The second of the three central halls was the Zhonghe Hall. When the Crown Prince was announced, the Emperor needed to go to this hall to put on his imperial robe and crown before taking his seat. The Emperor looked at Empress Zhao Zhi, who was not far away from him. He smiled gently at her without saying anything. Originally, the Empress and the Emperor had the same surname, which was not appropriate. However, when the Emperor was still a prince who was not valued, he treated the woman who led the harem with respect and treated her as a confidant. He swore in private that when he ascended the throne, he would make her son the Crown Prince. Zhao Zhi favored her youngest son, Zhao Zhuan, and the Emperor did not hesitate to violate the ancestral rule of choosing the eldest and not the youngest. It could be seen how important the Empress Zhao Zhi was in the Emperor's heart. For the first time, no one questioned such a decision. It was obvious that the Zhao family's control of the country had reached an unprecedented level. The concubines who had given birth to princes also looked normal and did not dare to show the slightest emotion. Among the six princes, only the youngest, the sixth prince, Zhao Chun, was twelve years old and could stay in the capital until he turned twenty. The other four princes, who had no hope of becoming the crown prince, were crowned as kings today. Three days later, they would have to leave the capital and go to the vassal state. Before leaving the vassal state, they had to bid farewell to the new crown prince and kowtow three times.
The six princes in Wuying Hall were divided into two groups. The First Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Sixth Prince gathered on one side. Zhao Wu was about to be conferred the title of Liao King and was given the title of Zhenbei General. He had the sole military power among the princes. The second prince, Zhao Wen, was conferred the title of Tang King. His mother was Nie Yuanzhen, the Pure Concubine of Jiangnan. She was not a woman from a wealthy family. She scrupulously abided by etiquette in the harem and stood aloof from worldly affairs. She had an extremely strict and gentle temperament. The prince, Zhao Wen, was also rather gentle, respectful, and thrifty. His eloquence was magnificent, and he was praised as having a deity in his pen and inkstone. He often discussed the Dao with Prime Minister Zhao Danping, living up to the word "literary". The Third Prince Zhao Xiong was conferred the title of King of Han and would soon rule at the border of Ji Zhou. The Virtuous Concubine Peng Yuanqing, one of the leaders of the Northern Crown Prince group, was the daughter of the Peng family of Liaodong. Zhao Xiong was also the prince who made the Royal family worry the most. It was rumored that he had made things difficult for the Prince Zhao Kai many times. The Fifth Prince Zhao Hong was conferred the title of King of Yue. His mother was not a concubine, Xue Shaoyu.
Among the concubines, Yan Dongwu's hand was held by the fourth prince, Zhao Zhuan. Her hand was as cold as frost, and her beautiful face was somewhat restrained. Zhao Zhuan, who had a gentle smile, had sweaty palms. When he chatted with his brother Zhao Wu in a low voice, he kept turning his head and smiling at her. She didn't know why, but when she went to the capital to marry the Royal family for the first time, she felt at ease about marrying the Fourth Prince who was not favored by the world. The couple's days were like glue. But when she realized that everything was not as straightforward and casual as she imagined, Yan Dongwu felt more and more like walking on thin ice. Especially when she went out of the palace to visit relatives half a year ago, she saw her father's old face that could not hide the excitement no matter how hard he tried. She saw her father crying with joy, but he didn't say anything. Yan Dongwu began to realize that everything was going out of control. After returning to the palace, she became more and more silent and cautious with her words and actions. Every time she went to greet the Empress "mother-in-law" with her husband, it was like a war without smoke. This made Yan Dongwu very confused and confused. The only thing she wasn't secretly happy about was that she was going to be the Crown Princess. Empress Zhao Zhi, who was recognized as invincible in the palace, saw this and felt more gratified. However, Zhao Zhi would not tell this praise to her daughter-in-law.
Zhao Zhi came to her two sons and tidied their collars and sleeves meticulously. The First Prince Zhao Zhuan grinned. Zhao Zhuan, who was about to be announced to the world as the Crown Prince, was still frivolous and shameless. He held his mother's hand and rubbed it on his face. Seeing this, the young Sixth Prince felt that his Fourth Brother was even more childish than him and smiled. Zhao Zhi pulled back her hand and knocked on Zhao Zhuan's forehead. She pretended to be angry and said, "How old are you? How can you be so shameless?" Zhao Wu put his arm around his younger brother's shoulder and said, "No matter how old you are, you will always be Mother's son."
Zhao Zhuan said softly, "Mother, why don't we let Big Brother leave the capital later?"
Zhao Zhi glared angrily and said, "Nonsense!"
The thick-skinned Zhao Zhuan was not afraid. He stuck out his tongue and ruffled the young Zhao Chun's hair. "Fortunately, I have Xiaochun 'er to play with me in the capital."
The young Imperial Prince pulled on Zhao Zhuan's sleeve and said expectantly, "Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother, when will you give that Ever-Victorious General to me?"
Yan Dongwu pinched the Fourth Prince, who had promised to stop fighting crickets, and said gently to Zhao Chun, "Xiaochun, I'll give them all to you later. If your Fourth Brother dares to keep one for himself, you can tell me. "
The young prince squeezed out a bright smile at his fourth brother, who had a bitter look on his face. Then, he pretended to bow to the Crown Princess. "Chun 'er thanks Sister-in-law for your great kindness."
Zhao Zhi's eyes were smiling.
For some reason, His Majesty the Emperor had already put on his yellow dragon robe and came to their side. When he saw the warm scene of everyone talking to each other from the bottom of their hearts, he was gratified. He faced Yan Dongwu, dignified but not lacking the benevolence of an elder. "Dongwu, in the future, control Zhuan 'er as you should. If he dares to be rude to you, I will support you and take care of him for you! Zhuan 'er is just a lazy hooligan who takes one step at a time. However, there is one thing that Zhuan' er is good about. He takes after me as his father. He may tire his wife, but he will never let his wife be bullied. "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
