Noble Lady

Return to the Hou Mansion.

Xue Chenyu ordered people to search according to the clues given by Madam Han. Sure enough, they found some unusual things. Then they sent people out of the city overnight to chase after Marquis Xue.

A few days later.

After Mrs. Han was buried, the descendants of the Han family had to carry the coffin back to their hometown to observe mourning.

The Han family moved back to their hometown, leaving only a few old servants to look after the house in the capital.

Since then, the Han family, which once had the potential to become the first in Dasheng, has also fallen silent.

On the day the Han family moved, the queen only ordered Nanny Du to see them off, while she herself was busy making a lot of noise in the palace.

Because the prince was registered under the queen's name, he was nominally the grandson of the Han family and had to show up at the funeral.

But after the Han family moved away, he also lost his temper in the East Palace and dealt with many servants in one breath.

This caused everyone in the Eastern Palace to feel insecure.

"How can this not make sense? How can it not make sense!"

He had been looking forward to it for so many years, waiting for so many years, but in the end it was all in vain!

He originally thought that with the support of the Queen and the Han family, he could ascend the throne safely.

Unexpectedly, the Han family collapsed as soon as it said it would.

How can a foster mother who is only a queen in name only help him?

The prince became increasingly anxious, and the rumors that had been reaching his ears in recent days made him even more restless.

If the legitimate son born to the late queen was really still alive, his position as crown prince, who was nominally a legitimate son but was actually a bastard's son, would be in jeopardy.

For this reason, the prince sent people to investigate those old people in the palace separately, and he was eager to get a result immediately.

……

In a blink of an eye, the caravan was about to leave Beijing again.

Although Mother Li repeatedly said that she did not want to recognize He Jixiang and hoped that He Jixiang would live a peaceful life for the rest of her life, after paying tribute to her late husband and others, she secretly went to Jinyi Pavilion and met He Jixiang.

He Jixiang only vaguely remembered that she was the mother of Xue Chenyu's subordinate. They hadn't seen each other for a long time and he even talked to her for a long time.

Seeing her bulging belly, Mother Li couldn't help but ask about her recent situation.

He Jixiang thought that everyone was related to the Marquis' Mansion and Xue Chenyu, so he did not hide it and said that her pregnancy was getting worse and it would be inconvenient for her to travel in a while, so she could only go home to take care of the baby.

I can only work in Jinyi Pavilion after I give birth to my child.

Mother Li congratulated her repeatedly and gave her a peace amulet, saying, "This is what I asked for when I went up the mountain. I heard that the amulets from this Taoist temple are very effective. You are in poor health, so wearing this will keep you and your child safe."

Such blessings of peace and safety were very precious, so He Jixiang naturally didn't dare to accept it easily, but after Mother Li gave it to her and left, she had no way to refuse.

It is worth mentioning that after paying homage to her deceased husband and children, Mother Li also went to pay homage to He Jixiang’s aunt Niu Suyun.

Afterwards, Mother Li took Qinnan and left Beijing and headed south.

The previous flower viewing banquet has also come to an end.

Although Xue Chenyu and Situ Zhen were not confirmed as a couple, the marriage between the Sixth Prince and Chen Lizhu was approved by the Imperial Concubine and granted by the Empress Dowager.

However, the Queen Mother was not partial to one over the other.

After she arranged the marriage between Chen Lizhu and the Sixth Prince, she specially gave Xue Chenyu an imperial decree, allowing her to marry freely without interference from anyone.

This news is undoubtedly the best news for Xue Chenyu.

This means that the Queen Mother and His Majesty have already made up their minds. Even if Prince Cheng does not return to the capital, they will not hastily arrange a marriage for her just to stop him from thinking about it.

Chen Lizhu's engagement is scheduled for August and her wedding is scheduled for February next year.

The preparation for the wedding of a noble lady naturally takes longer.

But the marriage is already a done deal.

From then on, Chen Lizhu was restricted and had to embroider her wedding dress at home.

However, the old lady and the lady of the Duke's Mansion were just talking and could not really restrain her much.

Now Chen Mingxuan is rising in the court, and his maternal grandfather's family, the Hedong Liu family, has gradually returned from Hedong to Shengjing, the center of power.

He has the support of His Majesty and the help of the Liu family of Hedong. Now he is on the rise, and the Duke's Mansion is counting on him to pass on the family business.

Therefore, in the Duke's Mansion today, no one dares to offend Chen Mingxuan and Du Jingyuan, and the Duke's wife can only be a little wary of them.

Because Chen Lizhu was close to the fifth brother and his wife, as long as she followed Du Jingyuan, the Duke's wife would turn a blind eye.

The Zhuangzi that Xue Chenyu mentioned before also achieved great success thanks to the joint efforts of her, Du Jingyuan and Chen Lizhu, and opened as scheduled in the summer.

Xiaocao's child was born as expected. With the care of a reliable midwife and an experienced nanny, she safely survived the ordeal.

The baby was a boy.

With the good news, Liu felt relieved for a moment. She said that the He family had no one else now, so she asked He Ruyi to write a letter of engagement on her behalf, allowing Xiaocao to be included in the family tree, and the child would be raised as the legitimate son of the He family.

Normally, taking a concubine as a wife is a serious crime. "A man who takes his wife as a concubine shall be caned 100 times; while his wife is still alive, he shall be caned 90 times and required to correct his behavior."

But He Minzhi was already dead, and this child was the only heir of the He family. It was understandable for Liu to do this, and since the people would not report it and the officials would not investigate, Xiaocao became the legitimate wife of the He family.

Although being a widow is not a good status, she has no husband and no children. As long as she lives well with the money Xue Chenyu gives her, she will have no worries in her life.

Besides, my mother-in-law was paralyzed in bed, which saved me a lot of trivial family matters.

He Ruyi has now come to terms with it. She has no intention of remarrying, and after discussing with Xiaocao, they decide to raise the child together.

Liu passed away when the child was one hundred days old. She died of illness in a dream. No one knew what she dreamed about, but when she was found, she still had a smile on her face.

……

There was singing and dancing in the capital.

After leaving the capital, Situ Zhen and Xue Hou encountered endless difficulties and obstacles.

Xue Hou would send a letter home every two weeks, rain or shine. Occasionally, among the letters, there would be a page or two in the handwriting that was not Xue Hou's, but was clearly Situ Zhen's.

But this matter was done in secret, and only Madam Xue and Xue Chenyu knew about the letter. Even Xue Huai and Xue Luoyan were kept in the dark.

Therefore, Situ Zhen's whereabouts have never been discovered.

Occasionally, there are gifts sent from far away.

In mid-May, Marquis Xue secretly submitted a memorial, claiming to have found the whereabouts of the army and requesting Your Majesty to grant the authority to mobilize troops.

In early June, Han Hongyue started an uprising in Lingnan, proclaimed himself king, and called himself the King of the North.

His Majesty issued an imperial decree, appointing Marquis Xue as the general and dispatching troops to suppress the rebellion.

However, the team led by Han Hongyue is huge, and they are familiar with the terrain. They hide in the mountains and forests and guard the natural barriers, which makes them very difficult to deal with.

As a result, the two sides engaged in a tug-of-war.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the prince saw that the battle was going on for a long time and he volunteered to lead an army of 20,000 to the south to provide assistance.

After several days of debate in the court, His Majesty could not resist the requests of the civil and military officials in the court and the prince himself, and agreed.

But unexpectedly, the prince led 20,000 troops south, making the situation of this battle even more unpredictable.

Originally, the prince was supposed to go to support Marquis Xue and the local army, but he turned against them at the last moment and rebelled.

This put Xue Hou and his men under attack from both sides.

When the military report was sent back to Shengjing, His Majesty was even more furious and immediately issued an order to depose the crown prince.

The Queen Mother was also heartbroken, "Why would he be so desperate as to associate with that traitor?"

All those who spoke well of the prince at the time have become speechless.

Although His Majesty did not vent her anger on the Queen, she also requested to be deposed. His Majesty did not agree, so she ordered the Sixth Princess Jinghua to move to the Empress Dowager Ci'an Palace and call it her own bedroom.

As a punishment.

The Queen Mother specifically ordered Nanny Fang to come and take Princess Jinghua away, but she did not stop the Queen from sealing herself in the bedroom.

Her attitude is also very clear.

Just when everyone thought that the battle in Lingnan would be a protracted one, Situ Zhen appeared.

The title of Prince Cheng is still useful.

Moreover, Lingnan is just a place with high mountains and far away emperors, but it is not a place that can be easily conquered. The local government offices and local people have the courage to resist in their bones.

When the imperial army was weaker than the rebels, the people joined together, contributing money and manpower.

At this time, there was no so-called scholar-farmer, merchant or artisan. Doctors provided medicine, workers worked hard, and everyone worked together to resist these rebels who were destroying the peaceful days.

Even the slogans were shouted out loudly——

"Kick the traitors out of our home!"

The local people were more familiar with the mountain roads and trails than the rebels. Under the orderly command of Prince Cheng's son Situ Zhen and Marquis Xue, they took advantage of their flexibility and repeatedly thwarted the conspiracy of Han Hongyue and the prince to attack together.

He fought his way out of the encirclement and siege several times.

On the other hand, the 20,000 troops brought by the deposed prince were all from the north. Unable to endure the perennial humidity and heat of Lingnan, they began to suffer from acclimatization problems as soon as they arrived here.

In just less than two months, not to mention the casualties in the fighting, the number of soldiers who fell ill due to acclimatization was more than 20%.

The remaining 80% finally made it to the beginning of winter in Lingnan, but fell ill again because they were not adapted to the cold weather in the south.

Some died, some were injured, and less than half of the troops remained. Morale was low, and no one was willing to fight anymore. ...