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

Just as the ghosts of Liu Meiren’s concubines expected—

Early the next morning, news of the prince and princess's bridal chamber spread throughout the imperial city.

The Queen Mother, the Empress, and even Concubine Yue, who was lying in bed to nurse her fetus, and Princess Pingyang, who was thanking guests behind closed doors, all sent rewards to the East Palace with great fanfare.

The emperor also asked the new eunuch in charge, Eunuch Cao, to personally deliver the oral message, "In consideration of the hard work of the prince and the princess in recent days, the prince is specially allowed to rest for ten days. He does not have to go to the morning court or enter the palace to pay his respects."

After such an operation, not only Shen Lingxi but also Chu Yan, who had not thought so much before, felt a little surprised.

The two simply left the capital and first went to Wangxian Village to pay homage to Old Shen and Mrs. Wang. Then, they went to the Imperial Mausoleum again to pay homage to Chu Yan's deceased parents, Emperor Xiaode and Queen You'an.

It was the anniversary of Emperor Xiaode's death, so the two of them stayed in the imperial mausoleum for a few more days.

When they returned to the capital, things were already changing in the imperial city.

First, Xuanping Marquis Shen Ji, who had kept his filial piety at home because of the death of his mother, was regained by the emperor. He took charge of the palace guard again and continued to be the commander of the Huben Army.

His three sons, Shen Huacheng, Shen Hualang, and Shen Huaxin, also held important positions in the Forbidden Army.

Then, Mu Huaijie, the second son of the Mu family who was demoted to a commoner, died suddenly. Mu Tiangang, the benefactor of the Mu family, was heartbroken by the death of his second son and went to the Qing Palace on Taiyi Mountain alone to practice Taoism.

As a result, the only remaining members of the huge Mu family were Mu Huaian in Yunjiang and Shen Yuyao, who was widowed.

The queen's illness had just improved, but when she heard the news of her nephew's sudden death, she vomited blood.

In order to relieve the queen's worries, the emperor specifically allowed Mu Huaijie's widow Shen Yuyao to enter the palace to accompany the queen.

Perhaps thanks to the blessing of Mu Huaijie's spirit in heaven, the queen's condition has finally stabilized since Shen Yuyao entered the palace.

However, despite this, the queen was lingering on the sick bed, and the concubine Yue was pregnant and raising a fetus. For a while, there was no one who could take care of the harem.

In desperation, the emperor could only go to Shoukang Palace in person to ask the Queen Mother to come forward and take care of the harem affairs for the time being.

Although the Queen Mother had not been in charge of affairs for many years, thanks to the help of the female officials and eunuchs serving in Shoukang Palace, she managed the harem in an orderly manner.

Naturally, these changes in the capital cannot be hidden from the eyes of Shen Lingxi and Chu Yan.

After Shen Lingxi returned to Beijing, as before, she went to Shoukang Palace every day to pay her respects.

Queen Xu was aware of the relationship between Shen Lingxi and Shen Yuyao, and did not deal with them. She declined Shen Lingxi's greetings on the pretext of being unwell.

Shen Lingxi was also happy and relaxed. After coming out of Shoukang Palace every day, he returned to the East Palace to review Beiya's files and deal with the important matters handed over by Ning Fu about the East Palace industry, coffin shops in various places and Fu'an Hall.

In the past few months, several major families in the capital had been involved in troubles one after another, and there was also the case of King Wei's murder of the emperor's heir. The number of people implicated had far exceeded the total number of offending official families since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty.

All civil and military officials are in danger, and they all behave with their tail between their legs. They are diligent and cautious in political affairs, for fear of making even the slightest mistake.

Under such a situation, Chu Yan was able to relax. He just followed Shen Lingxi every day, accompanying her to Beiya to interrogate cases, accompanying her incognito back to Wangxian Village to handle affairs, and from time to time accompanying her to complete the reincarnation lantern summons. The last wish of the dead soul.

There is a saying in Buddhism: From love comes sorrow, from love comes fear.

In the past, Shen Lingxi's work for the dead souls summoned by the reincarnation lamp was just a "business", with both money and goods being paid, and no one owed anything to the other.

But now, she is no longer alone. She has close relatives still in the world, friends far away, and a lover by her side. Shen Lingxi only wishes that they are safe and goes well, so she also begins to seek merit.

While accepting the commission from the dead soul, she humbly asked Su Xian for advice and practiced Taoism diligently.

I dare not say anything else, but I have made great progress in the formation process.

Today's Shen Lingxi can at least recognize the formations contained in the ancient books of the Qing Palace on Mount Taiyi.Shen Lingxi often wears Taoist robes when she goes out to perform rituals, and appears to be proficient in Taoist magic in front of others.

As a result, some rumors quietly spread among the people in the capital.

It is said that His Royal Highness the Prince is obsessed with beauty and political affairs.

It is also said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was bewitched by the Crown Princess and only knew how to revolve around his wife. If such a prince ascends the throne in the future, the world may have to change his surname to Shen.

Rumors were rumors, but the court was as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

The emperor turned a blind eye to Chu Yan's actions, and even the censor, who had always been sensitive to rumors, did not dare to say a word about these rumors.

First of all, no one wants to offend the two evil stars, the prince and the princess, at this time.

Secondly, after all, the emperor was in his prime in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was not afraid that the crown prince was fatuous and incompetent, but that he was too capable.

In a short period of time, the imperial court could no longer afford to deal with the matter of the crown prince and the emperor's heir.

Chu Yan behaved like this, and the ministers all acquiesced.

Therefore, in the rare peace and tranquility, time flies by like a white horse.

Spring to summer solstice.

Amid the chirping of frogs and cicadas, it’s the peak of summer again...

*
Since the beginning of summer, the weather has been too hot, so the Queen Mother and the tenth prince went to the palace to escape the summer heat.

Shen Lingxi no longer had to go to the palace to pay respects, and it was rare for her to be lazy. She stopped doing rituals that she usually did when leaving the palace, and only stayed in the east palace all day long, rarely going out.

This uncharacteristic behavior caused everyone inside and outside the palace to speculate whether the Crown Princess was pregnant.

Don’t blame them for thinking about the pregnancy——

In fact, in these short four months, there were no more concubines Qi and Queen Wei's mother and son in the imperial palace, secretly acting as monsters, and the emperor had indeed "worked hard" enough. The concubines in the harem were reported one after another. good news.

Even the empress, who had been judged by the imperial doctor many years ago to be physically injured and unable to conceive a child, miraculously became pregnant because of her "rekindled love" with the emperor.

However, after she got pregnant, the fetus was still unstable. She stayed in the Kunning Palace all day long to raise the fetus and ignored worldly affairs.

Compared with the Queen, Concubine Yue's fetus was already six months old and her fetal image was very stable. Before leaving for the palace, the Queen Mother once again left the management of the harem in her hands and sent capable people to assist her.

Because of this, the emperor would go to Concubine Yue's palace every day after the morning court to inquire about her welfare.

The rewards were carried like running water into Yue Fei's palace, giving Yue Fei her face.

Although Shen Lingxi could not leave the palace, Liu Meiren and the only two remaining concubines would come to her from time to time to bring her first-hand information about the various palaces.

That day, early in the morning, Liu Meiren came back from the harem in a hurry, with a look on her face that she had eaten something big.

"Do you know that the fetus in Kunning Palace was not conceived by the queen, but by your cheap fourth sister of the Shen family?"

Liu Meiren was so excited when she talked about the gossip, "It is said that on the fifteenth day three months ago, the emperor went to the Queen's Palace to have a meal as usual."

"Unexpectedly, in a moment of greed, he accidentally slept with Shen Yuyao as the queen..."