Chapter 191 The Crown Prince’s Wedding
"What great news?" Zhao Xing was stunned when he heard that.
There doesn't seem to be anything big happening recently. If there is any happy event, his wedding will be in a dozen days.
But Sanshui is someone close to him, so it’s a bit early to congratulate him now.
And Sanshui doesn’t look like it’s because of this.
"Your Highness, Concubine Sheng is pregnant." Sanshui said excitedly.
"What?" Zhao Xing dropped the pen in his hand when he heard that.
Zhao Xing ignored all this and looked at Sanshui and asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
"It's absolutely true!" Sanshui said, "Today, Lady Sheng felt a little unwell, so she asked the imperial physician to come and check her pulse. It was then that she discovered that she was pregnant, so she sent someone to report it."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing stood up and walked out.
He was still a little dizzy along the way.
Am I going to be a father now?
There was absolutely no preparation at all.
"Your Highness!"
As they entered Sheng Shulan's courtyard, the palace maids bowed to them one after another.
Zhao Xing ignored him and went straight into the house.
"Your Highness!"
Liu Ying was talking to Sheng Shulan. When she saw Zhao Xing come in, she bowed quickly.
Sheng Shulan also wanted to stand up, Zhao Xing took a few steps forward and helped her sit down.
"You are pregnant, so just sit still and don't need to bow."
"Your Highness, I have just become pregnant and am not that delicate." Sheng Shulan looked a little excited.
"It's because you just got pregnant, so you have to be careful." Zhao Xing said, "This is my first child, so we have to be careful. Sanshui, go talk to Nanny Feng and ask her to select two older Nannies to come here and serve."
"Yes." Sanshui responded and walked out.
Zhao Xing took Sheng Shulan aside to ask about the situation, only to find out that she had felt something was wrong with her body a few days ago.
But I felt that it was no big deal, so I kept it to myself and said nothing.
Liu Ying felt sick today, and despite Sheng Shulan's objection, she went to ask the imperial physician to come over.
After taking her pulse, he found out that she was pregnant, so he immediately sent someone to Zhao Xing to report the good news.
It's just that Sheng Shulan doesn't have an old nanny, and Liu Ying and the others have no experience, otherwise they would have noticed something wrong with Sheng Shulan's menstruation long ago and would not have waited until now.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xing blamed Sheng Shulan and told her to tell him in time if she felt unwell in the future.
Because Liu Ying had made great contributions, Zhao Xing not only rewarded her with silver, but also promoted her to be a female official.
As they were talking, Yu Yanran came over.
"Greetings to Your Highness."
"No need to be so polite, come and sit down." Zhao Xing said with a smile.
"Congratulations, Sister Shulan." Yu Yanran came and sat down next to Sheng Shulan, looking at her with eyes full of envy.
"Haha, sister Yanran will also have this day." Sheng Shulan's face was flushed and her hand gently stroked her lower abdomen.
"Then I'll take advantage of your good wishes, sister." As Yu Yanran spoke, she glanced at Zhao Xing with a blushing face.
Zhao Xing naturally understood what Yu Yanran meant, but to be honest, he didn't want Yu Yanran to get pregnant so early.
Giving birth to a child for a woman is almost like going through the gates of hell.
One reason is medical conditions, and the other is age.
There was nothing Zhao Xing could do about the medical conditions. As the crown prince, he and his woman already enjoyed the best medical conditions of the era.
And there is not much a doctor can do when a woman gives birth.
But age can be controlled.
It is said that love grows over time. Yu Yanran has been in the Eastern Palace for almost a year, and even Sheng Shulan has been in the Eastern Palace for eight months.
Zhao Xing didn't want to see a scene of two lives lost.
Sheng Shulan is already in her twenties, so she got pregnant.
Yu Yanran decided to wait a few years before making any decision.
But he couldn't tell Yu Yanran about this.
"Your Highness, His Majesty and the Queen are here." A eunuch trotted into the room to report.
"what?"
Zhao Xing was stunned when he heard this. He asked Sheng Shulan and Yu Yanran to wait while he hurried out to greet them.
As soon as he arrived at the central palace, he was greeted by the Emperor and Empress Cao who were riding in a sedan chair.
"Your son pays homage to the Emperor, Father, and the Empress!" Zhao Xing said with a salute.
"Fuer, your concubine is pregnant. It's such a big thing, why didn't you send someone to inform her?" Queen Cao blamed.
"I was so happy for a moment that I forgot. There is no need to ask my father and mother to come over for such a small matter." Zhao Xing said embarrassedly.
"It's not a small matter. This is a big expense. Take me to see it quickly." The emperor urged.
"My belly isn't even big at this time, what can I see?"
Zhao Xing didn't dare say this, and quickly led his father and mother to Sheng Shulan's courtyard.
Zhao Xing thought about it carefully and seemed to understand why his father and mother were so excited.
Under normal circumstances, if Sheng Shulan, of her status, got pregnant, the government wouldn't care at all.
It's just a illegitimate grandson or granddaughter.
However, all of the official's sons died young, leaving only Zhao Xing as his son.
Even though he was born out of wedlock, the continuation of the bloodline still made the emperor very happy.
Upon learning that Sheng Shulan was pregnant, even though she had just become pregnant, he and Queen Cao still rushed over.
What Zhao Xing didn't expect was that his father also brought his imperial physician with him.
As soon as they met, the emperor asked the imperial physician to take Sheng Shulan's pulse again. When he learned that it was indeed a pregnancy pulse, the emperor was overjoyed. Not only did he reward Sheng Shulan, he also said that after the crown princess entered the palace, she would be canonized as the crown prince's concubine of the fifth rank.
The Crown Prince's concubines are of the fourth rank and above, and the principal concubine is the highest rank among them.
Given Sheng Shulan's background and the fact that she had been divorced before, the fifth-rank title of the Crown Prince's Concubine was already a high title.
Even Yu Yanran benefited from this and received a lot of rewards.
The Emperor and Empress Cao stayed until the evening before leaving. Empress Cao also left two maids to take care of Sheng Shulan.
The sudden departure of Empress Cao from the palace naturally could not be concealed from the noble officials in Bianliang.
Soon, the news that a woman in the prince's harem was pregnant spread.
…………
Prince of Yan's Palace
When Prince Yan heard the news, he sent the servants out and ordered someone to call Mr. Chu over.
"Your Highness, did the prince ask me to come here because one of the Crown Prince's concubines is pregnant?" Mr. Chu said with a smile after bowing.
"Mr. Chu, let's cancel all previous arrangements." Prince Yan said.
Zhao Xing has the bloodline, so even if Zhao Xing died, the throne would never fall on his head.
But he had been planning for so long that he felt a little unwilling to give up.
"So what if she's pregnant? We don't know whether it's a boy or a girl yet. Your Highness is just giving up like this?" Mr. Chu said seriously, "Your Highness, now that Prince Yong is dead, as long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... then the throne will definitely be yours. Are you willing to give up now?"
"Mr. Chu, please stop trying to persuade me. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is going to marry a concubine soon. With the previous assassination attempt, there is almost no chance for him to marry again in the short term. Even if you are unwilling, what can you do?"
Prince Yan looked at Mr. Chu and said, "You have helped me so much, I am very grateful. I will ensure that your son will be rich and prosperous for the rest of his life."
Mr. Chu was not surprised to hear this, as he knew many secrets of Prince Yan.
If Prince Yan still had ambitions to fight for the throne, he would naturally not kill him. However, Zhao Xing had been staying in the city all this time. Now, he not only had a child, but was also about to marry a concubine.
By then, I'll take in a few more concubines, and a few more of them will be pregnant. It's impossible that all of them will give birth to girls.
It can be said that the reason why Prince Yan gave up was that he saw less and less hope.
Before, Zhao Xing had no children, so he still held on to his fantasy, but now he has completely given up.
As a person who knew many secrets, he naturally could not be kept any longer.
"Your Highness, there is still some chance now." Mr. Chu said in a low voice.
"What opportunity?" asked King Yan.
Mr. Chu laughed when he heard this. Since Prince Yan asked this, it meant that he had not completely given up.
"Your Highness, have you ever heard of this? There is a strange poison in the Western Regions that is colorless and tasteless. Nothing will happen if you come into contact with it, but once you ingest it, you will die suddenly in a moment." Mr. Chu said.
Prince Yan frowned upon hearing this and said, "Let's not talk about whether this poison is as strong as you said. Everything the Crown Prince eats is tested for poison. How could His Royal Highness be poisoned?"
"Your Highness, now that I have said it, there is naturally a way. Sometimes poison does not have to be put in food." Mr. Chu said with a smile.
Prince Yan was somewhat dissatisfied with Mr. Chu's keeping the secret.
But he still patiently asked, "Then how do we poison it?"
Mr. Chu leaned close to Prince Yan's ear and whispered a few words.
After listening to this, the King of Yan was silent for a while, and then said, "I will leave this matter to you, sir. After it is done, I will not forget you."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. You will receive good news within a month." Mr. Chu said with a smile.
…………
The day before the crown prince’s wedding, he needs to report to the temple.
The so-called reporting to the temple means worshiping the ancestors, reporting to them, and praying for their blessings for their descendants to flourish.
Early in the morning of March 25th, Zhao Xing put on his crown and went to the palace.
The wedding was held in the imperial palace, which was decorated with lights and full of bustle.
The palace maids and eunuchs had smiles on their faces.
They will receive a lot of rewards from the Crown Prince's wedding.
Although the emperor was kind to others, he was also very lenient towards the palace maids and eunuchs.
However, officials were usually very frugal, and it was almost impossible for them to receive any rewards.
In a normal wedding, the groom needs to go to the bride's house to pick her up. There is a set of etiquette to follow when he arrives at the bride's house. By the time he picks up the bride, it will be past noon.
The wedding procession went around the streets and by the time they arrived at the man's house, it was already late in the evening.
However, as Zhao Xing was the crown prince, he naturally did not need to go to welcome the bride in person.
Instead, the Minister of Rites went to greet him, and Zhao Xing only needed to greet him at the Xuande Gate, the main entrance of the imperial palace.
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british government
Zhang Guifen wore the formal dress of the Crown Prince's wife and a phoenix coronet and bridal robe.
Sun looked at her dressed-up daughter, held back her tears, and said, "Go to the ancestral hall. Your father is waiting for you there."
"Yes!" Zhang Guifen stood up and bowed to her mother, then went to the ancestral hall with the help of her maid.
Under the witness of clan elders, ancestors were worshipped.
The water thrown out by the married daughter.
A woman is not eligible to worship her ancestors before she gets married, and she is not eligible to do so even after she gets married.
But Zhang Guifen was different. She was the Crown Princess and she worshipped her ancestors before getting married, which brought honor to the family.
As for after she got married, the Duke of England had to perform formal greetings whenever he saw her, so there was naturally no reason for him to worship the Zhang family's ancestors.
With the support of the clan elders, Zhang Guifen knelt three times and kowtowed nine times to pay homage to the ancestors of the Zhang family.
Then she was helped up by the maid and came before the Duke of England.
Duke Ying looked at his daughter and said, "When you enter the East Palace, you must be diligent and prudent, and be filial and respectful..."
(End of this chapter)