Xu Fengnian took a hot bath, ate and drank, and was about to have a good sleep. The next day, she went to the palace to pay homage to Emperor Shu.
Lao Huang knocked on the door, walked in, and reported:
"Master, the Crown Prince of Jiaodong sent me a greeting card, saying that he knew you were coming and wanted to pay you a visit!"
"The Crown Prince of Jiaodong? Why is he also in Jinguan City?"
Xu Fengnian muttered, it didn't matter, and waved to Lao Huang to invite the people in.
Under the name of the Liyang Dynasty, in addition to the King of Northern Liang and the expelled King of Guangling, there are also Zhao Bing, King of Yanchi, Zhao Heng, King of Jing'an, Zhao Sui, King of Jiaodong, Zhao Ying, King of Huainan, and Zhao Ao, King of Langya.
Among the Liyang vassal kings, Jiaodong King Zhao Sui and Beiliang King Xu Xiao had the best relationship.
When the prince of Jiaodong, Zhao Yi, learned about Xu Fengnian's arrival, he naturally handed over a greeting card and wanted to pay him a visit. This was also etiquette.
After the two of them exchanged their greetings.
Xu Fengnian, dressed in a white brocade robe, and Zhao Yi, the prince of Jiaodong, looked at each other and found that the other person was a handsome young man like himself, and their feelings for him immediately increased:
"Brother, please sit down!"
"Brother, please!"
Zhao Yi is only fifteen years old this year, two birthdays younger than Xu Fengnian.
Because of his young age, Zhao Yi didn't have much scruples when speaking. After sitting down, he directly asked out of curiosity:
"Brother, the canonization ceremony has been over for more than a month, why did you come to Jinguan City?"
The two princesses of Beiliang entered the palace together with the queen during the canonization ceremony in April.
And now, it's already May.
Zhao Yi was indeed a little curious as to what Xu Fengnian was thinking.
"Didn't I travel around the world 'on orders' before? I got the news late on the way, which wasted time!"
Xu Fengnian was too embarrassed to say that he had become a beggar because of his downfall. He tricked and deceived him all the way, so he came over and wasted time.
Xu Fengnian told Zhao Yi about his situation and asked Zhao Yi curiously:
"Brother Zhao Yi, as the crown prince, why did you serve as an envoy and come to Shu?"
"I'm here to give my royal sister a bride!"
When Zhao Yi talked about this, his voice was a little high, and his eyes could not hide the rebellion, aggrievedness, and anger!
At the beginning of the new year, various forces have discussed 'making peace' with Emperor Shu in order to protect themselves!
The Jiaodong king's fiefdom was in Liangliao, which was about four to five thousand miles away from the Shu Kingdom. There was no need to worry about the Shu Emperor.
However, other forces discussed the 'marriage' issue with Emperor Shu.
In particular, King Jing'an and King Yanchi did not have daughters of the right age, so they simply adopted two adopted daughters and wanted to make a 'marriage' with Emperor Shu.
As a result, the envoy of the King of Jiaodong did not discuss the 'peace' issue, which made him appear to be a bit unique among many forces.
The envoys of the King of Jiaodong were also afraid of causing trouble to their own king, so they quickly used the fastest Yan Falcon to pass the message and told the King of Jiaodong the situation.
King Jiaodong was somewhat helpless and unhappy when he received the news.
However, the current situation is like this, even the King of Beiliang gave away two daughters. The King of Jiaodong is so weak that he can only follow the trend.
Finally, after thinking about it, he married his second daughter who was not yet engaged.
Zhao Yi came to Jinguancheng this time to see off his bride.
Since the other forces were relatively close, they had already followed the Queen's canonization ceremony and entered the palace together.
Only the second daughter of the King of Jiaodong was delayed due to the long distance and several heavy rains on the road. It took more than three months to arrive at Jinguan City, delaying the Queen's canonization ceremony.
Now, if Zhao Yi's sister wants to enter the palace again, she still needs to find a good and auspicious day.
Zhao Yi and Xu Fengnian chatted for a while, and Lao Huang went to the kitchen of the post house to order food and drinks.
The two chatted while drinking, and the conversation slowly opened up.
Seeing that Xu Fengnian's mood was up and down, Zhao Yi thought that Xu Fengnian was missing his two sisters, so he comforted her:
"Brother, I heard that in the harem of Emperor Shu, in addition to the queen, there were a total of eight concubines and twelve concubines. Six of them were from Beiliang! And among the eight concubines and twelve concubines, the most favored one
, she is the Jade Concubine from Beiliang!"
"There are eight from Beiliang? The most favored one is the Jade Concubine? Who is this Jade Concubine?"
Xu Fengnian had a question mark on his face and quickly asked Zhao Yi who this 'Jade Concubine' was and if she was the 'little clay figurine' that she had longed for.
Zhao Yi is a light drinker. He only drank a few glasses of wine and his face was already red:
"Brother, how do I know the maiden name of the concubine in Emperor Shu's harem? The reason why I know this 'Jade Concubine' is because I heard it from the Shu people in the restaurant when I was shopping."
Xu Fengnian's interest was aroused, and while urging Zhao Yi to drink, he asked:
"Brother Xian, tell me what you heard."
"Then let me tell Brother Shi!"
Zhao Yi calmed down and then said:
"I heard that this jade concubine is none other than your second princess in Beiliang, that is, your second sister."
"Impossible! You must have confused my eldest sister with my second sister!"
When Xu Fengnian heard Zhao Yi's words, he suddenly burst into laughter.
"How could my second sister be named the 'Jade Concubine' when she is so ugly?"
In Xu Fengnian's eyes, although his second sister's appearance is not ugly, she is definitely not good-looking. What's more, she has a very bad temper and is prone to shouting and killing at every turn.
How could Emperor Shu like such a woman?
"I'm not confused. The eldest princess of Beiliang was named 'Xue Fei', and the second princess was named 'Jade Concubine'!"
As a young man, how could Zhao Yi admit that he was wrong? He argued directly:
"I heard that at the Queen's Conferment Ceremony, when Emperor Shu conferred the titles on your two sisters, he pointed at your eldest sister and said, King Xu Xiao of Northern Liang is dark and rough, but the eldest daughter has ice skin and jade skin, as if she is beating the frost against the snow.
, she must have inherited the princess’s appearance, therefore, I canonized your eldest sister as ‘Xue Fei’.”
"When he canonized your second sister, Emperor Shu said: 'Although the second daughter of the Northern Liang King is mediocre in appearance, she is knowledgeable in the art of warp and latitude, and has the ability to strategize. She is a talented person who can defeat Wang Zuo thousands of miles away. She is a rare beauty!' With the Emperor of Shu!
With such an evaluation, your second sister deserves to be called the 'Jade Concubine'."
After Zhao Yi said this, he began to let himself go and continued to preach:
"In addition to your eldest sister, the second sister occupies two concubine positions, and there is also a Xiang Concubine. I heard that she is also from your Beiliang. I heard from people that this 'Xiang Concubine' has a strange smell in her body since she was a child. Emperor Shu was very happy
, and canonized her as 'Fragrant Concubine'."
Zhao Yi was talking and drinking, and after a while, he lay down under the table.
Xu Fengnian was so angry that he kicked him and couldn't wake up. At this time, his own drunkenness began to rise. A lake appeared in front of him, and he also lay down on the floor and fell asleep.
The next day came in a blink of an eye.
An eunuch came to the Sifang Pavilion and found Xu Fengnian, who had not yet sobered up, and asked him to wash up and get dressed quickly.
Concubine Xue wants to meet Xu Fengnian.
Xu Fengnian thought it was the eldest sister and the second sister who wanted to see him together, so they didn't dare to delay, so they hurriedly washed and dressed, and followed the eunuch to the Jade Embroidery Palace in the harem of the palace.
The Jade Embroidery Palace was awarded to sisters Xu Zhihu and Xu Weixiong by Su Mingzhe.
Xu Fengnian rushed there in a hurry, but saw only the eldest sister. She felt relieved immediately, and then asked curiously:
"Eldest sister, isn't the second sister here?"
Xu Zhihu married into the Lu family in Jiangnan at the age of sixteen. Five years passed before he met his younger brother Xu Fengnian. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, he asked his second sister.
That is to say, Xu Zhihu has a good temper and is used to doting on his younger brother Xu Fengnian, so he explained indifferently:
"Your second sister is in the imperial study, accompanying His Majesty to correct the memorials."
When Xu Fengnian heard that her second sister was not here, she immediately relaxed and even had the heart to joke:
"This Emperor of Shu doesn't like beauties but ugly women, so it's no wonder he succeeded in restoring his kingdom!"
After Xu Fengnian whispered that her second sister Xu Weixiong was an "ugly girl", she subconsciously looked around timidly.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that there were no outsiders around except for a few serving maids.
If Xu Fengnian saw her second sister Xu Weixiong, she would definitely be scared.
However, when he looked around and didn't find his second sister, he missed her a little bit.
Seeing his brother's appearance, Xu Zhihu felt funny and couldn't help but say again:
"However, His Majesty said yesterday that knowing you were coming, he would give your second sister a half-day holiday at noon..."
Xu Fengnian's expression changed again, and her sagging waist straightened up again.
Afterwards, the two siblings chatted for a while.
First, Xu Fengnian asked Xu Zhihu whether Xu Weixiong was used to living in the Shu palace.
After Xu Zhihu answered, he asked her brother whether it was hard to travel this year, and whether she should intercede with Emperor Shu so that Emperor Liyang would be exempted from traveling for three years.
Before you know it, noon time has arrived.
A woman in a palace dress with thick eyebrows and big eyes and a dashing appearance shouted loudly as she walked into the main hall of the Jade Embroidery Palace:
"Sister, that guy didn't run away, did he?"
"I didn't run away, I'm still here."
Xu Zhihu was now a little afraid of this sister, so he quickly stood up and held his younger brother who was already trembling with fear.
The three sisters met.
Xu Weixiong was in a good mood and stretched out his hand to pinch Xu Fengnian, wanting to check if Xu Fengnian was injured or something:
"Fortunately, there are no missing arms or legs..."
Xu Weixiong finally met Xu Fengnian, and he didn't know how much he missed him. However, when they met, he was rude in his words and kept ridiculing and laughing at him.
Xu Fengnian's face was so pinched that it turned red, and her ears were pulled almost to the point of breaking. She had no choice but to beg for mercy.
"A manly man who begs for mercy so easily is really worthless!"
Xu Weixiong angrily slapped Xu Fengnian on the shoulder, and with this slap, Xu Fengnian sat on the ground.
"Okay, you two don't make a fuss as soon as you meet."
Xu Zhihu tried to smooth things over, but was afraid that the two of them would cause trouble again, so he quickly ordered the palace maids to start passing the food around.
Xu Fengnian originally saw the two sisters and wanted to ask about Jiang Ni.
However, the courage that Xu Weixiong finally gained after being frightened by Xu Weixiong just now was frightened back.
In desperation, Xu Fengnian could only drink hard while eating.
Hope, drunkenness will make you bold!
After an hour, the banquet between the three siblings ended.
Xu Fengnian drank a lot of wine and felt emboldened. She couldn't help but ask her two sisters:
"Eldest sister, second sister, that bastard Xu Xiao, did you give all the maids from my Wutong Garden to Emperor Shu?"
"good!"
Xu Weixiong knew that Xu Fengnian would ask this question, and without waiting for Xu Zhihu to explain, he said with a cold face:
"My eldest sister and I will not be living at home for a long time. Your father will use your maid from Wutong Garden to be a dowry girl for your two sisters. Aren't you happy?"
Xu Fengnian was glared at by Xu Weixiong. He couldn't help but shuddered and retracted his head:
"No, no, how could I not be happy...just...just, how many of this Xu Xiao will he leave for me..."
When Xu Fengnian faced her second sister Xu Weixiong, her courage was about to be shattered.
He wanted to ask about Jiang Ni, but when he saw the cold eyes of the second sister, he couldn't open his mouth.