The prince is more stable

Chapter 401: Palace Infighting
People who have both parents may not understand what Niao Niao does.

Although she had a carefree life, she chose to spend money to live in the suburbs of this remote and dangerous border town. Her purpose was to find her relatives. Although the hope was very slim, she still stayed there resolutely.

It is difficult for outsiders to empathize with the helpless people who desperately need family affection, and they just think this behavior is stupid.

Zhao Xiaoqian did not dissuade her, and even encouraged her to continue searching.

In the long process of searching for her relatives, that glimmer of hope is enough to make the rest of her life less painful.

"Were you abandoned near Zhending Prefecture?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

Niao Niao nodded: "Yes, you know that the Song-Liao border is very complicated. Song and Liao people, both military and civilians, have set foot inside and outside the border."

"And I was picked up by a passing Liao person. I was raised by him and forced to learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing and dancing. I became a chess piece of the Liao Kingdom..."

Niao Niao smiled bitterly: "To this day I still don't know whether I am a Song or Liao person."

Zhao Xiaoqian blinked his eyes non-stop. Having been addicted to film and television dramas, he began to imagine the bizarre life story of Niao Niao.

A feud between wealthy families? A princess of the Liao Dynasty? Her parents, both of noble birth, were hunted by political enemies and had no choice but to abandon their newborn daughter to protect her...

One day, he and Niao Niao were living a simple and ordinary life, when suddenly a group of men in black came to their door. When they saw her, they knelt down and called her "Princess" or "Princess".

Then, as expected, the three-year period has arrived. The head of the family has eliminated his political enemies and respectfully invited the princess or county lady to return to the city... no, to return to the capital.

And what about him?
A relative of the Song Dynasty and a duke of the current dynasty, if Niaoniao was really a princess of the Liao Kingdom, he would carry a door panel on his back and go back to Shangjing with her. When he arrived at her door, he would slam the door panel upside down outside her door, thus successfully infiltrating the enemy.

What follows is another wonderful "son-in-law" plot. He keeps a low profile at first and is bullied by the girl's family. Finally, people from the Song Dynasty come. The amazing thing is that they are still a group of people in black. They kneel in front of him and say that the three-year period has expired and ask the Duke to return to Bianliang.

Before he could take off, he certainly couldn't let go of the girl's family who bullied him, and he decisively hung them up and set them on fire...

The plot was so exciting that Zhao Xiaoqian was almost immersed in it, with a clear smile on his face.

Niao Niao, who was lying on his chest, saw his strange smile and couldn't help but pinch him hard.

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned: "What are you doing?"

"What dirty things are you thinking about again?" Niao Niao glared at him.

"How do you know that what I think is dirty?"

"Because your expression is so dirty!" Niao Niao said angrily: "You just got me, but your mind is thinking about other women!"

As she spoke, she bared her teeth, revealing two rows of pure white teeth: "Tell me, who were you thinking about just now?"

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment and said, "I don't know whether I should say this or not... I was just thinking about your mother."

Niao Niao was shocked: "My... mother?"

"Yes, before you interrupted my thoughts, I was thinking of burning your mother to death, and taking your father with me... Excuse me." Zhao Xiaoqian said honestly.

wave:"…………"

After a long silence, Niao Niao suddenly exploded, pounced on him like a little tigress, and began to bite and struggle with him mercilessly.

After a long time, they both got tired again.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at the irregular teeth marks on his chest and arms, as if he had been chased by a pack of stray dogs for five blocks, and suddenly felt tired.

"Let's break up, I'm tired." Zhao Xiaoqian regained the wisdom and calmness of a sage.

Niao Niao said weakly, "I'll deal with you after I recover."

"If we break up, the house will belong to you and I will leave with nothing." Zhao Xiaoqian emphasized.

"You can clean yourself up, but you are not allowed to leave the house." Niao Niao smiled, her beautiful eyes curved into crescents: "Also, this house is originally mine!"

The bite just now was very relaxing, and Niao Niao is in a very good mood at the moment.

"You came to see me today, did you miss me?"

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly regained consciousness and looked at her seriously, saying, "Oh, I almost forgot something important. I came to you today to take you away. Let's go back to Zhending City."

"Why?"

"The Liao Kingdom has mobilized 50,000 troops and is about to attack Zhending Prefecture. The area under Zhending Prefecture is very dangerous. If you live here, you will be slaughtered and looted by the Liao army at any time, so you must move away."

Niao Niao said in astonishment: "Are Song and Liao going to go to war?"

"Yes." Zhao Xiaoqian stared into her eyes and said seriously, "Don't do it now. If you dare to go against me on this matter, I will really punish you severely and hang you up and whip you." Niao Niao's face flushed, and she rolled her eyes at him and muttered, "What a weird hobby..."

"Okay, okay, I didn't say I wouldn't leave. Anyway, you said you would give me a home. From now on, wherever you are, I will be there too. We will never be apart."

"That's not necessary. I've just decided to break up with you. The mountains and rivers remain unchanged, and we'll continue our journey..."

Before he could finish his words, Niao Niao pounced on him again and opened her mouth to bite him.

"Asshole! Big asshole! Why didn't I see you were such a big asshole before!"

"Shut up! I'm going to fight back!" Zhao Xiaoqian was furious: "Fight back!"

…………

The war clouds are gathering in Zhending Prefecture and are about to break out.

The distant city of Bianjing was still a place of prosperity and joy, with scholars and officials toasting to the moon and common people working hard to make a living.

Even if the subjects knew about the war thousands of miles away, it would not have any impact on their lives.

In the morning, King Zhao Hao of Chu walked into Yanfu Palace and, led by the eunuch, into the Qingshou Hall.

The Qingshou Hall was the sleeping palace of Empress Dowager Xiang.

In terms of status, Empress Dowager Xiang was Zhao Hao's sister-in-law, and Zhao Hao was the Empress Dowager's brother-in-law.

This brother-in-law has been acting a little strangely lately, and his actions have troubled the Queen Mother quite a bit.

When Emperor Shenzong was alive, Zhao Hao's relationship with the harem was not too distant, but he still kept his distance from the emperor's sister-in-law.

Later, after Emperor Shenzong passed away, the Empress Dowager took control of the government. She was particularly fond of Zhao Hao, after all, he was her biological son.

Zhao Xu was too young to take power, so Zhao Hao often went in and out of the palace, mainly to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.

Later, the Empress Dowager passed away, and Zhao Hao lost his mother, and he finally stopped doing things. In the next one or two years, he rarely entered the palace unless he was specially summoned by the emperor.

Now, for some unknown reason, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu has started to frequently enter the palace again. His main purpose is to seek an audience with Queen Dowager Xiang, and then to give her all kinds of gifts and flatter her.

The first few times, Empress Dowager Xiang summoned him with a pleasant face. They were all family, and Zhao Hao's eloquence was particularly likable. He didn't follow any royal etiquette at all. He kept calling Empress Dowager Xiang "Imperial Sister-in-law", which made Empress Dowager Xiang smile.

After winter came, Zhao Hao went to the palace more and more frequently, and the gifts he brought became more and more expensive.

What's even more troubling is that gossip has begun to spread in the palace.

After all, one is the widowed emperor's sister-in-law, and the other is the divorced brother-in-law. Their ages, identities, and the frequency of their meetings... it's hard not to cause gossip.

The gossip became more and more unpleasant, and even Empress Dowager Xiang herself could not help but grumble in her heart.

Could it be that this guy really has some unrealistic thoughts about me?

One is the empress dowager and the other is a prince. The more noble their status, the more attention they will attract. If there is any palace scandal, Zhao Hao is a man and has a thick skin, so it doesn’t matter. But will she, the empress dowager, still be able to survive?

So later, whenever Zhao Hao came to the palace to give gifts or ask for an audience, the empress dowager would politely refuse to meet him most of the time in order to avoid suspicion.

Zhao Hao, this seemingly honest fat man, was indeed thick-skinned. After being rejected once or twice, he seemed to have no idea what was going on and still insisted on asking for a meeting, like a shameless dog pursuing a goddess, making the queen dowager both scared and irritated.

Today Zhao Hao entered the palace again, yes, still to ask to see the Queen Mother.

It’s New Year’s Eve, such an important festival, how can His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu miss the opportunity to give a gift to the Empress Dowager?
This time, Empress Dowager Xiang did not refuse him and finally summoned Zhao Hao to the Qingshou Hall.

There is no need to avoid suspicion today. There happen to be guests in the birthday celebration hall, so there is no need to avoid suspicion in front of the guests.

The guest's name was Zhao Ji, the younger brother of the current emperor, and he was granted the title of Prince of Suining. He loved calligraphy, painting, and all kinds of strange and bizarre stones...

Of course, I love the Queen Mother more.

His biological mother had passed away as early as the fourth year of Yuanyou, and now Empress Dowager Xiang was his biological mother.

After all, Zhao Hao and Zhao Ji were uncle and nephew, so Empress Dowager Xiang felt that there was nothing wrong with summoning Zhao Hao in front of Zhao Ji.

We are all family.

But what she didn't expect was that this uncle and nephew had already been enemies and could not coexist.

So when Zhao Hao walked into the Qingshou Hall holding a small box carved from white jade, Zhao Ji's face suddenly became ugly, with an expression of suppressed anger and unspeakable fear.

(End of this chapter)