NFBE Chapter 1179 [The Glory of Tang Dynasty 6]
Chapter 1179 [The Glory of Tang Dynasty 6]
The day of the palace examination finally arrived, and the whole palace was filled with a tense and solemn atmosphere. Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei sat together under the glazed canopy, their eyes fell on the good girls, ready to examine these young women.
Cui Caiping sat quietly in the crowd, her eyes fell on the clothes she was wearing. The clothes seemed familiar, and she suddenly remembered that this was the clothes she wore in the original life and caught fire. She thought to herself, if that's the case, then don't change it. Anyway, she didn't want to participate in the palace selection, and it would be best if she was expelled by the emperor for the crime of misbehavior in front of the palace.
Then, Cui Caiping slowly stood up, walked to the center, and began to play a piece of music. All the good girls also sat around her and listened to her performance.
However, at this moment, something unexpected happened. Everyone suddenly saw smoke coming out of the corner of Cui Caiping's clothes, and then the fire spread rapidly. Cui Caiping herself was also frightened by this sudden situation. She screamed and jumped up suddenly.
At this critical moment, Shen Zhenzhu picked up a bucket of water from the side without hesitation and poured it on Cui Caiping's clothes. The water instantly put out the fire, but Cui Caiping's dress was also partially soaked by the water.
Cui Caiping was still in shock. She stared at Shen Zhenzhu with wide eyes and asked, "What are you doing?"
Shen Zhenzhu quickly explained: "I'm sorry, Cui Liangren, I saw that your dress was on fire, and I was worried that the fire would get bigger and bigger, so I came up with this idea to help you put out the fire."
At this time, the emperor's voice came: "What's going on? Why did this skirt catch fire for no reason?"
Seeing this, Yang Guifei was extremely anxious and asked quickly, "Ping'er, what is going on? Could it be that someone deliberately set up a trap to frame you?"
Cui Caiping turned pale and replied in horror: "Aunt, Your Majesty, it's really not like that. I don't know why it happened, but no matter what, I have to thank Mr. Shen for his help."
The emperor looked at Cui Caiping's pitiful appearance and couldn't help but feel a trace of pity in his heart, so he said slowly: "Forget it, go change your clothes first, don't catch a cold."
"Yes, thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I'll take my leave." Cui Caiping felt as if she had been pardoned and hurriedly responded and left.
After Cui Caiping left, the emperor turned to everyone and said, "Let's continue the competition."
Cui Caiping hurried back to her room, quickly changed into clean clothes, and after tidying herself up a little, she hurried back to the arena, found a seat and sat down, ready to watch the next competition.
Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye, all the competitions were over. Crown Prince Li Heng saw that the time had come, and hurried forward to plead with the emperor: "Father, I beg you to marry Shen Zhenzhu to my eldest son Li Chu. This girl is not only outstanding in appearance, but also talented and virtuous. She is really a good match."
The emperor thought about it for a while and felt that Li Chu and Shen Zhenzhu were a good match, so he nodded and agreed, "Well, in that case, I will marry Shen Zhenzhu to Li Chu."
However, at this moment, Yang Guozhong and Yang Guifei suddenly stood up to express their opposition. Yang Guifei said in a tender voice: "Your Majesty, I have watched Ping'er grow up since she was a child, and I love her as if she were my own child. In my opinion, it would be better for Your Majesty to marry Caiping into the Guangping Palace as well. This way, Caiping can have a good home and I can feel at ease."
The emperor sat on the dragon throne, looking at the imperial concubine with a smile on his face, and slowly said: "Well, this is the first time that the imperial concubine has asked me for mercy, so I naturally cannot refuse. However, I just granted her marriage to Shen Zhenzhu and made her a princess. And Caiping's background is more than enough to be a princess. If she is only a concubine, it is really a bit unfair to her."
The Crown Princess listened to the discussion and pondered in her heart. After a brief thought, she said to the Emperor softly, "Father, I have an idea. Why not let Lady Shen and Lady Cui marry into the East Palace as concubines? As for who will become the principal concubine, it depends on Chu Er's own wishes."
The Emperor listened to the Crown Princess' words and nodded slightly, expressing his approval: "Well, this is a good idea. This way, we will not favor any party and will give them both a chance. Then let's do it this way and let them both marry into the Guangping Prince's Palace as concubines."
At the same time, Yang Guozhong was troubled by another matter. He went to Wu's house many times, wanting to meet Shen Yizhi, but was turned away every time. Yang Guozhong's subordinates were very puzzled by his behavior and complained: "Prime Minister, why do you have to come to Wu's house to meet a wall? Shen Yizhi obviously doesn't want to see you."
Upon hearing this, Yang Guozhong's face darkened and he shouted, "What do you know? Shen Yizhi has a token in his hand that can command the King of Yunnan!" Although his voice was not loud, Feng Shengyi who was guarding outside the Shen Mansion heard it clearly.
Feng Shengyi's heart moved, realizing the importance of this news. He observed the situation around him calmly, and after Yang Guozhong left, he quickly returned to the Prince of Guangping's mansion to report to the Prince of Guangping.
The rumors from Feng Shengyi made Li Chu think that the Shen family might have the Kirin Order that could command the King of Yunnan. In order to prevent this important token from falling into the hands of the treacherous prime minister Yang Guozhong, Li Chu decided to secretly visit the Shen Mansion late at night.
It was a dark and windy night. Li Chu, dressed in black, quietly sneaked into the Shen residence. He avoided the patrolling servants and went straight to Shen Yizhi's study. He gently opened the window and flashed in like a ghost.
Shen Yizhi was flipping through a book in the study when he suddenly felt a cool breeze. He raised his head alertly, only to see a dark shadow standing in front of the window.
"Who are you?" Shen Yizhi asked in a deep voice.
Li Chu smiled slightly and said softly, "Don't be afraid, Lord Shen. I have no ill intentions. I am Li Chu, the Prince of Guangping. I came to visit you late at night to ask for something."
Shen Yizhi was a little surprised when he heard this, but when he saw that Li Chu had an extraordinary demeanor and did not seem like a bad person, he relaxed his vigilance a little.
"I wonder why Prince Guangping came to visit so late at night?" Shen Yi asked directly.
Li Chu got straight to the point and said, "I heard that the Shen family has a Qilin Order, which can command the King of Yunnan. Now that Yang Guozhong is in power, if this order falls into his hands, it will probably bring disaster to the Shen family. I beg Lord Shen to hand over the Qilin Order to me for safekeeping, so as to avoid it from the hands of Yang Guozhong."
Shen Yizhi's face changed slightly after hearing this. He knew the importance of the Kirin Order, but he was an upright person and firmly believed that the law of the country was supreme. Even if Yang Guozhong was extremely powerful, he would not dare to do anything wrong in public.
"I appreciate Prince Guangping's kindness. But this Qilin Order is an heirloom of my Shen family and cannot be handed over to others easily." Shen Yizhi said firmly.
Li Chu sighed inwardly when he saw Shen Yizhi being so stubborn. He knew that Shen Yizhi was an upright person and would not easily trust others.
"Lord Shen, I understand your concerns. But Yang Guozhong is a sinister and cunning man who will do anything to achieve his goals. If he finds out that the Qilin Order is in your hands, I'm afraid it will be bad for you." Li Chu advised earnestly.
However, Shen Yizhi remained unmoved. He believed that Yang Guozhong would not dare to attack him openly.
Li Chu had no choice but to take out a jade whistle from his bosom and handed it to Shen Yizhi, saying: "Since Lord Shen is unwilling to hand over the Qilin Order to me, I will not force you. Keep this jade whistle. If you encounter danger, just blow it and my men will come to support you."
Shen Yi went straight through the jade whistle, grateful for Li Chu's kindness.
"Thank you, Prince Guangping. If necessary, I will blow this whistle." Shen Yizhi said.
Li Chu nodded, turned and left, disappearing into the night.
Meanwhile, in another room, Cui Caiping was talking to her System 103.
"Host, do you want to save Shen Yizhi?" 103 asked.
Cui Caiping raised the corner of her mouth slightly, revealing a sly smile: "Save, of course I have to save him. How can I live up to my character if I don't intervene? I am the representative of arrogance and domineering. The more I am told not to do something, the more I will do it."
After that, Cui Caiping called Ziyuan and ordered: "You ask Zixuan to protect Shen Yizhi secretly. If he encounters danger, bring him out immediately."
Zi Yuan took the order and left, while Cui Caiping sat leisurely in the chair, seeming to be full of anticipation for what was to come.