novelhk Chapter 280 Prince Guo
Chapter 280 Prince Guo
When Shen Shixi saw this, she felt that Li Yuanke was stirring up trouble again.
The concubines who were being treated with yin and yang dared not be angry or speak out, but the concubines who were being treated with yin and yang, wasn't this just giving the Empress Dowager another opportunity to cause trouble?
If you're going to do a favor, do it gracefully.
"Let's use '果' (guo), the character '履' (lǚ) isn't good," Shen Shixi suggested.
"Decisive?" Li Yuanke asked. "Does 'decisive' mean?"
"Yes, it means decisive. You see, if he had been more decisive in breaking things off with the Xie family, none of this mess would have happened today. To put it bluntly, he's just too indecisive."
[What utter nonsense! It means, "Although I am not the emperor, I dare to trespass into my elder brother's wife's palace!"]
Li Yuanke glanced at Shen Shixi's serious face, then wrote the character "Guo" on the paper. Li Yuanyin was then granted the title of Prince Guo.
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager was particularly pleased and said to Qingruo, "They are indeed brothers born of the same mother. The character 'Guo' is excellent. Yuan Yin's character needs some encouragement!"
Qingruo thought to herself, "I'm afraid I can't really motivate them. At least they have a title now. Otherwise, it would be too difficult for them. They wouldn't even know how to address me!"
On the 22nd day of the twelfth lunar month, a grand banquet was held in the palace. The emperor was hosting a banquet for the generals who had followed him through thick and thin. Normally, the emperor would not bring his concubines to such occasions; it would be a room full of men!
But this time, he asked Shen Shixi to accompany him.
Shen Shixi really enjoyed drinking and chatting with the military officers. More importantly, the military officers also really enjoyed talking with the Empress. She was straightforward, cheerful, and bold, possessing many excellent qualities that men did not have.
Ling Menghui did not return; instead, his deputy general Huo Feiyuan returned. When the topic turned to the battle between the Emperor and General Yelü Xiaoquan of Xiling, he said…
"The Emperor disappeared in the blink of an eye, which terrified our general. He quickly led us to look for him, and we were dumbfounded to find General Yelü besieging the Emperor and his entourage on the banks of the Wuding River. There were still pursuers dragging us along. We were not many people to begin with. Later we learned that the Empress had given the Emperor a life-saving artifact!"
Li Yuanke was very pleased with himself. He raised both wrists, one on the left and one on the right, and said, "Look, I wouldn't dare to do this without it. Do you think I'm such a reckless person? I know what Yelü Xiaoquan wants to do. I'm giving him this opportunity to see if he has the ability!"
"Of course not!" Huo Feiyuan shouted.
The soldiers burst into laughter, and one of them asked, "Your Majesty, please show us! Let us broaden our horizons!"
Li Yuanke raised his left hand, saying, "Can I show you this?"
He was like a child who had received a fun toy. He had someone bring over a wooden plank about an inch wide and placed at the gate. With a flick of his wrist, he spun it around, and with a whoosh, a piercing sound of air being cut through the air, the generals only saw a flash of cold light, and a small arrow appeared on the plank. The plank was pierced, and the arrow was embedded in it.
I'm still shaken!
"Excellent stuff!" Qin Zhenye exclaimed, his gaze towards Shen Shixi filled with apprehension. "Her Majesty the Empress is truly formidable!"
Li Yuanke was quite pleased with himself, and raised his left hand again, "This one can't be tried, otherwise even my Qian Yuan Palace will be in danger!"
Many people witnessed the Emperor using this thing and were terrified. When asked about it, they explained, "It turns everything within a hundred paces into dust, and both men and horses are reduced to ashes. Otherwise, if this had been used from the beginning, the Wolf King of the Northern Sands would have been reincarnated long ago!"
Seeing Li Yuanke's appearance, Shen Shixi believed the saying: "A man is a boy until he dies!"
He's already past twenty-five, past his prime, and he's still acting so immature!
But when a person is good-looking, their smile is exceptionally handsome and charming, like a tree of weeping crabapple blossoms in the warm spring sunshine, lush, beautiful, and dazzling.
Feeling Shen Shixi's gaze frequently falling on him, Li Yuanke was delighted. He leaned closer and whispered, "Be discreet, don't let anyone see. Once we get back to the palace, I'll let you see as much as you want!"
Shen Shixi was speechless.
[You damned bastard, you're like a peacock displaying its feathers! All those young military officers in the hall aren't enough for me to see!]
Li Yuanke stomped on her foot hard under the table. It hurt, but he still had some conscience and didn't press down hard.
Shen Shixi was furious at his childish behavior and kicked him, almost moving the table. The two of them quickly grabbed the table legs in fright.
The commotion attracted the attention of several military officers, who looked over. Li Yuanke quickly raised his wine cup, "Let's drink together!"
Then, Li Yuanke selected a few of these military officers to accompany him to fetch his bride on his wedding day.
The military generals valued loyalty and righteousness, and being so highly praised only made them more devoted to Li Yuanke.
The atmosphere was wonderful.
Qin Zhenye sighed, "Ah, it's so good that you unmarried people are like this. I'm too old, and I'm no longer qualified to go with His Majesty to welcome the bride!"
Huo Feiyuan protested, "Your Majesty, what's wrong with me? Why don't I get a share?"
Li Yuanke said, "After the New Year, you will go to Tianfei Pass to bring back my senior brother. He will have a place in the wedding procession, but you will not!"
Huo Feiyuan was struck dumb. He had wanted to attend the ceremony, but as a result, he was exiled to the border for saying just one more word.
Since they were all comrades, Li Yuanke didn't put on airs, and the atmosphere was very pleasant.
Shen Shixi didn't say much, but some high-ranking military officers came over to toast her. She took the opportunity to give some pointers on weapon modification, which won them over!
In the army, the strong are respected. Shen Shixi may not be able to lift a large sword or draw a strong bow, but she can take down an entire army by herself, so no one dares to disrespect her.
Compared to Li Yuanke, the generals were even more afraid of the Empress.
As the year draws to a close and the end of the month approaches, Shen Shixi is wearing a red ribbon.
The harem was filled with anticipation, but the emperor, as if he had forgotten, forgot to choose a concubine.
Many people are anxious about this.
Consort De sent someone to inquire with the Imperial Household Department, and the reply they received was that matters concerning the inner palace should be discussed with Her Majesty the Empress, meaning that they would not reveal any information whatsoever.
Li Yuanke did not mention Shen Shixi's proposed rank in the imperial harem, but since she has already been made empress, logically, her rank in the harem should also be promoted.
There weren't many people to begin with, just a bunch of little kids, and now that they've had children, there's no one to raise them.
Consort De was promoted to Noble Consort; Consort Qiong was promoted to Virtuous Consort; Consort Jin was promoted to Gentle Consort; thus, three of the four first-rank consorts were established, leaving one vacant to give people something to look forward to.
Consort Yuan, Consort Guo, and Consort Ning were all promoted to the rank of Imperial Concubine;
Li Sihe, who gave birth to the third prince, was promoted two ranks by Shen Shixi, becoming a ninth concubine, and was granted the title of Chongyuan and the residence of Wangxian Palace.
The Eighth Prince's birth mother, Cui Xianhui, was only a talented woman, a far cry from the Ninth Consort, and was only promoted to the rank of Beauty. The Ninth Prince's birth mother, Xu Miaoying, was a Baolin, but Shen Shixi directly promoted her two ranks, making her the same level as Cui Xianhui, and also a Beauty.
There are a few others who haven't been promoted: Consort Pan, Consort Que, and Consort Wang (who is an older concubine), and the twin sisters Wang Yueyao and Liang Anlan (who are new concubines). None of them have been promoted.
To put it bluntly, those who had sons were all promoted, and Shen Shixi simply ignored those he didn't like.
If an emperor wants to be promoted, that's his business.
The list was sent to Li Yuanke, who originally didn't intend to deal with it. However, the first name on the list was Consort De, so he glanced at it, crossed out Consort De's name, and told the rest to be handed over to the Imperial Household Department.
As for those he missed, Li Yuanke had no idea; he simply didn't pay attention to how many people were in his harem.
According to the imperial harem system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, among the noble, virtuous, and wise, the virtue was ranked second to last. After the Imperial Household Department issued the decree, Consort De was dumbfounded.