The Laba Festival palace banquet ended in a hurry.
The eldest son of the Duke of Guo was thrown into prison, and the case was strictly investigated by Dali Temple.
Over the years, the Duke's office has made little achievements, and many families have had problems with the Duke's wife, so they have repeatedly filed impeachment petitions.
The case was complete with both witnesses and material evidence. In the end, the emperor, under pressure from all sides, cut off the title of the Duke of Guo.
"Erlang..." The Duke's wife looked at the emperor in front of her and said in a choked voice, "This is clearly someone's deliberate frame-up. Can't Erlang investigate further?"
The two of them were in Jinying Palace.
This is a remote hall where no one from the palace comes or goes. Since the death of the Queen Mother, the two of them have often met here.
But after the Duke's palace was gone, the name of the Duke's wife was also gone. It would be difficult for Li Jingshu to enter the palace again.
"This case has been determined by Dali Temple, and there is no need for further investigation." The emperor said in a very calm voice, "I will give you a second-grade wife, who can enter the palace at any time. What title do you want?"
Li Jingshu raised her eyes.
Although she is fifty years old, she has never given birth. In these years, she rarely worries, is greedy for pleasure, never allows herself to be criticized, and takes good care of herself.
Between her frown and her smile, she still has the shadow of a twenty-year-old.
"I don't want the title of second-grade lady, I... just want to be with Erlang forever."
Li Jingshu leaned on the emperor's chest, her voice full of tenderness.
The emperor put his arms around her and said, "How about this? On the grounds that Princess Duan needs company, I will order you to stay in the palace for a long time."
Li Jingshu bit her lip in embarrassment.
Will she always be able to appear next to Erlang in this capacity?
After so many years, she had really had enough.
"Erlang, I still remember that you swore in front of the late emperor that you would marry me..." Li Jingshu said softly, "Under the pressure of the late emperor, you and I had no choice but to separate... Now the late emperor and the queen mother have already Now that you are gone, no one can influence your choice anymore, Erlang, why not..."
The emperor's thin lips pursed.
At that time, he was young and vigorous, and he wanted to get the woman he loved, so he had a dispute with the late emperor for more than half a year, and finally ended with him compromising.
After taking the highest position, he designed the death of the Duke of Guo, thereby gaining the person he had not obtained when he was young.
People say he is lustful, and he admits this, but no matter how lustful he is, he knows what he can and cannot do.
If the widow of a first-grade Duke is accepted as his concubine, the Yushitai will definitely impeach him crazily, and there may even be veteran ministers who will criticize him...
He knew that he was sorry for Li Jingshu, so he protected her overtly and covertly.
Even if the Duke's mansion is gone, he will not make her life difficult.
"With me here, no one dares to hurt you."
Hearing this, Li Jingshu lowered her eyelids in disappointment.
Between her and fame, Erlang chose fame.
She suddenly felt that her past twenty years had been like a joke...
Although the title of the Duke's Mansion was removed, the emperor kept the Duke's Mansion in mind of his ancestors' merits and allowed the next three generations to live there.
This incident has become a topic of conversation among the people in the capital after dinner.
In the past few days, Tingxue got married.
As Yunchu's most trusted eldest girl, she gave Tingxue a great deal of extravagance and got married from the side door of the palace, in a sedan chair all the way to the Cheng family residence.
Because she was pregnant, Yunchu didn't go to the wedding banquet.
After entering the middle of the twelfth lunar month, the spirit of the new year became more and more intense. Princess Qinghua took her eldest son Meng Shen back to Beijing to prepare for the New Year's Eve banquet.
Originally, Meng Shen was going to enter the Imperial College in September this year, but at that time Yunchu and Chu Yi were punished and were not in the capital. Princess Qinghua was worried that her son would be unprotected when he went to the Imperial College, so she delayed coming to the capital until now.
In the past, when she returned to Beijing, she lived in the Changqiu Palace where Concubine Yin lived.
But in the future, her son will live in Pingxi Prince's Mansion, so she will live with him in the Prince's Mansion to get familiar with the environment, and at the same time, she will arrange everything for her son's food, clothing, housing and transportation.
Yun Chu had already prepared a banquet for welcoming the wind.
"Second sister, it's been a hard journey." Yun Chu stood at the door of the palace to greet her, "It's cold outside, come in quickly."
"Auntie." Meng Shen was eight years old and a polite child. He bowed his hands to Yunchu and saluted, "Excuse me, auntie, please welcome me."
Princess Qinghua glanced at Yunchu's belly: "Yier wrote to me and said that you are pregnant. Have you asked anyone to check whether it is a boy or a girl?"
The smile on Yun Chu's face did not change: "The Imperial College has a new gentleman this year. He is from the Wang family. As we all know, the Wang family has weird personalities. Brother Shen should be more careful when he goes to the Imperial College to study. Don't violate Mr. Wang's taboo and be left out on purpose. It’s not good.”
Princess Qinghua's attention was indeed diverted: "Which Mr. Wang is so grand? The Imperial College is filled with princes, emperors and grandsons, how dare someone named Wang be left alone?"
"It is Mr. Wang who is most respected by the current emperor." Yunchu said, "Mr. Wang has already taken care of himself. My father spent a lot of effort to invite him from the mountains..."
Upon hearing this, Princess Qinghua hurriedly said: "Then tell me, what are Mr. Wang's taboos?"
After talking all the way into the Nuan Pavilion, the maid brought out the hot meals in an orderly manner, and the group sat down around the table.
"The Minister of Dali Temple invited the prince to have tea and will come back later." Yun Chu said, "There is no need to wait for the prince, let's eat first."
Princess Qinghua was a little unhappy. She only returned to the capital once a year, and her brother didn't even come to visit her in person.
She was unhappy, and it showed on her face.
Meng Shen said, "My uncle has been suspended from his work at the Ministry of Industry for more than half a year. He really needs to move around more."
Princess Qinghua realized that since Yun Chu caused Concubine Fang to have a miscarriage half a year ago, Chu Yi was dismissed from his post with a cane and has never returned to the court.
For a dignified prince who has not been in court for more than half a year, his former confidants may have defected long ago.
We should really move around more and get back to work as soon as possible, so that Brother Shen's life in the capital will be easier.
After all, it was Yun Chu who actually aborted someone else's child, and he didn't know how much hatred he had.
"I won't ask more about the specific circumstances of Concubine Fang's miscarriage." Princess Qinghua looked at Yun Chu and said, "Now that you are pregnant, you can no longer serve Yi'er. This concubine is a concubine. Isn’t it time to make arrangements?”
She paused and continued, "I said this on the first day you and Yi'er got married. It was really inappropriate to mention it at that time, but now, it's the right time."
Yun Chu put down his chopsticks, with a half-smile on his face.
Her expression somewhat angered Princess Qinghua: "Don't talk about the royal family, let's talk about a lower family background. What man doesn't have three wives and four concubines? You are also a married woman, why don't you know how to care about your man. If you insist on being jealous, then I, the eldest aunt, will have no choice but to do unpleasant things."
Yunchu asked: "What's not good to see?"
"I will choose a few girls to send to enrich the back house of Prince Pingxi." Princess Qinghua said matter-of-factly, "If you don't do it, someone will naturally do it."
