Chapter 195

Shortly after the beginning of spring, the new lord of the Northern True Country sent a letter of state, saying that he will arrive in Jinling in the next few days, firstly, to pay a visit to the emperor in his new capacity, to thank the court of the Central Plains for helping him to succeed the throne; secondly, to welcome Princess Zhaoren back to the Northern True Country.

This news, let the emperor momentarily shocked. He had already moved to kill Enji, originally because of the whip can not reach, and also seriously ill, then put aside. Now he even sent himself to the door.

On second thought, before the death of Enji can be planted on the North Zhen domestic chaos, Fu Hong Yue successor is the popular wish. Now Enji has stabilized the situation in the North really, if something happens in the Central Plains, it will not be justified, then the North really will certainly be against the domestic. Missed the time, only to temporarily press the mind.

This day, enji to the capital, the emperor in Chongzheng Hall to the national ceremony warmly received, and announced that in the Daming Palace hosted a banquet.

Imperial family members are also invited to the palace.

The time is still early, Rong Xiangmian and Zhou Xianyao, Sun Mingyue in the imperial garden with Hong Yue play, the little guy from time to time noisy people want to hold him up, to touch Xiangmian bulging pregnant belly.

“You see, how Hong Yue likes your child ah, maybe you really want to be in-laws in the future.” Sun Mingyue joked.

“What if it’s a boy?” Zhou Xian Yao stared at her, ready to say “I’ll be waiting for your good news then”, then swallowed her words.

As the three of them joked and laughed, they saw the eldest princess and Rong Xiangzhi coming from afar. Behind them was a wet nurse holding Wen Zhongqing and Rong Xiangzhi’s child, Min Sister Er.

After the three of them met the Eldest Princess, Rong Xiangzhi lowered herself at the back to give them a salute: “Greetings to the Crown Princess, Prince Consort, Princess Yun, and the Sixth Princess.”

More than a year no see, do not know because of labor or Liu’s death, Rong Xiangzhi thin a lot, eyes are not as bright as before.

When she was lost in thought for a moment, the others looked at her face and thought she was giving Rong Xiangzhi a hard time.

If she doesn’t give the word, Rong Xiangzhi’s gift won’t be finished. But Xiangmian had accompanied the princess since she was a child, and had long since gotten used to the princess speaking her mind. And since she had been enthroned as the Crown Princess, she had not been out of the house, had not taken the Crown Princess’s payment, and now she simply did not realize that the crowd was waiting for her to give the word.

Rong Xiangzhi bent her knees and lowered her head, her fingers pinching the handkerchief clenching tighter and tighter.

Zhou Xian Yao after returning to the capital, early to listen to Hui Guifei and Sun Mingyue with her to the capital over the past two years said the big event, Rong Xiangzhi do those things know, naturally there is nothing good face, only as with Rong Xiangzhi, also do not speak.

Just so stalemate for a while, the eldest princess spoke: “Crown Princess, breastfeeding mother holding a child, salute long fear inconvenience ……”

“Oh ……” Rong Xiangxian said afterward, “There is no need to be polite.”

Zhou Xianyao also automatically skipped Rong Xiangzhi and said, “Let me see Zhongqing’s child, this is the first time I’ve seen it.”

Rong Xiangzhi raised his head and with a smile on his face, he signaled for his nursemaid to come forward.

In fact, this is also the first time that Xiangqi has seen this child, before the child’s full moon and 100th day, the Yu Wang Fu only sent gifts.

A small, soft person, staring at them with big, curious eyes.

Xiangmian teased the child, unknowingly being gently held by a finger by Min Sister Er.

“Aiyo, this child likes you too!”

“She doesn’t like Aimi, she likes this jade ring on Aimi’s finger!”

When Sagami took a look, it was true. The little doll’s eyes were glued to her ring. She took the ring off and slipped it onto Sister Min’s finger, “It’s for you.”

As if she understood, Sister Min waved her little fleshy hand and giggled at her.

The Eldest Princess smiled lovingly, “Min Zi’er, why don’t you thank your aunt.”

The child played for a while and started clamoring for milk. Rong Xiangmian put the ring away in her purse and asked Linlang to give it to the maid who followed her. She also instructed the nursemaid, “Watch her well on weekdays, don’t let her swallow the ring, and when she’s done playing, take the purse and put it away, small children don’t know the dangers.”

“Yes.”

While speaking, not far from the imperial garden the palace people saluted again in unison, it must be someone coming.

At a glance, it was Zhou Xian Yang, Zhou Xian Hui and Wen Zhong Qing.

Today, Zhou Xian Yang accompanied the emperor to meet the North True Lord, wearing a grand prince’s clothing system, red brocade robe, above the faintly visible fine gold thread embroidered a dragon out of the clouds, the sleeve edge is a color of the cloud pattern.

He usually seldom wear so grand, more do not love to wear red, is to Rong Xiang see really as he walked to the front, all the way to the detailed measurement of some.

“When did you enter the palace? The imperial garden windy, should not stand here for a long time.” Zhou Xian Yang walked closer and after bowing to the eldest princess, he held Xiangmian’s waist with one hand and led her with the other, wanting to take her back.

“Xian Yang, we only met in the Imperial Garden, not even a candle’s worth of time, why are you in a hurry?” The Eldest Princess snickered, “I see that the Crown Princess’s complexion and wai phase are all fine, you don’t need to worry too much.”

Rong Xiangmian also withdrew his hand in some embarrassment.

“How can he not be worried? He even took a leave of absence for the matter of supervising the country, and has been accompanying the Crown Princess to stay in the mansion during this period of time, not even taking a step out of the door.” King Yun exaggeratedly exclaimed, “If it wasn’t for Lord Enji coming here this time, I wouldn’t even be able to ask him to drink!”

“You still drink, your fourth brother already has a child, do you?” The eldest princess started nagging again.

“Aiya, why did it come back to me. Anyway, my child has nothing to do with the countryside, it doesn’t matter if it’s a little late or a little short.”

Zhou Xian Yang’s movements were stuttered, why did he feel that this sounded so familiar?

We hadn’t seen each other for a long time, so we sat down in the pavilion in the garden and chatted for half a day, and then a palace staff came to report that a banquet was going to be held in Daming Palace.

Along with the palace guide, out of the Imperial Garden, to go out. Is passing through the Chengqian Palace, happened to meet the Queen Zhang’s honor guard waiting outside the palace.

Empress Zhang’s honor guard is still grand. Although she has lost her favor and authority, she is still sitting on the throne of the Empress. She naturally would not be absent from this kind of state banquet.

Sister Fang, the head of the Chengqian Palace, seemed to have been waiting here for a long time. After she had bowed to all the nobles, she said, “Empress Mother has invited His Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess to come into the palace to catch up.”

The crowd always knew that Empress Zhang was at odds with the Crown Prince and his wife, so this invitation was probably a Hongmen Banquet? Moreover, the Crown Princess is pregnant, in case there is an accident, it is a big deal.

Zhou Xian Yao busy said: “Daming Palace banquet is about to start, Crown Prince late is not good.”

Sister Fang just stared at Zhou Xian Yang and Rong Xiang Xiang: “Empress Dowager only has a few words to say, so it won’t take long. His Highness the Crown Prince has been ordered to supervise the country, the Empress Mother knows the big picture.”

This is a straightforward statement. Zhou Xian Yang wasn’t afraid of what waves she could stir up nowadays, but only glanced worriedly at Xiangmian.

She rubbed her stomach and laughed, “Go ahead. After all these years, this is the first time I’ve been invited by the Chengqian Palace.”

Zhang was dressed in the queen’s clothing system, sitting on the phoenix seat of the queen in the main hall of the Chengqian Palace, bright and colorful as ever. Even after the loss of a son, family defeat, years of frustration, still does not change the bones of a self-belonged a favored arrogant temperament.

Seeing the crown prince and the crown princess, to the outside of the temple, she took the initiative to stand up and walk down the phoenix seat.

“See Empress Mother, I don’t know what the Empress is calling for, what is her instruction?” Zhou Xian Yang stared warily at Zhang who was getting closer and closer, and saw that she walked in front of Rong Xiang Xiang Xiang and reached out her hand.

Zhou Xian Yang pinched her wrist.

The slender green onion fingers, the nails dyed with the juice of the phoenix flower, obviously so moving, to Zhou Xian Yang it was like a devil’s claw.

She did not make any further movements, but only asked softly, “How many months has it been?”

Xiang Xiang said, “More than five months.”

“Fortunately, I didn’t make a big mistake in the first place after all.”

“……” The two men were a bit strange, was Zhang apologizing?

“Is the child moving well?”

“This child is very quiet and doesn’t kick me much.”

“It’s one that will love people. Unlike that little one of mine, kicking at night makes it hard for me to sleep.” Zhang said, her eyes fell into the emptiness of memories, tears fell silently, and her voice choked, “I was so angry one day in my dream, I gambled and said, if you don’t behave well again, I won’t want you ……”

“Empress ……” Rong Xiangxian somehow, at this moment actually some empathy for the sour.

“It was me who cursed my own child ……”

Zhou Xian Yang sighed, “Empress Mother, my mother was wronged, but you don’t have to blame yourself excessively. The child’s death is not your fault.”

Zhang raised her head and glanced gratefully at Zhou Xian Yang, “Yu is more blessed than me, her own child has not seen her for so many years, and she still believes in her unconditionally and loves her.”

After saying that, she lowered her body and gave them a big bow, “In the past, it was my ignorance that hurt you all so many times. I don’t dare to ask for your forgiveness either, I only hope that you can hear this apology from me.”

Zhou Xian Yang had indeed always hated Zhang, but now that he saw her like this, there was no pleasure in it, instead, a wave of uneasiness flooded his heart, and he always felt that these words were like an explanation of his last words.

“What do you know?”

“I know all.”

“Imperial Tomb!” A flash of light flashed in Rong Xiang See’s mind and he covered his mouth, suppressing these two words.

Zhou Xian Yang also immediately understood: “You went to see my mother at the Imperial Tomb and she told you the truth, didn’t she?”

“It wasn’t her, it was Amber! The maid who has been by your mother’s side all these years, she is the one who killed my child ……”

“Aunt Amber? Impossible!” Zhou Xian Yang couldn’t believe it, that was the person he and his mother trusted the most, the maid of honor that his mother had grown up with since childhood. Rong Xiangshi held Zhou Xianyang’s trembling hand tightly and calmed him, “Don’t be anxious, listen to her.”

“It’s her, and it’s not her …… It’s the Emperor who blackmailed her with her parents’ lives and tampered with the ginseng soup that the Empress rewarded me with. Empress Yu has always been virtuous, treating the concubines and imperial sons of the harem well, so I didn’t even think that there would be a problem with that bowl of soup. That night, when I went to kill Yu, she finally had a bad conscience and told me the truth. She said that both of her parents had died last year, and that she had nothing left to worry about.”

Zhou Xian Yang was silent for a moment and took a deep breath, “What are you going to do?”

Zhang sneered, “He used my elder brother, cheated my feelings, killed my child, and calculated the Zhang family for a lifetime …… I naturally want him dead. With him dead, you can rightfully succeed the throne.”

After saying that, she gently touched Xiang Xiang’s stomach as she wished, “When you become the emperor, you must treat your empress and child well ah, don’t be like your father ……”

Zhou Xian Yang nodded: “You just go ahead and do it, it will be fine.”

Empress Zhang looked surprised, “What?”

“You just go ahead and kill him, I’ll make sure you’re not guilty.”