On the fourteenth day of the seventh month, before dawn, Li Seung-kyung quietly got up. The eunuchs had been waiting outside for a long time. When they heard the Crown Prince's summons, they filed in, holding a full set of court robes in their hands.
Li Seung-kyung was on leave for seven days because of his wedding, which ended today. He also had to resume his duties as the Crown Prince and attend court every day. His schedule was like that of an emperor, regardless of wind or rain, winter or summer.
The morning court was held before dawn, and it was outside the Chengtian Palace Square. No matter how bad the weather was, it could not be easily canceled. Moreover, the morning court was solemn. If one did not dress properly or behave properly during the morning court, they would be impeached for life by the Imperial Censor. If it was light, they would be reprimanded. If it was heavy, they would lose their position. It was not a joke. As for being late, they did not even want to think about it.
If even the courtiers were like this, then Li Seung-kyung, as the Crown Prince, was even stricter. The eunuchs were all on edge. The Crown Prince had already ordered them to be quiet when preparing for the morning court. They must not wake the Crown Princess.
Cheng Yujin was sleeping in the brocade room. She did not notice that Li Seung-kyung was no longer there. She turned to the other side and happened to be facing Li Seung-kyung's original position. In her daze, she suddenly felt that the person in front of her was no longer there. Cheng Yujin was startled and immediately woke up.
All she could see was the quilt that was still warm. The person was no longer there.
Cheng Yujin remembered that today was Li Seung-kyung's first day of court. She immediately sat up, put on her shoes, and got out of bed. Li Seung-kyung heard the noise from inside the bed and immediately raised his hand to signal the eunuchs to stop. He then turned back and went to the bedchamber to lift the bed curtain. "Why are you awake?"
"His Highness is attending court today. As the Crown Princess, how can I be absent?"
"It's fine." Li Seung-kyung said, "There are still many days before court. It's not a big deal. It's still early. You should go back and sleep."
"No." Cheng Yujin firmly shook her head. "On such an important day, I want to personally send His Highness to the Imperial Court."
She had already stood up and casually put on a set of casual clothes from the wardrobe. At this moment, her long hair was not tied up and was pressed under the clothes. Cheng Yujin carelessly put her hand behind her neck and gently lifted it up. Her head of fine black hair flowed down like a waterfall, swinging in a beautiful arc. Cheng Yujin didn't care about her hair anymore. She lowered her head and buttoned up her shirt. Then, she smiled and walked towards Li Seung-kyung. "Your Highness."
Li Seung-kyung looked at this series of actions and watched as Cheng Yujin walked towards him as if she was doing something natural. His eyes could not help but soften. "Okay."
When the Crown Princess arrived, all the eunuchs naturally gave way. They held the clothes and stood on both sides, quietly presenting the clothes to be used. Cheng Yujin stood on her tiptoes and helped Li Seung-kyung put on the scarlet gauze. She carefully pressed down the collar and then picked up a leather belt from the brocade tray. She wrapped it around Li Seung-kyung's waist and fastened it in front of him.
When Cheng Yujin lowered her head to fasten his waist, Li Seung-kyung also lowered his head to look at her. The Crown Prince's court robes were red. Li Seung-kyung looked very heroic and handsome in them. His sleeves were very wide. At this time, in order to cooperate with Cheng Yujin, his arms were gently spread out to the sides. The long sleeves naturally hung down, as if he could wrap his arms around Cheng Yujin's entire body if he reached out.
Cheng Yujin's delicate face was reflected in the crimson court robes, making her brows and eyes look even more picturesque. She lowered her head to fasten the leather belt. Her brows and eyes were very serious, completely different from the expression she had when she pulled her hair out of the collar.
The Crown Prince's court robes symbolized power and status, as well as the beauty who stood on his chest and personally dressed him. At this moment, as long as he closed his hands, he could take them all into his arms.
Cheng Yujin finished fastening the leather belt. She took the knee cover, jade pendant, ribbon, and so on from the brocade tray and tied them one by one to her belt. After doing all this, Cheng Yujin took two steps back and took the court crown from the last brocade tray. She raised her head and smiled at Li Seung-kyung, saying, "Your Highness, please lower your head."
Li Seung-kyung looked at her deeply and slightly lowered his head. Cheng Yujin tied the crown on her hair. The black ribbon wrapped behind her ears and fastened to her chin.
At this point, the court robes were put on. The palace servants of Ciqing Palace were waiting outside the door with lowered eyes. Li Seung-kyung said, "I'm leaving. It's still early. You don't need to go out. Go back and sleep. "
Cheng Yujin still shook her head. She took the cloak from the palace maid and wrapped it around her body, saying, "I want to personally see Your Highness out."
Li Seung-kyung could only let her do as she wished. Cheng Yujin followed beside Li Seung-kyung until they reached the main entrance of Ciqing Palace. Ciqing Palace was not far from where the court was held. Li Seung-kyung did not take a carriage and walked there himself. He took two steps and seemed to feel something. He turned around and saw Cheng Yujin standing at the entrance of the palace with a green cloak and a lantern in her hand.
At this moment, the morning light shone on Cheng Yujin, making her look warm and gentle. She stood in the dark green light with many palace maids on both sides. Behind her were red walls and green tiles. Her skin was white and her hair was as black as ink. She looked like a star that had fallen into the mortal world.
Cheng Yujin saw Li Seung-kyung turn around and gently nodded with a smile, "Your Highness, I'll wait here for you to come back."
Only when Li Seung-kyung's figure could no longer be seen did Cheng Yujin turn around and return to the palace. The sky was not yet bright. After this incident, Cheng Yujin could not sleep. She changed clothes and took a bath. She read a book in the study for a while. When it was time, she went out to greet Empress Dowager Yang and Empress Yang.
The Emperor ruled the country with filial piety. He respected his di mother, Empress Dowager Yang. As the Crown Princess, greeting the Empress Dowager had become a daily routine for Cheng Yujin. Ciqing Palace and Ciqing Palace were in the west and east respectively. The distance between them was not small. When Cheng Yujin arrived, she saw many servants stopped in front of the palace gates.
Cheng Yujin recognized the palanquins of the Empress and Empress Dowager at a glance. Empress Yang and Empress Dowager Yang were aunt and niece. It was not strange for the Empress to appear in Ciqing Palace. There were probably only a few people in the entire palace who were qualified to sit in the Empress Dowager's palanquin.
Cheng Yujin entered. As expected, there were many familiar faces. The Empress was beside the Empress Dowager. Yang Shoufu's wife, Yang Qianshi, Empress Yang's sister, Yang Yan, and Yang Yan's daughter, Dou Xiyin, were all present.
When Cheng Yujin entered, she was fiercely stared at by the Yang Family. She only took a quick glance and chuckled in her heart. It turned out that she was the only one not surnamed Yang. She did not know whether to say that she was a sheep entering a wolf's den or a dove occupying a magpie's nest.
With such an obvious difference in numbers, Cheng Yujin did not show any fear. She calmly and steadily bowed, "I greet the Empress Dowager and Empress. Greetings to Mrs. Yang and Mrs. Dou. "
Mrs. Yang was Yang Shoufu's wife, Yang Qianshi. Yang Qianshi was Empress Dowager Yang's sister-in-law. She had two daughters. The eldest daughter, Yang Yan, was married to Dou Da. The second daughter, Yang Miao, entered the palace and became the second Empress.
Dou Xiyin was Yang Yan and Dou Da's daughter. However, Dou Xiyin rarely stayed in the Yang Family. She spent half of the year in the palace and the other half in the Yang Family. Only during festivals would she return to the Dou Family to show her face. After that, she would immediately move back to her maternal grandfather's home. Those who did not know would think that Dou Xiyin's home was in the Yang Residence and that she was a guest there.
The Yang Family had produced two Empresses in a row. However, this generation of the Yang Family did not have a daughter. Yang Yan and Dou Xiyin's intentions were obvious. Even Dou Xiyin herself considered herself a member of the Yang Family. In the past ten years, Dou Xiyin had been the default candidate for the Crown Princess in the capital.
Unfortunately, Dou Xiyin's dream of becoming the Crown Princess did not come to fruition. The Second Prince's dream of becoming the Crown Prince also did not come to fruition. The position of the Crown Prince had always been occupied. The true Crown Prince, who had been missing for many years, appeared from the sky with the Crown Princess. Many people's dreams were shattered because of this.
When Yang Yan and Dou Xiyin saw Cheng Yujin in this kind of situation, their expressions were very subtle.
Empress Dowager Yang glanced at them and calmly asked Cheng Yujin to get up. After the palace servants invited the Crown Princess to take a seat, Yang Yan smiled and said, "So this is the Crown Princess. I have heard of your name for a long time. I only saw you from afar during the palace banquet. Now that I see you up close, you are indeed a rare beauty. Being able to see you today can be considered as fulfilling one of my wishes. "
Since young, many people had praised Cheng Yujin's beauty. It was fine in the past, but now that she had become the Crown Princess, Yang Yan's view of her was only that of a rare beauty?
Cheng Yujin's smile did not change. With the rare beauty that Yang Yan spoke of, she said in a noble and gentle manner, "Empress Dowager Dou is too kind. Those are just false reputations. Now that I have become the Crown Princess, I naturally cannot disappoint His Majesty and Your Highness' trust. I must be virtuous and lead by example. Looks are nothing. "
Yang Yan was choked by these words. Seeing that Cheng Yujin was in a bad mood, she could not help but poke at her. Hence, she purposely said that Cheng Yujin was a "rare beauty" to show that the Crown Prince was only interested in her looks. She did not expect Cheng Yujin to admit that she was beautiful and humbly said that she had to be virtuous and that looks were nothing.
Bah, who was sincerely praising her as a beauty? She actually dared to respond?
However, although they were angry, looking at her face and looking at her figure, both Yang Yan and Dou Xiyin could not say anything to refute.
The Yang Family was powerful, but it only started with Empress Dowager Yang. The appearance and temperament of the younger generation could not be compared to the aristocrats who had lived like princes for many generations. Especially when Cheng Yujin was sitting here. From her appearance, to her bearing, to her aura, she was a head above the Yang Family.
The beautiful and dignified Crown Princess was nothing more than this.
Dou Xiyin did not like Cheng Yujin. She had not married her cousin, the Second Prince, yet a Crown Princess had appeared out of nowhere and blocked her path. Even her second cousin had become less important. How could Dou Xiyin tolerate this? She originally wanted to ask her grandaunt to help her second cousin vent his anger. However, after looking at Cheng Yujin for a long time, she could not find anything wrong with her.
Empress Yang's eyes hurt from looking at Cheng Yujin. Her face was cold and she did not even look over. Empress Dowager Yang looked up and said, "Crown Princess."
"Yes." As Cheng Yujin spoke, she stood up and firmly lowered her hand to salute, "What advice does the Empress Dowager have?"
"The Crown Princess has a great responsibility. Since you are the Crown Prince's official wife, you must follow the rules and not lose face for the imperial family. When the Crown Prince went missing, this widow and the emperor were worried about him every day. Now that he has been found, the knot in this widow's and the emperor's heart has been untied. Since he personally asked for your marriage, it must be very suitable for the Crown Prince. Like this, you will be able to produce offspring for the imperial family as soon as possible. "
Speaking of offspring, Cheng Yujin did not know how to respond. She could only lower her head and say, "This son will remember the Empress Dowager's teachings."
She said she would remember, but she did not say she could do it.
Empress Dowager Yang's eyes drooped and said, "You are the Crown Princess in the end and are not the same as normal wangfei. This palace will be given to you sooner or later. You will have to slowly learn how to manage the six palaces. "
These words were not kind. Since ancient times, it was hard to be the Crown Prince. It was not good to be too weak and it was even worse to be too outstanding. The emperor was in his prime and Empress Dowager Yang said that the palace would be given to the Crown Princess sooner or later. If this reached the emperor's ears, what would the emperor think?
Cheng Yujin reacted quickly and immediately followed up, "This son does not dare. Managing the six palaces is the Empress' matter and it is improper for others to interfere. How can I knowingly do such a wrong thing? Also, His Majesty is in his prime and the Empress is also in her prime. I do not understand many things and want the Empress Dowager and the Empress to teach I how to do things. In the future, I ask the Empress Dowager and the Empress to teach me. "
Cheng Yujin used "knowingly" in her words cleverly and expressed the Eastern Palace's position in a few words. The following words undoubtedly kicked the ball back to Empress Yang and Empress Dowager Yang because no matter what she did, it was "learned from the Empress and the Empress Dowager."
Empress Dowager Yang was not happy after hearing this, but Cheng Yujin's words were so dignified that Empress Dowager Yang could not find anything wrong with her. Empress Dowager Yang did not let it go and said, "No matter. Even the eldest daughter-in-law of a normal family has to learn how to manage the household for their mother-in-law, not to mention you are the Crown Princess. The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner. In these days, you can help the Empress take care of the Mid-Autumn Festival. "
Empress Dowager Yang was determined to make things difficult for Cheng Yujin. Since the other had taken the initiative, Cheng Yujin had no reason to avoid it. She unhurriedly bowed and said, "Since it is the Empress Dowager's order, this son will obey."
Cheng Yujin's words turned this matter into Empress Dowager Yang's order. It was not that she was overstepping, but that she was complying with Empress Dowager Yang's request. This was filial piety.
Empress Dowager Yang frowned. After a round of fighting, Empress Dowager Yang did not gain the upper hand in terms of words. This made Empress Dowager Yang very depressed. She thought that she was just eloquent. Managing the harem was not something that could be done just by moving one's mouth. Especially when Cheng Yujin was famous but had no power. It was impossible for her to manage the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet well. When Cheng Yujin made a mistake during the banquet, Empress Dowager Yang wanted to see how the Eastern Palace would deal with it.
However, Empress Dowager Yang was still unhappy that she had been tricked. She deliberately ignored Cheng Yujin for a while, but Cheng Yujin was neither arrogant nor impatient. She did not show any change in expression and behaved properly. There was nothing inappropriate about her. Empress Dowager Yang looked left and right but could not find anything wrong with her. She could only helplessly send her away. "Crown Princess, since you have entered the palace, you should serve the Crown Prince. Aijia does not need you here. You can go back first. "
Cheng Yujin declined and slowly bowed, "Yes. This son will take her leave. "
After Cheng Yujin left, Dou Xiyin frowned and asked, "Grand-aunt, why did you let her go back like this?"
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