Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 829 Greetings
When Yang Yuan saw that it was Li Fengniang, he was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized.

No wonder there are so many girls here, they must be having a talent show now.

Yang Yuan stopped and said with a smile, "Feng Niang."

Li Fengniang said happily: "Second Uncle, what are you doing in the palace?"

Yang Yuan said, "I have not paid my respects to the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager since returning from the northwest. I am here to pay my respects to the palace today."

"So that's how it is. I was thinking so." Li Fengniang's eyes turned into crescent moons as she smiled.

Just now, for some unknown reason, she actually thought that Yang Yuan was looking for her.

However, this is the imperial palace, how is this possible?

Even if he was outside, Yang Yuan wouldn't be able to come to see her.

After all, in Yang Yuan's eyes, he always regarded her as his little niece.

Yang Yuan asked, "Are you guys auditioning? How's it going?"

Li Fengniang said proudly: "Today is the first round of the selection of girls. Since I am participating, what do you think, Second Uncle?"

Li Fengniang straightened her chest, and her small chest began to take shape.

The newly blooming buds exude the breath of youth.

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "That is naturally the best choice."

"Second uncle still has good vision!"

Li Fengniang smiled, looked around, moved closer, stood on tiptoe, looked up at Yang Yuan's face, and whispered, "Second Uncle, do you want me to enter the palace?"

Yang Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he said calmly, "Whether Feng Niang enters the palace or not, I have no say in that."

Li Fengniang's eyes curved into crescents again: "If Second Uncle wants to make the decision for me, I'm willing to give him a chance."

Yang Yuan looked into Li Fengniang's eyes and finally realized that this little girl didn't have an inexplicable affection for him, but...

He knew that if he succeeded in practicing the Zhelong technique, his attraction to the opposite sex would be greatly enhanced.

But it’s not enough to make people lose their minds. Does this little girl know what she is talking about?
How could Li Dao allow his only precious daughter to become someone's concubine?

Yang Yuan was about to change the subject when the eunuch leading the way said in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty, please don't keep the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager waiting for too long."

Yang Yuan said, "Ah, I still have to go and pay my respects to the two palaces. I'll leave now."

Looking at Yang Yuan's hurried back, Li Fengniang curled her lips and said, "What a coward with lustful thoughts but no courage!"

She turned her eyes and suddenly saw that the eunuch in charge of the assessment was looking at her unhappily.

Li Fengniang thought about it and picked her nose...

……

The harem had been informed in advance, so Empress Dowager Xie rushed to the bedroom of Grand Empress Dowager Wu in advance.

The Empress Dowager sounds very old, but Mrs. Wu is not even fifty years old yet.

She learned martial arts since she was young, entered the palace at the age of fourteen, and lived a wealthy life. Now she looks only about thirty years old.

She looked like a pair of sisters with the Empress Dowager Xie, who was around 30 years old.

Yang Yuan was led into the Empress Dowager's bedroom by the eunuch, and he paid his respects to her through the pearl curtain.

Wu said happily: "Ziyue went to Sichuan and we haven't seen each other for many years. Now he finally returns to Lin'an. How come Luxi didn't come with you?"

Yang Yuan replied, "I came to the palace to see you today. I had other things to do, but since it was still early, I came to visit the Empress Dowager.

This mansion in Lin'an has not been occupied for some years. As soon as Lu Xi came back, he was busy with housework.

Lu Xi said that he would come to visit the Empress Dowager on the day of the family banquet.

Luxi prepared gifts for the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and Princess Jiaguo, all of which were specialties from Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Xixia."

Mrs. Wu laughed and said, "Luxi is a thoughtful child. Roll up the pearl curtain, give him a seat, and let him watch."

The Empress Dowager Wu entered the palace at the age of fourteen, and at the age of fifteen she was wearing armor and a sword at her waist, accompanying the frightened Zhao Gou everywhere.

At that time, the Jin people were searching the mountains and seas for Zhao Gou.

The daughter of a military general is both civil and military, and has extraordinary insight.

She saw through all the little tricks Zhao Kai played on Yang Yuan at a glance, and felt very guilty towards Yang Yuan.

Speaking of which, the royal family of the Southern Song Dynasty is quite interesting.

Zhao Gou's son was not his biological son.

The Queen Mother's son is not her biological son.

Zhao Yuan was a child adopted by Zhao Gou from the royal family.

The current emperor Zhao Kai was born to Zhao Yuan's deceased wife, Guo, and has no blood relationship with the current empress dowager, Xie.

Therefore, the little emperor's family has three generations living together, and there is no blood relationship between the three generations.

Therefore, Queen Mother Wu could naturally look at things from a more fair perspective.

Now seeing that Yang Yuan did not seem to be dissatisfied with Zhao Kai's unfair treatment, Empress Dowager Wu could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Two palace maids came over and hung up the pearl curtains on both sides, revealing the people behind the curtains.

Yang Yuan looked up and saw that Wu was not the only one sitting there.

There was a woman sitting next to Wu, who was Empress Dowager Xie.

Next to Xie stood a graceful young girl, as elegant as a young girl, just at the prime of her thirteen years.

At first glance, Yang Yuan almost didn't recognize her.

After all, girls change a lot when they grow up.

However, who else could be by the side of the Empress Dowager?

Yang Yuan immediately realized that this was Princess Zhao Ning'er of Jia State.

Yang Yuan hurriedly bowed again: "Your Highness Yang Yuan greets the Empress Dowager!"

When the bead curtain was rolled up, Zhao Ning'er stared at Yang Yuan intently. Her face turned red, and she said shyly, "Jiaguo greets His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan."

When the king meets the princess, who should greet whom?
First of all, the prince must pay his respects to the princess first.

Secondly, if it is a king, then when the prince meets the princess, he will follow the order of seniority in the royal family, and the one with lower seniority will pay respects to the one with higher seniority.

If they are of the same generation, then age is the basis.

A king who was awarded a title for his merits, even if he was a king of a higher rank than a county prince, had to pay his respects to the princess first.

However, Luxi is the adopted sister of the late emperor, so Zhao Ning'er has to call Luxi aunt.

From this perspective, Yang Yuan is the king among the royal family, so Zhao Ning'er has to salute him first.

Yang Yuan nodded and smiled at Zhao Ning'er: "Your Highness Jiaguo."

Zhao Ning'er was a little shy and hid behind the Empress Dowager.

Yang Yuan was a little puzzled. Princess Jiaguo was quite lively when she was a child.

Although she was in poor health at the time, with only a pair of big eyes left on her skinny face, Yang Yuan, with his thin wrist, was able to circle them with his thumb and index finger.

It's only been a few years since we last met, why are you so shy and reserved?
In fact, Zhao Ning'er is not really that shy as usual, but as she grows older, she can no longer leave the palace at will.

In the palace, she could only occasionally see her brother the emperor and her two brothers who had already become kings.

Among the adult men, she could only meet Yang Yuan, a man who left a particularly deep impression on her when she was young.

Seeing him now, Yang Yuan seemed exactly the same as when he left Lin'an for Shaanxi, and Zhao Ning'er immediately awakened her gradually vague memories.

Especially the scene where Yang Yuan held her hips with one arm and walked briskly in front of Zongyang Palace to rescue her from danger, it was inevitable that she felt a little shy.

The Empress Dowager Wu had met Yang Yuan when she was still the Queen.

Only a few years passed, and the former Queen Wu became the Empress Dowager and then the Grand Empress Dowager.

And Yang Yuan, who was a deputy secretary in the Yufang of the Privy Council, has become the current King of Yan.

A single-word king is a prince, which is the highest position among officials.

Time flows, years pass, life's circumstances are so constant, and life's changes are so unpredictable.

Empress Dowager Wu chatted and laughed with Yang Yuan like family members. When she talked about the past, she felt sentimental and couldn't help but burst into tears.

It’s a pity that she didn’t know that her husband Zhao Gou didn’t have to die so early.

If she knew that the person who killed Zhao Gou was the one in front of her, she wondered whether this general's daughter would stab her sword into Yang Yuan's chest.

Wu really took her sword.

"Ning'er, bring me my sword."

In a short while, Ning'er came back with a sword.

This sword was Wu's dowry when she entered the palace.

When the Jin people searched the mountains and seas, Zhao Gou was in a state of panic all day long. The young Wu was wearing armor and carrying a sword, guarding him by his side. The sword she carried was this one.

This is a precious sword recorded in the palace, and it is of extraordinary significance.

Wu thought that Zhao Kai's behavior was as unkind as his grandfather's. Yang Yuan had assisted the Zhao family for three generations and had made great contributions, so she wanted to compensate Zhao Kai.

So she asked someone to bring her sword.

This sword accompanied Wu throughout her life, just like the emperor's Nine Dragons Jade, and had become her token of love.

"Ning'er, give this sword of mine to King Yan. King Yan, this sword has accompanied me for most of my life. Now I give it to you. Seeing this sword is like seeing me."

There was a eunuch recording the incident nearby, who recorded every detail of the incident.

Wu was obviously afraid that Yang Yuan would worry that taking away his military power was only the first step, and that she would deal with Yang Yuan in the same way as her husband Zhao Gou dealt with Yue Fei.

Yue Fei was not convicted directly at the beginning. He was first transferred back to the capital and served as the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council, which was equivalent to the Deputy Minister of National Defense.

Four months later, he was removed from his post as deputy envoy of the Privy Council and given an idle position as "Wanshou Temple Envoy", which was similar to Zhao Chen's position as the Supervisor of Zongyang Palace.

A few months later, Yue Fei's old subordinates were all relocated, transferred, or demoted. When most of them were dealt with, they turned around and dealt with Yue Fei.

Under the instruction of Qin Hui, Zhang Jun took advantage of the internal conflicts of Yue Fei's army and forced the commander-in-chief Wang Gui to frame Yue Fei, and Wang Gui surrendered. He also bribed Wang Jun, the deputy commander of Zhang Xian's army, to accuse Zhang Xian of "rebellion" and thus implicate Yue Fei.

After a series of operations, Yue Fei was imprisoned in the Dali Temple and was finally killed in Fengbo Pavilion.

Zhao Gou was actually breaking an established rule between the emperor and his subjects of the Song Dynasty.

From then on, it was hard for anyone to believe the sincerity of the Song Emperor's decision to "give up military power over a cup of wine."

Mrs. Wu also thought of this, so she decided to make up for it for her adopted grandson.

She gave her sword to Yang Yuan and said in person, "Seeing this sword is like seeing me", which was an extra layer of insurance for Yang Yuan.

It is no less than granting Yang Yuan a red-lettered iron certificate and a golden medal of immunity from death.

Yang Yuan naturally understood Wu's intentions and couldn't help but feel grateful.

The people of the Zhao family of the Song Dynasty are really annoying if they are annoying, but they are also really humane if they are humane.

Zhao Ning'er walked slowly to Yang Yuan, held the sword in both hands and handed it to Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan is tall, but Zhao Ning'er is now slim and graceful, and is no longer the yellow-haired girl like a bean sprout.

Yang Yuan took the sword with both hands, and Zhao Ning'er looked up at him quickly.

Looking at his long nose and distinct lips at such a close distance, Zhao Ning'er's tender face felt hot again. She quickly lowered her eyes, her heart beating slightly faster.

……

"When Yang Yuan entered the palace, a young lady approached him? Do you know who she was?"

Zhao Kai, who had just returned from Zongyang Palace, immediately heard what happened when Yang Yuan went to the harem.

"The daughter of Li Dao, the commander-in-chief of all the armies in front of the emperor in Ezhou?"

After listening to the eunuch's report, Zhao Kai was silent for a moment, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"Go, tell Eunuch Lin who is in charge of the selection that Li Dao's daughter must be selected!"

(End of this chapter)