If it weren't for today's reward, Li Chengqian might not have noticed Li Xiang's mother.
This guy usually has affairs with many women in the East Palace. Even Liu, who gave birth to a son, is no different from other playthings in his eyes.
But at this moment, he was truly grateful to Liu. If it weren't for this son born to Liu, he would have been stripped of his position as crown prince today, and his entire family would have been exiled to Shu. There would have been so many accidents along the way, and he would have probably died before he even reached his destination.
"I've been... you've been very patient. After I've cleaned up Kaiyang Garden, you can live there. It's close to Xiang'er."
When Li Chengqian said this, the expression on the Crown Princess's face had already twisted. Has any woman in the Eastern Palace ever received such tenderness from Li Chengqian?
Even though she was the Crown Princess and the daughter of a senior official, Hou Junji, the Crown Prince had never spoken softly to her. But today, he actually did that to such a cheap woman? She felt like she was going to explode with rage, but she couldn't do it in front of the eunuch who was announcing the imperial decree.
"Prince..."
Liu quickly bent down, tears almost coming out of her eyes. Li Xiang could also see that although the father was mischievous, the mother really had feelings for the prince.
This is no wonder. In today's era, men are one's heaven, not to mention that this man is the prince. Even if he makes a mistake, one must be loyal to him.
"Imperial Decree..."
Before the Crown Princess could lose her temper, the Chief Eunuch Wang De arrived with an imperial edict. These imperial edicts were too frequent for the people in the Eastern Palace today. Could it be another reward? The pile just now hadn't been cleaned up yet!
However, the Crown Princess did not look happy. Could it be that the little beast had received another reward?
Li Chengqian didn't look at the Crown Princess's expression, and quickly led everyone in the Eastern Palace to get ready and kneel at the door of the Eastern Palace.
"Li Jue, the legitimate son of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace..."
There was a lot of eloquent talk, but to put it briefly, the crown prince's legitimate son was conferred the title of Prince of Guangling. When she got to this point, the crown princess's face was filled with joy. Your son has been conferred the title of Prince at the age of thirteen, and my son is only five years old now and has also been conferred the title of Prince. The old man is not confused after all, he knows the difference between legitimate and illegitimate sons.
However, in less than two breaths, the smile on the Crown Princess's face disappeared. She originally thought that she would receive various rewards like Li Xiang, but who knew that the Crown Princess heard the two words "Qinci"!
What does this mean?
This means that the imperial edict has been read.
The expression on the Crown Princess's face was also very interesting. When she heard that her own son was to be conferred the title of Prince, she had a triumphant expression on her face and looked at Li Xiang and his mother complacently. However, when the imperial edict was read out, she suddenly collapsed. A Prince with an empty title?
Everyone had strange looks on their faces. Just now, more than 30 eunuchs had moved the rewards for our eldest prince two or three times, and now it was the eldest son's turn, so why was there nothing at all?
"Eunuch Wang, our son?"
The Crown Princess really couldn't help it. She didn't care whether it was embarrassing or not. Even if it was wrong in etiquette, she had to ask for clarification. This was related to her son's status. A prince without any reward, isn't that just an empty title?
People in the imperial court are used to treating people differently based on their status. The eldest son from a concubine's family was given the title of a prince and received piles of rewards. The eldest son from the legitimate wife was also given the title of a prince, but apart from an imperial edict, he didn't even get a reward of one string of coins?
If that were the case, then what would be the point of having the eldest son? Not to mention the court officials, even the servants in the Eastern Palace knew who would have the final say in the Eastern Palace from now on...
"My Lady, why don't you thank me on behalf of the young prince?"
Wang De said with some displeasure.
You ask me, do you think I can't read? Or maybe I forgot something?
Crown Princess Hou swallowed her saliva, the expression on her face was indescribable. She could only kowtow heavily to express her gratitude, venting her anger on her own head, and even fainted.
According to the rules of the Tang Dynasty, when awarding a title to a prince or grandson of the emperor, if the prince or grandson is a minor, then the imperial edict should be received by his mother. When the Crown Princess lowered her head to receive the imperial edict, Wang De saw Li Xiang behind Li Chengqian.
"Hey, this old servant congratulates the young prince."
Wang De took a step forward and pushed the Crown Princess, who had a grim look on her face. If the servants below had not supported her, she would have almost lost her balance. Wang De's expression was comparable to the face-changing in Sichuan Opera. He had a cold look just now, but now facing Li Xiang, who looked like a big teapot in the teahouse, he smiled brilliantly.
Just now, I was beaten in the court because of Li Xiang. Normally, I should resent Li Xiang, but this guy is not a fool. It is better to resolve a feud than to create one. The emperor values the little prince so much. If we don’t change our course, do you think this little prince is easy to get along with?
Less than a cup of tea later, the Crown Princess's men were sent to the Dali Temple. Such people are the best among men, and the sons and grandsons of dragons are also divided into different levels. If we don't get close to them quickly, we will have no place in the future.
"It's a small gift, please accept it, young prince."
Wang De's face was full of smiles, and behind him were six young eunuchs holding brocade boxes. The box alone was worth a lot of money, not to mention the things inside.
When Wang De was delivering the gift, he happened to meet the Crown Princess's gaze. No wonder the Crown Princess had asked about it without following the rules. It turned out that she had seen the things behind him. Is your son worthy of it? These things are a gift from my family to Prince Li Xiang.
"You are so polite, Eunuch Wang. Please accept it."
Li Xiang nodded expressionlessly. What he said now was different from what he said just now. No one in the Eastern Palace dared to move when he spoke just now. After all, Li Chengqian was the undisputed king here. But in this situation now, if you don't move, do you also want to go to the Dali Temple?
Several eunuchs from the Eastern Palace accepted Wang De's gifts, and Wang De felt relieved. As long as the young prince accepted the gifts, it meant that he did not want to be enemies with us. Although this person was young, he was quite capable. The emperor had already made up his mind to establish him as the crown prince, and we, the servants, had to follow suit. Although he might not be the new emperor, we must not offend him.
Everyone in the Eastern Palace felt that their brains were not enough. Eunuch Wang was the chief eunuch in the imperial palace. Even when he met our Crown Prince, he never bowed so low. What did the young prince do to deserve such courtesy from Eunuch Wang?
"I recently got a new little gadget, please don't dislike it, father-in-law."
Li Xiang casually took out a small mirror from his pocket. It was in the novice gift package. In this era, most mirrors were bronze mirrors. This thing was definitely a rare treasure. Li Xiang also saw that it could be exchanged in the system mall for one penny.
Of course, Li Xiang had already peeled off the plastic cover of the small mirror and wrapped it with cloth, because he didn't want this treasure to be exposed too early.
Although Wang De was a eunuch, he was the most useful person in the palace, so there was nothing wrong with giving him a treasure.
"Thank you, young prince, for the reward."
Wang De naturally did not dare to open it on the spot. He thought that accepting the gift was the best result, but there was also a return gift, which was an unexpected gain. He also knew that these dragon sons and grandsons looked glorious, but in fact they were just taking money from one pocket to fill another. They regarded the little things given to him as just little things, but in front of Li Xiang, he had to accept them solemnly.
"I have something else to do in the palace. I will come to pay my respects to the young prince another day."
Wang De bowed deeply, and Li Xiang nodded beside him. The whole action was extremely natural. This was a descendant of the royal family. Wang De even felt that this feeling was like meeting Li Shimin. It was so strange.
"Reporting to the Crown Prince, the sons of Duke Lu, Duke Wei, Duke Qi, Duke Wu, and Duke Lu request an audience..."
One wave has not yet subsided when another wave arises...