==Chapter 137==

What she had feared had finally happened.

Because she had been mentally prepared for a long time, although Jiu Niang's mood was a little complicated, she was not too surprised.

It's just-

Jiu Niang couldn't help but smooth the quilt under her hand, raised her head and asked, "Does Your Highness want me to do something?" ”

King Chu's face was still the same as before, but his eyes were a little complicated, hearing this, he glanced at Jiu Niang and said, "This king doesn't need you to do anything, just give you a wake-up." ”

Also, with the means of King Chu, how could she be used to make a move. His so-called reminder is probably the key point for himself, so that he can consider his relationship with Ruan Ling'er in the future.

Jiuniang breathed a sigh of relief, and at the same time her mood was more bitter, Zuo couldn't go back to the past, fortunately she still had a Cheng Wenjing.

"I understand." Jiu Niang nodded.

After drinking the medicine, Jiu Niang soon came up sleepy, and after seeing Jiu Niang fall asleep, the king of Chu left here.

went to the inner study, King Chu first read a few secret letters sent below, and suddenly raised his head and said to Chang Shun: "The matter of the prince and that Ruan Ling'er, don't say it in front of the princess." ”

Chang Shun was stunned for a moment, and quickly nodded.

For the East Palace, King Chu has actually never relaxed. All the big and small things that happened inside were reported in detail. Therefore, for some of Ruan Ling'er's previous actions, the King of Chu is well aware of it.

It's just that it didn't look obvious at the time, and although Jiu Niang didn't marry at that time, she was already the princess of Chu in terms of name, so the king of Chu never took this matter to heart. It wasn't until this time that the woman who seemed to be cowardly but was actually quite scheming once again took Jiuniang as a raft to approach the prince, and let the prince have sex with her as she wished, and the pimple that had been hidden in King Chu's heart for a long time finally surfaced.

When did the prince fall in love with Jiu Niang? Was it when Emperor Chengyuan proposed to make Xiao Jiuniang the crown prince's side concubine? The king of Chu was very unhappy in his heart. It turned out that when he didn't know it, another person was moved by the little person in his arms.

But the king of Chu felt that it was not, he felt that the prince had no reason to think about Jiu Niang, the two of them had only seen each other a few times, and they had never shown anything unusual when they met, but why did he care so much about Jiu Niang's affairs? Do you really just want to hear stories?

The king of Chu thinks that he has nothing to miss, and sometimes he can't figure out the strange thoughts of this imperial brother.

*

Such a major event happened in the East Palace, and the palace seemed to be safe on the surface, but in fact, only those people knew about the inner edge.

Anyway, now everyone's eyes are gathered in the East Palace, and King Zhao and King Cheng, who have been fighting secretly for a while, have finally stopped, including Empress Xiao and Concubine Liu, who have also restrained their small actions in private, probably to report the intention of temporarily ceasing to unite with the outside world.

At this moment, the King of Chu wanted to go to the hot spring village to recuperate for a while because of his leg disease, and he was accompanied by the princess of Chu, but he did not come in. Emperor Chengyuan was very satisfied with this son's knowledge, and at the same time, the eyes of King Zhao and King Cheng were even colder.

The days on the hot spring village are very leisurely.

Every day, Jiuniang doesn't have to care about anything, just sleep until she wakes up naturally, and after waking up, she just has to worry about what to eat today. The king of Chu also has a leisurely meaning, but Jiuniang knows that the king of Chu is not idle, and there are secret letters and official documents sent from all walks of life every day.

Time flies quickly, and in a blink of an eye, I entered Layue, and after leaving Chang'an City for more than a month, it was time to return home.

Slowly and leisurely collected their bags, and finally before the day of Laba, the king of Chu and his wife returned to the palace of the king of Chu. The next time is all busy, approaching the end of the year, there are many affairs to deal with in the house, although there are a few Sun Yi watching below, but Jiu Niang's side can't relax.

After all, this is the first New Year she has spent when she got married, the rewards from all over the house, the cutting of new clothes, the collection of accounts sent from everywhere, and the New Year's gifts of the officials and staff guards and leaders of the house, all of which need to be worried about by Jiu Niang. After all, others have been working all year round, and as the master, they always have to express, how to express, and how much to express, which is all a science. Things may not seem heavy, but here represents a part of the weight of the King of Chu. Buying people's hearts is indispensable at all times.

At the same time, there are also a cart of New Year's gifts sent from all over the place to the palace of the king of Chu, some in Chang'an City, and some in other places, as the top of the top book, the king of Chu has cultivated a lot of disciples and vassals over the years.

This is the first time Jiuniang has seen such a fanfare gift, saying that it is a New Year's gift, but in addition to local specialties, there are more gold and silver treasures and other things. Sun Yi and a few people were assigned a large number of people to take charge of these, and boxes and baskets of things were carried to the Chu Palace, and Jiu Niang was stunned and a little frightened.

In the end, it was only under the command of the King of Chu that he understood that as a knife prepared by Emperor Chengyuan for the crown prince, the sharper it was, the better. A cripple who has no 'future', works diligently for Emperor Chengyuan and works for the imperial court, what does he want? It's not a woman, it's naturally a day of extravagance and wealth, or wealth.

Moreover, not to mention that the king of Chu also has his own fief, although he is not an official, but the local officials on the other side of the fief inevitably send filial piety in the day, not to mention that it is the head of the New Year's Festival, such a good opportunity, it is a fool not to grasp it. These are all well known, and this is almost the case in the palaces of several other princes. As for the filial piety of the subordinates and even the vassals, it is counted separately, but the King of Chu is particularly eye-catching, but who makes the King of Chu powerful. Maybe King Zhao and King Cheng still have to take care of the wind in the court and their own character, but King Chu doesn't need to worry about these at all.

Jiuniang understood the key to this, and it was easier to receive gifts, and the inner and outer warehouses of the Chu Wangfu were full. Helplessly, Jiu Niang could only order someone to move some valuable items to her private treasury in the main courtyard, which could be regarded as adding some private money to herself.

At the end of the year, the court is also very lively.

Just like last year and even the year before that, the excerpts of the impeachment of the King of Chu came one after another, and fell on the dragon case of Emperor Chengyuan. The content of impeachment is naturally old-fashioned, such as wantonly accumulating wealth, selling official porridge, conniving at murder, and so on. This kind of excerpt is never less, there are one or two letters every day, but it is the most during the New Year's Festival, but Emperor Chengyuan generally stays in the middle and does not send it.

Seeing this, the ministers who impeached the king of Chu did not dare to say anything more except secretly scolding Emperor Chengyuan for really protecting the king of Chu.

*

On Chinese New Year's Eve, Emperor Chengyuan set up a family banquet in the palace.

This is the most solemn family banquet held by the palace in recent years, because several princes under the knee of Emperor Chengyuan have all got married, and this year's family banquet is not as cold as in the past, because the royal family has added several daughters-in-law.

The family banquet is set in the Lin De Palace, the first dragon seat is sitting on Emperor Chengyuan, a little lower on the right side is the Luan seat of Queen Xiao, and the first place under Queen Xiao is Liu Guifei. Emperor Chengyuan's left hand side is slightly above Empress Xiao is the crown prince, and the crown prince is headed by the crown princess and Ruan Ling'er, and as for the good women in the East Palace, they are located in an inconspicuous corner behind the oblique. It stands to reason that they can't participate in this family banquet, and the reason why they can come is because Emperor Chengyuan saw the face of the prince.

Slipping down on the left side are several adult princes of King Zhao and their concubines, and the underage King Liang is also there. And the opposite right row is headed by Princess Changping and her concubine Li Concubine, down is the palace concubine and concubines who have the merit of giving birth, and several princesses of Emperor Chengyuan are also there.

However, these princesses are all small and transparent in the palace, and they can also think of it, for their own sons, Emperor Chengyuan is not very attentive, let alone daughters. All the temperature in Emperor Chengyuan's heart was probably consumed on Empress Xiaoxianhui and the crown prince.

The first is the New Year's greetings, starting from the prince and the princes, even King Liang can say a whole set in a way. After a set of congratulatory messages, almost half an hour later, a light and beautiful music sounded in the hall, and then it was time for everyone to have a feast.

Emperor Chengyuan is indeed not very enthusiastic, and even on this occasion, he has a solemn face, but he can't stand the fun of the sons and concubines below.

In fact, it is conceivable who is coming to eat on this occasion, and if you want to eat, you will not eat at home. The imperial banquet on this table is indeed exquisite, but after such a long time, it has long been cold, and almost no one moves the chopsticks, and several princes are at most pretending to drink with wine cups.

Emperor Chengyuan was rarely open-faced, and he cared about the continuation of his sons' heirs, but in fact, he mainly said it to the prince, and the others were just going through the motions. Nowadays, everyone knows Emperor Chengyuan's mind very well, but the harmony on the surface must be maintained.

"Speaking of this imperial heir, Xi'er is here to congratulate the imperial uncle, and it will not be long before our Zhao Wangfu will add Ding." Meng Changxi suddenly said with a smile.

Although Meng Changxi is married to King Zhao, she still calls Emperor Chengyuan the emperor's uncle in the day, but everyone is used to hearing her call her, and no one corrects her.

As soon as these words came out, the hall suddenly fell silent. Everyone's eyes couldn't help but stare on the faces of King Zhao's family, and then followed Meng Changxi's meaningful eyes, and finally fell on Princess Zhao Liu Wan.

Princess Zhao half-hung her head, crossed her hands on her lower abdomen, and looked very shy. King Zhao's expression was not obvious, and he didn't seem to have any thoughts about Meng Changxi talking so much, but it was difficult to hide the joy on his face.

Emperor Chengyuan on the dragon throne, his expression was obscure, and asked, "King Zhao, when did this happen?" ”

King Zhao replied respectfully: "It's been three months since I returned to my father's words, because Wan'er's health has always been bad, so my son will keep it a secret, and I want to wait for the fetus to sit firmly before reporting the good news to my father." I didn't expect Sister Xi'er to please you, so she hurriedly said this, but it made her son miss this opportunity. ”

Meng Changxi pouted, looking embarrassed to look at Emperor Chengyuan.

Emperor Chengyuan laughed twice and said, "Don't blame Xi'er, she sees that today's day is special, and she wants to use this good news to make me happy." ”

Tsk, that's good news.

I didn't see the always calm King Cheng on the side, the wine cup in his hand was crooked, and the wine flowed out along the half-poured wine cup, and the palace lady who served behind him was quick-eyed, and quickly took a handkerchief and brushed away the wine, but it didn't attract anyone's attention.

King Cheng pinched the handkerchief that Princess Cheng had stuffed over, wiped the wine stains on his hands under the table, and refocused his attention on the field. During this period, there were already many interesting people who congratulated Emperor Chengyuan, although it was three or three, but in the end it did not cool down the atmosphere on the field.

Jiuniang stared at Princess Zhao's stomach with interest.

I'm afraid that there are many people who have the same actions as her at this time, and they all want to see whether this Princess Zhao is really pregnant or fake from the regulated princess. It's only been three months, and I haven't been pregnant yet, and the clothes in winter are thick, but I can't see it.

But logically speaking, it shouldn't be fake, unless King Zhao is head is squeezed by the door. It's easy to cheat for a while, but it's nothing else, it's a big deal to have a child, and when it comes to the month, you have to conjure up a child before you can be considered to have an explanation.

But if it's not fake, then I have to say that King Zhao and his wife are very bold.

Some people may not be able to see some of Emperor Chengyuan's thoughts, but I am afraid that none of the people present today will not be clear. Emperor Chengyuan's biggest hope now is not to live himself, but to see the birth of the prince's heir, and now there is still no movement in the prince's east palace, Princess Zhao has been pregnant for three months, what should Emperor Chengyuan think?

Don't say that the heirs are the biggest, and the descendants of the country and the society are important, if Emperor Chengyuan cares about this, he will not delay not marrying his sons.

Not to mention Emperor Chengyuan, King Cheng and King Zhao parted with each other for a day or two, the two were busy working during the day, busy digging pits to design each other, busy how to attract stronger help for themselves, and busy cultivating at night, that is day by day.

For what, everyone knows why, but he just wants to give birth to a decent grandson of the emperor so that the situation can tilt. Now that he has been driven ahead by King Zhao, and he is still pregnant by Princess Zhao, how can King Cheng endure this?

King Zhao's move undoubtedly put the entire Zhao Palace, as well as Princess Zhao, on the target, for fear that nothing would happen or what?

Not to mention becoming a king, even Jiu Niang is a little puzzled.

But she doesn't think it's that simple.

Jiu Niang's eyes slanted to the side, and exchanged a look with the King of Chu, seeing that the King of Chu's face was still calm and calm, Jiu Niang's heart calmed down.

Regardless of whether it is true or not, and what the situation will be, let's see first.

There was such a big accident, although everyone congratulated King Zhao with a smile on their faces, they were not in the mood for any family banquet. Emperor Chengyuan's attitude is not obvious, anyway, he can't find any problems on the bright side, and he doesn't know what he thinks in his heart.

After the family banquet, everyone dispersed, and I am afraid that tomorrow morning, the good news of 'Princess Zhao is pregnant' will be known to everyone.

*

According to the convention, there is no court before the fifth day of the new year, so I can't see any movement in the court for the time being.

But at the beginning of this New Year, when the families went around to visit relatives to worship the New Year, they were talking about Princess Zhao's pregnancy, and you can see how much impact this matter has.

Sure enough, on the sixth day of the new year, the first early dynasty of the new year, the ministers of civil and military affairs not only expressed their praise to Emperor Chengyuan, but also congratulated Princess Zhao on her pregnancy. Some of these ministers are sincere, some are watching the fire from the other side, some are building momentum for King Zhao, and some are fanning the flames.

No matter what, the court was boiling because Princess Zhao was pregnant.

Regarding this matter, the king of Chu and his wife also had a discussion.

According to what Jiu Niang thought, she felt that this matter was not as simple as it appeared, and the King of Chu had the same idea as her. But for a while, I can't see anything unusual for the time being.

But whether it is from the bright side or from the secret, everyone in Zhao Wangfu looks very happy and happy, and it seems that there is nothing greasy in it. It was also at this time that Jiu Niang learned that the King of Chu had also planted spies in King Zhao's mansion, but the spies did not find any useful news.

Is King Zhao stupid?

Obviously, he is not stupid, even if King Zhao is stupid, there is a not stupid Liu Guifei in the back.

So what is the purpose of this qiē? Could it really be that some people speculated, Princess Zhao and Concubine Meng did not agree, and Concubine Meng took the opportunity to poke out this matter in order to keep Princess Zhao from falling well, in order to pit Princess Zhao?

But how to explain King Zhao's attitude? Everyone knows that in King Zhao's mansion, Concubine Meng is more favored than Princess Zhao, is King Zhao really a person who cares about the cause in order to protect his beloved?

After all, people who think this way are only a small minority, and they are the kind of people who know the inside story very well, and for some ministers in the court, they can't manage these complicated things, they just need to know that this is good news.

Some of the courtiers who were vassal to King Zhao had been arrogant in recent days, and in the face of some old opponents who were vassals and became kings, their waists were much straighter. And those courtiers who were vassal to King Cheng, in addition to secretly discussing how to deal with this matter, also expressed concern for King Cheng's great cause of cultivation.

At the beginning of the new year, a big drama was staged in Chang'an City, and as for the follow-up trend of this big drama, outsiders still can't see it clearly.

*

In the Chunhe Palace, there are only Liu Guifei and Zhao Wang's mother and son in the inner hall, and there is no one who serves on its side, so they all go to guard outside the door.

Unlike the usual appearance of the spring equinox outside, King Zhao's face today was very calm.

It's no wonder that he is calm, outsiders only see that he has been in the limelight recently, and no one knows what kind of pressure he is under every day. Today's Zhao Wangfu is like a lantern in the dark night, and countless mosquitoes and moths are pouring in to put out the fire. It didn't take long for Zhao Wangfu to arrest six or seven spies in private, kill several waves of people who secretly attacked Princess Zhao, and have to deal with the people from all sides who came to explore the truth all day long, which can be said to make King Zhao anxious.

It takes ten months for a woman to conceive, and now it is only more than three months, and there is still more to stay up in these six months.

"Mother, this kind of day is the first time at ten times, do you think that the child in Wan'er's belly can be saved?"

He, it turns out that Princess Zhao is a real pregnancy, not a fake pregnancy.

Recently, there have been many people speculating that Princess Zhao may be a fake pregnancy, and Wang Cheng and Queen Xiao are the main ones. According to the inertia of these two people's thinking, Zhao Wang's family is not a fool, and there must be some conspiracy to make himself the target of public criticism at this time. As for Princess Zhao, who is the target, she must be fake pregnant, and if anyone is really pregnant, she will not take the initiative to poke it out, but will hide it until she can't hide it anymore.

"If you can keep it, you have to keep it, and if you can't keep it, you have to protect it." Liu Guifei pinched the teacup, her little finger was slightly upturned, she took a sip of tea, and said indifferently.

"But I'm afraid it's difficult to let Erchen come to see it."

King Zhao's thick eyebrows were tightly locked, but he was not as calm as Concubine Liu. In fact, King Zhao has never been a person who can calm down, and the reason why he has been able to fight against King Cheng for so many years is mostly due to Liu Guifei's subsequent advice.

As the saying goes, the mother is strong and the son is weak, and the mother is weak and the son is strong, and this kind of saying is not wrong.

Concubine Liu Guifei is too shrewd, even if she misses anything, in comparison, King Zhao, who grew up under her wings, is much weaker. In the same way, Empress Xiao is not a shrewd person, and King Cheng is much stronger than King Zhao.

However, this is not a simple one-to-one comparison, but a relative comparison of the forces of the two sides, in the case of Emperor Chengyuan deliberately for so many years, the first line of King Zhao and the first line of King Cheng have been in a state of tie.

"Calm down, have you forgotten what the concubine told you, as long as we can stabilize it, we will win this game."

"As long as we can stabilize it, we will win this game...... "King Zhao muttered, remembering the plan he had discussed before, and soon a kind of inevitable light bloomed in his eyes." Don't worry, mother, Erchen will definitely seize this opportunity. ”

"For the Chengwang Mansion, don't relax, as for the ...... of the King of Chu" Liu Guifei paused and said in a deep voice: "This person has always been thoughtful, so that people can't see the depth clearly, but now is an extraordinary period, since you can't get in, just let it go for the time being." ”

"But if it'......"

Liu Guifei knew what her son wanted to say, and said: "Don't worry, don't say that even if he can toss a sister-in-law out, with his physical condition, he still has to go around a lot to get that position." Haven't you seen it after all these years? The king of Chu is a knife in the hands of your father, a knife prepared for the prince's lineage. Since it's a tool, you have to be honest, otherwise your father won't be able to spare him. ”

"The mother is very wise, and the son knows."

*

The same discussion also took place in Heluan Palace, but compared to the two of King Zhao's mother and son, Queen Xiao and King Cheng were much more anxious.

In this game, King Zhao's side shot first, and as for whether he can break the game, King Cheng's side has not seen any hope for the time being.

Because until this time, they didn't guess what the mother and son of King Zhao wanted to do, in fact, let alone them, others were not like this.

"Your queen mother, I have been fighting with that Liu Guifei for so many years, and I understand this person's viciousness and cunning too well, this matter must not be so simple, it must be another trick."

There are still some things that Empress Xiao didn't say, she has been fighting with Liu Guifei for so many years, but in fact, she has never had the upper hand, if she wasn't the queen, her identity was naturally higher than Liu Guifei, and she would have died without a place to bury.

Of course, this is also indispensable for Emperor Chengyuan's secret help, just like the treatment of King Cheng and King Zhao, there is also a balance between Empress Xiao and Liu Guifei, a balance that Emperor Chengyuan wants.

In fact, even if Queen Xiao didn't say it, King Cheng understood it in his heart, so he dared to despise King Zhao, but he never dared to despise Liu Guifei.

"My son knows that it must not be simple, but what is not simple, there is no charter for the time being. Time waits for no one, then King Zhao is cunning, and he waited until three months later when the fetus was firmly seated before revealing the news. The more time passes, the harder it becomes for us to get started. ”

"What did your grandfather say?"

"Grandpa said slowly."

As soon as he thought of this, King Cheng couldn't hide his irritability, he could do anything, but this thing couldn't. Not to mention whether Princess Zhao is blessed to give birth to a boy, the hidden conspiracy alone is enough to make King Cheng restless. After dealing with King Zhao and his family for so many years, King Cheng knows too well that Liu Guifei is just a killer if she doesn't make a move, and if she makes a move, it will be a nirvana.

For example, many years ago, the crown prince was stabbed, because of this matter, how big the black cauldron they carried, how much they suffered, only King Cheng himself knew in his heart. Fortunately, that incident was blocked by the mistake of King Chu, even so, King Cheng recalled that Emperor Chengyuan looked at him at the beginning, and he would have a chilling feeling. That look reminded him of death.

Empress Xiao nodded and said in a deep voice: "Even if your grandfather said so, he also has a reason, and now this situation can only be slowly figured out." Don't worry too much, there are people who are more anxious than us. ”

"What the Queen Mother said is—"

"It's good that you understand it in your heart, but this kind of thing is not suitable to talk about, that is the sick prince, do you think he is really as indifferent and distant as he appears on the surface, this palace doesn't believe it! Such a good position is placed there, but it is only one step away from his dilapidated body, how can he not hate or be angry in his heart, but it is not good to show it. The weaker he is, the more your father feels sorry for him, this mother and son play this hand so well, and your father eats this set. Empress Xiao laughed sarcastically.

She watched how Emperor Chengyuan held Princess Wei in the palm of her hand, to say that she didn't hate is false, if you talk about the most hated people in Empress Xiao's life, Empress Xiaoxianhui should be ranked first, fortunately, that person was not angry, and gave birth to a short-lived ghost son like her.

"So don't worry, the queen mother guarantees that your father is more anxious than you."