Because Cheng Yujin was pregnant with twins, Li Seung-kyung did not publicize the pregnancy that everyone had been looking forward to for a long time. Instead, he gave a gag order to the palace servants in the Eastern Palace, forbidding them from spreading the news.
Cheng Yujin was confirmed to be pregnant at the end of the fourth month. In the blink of an eye, it was time for the Second Prince and Dou Xiyin to marry.
On the day of the wedding, Empress Yang was especially lively. It could be said that she was extremely extravagant and had no scruples. It was unknown whether she did it intentionally or not, but many of the ceremonies exceeded the rules for a prince's wedding and even approached that of a crown prince.
Marriage was an important milestone for a man to become an adult, and it was the same for a prince. Not long after the marriage decree was issued, the Emperor summoned the Ministry of Rites to choose a title for the Second Prince, giving him the title of Shou Wang.
When the title was being chosen, Empress Yang went to the Imperial Study many times, both openly and secretly, trying to choose a title for the Second Prince, such as Qin or Han. However, the Emperor was very firm and ignored the words that Empress Yang had specially chosen. In the end, he wrote the word "Shou".
Shou, Shou Shou. This was the most lasting love a father had for his son, but it was definitely not the attitude an Emperor had for his successor.
A name was given at birth, but a title was given after reaching adulthood. Many things could be seen from the fief and title. If a country was used as a title, such as Qin, Chu, Qi, Han, etc., the more powerful the country, the more it showed the importance of the Emperor. If a title was given with auspicious connotations, such as Rong, Ning, Kang, Shou, etc., it would best reflect the Emperor's position in his son's heart.
Once the title of Shou came out, even though the court was noisy because of the Second Prince's wedding, half of the officials fell silent when they saw the title that the Emperor had personally chosen.
The Emperor's preference became more and more clear. In the Emperor's heart, he naturally favored his second son, who had been happy since childhood. However, he was only a son. A long and peaceful life was all the Emperor hoped for the Second Prince. The Crown Prince's position as the successor in the Emperor's heart was unshakable.
Empress Yang was devastated, but she refused to give up. She tried her best to hold a grand wedding for her son. The dowry and betrothal gifts were clearly stipulated by the imperial court. The amount of money that the crown prince, the princes, and the dukes carried was clearly marked in black and white. Empress Yang could not overstep the boundary, therefore, she wholeheartedly wanted to expand the extravagance of her wedding. There were faint signs of a difference between her wedding and Li Seung-kyung's.
Cheng Yujin also went to Prince Shou's Manor to participate in the family banquet. As the person with the highest status, she was the last to appear. The wedding could only begin after she was in place.
Cheng Yujin looked at the decorations and extravagance around her and smiled without saying anything. During this time, some people quietly came up to Cheng Yujin to test her voice. Cheng Yujin just smiled and said, "Happy Prince Shou" and "Younger Sister-in-law is blessed". She did not say anything else. However, just these few words were enough. Cheng Yujin was the Crown Princess that the Emperor personally decreed her marriage. Even Empress Yang and Empress Dowager Yang could not find fault with Cheng Yujin. She was the reserve Empress. How could she be compared to an ordinary Wangfei?
Moreover, although no one said how Dou Xiyin was decreed her marriage, who didn't know in private? With such a big stain before marriage, it was not enough to be low-key. She actually dared to show off. She really felt that she had not lost enough face.
When everyone saw Cheng Yujin's natural and unrestrained behavior from beginning to end, they felt that this was the bearing of the future Empress Dowager. In contrast, Empress Yang's pestering was somewhat petty.
Half of the guests sighed in their hearts and the other half disdained. However, they still supported the Empress.
No one who came to the Imperial Prince's wedding was a fool. Some of them, when Dou Xiyin entered the wang fu to perform the wedding ceremony, couldn't help but look at the belly under the bride's wide coat.
The wedding was held in such a hurry. They didn't know if it was because … …
It was a coincidence that the bride's gown was wide. After wearing it in layers, it was inevitable that she would look fatter than before. As a result, some people were even more certain that there was something wrong with Dou Xiyin's hurry to hold the wedding.
After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds were sent to the bridal chamber. Cheng Yujin's status was noble and she did not have a lively personality. Now that there was a fetus in her belly, she had no interest in the bridal chamber. Cheng Yujin sent Lian Qiao to the bridal chamber to replace her and went back to the banquet.
Cheng Yujin was now the undisputed center of attention. When she walked to the banquet, a large group of people quickly followed her. Everyone came up to greet Cheng Yujin with smiles. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they sat down.
Cheng Yujin naturally sat at the head of the table. Because of her, the Cheng Family was also able to sit at the head of the table. When Princess Qingfu saw Cheng Yujin, she smiled and greeted her. She respectfully and subtly asked about Cheng Yujin's recent situation before sitting down quietly.
As a mother, there was a day when she would have to sit below her adopted daughter. Not only that, Princess Qingfu was able to sit here today because of her adopted daughter.
Princess Qingfu sighed deeply in her heart.
After a while, the Xu Family also came over. The people sitting at Cheng Yujin's table were those close to the Eastern Palace. There were people from the Cheng Family, as well as Consort Shu's maternal family, the Xu Family. Madam Xu and Cheng Min hurried over to greet Cheng Yujin before carefully sitting down.
Madam Xu tried to strike up a conversation with Cheng Yujin, saying, "The Crown Princess looks so good today."
Cheng Yujin smiled and said, "Thank you, Madam Xu, for your kind words."
Although Madam Xu wanted to curry favor with Cheng Yujin, her words were not flattery. Cheng Yujin's complexion was really very good today. She was wearing a red dress, and her pale face was rosy. Sitting there, she was bright and radiant.
Madam Xu's purpose was to strike up a conversation, but when she saw Cheng Yujin, she really did feel a little envious. Although today was Princess Shou's big day, Dou Xiyin was wearing a phoenix coronet and a red gown. She was not even half as radiant as the Crown Princess.
The conversation gradually turned to domestic topics. Someone asked about Madam Marquis Jingyong. Cheng Yujin shook her head and said, "I haven't seen her today. Maybe she's talking to someone somewhere."
Cheng Yumo's seniority was not enough to sit at the first table, even if she was the Crown Princess' younger sister. However, on such a big occasion like today, if Cheng Yumo did not get close to Cheng Yujin, could the Crown Princess take the initiative to talk to her? Cheng Min heard this and sighed in her heart. She shook her head and refused to talk about her anymore.
It was said that recently, the relationship between Cheng Yumo and her mother-in-law had become even more tense. Cheng Yumo had been married for almost two years. However, ever since her miscarriage, she had not shown any signs of pregnancy. Any in-laws would be anxious to see this. However, the Huxue Clan was still the same. It was easy to imagine how chaotic the Huo family would be.
After chatting for a while, they began to serve the dishes. During the banquet, Yang Yan was like a peacock spreading its tail as she approached Cheng Yujin. Her laughter could be heard from afar. "This official's wife is not a good host. Crown Princess, please don't blame this official's wife."
Cheng Yujin raised her chopsticks and tapped on the leftovers. She had no intention of eating. When she heard Yang Yan's voice, she put down her chopsticks. "Madam Dou is too polite. This consort is here to attend Second Brother's wedding. This consort is not an outsider. Why would I need to be served?"
Yang Yan choked and did not reply for a while. Yang Yan did not think as deeply as the other madams. Today, she was really proud and elated. After waiting for seven to eight years, her daughter had really become an imperial consort. How could Yang Yan not be happy? Especially today, as the mother-in-law, she did not manage the situation in the Huo family. Instead, she used the excuse that there was no one in charge in Prince Shou's residence to arrange the banquet.
The Emperor and Empress were the Empress. Even if their son was getting married, they could not leave the palace and personally visit Prince Shou's residence. However, since the Emperor was not around, Empress Yang's nannies naturally came out to manage the situation. As the mother of the bride, Yang Yan overstepped her boundaries by coming to Prince Shou's residence on the day of the wedding. To put it nicely, she was enthusiastic. To put it bluntly, she was rushing.
However, the person involved, Yang Yan, did not think so. She was extremely proud today. Especially when she saw the Marquis of Yichun, she wanted to compare herself. Yang Yan played around in front of Cheng Yujin for a long time, showing off how much Empress Yang valued Dou Xiyin. She also showed off how much Dou Xiyin's dowry was.
Cheng Yujin sat at the head of the table and only nodded with a smile. She did not speak or make an awkward silence. When Yang Yan was finally done showing off, she went to greet the other guests like a butterfly. The eldest madam of the Xu family could not help but say in a low voice, "Madam Dou is really enthusiastic today. However, she is still the mother-in-law of the Dou family. Why did she come to Prince Shou's residence instead of hosting the banquet? "
Another young madam of the Xu family heard this and said, "I am still young. There are some things that I don't think about. I am thinking that when I have a daughter in the future, I will definitely act like the mother-in-law of the Dou family and let the man marry my daughter. I will definitely not lower myself to help the man host the banquet. "
Everyone at the banquet heard this and glanced at the daughter-in-law who spoke. They all secretly looked at Cheng Yujin's expression. Cheng Yujin did not say anything, as if she did not hear anything. She lowered her head and blew on the tea in her cup. Madam Xu was relieved and pretended to be angry. "Don't talk nonsense in front of the Crown Princess."
After that, Madam Xu looked at Cheng Yujin apologetically and said, "Sorry, Crown Princess. The younger generation in my family is not sensible and has made a fool of themselves."
Cheng Yujin smiled and said, "Grandmother Xu is straightforward. It's okay."
Although Madam Xu's tone was reprimanding, she did not look angry. The daughter-in-law who had spoken was a junior. She was young and inexperienced. She could rely on her youth and ignorance to say things that everyone present wanted to say but could not say. Afterwards, the elders could just reprimand her for being immature, and she could use this to curry favor with the crown prince consort. Although Madam Xu scolded her, she was actually very satisfied with her daughter-in-law's cleverness.
At this time, a fish was brought to the table. When Cheng Yujin smelled the fish, she suddenly felt nauseous. This nausea came up quickly and quickly. Cheng Yujin could not help but cover her mouth and turn to the side to retch.
This unforeseen event frightened everyone. The maidservant holding the fish felt her knees go weak and immediately knelt on the ground. She kept kowtowing and said, "It's not this servant. This servant did not do anything."
However, no one else was in the mood to pay attention to the maidservant. They all stood up and looked nervously at Cheng Yujin. Fortunately, the madams present had all given birth before. One of the madams of the Xu family had an idea and said tentatively, "The fish smells fishy. The Crown Princess is disgusted by the smell of fish, is it …"
Cheng Yujin did not expect that everything would be exposed so quickly. At this moment, half of the people at the banquet put down their chopsticks and looked motionlessly at Cheng Yujin. Cheng Yujin held back her nausea with difficulty and nodded with a pale face. "Yes, it's been three months."
Her pregnancy could not be hidden from everyone. When her belly grew bigger in a few days, it would be known by everyone in court sooner or later. She could not take the initiative to say it, but if she denied it in front of everyone, it would be a lie.
She might as well admit it openly. In any case, she only said that she was pregnant. As for the fact that she was pregnant with twins, she would hide it for as long as she could.
Madam Xu could not help but shout, "Oh my god." When she reacted, she was both happy and shocked. She did not know what to say.
"Aiyo, Crown Princess, you and the Crown Prince are really … too cautious. It's been three months since such a big happy event, and you still did not tell us? "
Cheng Yujin could only smile and accept everyone's congratulations calmly with an expression as if she had already predicted this.
However, in reality … she did not want to. She was also very helpless.
The news that the Crown Princess was pregnant and that she had been pregnant for three months immediately spread throughout the banquet as if it had grown legs. Everyone was very happy when they heard it. In public, this was the Crown Prince's first child, and it was a joy for the country's ancestral temple. In private, pregnancy was a good thing for any family. Moreover, it was discovered at the banquet, so everyone wanted to share in the joy. Thus, in the second half of the banquet, everyone rushed to congratulate Cheng Yujin. As for the real protagonist, Princess Shou and Dou Xiyin, no one paid attention to them.
Empress Yang spent a lot of money on the Second Prince's wedding. In the end, everyone remembered that the Crown Princess was pregnant. Dou Xiyin's limelight was completely stolen. It could only be said that the world was unpredictable.
The next day, Dou Xiyin went to the palace to see her mother-in-law. She complained to Empress Yang in an aggrieved manner. "Aunt, I think she did it on purpose. Otherwise, it's already been three months. Why didn't she announce it earlier or later? Why did she choose to announce it at my wedding? Isn't she deliberately making me lose face? "
Empress Yang also felt very embarrassed. However, face was a small matter. Empress Yang felt more worried.
Li Seung-kyung returned in one piece. In the past year and a half, his reputation had been rising day by day. Not only had he not made any mistakes since he entered the court, he had also completed several beautiful tasks in succession. He was very popular. Now, when the Crown Prince was mentioned in the court, everyone unanimously praised him.
The only imperfection of his position as the Crown Prince was that he still had no children. To put it bluntly, being the Crown Prince was for the stability of the country. If Li Seung-kyung did not have a son, then his position as the Crown Prince might not be stable.
But now, Cheng Yujin was pregnant. Moreover, she was at the peak the moment she appeared. She had already passed the most dangerous three months. Empress Yang felt very depressed when she thought of this. These two people were competing with each other in terms of ruthlessness and ruthlessness. They were clearly experts, so why were they so good at hiding?
Empress Yang could understand why they did not let others know in the first month because they were afraid that the child would be harmed. Empress Yang could somewhat understand why they did not announce it in the first three months because they were afraid that the child's fortune would be ruined. But even now, they were still hiding it. If Cheng Yujin did not feel nauseous when she smelled the fishy smell, who knew when the outsiders would know the truth?
This couple in the Eastern Palace, weren't they too cautious and too good at hiding?
Now, the people in the palace understood Empress Yang's feelings very well. They were also very speechless about the Crown Prince and Crown Princess. Little Invisible was afraid of being harmed, so she did not dare to announce her pregnancy. But why did the Crown Prince and Crown Princess also do the same? Could it be that they had some misunderstanding about their fighting strength?
Empress Yang's mood was very indescribable. Dou Xiyin saw that the Empress's expression wasn't too good, so she didn't dare to pester her for too long and cause the Empress to dislike her. She quickly restrained her crying face and said, "Aunt, by doing this, it's clear that they don't put you in their eyes. Right now, they are not very capable and there is still a chance to hold them hostage. Aunt, why don't you use this opportunity to send a few spies into the Eastern Palace? "
Spies? Empress Yang looked at Dou Xiyin and said in an unfriendly tone, "Do you think this consort has not tried? But the people who went in did not move for long. This consort has already lost a lot of people. "
Dou Xiyin lowered her voice and said, "Then send a spy openly so that Cheng Yujin cannot deal with it in secret."
"You mean …"
"There is only one Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace. Previously, for the sake of the child, it was pardonable. But now that the Crown Princess is pregnant, she can no longer serve the Crown Prince. It is time to fill the Eastern Palace and choose someone for the Crown Prince to sleep with. "
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