Shengshichun

After Fu Zhen and Pei Zhan returned to the mansion and washed up, Guo Song came to report the news sent by He Zhao, informing them that Yang Yi would stay in the palace tonight. Yang Yi said he would tell them the details later.

This result is not surprising at all, and can even be said to be expected.

The most troublesome hurdle has been overcome, and the next step will be to work hard to appoint a crown prince.

And at the Queen's birthday banquet tomorrow, Yang Yi will definitely appear in front of civil and military officials as the eldest son of the emperor.

Naturally, the father and son will have a lot to talk about tonight.

Fu Zhen felt more relaxed than ever before.

Therefore, I slept particularly soundly.

She didn't wake up from her sleep until the laughter and sounds of firecrackers from the streets and alleys reached the general's mansion.

The Queen's birthday is a happy occasion and should be celebrated. When Fu Zhen got up and washed, he heard Zi Yan say that the Emperor's decree had been issued in the palace early this morning, ordering all government offices to have a day off today, and ordering the Ministry of Revenue to distribute rice to the people at the gates of each city. The civilians in the capital and within a radius of fifty miles outside the capital were to receive two dou of rice per household, in order to accumulate merit and blessings for the Queen.

So the entire capital city cheered and shouted "Long live the emperor".

In recent years, the weather has been good, the harvest has been good, and the national treasury is full of rice and grain. However, a lot of it was used to fight against the enemy in the northwest, and the people's homes are not well-off.

Two dou of rice per household is not a lot, but it is a reflection of the emperor's concern for the people.

How could anyone not support this?

After breakfast, the streets began to become crowded with people.

Households came to the palace one after another in sedan chairs and on horses.

The Fifth Gate and the Donghua Gate had already set up their ceremonial guards. The towers were also decorated with lanterns and colorful lights, and drummers and musicians blew their horns.

There were not many officials and households who were qualified to enter the palace, but there were still countless people gathering outside the two palaces to watch the fun.

Madam Pei had already made an appointment with Madam Feng, Madam Cao, Madam Cheng and Madam Du of the Liang family to meet at Donghua Gate and then enter the palace together.

Around noon, Fu Zhen had finished packing.

When I got to Mrs. Pei, I saw her walking out in gorgeous attire.

Mrs. Pei, who already maintained herself very well, looked even more beautiful in this gorgeous attire.

As soon as she saw Fu Zhen, Mrs. Pei asked, "Is my mother-in-law here?"

Fu Zhen smiled and said, "She's already waiting in the front hall. But Zi Yan said she just arrived, so I didn't go out to greet her."

"You."

Mrs. Pei gave her a reproachful look, then quickened her pace and walked out.

That's right. Madam Ning and Ning Jia were also guests of honor at the Queen's birthday banquet. From the moment she received the imperial edict, Madam Ning, who had never attended such a banquet before, began to feel uneasy. For this reason, Fu Zhen even went back to her parents' home two days ago to reassure her.

So when Mrs. Pei heard that Fu Zhen actually left Mrs. Ning sitting alone in the front hall, she felt it was very inappropriate.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrived at the front yard, only to see Madam Ning sitting quietly in the hall. The tension and uneasiness she had felt in the past few days had faded away by a large margin, and her expression was so relaxed as if she had completely adapted to the situation.

"I heard that the wives of several other generals have already gone to the palace gates. Why don't we set off now?"

"Yes, let's get going! No more delay!"

Seeing her like this, Madam Pei also became happy. She turned around and arranged for someone to go down and prepare the carriages and horses.

The men had other invitations, so naturally they would not go with them.

After leaving the door, they arrived at the palace gate in a short while, and sure enough, all the female members of the family were already there.

Madam Feng and the others waved to Fu Zhen from afar, but it was not convenient for him to get out of the sedan chair at this time. They greeted each other briefly and then entered the palace gate.

After entering the palace and getting off the sedan chair, Liang Zhi's mother, Madam Cao, came over and said, "What's going on? I heard that the palace secretly started to clean up the Eastern Palace early in the morning. People from the Imperial Clan Bureau, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Revenue, and other government offices entered the palace before dawn, and the key point is that they also went to the Eastern Palace. Is there something going on that I don't know?"

Fu Zhen was already laughing when she heard halfway through. She and Madam Pei looked at each other and said, "Aunt, let me keep you in suspense."

Madam Cao sighed and said, "This girl, why are you still keeping me in suspense? If you know what's going on, just tell me!"

How could Fu Zhen really want to hide it from her? He immediately whispered to Madam Cao's ear and briefly told her the whole story.

Mrs. Cao was incredulous. She stared at Fu Zhen's face with wide eyes for a long time, wanting to express her feelings several times, but finally swallowed them all back and let out a long sigh: "This is really a long wait for good things!"

But she turned around and said happily: "This is a double happiness! No wonder there were magpies flying around the streets early this morning. This is really a great joy!"

"What's the happy news? Tell us about it."

At this time, several female relatives from the Du family, Cheng family, etc. who were greeting Madam Feng nearby all laughed and asked when they heard this.

Madam Cao laughed heartily: "I will also learn from the real girl and keep it a secret for now, and you will know later!"

After hearing this, everyone joked with each other, but it did not affect their pace to go to Kunning Palace to celebrate the birthday.

Today's palace was more grand and joyful than the previous palace banquets that Fu Zhen remembered.

Not only was the decoration festive, but even the faces of the palace servants passing by were filled with obvious joy.

This is completely different from the scene before today.

Naturally, such an unexpected scene also attracted the attention of the court officials and ladies who came to the banquet.

So on the way to Kunning Palace, expressions of doubt gradually appeared on everyone's originally calm faces.

Fu Zhen and his group looked straight ahead. When they arrived at Kunning Palace, the wife of Gu Lao Taifu had already arrived with her granddaughter Gu Yingying. The Gu family was talking to the queen. The queen was also wearing a brand new phoenix robe and a queen's crown today, looking very elegant.

After the eunuch's announcement, Fu Zhen and the others stepped through the door and began to kneel down in turn to wish the Queen a happy birthday.

Ever since they came in, Gu Yingying's eyes have been on Fu Zhen's face.

This was the first time Fu Zhen saw her after his rebirth, so he smiled at her.

Gu Yingying was stunned for a moment, then she smiled back and lowered her head. But then she quietly raised her eyes and looked at Fu Zhen. The little girl's performance did not escape Fu Zhen's eyes at all.

In an occasion like today, even if Fu Zhen followed Pei Zhan and was a wealthy and powerful wife, she could not even compare to the dignity of the wives of so many meritorious officials and elders present here.

After sitting for a while, she saw Gu Yingying still secretly staring at her, so she took the opportunity to walk out of the hall.

Standing under the porch, looking at the busy palace servants in the distance, and also wanting to see if Yang Yi would appear, a faint fragrant breeze wafted over from behind.

Fu Zhen turned around and saw Gu Yingying standing in front of her. She bit her lower lip and knelt down to greet her: "Greetings, Madam General."

Fu Zhen smiled and helped her up: "Miss Gu, are you here to see me?"

Gu Yingying blushed and said, "I have heard for a long time that the general's wife is very charming. Today I finally got to see her and I know that the rumors are true. Yingying admires the general's wife, so I came here to chat with her. I am sorry to make you laugh."

"What has Miss Gu heard about me?"

Gu Yingying glanced at her and said, "I've heard of almost everything." "Then why haven't you come to the Pei family to play for so long?"

Gu Yingying blushed and was unable to answer.

Fu Zhen smiled and said, "I'll invite you to the Pei family for tea some other day. I hope you can do me the honor."

Gu Yingying was slightly stunned, hesitated for a moment and then said, "Are you serious?"

"Of course it's true." Fu Zhen said, "Let's do it tomorrow. If you are free, choose tomorrow afternoon."

Gu Yingying seemed to be greatly shocked. She looked at her several times before nodding her head. "Okay, Yingying will definitely visit tomorrow afternoon."

Fu Zhen smiled and gently pulled him back into the hall.

As the eldest granddaughter of Old Tutor Gu, Gu Yingying comes from a prominent family, is well-educated and well-mannered, and is a rare lady in the Great Zhou.

When Liang Ning died in his previous life, Gu Yingying was still very young. However, Old Tutor Gu had a good relationship with the five generals' mansions, so Liang Ning and Gu Yingying were also familiar with each other.

The little girl was four or five years younger than Pei Zhan - strictly speaking, she was three months older than Fu Zhen today, but she had a pure heart and was a pampered girl who was loved and cared for by her family and elders.

The little girl likes Pei Zhan.

This was something Fu Zhen heard from others by accident after she married Pei Zhan.

Of course, as far as Fu Zhen knew, Pei Zhan had never given her the opportunity to get close to him.

But no matter before or after Pei Zhan's marriage, Gu Yingying had never done anything inappropriate towards Pei Zhan, let alone any harassing behavior.

Even after Pei Zhan got engaged, Gu Yingying, who used to visit Pei's family frequently, never set foot in the Pei family's doorstep again.

He never appeared in front of Pei Zhan again.

The little girl knows when to advance and when to retreat. She also loves herself.

It's reasonable for her to be curious about the woman the man she loves ends up marrying, right?
Fu Zhen didn't think it was a big deal.

The rest of her life is long, and she would like to have more sisters who can move around.

The formal palace banquet was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

At noon, the eunuchs from the Qianqing Palace came to invite the empress to the Taihe Hall to accept congratulations with the emperor, and all civil and military officials and ladies of honor went with her.

This time the kneeling was formal and solemn.

The whole set of regulations lasted for three or four quarters of an hour.

In the middle of the celebration, Fu Zhen glanced around and still didn't see Yang Yi, but she soon discovered Yi Yun in the crowd.

She was not familiar with the Yi family before, but the Yi family was also a hero who accompanied the emperor to the capital, so at least she knew them.

At this moment, Yi Yun stood with his hands clasped together, his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, as if he had a clear idea of ​​everything.

So Fu Zhen looked at the people around him again, and locked his eyes on the two unfamiliar young men in front of Yi Yun.

The two were about fifteen or sixteen years old. Although they were well-mannered, their eyes kept moving back and forth, revealing their excitement and discomfort at such occasions.

"...the two sons of the Yang family came to Beijing specially to celebrate the Queen's birthday!"

While Fu Zhen was pondering to himself, someone in front of all the officials began to report loudly.

Before she could figure out who it was, the two young men who had come before hurried out, lifted their robes and knelt down.

After kowtowing several times, he shouted in a trembling voice: "...May the goddess live a thousand years!"

“Is this the disciple of the clan?”

The queen looked at her son and nephew with a kind expression, as if she was always looking at them lovingly. Then she raised her hand and said, "Come here, give us a reward!"

Then a group of palace servants came forward, holding gold, silver, jewelry and various other items.

There was a eunuch on the side singing out the list of rewards.

Those who already knew about this matter focused their attention on it.

I didn't know that at this moment, a look of deep surprise appeared on his face, and he was busy making eye contact with the people around him.

"Your Majesty," someone from the Censorate said, "May I ask what the identities of these two are? Why are they able to be here to celebrate the Queen's birthday as descendants of the Yang family?"

The emperor, sitting high on the dragon throne, had a calm and composed look on his face.

"These two are descendants of the Yi family who were brought back from my ancestral home. The clan office has verified their identities and they are indeed from the same clan as me."

There was an uproar in the hall.

Some people didn't believe it, some were shocked, and some reacted quickly and began to show joy.

"This is a cause for celebration! The royal family of our Great Zhou still has such a concubine. This is a blessing for the Great Zhou! God bless the Great Zhou!"

I don't know who was the first to say this, but then there was a lot of congratulations!
Yi Yun stepped out and saluted: "Congratulations to the Emperor! Congratulations to the Empress! Now that the nephew of the Yang family is here, I implore the Emperor to order the clan office to compile a genealogy for the two of them, and confer royal titles on them, and let the world know!"

After he said this, the voices in the hall became louder. But after listening carefully, they were divided into three groups. One group agreed with Yi Yun's statement, and the other group said that even if she was of the same bloodline as the emperor, she was too far away from him, so how could she be canonized with just a few words?

Another group includes people like Fu Zhen and Pei Zhan.

Fu Zhen and the others were all silent.

Even though the voices of discussion were growing louder and louder like the tide, they just stood below the calm emperor and empress, standing equally calmly.

"emperor!……"

"quiet!"

Yi Yun was about to open his mouth, but the emperor had already spoken. He frowned slightly and looked down with dignity. "The state has its own laws, and the family has its own rules. It's true that they are my fellow clansmen. I've already asked the clan affairs office to investigate. What's there to argue about?"

Those officials who previously did not support the immediate enthronement were dumbfounded.

Officials who supported the enthronement, represented by Yi Yun, showed some pride at this time.

The emperor glanced at them one by one, then paused at the two young men who could no longer conceal their joy. He waved his hand and said, "I have already congratulated Her Majesty, and Her Majesty has already given you the reward. You may leave now."

Now it was the two teenagers' turn to be dumbfounded!
Yi Yun was also stunned: "Your Majesty, they found it with great difficulty..."

"Who told you to find it?" The emperor glanced at him calmly. "Did I ever tell you to find it? Who of you did I tell to find it?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)