I am about to become Zhou Jingyu's crown princess.
But I ran into it by chance,
He hugged the concubine and said that he would marry me only for the Shen family's military power.
My heart was broken with joy,
The friendship of youth was frozen into ice by the word "military power".
I changed into a military uniform and broke the red silk with one shot: "If you don't retreat from the Northern Barbarians, you won't get married."
Eventually, the crown prince married someone else.
I thought no one would ever remember it.
But five years later, the Northern Barbarians retired.
Zhou Jingyu suddenly came to the north: "Jinxiu, you should go back to the palace."
1
Hearing the word "return to the palace", I subconsciously rubbed the ash on the tip of my nose and forcibly prevented myself from laughing.
When I inhaled, I smelled a smell of in the room, only to find that the side of my boot was covered with sticky cow dung.
"Your Majesty, can you let the last general change his shoes first?"
Two clouds of sorrow floated on my cheeks, and I turned my feet over the soles of my feet and rubbed the cow dung on the ground.
Zhou Jingyu glanced at the black filth with a complicated expression, and gave a look to the eunuch beside him, Xiao Liuzi immediately withdrew with a smile, and when he came back, he was followed by five palace maids.
Each palace maid held a wooden plate in their hands, and they lowered their little faces and said in unison: "Welcome General Long Ying back to the palace."
I roughly saw that there were bright yellow dragon and phoenix costumes, gilded phoenix tail swaying, rouge of Acacia Pavilion, and a pair of crested shoes full of colored gems and pearls.
All are the queen's regulations.
"Splendid, these are specially made by me according to your preferences, are you still satisfied?"
Zhou Jingyu's doting voice was like a spring breeze, as considerate as five years ago, when the love was strong, he wanted to step forward and take my hand, but I avoided it lightly.
"Your Majesty, you will have boots at the end."
2
I bypassed the palace maid, walked straight to the table, took out a pair of dirty boots from under the table, and quickly changed them in front of Zhou Jingyu.
Such a shocking act frightened Xiao Liuzi immediately led the palace maids to kneel, and they couldn't wait to bury their eyes in the ground one by one.
Zhou Jingyu saw me so rough, a trace of astonishment flashed in his eyes, but he didn't reprimand, only asked gently:
"Jinxiu, don't you like these crested shoes?"
"Your Majesty, the crested head can't be worn in the north, just the heel of the shoe, step into the grassland, and bring out three taels of cow dung."
As I spoke, I picked up a rag towel and began to wipe the filth from my boots, with a skilful movement and a calm expression.
The air seemed to be quiet for a moment.
Zhou Jingyu's expression was cracked and shattered, and he couldn't help but lean over and hold my hands and forcibly stop my movements.
He looked me straight at me, and his voice came almost from his back molars, "Jinxiu, do you want to hide in the North for the rest of your life? I have been hanging in the back for many years, waiting for you to return to the palace."
3
Waiting for me to go back to the palace?
Zhou Jingyu seems to have forgotten that I have never entered the palace, so how can I go back to the palace?
I looked into his eyes and saw hidden anger in those deep black eyes.
He was originally the most obedient prince, but after becoming the emperor, his temperament became more and more impatient.
"Your Majesty, the last general is not hiding."
I calmly drew my hands and got up to answer.
Zhou Jingyu's eyes flickered, and his uncertain gaze fell on my face, as if he wanted to make sure if I was angry or really didn't care.
But I'm obviously still the same Shen Jinxiu who grew up with his childhood sweetheart, but he can't see through me anymore.
"Splendid Beauty, I know what is in your heart. Shen Jiajun has made great contributions this time, and after returning to Beijing, I will discuss meritorious deeds, among which your merits are the greatest, and no one dares to oppose you becoming the queen."
"Your Majesty, you misunderstood." I rejected Zhou Jingyu without thinking, and said clearly and firmly word by word, "The last general doesn't want to be the queen, the last general just wants to guard the northern border and protect the country and the people in this life."
4
There was a hint of coolness in the camp tent instantly, Zhou Jingyu half-clenched his fists, and green tendons were faintly visible on the back of his hands.
Xiao Liuzi noticed that the situation was wrong, and reminded him at the right time: "General Long Ying, Your Majesty has put a lot of effort into welcoming you back to the palace, you must not disappoint Your Majesty."
I raised my eyebrows lightly, knowing that what Xiao Liuzi said was true.
But I was not moved in my heart, I only felt ridiculous: "The last general has made up his mind, and I implore His Majesty to take back his life."
Zhou Jingyu's face was calm, and after a while, he finally stabilized his emotions: "Jinxiu, I have now gone to the north to welcome you back to the palace, do you really want to continue to make such an awkward scene?"
"Please forgive your sins."
The blandness in my eyes extinguished Zhou Jingyu's patience, and he lowered his face:
"Jinxiu, I will give you another night to think about it, if you still have this answer tomorrow, the 150,000 border troops will be punished for your willfulness.
"If you don't agree for a day, I will deduct a day's wages from them.
"If you don't agree for ten days, I want them to join forces with the nine clans of the Shen family to resist the crime."
I was so provoked by his shameless words that I almost vomited blood: "If it weren't for the 150,000 border troops, the Great Zhou would have already been ruined, and the country would not be a country, so Your Majesty really wants to do this to them?"
"Shen Jinxiu, you are presumptuous!"
Zhou Jingyu sneered and stopped my rebellious words.
He grabbed my wrist and forcibly pulled me into his arms, and rubbed the cold and stiff armor on my back with the other hand, and his voice was undeniable: "Jinxiu, I have waited for you for five years, and now that the Northern Barbarians have withdrawn from the army, I want you to fulfill the promise of the year, marry me, and become the queen of the Great Zhou."
5
"The past is gone, so why cling."
"Persistence? If you can't get it, you're persistent I have let you go for five years, and now, I will not let you go again."
Zhou Jingyu ordered the palace maids to leave all the wooden plates in the tent and leave with their sleeves brushed up.
I narrowed my eyes, pinched a box of Acacia Pavilion rouge with my rough fingertips, and lifted the lid of the paper in a daze.
The bright pink color of the box contrasted with the back of my dark, dry hand, and it clearly didn't match.
It's just that the familiar fragrance of fat powder slowly enters the nose, still evoking a little of the past.
Once, I loved the rouge of Acacia Pavilion and Zhou Jingyu.
I was a childhood sweetheart with him, and I was his inner princess since I was a child.
But on Zhou Jingyu's sixteenth birthday, I received a note, so I ignored the rule that the bride and groom could not meet on the eve of the wedding, cooked a bowl of longevity noodles and went to the palace to find him.
Sneaking into the East Palace, I saw with my own eyes that in the room full of red silk, Zhou Jingyu hugged Yao Muyu, the concubine of the Taifu:
"Yu'er, don't you understand Lone's mind to you?
"It's not that Lone wants to marry Shen Jinxiu, but Lone must marry her.
"The Shen family is in power, and she is the most suitable candidate for the queen."
I heard every sentence and word of Zhou Jingyu clearly, but I didn't immediately understand what it meant.
There was a loud buzzing in my head, and there was a blank space.
It wasn't until I met Zhou Jingyu and Yao Muyu's flustered gaze that I regained some of my senses.
Drop the food basket and turn and run away.
That night, I quietly changed into my military uniform, tied up my long hair, and took out the red tassel gun from the cabinet.
The moment the fingertips touched the hilt of the gun, endless power poured into the body.
The first shot, I picked the red silk on the door beam.
On the second shot, I carved eight words on the pillar: "If you don't retreat from the Beiban, you won't get married."
For the third shot, I decided to leave it to the brute.
6
At that time, the Northern Barbarians gathered 300,000 wolf horsemen to go south, the border army was defeated, and retreated to three cities in a row, and the barbarians relied on the well-trained wolf horses to break through the bamboo, straight to Liangzhou, and shouted to fight all the way to the capital.
My eldest brother Shen Changbai happened to lead the troops to defend against the enemy, so my escape from marriage did not bring disaster to the family, but instead achieved a good story of the crown princess going to the battlefield in person to protect the country and supervise the army.
Later, Zhou Jingyu married Yao Muyu as he wished and ascended to the position of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, and I was stationed in the north with my eldest brother for many years, and I managed to integrate the 100,000 Shen family army and the 50,000 Jicheng army together, tempered into a sharp sword, which not only stopped the 300,000 wolf riders, but also tore through the impregnable defense line of the Northern Barbarians and regained the lost territory.
But a year ago, just as the eldest brother was about to take advantage of the victory to pursue, he suddenly received the news that the King of Qi had been captured in Beiban. He was ordered to rescue and exchange his life for the King of Qi. I succeeded him, sat in the position of the commander of the border army, and became the general of Long Ying, who made the barbarians fearful.
I swore that I would avenge my big brother.
The fingertips pinching the rouge box suddenly tightened, and his thoughts returned, and I ordered someone to find Xie Hengyu.
7
Xie Hengyu is a famous young general in Da Zhou and my deputy general.
When my brother took me to the north, I happened to meet Xie Hengyu, who chose to abandon the city in order to protect the evacuation of the people, I thought he was a simple-minded martial artist, and he thought I was a squeamish vase, and I didn't deal with each other.
It wasn't until the martyrdom of my eldest brother that he bowed his head to me once, took the initiative to recognize me as the commander-in-chief, and he was condescended to the position of deputy general, so for this reason, no one in the 150,000 border troops disobeyed me, and no one dared to say that I was a woman.
But I know that Xie Hengyu is called stabilizing the morale of the army, but in fact, he wants to be the shopkeeper.
But I'm not as good as he wants, I have to call him together for big and small things, especially for a head-killing mission like today's selling royal gifts, no one is more suitable than him.
"Shen Jinxiu, if you don't call me for a day, you'll be uncomfortable, right?"
Xie Hengyu scolded and opened the curtain and broke into the camp directly.
He never called me "boss" in private, and I didn't care, and pointed to the five wooden plates on the table: "Let Lu Xin return the horses, cattle and sheep sent by Naren and them, and you can take these to the city to exchange for some wine and meat, and add food to the soldiers."
"Your Majesty rewarded you with these things? Why does Your Majesty want to reward you with these?"
Xie Hengyu was like a stunned young man who had never seen the world, staring at the shiny clothes and accessories on the plate, his pupils suddenly dilated.
I gave him a blank look, wiped the cow dung from my boots with a cloth towel, and coldly spat out, "Your Majesty said that you would make me queen."
8
"The Emperor...... After?"
Xie Hengyu was stunned, and his dry lips couldn't close for a long time.
He naturally knew that I was the crown princess, but five years later, he and the soldiers had long forgotten my identity, and only regarded me as a ruthless general Long Ying.
"What do you think?"
Xie Hengyu's face was clouded for no reason.
I didn't answer his question, and quickly shoved my polished boots under the table, "Don't be too ostentatious when you sell things, it's not good to be caught selling imperial gifts."
"Shen Jinxiu, the Beiban is only temporarily retreating, they will definitely make a comeback!"
Xie Hengyu didn't seem to hear my words, and let out a hoarse roar from his throat, and he walked back and forth, like a manic little wolf.
I sighed, took out the Shen family's military talisman and put it on the table, and the expression board was correct: "So when I am not there, you are the commander."
Xie Hengyu paused, and did not receive the talisman.
He sullenly piled the contents of the five wooden plates into one wooden plate, and his hands were gasped at the empty plates, almost smashing them on the table when he put them down.
I couldn't get used to him ruining things like this, so I folded the empty wooden tray and put it at the bottom: "I took the tray and sold it." You went to buy a new pair of dirty pants with the money from the sale, and I accidentally saw a hole in your dirty pants that day."
Hearing this, Xie Hengyu's handsome face was as red as a lantern, and he lowered his head helplessly, but he didn't know how to refute it.
"Shy? Your whole body ...... Where else have I not seen it?"
I deliberately glanced at his lower abdomen and smiled lightly.
used to tease Xie Hengyu, and he would always scold angrily: "Don't be ashamed, see who dares to marry you."
But today, he inexplicably lost his combat effectiveness, and before he went out, he stopped and muttered: "Shen Jinxiu, you want to leave us and enter the palace by yourself, but there is no door."
I was slightly stunned and shook my head helplessly: "Happiness? You don't know, the palace is more terrible than the north, and the people in the palace are more ruthless than wolves."
"And you're going back?"
Xie Hengyu turned around, half angry and half puzzled in his deep black eyes.
I smiled indifferently at him, "Since I can't hide from it, it's better to take this opportunity to solve this matter, besides, my brother's feud can't just be settled."
9
Xie Hengyu didn't say anything more, and walked out of the tent directly. That night, I don't know what trick he used, Zhou Jingyu ordered a few people to return to Beijing to be sealed, and he was also on the list.
And I agreed to return to Beijing in exchange for Zhou Jingyu's dictation: [100,000 border troops stay in the north, and the other 50,000 squad divisions return to the DPRK, they can return home to visit relatives in batches, and the disabled are given priority. 】
After entering Beijing, I should have gone back to the Shen family first, but Zhou Jingyu insisted that I enter the palace to see the Queen Mother.
When I ran away from marriage and joined the army, it was the Queen Mother who protected me, which exempted the Shen family from punishment, and I should be grateful for this kindness.
It's just that I didn't expect to meet Yao Muyu at the gate of the palace as soon as I entered the palace.
At this time, she was already the imperial concubine who was only one step away from the queen, wearing the same lake blue Shu brocade dress as Xie Hengyu, and she was radiant.
"Your Majesty has worked hard all the way, and the concubines have prepared medicinal baths and delicacies in Yonghe Palace to relieve Your Majesty's fatigue."
She was well-informed, not surprised to see me, and didn't care.
"The concubine has a heart." Zhou Jingyu helped her up, looked back at me inexplicably, and had a warm smile in his eyes, "Jinxiu, it's not appropriate for you to go to see your mother in battle armor, it's good to go to Yonghe Palace with me to change clothes."
The emperor's soft voice fell on Yao Muyu's ears and was particularly harsh, and jealousy made her eyes red in an instant.
But she quickly adjusted her breathing and pretended to be enthusiastic: "General Long Ying, there are fine clothes and jewelry in this palace, you will definitely like it."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, but I don't like to use other people's things."
Zhou Jingyu heard the sarcasm in my words, and his face showed distress, he ordered Xiao Liuzi to take a step, turned around and walked towards me, and gave me an unmatched preference: "It's me who didn't think about it, I took you to Kunning Palace."
10
Yao Muyu's face suddenly turned pale, a trace of resentment flashed in her beautiful eyes, Ying Ying stepped forward and stood beside Zhou Jingyu: "But the concubine forgot that General Long Ying has a private room in Kunning Palace. The concubines have been renovating the Kunning Palace on the orders of the Queen Mother these days, Your Majesty, it is better to let the concubines accompany General Long Ying."
Zhou Jingyu ignored Yao Muyu, just looked at me fixedly, expecting me to put my hand in his palm: "Jinxiu, every time you entered the palace in the past, you would complain that this road was so long, and today I will walk with you, maybe I will have a different feeling."
From time to time, he talked about the past, trying to overcome the alienation from me.
But as I looked at the long palace road, I was reminded of the scene of the escape from the palace five years ago.
The walls and green tiles are like a terrible cobweb, devouring me with teeth and claws, and it will imprison me forever because of the word "military power".
But why should I be its prey and be at its mercy?
"Your Majesty, you are so favored, I'm afraid you will frighten the general."
Yao Muyu's coquettish smile interrupted my memory, she grabbed me affectionately, and the jade wrench on her ring finger gently touched my phalanges: "The matter of the woman's dress, the general is not easy to talk to His Majesty, it is better to leave it to the concubine to deal with."
I chimed in: "The noble concubine is right."
Zhou Jingyu followed my wishes, and he personally sent me and Yao Muyu to sit on the chariot: "Jinxiu, I am waiting for you in Cining Palace."
Yao Muyu moved his long eyelashes in embarrassment, and his palm was cold.
11
"General Long Ying, you are desperate to protect the country, Your Majesty remembered the military exploits and asked you to go to Kunning Palace to change your clothes, don't think too much." Walking away, Yao Muyu let go of my hand, and his words were very arrogant.
"What are you afraid of me thinking?"
"Naturally, it's the queen's throne. Shen Jinxiu, five years ago, you couldn't compete for this palace, and now, you can't compete even more."
Yao Muyu got straight to the point.
She is the first of the four concubines, has a prince and a princess, and the Yao family also has deep roots in the court, and is indeed the hottest candidate for the queen, but unfortunately, I shouldn't have a sense of existence here.
I laughed softly, "Guifei Niangniang, what I didn't want five years ago, I still won't want five years later."
"Judging by the main palace, you can't afford it." Yao Muyu was obviously a little annoyed, "Shen Jinxiu, don't you really think that Your Majesty would let a woman who has lived with a man all year round be the queen? Look at your looks, your voice, your mannerisms, and where you still look like a noblewoman."
"If my master is like you, he only knows how to pamper and take care of it, then I am afraid that you have already become the belly of the wolf rider, and who cares whether the sound of food is good or not, and whether the behavior is good or not."
Yunxia is a Mongolian doctor who has followed me for many years, she knows how many injuries I have, and she also knows how many times I have wandered around the Ghost Gate, and she can't bear to be belittled by someone.
Even if the other party is a high-ranking concubine, it can't be.
But her righteousness just gave Yao Muyu a chance to stand up, Yao Muyu ordered someone to stop, and ordered the two old grandmothers around her to suppress Yunxia: "Where did you come from, you dare to disobey the palace."
My cold gaze fell on Yao Muyu's grim face: "Guifei Niangniang, please let go of my people immediately."
But Yao Muyu was determined to embarrass me, so he was willing to give up: "Drag this down and beat the thirty boards again."
I sneered and jumped up from my step, kicked the two grandmothers away, and protected Yunxia behind me.
"Yunxia is a six-rank military doctor, and she is also a hero appointed by His Majesty, who dares to touch her."
"Shen Jinxiu, you dare to go against the grain, don't forget, your brother ......."
Yao Mu stopped talking, she warned me and threw me and Yunxia on the palace road.
"Master, this concubine is simply too deceitful."
"Don't bother, she's just a pawn."
12
I found Cining Palace with a familiar car and met the Queen Mother Xu Shuyi, who once treated me like my own daughter.
In front of her, I quietly retracted the water chestnut and sat upright as I had when I was raised by her as a child.
"Jinxiu, you have changed a lot."
Xu Shuyi, who was dressed in blue clothes, was noble and elegant, with a soft color flowing between her eyebrows and eyes, she pulled me down distressedly, personally took off the hairpin and stuffed it into my hand, and patted the back of my hand: "You have lived a hard life in the north all these years, and now that you have returned to Beijing, you are a royal person, and you are not allowed to wronged yourself."
I held the hot golden hairpin, and a smile tugged at the corner of my mouth: "The courtiers heard that in the past five years, His Majesty has accepted fifteen concubines and given birth to many princes and princesses, and the Queen Mother is full of excitement."
Xu Shuyi ordered someone to send the best Shu brocade, jewelry, and the pastries I have loved since I was a child, and said with emotion:
"Lively is lively, and none of them are to Your Majesty's liking. You see, the throne and the crown prince are still empty.
"If you hadn't insisted on going to the north with your brother back then, you would have changed your name to Mourning the Queen of the Family.
"Five generations of loyal ministers of the Shen family, now you are the only one left, the emperor can't rest assured of you, he wants you to enter the palace, and the mourning family feels that this is a good idea."
Xu Shuyi babbled about it, implying that she recognized Zhou Jingyu's decision in the future.
I smiled lightly: "Thank you Queen Mother, it's just that I'm used to being rough in the north, I'm afraid I'll disappoint the Queen Mother."
"What a stupid girl, you don't know how much the emperor and the mourning family look forward to your return."
"The Queen Mother's ......"
I wanted to excuse myself again, but was interrupted by Xu Shuyi: "Tomorrow's celebration banquet, the mourning family will issue an order, promise you the glory you deserve, go back and prepare well."
Xu Shuyi's majesty is even more than before, Zhou Jingyu is the same as many years ago, standing quietly on the side and listening, with no joy or anger on his face.
It wasn't until he sent me out of Cining Palace that the tense muscles on his face subconsciously relaxed.
"Tomorrow, no one will be able to snatch you away from me."
Zhou Jingyu's eyes were firm and resolute, as if what he would face in the Qianqing Palace tomorrow was not a celebration banquet, but a war without gunpowder.
I shrugged my shoulders and was noncommittal: "The king of Qi has supported troops in the south, and the king has formed a party in the court, and now they seem to have the intention of uniting together to usurp the throne, so this time, Your Majesty married me, still for the sake of the Shen family's military power."
Zhou Jingyu was stunned, as if he didn't expect me to know so much about the situation between the DPRK and China, but he smiled calmly: "Jinxiu, in the future, you will know my intentions, I have never cared about any military power, I only want you."
13
The next day, I changed into the regular military uniform prepared in advance to attend the celebration banquet. did not apply powder, nor did he wear a hairpin, only a blue cloth belt tied up high black hair, striding into the lively Qianqing Palace.
inadvertently caught a glimpse of Xie Hengyu, who was placed at the bottom because of his ordinary family background, he was dressed in fine clothes and jade food today, with a good demeanor, and a rough old man dressed like a peacock, which caused many palace maids in the palace to frequently peek at him.
"Vice General Xie, the celebration banquet is full of ministers from the DPRK and China, and if you want to see each other, I'm afraid you've found the wrong place."
I clasped my hands around my chest and watched quietly as a first-class maid who accidentally crashed into his arms apologized to him.
"I'm looking for the wrong place, what about you?" He asked the palace maid to step back and take a step closer to me, her clear eyes were full of charm, and she deliberately put her thin lips close to my ear, and her voice was extremely low, "Drunken Immortal Building, Liu Chengen......
My heart skipped a beat, and I smiled calmly and warned him with my lips, "Don't talk nonsense."
"Now you know you're scared? Then don't carry it alone." Xie Hengyu replied to me with a harmless smile, and others looked as if we were ambiguously in love.
But I was very helpless, his appearance of a scoundrel was telling me that he would never stand idly by and watch the investigation in the future.
I was about to open my mouth to persuade Zhou Jingyu and Concubine Yao Muyu and Concubine Xu Lingxi into the main hall.
"Splendid Beauty, your seat is not here."
The young emperor had a cold face, his gloomy eyes stared directly at Xie Hengyu, and before I knelt down to salute, he took my hand in front of everyone and led me forward.
The Minister of Civil and Military Affairs knelt on both sides and shouted "Long live", and the two palace concubines dragged their skirts and hurriedly followed.
那画面着实荒诞。
So much so that Mrs. Yao and Xu Guogong, their faces were more ugly than swallowing a fly, and they were puzzled, how could Zhou Jingyu, who had always been rational and calm, be so crazy today and make such an outrageous move.
14
Zhou Jingyu took me to the chief military attaché, where it was supposed to be my brother's place, but now there are the magnolia porcelain tableware that I used five years ago and the gold bottle pot that only the queen can use.
Yao Muyu was stunned for a moment, her eyes turned red in an instant, she half bit her thin lip, but finally did not make any sound, and her aggrieved expression was the same as back then.
It's a pity that the young man who coaxed her softly five years ago has given me all his patience and attention today.
"Jinxiu, you sit here."
Zhou Jingyu's eyes are hot, like a child who desperately wants to fulfill his wish.