PFC Chapter 157: The Aftermath of the Marriage
Chapter 157: The Aftermath of the Marriage
Originally, he thought that after the morning court session, he would be able to pay his respects to the Yiku Palace. There would always be concubines who would understand him and take the initiative to ask Chao Gui to marry him. In this way, he would not have to do such a villain thing as selling his sister.
When I thought about my own thoughts and compared them with Chao Gui's righteousness at the moment, I suddenly felt ashamed.
"Your Majesty, I have another request."
"You said."
"I am afraid that after I leave, I will never be able to set foot on the land of the capital again in this life. I would like to ask my royal brother to let me spend the New Year in this palace before leaving."
"That's right."
"Su Peisheng, grind the ink, and I will write the imperial edict myself."
"Xuan."
Su Peisheng took the imperial edict.
"Fengtian Chengyun Emperor, the imperial edict said:
Our dynasty governs the world with benevolence, and Junggar has been eyeing it covetously for many years. For the sake of peace between the Qing Dynasty and Junggar, I specially grant a princess to marry. Because I have no daughter, I specially grant Princess Chaogui the title of Princess Gulun. The princess will marry Junggar and will set off after the new year.
The marriage of the princess was thus settled. In order to make up for Chao Gui, the emperor promoted Chao Gui's mother, Concubine Min, to the rank of Concubine Min, and Chao Gui's dowry was also given to Concubine Hua to prepare.
The news spread quickly, from the harem to the common people.
Yikun Palace
Concubine Xin has always been outspoken. "It's ridiculous that the Qing Dynasty actually needs to sell its daughter to seek peace. I wonder if there will be a day when the emperor will even give up the Qing Dynasty."
"Lady Xin!"
Nian Shilan frowned and shouted angrily.
Concubine Xin also knew her own problem and sighed.
"Your Majesty, I don't want the general to go into endless wars. We are all raised by our parents, and I know the cruelty of war, but when I think of Shuhe, ah, I ~"
Nian Shilan also knew her temper.
"That's not what I meant. You've always been quick-witted. Everyone knows that, including the emperor. Normally, when you talk about trivial matters in the harem, everyone is very tolerant of you. But look at what you said today. It involves the previous dynasty and political affairs. Today, you only said it in Yikun Palace. If it gets out, even the emperor can't protect you."
"My lady, I know I was wrong."
"My queen, Sister Xin, I think that whether you marry far away or near, as long as you are capable and can stand on your own feet, your life will not be bad no matter where you are."
"Look at these girls we teach on a daily basis, isn't it to accumulate capital for their future?"
The worry on Concubine Xin's face still remained. "That's what Concubine Rui said. But the things we learn must be put to good use. If we women can achieve success like men, or earn a living, then we can be considered truly established."
Lipin also rarely used her brain, "What Xin Guiren said is that women like us with weak family backgrounds always feel inferior to others. If our family can provide strong support, we will have a better life."
"Sister Lipin is right and wrong."
"Oh? What do you think, Concubine Shen?"
"My queen, where does my insight come from? All the land under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are his subjects. Who in the world has a stronger backing than the royal princess?"
"But looking at the princesses who were married to foreign countries in history, how many of them had a good ending? It can be seen that whether a person's life is good or not is not determined by family background."
The hall fell into silence once again.
"Alright, just do your current tasks well. It's useless even if you worry to death now. You might as well let the children learn more useful things with that time. Let's go."
In the private room on the second floor of Huayue Tower, there were two people, one adult and one child, sitting.
"Sister, everyone down there is discussing the princess' marriage. Won't you help that princess?"
"I have the will, but not the strength. Although the Qing Dynasty has no shortage of military commanders, including Prince Cheng, the Fourteenth Prince, and the newcomers, it won't be a problem if we work together well. But right now, Fatty Orange has no money at all."
"Although there are mines now, the speed of mining and the places where money is spent are too many. Fat Orange is also unsure. Being able to exchange a woman for a few years of peace is a very profitable thing for Fat Orange. To put it bluntly, the Qing Dynasty is still too weak."
Su He took Lingling to Linglong Pavilion again and sent letters to Nian Shilan, An Lingrong and Xia Dongchun respectively, asking them not to worry about themselves.
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year. The fifth and seventh brothers handled the affairs of the orphanage very well, and they investigated all the people involved in the matter clearly.
The orphanages were not only involved in corruption and child abuse, but also involved the use of orphans to offer to officials for power-for-sex transactions.
Coincidentally, at this time of marriage, the words that Su He said to him in the palace had been lingering in Pangju's mind, and he had been in a bad mood these days.
After hearing about the orphanage incident, Yinzhen was furious and dealt with all the people involved one by one. The court and the harem were filled with grim silence, and there was not even a New Year atmosphere.
On the contrary, Su He lived a comfortable life in the palace.
Ever since the Queen left Shuiyue Palace and returned to her own palace, she has never stepped out of the palace again. Even Concubine Jing found it strange.
"Sister He, this isn't the palace. Who is the queen pretending to be like this for? I don't know what bad things she is planning."
Su He looked at Concubine Jing who was becoming increasingly plump and teased, "I didn't realize that you worry so much, but you don't lose weight."
"The food cooked by my sister and I in the small kitchen is so delicious. I am indeed a bit greedy. For so many years, my life has been like a stagnant pool of water. Now my life is getting more and more promising. When people are in a good mood, their appetite will be good."
"You still have to control yourself. If the fetus is too large, delivery will be very dangerous."
"Don't worry, madam. I have started to eat less recently."
"The Empress is here."
The two looked at each other quickly.
"Greetings to your Majesty."
Su He looked up at the queen and was startled.
The queen was already thin to begin with, and now she was even thinner. The clothes that she usually wore could not support her and were shaking violently.
"Get up, Concubine Jing, I have something to say to Concubine He."
Su He gave Concubine Jing a reassuring look and followed the Queen into the house.
"The Queen has lost a lot of weight recently."
"Are you satisfied with the way I am now?"
"It's not bad, but compared to my previous life, it's still far behind!"
The queen no longer looked at Su He, lowered her head and talked to herself.
"I dream of Honghui every night. He is covered in blood, looking at me from afar, but he refuses to say a word. Every time I take a step forward, he moves further away from me. I can't even see his expression clearly."
"But it doesn't matter. I'm afraid to see his disgusted and disappointed eyes."
"Your Majesty, didn't you come here specially to tell me a story today?"
The queen looked into the distance with empty eyes, as if she didn't hear Su He's question.
"Princess Qi, I still like to call you this. You know, I really hate it."
"I hate my father, my stepmother, my elder sister, the emperor, and the queen mother. If I add the previous life, Zhen Huan, Duan Fei, Jing Fei, and Hua Fei, I hate every one of them so much that I cannot let them be reduced to ashes."
"In my dream, I felt that my fate in my previous life was inseparable from each of them."
"But on the day when the Queen Mother was buried, I woke up from my dream and found that everything was ridiculous. The people in the harem were just pitiful people like me."
"You're right. I don't know how to take revenge, and I don't know who to take revenge on. I don't know if it's because I hate too many people or because I've done too much evil."
"Since I woke up, I have never attacked anyone, but I still can't accept that it was all just a dream, and in the end it was still the same as before. This day is hopeless and nothing has changed."
"I want revenge, I want hatred, I want to live my life again, and I never want to die alone in the cold Jingren Palace."
"So what?" Su He looked at her with sarcasm on his face.