In the third month, the Crown Prince's coronation ceremony had not yet been held, but the official's jade archive had already been completed. Liu Tan was now the rightful ruler of the East Palace and took on the responsibility of regent.
Unlike Prince Ning, who did not do much after gaining power, on the first day Liu Tan sat in court, he dealt with several important matters that had been delayed after Emperor Zhao Qing fell ill. The first matter was Prince Dongjing's defiance of the imperial edict, delaying the war against Dongying.
In court, Minister Yin took the lead to protest against Prince Dongjing's victory. It had been four months since the imperial edict was issued in December last year, but the Northeast Army had no intention of going to war. In these few months, the Wokou pirates along the coast of the East Sea wreaked havoc everywhere, robbing ships and killing fishermen. Because they were elusive and difficult to capture, the people along the coast were in a state of panic. They all reported to the capital and described the bandits.
Just as Minister Yin said, "The Wokou pirates are so arrogant that we cannot ignore them. Prince Dongjing's defiance of the imperial edict must be punished." After the court discussion, Liu Tan appointed Zeng Minzhi, the Assistant Minister of War, to go to Ningdong to investigate the reason for Prince Dongjing's defiance of the imperial edict. He was escorted to the capital. As for the bandits, Xue Lingnan proposed to set up guard stations in Jianning, Ganzhou, and other places. Each station would incorporate three thousand sailors to patrol the sea and eliminate the bandits.
The last matter was the case of Prince Ning killing the Tenth Princess. In the name of Emperor Zhao Qing, Liu Tan ruled that Prince Ning, Liu Hao, was stripped of his title and sealed off his mansion. The seventh prince, Liu Hao, and his family were sent to Pei County to be imprisoned. As for Concubine Yin and the Yin family, they were not implicated.
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Yu Shu stayed at home to recuperate from her injuries. She didn't step out of the house and couldn't move her legs, but her ears weren't idle. She sent Xu Qing to the Imperial Astronomer's Office every few days so that when he came back, he would know what major events were happening in the court.
When she heard that Liu Tan had been crowned the Crown Prince a month ago, she was really surprised. But after thinking about it carefully, she realized that it was reasonable for Liu Tan to win in this game. Liu Tan had been back in Jing for two years. His reputation at court wasn't bad and he had some reputation in the countryside. Once Ning Wang fell, he would stand out. With the support of Xue Ling Nan and Rui Empress, if he wasn't made Crown Prince, it would be hard to convince the masses.
However, Emperor Zhao Qing was already suspicious of the Xue family. Moreover, he was not on good terms with Xue Lingnan. How could he allow the Xue family to grow? Therefore, the Grand Advisor and Rui Empress went to Hua Zhen Garden to ask for a decree in exchange for Liu Tan to become the Crown Prince. Prime Minister Yin made him the grand tutor. This was to suppress Xue Ling Nan and also to warn Liu Tan.
The only thing that puzzled her was Prime Minister Yin's indifferent attitude towards Prince Ning. Was Prime Minister Yin not worried that after Liu Tan succeeded the throne, the Yin family would not have a foothold in the court?
"Miss, someone from the Eastern Palace has come." Xin'er reported from outside the door. Yu Shu gathered her thoughts and changed her sitting position. An Bekui went into the room and took out a blanket to cover her legs. She still looked as though she couldn't walk. A short while later, Xin'er came in with a palace maid wearing a yellow dress. This was Xia Jiangmin's dowry maid, Dan Gui. Half a month ago, when Liu Tan had entered the Eastern Palace, Xia Jiangmin had moved from Jing Wang Fu to the palace.
"Nubi greets Official Yu." Dan Gui wasn't surprised by Yu Shu's bedridden appearance and sweetly bowed to her. She then stood up and said with a smile: "The magnolia blossoms in the Imperial Garden have bloomed and the Imperial Kitchen has made a white jade crisp. Niangniang found it delicious and had this servant bring a box over for you to try."
Liu Tan had become the Crown Prince and Xia Jiangmin's status had risen with him. Even though she hadn't been officially titled as the Crown Princess, there was already a group of people in the palace trying to curry favor with her. It was said that people were in high spirits when faced with happy events. Even the palace maids by Xia Jiangmin's side were a bit more reserved when they spoke.
"Many thanks, niangniang, for thinking of me," Yu Shu readily said 'niangniang' and had An Bekui take the box of pastries. She didn't taste it on the spot but put it next to her hand. She turned her head to Dan Gui and said: "The doctor said that I will be able to walk in another half a month. At that time, I will go to the palace to visit the Crown Princess."
Dan Gui had a regretful expression and said: "The ninth of next month is an auspicious day. The Imperial Secretary has chosen that day as the Crown Prince's coronation ceremony. All the civil and military officials have to go to the palace for an audience. It's a pity that Official Yu can't go."
Yu Shu also pretended to sigh. She asked her a few more questions and then had Xin'er take her to the garden to play. At this time, she opened the food box and smelled a fragrant aroma. She saw a plate of snow-white pastries. She casually picked up a pastry and put it in her mouth. Then she skillfully pried open the bottom of the box and took out a letter. She tore it open to read.
In the letter, Xia Jiangmin said that a few days ago, the Empress had brought her niece, Rui Zizhu, into the palace to keep her company. So Liu Tan had 'accidentally' met Miss Rui in the Imperial Garden. Coincidentally, Xia Jiangmin was also there and she finally saw the other's true appearance.
What made her secretly happy was that Liu Tan didn't have any interest in the beautiful Miss Rui. Even after he returned to the palace, he took the initiative to mention the Empress's arrangements to Xia Jiangmin. After the coronation ceremony, Rui Zizhu would enter the Eastern Palace as a liangdi. Although her status was only second to her, the Crown Princess, she would never be able to surpass her.
"Ai." This time, Yu Shu really sighed. She seemed to see Xia Jiangmin stepping into the harem in a storm of blood, never to return on the road of fighting for favor.
"Go get some water." She lifted the blanket and moved her legs off the soft couch. Stepping steadily on the ground, she held An Bekui's hand and slowly walked into the inner room. With Zhu Qingjue, the heir of the King of Medicine, treating her, she could walk a few days ago. It was just that her legs were a bit weak.
Yu Shu cleaned her hands and burned incense. She first divined for Xia Jiangmin. As expected, after she entered the palace, her future became dangerous and unpredictable. There were many villains causing trouble and she would not have peace. But because of this, her fate shot up to the sky and became indescribably noble. If her life was not in danger, she had the sign of being the mother of the world.
When the incense burned out, Yu Shu used the time of calamity to calculate the time of the crowning ceremony. She even calculated the day when Rui Zizhu would enter the Eastern Palace. Then, she recorded the two minor tribulations on a piece of paper. She sealed it in an envelope and put it back in the box of snacks that Xia Jiangmin had sent. She had An Bekui take it to the garden to find some sweet osmanthus and have her bring it back to the palace.
In a situation where she could not even protect herself, Yu Shu could only do this much for Xia Jiangmin.
.....
The Registrar's Office finished making the plaque and sent it to the Yu Residence. As the chief official of the Registrar's Office, Xin Ya sent someone to pass a message to Yu Shu, saying, "On the day that the plaque is unveiled, this old man will definitely be there to congratulate you." This was clearly a favor to Yu Shu.
Yu Shu was an illustrious teacher. However, many people did not approve of her claiming to be an aristocratic family. At this time, Xin Ya, as the head of one of the twelve aristocratic families in Anling, was able to stand up for her. Even on the day that she officially hung the plaque, at least she would not be a joke. Although Xin Ya's character was not good, there was nothing to say about his way of doing things. Yu Shu had to accept his favor and sent someone to thank him.
She was still pretending that her legs were inconvenient, so the day of hanging the plaque had to be postponed. The invitations were all prepared, and once the crowning ceremony of the Crown Prince was over, she would announce to the public that they were an aristocratic family. The interior of the Forgotten Aircraft Building had been transformed into a Great Yi Shop. Gui Da transferred a sum of money from the Southern Forest Timber Shop to her. Everything was ready, and the only thing left was to open the door to receive guests.
In the blink of an eye, it was April. The deadline that Xue Rui had agreed on with her was approaching, but there was no news from him. She could only calculate whether he was safe or not from the divination.
On the sixth day, people from the Ministry of Rites and the Princess Residence came to send the betrothal gifts. He Fangzhi and Zhao Hui came out to receive them. Looking at the continuous flow of betrothal gifts, they once again realized that Yu Shu was not marrying into an ordinary family.
Yu Shu received the list of betrothal gifts, glanced at it briefly, and threw it aside. She did not let anyone put the things on the list into her private collection. Instead, she opened another two storerooms at the side of Yongchun Yuan and locked all the betrothal gifts from the Princess Residence in them, so that they could be returned in the future.
On the ninth day of the fourth month, the crowning ceremony was held in the palace. Liu Tan sat firmly on the throne of the Crown Prince. The next day, the imperial gui fei gave birth to a little princess, who was nineteen years old.
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Yu Shu recuperated for a full two months. When spring came, she returned to the Celestial Commissioner Office. When she was not there, Wen Shao 'an would send the official business of the Kunling Bureau to her residence if she needed to personally review it. Sometimes, Xie Lan and Ren Jia would go with her to visit their superior and report on their work.
The second floor was always empty. When Yu Shu heard from Wen Shao 'an that Jing Chen did not appear much in the past two months, she suddenly realized that ever since she and Jing Chen were engaged, the two of them had not seen each other. Even when she was injured, he did not come to see her.
Yu Shu felt it was a bit strange, but she did not think too much about it. After staying in the Kunling Bureau for a while, she took the initiative to see the Head Supervisor. When she arrived outside Taixi Pavilion, there was a rare guard who stopped her at the end of the bridge and did not let her go over.
"The Head Supervisor is currently receiving guests. Official Yu, please wait here."
Yu Shu waited at the end of the Jiuqu Bridge. Looking at the colorful lake, she could not help but be in a daze. In another half a month, the date of her and Jing Chen's wedding would arrive, but there was no news from Xue Rui at all. She guessed that he must have gone to Tranquil Winter City and joined the Prince of Dongjing's side. She wondered what kind of brilliant plan he had up his sleeves that could make Grand Tidian give up on forcing her and Jing Chen to conceive the Grand Bone of Destiny.
"Official Yu." The guard called her softly. She looked up and saw two people walking over from the other end of the bridge. The elegant one in a purple robe was naturally the Head Supervisor, and the one next to him was an old man who was half a head shorter than him. She could recognize who he was just by looking at his clothes. There were only two people in the court who could be personally escorted out by the Head Supervisor. If it was not Xue Lingnan, then it must be Yin Tianhou.
As expected, as the two approached, Yu Shu saw Prime Minister Yin's amiable face clearly. No, it should be called Grand Tutor Yin now. Yu Shu pulled her sleeves and bowed to the ground, "Your humble servant pays her respects to Grand Tutor."
The Crown Prince's Grand Tutor was the future teacher of the Emperor, so he should be respected by the world. Even the Crown Prince had to greet him when he saw him. Yin Tianhou was the curse that Emperor Zhaoqing put on Liu Tan's head.
Yin Tianhou stopped and looked at her with a smile. He nodded and said, "Oh, it's Messenger Yu. I heard that you hurt your leg some time ago. Is it better now?"
Yu Shu was flattered and said, "It's all thanks to Imperial Physician Zhu's miraculous medicine. Your humble servant is fine now."
Yin Tianhou seemed to be asking casually and did not care about her. He turned to Zhu Muzhao and said, "As the weather warms up, my knee begins to hurt again. Let Qingjue come and take a look at me another day. Let my old bones endure a few more springs and summers."
Zhu Muzhao said, "Let that boy go tomorrow."
Yu Shu saw how casual the two were. It was not difficult to guess that they had a good relationship. After Yin Tianhou left, Zhu Muzhao called Yu Shu into the building.
"Have you recovered from your injury?" "Yes." "Have you heard about the recent events in the court?" "I know a little."
Zhu Muzhao led her to sit by the window facing the lake. There was a palm-sized purple clay teapot on the tea table. At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary official kiln. But if one looked at it for a while, they would find something special. The round and small body of the teapot was carved with a pair of Yin and Yang fish. There was a shallow layer of tea at the base. The two small fish seemed to suddenly come alive when they got the water. One of them was in the light and the other was in the dark. It was really a wonderful work.
Zhu Muzhao saw that she was secretly looking at the Yin and Yang teapot on the tea table as she answered, like a child who saw something rare. His face softened a little and said to her with a smile, "This Yin and Yang teapot was the proud work of Old Academician Xin. When the tea is poured into the teapot, you can drink it after a while. It has a magical effect of improving the mind. You might as well try it."
The Old Academician Xin he mentioned was not Xin Ya, the Left Magistrate of the Secretariat, but Xin Ya's father, Old Master Xin, who used to teach in the Taishi Shuyuan.
Yu Shu had originally come here to show off her cleverness, so she followed his words and poured herself a cup of tea. She didn't feel anything at first, just a little less bitter than ordinary tea. But after a short while, she clearly felt a wisp of cool air rushing to the top of her head, and she also became clear-headed. This feeling made her think of the imitation Tai Qing Cauldron and Tihu Incense, which were both from the Xin family. Both of them had the same effect through different means.
She had a small book of "Wonderful and Rare Objects" given by the Xin family. There was no record of this Yin and Yang teapot in it, so it must be a secret of the Xin family.
"The first day of next month is the wedding day for you and Jing Chen. Be careful and don't make any mistakes." Zhu Muzhao urged her like this, not mentioning the changes in the court.
Yu Shu put the teacup back in its original place. She looked at his confident expression and pretended to be curious as she asked, "I heard that the Crown Prince sent someone to Ningdong City to denounce him and wanted to escort Prince Dongjing back to the capital?"
Zhu Muzhao said, "Jiang Huaiying disobeyed the imperial edict and should be punished severely."
Yu Shu looked hesitant, "Since Prince of Dongjing has the intention to rebel, how can he be arrested without putting up a fight? What if he refuses to return to the capital?"
"Everyone has the right to punish rebels and traitors."
It was an understatement, but Yu Shu felt a chill down her spine. The Crown Prince was just a puppet, and the Great Suggestion was the decision maker of the court. Before Prince of Dongjing rebelled, the Great Suggestion identified him as a rebel. It seemed that he had expected this day. Did he also know that Xue Rui took Yunhua to seek refuge with Prince of Dongjing? Why did she feel that the Great Suggestion meant something else?
"What are you worried about?" Zhu Muzhao asked suddenly. Yu Shu coughed to cover up her uneasiness. She said hesitantly, "It is said that Prince of Dongjing has 200,000 soldiers and horses under his command. The Northeast Army is brave and good at fighting. They can often fight three enemies on the battlefield. It will not be easy for the court to subdue him."
However, Zhu Muzhao smiled at her as if he had a plan in mind, and said nothing more.
Yu Shu was afraid that he could see that she was trying to get information from him, so she did not dare to ask anymore. She sat quietly for a while and then got up to leave.
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Ningdong City was backed by two rivers and on one side by a mountain. It was a place where the military always won. Since it was built two hundred years ago, it guarded the border of Da 'an, repelling the Tartars in the north and threatening the sea in the east. It could be said that Da 'an's nearly one hundred years of peace and prosperity were due to the Northeast Army of the Jiang family.
After the Qingming Festival, the north gradually warmed up. The barracks stationed outside Ningdong City all year round began to drill early in the morning. The wide drill ground was densely packed with heads, but under the command of the instructor, they raised their shields and brandished their swords in unison. It was an impressive sight.
"Ha!"
"Zha!"
A group of people stood on a high platform in the distance and looked at the scene. The man in the lead was eight feet tall, with broad shoulders and a majestic figure. He wore a soft armor made of pure gold and wore an eagle feather crown on his head. He looked handsome and extraordinary, but there was a scar at the end of his eyebrow that added some killing intent to him. This man was Prince of Dongjing, Jiang Huaiying.
"Second Brother, look. The Saber and Shield Battalion has been trained according to your requirements. In another month, they will be able to fight the enemy." Jiang Huaiying pointed at the soldiers below the platform and said in a loud voice.
Beside him stood a handsome young man. He wore a green Confucian robe and his black hair was tied up casually. He looked like a defenseless scholar, but there was an awe-inspiring aura between his eyebrows that was different from ordinary people. This young man, who Jiang Huaiying called Second Brother, was Xue Rui, who had escaped the imperial court's pursuit two months ago and came to seek shelter.
"The Northeast Army has a lot of cavalry. If the imperial court sends troops to suppress us, there will definitely be a large number of archers targeting our cavalry. Big Brother doesn't want to be afraid of the slightest thing, so you need this Saber and Shield Battalion to attack and defend."
Jiang Huaiying nodded in agreement and turned to look at him. He asked with bright eyes, "When can the cannons you showed me last time be used in large quantities?"
Xue Rui smiled and said, "Soon. My foster father is in the Divine Arms Battalion all day long. Once there is any progress, he will inform Big Brother."
Jiang Huaiying patted his shoulder happily and said with affection, "Come, let's go to the Golden Spear Battalion to take a look. You can exchange a few moves with me. Who knows, I might need you to lead the troops into battle in the future. Don't slack off."
As the two of them spoke, they went down the high platform. While they were discussing the matter regarding the stockpiling of provisions, a fiery red steed suddenly charged over from the opposite side and stopped abruptly in front of them. Jiang Miya wore a beautiful riding attire and sat on the back of the steed. She carried a curved bow on her back and held a long whip in her hand. She glared at Xue Rui fiercely with an expression as if she was going to denounce him.
"We agreed to go hunting with me today. I've been waiting here and there, so why didn't you come!"
Xue Rui raised his head and glanced at her. He said with a faint smile, "When did I agree to go hunting with you? It was all your own decision."
"You!" Seeing that he didn't know what was good for him, Jiang Miya angrily waved her hand and was about to lash him with her whip. However, Jiang Huaiying reacted quickly and snatched the whip from her hand. He reprimanded her sternly, "This is a restricted area of the barracks, not a place for you to flaunt your prowess. Shining is also your elder brother. How did I teach you! "
When Xue Rui came to seek shelter, he naturally changed his appearance. He no longer used his original name, nor did he use the alias Cao Zixin. Instead, he used the name of his birth mother, Madam Han, to call himself Liu Shining.
Having her whip snatched away by her elder brother, Jiang Miya angrily glared at Xue Rui a few times before pulling the horse's head and galloping away. Jiang Huaiying sighed at her retreating figure. He turned back to look at Xue Rui's expression and said hesitantly, "It's all my fault for spoiling her. Don't be fooled by her fierce attitude towards you. In fact, she likes you in her heart. That's why she doesn't know how to treat you. Are you really not going to reconsider what I said to you last time?"
"Elder brother," Xue Rui interrupted him and bluntly said with a frown, "Don't mention this matter again. I bear the grudge of my father's death. If I don't break An Ling, I will never marry."
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