The prince loves me like his life, but I force him to rebel

1. If my father and brother were still alive

"You came just in time. We just sat down to eat." Sima Yao shouted to the maid, "Add a set of bowls and chopsticks, and a few more dishes."

The four of them sat down again.

After the Third Prince introduced Gu Nianzhi and Shu Huaiyuan to each other, he began to chat with Shu Huaiyuan about family matters.

"This time you are returning to Beijing, you should be preparing for the wedding, right?"

"Yes, from today until departure, I will stay in the capital."

"Have you visited, Queen Mother?"

"I wanted to visit the Queen Mother as soon as I arrived in the capital, but I encountered some refugees making trouble on the way. It took some time to deal with them, and it was already now that I arrived in the capital. Now I am an adult, and I am different from my childhood. I cannot enter the harem after nightfall, so I came directly to the Third Prince to reminisce about the past."

"Refugees causing trouble?"

"To be precise, they were refugees from Qiangyi. They dared to rob passers-by of their belongings at the post station on the official road. This was really infuriating. I immediately arrested a few of them and had two soldiers escort them to the county government office."

Gu Nianzhi and the Third Prince exchanged glances. These people should also be disguised as people from Cinan. I wonder if the county government can find out the true identities of these people.

The four of them ate and chatted about the current government, the current world, the suffering of the people, and the border war situation...

They chatted until they were excited and had a few more drinks. The meal lasted more than an hour. Except for Gu Nianzhi who was just drinking tea, the other three were a little drunk.

Shu Huaiyuan's follower came over and whispered something in his ear.

Shu Huaiyuan was so angry that he slammed the table and stood up: "They are rebelling!"

"What's the matter?"

"The county government said that the Qiang people were not Chinese citizens and that they had no right to detain or interrogate them, yet they just let them go! On Dasheng land, the people of Dasheng were bullied by foreigners, and they couldn't even find a place to seek justice?"

"Huaiyuan, you don't know. In recent years, border trade between Dasheng and other countries has developed rapidly, and the number of foreigners in the capital has increased. There is a special agency to manage these people, called the Foreign Affairs Office, which is managed by the Second Prince himself. All incidents involving foreigners will eventually be handled by the Foreign Affairs Office. The people of Qiangyi are indeed rash and rude, but the marriage between Qiangyi and Dasheng is imminent, and my father means that we should try to wait until after the marriage before rectifying the situation."

"Even if that's what the emperor meant, Huaiyuan won't say much. It's just that I thought only the people on the border were bullied by other ethnic groups, but I didn't expect that the people on the edge of the capital also suffered this kind of pain! If my father and brother were still alive... forget it..."

Sima Yao arranged a guest room for Shu Huaiyuan and sent the drunk him into the room.

Several people went back to their rooms to rest.

Maybe he drank too much tea, Gu Nianzhi had no desire to sleep.

She sat on the edge of the bed, with a full moon outside the window. It was already mid-moon.

Gu Nianzhi put on his clothes, walked into the courtyard, and looked up at the full moon. The sky here was really clear. He had never understood the phrase "colorful clouds chasing the moon" before, but now he understood it all of a sudden. The moonlight shone on the surrounding clouds, and it turned out that all kinds of halos and different colors really appeared. The evening breeze blew, and the clouds floated by. "Colorful clouds chasing the moon" became a real scene.

There are countless stars in the sky.

Gu Nianzhi turned around and looked at the stars on the other side of the sky.

Under the moonlight, Gu Nianzhi's shadow was clearly visible.

In the modern society with serious light pollution, Gu Nianzhi never thought that the moonlight could be so bright.

Another shadow appeared next to the shadow.

Gu Nianzhi shifted his gaze from the ground to his side, and found Shu Huaiyuan standing beside him without him noticing.

"The prince told Huaiyuan in the letter that the last time I had a secret meeting with the prince, it was almost known to the Second Prince and his party. Fortunately, you stopped it, so Huaiyuan had the opportunity to serve as the general welcoming the bride. Huaiyuan is very grateful."

"General Shu, you are too polite." Gu Nianzhi looked at Shu Huaiyuan's face. Under the moonlight, his angular face revealed a firmness, and his facial features, as sharp as a knife, seemed to emit a sharp and cold light.

"Since his father and brother died for their country, Huaiyuan has wanted to serve the country, but fate has made it so that he has no chance. Although this trip is just to welcome and send off the bride, it is better than guarding the imperial mausoleum and doing nothing."

"How can you say he is doing nothing?" Gu Nianzhi said, "Even though he was only stationed at the imperial mausoleum, General Shu never slacked off for a single day. He read military books, trained his physique, and was not behind anyone in everything. He is worthy of being the son of a general and the descendant of a loyal hero. General Shu just lacks an opportunity to make achievements. Don't underestimate yourself."

"Mr. Gu said it as if he had seen it with his own eyes." Shu Huaiyuan looked at Gu Nianzhi.

Their eyes met in the moonlight.

In his eyes, there is the high spirits of a young general, and even a hint of joy of meeting a close friend.

"I just firmly believe that a good father will have a good son. You will definitely be able to achieve great things like your father and brother." Gu Nianzhi smiled.

She didn't know how much her unintentional action would change Shu Huaiyuan's fate. The journey was dangerous, and perhaps Shu Huaiyuan would die in the vast Gobi Desert with the prince. She felt somewhat guilty about this, but at this moment, she was relieved.

No matter what the outcome of Shu Huaiyuan's trip was, at least he had served as a general in welcoming a bride, and had actually been to the battlefield like his father and brothers, fighting for his own future, instead of being harmed by a villain, falling into a trap, and dying miserably in depression.

"Although this is the first time I meet you, in Huaiyuan's heart, it seems like we have known each other for many years. Thank you for your trust in me. I will try my best to live up to your wishes." Shu Huaiyuan clenched his fists, his eyes firm and sincere.

---

The Crown Prince already has several concubines, and the position of Crown Princess is vacant.

Previously, the Queen Mother had intended to choose a suitable candidate from the daughters of several key ministers in the court, but it was shelved for various reasons. Now the position of Crown Princess is left to the eldest princess of Qiangyi. On the surface, the status of the eldest princess is more noble than that of the daughter of a minister, and she is more suitable for the crown prince, but in fact, the national strength of Qiangyi is far inferior to that of Dasheng. Except for temporarily easing the border war between the two countries, the mother's family of the eldest princess of Qiangyi is of no help to the crown prince in the court. In terms of maintaining imperial power, it is not as useful as marrying a senior official in the court who has a deep foundation.

But the prince had no choice.

His marriage was both a state affair and a matter of the harem.

The three palaces and six courtyards were all managed by Empress Xian, and her opinion was very important in this matter.

Nowadays, the prince's Baolin, Liangdi and several other concubines have families whose maternal power is not outstanding, and the prince is alone in the court. If the emperor did not still miss the former queen, and if the prince was not the undisputed eldest son and had behaved docilely and respectfully for many years, the position of the prince would have been changed long ago just based on the power behind him.