concubines

In the Xishan Camp, after Li Chen and the officials of the Ministry of War handed over the matters of soldiers, food and grass, they received the imperial decree from Ji Han Songxia.

The imperial decree came, and King Chun entered Beijing the next day. The main gate of the capital was opened, and all civil and military officials went to welcome the victorious army.In addition, King Chun was allowed to enter the palace on horseback, and he was given a purple python robe with four claws.

Li Chen's face was flat, and he couldn't see any joy or anger. He took the imperial edict and stood up, smiling: "Master Lao Ji."

Ji Hansong originally thought that the emperor's promise to let him pass the decree was a deterrent, but who would have thought that the prince had really made an indelible contribution, and the emperor still gave himself the honor of passing the decree. Now Ji Hansong is full of complacency and bows She said with a smile: "How dare you say 'troublesome'. It's a blessing for me to come here to deliver the decree. The prince has worked hard all the way. Tonight, the officials and officials have prepared a small banquet in the camp. I hope the prince will appreciate it."

Li Chen smiled lightly and said, "That's unnecessary. It's windy and cold occasionally on my king's journey, and it's not suitable for wine and meat. It's good that Lord Ji and you all have fun today."

Ji Hansong was surprised, and feared that he had said something wrong, Li Chen smiled again: "Scholar Ji made great achievements in the Xinyuan Kingdom, all of which were taught by Mr. Ji well. In the future, when I return to Beijing, I will invite my lord and my family to come. Have a few drinks in the house."

Ji Hansong hurriedly said: "Don't dare to do it, don't dare to do it."

Qi Yunruo was packing up the tent over there, when Li Chen went in, Qi Yunruo asked curiously, "Why don't you go to the banquet..." Qi Yunruo saw that Li Chen's expression was not good, his heart sank, and he asked, "It's the Emperor's Is there anything wrong with the imperial decree? Has the emperor reprimanded you?"

Li Chen shook his head, and placed the imperial decree on the bed. Qi Yunruo glanced quickly, and slowly frowned.In this dynasty, only nobles can wear dragons and pythons. Dukes and other lords with foreign surnames are most honored to wear unicorn clothes. It is true that princes can wear four-clawed dragons, but they often avoid wearing them because four-clawed dragons are too noble. In the past ten years, only the crown prince would wear the four-clawed python robe, and because purple is the color of the emperor's clothing, the princes have always avoided it-other rewards from the emperor, or the hundred officials greeted them, or rode into the palace. Palace, could it be an extremely glorious reward, put together, it is too much respect.

Looking at Li Chen with a plain face, Qi Yunruo felt a little complicated in his heart. Isn't the emperor very satisfied with the prince's victory and return to court?

"What are you thinking?" Li Chen asked.

Qi Yunruo's face did not hide his worry, Qi Yunruo hesitated and said: "Could it be that the emperor is worried about your high achievements..." Qi Yunruo's voice became lower and lower.

"Haha——" Li Chen couldn't help but burst out laughing, Qi Yunruo looked at him with astonishment on his face, Li Chen hugged him in his arms, and said with a smile: "So you thought of going here."

"...Isn't that so?" Qi Yunruo blinked and asked cautiously.

Li Chen's expression gradually calmed down. He looked sideways at the bright yellow scroll, and said calmly: "Father is just giving me a warning, so I don't want to be complacent with my military achievements."

Qi Yunruo sighed, "How can this be done!"

Li Chen didn't care and said: "Actually, I thought about this a long time ago."

"Ok?"

Li Chen chuckled lightly, but there was a bit of bitterness in his smile, "At the beginning when the third younger brother asked for troops, the emperor not only refused, but also reprimanded him. In addition to the third younger brother's incompetence, there is also the fact that the military merits are very important to those of us who spend all day in Beijing. The princes who work with the civil servants are too important, and they can be seen immediately among the brothers who are doing ordinary errands in various yamen. When I asked for my order, I said that I was willing to go to the northwest as a centurion, which meant that I would not use military merit. Deliberately showing my talents... Who would have thought that I would become famous in the Northwest and make great achievements... Father, this is a warning to me, don't forget the original meaning."

Qi Yunruo felt a little sad, Li Chen shook his head, and said: "At first, I didn't go for the sake of fame outside of myself, I don't want these at all."

Qi Yunruo said firmly: "But the people in the northwest will remember your achievements, the hundred thousand soldiers will remember them, and I will also remember them in my heart. No one can erase them."

Li Chen looked at Qi Yunruo, and the smile returned to his face, "Yes."

In the early morning of the second day, Li Chen brought five hundred soldiers into the capital. Hundreds of civil and military officials stood on both sides outside the Zhengyang Gate of the capital. It was already spring, but the cold wind was still howling. Li Chen frowned slightly. Bringing people into the city, the person with the most noble status is the eldest prince King Jing, and King Jing smiled from a distance: "Brother, I came to pick you up in person."

Li Chen hurriedly dismounted and said, "Thank you, Brother Dahuang, brother He De He Neng, please come and pick me up in person."

King Qing said from behind: "My father personally decreed that all officials, civil and military, should be present. Naturally, our brothers can't stay in the palace and wait. You have made such a contribution, and I have no talent, so I can only go a few more steps." , I welcome you back."

Yongwang Li Xu smiled and said: "Second brother, father and mother have missed you for a year, you brought back such good news, and mother is proud of her elder brother."

Li Chen's smile faded after King Qing finished speaking. He patted Li Xu on the shoulder and said, "My elder brother didn't show up when you left the palace and got married. I didn't even deliver the congratulatory gifts in person. I'll make it up for you."

Li Xu said: "The younger brother will not be polite to the second brother. This time, the emperor has rewarded the second brother many times. Just because my third niece was born in the second brother's house, the father has rewarded more than a dozen boxes of treasures."

Li Chen and his brothers smiled as they entered the city, "You're still an uncle, and you're even thinking about your niece's things."

Qi Niqun gave birth to her second daughter a few years ago, and she hasn't named her yet—Li Chen is always feeling a bit disappointed, he is already in his twenties, and he still doesn't have a son.

King Jing frowned slightly. He had three sons and four daughters, all born in his concubine. A few days ago, Concubine She was finally diagnosed to be pregnant. Both the experienced doctor and Mrs. Wen said that it is [-]% likely to be the son.

It is not a secret that King Qing and his concubine Zhang are at odds. King Qing loves knives, horses, bows and arrows, but Princess Zhang, who was born in the Beichanghou Mansion, also loved to dance with knives and sticks since she was a child. King Qing slapped her across the face, and ran into the palace to complain to Concubine Yuan Gui, causing Concubine Yuan Gui to be devastated.

On the contrary, Yong Wang Li Xu has a very good relationship with the newly married Su Wangfei, and has never taken the concubine into the mansion. Su Wangfei has a soft and sweet smile on her face all day long.

Civil and military officials and soldiers marched into the capital, and the people knelt down to welcome them. Li Chen looked at his brothers around him and frowned secretly.

"Your Highness, Chitose!"

"My lord is a great hero of our Dakang! His merits are enough to last through the ages!"

"I kowtow to you, my lord..."

Li Chen looked at the people on the side of the road who were grateful to him, with a smile on his face, but he knew in his heart that these things would do him more harm than good. I don't know which brother is considerate, and publicized his achievements among the people.

……

King Jing smiled and said: "The second brother not only guarded my Dakang territory, but also included the Qiang people who have disturbed my Central Plains for hundreds of years into our territory. No wonder the people are grateful and love them."

King Qing's complexion became more and more bad, only Li Xu's expression remained unchanged, and he said after entering the palace: "Now the second brother will go to kowtow to the emperor first, and the younger brother will go to see the mother first, and tell the mother that the second brother has returned safely."

"Thank you, fourth brother."

Li Xu said: "You and my dear brother, why bother to say thank you."

King Jing and King Qing entered the table first, Li Chen went to the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the emperor is waiting in the inner room of the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the eunuch Huang Ling respectfully said: "Your Highness, the Emperor has been waiting for you for a long time."

"Thank you, father-in-law." Li Chen walked into the door, saw the emperor sitting cross-legged on the couch, then knelt down from a distance, and said in a choked voice: "My minister is not filial...My minister is back."

The emperor sighed: "Come here and ask Father to have a look."

Li Chen walked over on his knees, the emperor wiped his face with a veil, and said: "We haven't seen each other for a year, and every time there is a banquet in the palace, I feel uncomfortable when I see your seat is always empty. He has made great achievements, but he is often in danger and takes risks with himself. Every day I see Zhezi in the Northwest, I am shocked and afraid."

Li Chen kowtowed and said: "The ministers are extremely unfilial by calling the empress father and mother to worry about her own life, but I beg the emperor to punish her."

The emperor asked Huang Ling to pull him up, pushed Li Chen to sit down, and said: "But seeing that you have returned safely, I don't think about that anymore, what reward do you want?"

Li Chen's heart trembled, and he said: "I don't want any rewards, as long as my father, queen and mother are in good health..."

The emperor didn't speak any more, and said: "Go and see your grandmother."

Li Chen asked in a low voice: "Grandma's body, is it okay?"

"Go and see for yourself, your imperial grandmother is the one who misses you the most." The emperor's eyes were a little moved. He had drifted away from his biological mother many years ago, and now it's hard to make friends again.

"Yes."

In front of Ci'an Palace, Li Chen hesitated. He obviously wanted to see his grandmother for so many years, but now, Li Chen didn't know how to face his grandmother.

The door of Ci'an Palace was slowly opened, and a little maid said: "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has been waiting for you for a long time."

There was even a trace of confusion in Li Chen's brows, he walked straight in, and the Empress Dowager Lan sat on the couch, looking at him with a smile—for a moment Li Chen felt that he had returned to the past, and he was still living in Ci'an Palace. Sometimes, after studying or practicing martial arts, my grandmother would sit there, either reading a book leisurely, or preparing pastries for him to eat.

"grandmother!"

The soldiers whose merits were not enough to go to the palace to go to the banquet went home to reunite with their relatives, but Qi Yunruo did not return to Prince Chun's Mansion, but decided to take advantage of this good time to walk in Beijing.

When the people in the outer city of the capital greeted King Chun, Qi Yunruo watched from the side of the road not far away. When the carriage of King Chun walked away, Qi Yunruo looked at the people standing up from the ground supporting each other, with a worried expression—today is the fifteenth day of the festival. At the temple fair, Qi Yunruo was thinking about something, followed the crowd to a Guanyin Temple.

The girls are in groups of three or five, the handsome young man is standing gracefully holding a folding fan, the roadside vendors are hawking and stacking up, the women are choosing incense candles by the roadside, and there is also a gray-haired grandma, trembling and asking her family to support her, sincerely Go to Guanyin Temple.

There were many pedestrians on the bridge, but few cars and sedan chairs. Qi Yunruo also saw a lot of light sedan chairs carried by two people pushing their way through the gaps between the people. Humanity: "Today is the [-]th day of February, so there are not enough people."

Qi Yunruo has lived in the capital for 16 years, but he has never had the opportunity to appear in such a scene. The people in the city and the world are turbulent, and there is a bustling but peaceful charm floating in the air. So many, the capital is so interesting.

Qi Yunruo couldn't help laughing, and walked into the temple. In the courtyard, there were monks releasing lottery and a stall selling consecration mascots. Qi Yunruo walked into the main hall, but he didn't kneel down to pay respects. Silver nude.A woman who was kneeling on the ground to pay her respects glanced at him.

Qi Yunruo also looked over, and felt a strange feeling in his heart. This woman was over forty years old, wearing a long dark yellow gown, a sapphire tied with a long sash around her waist, and a complete set of clothes. Liuyun Diancui jewelry——Qi Yunruo has been in charge of the inner house, and he can tell at a glance that this woman wears expensive clothes. This set of Diancui alone costs about several hundred silver, but she seems to be too low-key, and the little girl beside her has a yellow face. She is dark in the middle and short in stature, so she doesn't seem to be serving everyone; the makeup on her face is too gorgeous, even a business woman would not draw such thin eyebrows and draw such red lips—but she just So good-looking, with a calm posture, exquisite and beautiful.

Qi Yunruo blinked and found that there was no one else around this woman, and the other women would rather wait at a distance than worship the Bodhisattva on the futon nearby.

The woman stood up with the support of the unattractive maidservant, and smiled at Qi Yunruo. Qi Yunruo inexplicably felt a little kind, so he also smiled.

But the next moment, Qi Yunruo froze when he heard someone whispering about "the madam of Fengya Building".

Li Chen fell on Queen Mother Lan's lap, and Queen Mother Lan said softly: "Yaoer is a person with ideas, Yaoer's intelligence is no less than yours, no matter where she is, she can live well."

"I promised my grandmother..."

Queen Mother Lan said with a smile: "Knowing that Yao'er is doing well in the Northwest, and you have returned safely, what is there for Grandma to be sad about?"

Li Chen was silent, Queen Mother Lan looked at him and said: "Now all the gods and ghosts have come out of the mountain, grandma is old, maybe she can't help you, but grandma wants to know, what does Chen'er want now?"

Li Chen said to his respected grandmother without any concealment: "Grandson is the eldest son. He has studied classics, literature and martial arts. Grandson is not a passive person who avoids the world. He also knows that sometimes it is better to take a step back." Abyss—Sun'er wants to be crown prince."

Qi Yunruo and his wife were sitting in the private room on the second floor of the teahouse, and the woman said: "My concubine's surname is Rong, people call her Sanniang Rong."

Qi Yunruo looked at her and said, "You should know me."

Rong Sanniang didn't deny it, she looked at Qi Yunruo with deep nostalgia in her eyes, she smiled slightly and said: "I was just curious at first, who would know your identity at a glance."

Qi Yunruo lowered his eyes and was speechless for a while.

"Speaking of which, the last time I met your mother was 17 years ago," Rong Sanniang looked at Qi Yunruo and said, "You look a lot like her."

When Qi Yunruo recalled his mother, he felt that he was not like her. Rong Sanniang recalled: "Your eyes are exactly the same."

"...Really?" Qi Yunruo looked blank.

Rong Sanniang smiled wryly: "I have been with Linglong for more than ten years, just seeing your eyes, I know I have not admitted my mistake... Linglong has seven apertures and an exquisite heart, but it is a pity that she also died on top of it."

"She..." Qi Yunruo looked at Rong Sanniang with an urgent voice, "What do you know? Why did she die?"

Rong Sanniang was silent, for a long time, she sighed: "I still don't know anything, so I can live well."

Qi Yunruo was silent for a long time before asking: "Qi Suxiao failed her, right?"

"……Correct."

When Qi Yunying returned home, she was whipped more than 20 times by Qi Suxiao first, and then driven to kneel in the ancestral hall. Qi Suxiao didn't rush into the palace for a banquet, and said through gritted teeth: "This wicked person! I was born to piss me off!"

Qi Yunshan was not on duty today, and he also has the blood of a man, but because of his status, he would never do something as capricious as Qi Yunying, so he only persuaded: "Father, the second brother is just young and energetic. It's normal to make mistakes, my father will teach me patiently, and my second brother will always correct me."

Qi Suxiao slapped the table fiercely, obviously impatient, "What do you know! Our Qi family, the Qi family can't have anything to do with military power! The more meritorious service that evildoer has in the army, the more worried I am!"

Qi Yunshan questioned: "Why, father?"

Qi Suxiao took a deep breath, and said lightly: "The game between the Qi family and the royal family was ultimately lost by us. Since we lost, we must see the situation clearly."

Qi Yunruo and Li Chen returned to Prince Chun's Mansion at about the same time. To be precise, Qi Yunruo was waiting outside the mansion for Li Chen to go back together. Li Chen still smelled of alcohol, and Qi Yunruo was also mentally exhausted. Li Chen waved his hand and said, "You should come. Come back tomorrow and say hello."

Su Ge hurriedly said: "The servant knows."

The two of them soaked in the hot water in the Molian Courtyard to relieve their fatigue. Qi Yunruo rested his head on the edge of the bathtub, staring at the sky in a daze, and Li Chen covered his face with a cloth towel soaked in hot water.The bathtubs of the two were close together, and the water was filled with calming essential oils. When the water temperature gradually cooled down, Li Chen asked, "Tired from walking today?"

"Yeah." Qi Yunruo said casually.

Li Chen smiled and continued to close his eyes to rest.

Qi Yunruo just remembered something, felt that he had neglected the prince, his face became a little unnatural, he sat up in the water, and asked: "Today, has the prince seen the Queen Mother Lan?"

Li Chen smiled and said, "Grandmother is in good health."

Qi Yunruo crawled out of the water not long after, wiped off the water on his body, put on a clean white underwear, and wiped Li Chen's body with a cloth towel. The two were lying on the bed, and when they were drowsy, Li Chen said: "Tomorrow You need to get up early."

"Why..." Qi Yunruo didn't even open his eyes.

"Because," Li Chen said, "I gave you a gift, and you will receive it tomorrow."