Ban Han was invited to the front hall by Wang De. She saw several palace maids standing in the front hall and raised an eyebrow. Rong Xia usually didn't like palace maids to serve her in the front hall. Why were there so many palace maids here today?
"Niangniang, please sit here." Wang De made an inviting gesture and indicated for Ban Han to sit behind the screen.
"Your Majesty wants me to eavesdrop again?" Ban Han lifted her skirt, walked up the steps, and sat down behind the screen, "Speak, is there someone who wants to inform your Majesty?"
Wang De smiled and said: "Niangniang really has good foresight. There really is someone who wants to see His Majesty. This person has some dealings with niangniang. His Majesty thought about it and didn't want to reject this person so he had nubi invite niangniang here."
"It seems like it's an old acquaintance," Ban Han laughed lightly. There was no joy or anger in her laughter.
Wang De secretly looked at the Empress's expression and found that there wasn't much emotion on the other's face. It was as though this old acquaintance couldn't affect her emotions. He bowed his head and retreated to one side. The Empress's thoughts were hard to grasp at times.
Just as he was thinking, footsteps came from outside. Wang De bowed to Ban Han and then retreated to the other side of the screen.
After Wang De left, the smile on Ban Han's face slowly disappeared. She suddenly smiled in relief and changed to a more comfortable position to sit on the chair.
"Your Highness," Wang De went forward and bowed to Princess An Le, "Please sit. His Majesty will be here soon."
Princess An Le laughed coldly: "You're a good dog."
Wang De smiled and bowed. There was no mistake in his etiquette. Princess An Le's expression changed slightly. She was worried that this was Rong Xia's territory and didn't dare to say too much. But as a princess of the previous dynasty, she hated Wang De. He was the chief taijian by Fuhuang's side, but now he was wagging his tail in front of the new Emperor. He didn't care about any loyalty between master and servant.
Her eyelids drooped slightly. When she saw that Wang De's hand was missing three fingers, the anger in her heart subsided a lot. It was said that these three fingers were injured by his second brother when he was protecting his imperial father. Thinking of what his second brother had done, the anger on An Le's face disappeared. He rubbed his forehead. "I shouldn't blame you."
The smile on Wang De's face remained unchanged. "Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Highness."
"Wang Gonggong, you're too kind." An Le smiled bitterly. "Now, I …"
She was just a princess of the previous dynasty, while the other party was the head eunuch of the Imperial Palace. If he wanted to make things difficult for her, she could only accept it. The title of Princess seemed grand, but in reality, it was just a facade.
Wang De cupped his hands towards An Le and said: "It's good that Your Highness can think things through. You have a good relationship with the Empress. As long as the Empress is here, who would dare to offend you?"
Wang De purposely reminded Princess An Le because of their previous relationship as master and servant. If the other party didn't understand, he wouldn't have anything to say. Princess An Le had been doted on since she was young. She had never encountered anything that didn't go her way. The only person who made things difficult for her, the Prince Consort, ended up with his family ruined. After that, she lived a luxurious and dissolute life. People who had a smooth-sailing life for a long time sometimes couldn't see reality clearly. He hoped that this princess, who had some friendship with the Empress, wouldn't make this kind of stupid mistake.
Princess An Le smiled bitterly. Just as she was about to say something, the palace maids at the door all knelt down. Her heart jumped. Was Rong Xia here?
She stood up uncomfortably from the chair and looked at the door. After waiting for a few breaths of time, Rong Xia finally walked in. The other party wore a black brocade robe embroidered with light cloud patterns. He looked both elegant and noble.
However, this seemingly gentle man had killed hundreds of people in a single day. These people were all people who had been in cahoots with her second brother. Their hands were stained with the blood of the common people. The generals praised him, saying that he was decisive in killing and had committed a crime of being a wise ruler. The scholars respected him, saying that he was benevolent and treated talented people well. He was a rare benevolent ruler.
It was as if everyone had forgotten that he was originally just a Marquis of the Jiang Family Imperial Dynasty. Even when the Jiang Family Imperial Dynasty still had a crown prince, he wore a dragon robe and established a new dynasty. He even named this dynasty Ying.
Ying. Victory.
He was clearly a person full of ambition and calculation. Why did these people praise him as if they were crazy?
Princess An Le was very unwilling, but in front of Rong Xia, she didn't dare to show any emotion on her face. She gave a proper bow: "Greetings to Your Majesty."
"Princess doesn't need to be so courteous. Please sit." Rong Xia walked to the front and sat down, "What has Your Highness come today for?"
"Sinner wants to ask Your Majesty a few questions," Princess An Le hesitated for a moment, "As long as you are willing to be honest, sinner is willing to tell you secrets about the Empress."
"Oh?" Rong Xia had a very complicated smile on her face, "Princess, please ask."
"Second … Did King Li really have someone poison Imperial Father?"
"Yes." Rong Xia nodded, "King Li really did have someone poison Emperor Yunqing."
Princess An Le's face instantly turned pale. Tears flowed down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, "Thank you for telling me, Your Majesty."
"What else does Your Highness want to ask?" Rong Xia looked sideways at the screen behind her, as if she was admiring the picture of a cat playing with a peony.
"Does Your Majesty have the blood of the Jiang Family?"
"Princess, have you forgotten? Although my grandmother was expelled from the Imperial Family, she still has the blood of the Jiang Family. Naturally, I do. "Rong Xia raised her eyebrows and looked at Princess An Le," Why would Your Highness ask such a question? "
"What I want to ask is …" Princess An Le stared at Rong Xia, "Do you have the blood of Imperial Father?"
There was a deathly silence in the hall.
"Pfft," Rong Xia sneered, "Your Highness, you must not take the rumors of those ignorant people seriously. Although I have some of the blood of the Jiang Family, I am truly a descendant of the Rong Family. Your Highness should not say such misleading words in the future, lest fools take them seriously. "
The last bit of blood drained from Princess An Le's face. She lost her vitality in an instant. It took her a long time to recover, "I … understand."
So Rong Xia really did not have the blood of the Jiang Family. She could not even lie to herself. Their Jiang Family's Imperial Family was really finished. She wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, wiping away the last traces of her tears, "If Your Majesty has any questions, please ask."
"I have nothing to ask," Rong Xia smiled, "My Empress is the most interesting book in the world. I read it every day, whenever I want, and I will never get tired of it. If she really has any secrets, I will dig them out bit by bit. This is also a little fun between husband and wife. Since Your Highness's doubts have been resolved, please return. "
"A few years ago, I teased her, saying that she liked handsome men so much that she could only marry you, because there was no man better than you in the entire capital." Princess An Le's expression was somewhat dazed. It was unknown whether she was reminiscing about the good old days when she was friends with Ban Han, or the time when she was the moon surrounded by stars, "At that time, Huahua also said that the person you liked must be a celestial concubine, and that she would not join in the fun."
Who would have thought that her joking words from back then would actually become true?
The most handsome man in the capital did not like anyone else, but chose to marry Ban Han, whose reputation was not very good.
"This is probably fate," Rong Xia's smile deepened, "The heavens have destined me to marry Huahua. I am very grateful." He raised his hand, "Wang De, send Princess An Le back."
"Yes." Wang De released a breath. Fortunately, this Highness did not say anything that should not have been said. Otherwise, if the niangniang behind the screen heard it, she would definitely be sad.
"You love her so much," Princess An Le stood up, her tone becoming a bit strange, "Can you bear that she once had another man in her heart?"
Rong Xia's eyelids trembled slightly: "Your Highness, zhen and the Empress are deeply in love. What is the meaning of Your Highness's words?"
"Deeply in love?" Princess An Le's tone was somewhat mocking, "It's just your self-righteous love. Have you seen her third fiancé? Could it be that you don't think he looks like someone?"
Towards Rong Xia, Princess An Le still hated him. She wanted nothing more than for him to not be able to live a happy life. Only then would she be able to suppress the hatred in her heart.
"Huahua does not love you at all. Back then, she was willing to be engaged to Xie Qilin because she had taken a fancy to him. Otherwise, with the Xie family's status, how could they be engaged to the first daughter of the Ban Family?" Princess An Le looked at Rong Xia mockingly, "Even if you are the most handsome man in the capital, so what if you are shockingly talented? The one who moved Huahua's heart is not you!"
"Nonsense!" Wang De reprimanded Princess An Le, "Niangniang and His Majesty's friendship is not something that you can talk about. Quickly withdraw!"
"Back then, when Huahua found out that Xie Qilin liked poetry, she used some unknown method to find a rare copy and gave it to Xie Qilin," Princess An Le raised her chin, "At that time, ben gong was her best friend. How could ben gong not know which man she was moved by?"
"Rong Xia, even if you obtained my Jiang family's world, so what? The only thing Huahua likes about you is your face. When you are no longer young, she will naturally be able to appreciate other men. In this lifetime, you will never be able to obtain her true heart! "
"You think zhen will believe your instigation?" Rong Xia looked calmly at Princess An Le, "If you were Huahua's good friend, why would you say these words in front of zhen? Have you ever thought about what consequences these words will bring to Huahua?"
"Someone like you is not worthy to be Huahua's friend, nor worthy to call her name," Rong Xia stood up, her voice cold, "If zhen hears you call the Empress' name again in the future, zhen will punish you for being disrespectful to the imperial family."
Princess An Le was a bit afraid of Rong Xia's stare, her mind blank. When she left the Great Moon Palace, she found that her palms and back were icy cold.
"Your Highness," Wang De stopped and bowed, "please take care."
Princess An Le looked at him and said, "May I go see … the Empress?"
"You want to see the Empress?"
Princess An Le found that Wang De's expression was a bit strange.
"Yes."
"Your Highness, it's a bit unfortunate. Today, the Empress summoned Madame Yang. I'm afraid she won't have time to see you." Wang De made a gesture of invitation, "Your Highness, please come again next time."
"Madame Yang?" Princess An Le saw a woman walking over from the distance. This person was timid and her eyes were unfocused. She looked very petty. "It's her?"
"Yes."
"Ben gong knows." Princess An Le didn't say anything else and walked out of the Great Moon Palace. Wang De looked at her back until she couldn't be seen anymore. Only then did he turn around and go back.
Some feelings couldn't be worn down.
The hall was very quiet. Rong Xia sat in front of the imperial table without moving. Ban Han walked out from behind the screen. Seeing him holding a memorial, he said, "Do you have anything you want to ask?"
Rong Xia put down the memorial and looked up at Ban Han. Her expression was very natural. There was no shock or anger. She didn't even feel sad after being slandered by her friend. She was still that carefree Huahua. He stood up and took her into his arms, "You … really just like my appearance?"
"Why would you think that?" Ban Han patted his head comfortingly, "I like you a lot. Otherwise, why would I marry you?"
"Really?"
"Of course," Ban Han leaned her head on his chest and blinked, "I never lie."
Rong Xia laughed and let go of Ban Han. He stared into her eyes, "Huahua, don't lie to me. There are very few people I care about in this life. The only person I care about is you. If you lie to me, it's no different from lying. "
Ban Han put her hand on his chest and felt the sound of his heart beating, "I'll make sure it stays inside."
She lowered her head. Rong Xia couldn't see her eyes.
"Niangniang, Lady Yang is here." Outside the hall, Ruyi spoke carefully.
"I know," Ban Han pinched Rong Xia's chin and stood on tiptoe to kiss him lightly on the lips, "Don't think too much. I didn't fall in love with other men before."
Rong Xia held her and kissed her heavily on the lips.
"I believe you."
After Ban Han left, Rong Xia sat in front of the imperial table for a long time without moving. Huahua said that she didn't fall in love with other men before. He believed her.
Now … did she love him?
"Bang!"
Wang De saw the teacup on the imperial table fall to the ground. He bowed and asked, "Your Majesty, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Rong Xia said expressionlessly, "Have someone come in and clean it up."
"Yes."
When Lady Yang was the daughter-in-law of the Rong family, she often had the opportunity to enter the palace. She had even been to the Great Moon Palace. But at that time, although the Great Moon Palace was beautiful, it was full of men's things. But this time, she found that the Great Moon Palace was still as beautiful as before, but it had added many things that women liked.
In this palace, traces of women could be seen everywhere.
"Niangniang the Empress has arrived."
She hurriedly knelt and bowed, not even daring to raise her head. A gorgeous long dress passed by her. She followed the direction of the dress and changed her kneeling position.
"Rise."
The Empress' voice was very pleasant and young. When she was in the Rong family, she remembered that Rong Erlang was an extremely cold child. She didn't know what kind of woman the Ban Empress was to make him so infatuated. Last time, she had the opportunity to enter the palace to attend the coronation ceremony, but she was very far away from the Empress. She could only faintly see the other's outline.
She carefully stood up. When she saw the Ban Empress's appearance, she couldn't help but gasp. What a beautiful and alluring figure. She looked exactly like the soul-sucking demoness that the storytellers spoke of. If a man fell into her hands, he would have nowhere to run.
Rong Erlang … actually liked this kind of woman?
When she had just married the eldest son of the Rong family, her mother-in-law, Madam Lin, had not yet passed away. She still remembered that the other party was a very elegant and talented woman. Even the young miss of the Shi family, who later became famous, was probably inferior to her. Otherwise, her father-in-law wouldn't be so infatuated with her and resist all the pressure to marry her.
The Ban Empress and her mother-in-law's Lin Clan didn't have any similarities. It was hard to imagine that Rong Erlang, who had an extraordinary appearance, would be infatuated with this kind of woman who was the complete opposite of the Lin Clan. She didn't dare to look. After Ban Han told her to rise, she stood obediently with her body bowed. She didn't know where to put her hands.
"I heard from Lady Zhao that you wanted to see me?" Ban Han saw that Yang shi didn't have much courage. It was hard to imagine that this kind of woman would abort the child and marry someone else while her husband was in mourning.
"This guilty woman, Yang shi, has come to ask for niang niang's forgiveness." Yang shi knelt down again. "This guilty woman knows that her sins are grave and doesn't dare to ask for forgiveness from His Majesty and niang niang. This guilty woman is willing to die to atone for her sins, but I beg that His Majesty and niang niang don't pursue other people."
"Stand up and speak." Ban Han knocked on the table. "Why would this consort want your life? His Majesty has already decided not to pursue past matters. This consort doesn't have any grudges with you, so this consort won't deliberately make things difficult for you."
"Niang niang …" Yang shi looked gratefully at Ban Han. "Many thanks, niang niang!"
How could such a simple-minded woman be so ruthless as to abort the child?
"This consort sees that you are an honest and dutiful person. Why did you abort the child?"
"Niang niang, that child … wasn't aborted by this guilty woman," Yang shi said with red eyes. "After this guilty woman married Rong Erlang, he didn't like this guilty woman. Even my mother-in-law didn't like me. After my mother-in-law passed away, Rong Erlang was very sad and we couldn't have a child. Two years after my father-in-law passed away, this guilty woman finally had a child in her belly. How could she not be happy? "
Yang shi talked about how she lost the child and how she was forced to marry someone else. When she talked about being forced to marry someone else, her tone was numb and calm. There wasn't a trace of anger or joy.
Ban Han could more or less imagine some things. For example, the Lin Clan was dissatisfied with their daughter-in-law and Rong Erlang disliked his wife for not being romantic enough. After Rong Erlang passed away, Yang shi had a miscarriage. In addition, she had hurriedly remarried. In other people's eyes, she had miscarried the child.
From Yang shi's words, it could be heard that her mother-in-law, who she had never met before, was from the Lin Clan. She was extremely difficult to get along with. She suddenly remembered that after Rong Xia had ascended the throne for so long, other than bestowing the Lin Clan with the title of supra rank 1 Dingguo Furen according to the rules, he hadn't bestowed any other honorary titles. The mother-son relationship between him and the Lin Clan didn't seem to be very strong.
Compared to the Lin Clan, Rong Xia had put a lot of effort into bestowing the title of his deceased father. Not only had he bestowed several titles, he had also bestowed the title of supra rank 1 Duke and the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor. If it wasn't for the fact that it was unreasonable, Rong Xia might have bestowed him the title of Emperor.
"The Lin Clan … Did my mother-in-law treat His Majesty well?" Ban Han saw that Yang shi was hemming and hawing and said, "You have to tell me the truth. If I find out that you're lying, I will definitely punish you."
"This guilty woman doesn't dare," Yang shi hurriedly said, "Mother-in-law is a woman who cherishes flowers and the moon. She has a very good relationship with her father-in-law. When she was taking care of His Majesty, it was inevitable that … it was inevitable that there would be some neglect. His Majesty's daily chores were mostly handled by his father-in-law. The rest were taken care of by the servant girls and manservants. Mother-in-law has a cold personality and doesn't care about these worldly matters. However, she has very high standards for His Majesty and her deceased husband. She has always treated them according to the gentlemanly demeanor of the books. "
Yang shi was a woman with a soft personality who resigned herself to adversity. Even if she felt that the conduct of her mother-in-law's Lin Clan was a bit strange, she didn't dare to say it out loud. She didn't even dare to interact too much with her brother-in-law for fear that her mother-in-law would blame her.
Later, when the Lin Clan's father died of illness, she didn't feel sad. Instead, she felt happy.
She knew that it was wrong for her to have such thoughts, but she couldn't control herself.
"Ben gong understands," Ban Han waved her hand, "You can withdraw."
"Many thanks, niangniang. This guilty woman will withdraw."
Ban Han had storytellers, dancers, and the others come to relieve her boredom, but she wasn't interested. She waved her hand to have them withdraw and said, "Come, call Commander Du over."
Du Jiu had always been by Rong Xia's side. The person who knew best what kind of life Rong Xia had lived when she was young was Du Jiu.
Du Jiu heard that the Empress was looking for him. In the future, the Empress was bored and wanted to leave the palace. When he came to the hall, he found that niangniang's expression wasn't very good. He went forward and bowed, "Niangniang, who in the palace made you unhappy?"
"I am not very happy inside," Ban Han gave him a seat, "Tell me about your master's childhood to relieve my boredom."
"This general is worried that if I tell you about master's childhood, you will be even more bored," Du Jiu said honestly, "master's childhood was very boring. It wasn't as interesting as niangniang's, en … … colorful."
This di miss of the Ban Family, she was a girl that few dared to provoke. She had played and seen everything. She wasn't like his master, who had to memorize and write at a young age. When he was a little older, he had to ride horses and shoot arrows, learning the ways of gentlemen. If he didn't do well at all, furen would look at his master with disappointment and cry a few times.
"How boring was it? Tell me," Ban Han rested her chin on one hand, "When I was with your master, I rarely heard him talk about his childhood. How can I not be curious?"
"When master was three years old, he would wake up at a quarter past five in the morning. After studying for two hours, he would go to greet furen … …"
"A quarter past five in the morning?" Ban Han looked at Du Jiu in shock, "A three year old child waking up at a quarter past five in the morning, isn't this torturing the child?"
Du Jiu laughed dryly, "This is the rule set by furen."
"She makes the child wake up at a quarter past five in the morning, but she receives the child's greeting two hours later. Isn't this lenient to herself and strict to others?" Ban Han rolled her eyes, "I pity your master, having to live like this at such a young age. When I was three years old, I wouldn't get out of bed until the sun rose. "
Du Jiu almost couldn't keep the smile on his face. How was he supposed to respond to this?
One was his master's mother, the other was his master's most beloved woman. No matter what he said, it would be courting death.
"Then tell me, what interesting things happened to your master when he was young? What did he want to do but didn't do, and when he grew up, he was too embarrassed to do it?"
Du Jiu shook his head, "Master has been very self-disciplined since he was young. He didn't have any special hobbies."
"There was one interesting thing. When master was eleven or twelve years old, he met a young girl in the palace. The young girl dragged him to play on the ice … …" Du Jiu paused, "But when furen found out about this, master was punished."
"Who punished him?"
"Furen."
"What was the punishment?"
"Twenty strokes of the whip and ten times of copying the family rules." Du Jiu still remembered how his master's back was bleeding from the whipping. Less than a year after that incident, furen passed away due to illness. Since then, he had never seen his master do anything like a child.
The winter was so cold, but his master didn't cry or make a fuss when the imperial physician applied medicine to his wounds. It was Marquis who argued with furen because of this incident.
When Ban Han heard this, her heart felt as if it was soaked in vinegar and pricked by needles. She was silent for a long time, then looked out the window and said, "It's almost time for this year's university."
Du Jiu looked at Ban Han in confusion and nodded dumbly, "It should be."
That night, it started to snow in the capital.
Ban Han was wearing a fox fur coat and stood on the steps. She looked at the snowy world and turned to one of her personal guards, "Go tell Shizi that ben gong wants to go ice skating. Tell him to find a good place. I will go find him tomorrow."
"Yes."
Ban Han smiled and turned to walk to the main hall.
In the main hall, Rong Xia was listening to a few close officials discussing the talented young people in the capital.
"The former Count Of Zhongping's second legitimate son, Xie Qilin, also has some talent … …"
"Zhen doesn't need people with bad morals."
Zhou Bingan was slightly surprised, then said, "Your Majesty is right. “
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