nycdaug Chapter 55 The Time Traveler Who Was Cannon Fodder (8)
Chapter 55 The Time Traveler Who Was Cannon Fodder (8)
"Why are you talking about him again?"
Xie Yuanshuang was actually quite annoyed when Lu Changqing mentioned the prince. Every time he mentioned it, it would hurt her heart, and she didn't like to hear it.
Lu Changqing knew that Xie Yuanshuang didn't like to listen, and she didn't like to talk either, but what could he do? Since he was already here and had said so much, one or two more words wouldn't matter.
"Don't always avoid this issue. Since you are going to marry the prince, you need to consider these things in advance."
Lu Changqing said earnestly: "Why do I tell you the story of Liu E? It's because compared with many emperors, the emperor in this story really treated Liu E well. Even though Liu E had no children in the past ten or twenty years, he still favored her. After the death of the second queen, he wanted to make Liu E the queen despite the opposition of his ministers. For this matter, he negotiated with the ministers for five years. Liu E survived from the age of 37 to 42, and finally became the queen.
Liu E was illiterate, so he taught her; Liu E had no children, so he gave her the only prince he had with Liu E's maid, and asked her to raise him together with another concubine named Yang; when Liu E became the queen, he also asked her to read memorials with him and discuss state affairs.
After hearing this, do you think that this is enough to prove that the emperor loves this queen whom he has doted on for half his life?"
Since Lu Changqing asked this, Xie Yuanshuang guessed that something bad must have happened.
"Later, the emperor became seriously ill, and Liu E gradually took control of government affairs. When Liu E was 49 years old, the stars changed, and after divination, it was concluded that "women will prosper". The emperor began to be wary of Liu E, fearing that she would shake the Zhao family's rule, and wanted to order the crown prince to supervise the country. Of course, this matter was eventually exposed, and the emperor was wavering, and finally put all the blame on the prime minister at the time."
Xie Yuanshuang asked, "What happened next?"
"Later, the emperor died and left a will that said 'The queen shall be honored as the empress dowager, and the empress dowager shall be in charge of all military and national affairs.' The prime minister at the time wanted to sideline Liu E, but Liu E dealt with him severely. The prime minister was dismissed, his property was confiscated, and he was banished to a remote place to wait for death."
"No more? It feels like things are never over."
Lu Changqing said calmly: "Of course there is more, but you may not like to hear the rest of the story."
"Go on, I want to listen."
Seeing Xie Yuanshuang's curiosity, Lu Changqing continued, "She wanted to be the emperor later, but she was feared by the ministers and finally gave up. She only wore the emperor's robes to worship in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
Xie Yuanshuang was shocked: "How can a woman like her become an emperor?"
"Yes, how can a woman be an emperor? But there really was a woman who became an empress. This is why the court officials were so afraid of Liu E, fearing that she would take away the Zhao family's kingdom just like Emperor Wu took away the Li family's kingdom."
Xie Yuanshuang took a deep breath, "Really... there is really a woman who is the emperor?"
"Why would I lie to you? That woman is the first female emperor in the country where I live. She has been scolded since she became emperor, especially during the time when Liu E lived. That woman, in the past five thousand years, she is the only sinner in the history.
At that time, a man praised himself and cursed the two women. He said: When Empress Zhangxian Mingsu was in power, Your Majesty was controlled by others and the imperial power was weak. But Empress Zhangxian Mingsu did not end up usurping the throne like Wu Zetian did in the Tang Dynasty. It was all thanks to the rescue of loyal ministers that Empress Zhangxian Mingsu had to restrain her desires. Your Majesty was able to preserve the throne because of the merits of these loyal ministers. Empress Zhangxian Mingsu was Liu E, and Wu Zetian was the female emperor. "
Lu Changqing smiled sarcastically, "Isn't it ridiculous? These men clearly look down on women, but they are terribly afraid of women, especially women who hold high positions and power."
Xie Yuanshuang remained silent for a long time after listening to this. After a while, she took a deep breath, straightened her back and encouraged herself, "I am not Liu E."
Lu Changqing nodded and said affirmatively: "Yes, you are not Liu E, but the prince will be the emperor in the future. That emperor has many noble ladies from famous families in his harem, but in the end, they are not as well off as Liu E, who came from a poor family."
Xie Yuanshuang: ...
Lu Changqing glanced at Xie Yuanshuang and saw that she was pursing her lips tightly and looked angry. He kindly reminded her, "You still need to practice your tolerance. I just said a few words to you and you couldn't stand it. If the prince becomes emperor in the future and really recruits concubines, you will have a lot to bear."
Xie Yuanshuang: ...
"You always say things like this to irritate me. Aren't you afraid that I won't marry the prince?"
Lu Changqing blinked, and the feeling of exhaustion came back again.
"To be honest, whether you marry the prince or not has no influence on me. I hope you marry the prince because with your status and background, your father will definitely marry you off for an alliance. Nowadays, all the nobles have three wives and four concubines. Since all men are equally unfaithful, you should marry the most powerful one. If he dies early, you will be the most noble woman in the world."
Xie Yuanshuang looked at Lu Changqing disapprovingly and said, "Do you want me to imitate Liu E, the hen crowing at dawn?"
"Don't use such harsh words." Lu Changqing glanced at Xie Yuanshuang, "Besides, I really don't think you have the ability of Liu E."
The talks between the two sides ended unpleasantly again. Looking at Xie Yuanshuang's back as she left angrily, Lu Changqing shrugged and said let her go.
The two sides met again a month later, when Xie Yuanshuang came to tell Lu Changqing that she had left the Qi Mansion with her dowry.
Rong Guanhua was reluctant to let her go at first, but later Prime Minister Xie ran to the palace and hugged the emperor's thighs and cried bitterly. The eunuch brought the imperial edict to the general's mansion, and only then was Xie Yuanshuang able to leave with her dowry.
"I thought my mother would let me go if she told her about returning home."
Lu Changqing ate melon seeds and said, "It's normal. The General's Mansion is about to fall. You have so much dowry, but you only have a living Goddess of Wealth. As long as you are still in the General's Mansion, she will have no worries about food and clothing. And after you leave, she will be the only one in such a huge General's Mansion. She doesn't even have someone to accompany her in her widowhood. How lonely she must be."
"My mother said so too." Xie Yuanshuang said with a lonely look.
Lu Changqing spat out the melon rind in his mouth and said, "Your mother is a sensible person."
Xie Yuanshuang blushed a little, and whispered, "Just now the prince sent a message to invite me to go boating on the lake tomorrow."
Lu Changqing congratulated him insincerely: "Congratulations! Remember to notify me when the imperial decree granting your marriage comes down."
Xie Yuanshuang's face turned even redder, "Not so fast yet."
Lu Changqing pinched melon seeds and tapped the table, then asked about the business: "When are you going to take action against the Fourth Prince?"
The shyness on Xie Yuanshuang's face faded, and he restrained his expression and said seriously: "In the previous life, the Fourth Prince did a lot of corruption and bribery in order to raise private soldiers in order to rebel. Later, he even withheld the court's disaster relief funds, causing starvation in Guangling and the people's livelihood was in dire straits. My father is going to find evidence of his corruption, bribery, raising private soldiers, and privately making weapons and present it directly to the emperor, so that the emperor can make the final decision."
"Is it necessary to go through so much trouble? Isn't it enough to just find someone to assassinate him?" Lu Changqing said as he made a gesture of wiping his neck with his hand.
"No, my father said that the emperor must personally deal with the Fourth Prince's rebellion."
"Using the Fourth Prince's ambition to highlight the Crown Prince's obedience and understanding?"
Xie Yuanshuang nodded.
Lu Changqing pulled the corner of his mouth: "Your father is not afraid of getting into trouble. What if the emperor does not follow the usual path and thinks that the prince is as ambitious as the fourth prince?"
"I told my father about this possibility, but my father said that His Majesty is not that kind of person, otherwise he would not have appointed a crown prince so early."
Well, since the protagonists have already made a plan, Lu Changqing will not interfere.
"I heard from the maid in the other courtyard that you have been teaching the maids in the other courtyard to read recently?" Xie Yuanshuang suddenly asked about Lu Changqing's teaching.
Lu Changqing nodded boredly: "It's too idle here, find something to do."
"Do you want to follow me?" Feeling that there was some ambiguity in her words, and afraid that Lu Changqing would misunderstand her and ask her to be his servant, Xie Yuanshuang hurriedly explained: "I'm not really asking you to serve me, but to stay by my side like an aide and help me with my plans."
Lu Changqing joked: "Don't you think I'm annoying and my words are unpleasant to the ear?"
Xie Yuanshuang smiled shyly: "Sometimes it is a little bit, but I know you do that for my own good."
Lu Changqing nodded: "As long as you don't dislike me, I will go to the East Palace with you when your wedding date with the prince comes."
Xie Yuanshuang held Lu Changqing's hand and thanked him sincerely, "Thank you." Then he remembered something, "Come to think of it, I still don't know your name. It's a bit impolite to call you "you you you" every time."
Lu Changqing pointed to his chest and said casually: "My name is the same as hers, also Fang Ming'e."
Xie Yuanshuang did not comment on Lu Changqing's words. She probably knew in her heart that the other party obviously did not want to tell her his real name.
But the name is not a very important thing, as long as the person is by her side, that's enough.
The Crown Prince's wedding came earlier than the Fourth Prince's fall. Many officials in the court had complaints about the Crown Princess Xie Yuanshuang. Although she came from a prominent family and her father was an important official in the court, she had been married before and was a widow, so her reputation was not very good.
Lu Changqing sneered at this. It was obviously Qi Cheng who had a bad luck, but he blamed the woman for being unlucky. How could such a thing be justified in this world?
The process of the prince's marriage is quite complicated. It is not like in TV dramas where the princess is brought to the palace to worship heaven and earth and that's it.
I won’t talk about Najib’s previous name-asking, just the welcoming ceremony on the wedding day was complicated enough.
First, a temporary tent for the prince had to be set up at the gate of Xie's mansion. Before dawn, officials from the Eastern Palace would set out to beat gongs and drums and wait outside the Eastern Palace for the prince to wear his crown and ride in a sedan chair. The guards would lead or follow him according to etiquette. When he arrived at the palace gate, he would get off the sedan chair and sit on the carriage. When he arrived at Xie's mansion, he would get off the carriage and sit on the sedan chair. When he arrived at the tent, the prince would get off the carriage and enter the tent, and a large number of officials from the Eastern Palace would also enter the corresponding tents.
The complicated etiquette that followed was too much for Lu Changqing to handle. After the Xie family completed the procedures, Lu Changqing followed the phoenix sedan chair into the palace.
Next came the wedding ceremony. The wedding ceremony for the Crown Princess was similar to that for the Empress of the Central Palace. After going through the whole process, Xie Yuanshuang felt refreshed.
Lu Changqing had a look of disgust on her face. The reason was simple: it was the final step of the wedding ceremony and as the Crown Princess's attendant, she had to eat the Crown Prince's leftover food.
The emperor did not appear during the entire wedding process, as was the rule. Even when they were at Xie's house, Prime Minister Xie did not appear either. Xie Yuanshuang's mother only appeared once when she was instructing Xie Yuanshuang according to the procedures.
Xie Yuanshuang's married life can be described as sweet as honey. Lu Changqing's job is to follow Xie Yuanxiang every day and watch her and the prince being intimate. Soon good news came from the East Palace.
Xie Yuanshuang is pregnant.
This is a big deal. The 20-year-old prince finally has a successor.
Oh, my God, don’t ask why the prince got married at the age of 20. The reason for asking is to highlight the prince’s affectionate personality of not wanting to marry anyone other than you.
Xie Yuanshuang gently stroked her belly and smiled kindly.
Lu Changqing looked at Xie Yuanshuang's flat belly. In the plot, Xie Yuanshuang was pregnant with twins in her first pregnancy, a daughter and a son. I don't know how many babies Xie Yuanshuang is pregnant with now that the timeline has changed.
When Xie Yuanshuang was six months pregnant, a flood occurred in the south, and the fourth prince was ordered to go south to provide disaster relief. As in the second episode, in order to withhold the silver from the court for disaster relief, the fourth prince lied about the disaster in the memorial submitted to the capital, concealing the severity of the disaster. After refugees entered the capital, the court learned the true situation of the disaster in the south.
The Fourth Prince had a really big appetite. Of the 1.2 million taels of disaster relief silver and 50,000 shi of grain, he embezzled nearly half of it. The rest of the silver was exploited at various levels. By the time he arrived at the disaster area, he still had 20% left, which was considered merciful because of the mercy shown by his superiors.
In addition, the matter of the Fourth Prince raising private soldiers was also discovered. This was a serious crime involving conspiracy to usurp the throne. Even if his father was the emperor, he would not be able to protect him.
Upon hearing the news that the Fourth Prince had been demoted to a commoner and that his wives and concubines would be exiled to Fangzhou along with him soon, Xie Yuanshuang breathed a sigh of relief.
Her enemy was dead, and the biggest threat to the prince was eliminated. From now on, she could rest assured.
The fourth prince was exiled, and the task of going south to provide disaster relief fell on the crown prince.
The prince did not take this job on his own initiative, but was appointed by the emperor. Xie Yuanshuang had warned the prince that now that the fourth prince was exiled, he should not be too prominent and should not rush to show off in front of the emperor, but if the emperor asked him to go south to provide disaster relief, he should not shirk his responsibility.
Because she was expecting twins, Xie Yuanshuang would be due in just one or two months. Her belly was too big for her to travel far, so she did not travel south with the prince as she did in the second week's plot.
After sending the crown prince away, Xie Yuanshuang stayed in the Eastern Palace to take care of her pregnancy with peace of mind.
Xie Yuanshuang's belly is now so big that she can't see her toes when she stands up. As the fetus grows bigger, her weight has reached a level that she may never reach again in this life. Common late pregnancy symptoms such as frequent urination, urgency, and edema of the limbs have also emerged. The most uncomfortable days of pregnancy have arrived.
Xie Yuanshuang often looked at herself in the mirror and worried. She was afraid that she would not be able to lose weight during the confinement period. If she continued to gain weight, she was afraid that she would be disliked by the prince.
Lu Changqing was speechless, but considering the pregnant woman's feelings she did not say anything unpleasant. She just comforted her and told her that the prince was not that kind of person.
As a result, he was slapped in the face not long after.
The prince went south to provide disaster relief and returned to Beijing with a young and beautiful girl.
Lu Changqing: …
What a familiar plot!