NABC Chapter 356 Princess's Skirt 02
Chapter 356 Princess's Skirt 02
Gu Li slowly opened her eyes and was startled by the curtains covered with phoenixes and twigs. The pattern of a hundred phoenixes seeking a mate outlined in golden embroidery thread was lifelike.
Forget it, let’s put aside the things that cannot be done now.
The main tactic is to procrastinate.
After giving a few conscientious reminders, he dived back into the water.
It's no wonder that Gu Li is so lazy and doesn't like to move. It's just that Shen Qingzhou's handsome face delays things. Compared with any previous world, this time, Gu Li is really happy to be a princess. There are people to serve her in everything, and even when she takes a nap, there are more than ten palace maids and eunuchs to escort her.
Some were catching cicadas, some were guarding the gate, some were waiting in the tea room, and there were palace maids changing the ice basins in the room at any time to ensure that Her Royal Highness the Princess would not be disturbed by the cicadas or heated by the summer heat.
Gu Li smacked her lips.
This world is simply a place for enjoying retirement.
"Princess, are you thirsty?" Gu Li smacked her lips slightly, and the maid outside the gauze curtain immediately caught it and asked softly, "I'll bring you a cup of warm water!"
Unable to bear to reject the palace maid's kindness, Gu Li drank half a cup of warm scented tea from the cup handed to her lips and lay back on the bed.
"Princess, do you want to get up?" If the princess continues to sleep like this, she will suffer from insomnia again at night!
"Liuli, please go out first. I want to lie down for a while."
"Yes, Princess!" Liuli, the personal maid, left the inner room without a sound, but she did not leave. She stayed in the outer hall waiting to be ordered at any time.
Gu Li is the youngest daughter of the current Emperor Wuchang. As for why it is now, it is because no one can tell whether the emperor, who is already over the age of knowing his destiny, can still make his concubines give birth to children.
Wasn't this little princess the one who was finally born six years after the Emperor Wuchang's youngest child was born?
The little princess' full name is Li Wanchao, nicknamed Gu Li'er, and she ranks 13th in the royal family. She is 15 years old this year. The eldest son of the third-ranked prince is already 16 this year, not to mention that the eldest brother, who was born out of wedlock and has already been enfeoffed, is 23 years older than the youngest sister.
The reason why Gu Li has such a comfortable life now is because of the love of her father, the emperor and her mother. However, her biological mother is not the queen who loves her, but the late Concubine Hui.
Many years ago, the emperor drew a lot in a temple. The master advised that he would have a great disaster when the number nine comes. So the 38-year-old emperor took sufficient precautions to prepare for his 39th year.
That year, under the strict defense of the Imperial Guards, the entire palace and even the capital city were under martial law at all times. From ministers and their families to ordinary people and merchants, everyone lived in fear and finally made it to the end of the year.
However, the ancestor worship ceremony held every few years was related to the fate of the entire country, so the emperor had to leave the imperial city with his elite guards.
As luck would have it, on the way back to the city, he encountered a surprise attack by the remnants of the previous dynasty disguised as civilians. A master mixed in the crowd and shot an arrow at the emperor.
Concubine Hui, who had just entered the palace and was in favor at the time, happened to be standing in front of the emperor.
The rebels were quickly suppressed by the guards, but the injured Concubine Hui was diagnosed with pregnancy.
There hadn't been a new heir born in the palace in five or six years, so Concubine Hui's birth was undoubtedly good news.
Although Emperor Wuchang already has many children, who wouldn't want to still be in his prime and vigorous?
Besides, Concubine Hui was very much liked by Emperor Wuchang.
The most important thing is that Concubine Hui blocked an arrow for him, allowing Emperor Wuchang to safely pass the age of 39. Therefore, no matter whether Concubine Hui gave birth to a prince or a princess, they were destined to occupy a place in the heart of Emperor Wuchang.
This pregnancy of Concubine Hui represents a new life.
The empress hoped that Concubine Hui could give birth to a princess. The emperor already had enough sons. Including the two legitimate sons born to the empress, there were already seven surviving princes under the name of Emperor Wuchang, and they were all adults.
If Concubine Hui's baby is a prince, he will pose a threat to her crown prince in the future.
Especially since Hui Fei came back from her injury, Emperor Wuchang has been holding Hui Fei in his hands. Although Hui Fei, who was born in a lowly family, could not threaten the status of the empress, it was never a good thing for such a single person to dominate the harem.
Fortunately, Concubine Hui died of hemorrhage after giving birth to the princess.
The emperor heard from somewhere that the mortal danger at the nine-character hurdle was blocked by Concubine Hui, but it did not dissipate, but was transferred to Concubine Hui.
Concubine Hui should have died on the spot, but she survived because of the fairy child in her arms. When she gave birth, Concubine Hui died immediately.
The emperor invited an accomplished monk to chant sutras to pray for Concubine Hui's soul to be reborn.
Emperor Wuchang was heartbroken and posthumously named Concubine Hui as Imperial Noble Concubine Xi Hui and the newly born princess as Princess Chenxiang. Chenxiang saved his mother, implying that the extra year of Concubine Hui's life was brought by the princess.
This is unprecedented in this dynasty or even in the previous dynasty, a princess can be given a title as soon as she is born.
There were many royal heirs, but only a few survived. Therefore, usually the princes and princesses would be given corresponding titles only after they had established themselves and reached the age of marriage.
Of course, not all princesses have titles. It depends on the princess's weight in the emperor's heart, the favor of her mother, the influence of the concubine's mother's family, etc.
Princess Chenxiang's mother is no longer with us, and Huifei's mother's family is a small Ministry of Rites doctor who does not even have the qualifications to attend court. The little princess only relies on the emperor's favor.
However, if you want to live a good life in the palace, you have to rely on the emperor's favor.
The emperor personally handed the infant Princess Chenxiang to the queen and solemnly instructed her to take good care of her.
Princess Chenxiang, who no longer has Concubine Hui, is just a child to the Queen, a child who can bring her benefits.
Of course the queen readily agreed.
The queen had three children. Two princes, the third child Li Yue was the crown prince, and the eleventh child Li Luan. There was also a child who was lost before it was formed. When the queen saw the little princess Chenxiang, she felt that the child who had been lost should have been a princess.
As the queen raised her, they developed feelings for each other and began to treat Princess Chenxiang like her own child.
Because Princess Chenxiang's biological mother's surname was Gu, the Queen gave the little princess the nickname Gu Li'er, saying that the child was too young and she was worried that the princess's big name and title would overwhelm her fate, and that it would be easier to support her with a common name.
The emperor very much approved of the queen's intentions towards the little princess and was the first to call her by her nickname.
Since the Empress Dowager gave birth to the little princess, the Emperor came to Fengyi Palace more often than before. Raising a child together with the Empress, the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress seemed to have returned to the time when the Emperor was young and had not yet ascended the throne.
The queen had more say in the harem, and correspondingly, the prince's position in the previous dynasty became more stable.
As the little princess grows up, the struggle for succession in the court becomes increasingly fierce.
In order to pave the way for becoming the crown prince, the eleventh prince Li Luan was sent to the military camp for training at the age of sixteen, taking the route of a military general.
As for the newly-wed Princess Chenxiang, the emperor wanted to marry her to the youngest son of Prime Minister Shen. The Shen family was the most civil servant family, and the youngest son did not need to establish a family, but only needed to eat, drink and have fun under the protection of his father and brother, which was just right for his precious daughter.
The Queen also liked the Emperor's arrangement.
What she cared more about was the prime minister's position in the court.
Princess Chenxiang was raised by herself, and the relationship between them is as close as mother and daughter. Gu Li and the crown prince and Li Luan are also close as siblings. With Gu Lier marrying Prime Minister Shen, who is a civil official, and with the current status of the Eleventh in the army, her son's position as crown prince will be unassailable.