I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 71 The Queen

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When Zhao Ya ascended the throne and became emperor, Zheng Xiansu, who was engaged to Zhao Ya, would not only be a princess, but would have the possibility of becoming the queen, and would completely ascend to the throne and become a phoenix.

Just like Wei Zifu, who was originally just a singing girl in Princess Pingyang's mansion. By chance, she was noticed by Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, and from then on she entered the palace and gradually ascended to the position of empress, becoming the mother of the country. Even her younger brother Wei Qing and nephew Huo Qubing benefited from her and were able to realize their political ambitions.

Now, Zheng Xiansu's fate seems to have been rewritten at this moment. The future of her and her family is shrouded in brilliant rays of light, full of infinite possibilities.

For a moment, Zheng Xiansu seemed to be synonymous with the luckiest woman.

However, jealousy is always a dark color in women's hearts.

Many palace maids envied and hated Zheng Xiansu. They were jealous of his good luck, and made sarcastic remarks behind his back and even cursed him.

What they mean is that twenty-seven months is too long.

Such a long period of time is bound to be full of variables. If Zhao Ya changes his mind or something else unexpected happens, there is no guarantee that Zhao Ya will not make someone else the queen.

The key point is that today, everyone can see clearly that the reason why Zhao Ya married Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu as his princesses was mainly to tie him firmly to Empress Dowager Xiang through them.

Now, not only is Zhao Ya completely tied to Empress Dowager Xiang, he has even obtained the throne with the help of Empress Dowager Xiang.

Before Empress Dowager Xiang took power behind the scenes, Zhao Ya had completely seized the imperial power, and no one could stop him anymore.

At this time, Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu, two women from humble backgrounds, were no longer useful. If Zhao Ya didn't want them, even Empress Dowager Xiang would have no way to deal with him.

The most important thing is that after Zhao Ya ascended the throne, not only did he recruit all the palace maids that Zhao Xu had never touched, but the Ministry of Rites also carefully selected one hundred young and beautiful palace maids for Zhao Ya to fill his harem.

Zhao Ya suddenly had so many beauties, and there must be some who were younger, prettier, more obedient and sensible than Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu. It would be normal for Zhao Ya to fall in love with someone else.

Not only did the other palace maids have such speculation, but even Zhang Chun's four daughters thought it was possible.

Li Lin asked Zhang Chun, "Does it really have to wait more than two years before Empress Xiansu and Imperial Concubine Yisu can marry into the family?"

"Under normal circumstances, the new emperor of the Song Dynasty had to abide by the mourning system. Only in extremely special circumstances would he not abide by it or not fully abide by it," said Zhang Chun.

"What's going on?" Li Lin asked.

"First, if faced with an extremely severe military threat or civil unrest, the new emperor needs to quickly handle military and political affairs and focus more on resisting foreign enemies and suppressing rebellions. Therefore, the specific implementation of mourning can be adjusted."

"Secondly, if the new emperor has a strong personal desire and sufficient power and prestige, he may adjust the mourning system or not strictly adhere to it. However, the Song Dynasty placed more emphasis on governing the country through filial piety, so this situation was less common."

"The third type, such as emperors who succeeded to the throne through abnormal means such as coup d'état and forced abdication, may not abide by the mourning system. Zhao Ya was obviously not one of them," said Zhang Chun.

"In other words, Zhao Ya will definitely abide by the mourning system?" Li Lin concluded.

'Some people use the sun instead of the moon, but I don't want to talk about it,' Zhang Chun thought.

"Mourning and observing filial piety are important manifestations of filial piety. The new emperor's compliance with the mourning system can demonstrate his filial piety and respect for traditional etiquette to his subjects all over the world, consolidate the legitimacy and orthodoxy of his rule, prove the legitimacy of his succession, and reduce public doubts. Zhao Ya did not have Zhao Xu's succession edict in the first place. If he did not abide by the mourning system, the doubts about him would definitely not be small." Zhang Chun said.

The women understood that Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu would probably have to wait for more than two years before they could marry Zhao Ya. The prerequisite was that Zhao Ya would keep his promise and not think of changing the queen.

By the way, the risk here is not just Zhao Ya falling in love with someone else, but also the plots of some ambitious people.

Let’s not talk about the distant past, let’s just talk about Prime Minister Meng. She used to live with Zhao Xu, but wasn’t she also overthrown by Liu Qingjing using the witchcraft case and snatched away her position as queen?
There is no way. The queen is the most honorable position a woman can obtain, no doubt about it. Which woman would not covet it? Which woman who has the opportunity would not give it a try?
Furthermore, Zhao Ya was a newly ascended emperor whose foundation was still unstable. There was no guarantee that he would not abandon Zheng Xiansu, a woman from a humble family, in order to consolidate his rule and instead use the throne to win over one or more powerful groups. Therefore, it was hard to say whether Zheng Xiansu could take the position of empress.

Of course, the women, mainly Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng, were not concerned about whether Zheng Xiansu could become Zhao Ya's queen. What they really cared about was how they could get to Zhao Ya?
Empress Dowager Xiang, who had completely handed over power, was no longer of any use. If they stayed in Cide Palace, they would only be wasting their time and youth.

What they had originally agreed with Zhao Ya was that they would marry Zhao Ya together with Zheng Xiansu and Wang Yisu.

I didn't expect this to happen now.

Zhang Chun, who has already been promised the position of imperial concubine, does not have to worry about this matter. She can go to Zhao Ya at any time, and she can even bring "her maid" Ye Shiyun to Zhao Ya.

It is precisely because of this that Zhang Chun acted very relaxed, and even supported Zhao Ya's compliance with the mourning system in his words and deeds.

——If Zhao Ya strictly abides by the mourning system, Zheng Xiansu, Wang Yisu and Guo Ting will not go to Zhao Ya in the short term. Then she will be the woman with the highest status in Zhao Ya's harem. She is not the queen, but better than the queen. She will also be the most likely to replace Zheng Xiansu and become Zhao Ya's queen.

It is worth mentioning that Zhang Chun was very clear that Empress Dowager Xiang would also die more than a year later, and Zhao Ya would still have to abide by the mourning system.

In other words, as long as Zhao Ya strictly abides by the mourning system, Zheng Xiansu and the others will not have to wait for twenty-seven months, but forty months, a full three and a half years!!!

After such a long time, Zhang Chun felt that she would definitely be able to defeat Zhao Ya and make him make her the queen.

Therefore, Zhang Chun has decided to go to Zhao Ya tomorrow to seize the initiative.

In fact, Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng could also get to Zhao Ya through Zhang Chun.

However, Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng have decided to bypass Zhang Chun as the middleman and contact Zhao Ya directly. In this way, they will no longer owe Zhang Chun any favors, so that they don't have to repay Zhang Chun's favors in the future.

But without Zhang Chun, how can they, who are still palace maids, get to be with Zhao Ya?
Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng discussed it and decided to find an opportunity to meet Zhao Ya again to express their feelings directly and not take any more detours.

Just as Zhang Chun and Ye Shiyun were packing up to move, and Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng were planning how to meet Zhao Ya, Zhao Ya suddenly came to Cide Palace.

After receiving this news, Zhang Chun and Ye Shiyun stopped packing, and Li Lin and Yuan Qingcheng stopped planning. They hurried to meet Zhao Ya with many palace maids.

Then, Zhao Ya came to Cide Palace wearing a simple and elegant dragon robe.

Surprisingly, Zhao Ya did not become surrounded by people just because he became emperor. At this time, he was still accompanied only by Liang Shicheng and Tong Guan. Li Yan, Wang Bing, Cai Jing, Zong Ze, Zhang Shuye and other followers and guards who protected him were all stationed far away.

What made the people in Cide Palace feel warm was that Zhao Ya did not change his habits just because he became emperor. Instead, he still chatted with them about family matters as soon as he arrived at Cide Palace, just like before.

What moved these people most was that Zhao Ya could remember almost every one of their names.

In short, when Zhao Ya came to Cide Palace, it was like returning to his own home, just like before.

Zhao Ya was so steadfast in his loyalty that everyone in Cide Palace felt that Empress Dowager Xiang had made the right choice in helping him become emperor.

Soon, Zhang Chun arrived at the gate of Cide Palace accompanied by Ye Shiyun, and saw Zhao Ya chatting with a group of eunuchs, eunuchs, and palace maids.

Zhang Chun did not hesitate at all. She walked past the crowd and came before Zhao Ya, bowing gracefully: "Your Majesty, I, the concubine Zhang, pay my respects to you..."

……

(End of this chapter)