After 21 years of being pure - hearted and self - disciplined, on the wedding night, the Crown Prince clung to his charming wife and refused to let go. He exhausted her so much that she couldn't even get out of bed.
This led to the delay of the newly - wedded couple's visit to pay respects to the Emperor and the Empress the next day. It was supposed to be a day for them to pay their respects and greetings, but due to the Crown Princess's indisposition, the visit had to be postponed for a day.
Upon receiving the news from the Eastern Palace, the Emperor curled his lips and complained discontentedly, "That boy Yunjian is really too naughty. How could he exhaust his wife like this? He doesn't know how to exercise self - restraint!"
Shu Moyun calmly blew on the hot tea in her hand beside him and said, "Is this really strange? Isn't he just inheriting someone's shamelessness?"
The Emperor recalled something and let out a soft chuckle. He took his wife's hand tightly and coaxed her, "I was just overjoyed when I finally married you back then. I just couldn't help myself."
Shu Moyun gave him a reproachful look and said, "You two are just the same. A father shouldn't criticize his son."
It was not until the third day after the wedding that the Emperor and the Empress finally received the newly - wedded couple.
"Your humble son and daughter - in - law pay respects to Your Majesty and Her Majesty. May Your Majesty and Her Majesty enjoy good health and eternal youth."
Seeing the affectionate look between the young couple, with their eyes full of each other, the Emperor felt both gratified and a bit envious.
After rewarding the young couple, Shu Moyun specifically called Cang Xuan to the side hall. They whispered to each other for a while, and only then did she let him go.
After they left the bedroom, the Emperor hugged Shu Moyun from behind and said softly,
"Ayun, Yunjian is a bit more capable than me in handling political affairs. All the court officials are afraid of him. With him around, the court can be well - managed. How about we take this opportunity to travel around?"
Shu Moyun turned around and glared at him. "Yunjian and Yuanbao just got married. Are you so eager to be a hands - off boss? You may not care about your son, but I do. We'll discuss this later."
The Emperor felt extremely aggrieved. "How can you say I don't care about my son? If I didn't care about him, would I have taught him the art of being an emperor step by step? Would I have made him the chief councilor and let him get involved in political affairs?"
Shu Moyun knew that he wanted to make up for what he had missed over the years. Her voice softened a bit as she said, "Wait a little longer. At least, wait for another three years."
The Emperor could only reply, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Since he couldn't travel around with Shu Moyun for the time being, the Emperor was in a bad mood. A few days later, during the morning court, an old official advised the Emperor,
"Your Majesty, the past events of the Wang, Xue, Tong, and Liu families confusing the royal bloodline are still fresh in our memories. Now, the Crown Prince is in his prime, full of vigor. One Crown Princess alone may not be able to serve His Highness well. I think we should hold a beauty pageant to fill the Eastern Palace and relieve His Highness's worries."
The Emperor was jolted. Seeing Cang Xuan's suddenly gloomy face, he felt a bit amused. Pretending to be drowsy, he lazily said, "Well..."
Meeting Cang Xuan's cold gaze, the Emperor didn't dare to go too far. Not only the court officials were afraid of this Crown Prince, but he was also a bit scared.
Clearing his throat, the Emperor threw the question to Cang Xuan. "Crown Prince, what do you think?"
It was better to let the Crown Prince handle this kind of thing!
Cang Xuan coldly glanced at the old official who had spoken. Suddenly, he curled his lips and said, "Lord Li is really considerate of this prince. What you said makes sense. However, this matter involves the royal heirs, so we need to be cautious. Master Ziji."
He called out.
Master Ziji stepped forward and bowed. "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"According to what Lord Li said, calculate a divination for this prince. If we hold a beauty pageant, how many concubines, secondary concubines, and maids of honor should this prince choose?"
The Emperor widened his eyes slightly. He never thought that Cang Xuan would seriously consider this issue.
Master Ziji responded and then set up a divination array on the spot.
With a flick of his whisk, the divination plate in his hand spun rapidly. At a loud "stop", the divination plate suddenly stopped. Five divination coins in it lined up and landed in the position of the Gen hexagram.
All the court officials held their breath and craned their necks to look at the divination plate in his hand. Lord Li was the most nervous and couldn't help swallowing his saliva.
"The Gen hexagram represents a mountain. It's difficult, very difficult." Master Ziji looked at the divination plate in his hand and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has a special fate. The Heavenly Lord has shown that the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess are a match made in heaven. Their fates are in harmony, and they should be loyal to each other. If the Crown Prince takes in new concubines, it may affect the fortune of the Great Chu and bring about the disaster of national subjugation."
Hearing this, all the court officials changed their expressions. Lord Li gasped. "Is it really so?!"
Master Ziji stroked his beard and nodded. "Exactly."
The Emperor watched this master - apprentice pair pretending in front of him and felt even more upset. If this old Taoist priest had said such a thing for him and Ayun back then, they wouldn't have been separated for so many years.
However, at that time, the previous emperor relied heavily on the major aristocratic families. Even if there was such a "divine fortune - teller", he would probably have been eliminated by the aristocratic families under the name of a "demon Taoist".
Forget it. It's all about fate and luck.
He said, "Since this is the will of heaven, we can only follow it. All of you don't need to worry about the Crown Prince anymore. With the Crown Princess, this 'treasure of fortune', the Crown Prince will surely have many descendants and protect the Great Chu."
In the Eastern Palace, after hearing what had happened in the court today from Qin Wanrong and Zhang Yingxue, Su Yuanyuan accidentally choked on her tea. "Really? Did Master Ziji really say that?"
Zhang Yingxue laughed. "Really. You don't know how ugly Lord Li's face was after he heard that! Humph, it's so obvious what he was up to. Didn't he just want to send his daughter into the Eastern Palace? Well, for the fortune of the Great Chu, I'd like to see if they still dare to have such crooked ideas."
Su Yuanyuan wasn't worried that Cang Xuan would break his vow of not taking concubines. With his shrewdness, she believed that he could handle those court officials. However, she was still touched when she learned that he had dealt with it in this way.
When Cang Xuan returned to the bedroom after dealing with political affairs at night, as soon as he entered the door, his little woman threw herself into his arms.
The woman's fair and slender hands wrapped around his waist. She looked up from his arms, and her sweet voice made his heart tremble. "Xuanlang, why did you come back so late?"
The man raised his eyebrows, picked up the woman, and placed her on the table, pinning her between his chest and the wall.
"Missed me?" He rubbed his nose against hers and whispered, "Why are you so clingy today?"
A pair of delicate white feet wrapped around his waist. The woman nestled in his arms and said softly, "I've heard everything. Someone today thought I couldn't serve you well enough and wanted to find concubines for you. Tell me, can't I really serve you well?"
Cang Xuan caught her mischievous little hand. His eyes were red - rimmed, and his voice was hoarse. "My wife doesn't need to serve me. It should be me serving my wife. I'll take my wife to enjoy the ultimate pleasure in the world."
Inside the closed palace gate, the flickering candlelight reflected the figures of the two of them, like mandarin ducks neck - to - neck, lingering and extremely affectionate.