"Empress, this is a gift from the Duke House of Cai. Please take a look."
Cheng Yujin glanced at it and nodded, "I know. Put it in the garden."
"Yes."
His Majesty ascended the throne on the ninth day of the eighth month. It had been almost a month.
After the late emperor passed away due to elixir poisoning, His Majesty was very sad. However, the country could not be without a ruler. Under the persuasion of many officials, His Majesty forced himself to be spirited and ascended the throne. He changed the name of the dynasty to Yuan Xi.
Now, it was the ninth month of the first year of Yuan Xi.
The Crown Prince ascended the throne in accordance with the will of heaven. Cheng Yujin also became the Empress.
Because the late emperor died suddenly, Li Seung-kyung and Cheng Yujin, as his son and daughter-in-law, should observe mourning for three years.
However, the country's affairs could not be left unattended. Therefore, the cabinet suggested that the days should replace the years. The Emperor and Empress observed mourning for the late emperor for 27 days. Then, they could take off their mourning clothes and resume normal activities.
Cheng Yujin took off her mourning clothes at the beginning of the month. Soon, the Double Ninth Festival arrived.
This was Li Seung-kyung's first grand ceremony after ascending the throne. Everyone wanted to hold a grand ceremony and update everything to show the joy of the new dynasty.
However, Li Seung-kyung felt that there was no such thing. Previously, because of the evil Taoists, they plundered a lot of people's wealth in the name of alchemy. The people were already complaining incessantly.
Although Li Seung-kyung abolished the construction of Bailu Tai as soon as he ascended the throne, the money spent for this could not be recovered.
Li Seung-kyung understood that the people's lives were not easy. The treasury was empty and did not want to be extravagant. Therefore, all the celebrations of the new dynasty were simplified.
Since His Majesty said so, the people below naturally agreed.
Seeing that the Double Ninth Festival was approaching, Cheng Yujin, as the Empress, would personally host the celebration.
This was Cheng Yujin's first public appearance after becoming the Empress. Everyone in the capital wanted to use this opportunity to curry favor with the Empress.
However, His Majesty did not allow expensive gifts. Because of this, everyone in the capital racked their brains and thought of ways to send gifts that were not expensive but were ingenious to make the Empress smile.
The gifts sent by the Duke House of Cai were very unique. Because it was the Double Ninth Festival, they sent flowers into the palace, which was both appropriate and opportune.
As for ordinary chrysanthemums, they deliberately found green chrysanthemums and cultivated them with great care. During Chongyang, they sent them to the palace as a sign of allegiance.
It was a pity that the people of the Duke House of Cai had put in so much effort. When the green chrysanthemums were brought in front of Cheng Yujin, she only glanced at them indifferently before asking the palace servants to bring them to the garden.
This was completely different from Old Lady Zhai's expectation that the Empress would like the flowers very much and praise them.
Old Imperial Concubine Shu sat on the side. Seeing this, she asked indirectly, "Green flowers are rarely seen. Coincidentally, Chongyang is here, so these pots of green chrysanthemums are given at a good time.
Her Majesty the Empress asked someone to send it to the garden. Does she not like green flowers? "
Cheng Yujin shook her head and said, "Ten thousand flowers are all the same. I treat them all the same, so I won't deliberately target them.
However, His Majesty had said that the national treasury was empty and the power of the people was not sustainable. The officials in the capital were not allowed to be extravagant and wasteful.
As the Mistress of the Inner Palace, I should set an example.
Although these green chrysanthemums are just ordinary plants, who knows how much manpower and resources it takes to cultivate such a green chrysanthemum. The cost behind it is no less than gold, silver, and jewelry.
Spending so much money just for a flower that will wither in a few weeks is really a waste.
This kind of extravagance cannot be allowed to continue. We cannot allow this kind of atmosphere to develop in the capital. "
Old Imperial Concubine Shu was the previous Imperial Concubine Shu, the eldest daughter of the Xu family of the Duke House of Chang. Now that the previous Emperor passed away, Imperial Concubine Shu also became Old Imperial Concubine.
Because of the new Emperor's compassion, he exempted the imperial concubines from being buried with others and guarding the mausoleum. Old Imperial Concubine Shu and the others could still live in the Forbidden City and live out their old lives peacefully.
Old Imperial Concubine Shu had originally guessed that the Empress did not mince her words towards the Duke House of Cai because she held a grudge against the Duke House of Cai for offending the Empress.
Old Imperial Concubine Shu's family was close to the Marquis of Yichun. She had vaguely heard that before the previous Emperor bestowed the marriage between the Crown Prince and the Empress, the Duke House of Cai wanted to marry the Empress as a second wife.
In the end, this matter naturally did not succeed. When the imperial decree of marriage was announced to the world, it almost scared the old madam of the Duke House of Cai half to death.
After this, the people of the Duke House of Cai avoided the Empress when they saw her.
When the Empress was still the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace, the Zhai family tried to curry favor with the Empress, afraid that the Empress would pursue old debts.
After the Crown Prince ascended the throne and the Crown Princess became the Empress, the Zhai family became more and more frightened.
This was the first Double Ninth Festival that the Empress presided over. They hurriedly ran out to curry favor with the Empress.
Old Imperial Concubine Shu heard Cheng Yujin's words and was stunned for a moment. She smiled and said, "This concubine's vision is too narrow.
The Empress is right. This wind cannot be allowed to continue.
His Majesty said not to be extravagant. He did not mean for them to be opportunistic.
The Empress has the universe in her heart. This concubine is narrow-minded. "
Old Imperial Concubine Shu indeed thought too narrow-minded of Cheng Yujin. Cheng Yujin was now the Empress. She only favored the imperial harem and had a son and a daughter. How could she still hold onto the small grudges from before she was married and not let go?
The Duke House of Cai's actions were too self-interested.
They were not only looking down on the Empress by doing this, they were also looking down on His Majesty.
When His Majesty was still the Crown Prince, he was impartial and impartial. He had never made things difficult for the Duke Of Cai, Zhai Yanlin.
Zhai Yanlin had only thought about it and had not had the time to make it clear. The Marquis Jingyong Huo family was indeed engaged to the Empress, but it was later broken off.
This matter was known by everyone in the capital. No one dared to mention it until the late Emperor bestowed the marriage.
Even so, when His Majesty was in the Eastern Palace, he did not hold back anything from Marquis Jingyong because of personal grudges.
Everyone had been worried that His Majesty would settle the score after taking power. However, after a month, the laws of the court were operating normally. The Emperor did not take his anger out on anyone because of personal grudges.
The Emperor fulfilled his promise when he ascended the throne. He only looked at talent and did not ask where they came from.
Starting from the year of Yuan Xi, the past was written off. Everyone only needed to focus on their work. Apart from those who broke the law and committed crimes, the other officials did not ask about the past and did not bring up the past.
Even if they were once Yang Fucheng's students, as long as they had the ability, had actual achievements, and were willing to continue to shine for the Yuan Xi dynasty, the Emperor would let bygones be bygones.
The Emperor's words undoubtedly caused a great commotion in the court.
This was the magnanimity of an Emperor. The officials who had been forced to rely on Yang Fucheng because of the situation felt reassured. From then on, they were more and more convinced of the new Emperor and did their best.
The Emperor and the Yang Family had a blood feud, but he could still let go of the Yang Family's students. He did not stick to one type of talent, much less a former love rival who had a small dispute with him.
Even Cheng Yujin, who was truly petty, vengeful, and vengeful, didn't really remember Di Yanlin.
The Duke House of Cai was in such a hurry to curry favor that Cheng Yujin felt very awkward.
Imperial Concubine Shu sneered, mocking herself for having the heart of a petty person. She could not compare to Cheng Yujin and Li Seung-kyung's temperament and bearing.
So it was no wonder that in the end, the two of them won the final victory and became the new Emperor and Empress.
Cheng Yujin asked: "Imperial Concubine has recently moved. Is there anything you are not used to?"
"Not at all. This concubine is fine. Many thanks for the Empress' concern."
Imperial Concubine Shu said.
Imperial Concubine Shu was promoted from Imperial Concubine to Imperial Concubine. Her residence naturally had to be moved to the quiet Third West Palace, giving up the East and West Palace to the new Emperor's concubines.
Although the new Emperor did not need these palaces, as an imperial concubine of the previous Emperor, Imperial Concubine Shu had to act.
When Cheng Yujin heard Imperial Concubine Shu say that everything was fine, she smiled and nodded.
She did not show any abnormalities and naturally asked: "Then what about Imperial Concubine Yang?
Has her mind recovered recently? "
Imperial Concubine Yang … … Imperial Concubine Shu's smile unconsciously faded. This surname, this seniority, almost no one in the imperial harem would think of it.
Imperial Concubine Yang was the former Empress, Yang Miao.
The second son of the Emperor, Li Chengjun, was deceived by the Yao Dao and privately offered a poisonous pill to the previous Emperor, causing the previous Emperor to die.
The Yao Dao cultivator, Chong Xu Sanren, was thrown into the Imperial Prison and was not a slave. All of his family property was confiscated and he was exiled three thousand li.
Li Chengjun was also stripped of his title of Shou Wang and demoted to a commoner, imprisoned for life.
As for Li Chengjun's accusation that the Crown Prince was plotting a rebellion, he was also charged with slander.
The reason was very simple. The Longevity Pill was refined by Chong Xu Sanren and presented to the Emperor by Li Chengjun. The Emperor himself decided to take the pill. How could Li Seung-kyung know in advance that the Longevity Pill was poisonous?
How could he know that the Emperor really ate it?
What happened after that was all Li Seung-kyung's machinations being fast and his hands being deeply planted.
When he learned that something had happened to the Emperor, he immediately ordered the eunuch to replace the other Longevity Pill that was to be destroyed. He also arranged the imperial guards outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
As for the Inner Cabinet Elders and the others, Li Seung-kyung never worried about them.
Just as he said, the one who wins the hearts of the people controls the world. He did so many things under the eyes of the officials, but the Second Prince first relied on the Yang Family not to care about worldly affairs. Later on, he colluded with the Daoist priest to rebel. It was a foregone conclusion that the hearts of the people were against him.
When the Yang Family lost power, Dou Xiyin was stripped of her title of Princess by the previous Emperor and lived in the Shou Palace without a wife or concubine.
At that time, there were people who laughed and said that Shou Wang was magnanimous and took in his ex-wife. However, not long after, Li Chengjun was demoted to a commoner because of the crime of murdering the previous Emperor. He was actually on par with Dou Xiyin's title.
Now that the two of them were imprisoned in a small courtyard, they became a husband and wife who went through hardships.
After the disaster that Li Chengjun committed was exposed, Empress Yang immediately fainted.
When she woke up, the Second Prince was already imprisoned and she was stripped of her title of Empress.
From then on, Yang Miao's mind wasn't normal. She didn't communicate with outsiders and only hugged her knees and talked to herself.
Even though Li Seung-kyung stripped Yang Miao of her title of Empress, he left her life.
After Li Seung-kyung stripped Yang Miao of her title of Empress, he didn't say what grade she was demoted to. Everyone could only ambiguously refer to her as "Yang fei".
Since Yang Miao was still the previous Emperor's concubine, then when the previous Emperor's concubines moved to the palace, she would definitely be among them.
Shu taifei didn't want to mention this person and could only vaguely say, "This concubine and Yang taifei aren't close and don't know her current situation.
Thinking about it, His Majesty and the Empress' kindness, Yang shi's illness should be better. "
Cheng Yujin nodded and lightly said, "Then this concubine will have to trouble Shu taifei to take care of her. This concubine thanks Shu taifei in advance."
Shu taifei hurriedly said she didn't dare.
She understood that the Empress didn't want Yang Miao's life, but she also didn't want Yang Miao to cause any more trouble.
Quietly spending the rest of her life in the Cold Palace was probably the best ending for Yang Miao.
The Yang Family that was unparalleled and powerful during the Jianwu Era had completely collapsed.
Yang Fucheng was stripped of his scholarly honors and couldn't be an official for three generations. Yang Hsiao-yu died, the Second Prince was imprisoned, and Empress Yang was deposed. Even the only remaining Empress Dowager Yang didn't have a good ending.
After Li Seung-kyung ascended the throne, he immediately ordered a reinvestigation of the Qingxuan Monastery extermination case in the eighth year of Jianwu.
In the end, it was found that the mountain flood wasn't accidental. Someone from upstream blew up the dam to release the water. The fact that no one from Qingxuan Monastery survived wasn't a natural disaster, but someone silenced them.
From the start, this was a conspiracy against the Crown Prince.
The masterminds behind this were Empress Dowager Yang and Grand Secretary Yang Fucheng.
Murdering the Crown Prince and being suspected of murdering the former Empress Zhong shi, Yang Fucheng was added to the list of crimes. Unfortunately, before the poisoned wine arrived, he caught an illness and died.
Empress Dowager Yang was also stripped of her position. She wasn't allowed to be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum and didn't deserve to be in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Death didn't mean that the sins of the past could be written off. After Empress Dowager Yang died, she still paid the price for the atrocities she had committed when she was young.
Yang Fucheng controlled the court for more than twenty years and amassed endless wealth. But when he died, he didn't even have enough copper coins to buy medicine.
Kang Wangfei and the original Empress Zhong shi was revered as the Empress Dowager by Li Seung-kyung.
Empress Dowager Zhong had passed away many years ago. In the Royal Palace, only the Empress had the final say.
In reality, other than the Empress, there was no one else.
Imperial Concubine Shu was very envious of this. The Emperor held the coronation ceremony on the same day as the coronation ceremony.
After the ceremony, Da Qi's young new Emperor said in front of all the court officials that the founding ancestor had set a law. A man in his forties could only take concubines if he didn't have a son. He was twenty-two this year and already had a eldest son. Therefore, he wouldn't take any more concubines in this life.
In the future, the court officials were not allowed to talk about filling the harem or selecting concubines.
The Emperor's words carried enormous weight. Furthermore, he said it during the coronation ceremony. Who dared to object?
Sure enough, no one mentioned the selection of concubines.
The Fifth Army's General Dong was also very embarrassed. He dejectedly grounded his daughter. It was said that in the past few days, he was already preparing for the selection of a husband for Miss Dong.
The Emperor dared to say this in front of the world. It was clear how much confidence and determination he had.
Imperial Concubine Shu was very envious of Cheng Yujin. However, Imperial Concubine Shu wasn't envious of Cheng Yujin being the Empress, nor was she envious of Cheng Yujin having a pair of cute children. She was envious of Li Seung-kyung's care for her.
How fortunate was she to be treated like this by her husband in this life?
Not to mention that Cheng Yujin was the Empress, even if she was just an ordinary woman, there were women in the world who were willing to exchange their lives of glory and wealth for Cheng Yujin.
Unfortunately, she couldn't exchange for it, nor could she be envious.
At this time, another palace servant came in to report. The palace maid greeted Cheng Yujin and Imperial Concubine Shu. Then, she stood to the side and didn't say anything else.
Imperial Concubine Shu understood. She used the excuse that she had just moved and had matters to attend to in the palace to leave first.
Cheng Yujin said a few polite words and had Lian Qiao send Imperial Concubine Shu out.
When Imperial Concubine Shu left, she faintly heard the name "Madam Marquis Jingyong" being mentioned.
Madam Marquis Jingyong.
Imperial Concubine Shu understood. No wonder it wasn't convenient to tell her. So it was about Cheng Yumo.
Imperial Concubine Shu had heard from her maternal family that Marquis of Yichun had a pair of twin sisters. The older sister was intelligent and dignified, while the younger sister was lively and carefree. Later, Marquis Jingyong and the older sister got engaged. After two months, they said that they had recognized the wrong person and changed it to the younger sister.
So, in the end, the younger sister replaced the older sister and got married.
The younger sister coveted her brother-in-law. This was already enough to cause people to criticize her. If Cheng Yumo got married peacefully and happily, then it would be fine. However, she and the Huo family were in a mess and couldn't be at peace.
It was said that Cheng Yumo and his mother-in-law's Huxue Clan quarreled every three days and had a big quarrel every five days. There were a few times when they even fought. They simply became the laughingstock of the noble families.
Huo Changyuan had a wife and mother like this. In the future, he would have a lot to suffer.
Perhaps it was because his family's affairs weren't going well and restricted too much of his energy. Huo Changyuan's official career didn't progress at all. He even made a few mistakes because of his negligence.
For an imperial court official like him, his family was notoriously restless and he didn't have many achievements in the officialdom. His official career had basically come to an end.
It was said that Marquis Jingyong was the last in his generation. In the future, it was unknown if there would still be someone like Marquis Jingyong in the capital.
On the other hand, the older sister had her marriage annulled and stayed at home for a year or two. In the end, she married the Crown Prince of the Cheng Family, who was the current Emperor.
It was hard to describe the fate of life.
The palace maid helped Imperial Concubine Shu back to the palace. After hearing Imperial Concubine Shu sigh about the fate of the sisters, the palace maid said: "Imperial Concubine, do you think that it was because the older sister had her marriage annulled and couldn't talk about marriage that she picked up such a big loophole?
After all, there had always been a rumor that the Crown Prince married the daughter of the Cheng Family because he agreed to Marquis Cheng's conditions.
Marquis Cheng relied on his life-saving grace to force the Crown Prince to marry the daughter of the Cheng Family as repayment.
Second Miss was already married and only Eldest Miss was left in the family, so … "Imperial Concubine Shu froze for a moment. After realizing the meaning of the palace maid's words, she was very disdainful:" What a joke. Hindsight is Zhuge Liang. This is just a mediocre person flattering himself.
Our current Emperor, although he appears to be honorable and benevolent, who in the court dares to contradict His Majesty?
He is gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, modest and opinionated. This Emperor is very capable.
If he wasn't willing at the time, who could force him to marry a woman he didn't like?
Not to mention Marquis Cheng, even the previous Emperor couldn't.
Look at how much His Majesty treasures the Empress. If you say that he didn't scheme to seize her, I would be the first to not believe it. "
The palace maid thought about it and was easily convinced.
Regardless of whether it was in the Eastern Palace or after ascending the throne, His Majesty's various actions were indeed very revealing.
After Imperial Concubine Shu spoke for a while, her face was filled with pity as she slowly sighed: "I can roughly guess who spread this saying.
Pitiful, ah. She can only see what others have gained but not think about what they have sacrificed.
Before elder sister broke off the engagement, she resented elder sister for taking her place in marriage. When she got married as she wished, her life was a mess.
At this time, when she saw that elder sister had married into a good family, she felt indignant and blamed grandfather for being biased, saying that elder sister had taken advantage of her.
Ah, pitiful, laughable, lamentable. "
The palace maid was silent. Imperial Concubine Shu leisurely fanned herself and seemed to be pointing out something: "Although ben gong doesn't know about the Cheng family, ben gong guesses that if the engagement wasn't broken back then and da jiejie married over on schedule, the crown prince consort and empress wouldn't have anything to do with meimei.
It wasn't that she had taken advantage of a great opportunity, but that position had always been reserved for one person. "
Imperial Concubine Shu sighed for a while and suddenly smiled: "What does this have to do with me?
The matters of the new dynasty, why should I, as the imperial concubine of the previous dynasty, worry about it?
In the future, you are not allowed to talk about the matters of His Majesty and the Empress. "
"Yes, this servant obeys."
As the night deepened, the lights of the Forbidden City lit up one after another.
Li Seung-kyung was playing with the children in Kunning Palace. After weighing the two children, Li Seung-kyung said: "Mingyue is beautiful again. She really is Daqi's Mingyue.
However, Li Mingqian is getting fat too quickly. He needs to pay attention to his image in the future and can't eat until he becomes fat. "
When Cheng Yujin heard this, she glared at him: "Who are you calling fat?
This is clearly normal roundness. "
"Roundness?"
Li Seung-kyung pinched the meat on his son's arm and smiled, "Look at his arm. Is this normal?"
Li Seung-kyung was defeated by Cheng Yujin's gaze. He smiled and said: "Okay, okay, okay, I won't say anymore.
You usually look quite reasonable. Why do you have no bottom line when it comes to these two children? "
Cheng Yujin snorted softly and took the children from his hands: "You actually despise them.
After you're done with Mingqian, you're done with me. If you don't like it, you can go back to your own palace. "
Li Seung-kyung smiled and quickly reached out to protect Cheng Yujin: "He's really heavy. Be careful you can't hold him.
Okay, okay, how can I scold you? Don't be angry. "
The children didn't have much energy and became sleepy after playing for a while.
Li Seung-kyung had the palace maids carry the little prince and princess back to sleep. Without the hindrance of the children, Li Seung-kyung could finally be alone with Cheng Yujin.
He dismissed the palace maids and sat in front of the window with Cheng Yujin. He personally poured a cup for her and said: "The Double Ninth Festival is coming, and we'll climb to the top.
I'm afraid we won't be able to climb to the top this year. Let's drink a cup of chrysanthemum wine first. "
The wine in the cup was an orange-red color and looked extremely beautiful when poured into the white jade cup.
Cheng Yujin picked it up and took a tentative sip. She found that it wasn't spicy and slowly drank it: "This wine is sweet and doesn't choke at all."
Li Seung-kyung poured another cup for her and filled it for himself, saying: "Don't drink too quickly. Even though it's flower wine and has a sweet taste, the aftereffects aren't small.
If you drink too quickly, you'll faint in a while. "
At this time, Cheng Yujin had already drunk half a cup. She looked down and said helplessly: "The aftereffects aren't small. Why didn't you say so before?
You had to watch me finish drinking before telling me? "
Li Seung-kyung rubbed the wine cup and raised his eyebrows with a smile: "Maybe it's because I haven't seen you get drunk for a long time. I miss it a bit."
"Don't slander me, when have I ever gotten drunk?"
"You still won't admit it?
You were drunk before. That was because the wine gave you courage and was extremely impudent towards me. "
Cheng Yujin propped herself up on the small table and found that the wine really got to her head quickly. She was already a bit dizzy now.
Cheng Yujin tilted her head and asked with a smile: "How did your highness know that I was drunk?"
She called him your highness, so she was clearly drunk.
Li Seung-kyung nodded and said: "That makes sense. It's very likely that you pretended to be drunk and did things that you wouldn't normally do."
"Then what did I do?"
"You touched me, hugged me and didn't let go. You even tried to force a kiss on me."
Come on, he didn't do that at all.
Cheng Yujin smiled as she watched him talk nonsense with a deadpan expression. She nodded and said: "Then I've really wronged your highness.
Did it become a thing in the end? "
Li Seung-kyung paused for a moment and righteously shook his head: "No."
Cheng Yujin smiled and suddenly propped herself up. She crossed the short table and leaned in front of his face and gently kissed him: "Then it's done now."
Cheng Yujin's face turned red after she finished. She wanted to pull back, but she found that her waist was already held by someone.
Li Seung-kyung put her down and said with a serious face: "It's not right for you to force a kiss like this. Let your husband teach you."
Cheng Yujin's face turned even redder. She thought that the person who pretended to be drunk was clearly him.
Outside the window, the sky was clear and the sky was deep and filled with stars.
In front of Cheng Yujin was the reflection of the stars, but she could only see one person in her eyes.
Her cheeks were red and in the end, she angrily glared at the person in front of her: "Sanctimonious, you don't have any awareness of being an elder."
"Since you call me Ninth Uncle, as your uncle, of course I have to answer your questions and teach you well.
Learn well. The next time you force a kiss, you can't be so perfunctory. "
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