novelden Chapter 165: The princess is a noble lady, she should just stay at home to take care of her husband
Chapter 165: The princess is a noble lady, she should just stay at home to take care of her husband
The emperor did not stay in the queen's palace for too long. After all, he had other things to do. As for what he came for, all the ladies present knew it.
The only one who didn't know the number, or pretended not to know the number, was the Marquis's wife. She was like an outsider, twirling the Buddhist beads in her hand, standing still as a mountain.
After the emperor left, the palace returned to its initial bustle, but it was a little different. The scrutinizing and probing glances always fell inadvertently on the marquis' wife. Su Muxi could feel it even though she was standing next to her. It was obvious that with the emperor's arrival, everyone's thoughts became complicated.
Old Madam He couldn't laugh and glared at the Marquis' wife with resentment. In the past, when there was something going on in the Marquis' Mansion, she would not come even if they begged her to do so. But now that she can take advantage of the situation, she follows along happily, which is embarrassing.
The strange atmosphere continued until the beginning of the banquet. Su Muxi admired Madam Hou more and more. She was really not disturbed by the outside world at all. Even the rhythm of twisting the Buddhist beads did not change at all. Even when someone spoke to her, she was decent and elegant, neither hurried nor slow.
Su Muxi once thought that the Marquis' wife was a weak person. She was bullied and could not get the power to manage the family, so she stayed in the Buddhist temple all day to avoid being bullied. Now it seems that the Marquis' wife is a very wise person.
When they sat down, the seat of the Yong'an Marquis was moved forward. It was the seat previously reserved for the Duke of Zhenguo.
Old Madam He sat at a table alone, Marquis Yong'an and his wife sat at one table, Su Muxi and He Yuncheng sat at another table, and the rest of the people in the Marquis' Mansion sat behind them.
The highest title nowadays is that of duke, except for the vassal king, King of Huaiyang. Therefore, the locations of the Duke of Zhenguo and the Duke of Anguo's mansions are next to several princes and princesses.
Opposite Su Muxi was An Yutang, and above An Yutang was Xiao Yunjin. Princess Jin had just given birth and could not come to the banquet, so Xiao Yunjin sat alone.
When Su Muxi looked over, Xiao Yunjin picked up the wine glass in front of him and raised it towards her from a distance. The meaning of toast was obvious, and there was even a hint of coercion. Today, Xiao Yunjin's aura was fully open, without any concealment, and he looked gloomy, dark and bloodthirsty.
Xiao Yunjin used to have a blank expression, or a cold face, or a bit of coldness in his majesty. This dark aura was very similar to his previous life, or it was already the same. What on earth did he experience in Yuhua Palace that day?
Su Muxi raised the wine glass and responded to Xiao Yunjin, then slowly drank the wine in the glass. She felt uneasy and always felt that something was going to happen.
Su Muxi and Xiao Yunjin were both people who attracted much attention at the banquet. Naturally, their actions were noticed by those who were paying attention. The second prince and the sixth prince sat next to each other and they looked at each other. Everything was silent but seemed to be heard.
The Sixth Prince raised his wine glass, and across the table where Madam He and Marquis Yong'an were sitting, he raised his glass to Su Muxi, "Sister Mu, congratulations on your recovery."
"Thank you for your concern, Sixth Prince," Su Muxi picked up the wine glass and drank it all.
The Sixth Prince's words opened a new door, and the toasts became lively. The Second Prince did not toast Su Muxi, but raised his glass to Xiao Yunjin, "Third brother, congratulations! Among us brothers, you are the first to have a legitimate son. You are so lucky!"
"Thank you, Second Brother," Xiao Yunjin picked up the wine glass, "Second Brother's wedding is approaching, I would like to offer you flowers and wish you a happy marriage and a son soon."
"Hahaha..." The second prince laughed happily and drank the wine in the cup. "Thank you for your good words, third brother."
The second prince started the conversation, and then there were a series of toasts, all of which were to Xiao Yunjin without exception.
Although Xiao Yunjin had a strong aura, he was not afraid of anyone who came to him. He drank one cup after another and would definitely join in the toast as long as someone toasted him.
Even the emperor was a little disgusted by the drinking. He suddenly spoke up, and the audience immediately fell silent. "The surrender of Feng Kingdom should be attributed to the Duke of Zhenguo. Prince Jin escaped death and saved Guanyang City from fire and water. He is also a meritorious minister of Yun Dynasty."
"Today we will reward people for their contributions." The emperor paused for a moment, whetting everyone's appetite. "Princess Anping, listen to my order."
Su Muxi had requested for this reward, so it was not surprising. However, the expressions of the ministers present varied.
Su Muxi stood up and walked to the front of the hall and knelt down, "Su Muxi accepts the order."
"Su Muxi captured the Princess of Feng Country and gained the biggest bargaining chip in the negotiations. She also secretly acted for me in the northwest, which led to the surrender of Feng Country today. I promoted Princess Anping to Princess Anping and appointed her as the commander of the border defense camp."
The promotion of a county princess to a princess is, after all, just an honor, and a princess has no real power. But the commander of a border defense camp is different. It is a formal military position, commanding 80,000 soldiers.
"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate," the old tutor stood up and knelt beside Su Muxi, "The princess has made great contributions, but it is still a stretch to make her a princess. How can she lead the border defense camp?"
"Even if the princess was recuperating in the palace during this time, she was doing secret things on behalf of the emperor in the northwest, but even such a reward as a five-level upgrade is really unheard of. I hope the emperor will think twice."
This is the result after the emperor thought twice. Prince Huaiyang must be eliminated. At that time, the power of Prince Jin will inevitably be weakened. After the second prince gets married, he will be granted a title of king and a mansion. He has the Marquis of Jian'an behind him, and the sixth prince's grandfather is General Weiyuan.
The three-way balance of power cannot be broken, so he can only find a helper for Xiao Yunjin, that is Su Muxi, the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
He knew very well what kind of person Su Zhen was. Even if he wanted to remain neutral, he could force him to join the game passively.
Some time ago, he thought Xiao Yunjin was really dead. He was afraid that Prince Huaiyang would use the emperor to control others, so he was ready to kill Jiang Wanning's child. However, because the child was that man's grandson, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
So he made Concubine Lan pregnant and even wanted to use the trick of replacing the prince with a cat. Fortunately, Xiao Yunjin came back and was smarter than he thought. Unfortunately, even though he loved Xiao Yunjin, he could not tolerate the royal bloodline being tainted.
Xiao Yunjin is just a maze in this situation. He wants to use Xiao Yunjin to temper the hearts of the Second Prince and the Sixth Prince to see which one has the courage he had in the past.
“Sir Fu, you want to make all the military officers in the world hate our father by not rewarding the meritorious officials according to their contributions,” Xiao Yunjin’s voice came lightly but with the effect of a storm.
"Your Highness Prince Jin, please be careful with your words," the old tutor was frightened. He clearly just thought that women should not be officials, but after hearing what Xiao Yunjin said, it was like he had offended all the military generals in the Yun Dynasty. The key point was that he also offended the emperor, which alienated the relationship between the emperor and the military generals. The relationship between civil officials and military officers would also become more tense.
"That's not what I meant. The princess is a noblewoman. She should stay at home to take care of her husband and children. How can she show her face in public?"
"Hahaha..." Xiao Yunjin sneered, "How ridiculous! When the princess was guarding the northwest, you didn't mention being a good wife and mother. When the princess was defending the city in the northwest on behalf of her father, you didn't stop her. Now that Feng Country has surrendered, you're talking about being a good wife and mother."
"Old Master, are you too old and have a bad memory? When I returned to the capital to report, you were present when His Majesty announced the decree to appoint Su Muxi as the envoy for peace talks. How could you not talk about being a good wife and mother at that time?"
A series of interrogations frightened the old master to death. Xiao Yunjin was like a man who had taken bullets today. "I dare not, King Jin is wise."
"Don't flatter me. The emperor is wise," Xiao Yunjin stared at the old tutor with cold eyes. "Do you think that the princess is alone and easy to bully when the Duke of Zhenguo is away? It is not right for you, an old tutor who talks about benevolence and morality, to bully a family member who is fighting for the country on the front line!"
After Xiao Yunjin finished speaking, he stood up, lifted his robe, and knelt in the hall. "Father, I, your son, dare to report that the old tutor is old and dizzy. He is not worthy of being the prince's teacher and cannot bear the responsibility of being a tutor."
The old tutor didn't say a word before he was knocked unconscious by Xiao Yunjin. Even so, no one rescued him and he was removed from his post and dragged away.