Winter mornings were always exceptionally cold. The imperial guards guarding the palace gates exhaled a breath of cold air but did not dare to stomp their feet for warmth. Seeing some of the officials who usually liked to ride horses to court sitting on the palanquins, these frozen guards suddenly felt a kind of envy, jealousy, and hatred.
"Hey, brother, I heard that Ning Wang is about to return to court?" The two Imperial Guards that had just changed shifts walked out of the palace gates. One of the sturdy men looked warily at the surroundings. Seeing no one was looking at him, he lowered his voice to say, "I heard yesterday that many people have already petitioned the Emperor for this matter."
The thin guard that had come with him had an expression that said he already knew: "Ning Wang's return to court wasn't something that was fated. When xiandi was still alive, because he favored Rui Wang, he imprisoned Ning Wang in the mountains on the outskirts of Jing. Now that the weather is so cold, how can the body of an imperial grandson endure it? The Emperor is also a benevolent person. Naturally, he will summon Ning Wang back. Just watch, in less than three days, Ning Wang will be summoned back to court by the Emperor. "
The sturdy man rubbed his head and smiled foolishly: "You're right. Rui Wang made such a big mistake but the Emperor didn't take his life because of old friendships, much less His Highness Ning Wang." If he had to say it, Ning Wang was imprisoned unjustly. Maybe the assassination attempt had really been done by Rui Wang. It was just that xiandi was biased and used Ning Wang as a shield.
The tall and thin man saw him like this and didn't say more. He sighed silently inside. The thoughts of the people of the Imperial Family were twisted and twisted. Whether it was brotherly love or something else, it had nothing to do with them, the guards. Now that Ning Wang had returned to court, Rui Wang had become a junwang without any real power. These two had never seen eye to eye before. Rui Wang's conduct was even more domineering and had offended many people. In the past, Ning Wang had lost a lot of face to him. Now that Ning Wang had returned, Rui Wang would be in trouble.
At court, the officials discussed Ning Wang's return to court. Some said that Ning Wang had been imprisoned on the orders of xiandi and the Emperor shouldn't change it. Others said that Ning Wang knew his wrongs and was able to change. He was also the Emperor's brother and returning to court to help the Emperor was a matter of course. Why shouldn't he be summoned back to court?
In reality, everyone knew that it was suspicious that Ning Wang had been imprisoned by xiandi. Some even suspected that xiandi had used Ning Wang as a scapegoat to protect Rui Wang. But at this time, no one dared to mention this fact. They only argued about whether Ning Wang should return to court or not.
Those who had enmity with Ning Wang naturally didn't want Ning Wang to return, but there were also people who supported Ning Wang's return to court. Those who were observant found that many of those who supported Ning Wang's return were royalists. So these people started to think, was this the Emperor's intention?
Right now, Ning Wang's power had been completely wiped out. The officials that had been close to Ning Wang had been suppressed by the officials that the Emperor placed in an important position. Many of them had even become supporters of the Emperor. Did the Emperor's actions want to show the world that he loved his brother?
The Duke of Zhong Yi, who had originally testified against Ning Wang during xiandi's reign, had now changed his stance. The gist of it was that Ning Wang now knew his mistakes and could change. Only by returning to court to share the burden of the Emperor could he make up for his mistakes and so on.
The Duke of Zhong Yi and Luo Chang Qing, this pair of fox husband and son-in-law, had always followed the Emperor. At this time, the two were on the same side. Who wouldn't understand the Emperor's intentions? After the morning court session, no one dared to oppose this matter.
"Since all the daren have petitioned for zhen da ge to return to court, zhen is very gratified. In the early years, da ge was the eldest and took good care of zhen and brothers. Now that zhen is the Emperor, thinking of da ge living on the cold mountain top in the middle of a snowy day, it is hard to sleep at night. It is a good deed that da ge can return to court to share zhen's burden." He Heng sighed, "Duke of Zhong Yi, why don't you personally go and welcome Ning Wang back to Jing."
The Emperor said that Ning Wang took care of his brother, wasn't that telling everyone that he didn't believe that Ning Wang would do something like an assassination?
"This subject obeys," Tian Jin Ke knew that the Emperor wanted Ning Wang to owe him a favor. He was very grateful for the Emperor's protection of the Tian Family. After making a deep bow to the Emperor on the dragon throne, he retreated to one side.
Many people started to feel sour again. Thinking about the Empress who was already four months pregnant in the palace, they once again sighed that she didn't have a good life.
Right now, Qu Qing Ju, who was deep in the palace, was flipping through a pile of greeting cards. It was almost the New Year. Even though it couldn't be grand due to xiandi's death, but they couldn't cancel the banquet. At most, it would be simple, but the necessary procedures still had to be followed. Those that had come in with greeting cards were noblewomen of status, such as Cheng Wang Fei, Rui Wang Fei, the dukes, furen, marquis furen. She randomly flipped through one. First was a greeting for the Emperor and Empress, and then a list of gifts for the New Year.
As to what to bestow to these people, Qu Qing Ju naturally had people working on it. What Qu Qing Ju had to do was listen to them read the list.
"Niangniang, why don't you go rest for a while," Mu Jin saw the Empress give a yawn and suggested, "After nubi has sorted the list, I'll read it to you."
"No need," Qu Qing Ju waved her hand. She looked at the color of the sky outside, "It's almost noon. Later, the Emperor will come over to eat. Tell the kitchen to prepare."
"Yes," Mu Jin motioned for Yin Liu to order the kitchen. Then she gathered up the cards that Qu Qing Ju had flipped through and put them to one side.
"I heard that Rui Wang and Rui Wang Fei's relationship isn't good. It's already caused a ruckus in Jing City," Qu Qing Ju held the greeting card from Rui Wang Fu in her hand, "Rui Wang Fei is a daughter-in-law of the Imperial Family. What would the ruckus look like?"
"Empress, you even heard about it?" Jin Zhan sighed, "Long before the Emperor ascended the throne, there had been rumors of discord between the two in Jing City. Now it's getting worse. Nubi also heard that Rui Wang once said he was going to divorce Rui Wang Fei, causing the Qin Family to be extremely unhappy. "
For Qu Qing Ju, the Qin Family wasn't a beautiful term. She suddenly thought of Wei Qin shi and asked: "I remember that Wei Ran Shuang's mother is a member of the Qin Family. How is Wei Ran Shuang now?"
Hearing this, Jin Zhan gave a gloating smile: "She's not a member of the Qin Family. She's just a distant branch of the Qin Family. Not long after Sheng Mu Empress Dowager sent someone to reprimand Wei Qin shi, Qin da ren made the decision to arrange a marriage for Qin guniang. But because xiandi passed away, the marriage has been delayed. "
"She's the Emperor's bijie. If she marries, her husband's family wouldn't dare to mistreat her," Thinking about Wei Ran Shuang's pitiful appearance as a little cabbage, Qu Qing Ju slightly raised an eyebrow. The premise was that after Wei Ran Shuang married out, she wouldn't be so petty.
"Who knows what her family thinks. In any case, she's not a good person." Jin Zhan disdainfully twisted her mouth. She still remembered when Wei Ran Shuang had wanted to be the Emperor's qieshi.
"Good words," He Heng strode in with a smile on his face. He looked at Jin Zhan and commented, "This kind of woman, she really isn't a good person."
"Emperor!" Jin Zhan and the others paled in fright. Their legs softened and they knelt down. She hadn't thought that the Emperor would hear what she had said. What if the Emperor thought niangniang was jealous? Why was she like Yin Liu, unable to control her mouth?
"Stand up, zhen knows that you are all loyal and protective of the Empress," He Heng waved his hand, clearly not minding what Jin Zhan had said. He walked to sit in front of Qu Qing Ju. Seeing a cup of red date tea in front of her, he said, "I read a medical book a few days ago. It said that when pregnant women drink too much red date tea, it will stimulate blood circulation and isn't good for the body." Finishing, he reached out to push the red date tea to one side.
When did he start to study such things? Qu Qing Ju examined him and asked with a smile, "Then what should I drink?"
"Drink a small amount of Long Jing Bi Luo Chun every day. Soak it lightly, it's good for the heart and lungs. I've flipped through many medical books and they all say the same thing. There shouldn't be any problems." Finishing, he had Qian Chang Xin go take the tribute tea from his place.
Qu Qing Ju didn't have much interest in things like tea leaves, but since the other had put in so much effort, she wouldn't waste the other's good intentions. Following He Heng's intentions, she didn't touch that cup of red date tea again, "Emperor is so busy these days, how do you have time to read this?"
"Handing you and the child over to someone else, I feel uneasy. Occasionally, I flip through medical books to pass the time," His gaze moved to the teacup and he coughed dryly, "Just now, I heard you mention Wei Family biao mei. You don't have to worry about her. Zhen heard that the person engaged to her isn't in Jing City. Wei Qin shi has also been banned by muhou from entering the palace. It won't bother you."
"She is Emperor's relative, I don't have to worry about her," Qu Qing Ju tilted her head and smiled, "Today, I had the kitchen cook some pearl pigeon soup. When the time comes, Emperor should have a good taste."
Knowing that his Empress was changing the topic, He Heng only smiled and shook his head when he saw the smile on her face. He had the servants start to serve the meal.
On the surface, there were rules for the meals in the palace, but there were differences within the rules. The food in Qu Qing Ju's little kitchen could almost rival that of the Imperial Kitchen. This didn't even include the things that He Heng often ordered the people of the Department of Household Affairs to send to Qu Qing Ju.
After the noon meal, He Heng leaned against the soft couch to read. Qu Qing Ju leaned against him and played with a nine linked jade ring. A short while later, she untied the thing in her hands and threw the ring to one side with a yawn. She turned and put her head on He Heng's thigh, "So boring."
He Heng looked at her slightly swollen belly and carefully put his hand on it. Occasionally, he could feel the little life beating in her belly. He smiled and asked: "What do you want to play, I'll have them prepare it for you."
"Nothing in particular," Qu Qing Ju's hand moved up and down his thigh, "Why don't you tell me about the first time you saw me?"
"At that time, you had heavy makeup on your face, and your head was lowered, not daring to look at me. I really thought I had married a timid little wife," He Heng put his hand on her back, allowing Qu Qing Ju's hand to mess around on his thigh, "I rejoiced that you survived the poison that Feng shi gave you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known in this life that a man and a woman could interact like this."
Qu Qing Ju's hand stilled. She didn't know what to say. A beat later, she asked: "If I hadn't survived?" It was a pity that Qu shi had been killed by Feng Zi Jin. Even if Feng Zi Jin was bestowed with white silk, she still felt sorrow and regret for Qu shi.
He Heng gripped her hand tightly, causing her to feel some pain: "There aren't so many ifs. The result now is that you are here, zhen is also here."
"This is very good," He Heng put her hand on his cheek and sighed, "To have Qing Ju accompany zhen, it is zhen's good fortune in this life."
What was the meaning of being high and mighty alone? So almost every dynasty and every generation of emperors had a woman that they favoured. But when they couldn't find what they wanted on the woman they favoured, they would continue to search for the next one. Maybe in the end, they still wouldn't find what they wanted.
But he knew, the woman lying on his thigh was what he wanted.
But he also knew, in this woman's heart, he wasn't that important.
However, they still had so much time. Time would slowly change everything.
So, this was very good.
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