao raised his head and glanced at Chu Yunning. She seemed to have become more beautiful.
Chu Yunning simply turned her head away, not wanting to see him for a second.
King Xiao was a little discouraged when he saw this.
"Nonsense, my mother is also in favor of this marriage. Do you know that there are a lot of memorials to impeach you every day!"
Emperor Mingwen glared at Prince Xiao fiercely with an expression of hatred for iron and steel, hating him for being decadent and failing to live up to expectations.
"My brother just raised a girl, how dare these ministers impeach..."
"You dare to quibble!" Emperor Mingwen wanted to slap Prince Xiao to death: "You didn't choose from so many famous ladies in the capital, but you chose to raise a secret disciple. Don't you think the royal family's face is very bright?"
Emperor Mingwen cursed for a full hour, watching as Prince Xiao's shoulders shrank little by little, losing his momentum.
Finally, he whispered unwillingly: "My brother is so unbearable, the old prince may not agree to marry my granddaughter to my brother."
Emperor Mingwen suddenly laughed angrily at Prince Xiao and snorted: "Don't worry, I have promised the old prince in advance about this matter. If the princess is unhappy, I will definitely punish you regardless of the reason.
I won’t let the princess suffer any injustice.”
The Hundred Guards House is there to support the princess.
Under Emperor Mingwen's repeated assurances, the old prince relaxed. Before leaving, he even took away one of the late emperor's riding whips in case of emergency. Emperor Mingwen also happily gave the whip to the other party, as if it was not enough, he
Then he asked someone to dig out a thorn.
The old prince left with satisfaction and prepared to hold a grand wedding for the princess.
"Brother Emperor!" Prince Xiao clenched his fist tightly, and he could even imagine how difficult the days ahead would be.
Emperor Mingwen was too lazy to listen to his explanation, and said: "Don't blame me for not following you. What you have done these days is really disappointing. I have told the princess that if Prince Xiao is impeached again, I will have to punish the princess for copying."
Palace rules."
For a person who doesn't like music, chess, calligraphy and painting, copying the palace rules is definitely more useful than punishing him by kneeling and beating. This is also agreed by the old prince.
Hearing this, Prince Xiao twitched the corner of his mouth and rolled his eyes angrily.
"The Ministry of Internal Affairs has calculated that the eighth day of the lunar month next month will be a good day. You should go back and prepare well." Emperor Mingwen waved his hand and asked Prince Xiao to kneel down.
Before leaving, King Xiao asked unwillingly: "Is it the emperor's own intention to let my brother marry the princess?"
As he spoke, his eyes wandered between the two of them.
Emperor Mingwen's face darkened, and Prince Xiao immediately gave up: "Brother, I just kindly remind you that Chu Shanggong is very resourceful and can be regarded as a good helper."
"Thank you, Prince Xiao, for the compliment." Chu Yunning couldn't hear the sarcasm, but he didn't bother to expose it. For the sake of the Queen Mother and Beibei, he didn't bother to argue with Prince Xiao.
King Xiao smiled, turned around and left, and went to the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother also scolded King Xiao unceremoniously, agreeing with Emperor Mingwen's idea of supporting the princess and asking King Xiao to do less.
Unable to please both parties, Prince Xiao had no choice but to leave the palace as if resigned to his fate.
After solving another matter for Emperor Mingwen, Emperor Mingwen took Chu Yunning into the warehouse in a good mood: "Go in and pick out something you like."
It was rare for Emperor Mingwen to be so generous, so Chu Yunning went in and picked it up without hesitation. There were all kinds of antiques, calligraphy, paintings, gold, silver and jewelry. It was like a treasure, and everyone who looked at it was dazzled.
She wanted to get something that was easy to carry and valuable, so that she wouldn't be unable to take it with her when she left the palace. It seemed that she had read through Chu Yunning's thoughts, and Emperor Mingwen's good mood was wiped out, and he was even a little unhappy.