The delicate little cabbage was pushed by the old emperor

Chunyangyuan

Shen Leyan was awakened by thirst. She got up and went to the table to drink a large glass of water. After returning home yesterday, she felt extremely depressed when thinking about what happened. In addition, she was very tired, so she went straight to bed to rest.

When Caiyue heard that the young lady had woken up, she took the other maids into the room to help her wash and groom.

"What time is it now?"

"Miss, it's almost noon. Yesterday before going to bed, you asked not to be disturbed. This morning, Madam saw that you were tired and still sleeping soundly, so she didn't wake you up." Caiyue replied, holding the clothes.

Shen Leyan didn't expect that she had slept until now. She nodded and said, "Go away first. I'll do it myself."

She usually had the habit of dressing herself, so everyone retreated to the dressing table and waited without giving it much thought.

She was afraid that the traces of yesterday's ambiguity had not been completely eliminated and were seen by others. Her skin was tender and smooth, and a light press of her fingers would leave a mark, not to mention that she was pressed under Emperor Yong'an for a long time yesterday... Thinking of this, Shen Leyan's face began to heat up again.

She changed into the white cloud silk long skirt prepared by Caiyue, and the aqua green outer skirt, which matched the spring scenery very well, and moved slowly to the dressing table.

Caiyue saw that the young lady's face was flushed, and asked, "Young lady, are you still feeling unwell? Do you want me to go and call a doctor?"

Shen Leyan was embarrassed and shook her head: "Maybe it's because I just woke up, it's nothing serious."

As she spoke, Caiyue had combed her hair into an elegant flying cloud bun, with a magnolia hairpin and a tasseled hairpin inserted in her hair.

Zhiyue came hurriedly: "The meal is ready, the master and the mistress asked the young lady to go to the front hall to eat."

Shen Leyan nodded, stood up, adjusted her skirt, and walked towards the front hall with light steps.

She hadn't eaten much at the banquet yesterday, and she hadn't eaten dinner or breakfast today either. Her stomach was empty and she had long been unaware of hunger, but the eating habits she had developed over the years had not changed. She still chewed her food slowly and with elegant manners.

After the meal, Shen Leyan was called to the study by her father.

"I heard that Yan'er left the banquet early and returned home yesterday, but what happened?" Shen Hongan asked his daughter who was grinding ink for him.

Shen Leyan looked at the ink in the bowl and explained to her father, "Perhaps she drank two cups of peach blossom wine from the palace at the banquet and couldn't handle the alcohol. She had a dizzy spell in the Imperial Garden and was spotted by the Emperor who happened to be passing by. He specially allowed her to leave the banquet and return home to rest."

Shen Hongan smiled and nodded. He was always very confident in his precious daughter. After all, Shen Leyan was not only well-educated and calm, but also had a strong sense of self-determination.

"Daddy, between the eldest prince and the third prince, who is more likely to become the crown prince?"

Shen Leyan was worried that the Imperial Concubine would not give up, so she had to make plans early. However, it was not a good idea to tell her father directly about the Imperial Concubine's plan, otherwise it would involve what happened with the Emperor yesterday... She felt ashamed inside.

"This matter cannot be discussed casually."

"Daddy, I just saw the Imperial Concubine dominating the Empress at the banquet yesterday, and I was curious."

Seeing that Shen Leyan rarely acted like a spoiled child, Shen Hongan was content: "It was true in the past, but it may not be the case now."

"Before, there were more people supporting the eldest prince, but this morning, news came that the eldest prince was reprimanded by the emperor for forming a clique and was confined to his house for a year. The imperial concubine was also placed under house arrest."

Shen Hongan sighed after he finished speaking: "I'm afraid no one in the court dares to mention the appointment of a crown prince now."

After hearing this, Shen Leyan opened her mouth and was stunned for a long time, thinking: No way, no way, I will be sanctioned so soon?

Seeing that Shen Leyan didn't speak, Shen Hongan was also confused. "I don't know why the emperor suddenly issued an order to punish the eldest prince and the imperial concubine. In the court, the emperor always turned a blind eye and let the two factions argue with each other. I thought something happened at the banquet yesterday."

Shen Leyan laughed dryly, "Your Majesty is wise. Perhaps he has long been fed up with the eldest prince and this just happened to happen."

Shen Hongan didn't notice anything unusual and said calmly, "The Ye family is now powerful, so it's inevitable that the emperor will suppress them. Fortunately, your father was smart and didn't join the factional struggle, otherwise he would have been implicated."

"Father is wise!"

"Okay, girl, don't worry about these things all day long. Go back and rest early." Shen Hongan waved his hand and began to carefully look through the official documents on the table.

"My daughter is leaving." Before leaving, Shen Leyan took two history books of the Great Zhao Kingdom back from the study.

Back in her room, Shen Leyan flipped through the history of the Great Zhao Kingdom, but she couldn't calm down. Her mind kept wandering, thinking about what her father had just said: Was it because of yesterday's incident? Or was the emperor really dissatisfied with the behavior of the eldest prince and the Ye family for a long time? But wasn't the third prince also a clique...?

The more she thought about it, the more headache she got. At least for now, she didn't have to worry about the imperial concubine not letting her off the hook.

Shen Leyan happily closed the book and told Caiyue to prepare a medicinal bath. She needed to relax.

Shen Leyan sat quietly in the bathtub, leaning back slightly on the edge of the tub, breathing gently, enjoying the elegant medicinal fragrance that filled the room, and enjoying deep relaxation.

The snow-white skin takes on a pink hue under the evaporation of mist, just like flower petals moisturized by morning dew.

Zhiyue said through the screen: "Miss, you have been soaking for two quarters of an hour. Are you still tired? Do you need a maid to come in and give you a massage?"

"Much better. I'll be up in a moment."

After soaking for a long time, Shen Leyan felt her whole body soft and weak. She calmed down in the bathtub for a while before slowly getting up.

She wore a light veil, tied with a ribbon, and walked slowly out from behind the screen. Her long black hair was wet and draped over her shoulders. The wet white veil clung to her body, looming and revealing, and she was as beautiful as a lotus flower emerging from the water.

Even though Caiyue often saw the young lady like this, she was often distracted. While using a handkerchief to wring out the young lady's hair, she admired the young lady's beauty in her heart.

After finishing the cleaning, Shen Leyan half-lay on the beauty bed and opened the History of Dazhao that she had read before.

Somehow, I suddenly wanted to learn more about the history of the Great Zhao Kingdom, and I also wanted to know more about the current emperor...

It turned out that his name was Xiao Jin. He was the ninth son of the late Emperor Ningde and was born to the late Emperor's favorite concubine, Concubine Zhao. After the late Empress passed away, Concubine Zhao was canonized as Empress and Xiao Jin was naturally appointed as the Crown Prince. He inherited the throne at the age of 21.

After Xiao Jin succeeded to the throne, he led his troops to fight and defeated the State of Qi, recovering the large amount of land lost by the State of Dazhao in one fell swoop. After returning to the court, he rectified the government, promoted the imperial examination system, encouraged the development of commerce and economy, and vigorously promoted and made use of children from poor families. As a result, Shen's father was valued by the emperor.

After reading the records in the history books, Shen Leyan felt that the emperor was truly a man of both civil and military talents, and was dedicated to governing the country. She also recalled the emperor's handsome appearance...

When going to bed at night, Shen Leyan's mind was full of praise for Emperor Yong'an in the Records of the Grand Historian...