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On the day of the Lantern Festival, the Emperor specially sent a palace carriage to pick up Pei Jingchen and Ming Xuan couple, causing a stir among the people in the Zhen Guo Gong Fu.
It was clear that the emperor's intention was to grant Wang a royal title, and even Yang Shi, the foolish wife of the crown prince, finally understood this. Her only legitimate son, Pei Jingxiao, would be able to inherit the title of Duke of Quanguo without any effort, which should have been a fortunate event, and she had secretly breathed a sigh of relief for this reason. However, for some unknown reason, after a brief moment of joy, another wave of discontent and suffocation surged up, causing her chest to feel extremely stuffy.
But the Yang family is no longer what it used to be, without the strong backing of her natal family, and her husband is a useless person. She no longer dares to take too much action for fear of being despised, otherwise, if she affects Pei Jingxiao's position, she will let the second house take advantage of it, which would be a loss.
In the carriage, Ming Xuan repeatedly savored the colorful expression of the Crown Prince's wife and couldn't help but chuckle, "The Emperor sent a palace carriage to pick us up, in order not to give us a chance to regret it, but unexpectedly, there was such an effect, Yang Shi was furious this time."
Restricted by the secular rules, Ming Xuan didn't want to be too obvious in dealing with Yang Shi, otherwise a big hat of unfilial piety would be put on her head, and good things could be said to be bad. But she wasn't that kind of person who was willing to suffer losses. Whatever secret arrows and calculations Yang Shi had, Ming Xuan accepted them one by one and returned them without being too heavy or too light. In fact, since she married into the Pei family, she hadn't caused any trouble for Yang Shi, but every time she saw Yang Shi being stifled, her mood would still be exceptionally good.
Pei Jingxuan's eyes flashed with disdain, and he said in a low voice, "Although Yang is stupid, her heart is very black. In recent years, she has not hesitated to use her brother Yang Dang's hands to do dirty things, and even took away my mother's dowry. Recently, she has set her sights on my maternal grandfather."
His eyelashes trembled slightly, and a few cold smiles played on his lips. "My great-grandfather was a renowned general in his lifetime. He was a master of strategy, and the enemy would lose their courage at the mere mention of his name. The people praised him as an undefeated war god. He had conquered Western Xia, defeated Southern Liang, and shaken the Eastern Capital with his might. Although he eventually died on the battlefield in the north, he remained a man of unyielding will. His military discipline was extremely strict, which is why there were so many stories about his invincibility. If he had been like those bandits who plundered the people's wealth whenever they captured a city, then he would have been no better than King Chu Xiang."
The Xiang Chu Wang Fu has a small population, and the grandfather's salary and rewards are many. In theory, it is indeed considered to be wealthy, but the treasure that can rival the country, which is rumored in the streets, is not true. Unexpectedly, not only did Yang Shi believe it, but Yang Dang, this cunning and treacherous person, also followed along and started making trouble together."
The iron bucket is generally the Xiang Chu Wang Fu. Although it has been isolated for more than 20 years, it is not something that people like Yang Dang can covet at will. Now that the Yang family's power has declined, their obsession with that wealth is even deeper, and they have almost exhausted all the powerful people around them to get this treasure, but unfortunately, they will be disappointed.
Pei Jingchen paused for a moment before suddenly asking, "Do you still remember Miss Yang's third daughter?"
Ming Xuan was taken aback, "The eldest daughter of the Yang family, Miss Yang San. Is she the one who is engaged to Tan Hua Lang?"
Yang Lehong was rescued by Yan Qingye when she fell into the lotus pond, creating a heroic tale of saving beauty that shocked everyone at the time. She was on the same boat then, so it's not like she could forget about it. Moreover, Yan Xiaolang's gaze back then was too shocking, and she knew very well who he did such an out-of-character thing for. However, she didn't dare to think more about it, nor could she.
Her voice was tinged with a subtle bitterness and concern, "What's wrong with Miss Yang?"
Pei Jingchen's eyes moved slightly, and he pulled Ming Xuan into his arms. "These days have been helping to take care of me, but the news from outside has not been very smooth. Miss Yang is doing well, she also made some mistakes, but she met a good person. The Yan family is a humble official family, but their family style is very good, and they did not back out of this marriage because of the decline of the Yang family. On the contrary, in order to protect Miss Yang's reputation, they decided to advance the wedding date. The eighteenth day of the first month will be the grand wedding day for Yan Tanhua and Miss Yang."
"He said in a low voice, 'I have met Miss Yang San before. She has a good personality and is quite elegant, not like the daughter of the Yang family at all. Yan Tanhua marrying her is not a loss for him either.'"
Compared to the passionate and overbearing Han Xiu, Yan Qingyan, who is warm as jade and deeply affectionate, is actually Pei Jingchen's number one rival in her heart. Sometimes she would think that if it weren't for Han Xiu's reckless destruction, Yan Qingyan and Mingxuan would be a match made in heaven, admired by all. Yan Zhanhua's character, temperament, and behavior are all impeccable, and he is so serious and devoted to Mingxuan. Such a man can easily win the love and admiration of his wife, and is worthy of being loved.
But even the most beautiful feelings are just assumptions, now Ming Xuan is truly by his side, he can feel the temperature of her hands, smell the fragrance of plum blossoms in her hair, and feel her deep love for him, really possessing her. As the saying goes, "If you have a mind to plant flowers, they will not bloom; if you do not intend to plant willows, they will grow into shade." Perhaps this is the reason.
In front of Anhe Gate, the imperial carriage stopped and changed into a sedan chair. It happened to meet the Crown Prince and Princess of Qingping County.
The Lantern Festival banquet should have been held in the evening, but due to the recent heavy snowfall, it was feared that traveling at night would be inconvenient. Therefore, the Emperor specially changed the time and set up the banquet in the Jiaotai Hall. However, before the banquet began, male and female guests had to separate according to etiquette. The men went to the Huangji Hall to pay their respects to the Emperor first, while the women entered the Kun Ning Palace to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager. Then, at the appointed time, they were led by the palace maidens to the Jiaotai Hall for the feast. Men and women sat together in the same hall, seated according to their ranks, symbolizing the harmony of the imperial family.
Minghe was somewhat surprised to see Mingxuan, but she had been in the position of the county king's son for a long time and had some political sensitivity. She more or less guessed something, but she didn't think as deeply as Mingxuan, and simply replaced her sister with excitement.
The sisters of Yongning Houfu were originally not many, and in the past few years, two more had passed away. When she visited her natal home last time, she saw that there were only five sisters left in the hall, which made her feel a little melancholy. Even Mingwu, whom she used to despise the most, seemed more affectionate than before. As for Mingshuang, she was one of the sisters she valued the most. Now, running into each other in front of Anhe Gate, she felt delighted and pulled Mingshuang aside to chat with her for a while. This enthusiasm was somewhat out of character for someone who was normally so calm and collected.
The Prince of Qingping saw this and glanced at Ming Xuan.
Ming Xuan saw that the palace staff who led the way were somewhat impatient, and her mind turned quickly. She hastily paid her respects to the Sixth Prince of Qingping, "Sixth Brother-in-law, please take care of my father for me. He has a leg condition and is not very mobile."
She was thinking that with the current complex situation, it would be better for Pei Jingchen to continue sitting in his wheelchair, but she was also afraid that the emperor would send someone to test the authenticity of his leg injury. Alone, he couldn't do much, and he wasn't close to those relatives either. If there was someone who could help him out a bit, things would be slightly better.
The Prince of Qingping nodded, "Seventh sister, don't worry, with me here, nothing will happen to your husband."
He glanced at Minghe's slightly bulging belly and said with a smile, "Sixth sister is pregnant, it's cold and snowy outside, so please take care of her for me, Seventh sister."
After they had finished their conversation, they got into the soft sedan chair. Ming Xuan and Ming He rode together, chatting about some interesting trivial matters along the way, which made the journey not dull at all. Before long, they arrived at the Kun Ning Palace, the imperial palace of the empress.
The imperial concubines and princesses of the Dongping Palace, including two county ladies with titles, have arrived. The Princess of Ying County is closely following her mother-in-law and elder sister-in-law. Several elderly imperial concubines from other branches of the family are also seated in their designated positions. Imperial consorts with noble ranks within the palace have also begun to arrive one after another. The Crown Prince's consort and county lady from the Lin'nan Palace have taken their seats, making Minghe and her sister Mingxuan the last to arrive.
As they took their seats, the female official announced, "Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
Empress Pei emerged slowly from behind the beaded curtain, her bright and dazzling imperial attire making her look particularly radiant. Her complexion looked fine, except for a hint of fatigue at the corners of her eyebrows and eyes. She gently waved her hand, "Today is a family banquet, everyone is either an elder or a sister, no need to pay respects, hurry up and sit down."
She has been banned from the palace since the death of Shu Fei, and after the Phoenix Seal was taken away, it was Guifei and Huifei who jointly managed the inner palace. However, during the New Year's festival, when the ladies-in-waiting entered the palace to pay their respects, they couldn't just go and pay their respects to Guifei and Huifei, which would have disrupted the palace rules and damaged the dignity of the imperial court. Therefore, the emperor had no choice but to lift her banishment order. A few days ago, for some unknown reason, the emperor personally returned the Phoenix Seal to her, and even stayed overnight in Kun Ning Palace for several nights.
No matter what the emperor's intentions were, Empress Pei had regained her lost dignity and her complexion improved day by day. However, she was not an ignorant young girl and knew that the emperor's favor came with ulterior motives, so she harbored a secret worry in her heart and did not show any triumphant expression on her face.
Although she was the empress, she was very respectful to the old lady of Dongping. After inviting the old lady to take her seat, she chatted with several elderly ladies-in-waiting for a while, then exchanged pleasantries with each of the princesses and consorts who were present, before finally turning her gaze to Ming Xuan's face.
Ming Xuan saw Empress Pei beckon to her, and her heart skipped a beat. Compared to the many imperial consorts, princesses, and duchesses in the room, she had no noble titles, so she was seated at the very end. She had thought that if she kept her head down and avoided drawing attention to herself, she could get through the banquet without incident, but unexpectedly, the Empress had summoned her over directly.
No matter how reluctant she was, she could only stand up and walk stiffly to the front of the queen's seat and pay her respects.
The queen smiled and looked at her, "I heard that my sister-in-law could come today, I was delighted for a while. In the past few days, I was in the palace to pray for Buddha, praying for blessings for the emperor and the people, without having time to summon relatives from your family. How is everything going on at home? Is grandfather doing well? Are father, mother, uncles and aunts all doing well?"
She tightly grasped Ming Xuan's hand and stared at her without blinking for a moment.
"Ming Xuan's heart moved slightly, and he replied in a low voice, 'To answer the Empress Dowager's question, everything is fine at home. However, my grandfather caught a cold some time ago, and due to the cold weather, his condition has not improved. He has been resting at home to recover from his illness.'"
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