On the New Year's Eve of the sixth year of Jiankang, the eldest prince was nowhere to be seen at all the palace banquets, so the rumors that he was in trouble became more and more intense.
After the Lantern Festival, the Imperial College and the Imperial Women's Prison begin school.
As soon as she arrived at the Imperial Women's Prison, Shi Fuxin could hear all kinds of discussions about the eldest prince's condition.
"It will be February soon. If the eldest prince's health is not good, can his wedding to the Zhou girl still be held normally?"
"During the Chinese New Year, the door of the Zhou family was not opened, and all the relatives and friends who came to visit were turned away and disappeared. I heard that the whole Zhou family was in a state of gloom, and the girl from the Zhou family cried so much that she couldn't even open her eyes."
"Don't tell me, the girl from the Zhou family is really pitiful. Although she is married to a prince, the eldest prince is not only in poor health, but also... well, the girl from the Zhou family has a hard life."
"Zhou Ge always loves his granddaughter. I heard that Mr. Zhou Ge has already given the prince a discount. Is he afraid that he wants to refuse the marriage?"
Hearing this, Shi Fuxin pulled Qiao Xinyu aside in the crowd and asked, "Is the Zhou family really going to refuse the marriage?"
Qiao Xinyu gave her a roll of her eyes: "How is that possible? That's the eldest prince, the emperor's son. The Zhou family doesn't want to live, so they dare to regret their royal marriage?"
Shi Fuxin frowned: "If the Zhou family girl is not happy, even if she marries the eldest prince, the two of them may not be able to get along well."
Qiao Xinyu looked at Shi Fuxin in surprise, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that you would actually worry about this? I don't know, I thought you were the elder of the eldest prince."
Shi Fuxin hummed in her heart, wasn't she the eldest prince's elder, so she naturally cared about her apprentice's happy marriage.
After school in the afternoon, on the way back to the uncle's house, Shi Fuyin also mentioned the eldest prince: "Didn't you say that the eldest prince's health is fine?"
Shi Fuxin nodded: "It's okay."
Shi Fuyin: "But now everyone is saying that the eldest prince is dying."
Shi Fuxin: "He is pretending to be ill. He probably wants to paralyze the enemy hiding in the dark." After a pause, "We can't really understand the situation of the eldest prince. All I can do is cure him. As for him,
How he takes the next step is his own business."
Shi Fuyin nodded and said nothing more.
...
"I used to think that the Zhou family was lucky enough to be able to marry the eldest prince, but now it seems like it's such good luck."
"Isn't it true? The eldest prince is frail and sick. I don't know when he will... The Zhou family has a legitimate daughter in vain. Not to mention, she will be ostracized by other princes. It really means losing both the wife and the army."
"It's no wonder that the Zhou family has been closing its doors to welcome guests. There is no joy at all for the daughter who is about to marry."
"Hey, the situation of the eldest prince is that even the eldest prince's maternal grandfather, Duke Wen Guo's family, rarely interacts with him. The Zhou family is closely related. Not only is it not a help, but it is also a drag."
"It's a pity that the Zhou family has Mr. Zhou Ge and a cabinet bachelor. If it can advance to the next level, it will be no worse than the princes and noble families, but they are tied to the eldest prince.
.”
"It's a pity for the eldest prince."
"Throughout the ages, when the imperial power changes, the issue of whether to establish a direct descendant or an elder has been debated. The eldest prince finally succeeded in occupying both the direct descendants and the elders, but his health was not good enough."
"The Emperor has already made it clear that the eldest prince will have a good time and rest in the palace in the future. I am afraid that the eldest prince will never be able to join the government and participate in politics."
Similar discussions continued in various houses in the capital. The eldest prince played Wu Qin Xi several times and listened to Gao Changshou's report while taking a medicinal bath.
"The Zhou family...what's their attitude?"
Gao Changshou: "The Zhou family is actively preparing for the wedding, and Miss Zhou is also embroidering the dowry in her room with peace of mind. I heard that the wedding dress on the wedding day was all embroidered by Miss Zhou stitch by stitch, which shows that she really wants to marry His Highness.
of."
The eldest prince was silent for a while: "Father, after all, I still have a bit of a father-son feeling towards me."
The Zhou family is a scholarly family in the Qing Dynasty, and its character is well-known. His father chose such a noble family for him, which indeed paved the way for his future life.
Calculated.
Gao Changshou looked at the eldest prince distressedly, not knowing what to say.
At this moment, there was a noise outside the house, and Gao Changshou hurriedly said: "It should be people from the inner court who came to arrange the decorations for the wedding day. The old slave immediately went out and asked them to keep their voices down."
The eldest prince waved his hand: "The inner court is a group of snobbery people who act according to the prevailing circumstances. Now that I have been abandoned by my father, how can they listen to you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound outside the house. It was the servants of the eldest prince's palace who were reminding the people in the inner court to keep quiet. Unexpectedly, the people in the inner court were very arrogant and shouted loudly:
"It's not that the slaves don't want to keep their voices down, it's because the construction schedule is too tight. The eldest prince is getting married in February, and soon the fifth, sixth, and seventh princes will follow. We must speed up the progress."
After hearing this, the eldest prince smiled mockingly. He had long been accustomed to the inner court faction's tendency to worship superiors and suppress inferiors, but he was really ignored by the people below. Wait, his mood still fluctuated involuntarily. It was not
As peaceful as he wanted.
...
In Wuchang Bo's Mansion, Shi Fuxin and Shi Fuyin came back from school and went to Yixiang Hall to greet Mrs. Shi. They happened to see Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi sorting out gifts.
"Is this a gift for anyone in the house?" Shi Fuxin asked curiously.
Mrs. Shi smiled and said, "This is a wedding gift prepared for several princes."
Shi Fuxin's expression changed: "When the prince gets married, do we also want to go to our house?"
Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Shi both looked stunned at the same time.
Mrs. Shi smiled stiffly and said, "Our house has little contact with the princes, but we still have to send congratulatory gifts."
Hearing this, Shi Fuxin was a little disappointed. She actually wanted to attend the cheap apprentice's wedding.
At this time, Manager Shi came in with a few servants, and Mrs. Shi immediately began to assign tasks: "This is a gift for the fifth prince, this is for the sixth prince, and this is for the seventh prince."
Shi Fuxin looked on from the side and asked quickly: "Is there no eldest prince?"
Mrs. Shi glanced at Mrs. Shi, and after the steward left with the servant, she said: "The eldest prince's congratulatory gift has been prepared, but... we have to wait for other houses to start sending it.
Send it along."
Shi Fuxin and Shi Fuyin looked at each other, didn't ask any more questions, said a few words to Mrs. Shi, and then left.
"Instead of giving gifts to the eldest prince who got married first, I gave gifts to the princes who got married later. People in the capital don't know the rules that well."
After leaving Yixiang Hall, Shi Fuyin couldn't help but sigh.
Shi Fuxin said calmly: "It's just seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages."
Shi Fuyin looked at her: "It's like this in our house, and I think it's the same in other families. I'm afraid the eldest prince will feel uncomfortable."
Shi Fuxin was silent: "Since he chose to lie dormant, he has to endure this loneliness."
Even though she said that, when she thought of the contempt that Cheap Disciple received, Shi Fuxin's temper still rose. She immediately came back to Lanyue Tower and wrote a letter to Cheap Disciple...
...
"Your Highness, letter."
Gao Changshou handed the letter he just received to the eldest prince.
"Beloved disciple personally initiates."
Seeing the familiar words, the eldest prince quickly opened the envelope.
"My dear disciple, you are getting married. What kind of gift would you like? Do you need me to support you?"
The eldest prince looked at this line of words silently, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, and after being silent for a long time, he picked up his pen and wrote back the letter.
"All the disciples like the gifts given by the master."