The bright moon cast its light on the handsome features of the Crown Prince.
Cheng Simian looked up at him, a slow smile spreading across her face.
The Crown Prince's promise of exclusive favor in the harem was a sign of his affection and devotion to her.
Any woman would be delighted to hear such a solemn promise.
However, she was also aware that it was almost impossible for an emperor to bestow exclusive favor on one woman in the harem.
The harem was like a court without men, where the emperor had to balance the power of each palace.
If the harem was empty, it would lead to an imbalance that could affect the court.
The powerful noble families would not allow the emperor to bestow exclusive favor on one woman.
She remained sober and did not expect the Crown Prince to truly give her exclusive favor.
Otherwise, she would become the infamous evil queen condemned by the world.
The Crown Prince saw the smile in Cheng Simian's eyes.
It seemed as if she was laughing at his naivety.
He felt a slight annoyance and a deep sense of frustration. "Mianmian doesn't trust me?"
To ease his insecurity, Cheng Simian took the initiative to hold his arm.
"Lu Sihong, I trust you."
The Crown Prince was stunned.
This was the first time Mianmian had called him by his name.
Due to his status, his name was rarely spoken by others. Only his third uncle, the emperor, and the queen, the three elders, would call him "Hong'er".
The rest of the people would respectfully address him as "Your Highness the Crown Prince" when they saw him.
Over time, he had even forgotten that his name could be directly spoken by others.
The three words "Lu Sihong" spoken from Mianmian's mouth carried an indescribable tenderness and beauty.
He felt as if he was walking on clouds, filled with a floating sense of happiness.
Suddenly, Cheng Simian was pulled into the Crown Prince's arms and held tightly.
She was startled. They were not in a carriage at the moment, and there was no privacy at all.
Xiao Anzi quickly turned around to check if the people behind had properly averted their gazes.
He waved his hand, signaling the guards behind to stay farther away.
He didn't want too many people around and affect the Crown Prince's performance.
He himself quietly hid to one side.
The palace path was quiet, and the two hearts that were held together beat in sync.
"Mianmian, from now on, just call me by my name. I like it very much."
Cheng Simian whispered softly in his ear, exhaling a wisp of fragrance: "Lu Sihong."
The Crown Prince hugged her even tighter.
"I believe you will keep every promise."
The Crown Prince's breath caught slightly.
He had made many promises to Mianmian.
At first, he promised that he would let her go after the play was over.
But that was a half - hearted perfunctory.
It was just to cover up his intention of keeping her by his side and slowly pouring out his love.
He also promised her exclusive favor in the harem.
However, the two promises were contradictory.
He didn't dare to ask which promise Mianmian was referring to.
Childishly, he hoped that as long as he didn't say anything, he could avoid fulfilling the promise of letting her go forever.
After the brief moment of tenderness, Cheng Simian quickly regained her composure.
"Your Highness, the emperor's promotion of Concubine Lan is both a sign of favor and a warning. Will the Second Prince settle down?"
The Crown Prince was surprised.
The emperor was a man of deep thoughts. His promotion of Concubine Lan had caught everyone off guard.
Unexpectedly, Mianmian had quickly understood the emperor's intention.
Concubine Lan and Lu Siming's attacks on Cheng Simian were essentially aimed at the Crown Prince.
They tried to create a sense of "insecurity" due to their low status.
In this way, they tried to smear the Crown Prince and label him as "threatening and narrow - minded".
"Didn't Concubine Lan fear that her and Lu Siming's lives would be difficult if I became the emperor? Then Father will promote her to a position second only to Mother. With a higher status, she will naturally feel more secure. At the same time, it is also a warning to Lu Siming that Concubine Lan has reached the highest status. He'd better behave himself and not have any other thoughts."
Cheng Simian felt heavy - hearted. Thinking of the desolation in the queen's eyes, a bitter feeling welled up in her heart.
"According to the ancestral system, only when there is no queen in the middle palace will a noble concubine be promoted to an imperial noble concubine so that there will be someone to take charge of the harem affairs. But the emperor directly promoted Concubine Lan for the sake of balance, which damaged the queen's dignity."
What good was it for the queen to be in a high position? She still had to sacrifice for the emperor again and again.
A cold look flashed in the Crown Prince's eyes. "In the end, Father is for his own face. He wants to stabilize the court and of course hopes that I will ascend the throne smoothly in the future. He doesn't want a struggle for the throne to happen because he is afraid that the world will think that he has not fulfilled his responsibility as a father.
He suppresses and warns Lu Siming, and also reminds me not to be too cruel to my brothers, so as not to leave the impression of 'the imperial family is the most heartless' on the world. He hopes that in his later years, there will be filial piety from his children and harmony among his sons. In this way, the history books will say that he is a kind and benevolent emperor and a loving father."
People were selfish, and the emperor was no exception.
Especially as the supreme ruler, having obtained everything, what he cared most about was naturally his own face and reputation.
For this purpose, he first sacrificed Princess Lingyang and then the queen's dignity.
The Crown Prince always remained sober. Because of his status, he had always been a beneficiary of the interests.
However, he was not proud of it.
He was even more determined not to let Mianmian suffer such blows and injuries.
If there were not so many women in the harem, there would not be so much intrigue.
In the future, all his children would be born to Mianmian, which would greatly reduce the risk of brothers fighting against each other.
Cheng Simian was thinking about something else.
"Your Highness, do you think the Second Prince will settle down?"
The Crown Prince sneered. "His ambition has been great from the very beginning. How could he give up just because his mother has been promoted to imperial noble concubine? The 50,000 troops of Marquis Dingyuan Gao Tianyu are the foundation that nourishes his ambition."
"Then we should take the initiative and completely cut off the Second Prince's thought of controlling these 50,000 troops!"
Although it was a hot summer night, the Crown Prince felt refreshed.
It was really easy to talk to someone whose thoughts were always in sync with his own.
This must be what it felt like to have a bosom friend of the opposite sex, right?
A few days later, many court officials submitted memorials, saying that Gao Tianyu, the Marquis Dingyuan, was getting old and might not be able to handle leading the troops alone. It would be better to choose a young general to lead the troops and cooperate with Gao Tianyu.
Although Liang Xuguang was still recuperating and could not go to court, his memorial reached the emperor's ears directly.
He had been keeping a close eye on the war in the northern border.
Since summer, the Hu people had frequently harassed the border, robbing goods and people, which was a considerable hidden danger.
He was willing to divide 30,000 troops from the 200,000 - strong army and hand them over to a young general to defend against the enemy.
The Crown Prince immediately proposed to the emperor in court that Shi Luohan be sent to lead these 30,000 troops.
In this way, Gao Tianyu would only need 20,000 troops.
All the officials could see that on the surface, the Crown Prince was asking Shi Luohan to cooperate with Gao Tianyu, but in fact, he was giving Shi Luohan a stage to show his skills.
Shi Luohan was the Cloud - Banner General personally conferred by the emperor. Although he had excellent performance in the military examination, he had no military achievements, so it was difficult for him to convince the public.
Recommending him was also to prove the emperor's discerning eye.
The emperor readily agreed.
All the court officials had no objections.
Only Lu Siming almost gritted his back teeth.
That afternoon, Liang Yuzhou sent a secret letter.
Lu Ningzhen had communicated with her group of dead - loyal warriors.
It was obvious who was the messenger in the middle.
In the end, Lu Siming could not resist the temptation of power and wanted to fight to the death.
Concubine Lan had been promoted to imperial noble concubine and had become the second - most powerful person in the harem.
She was very satisfied with her current situation, and her desire to become the empress dowager was not so strong anymore.
Lu Siming also rarely remained silent.
He almost disappeared from people's sight.
The preparations for the Crown Prince's wedding were in full swing.
The summer in the capital ended early this year, and the wind in July was already quite cool.
On the sixth day of September, the Crown Prince and Cheng Simian got married.