All the ancestors in the capital begged me to be a substitute

Chapter 255 There Are Always Boys Coming (Two in One)

The prince was going to Yunjiang just after he got married, which attracted disapproving glances from the courtiers.

In particular, he specially wanted to bring the Crown Princess Shen Lingxi with him.

The ministers went down to the court, and they all whispered:
"Since the prince got married, he has become more and more out of order. He only spends time in the prison all day long. He doesn't look like a prince of a country."

"The emperor and the queen mother are in favor of their husband and wife, what can we do in the long run, hey."

"The concubine Shen, after all, was born in the countryside, so she doesn't know the etiquette. It's just because of her fate that she is favored by the prince."

"This statement is also biased. After all, the Crown Princess is highly educated and has helped Embroidery Envoy handle several cases. This time, King Yunjiang died tragically in Beijing, and Princess Xiao was sentenced to hang again. The Xiao family is the first in Yunjiang. The aristocratic family controls hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in Yunjiang, if something goes wrong because of this matter... Yunjiang respects ghosts, gods and saintesses, so His Highness will go to Yunjiang and bring the crown princess with him, it will be safe, right?"

The person who said this was a young man about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a vermilion round-neck gown, with elegant and beautiful eyebrows, and a pair of dark and bright eyes, revealing a clear aura.

This appearance and age seemed out of place among a group of staid ministers.

Everyone stopped talking and looked sideways at him.

Seeing this, the young man hurriedly bowed to everyone, turned around with a smile and walked out.

"Who is this?" Many people saw him very unfamiliar, and couldn't help asking about his origin.

"Isn't this Li Huai, the youngest son of Yiyang Hou Li Xiangyang's family? He has been liked by the emperor since he was a child. No, the Mu family came out of Dali Temple and went to Yunjiang to become a general. Whenever there is a vacancy in Dali Temple, this So I begged the emperor to go in."

"I heard that the emperor accepted the concubine daughter of the Li family as a beauty. I am very pleased. Now that the Mu family and the Xie family have collapsed, the Marquis of Yiyang has decided to become a relative?"

"The Marquis of Yiyang's ability to be a relative...isn't it a matter of time!"

"Hey, there was Mu Huai'an in the past, and now there is Li Huai. Although the prince is not close to women, our emperor can work hard. The women in the harem should also be replaced."

"The emperor is in his prime of life, and in a few years, if the curse of Emperor Ruthless is lifted, the sky in the capital will not change, it's not certain..."

"Shh, be careful, let's go."

The discussions of the courtiers were quickly blown away by the sudden cold wind.

*
It was already a month later when Shen Lingxi followed Chu Yan and officially stepped on the carriage to Yunjiang.

One month is neither long nor short.

Fu'an Village has been completed one after another. Before the winter solstice, the widows and children of Shantang and some of the orphans of the Su family were resettled there, so that everyone can survive the cold winter and have a good year.

Since Shen Lingxi was about to leave Beijing, the affairs at hand had to be arranged according to the progress of at least three months.

The coffin shop, Fu'an Hall and Shantang that she was going to build in various places in Dazhou have already started construction.

There are also many industries left by the ancestors of the Shen family...

When Shen Lingxi gets busy, her feet don't touch the ground.

When she returned to the dormitory at night, she fell asleep.

Chu Yan was naturally much busier than her, and since he had already discovered that there was something strange about Mr. Zhenguo, they must make full preparations for their trip to Yunjiang.

For a whole month, the two of them lived in the same bedroom in the East Palace, but the number of times they met was very few.

There is no shortage of reasons why Shen Lingxi deliberately avoided the two of them being alone.

Among other things, the brocade quilt on the bed in the East Palace bedroom was stacked higher than a person.

At night, the tall quilt was piled up in the middle of the bed, and Shen Lingxi lay on the side of the bed, sleeping soundly.

The commotion was so big that the Queen Mother was alarmed later, and she specially sent Mother Gui to ask her what is the purpose of putting more than a dozen quilts in the bedroom.

Shen Lingxi pretended to be embarrassed and replied with three words: "I have a cold body."

So, Shen Lingxi stepped into the carriage to Yunjiang, and was in the same carriage as Chu Yan. It was the first time in this month that she was alone with him for a long time.

The carriage is spacious and comfortable, and in the open grid on the side, there is an exquisite food box containing her favorite fruits.

On the table, tea soup is gurgling, and there is a kind of warmth in the winter carriage.

It was rare for Chu Yan not to read the file, and he cooked tea with his hands in a leisurely manner, and handed the tea to Shen Lingxi.

Shen Lingxi took the cup of tea with a polite smile, took a sip, put it on her fingertips, and warmed her hands.

When she was bored, her eyes finally fell on the person opposite.

Today he was wearing a large cloak with fox fur trim, probably because of working too hard for the past few days, his whole person seemed to have lost a lot of weight, and his already sharp facial features became even sharper.

However, the soft snow-colored fox fur weakened the sharpness a bit, making his handsome face look like snow falling in winter, adding a little bit of elegance and coldness.

Sensing Shen Lingxi's scrutinizing gaze, Chu Yan slightly raised his eyelids, imitating her, holding the teacup with his knuckle hands.

He picked up a topic at random, pretending to be casual and asked: "Is there any movement in Wuerda these days?"

Mentioning Wuerda, Shen Lingxi smiled, her beautiful face became brighter because of this smile.

"Liu Meiren and the others chased after him all day long, told him to call him 'Master', and told him that when the national teacher served the former emperor, those groveling old Huang Li made him mad."

"I also asked Meiren Liu to take him to Beiya, saw Yun Chong, and told him that it was Yun Chong who sold him. Now that he sees Yun Chong, he wished he could tear Yun Chong up."

When she went to Yunjiang this time, she naturally asked Chu Yan to bring Yun Chong with her.

Now that they have returned to their homeland, it is natural to go back neatly together.

Chu Yan looked at her with a faint smile on his lips.

When talking about topics related to Yunjiang, her expression was always much more lively than usual.

Seeing him, Shen Lingxi smiled and said nothing. She didn't want to leave the scene alone, so she found an excuse to ask: "Where is Your Highness? Lord Cha Zhen, what did you find?"

"Half a month ago, the ancestors of the Zhen Guogong's mansion returned to their hometown in Suzhou. Counting the days, when we arrive in Yunjiang, the old lord will also be in Yunjiang." Chu Yan pointed out. typical.

Shen Lingxi was slightly taken aback.

Although Dazhou did not explicitly prohibit it, the family members of the generals on the border accompanied the army.

But this is a rule handed down from generation to generation.

The ancestor of Zhen Guogong was at least sixty years old, and it would take at least a month's journey from the capital to Suzhou and then to Yunjiang.

From here to the west, there is no waterway, only land. The hardships along the way can be imagined.

What's more, the old man is already weak, the west is bitterly cold, and it is winter now, no matter how you think about it, it is not the best time to travel.

"Does the emperor know about this? What does the emperor say?" Shen Lingxi asked.

Chu Yan: "The ancestor of the Duke of Zhen's family is ill, and he fears that he will die soon. The emperor acquiesced in this matter, and also hopes that if the ancestor dies of illness, the Duke of Zhen will not need to return to Beijing for the funeral."

"After all, there is a new mourning in Yunhong Mountain, and Yun Huang is too young, and he has no mother to rely on behind him, so he may not be able to convince the public. There can be no less Duke Zhen in Yunjiang."

A flash of surprise flashed across Shen Lingxi's eyes.

According to what Yun Hongshan said earlier, when Yun Wang left Yunjiang and came to Dazhou, his reputation in Yunjiang had already been ruined.

Now even if Yun Wang sat on the seat of Yunjiang King, it would be difficult to deal with those families headed by the Xiao family.

But it doesn't matter, she will make a move when she goes to Yunjiang this time.

The Xiao family, since they cheated her back then, they should pay their due price.

Shen Lingxi smiled lightly, turning her eyes sideways to hide the thoughts in her eyes.

Inadvertently, through the gauze curtain of the car window, she saw a young man in vermilion clothes, walking with Chunjun on horseback.

The young man's appearance is very beautiful, and there is a vigorous vitality all over his body, like the morning dew, with a kind of clear aura.

"Who is that? Why have you never seen it before?" Shen Lingxi asked curiously.

Chu Yan glanced outside: "Li Huai, son of Li Xiangyang, Marquis of Yiyang."

When Li Xiangyang was mentioned, Shen Lingxi raised her almond eyes slightly.

Although she was busy with the affairs of Fu'an Village in the past few days, she also heard a lot of gossip in the palace.

Li Xiangyang's daughter, Li Yuejiao.

It was in Yongtai Palace, the noble girl who was flogged by Bingqing county lord Mu Xue'e.

It turned out that the emperor wanted to marry Chu Yan to be the Liangdi of the Eastern Palace.

Because she was injured by Mu Xue'e, she had to stay in the palace to recuperate.

I didn't think about it, I kept raising it, but after going back and forth, I met the emperor's eyes.

The emperor accepted her as a beauty, and he favored her every day.

The Yiyang Hou family also ascended to heaven because of this.

Shen Lingxi heard that the female officials in the East Palace were all gossiping, saying that the emperor loved this beauty Li so much that even the concubine Zhao Gui had never seen the emperor be so caring.

Thinking of this, Shen Lingxi suddenly remembered that the reason why Li Yuejiao was caned by Mu Xue'e was because she broke into the Qinzheng Hall of the palace after the banquet, and bumped into the emperor and Chu Yan.

Mu Xue'e hated her for secretly seducing Chu Yan, which is why she did it to her.

Later, Shen Lingxi also thought about this detail carefully.

There are only two roads from the banquet to Qinzheng Hall, and eunuchs guard each road.

It is indeed a bit far-fetched to say that I am lost.

People must have passed by on purpose, as for what to do, I don't know.

Shen Lingxi coughed lightly, and asked casually: "How did Li Huai stay with Chunjun? You and the Li family... didn't have much contact with each other before, how did you suddenly become so familiar?"

"He took Mu Huai'an's seat and entered Dali Temple." Chu Yan looked at her and smiled faintly, "I am not familiar with the Li family, but the emperor is, and this time the emperor asked him to follow the embroidered clothes to see and see. .”

Speaking of this, he paused, and then added: "When Li Yuejiao was in the palace, she went to the emperor. She had a low status in Yiyang Hou's mansion, and her aunt was not kind, so she had only one way to enter the palace. In the early years, the emperor She has a good relationship with the Marquis of Yiyang, and often goes to and from the Marquis of Yiyang’s mansion, and she should have met her a few times. In short, she is a smart person, and she knows that it is best for her to be able to cling to the emperor.”

His explanation made Shen Lingxi feel that he was asking like that just now, as if... a bit weird.

She lowered her head and took a sip of the tea soup. The rich tea fragrance spread between her lips and teeth, which made her calm down.

"It's not that she's smart." Shen Lingxi was thoughtful, "It's just a poor person who has nothing to rely on, her instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages."

"If there is a choice, who would be willing to enter the palace? It's a place that eats people." She sighed from the bottom of her heart.

Hearing this, Chu Yan's eyelashes moved slightly.

He has always understood that to Shen Lingxi, the imperial power and status that everyone desires is a bondage.

It was he who selfishly forced her to marry into the East Palace.

"I'll do what I can to change it," he promises.

Shen Lingxi smiled, changed the subject, and asked curiously, "Since Li Yuejiao's aunt is not kind, is it true that Li Huai and Li Yuejiao are not easy to deal with?"

She knew too well what a woman would do in order to survive.

Since Li Yuejiao has seized the opportunity, with her strength and courage, she will definitely not be underestimated in the future.

Now that Li Huai is traveling with them, she naturally wants to find out.

Chu Yan's eyes drooped slightly, "Li Huai is not from Mrs. Yiyang Hou, Li Yuejiao has a close relationship with him, that's why the emperor treats Li Huai so favorably."

"You don't need to pay attention to him this time. After arriving in Yunjiang, I will throw him to Mu Huai'an, so that he won't disturb your peace."

Shen Lingxi smiled and nodded.

This is the best.

She still has a lot of things to do when she arrives in Yunjiang, but she doesn't want to be left behind.

*
It was a long road, and for several days in a row, the two of them just drank tea and chatted with each other.

It's also relaxed and happy.

Perhaps because the two are now husband and wife, when Shen Lingxi faced Chu Yan, she lost the sense of awe she had before.

In front of Shen Lingxi, Chu Yan also deliberately suppressed the cold and solemn aura around him.

As if back when we first met, he pretended to be a Confucian scholar.

For the first time, Shen Lingxi discovered that such Chu Yan was a very good chat partner for her.

He was never aggressive.

For the things she didn't want to say, she stopped in time and didn't ask any more questions.

Because of this, Shen Lingxi was more willing to take the initiative to share some interesting stories with him the closer he got to Yunbian City.

"We are going to celebrate the Spring Festival in Yunjiang this time. I heard people say that Yunbian City is very lively during the Lantern Festival. The skilled craftsmen in Yunjiang start making lanterns in winter. On the Lantern Festival, there will be a lantern competition." Every household in the streets and alleys has to hang homemade lanterns."

"The most amazing thing is the puppet lamp. The puppet lamp made by the puppet door is simply unique in Yunjiang. Kui Nineteen will definitely know it. Let him teach me when the time comes and show you how to make it."

"The wine in Yunjiang is also very delicious. The pepper wine that was in front of the Yunjiang Palace that night is the most special kind of wine in Yunjiang. I heard that the real pepper wine is sweet and spicy. At least you should keep it After 20 years in the wine cellar, it will have that mellow taste, Yun Wangding knows where all the good wines are hidden..."

She said "hearing" every sentence, but her tone was so familiar, as if she had seen it with her own eyes and tasted it with her own mouth.

There is also a faint feeling of indescribable and unexplainable sadness, which is hidden in it.

At first, Chu Yan always listened with a smile.

At the end of hearing it, he didn't want to delve into it anymore, and he seemed to have a vague answer to the search for Shen Lingxi's identity.

She used to be from Yunjiang.

She knows the Yunjiang royal family well.

She has an unspeakable feeling for Yunjiang, she has love, but there are also other complicated emotions intertwined.

In fact, she didn't want to come back to Yunjiang.

Who is she...?

Before Chu Yan could think deeply, the carriage stopped leisurely.

Chun Jun opened the curtain from the outside.

In the afterglow of the setting sun in the lonely smoke of the desert, Yunbian City stands quietly in the distance.

The tall and wide city tower stood as it did six years ago.

Six years passed like a white horse.

In this peaceful and prosperous age, who else would remember the girl in red who was pushed down by her relatives on the top of the city tower on the day the war ended?

(End of this chapter)