Chapter 285 Go Home Early

The next morning.

The sky is bright.

Early in the morning, Yang Wenyuan and Hua Lan got up early and began to wash with warm water to wake themselves up.

After they finished packing, they went to the front hall.

Not long after, Madam Chen and Yang Rujin also arrived together.

In addition to the women of the Yang family, the two of them were also the family members of the frontline general Yang Yuqing, and they had to go to the palace to pay their respects.

royal palace.

Just like last year, a group of high-ranking officials and their families, wearing brocade hats and sable furs, stood in the palace square, waiting to be summoned by the emperor and empress.

There was no surprise in the order of summoning the families this year. First, the family members who were leading troops outside were summoned, and then the titles and status were discussed.

Therefore, Mrs. Chen and Yang Rujin went ahead.

Thanks to Yang Yuqing's good news in the south, when it was Yang Wenyuan and Hua Lan's turn to enter the palace, they had already been given seats by the emperor in advance.

"Announce the Marquis of Pingyang and his wife to see you!"

After the eunuch called out their names, Yang Wenyuan and Hua Lan slowly walked into the hall.

First, they thanked the emperor for his grace as usual, and then the emperor bestowed gifts.

At this time last year, he should have been allowed to stay and be given a seat, but this year things are different.

"I heard that the wife of Marquis Pingyang is pregnant?" After the ritual was completed, Queen Cao asked Hualan.

At this moment, no matter how majestic and dignified she was, she couldn't help but show a lot of envy on her face.

If she were the one who was pregnant, she would be willing to do so even if it meant shortening her life.

Unfortunately, it is so rare that I can only watch others with envy.

"To reply to the Queen, I am pregnant."

Hua Lan lowered her head and touched her not-so-obvious belly, smiling as she said:

"But it's not obvious yet. It's only been more than three months."

"Three months? It's not too early then. We still need to pay more attention."

Empress Cao nodded when she heard this, then turned to look at the emperor next to her, then looked at Yang Wenyuan and said:

"Considering the baby in your wife's belly, I won't look at the seat this year. It's better for you to return home early to take care of it."

As soon as Empress Cao said this, everyone who had been given a seat in the hall looked suspicious.

If she was thinking about the baby in her belly, shouldn't she have checked the seats earlier to show her preference?
Why do you want to "send people back" without even giving them a seat?

After all, Hualan’s baby is just over three months old, so now should be the most peaceful time for her.

The people in the palace had different expressions, especially Princess Yong and Princess Yan.

Seeing that Yang Wenyuan seemed to have lost favor in front of the emperor, Princess Yong immediately revealed a satisfied smile.

You, Yang Wenyuan, are young and arrogant, and you disregard the dignity of my Prince Yong's Palace!
Princess Yan was also happy, but her expression remained expressionless.

Princess Pingning also remained calm.

She showed no surprise at this result. It was unknown whether she had known the news in advance or believed that the emperor's favor was limited in time.

Yang Wenyuan was also stunned at this time.

Empress Cao's move was beyond his expectations, but he reacted quickly and immediately thanked her and said respectfully:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, and the Queen for your understanding!"

Hualan also said the same thing:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, Queen, for your grace!"

Empress Cao smiled and nodded:
"Go, go, go home early, or you'll catch a cold."

After leaving the palace, I got on the carriage heading home.

Hua Lan said to Yang Wenyuan with a worried look on her face:

"Sir, the Queen didn't keep us in the palace this time. Could it be..."

She was a little confused. She had clearly visited the Queen's Palace a few days ago and everything was fine then, but now she seemed to have changed her appearance.

"The Queen is understanding of you."

Yang Wenyuan immediately spoke out to comfort him:

"Since you got pregnant, you haven't been feeling well. It's not good for you to sit in such a large and deserted palace for a long time. I think the queen has this in mind."

"Just relax."

Hua Lan nodded doubtfully, and Yang Wenyuan also hugged her in his arms, but at the same time, the expression on his face was a little gloomy.

This day has finally come.

Ever since the emperor had the idea of ​​appointing a crown prince, Yang Wenyuan had anticipated that this day would come.

After all, the government's favor to their family is based on the need for their family.

Now that my talents are no longer useful, what I gave you before must naturally be taken back.

Choosing this occasion to say these words was naturally also sending a signal to the outside world - the Yang family would no longer have the royal family's grace.

Although he didn't end up being abandoned after his rabbit was dead, it was definitely visible to the naked eye that he was not living as comfortably as before.

However, Yang Wenyuan didn't want Hualan to worry, so he smoothed it over with some words.

As for whether Hua Lan believed it or not, judging from the fact that she secretly grasped the corner of Yang Wenyuan's clothes, it was obvious that she didn't really believe it.

Seeing this, Yang Wenyuan immediately smiled and said to her:
"I've been taking advantage of this for several years, so I've made enough money. I can't just hold on to it forever."

Hua Lan's pretty face immediately turned red, and she took her hands back without making a sound, then said with concern:

"But the emperor just wanted to appoint a crown prince, but now he is distancing himself from us. It's a bit too fast."

"This is done for others to see," Yang Wenyuan explained.

The emperor's political wisdom should not be underestimated. Often, behind one event, several profound meanings can be indirectly conveyed.

Take what happened just now for example.

On the surface, this was the emperor's statement of his determination, telling the court officials that the issue of establishing a crown prince was a foregone conclusion.

If we look at it from the perspective that Yang Yuqing is leading troops outside and the emperor wants to take this opportunity to regain military power, then this is a soft threat both overtly and covertly.

And when Yang Yuqing returns to the court and hands over the military power in the future, the royal family's attitude will not be as close as before, but it will not be so distant either.

"It's life as usual."

Yang Wenyuan smiled and joked:
"Anyway, I am just a commoner without an official position. It doesn't really matter whether I have the emperor's favor or not."

Hua Lan immediately rolled her eyes at Yang Wenyuan and said unhappily:

"What an illiterate, low-ranking duke."

The facts are just as Yang Wenyuan said.

Prince Yong and Prince Yan are now fighting tooth and nail for the crown prince spot, so no one cares whether the Marquis of Pingyang still has the emperor's favor or not.

As the emperor has no intention of making any trouble and is still standing by and watching, the events of the court celebration at the beginning of the year will temporarily have no impact on anything in the Pingyang Marquis' Mansion.

Life still goes on as usual.

In the blink of an eye, it is the Lantern Festival.

The annual Lantern Festival is a rare and lively occasion in the city of Bianjing.

Hualan had been sitting at home for too long and felt a little bored, so a few days before the Lantern Festival, she begged Yang Wenyuan to go out to the Lantern Festival together to have some fun. Yang Wenyuan couldn't resist the beauty's coquettishness.

Besides, if people stay in the same place for too long, they will develop problems, not to mention during the sensitive pregnancy period.

So I readily agreed.

On the night of the Lantern Festival, Hualan invited Yang Ruijin and her sisters to go out and enjoy the lanterns.

Considering the crowded and mixed crowds on the street, Yang Wenyuan also sent enough people to guard the surroundings to prevent anyone from getting close.

Hualan and a few sisters were walking around in the front, while Yang Wenyuan and Changbai were hanging behind and talking together.

"I heard that when you went to the palace to pay your respects at the beginning of the year, you and your sister were not allowed to stay in the palace?"

"How did this get to your ears?"

Yang Wenyuan turned his head and glanced at Changbai, then smiled bitterly and said:
"Well, I finally understand what it feels like when good news doesn't get out, but bad news travels a thousand miles."

"But it doesn't matter."

Seeing Changbai's concern, Yang Wenyuan said:
"It's just an extra thing. It was fine at first, but it's always hanging on my body. It's inevitable that others will peek at it, and it doesn't make me feel comfortable. This is finally a relief."

"I'm glad you can figure it out." Changbai nodded.

"But what about the matter of establishing a crown prince?"

At this point, Changbai secretly glanced to the side and saw that no one was approaching. There was a lot of noise around, so he leaned over to Yang Wenyuan's ear and whispered:
"I heard a rumor today that the emperor has set his sights on Prince Yong?"

Yang Wenyuan looked at Changbai in surprise and replied:

"The news spread so quickly?"

Ever since entering the palace to pay his respects, Yang Wenyuan had a sense of crisis in his heart, so he began to pay close attention to the developments in the court.

And just in recent days, Yang Wenyuan heard some news related to Prince Yong.

So now Changbai also knows about it?

Yang Wenyuan frowned slightly, suspecting that someone had spread the news deliberately.

Changbai's eyes lit up at that moment, and he said excitedly:
"Is this really true? I thought it was just some hearsay!"

Yang Wenyuan did not hide it from Changbai, and walked closer and whispered:

"Recently, the Lady of the Cao Family and Princess Yong have been getting quite close, and have invited each other to banquets."

"Cao family?"

Changbai was startled when he heard the word "Cao Family". However, he was also quick-witted. He pointed his finger upwards and raised his eyebrows to ask:
"The Cao family from which the queen came?"

Yang Wenyuan nodded affirmatively:
"Of course it is this Cao family."

But soon Yang Wenyuan's expression became disgusted again, and he said with a somewhat resentful tone:

"He used to be quite close to my family, but I haven't heard from him lately."

This is equivalent to making all Yang Wenyuan’s previous efforts go to waste!

First kick your own house, then turn around and cater to the Yong Palace...

If it weren't for Empress Cao's instructions, Yang Wenyuan would have chewed his own shoes!

Yang Wenyuan knew that Empress Cao and the Emperor had a very close relationship. If there was any other way to see the Emperor's inclination, apart from the death penalty for bribing eunuchs and passing on palace news, it was Empress Cao.

The emperor has been seriously ill these days and has been almost bedridden. In this urgent situation where time is running out, he is eager to establish a crown prince, but naturally he will leave a way out for Empress Cao.

As for Empress Cao's future, her mother's family, the Cao family, would naturally take over.

In this case, Yang Wenyuan naturally focused his attention on the Cao family.

After this observation, as expected, I immediately found a clue.

It turns out that this "witch and bitch" Cao family has been flirting with the Prince of Yong's Mansion since they started to be cold towards their own family. The fight between the two sides can be said to be extremely fierce.

The children, relatives and friends of both families often invite each other to banquets.

The feast was filled with one person singing and another taking turns to serve cups of wine.

It's just so passionate!
Seeing Changbai's thoughtful expression, Yang Wenyuan continued:
"And the Empress has always had a close relationship with the Emperor. It's hard to say whether the Emperor has any preference for her."

When a person is about to die, his words are also good.

Before people die, most will prepare their funeral affairs in advance. Even bad people can say a few good words to them, let alone those who are close to them.

Then I will definitely help to arrange it.

Therefore, the current connection between the Cao family and Prince Yong's Mansion makes it hard not to speculate that the emperor has already chosen Prince Yong in his heart, so the Cao family received the news about Queen Cao and began to make preparations early.

But how did this news spread?

After Yang Wenyuan intentionally used the connections in the Marquis' Mansion and kept a close eye on the Cao family, the "top secret information" that was only learned in the past few days is now known to Changbai?

Then wouldn't this matter have become a big deal?

Of course, this was not Yang Wenyuan belittling Changbai. It was really that Changbai should not be so well-informed. After all, a lot of the news about the Sheng family came from him second-hand, and now he hadn't had the chance to tell Changbai yet...

This is obviously not normal.

"Where did you hear this?" Yang Wenyuan asked.

Changbai also felt strange and immediately replied:

"It wasn't me, it was my father. He heard something from the government office and came home and joked, 'If this matter is really as that person said, and he is so well-informed, he would have been a minister by now, and there is no way he can be in the Ministry of Works like me.' He also used this incident to warn me not to be too ambitious."

Yang Wenyuan: …

It turns out that my father-in-law also likes to set goals?
It seems that one day when I have free time, I may have to go to my colleague Sheng Hong to pick up some slack.

As he was talking, Changbai also noticed something was wrong.

After all, this matter could be discussed openly in the government office, and everyone would just treat it as a joke and no one would take it seriously.

But now after verifying it with Yang Wenyuan...

But found out it was true?

Thinking of this, Changbai couldn't help but look at Yang Wenyuan, and Yang Wenyuan frowned immediately.

If you think about it this way, then the official will feel a little resentful.

Is he from the Cao family or Prince Yong’s people?
It should be impossible for the Cao family.

They were busy making a fortune quietly, so why would they publicize it? Moreover, if this matter got to the attention of the emperor, even with the favor of Empress Cao, it would not look good for his family.

So once we eliminate all of them, it’s most likely Prince Yong.

And this is also in line with the style of Prince Yong's faction.

He advocated that the eldest son would inherit the throne, and he was bold and open-minded. He liked to use public opinion to create momentum for everything. He was a true public opinion trend-setter and the first generation of trend media.

"Is that official from Prince Yong's Palace?" Yang Wenyuan couldn't help but ask.

Changbai immediately shook his head and replied:

"My father's colleague didn't say any name, so I don't know either."

"Okay." Yang Wenyuan nodded slightly.

However, he had already determined in his heart that it was the Prince of Yong's Palace.

To create momentum.

At the same time, it can openly force the Cao family to be more closely bound to the Prince of Yong's Palace. Why not do it?
As for the Cao family’s thoughts?
Since they have already made their choice, they will not hesitate and can only accept it reluctantly, even with a smile on their face.

(End of this chapter)