The Ugly Empress

Xue Junliang walked into the hall calmly and sat down.

After everyone had paid respects, Xue Junliang pretended to be surprised, “What’s the matter with the Prince? I haven’t seen him for many years, but now he looks unwell. Uncle Zheng’s passing away must have been a great blow. I’ve heard that the Prince has always been a filial son. I could see that he deserves this reputation, this Seat feels very sorry for his loss.” 

Xue Junliang’s previous remarks were not correct, which made the Prince feel strange. His words were a little dark and gloomy. Xue Changjing quickly thought of Xue Junliang’s words and looked frightened.

At first, Emperor Xue didn’t mention his title inheritance. He just asked Xue Changjing how he had been, how the customs of the territory were, and how old Xue Changjing was.

Then Xue Junliang said with a smile: “Although this Seat didn’t see him often, when this Seat’s Uncle was alive, this Seat had deep feelings for his Uncle. I didn’t expect that Changjing still didn’t have a wife. Didn’t this make Uncle Zheng heartbroken? It was not easy for you to come to the Capital this time, and this Seat has nothing to reward you. How about finding a wife worthy of you?”

Xue Changjing, who was standing below, wiped his sweat. He wasn’t sure whether Emperor Xue had heard that he had sex with men and was only attracted to men. 

When Marquis Zheng’an was still alive, Changjing also knew that his father liked men, but he also married several concubines. He had tried to marry off Changjing, but he couldn’t manage it. Finally, he didn’t care anymore and let Changjing go on with his choices of lovers; men.

Teng Yun, Xue Houyang, and the courtiers, knew Xue Changjing’s sexual preferences a long time ago. Hearing Xue Junliang say this, they knew that a good show was coming.

Xue Junliang really did live up to everyone’s expectations.

He said with an unfathomable smile: “King Feng had mentioned a marriage alliance with this Seat a few days ago. Houyang is the only Marquis that this Seat can think of marrying off. However, the daughters of the Nine Marquises of Feng Country are all golden branches and jade leaves. Houyang’s character is too rough, and he’s afraid that he would be neglectful. This Seat didn’t expect that Changjing had never married, but now it looks like it was for the best. This Seat will now personally refer to the marriage for you.”

Xue Changjing was in a cold sweat. How could a daughter of the Nine Marquises not be spoiled? If her husband didn’t touch her, wouldn’t she despise her husband and complain about the deeds to Feng Country and provoke the two countries to war?

Before Xue Changjing could say anything, Xue Houyang stood up and said with a smile, “Chen-di also thinks this is indeed a very good idea. Chen-di is used to being on the battlefields and is afraid of neglecting the wife.”

Xue Junliang: “Indeed it’s very good, Changjing. If you have no objection, it’s settled.”

Xue Changjing wanted to retort, but seeing Xue Junliang’s smiling appearance, he couldn’t help thinking of the previous cane punishment, and his whole body hurt again. In the end, he was too scared and didn’t dare to speak. 

Xue Junliang nodded, “That’s settled then… So now, I have another thing to mention.”

He paused and continued with a smile, “Before the rebel Zhang Hong invaded Ming River, Teng Ying should have been decreed as the Imperial Noble Consort, but he couldn’t as he had to take the lead in the battle. Now Zhang Hong has been killed, all the rebels have been captured, and Teng Ying should be praised.”

Teng Yun heard his name being mentioned, he took a half step forward and lowered his head, “This lowly subject is afraid that he’s undeserving of Your majesty’s kindness.”

Xue Junliang said with a smile, “Don’t be modest. Since Teng Ying has returned in victory, and naturally what was decided before could not be done away with. High Mentor Shen was right. Teng Ying’s destiny is to help this Emperor. It’s better to take advantage of Changjing’s marriage alliance with Feng and take Teng Ying into the palace at the same time.” 

Teng Yun was stunned at the moment. His eyes widened and looked up at Xue Junliang.

Xue Junliang’s expression didn’t look like he was joking. But after all, he was a man and when he said about taking him into the Palace in front of everyone, Teng Yun still seemed to feel uncomfortable.

Xue Changjing immediately cast an enlightened look, and instantly understood why he was punished by cane beating. It turned out that he should not have made a move on this man; not because he was a high Marquis, but because he was the Emperor’s favored man…..

Teng Yun naturally noticed Xue Changjing’s look. There was clarity and ridicule in those eyes and his fist clenched involuntarily. 

Teng Yun remained silent.

Xue Junliang saw the way Xue Changjing looked at Teng Yun and narrowed his eyes. Now he couldn’t help paying attention to Teng Yun’s feelings. At this time, seeing that Teng Yun was obviously uncomfortable made his heart uncomfortable too.

However, his mouth seemed a little disobedient.

He said: “This Seat’s approach of doing this is to comply with the will of Heavens. After all, more than one person has mentioned this matter with this Seat. If anyone has any objection to Aiqing, he can raise it now. This Seat is not a whimsical person, right? In fact, this Seat has changed his mind a little. Teng Ying’s achievements and contributions are also obvious to all. This Seat thinks that if Teng Ying is brought into the Palace as merely an imperial concubine, this Seat would end up wronging him. Let’s do this… Since Teng Ying is talented and virtuous, and has repeatedly made many war achievements, let him be the Master of the Back Palace. What do you think?” 

As soon as Xue Junliang’s words came out, everyone was surprised and looked around one after another. Seeming to see who would be the first to stand up against this decision. But after a long time, no one came forward; at most they just kept whispering among themselves.

Teng Yun frowned. He couldn’t understand what Emperor Xue was thinking. If Xue Junliang wanted to curb his power, it was enough to make him a Noble Consort so that he wouldn’t be able to take part in politics — this was the dignified approach. He could never imagine even in a million years that Xue Junliang’s glib mouth would make him the Empress.

Xue Changjing kept on glancing at Teng Yun. It seemed that he wanted to find out what made Teng Yun different or why Emperor Xue was fascinated by him. He was sure it’s not as simple as his face. If he didn’t have scars on his face, he seemed to make do with it.

Finally, Shen Yi stood up and said, “Marquis Tengnan is both virtuous and talented. He is indeed the best candidate for the Empress position. This lowly minister also believes that according to the Marquis’ talent, even in the battlefield, he can be invincible, but not to mention the Back Palace… It’s just that this matter is quite cumbersome and can’t be done overnight. Your Majesty might as well ask the Prince of Marquis Zheng’an to choose a portrait first so that he can reply to His Majesty.” 

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Xue Junliang nodded and said, “What High Mentor Shen said is quite reasonable. Let’s leave this matter for the moment. Later, the Prince of Marquis Zheng’an will choose a portrait, and then choose a good day to marry the Princess of Feng Country. ”

After the Morning Court was dismissed, Xue Junliang wanted Teng Yun to stay behind, but he didn’t know what to say. He suddenly felt embarrassed to talk to him. Instead, Xue Houyang stayed behind and asked to speak to Emperor Xue.

Xue Houyang: “Chen-di knows that this matter should not be talked about by Chen-di, as I don’t want to embarrass Your Majesty, but Chen-di wants to ask. Why does Your Majesty suddenly want to make Marquis Tengnan the Empress?” 

Xue Junliang sighed and asked in return, “Then why won’t you marry again?”

“This…”

Xue Houyang scratched his face uneasily and said, “Chen-di is sincere to Mr. Teng, so… Naturally, Chen-di can’t and won’t marry again.”

“Do you think Teng Shang will be wronged if you marry again?” 

“In fact, Chen-di feels that this is not a matter of grievance… After all, Mr. Teng is a man. Sometimes he is even stronger than Chen-di. However, Chen-di just feels that… If you really want to treat each other sincerely, then how can you accommodate others?”

Xue Junliang quietly listened to what the other party said. He gazed forward and didn’t know what he was looking at. After a long time, Xue Houyang even thought that he was stunned.

Xue Junliang withdrew his gaze and said with a smile: “Listening to your words is better than ten years of reading.”

“Your Majesty… Don’t make fun of Chen-di.” 

“I’m not making fun of you, Houyang,” Xue Junliang said. “I’ve also thought about it carefully. If I accept Marquis Tengnan as the Imperial Noble Consort and the Empress position is empty, how can I want another to be the Empress again?”

“Your Majesty…” Xue Houyang said half in surprise, but suddenly stopped, as if he didn’t think he should go on.

Xue Junliang nodded and seemed to confirm what Xue Houyang didn’t say.

Xue Houyang was even more shocked and his heart was even more chaotic than the mess of the Morning Court. He left the hall and ran into Teng Yun who was coming out of the Military Office. He was a little flustered at the moment and fumbled with his hands when greeting Teng Yun. 

Teng Yun was baffled by Xue Houyang’s reaction. They went the same way out of the Palace. Xue Houyang then said that there were some important things he had to do first and let Teng Yun go first.

Looking at Teng Yun’s back, Xue Houyang let out his breath nervously, feeling more and more ridiculous. After all, it’s none of his business. Teng Yun and Xue Junliang should be the ones who should be anxious and not him.

Xue Houyang wandered in the Palace for a while. Thinking that Teng Yun should have gone far already, he left the Palace and went directly back to his residence. He had a lot of things in his heart and needed to talk to someone. Of course, this person must be Teng Shang.

Xue Houyang hurriedly returned to the residence, turned over and dismounted, asked the servants to lead his horse away, threw his cloak to another servant, and casually asked, “Where’s Mr. Teng?” 

“Lord Teng is in the backyard…”

Before she could finish speaking, Xue Houyang was already striding towards the backyard.

The maidservant just looked at the hurrying Marquis and didn’t continue to complete what she had wanted to say. In fact, she wanted to say, “Lord Teng is in the backyard and Marquis Tengnan has come and is having a meal with the Lord.”

“Sir! I…” Xue Houyang shouted from a long distance, even before he reached the backyard, but before he could finish yelling, he saw Teng Shang sitting at the stone table, with a man sitting next to him. Although there were some scars on the man’s face and seemed scary at first glance, however, looking at it carefully, he could see a man with a somewhat refined temperament. 

Xue Houyang’s words were immediately blocked in his throat and almost choked him to death. He coughed uncomfortably, his face red from the effort and went up to greet them, “Marquis Tengnan has come. The servant didn’t tell me. My apologies if he felt neglected.”

Teng Yun looked at Xue Houyang’s reckless appearance and thought of his calmness and sophistication in the Imperial Court, which seemed to have disappeared at this moment.

He couldn’t help laughing and said, “I took the liberty to disturb the Marquis. Please don’t blame yourself.”

“No, no, no…” Xue Houyang waved his hand and said, “Speak to Mr. Teng. I’ll go ahead and won’t disturb you.” 

Teng Shang said, “Did My Lord Marquis have lunch already?”

Xue Houyang shook his head, “Not yet.”

“In that case, let’s have our meal together.”

Xue Houyang nodded when he heard Teng Shang invited him to lunch. Then Teng Shang said, “Will Marquis Tengnan stay?” 

Teng Yun said with a smile, “If it’s convenient.”

So the three people had lunch around the small stone table. There were no servants standing by and serving the food; Marquis Wannian’s residence never paid much attention to these as Xue Houyang felt that he couldn’t swallow his food when he was surrounded by people while eating.

Teng Yun and Teng Shang had a good talk. Their preferences and styles had many similarities, naturally there’s a lot of things they could talk about. Xue Houyang just listened and didn’t want to interrupt the two, although Teng Shang occasionally asked him or tell him something, the atmosphere was very good. It was entertaining to see Teng Shang talking and smiling a lot.

At first, Xue Houyang felt a little sour as he watched Teng Shang smiling a lot at Teng Yun, but when he thought that Marquis Tengnan was actually Teng Shang’s nephew, the taste of vinegar seemed to lessen a lot. 

Xue Houyang thought he was an utterly idiotic man for even feeling a little jealous. Although he was born in the Forbidden Palace and was proficient in reading and martial arts, he couldn’t help eating vinegar and feeling hypocritical. He was a very straightforward person and always spoke out about what he felt.

On the contrary, Teng Shang has the charm of a Scholar. He was polite but not overly pronounced. He was very speculative with Teng Yun’s elegance.

This gave Xue Houyang the illusion of being an outsider

The two chatted all afternoon. Teng Yun didn’t leave until the evening. Teng Shang asked him to stay for dinner but Teng Yun smiled knowingly, and declined the offer, “I don’t want to bother you two anymore.” 

After Teng Yun left, Teng Shang suddenly said, “In the Morning Court today, Emperor Xue must have said something, right?”

“Ah… Sir, have you heard about it?”

“No, I’m in the residence. Rumors don’t spread that fast. But I just found out.”

Teng Shang smiled then continued, “My Lord Marquis may not know, although Teng Yun is only a few years younger than me, I have seen him growing up. He only talks so much when he has something bothering him in his heart.” 

Xue Houyang sighed, “Sir knows him very well.”

Then he said, “This morning, Emperor Xue said to take advantage of the wedding of the Prince of Marquis Zheng An and take Marquis Tengnan into the palace.”

Teng Shang didn’t react much, but said, “It seems that I guessed eight or nine from ten.”

Xue Houyang said, “There’s more to come, Sir. You couldn’t have guessed this.” 

“Oh?”

“The Emperor wants to take Marquis Tengnan into the Palace and make him his Empress.”

Teng Shang was surprised, but immediately gave another clear smile, “Although it was unexpected, it indeed makes sense.”

“It makes sense?” Xue Houyang said, “I went to speak to Emperor Xue. Although the Emperor didn’t admit it verbally, he seemed to be sincere to Marquis Tengnan…” 

“Sincere…” Teng Shang smiled, “Perhaps, but for the Emperor’s affection, which concubine he would not be sincere with? The key is to know how long this sincerity would last, ten days, one month, one year… Ten years…”

Xue Houyang shook his head. He didn’t know.

After the Prince of Marquis Zheng An chose the portrait, Xue Junliang ordered an envoy to Feng Country to welcome the Princess. Naturally, this matter cannot fall on Zhao Lu. If Zhao Lu was sent, wouldn’t he want to provoke a war between the two countries?

Moreover, King Feng wanted to ask for peace. Naturally, he wanted to protect his Princess from coming over. Xue Junliang didn’t need to worry too much, so he sent Zhao Tong to greet him. 

————

When Zhao Tong arrived in Feng Country, Feng Country naturally could not neglect him and sent the Court Ministers to host a banquet to entertain the envoys.

Although Zhao Tong heard about Lu Shichen hanging his official hat, it has been some time in the past. He thought he could see Lu Shichen at this banquet and thought of ridiculing him. Unfortunately, almost all officials, high and lower, were at the big banquet; which also gave Xue Country a face; but he didn’t see Lu Shichen.

When Zhao Tong inquired, he found out that Lu Shichen was still without a title and rank, and the Minister’s residence was empty. He was now living as a commoner and found a small house in the capital. 

Of course Zhao Tong knew that Lu Shichen was innocent and had a straight character; he just didn’t understand much about the twists and turns of the court. Although Feng Ming also trusted Lu Shichen, he couldn’t use him for fear of discord in public opinion.

The trustee inquired about Lu Shichen’s temporary residence. Zhao Tong wanted to pay him a visit. He might be able to attract this man to Xue Country. If Marquis Tengnan and Lang Jing had not succeeded in persuading him to surrender, it would certainly make people look at him differently if he could succeed.

It was only when he heard about the place Lu Shichen was staying that he was a little surprised.

The land in the Capital was not cheap. Lu Shichen always had clean hands and couldn’t afford living in a good house. Someone interceded and let him temporarily live in a side house in a large courtyard. 

The courtyard was abandoned by a large-scale family. There was a large gate and a main front door. Although the large house was abandoned, you couldn’t go through the front door. But there were small side doors in and out of the side house.

Lu Shichen’s body had become thinner, but he was not depressed. There were a lot of books on his desk and table, and there were a lot of dotted comments in circles on the pages of the book.

Lu Shichen saw Zhao Tong, but he didn’t react. He just continued to read the book in front of him and said, “I heard that the General came to pick up the Princess, but I didn’t expect that the General would come here. It’s really brilliant.”

When he finished speaking, he didn’t give Zhao Tong time to speak, and said, “If the General came to persuade Shichen to surrender, you will have to forgive Shichen for speaking bluntly, there’s no need to spend more words, lest this villain would annoy the General.” 

Zhao Tong stared at him for a long time and then said, “Even if you’re living here in this situation, you still refuse to go to Xue Country to show your aspirations?”

“Perhaps there are many people in this world who appreciate me in the wrong way, but Lu Shichen learned from childhood that he can’t forget his roots. He hasn’t repaid the kindness of serving the King. Unless he doesn’t serve the country anymore, Lu Shichen won’t give up.”

Zhao Tong smiled and said, “Very well said, unless there is no Feng Country.”

Lu Shichen recognized his tone of voice and said with a smile, “I dare ask, what will the General do if Xue Country is gone?” 

He continued, without waiting for Zhao Tong’s reply, “I think the General and I must have the same idea here.”

Zhao Tong nodded and paused for a while before he said, “You have studied since childhood, and I have learned Martial Arts since childhood. I am conceited and aboveboard. It is my fault that you are so down and out now. Although I don’t think I have any regrets, after all, our paths are different from each other, but I am pleased with your temperament. I owe you once privately. In the future, if we meet in war, I will spare you once.”

“The General is so full of words that things will be uncertain in the future.”

Zhao Tong smiled and said “Not necessarily”. He clasped both his hands, bowed a little and went straight out. 

Feng Ming didn’t go to the banquet and meet Zhao Tong because he still had a grudge in his heart. The Princess set out with the envoy. Feng Ming boarded the sentry tower by the Ming River and took a look at the envoy from a distance.

———–

Xue Junliang received the report that the Princess had already set out from Feng Country. He had already asked people to prepare for Xue Changjing’s marriage. He also mentioned the matter of making Teng Yun the Empress. Shen Yi was still ready to delay the matter for a while. As a result, Xue Junliang didn’t let Shen Yi succeed this time.

Everyone was in a stalemate. Shen Yi was sweating anxiously and looking at Teng Yun frequently. 

Teng Yun still didn’t understand what Xue Junliang meant in his heart. Xue Junliang never said anything, and he had a strange attitude towards him. Sometimes it was cold and sometimes hot, sometimes he cared and sometimes he was alienated.

Although Xue Houyang knew it in his heart, he felt he was an outsider; it was none of his business, and it was difficult for him to say anything.

Teng Shang was unwilling to tell Teng Yun, because he was afraid that he would pierce this layer of paper and help Xue Junliang instead, so Teng Yun naturally didn’t know.

Finally Teng Yun stood up and said, “This lowly subject is a reckless man. He is used to the battlefield. This lowly subject is afraid he has broken the rules.” 

Xue Junliang felt bad because he knew Teng Yun didn’t understand his feelings and thought Xue Junliang was still scheming and calculating against him.

Shen Yi went down to beg Lang Jing saying several good words, but Lang Jing didn’t give him an audience.

Shen Yi could only say, “Think about it. If you persuade the Emperor, it’s also a good thing. The Emperor is just being emotional for a while and will regret it in the future. If you dissuade him now, he will certainly remember your credit. It would be easy to request anything in the future!”

Lang Jing just went into the Palace and only said some words. Although Xue Junliang’s expression was not good, he didn’t say anything about future affairs and still named Teng Yun as his Imperial Noble Consort. 

Lang Jing said, “Your Majesty, it would be wise to think about it carefully. Whether Your Majesty’s move is wise or not, you shall know after careful consideration. If Your Majesty insists on doing so, I’m afraid people would think that he hates Marquis Tengnan deeply and wants to take Marquis Tengnan under the tip of the blade and wants to get rid of him quickly.”