roccoschili Chapter 227: Going to Beijing (Part )
Chapter 227: Going to Beijing (Part )
Li Ce was quite satisfied with Qixia's attitude. He only said a few words and then let her leave.
Qixia bowed and walked out of the hall without stopping for a moment, nodding to the eunuch waiting outside the door.
"I'm going to pay my respects to the Queen."
The eunuch hurriedly called for people and took Qixia to Fenglai Palace.
Jiang Wanyue was not surprised to see her.
"I knew you would come over."
She waved to Qixia with a smile.
When Qixia came forward, Jiang Wanyue grabbed her arm and asked her to sit next to him without waiting for her to salute.
"I have sent someone to invite Concubine Rong. She should be here in a quarter of an hour. The Emperor has agreed to let you recognize Concubine Rong as your stepmother, but this matter should not be made public. Wait a few days, pick an auspicious day, and kowtow in the palace."
Jiang Wanyue's words moved Qixia.
"Thank you, ma'am."
She knew very well that if it weren't for the Queen's protection, her mother wouldn't have the life she has now in the palace. In the palace, even if you have a child, if you don't have the Emperor's favor and he doesn't care about you, your life won't be easy. For example, the Third Prince's biological mother, Concubine Shu, is still the biological mother of the prince, but she is like a transparent person in the harem.
Jiang Wanyue patted her hands.
"We are now considered a family, so there is no need to be so polite. Besides, you have done a good job in the past few years. Otherwise, even if I wanted to help you, the emperor would not agree."
When Qixia was in Tianfu Temple, Jiang Wanyue gave her some manpower, intending to develop them quietly outside the harem and the Jiang family to gather information.
After a few years, it has been quite effective.
After returning to Beijing, she stayed in her mansion most of the time, out of sight, in order to avoid being discovered.
It is precisely because of the experiences of the past few years that Qixia has become much more mature and stable.
"How did the Queen convince the Emperor?" Qixia was still a little curious when she thought of the Emperor's previous attitude.
Jiang Wanyue picked up the teacup and took a sip.
"It's actually quite simple. It's nothing more than a two-way check and balance. There are many women of the right age in the royal family, but if you marry someone from a foreign clan, who can guarantee that the girls from the duke's palace won't be seduced or used by others? After a comparison, you are naturally the most suitable."
This is not only because of Qixia’s special identity, but more importantly because of Concubine Rong.
Jiang Wanyue told Li Ce very clearly that Qixia and Wei Fuxue had a deep mother-daughter relationship, and as long as Wei Fuxue was fine, Qixia would never betray her.
Similarly, as long as nothing happens in Qixia, Wei Fuxue will behave himself.
Of course, she couldn't guarantee it 100%, and Li Ce was also worried that if Qixia gained power in Tujie, she might want to avenge her father and brother.
But Qixia has performed well in recent years, and Li Ce's doubts were quickly dispelled by himself.
However, Li Ce was not completely reassured. He would select some of his trusted confidants to marry and keep an eye on Qixia at the same time.
Jiang Wanyue did not hide anything and told her everything in detail.
"Although the emperor's people are spies, they are our own people after all. You can rely on them more when you arrive in Tujie. Tujie has undergone great changes internally. Many of our original spies have been removed. It will be very troublesome to re-insert them. The emperor means that in addition to the superficial tasks, you need to cooperate with the court to place these spies in Tujie this time."
She said, paused, and took another sip of tea.
"But what I mean is that there is no rush to plant spies. The people of our Great Zhou look somewhat different from the Tujie people. Instead of spending effort to plant our own people, it is better to win over the Tujie people. The Tujie people have dozens of tribes with fierce internal conflicts, which can be used. Of course, there is no rush for these. The most urgent task after arriving in Tujie is to gain a firm foothold."
"You have to be careful with the King of Dingbei. I always feel that he is very scheming. When facing him, remember to be extra careful. You can reveal a little bit of your selfishness and pretend to be stupid, so that he will look down on you and lower his guard..."
Jiang Wanyue said a lot.
Qixia listened very carefully and wanted to take notes with a pen and paper.
She knew that although she was somewhat intelligent, she was far inferior to the Queen in terms of judging people and having a broad vision.
She had learned a lot following the Queen over the years, but still felt it was not enough.
The two talked for a long time until the voice of the palace maid outside came in.
"Empress Rong is here."
Jiang Wanyue stopped talking.
Wei Fuxue, wearing a scarlet palace dress and a golden shawl, walked in quickly.
When she saw her daughter, her eyes lit up obviously, but she managed to hold back and stepped forward to bow to Jiang Wanyue.
"I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen. How is Her Majesty today?"
Jiang Wanyue nodded and got straight to the point.
"Please sit down! Qixia has been crowned a princess. I have asked the emperor for permission to hold a family recognition banquet in two days."
Wei Fuxue was filled with joy and held her daughter's hand tightly.
"Did the Emperor really agree?"
"Would I lie to you?" Jiang Wanyue smiled warmly, "Qixia is going to marry the King of Dingbei, so the princess's identity must be fulfilled and she must be recognized as a godparent by you. Only then can she be considered a real princess, and we must also shut up those people outside."
In front of Wei Fuxue, I have to change my words.
Wei Fuxue nodded repeatedly.
"Yes!"
She touched Qixia's face and sighed.
"Over the years, I have been very worried about your marriage, but no one dared to propose marriage to you without the emperor's order... I thought he..." She paused and did not finish the second half of the sentence, "Fortunately, God has mercy on you, and your lifelong event has been settled. I can rest assured now."
Wei Fuxue doesn't know much about what's happening outside.
In her opinion, although Fu Nian was a foreigner, he was given the title of King of Dingbei, so this marriage was not a bad one.
After all, my daughter is over 20 years old, so it is impossible to find a good marriage for her.
Although the King of Dingbei had several children, they were all born out of wedlock. His first wife did not leave him any legitimate children either. Qixia's status would definitely be enough to suppress those concubines and illegitimate sons and daughters.
Qixia followed Jiang Wanyue's orders and did not reveal what was happening outside to Qixia, nor did she tell her the inside story of the marriage.
So she just listened with a smile and nodded from time to time.
After Wei Fuxue finished speaking, Qixia asked, "By the way, sister...where is the little princess? Why didn't you bring her here?"
Speaking of the little princess, Wei Fuxue sighed.
"This child got angry early in the morning and refused to eat. He insisted on going out to play in the snow. After I scolded him, he ran back to the house and cried, refusing to go out."
Wei Fuxue was really worried about her little daughter. She had a very impatient temper and was too willful. No matter how much nice words were said to her, she would not listen. Wei Fuxue had forced her to take action several times.
Thinking of this, Wei Fuxue couldn't help but mutter.
"I don't know who this child looks like. He doesn't look like me at all."
Qixia pursed her lips and whispered, "Maybe she looks like the emperor!"
Wei Fuxue shook her head.
"The Emperor wasn't like this when he was a child."
Jiang Wanyue's eyelids twitched as she listened to the mother and daughter whispering.
The little princess is seven years old now, but she looks less and less like Wei Fuxue... If she didn't look a little bit like Li Ce, she would have aroused suspicion long ago.
Wei Fuxue and Qixia are indeed mother and daughter, and they have never doubted each other.
Zhu Yan had whispered this to Jiang Wanyue in private.
Few people probably know this child's background nowadays.
The two maids who were in charge of the delivery both died in an "accident". Even the palace maids who were in the delivery room at that time were either expelled from the palace for making mistakes or moved out of Liufang Palace due to illness.
As for Princess Yurong, Li Ce had purged everyone in the Taoist temple, and there were only a few people left who knew the truth.
Moreover, I heard recently that Princess Yurong has fallen ill and she doesn’t have much time left.
Once Princess Yurong passed away, the secret of the little princess's life experience would be buried underground and would never be discovered.
At first Jiang Wanyue didn't understand why Li Ce brought the child into the palace to raise him, but now she finally understood.
In addition to covering up Princess Yurong's scandal and controlling Wei Fuxue, I'm afraid there is another reason, which is to prevent the possibility of a marriage alliance.