Chapter 82 The Empress’s Past
The best academic performance, but the lowest in classwork? Zhao Duan instinctively sensed that there was a story inside.
Upstairs in the Emperor's House, Xu Zhenguan was silent for a moment before saying, "Because I am a woman."
Zhao Duan was stunned: "That's it?"
"Otherwise?" The empress in white turned her head and glanced at him, "Isn't it enough?"
She picked up the wine jar, raised her head and took another sip, then immediately threw the huge jar over the railing, smashing it into pieces with a bang.
The palace people below were not surprised and seemed to be used to it.
Xu Zhenguan was slightly self-deprecating and said: "Since ancient times, princesses have always had fame but no power, even if they were born into the royal family.
If I, the royal daughter, have more academic achievements than all the princes, especially the prince, and if word spreads, wouldn't it mean that the royal men are incompetent? Give me a female escort to suppress?
Besides, a prince should develop self-confidence from a young age. Too much frustration would be harmful to the development of the emperor's dignity... My father was convinced of this, so he told the grand master to rank me at the bottom. "
Zhao Duan was silent, thinking that there was probably a reason why the three princesses did not please the late emperor.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be only one princess in the school, and she would be among the last few... unbelievable.
"So, His Majesty was often depressed at that time?" He said slowly.
Xu Zhenguan nodded and said softly: "At first, I was kept in the dark. Every time the school results were released and I was in a bad mood, I would come to the watchtower to relax.
The scenery here is very good. I have a telescope that I can put on my eyes to see the life of people in the city... It is a life that is far more vivid than that in the palace.
Hum, the princess is not allowed to go out until she reaches adulthood, but the Tianzi Tower is on the edge of the imperial city, with the government offices underneath, so it is the farthest place I can leave the palace.
It was also the first time I learned to drink, and I asked Mochou and Sun Lianying to secretly find it for me.
They were scared to death at that time. If their father knew about it and dared to give the princess alcohol, they would also be punished with a rod. "
No wonder they were deeply trusted by the empress... Zhao Duan thought to himself.
And noticed that when the empress called herself, she changed it to the word "I".
"But you still know," he said.
"Yes," Xu Zhenguan spit out the smell of alcohol and said with a smile:
"After a long time, Grand Master Dong finally couldn't stand it and told the truth in private. Only then did I realize that in terms of talent and learning, I am the number one.
From then on, I no longer cared about the school and learned the four words "hide your strength and bide your time". My father gradually stopped paying attention to me... As long as I don't compete with the prince or do anything else, he doesn't care. of. "
Zhao Duan said: "So your Majesty started practicing?"
Xu Zhenguan corrected:
"It's about studying and practicing. The palace has a library that collects books from all over the world. It's near the arsenal. It's rarely visited by people, so I became a frequent visitor, and my cultivation also improved."
Zhao Duan took a risk and asked:
"Your Majesty had the intention to aspire for the throne at that time?"
Xu Zhenguan raised his hand to summon a new jar of wine, shook his head and said: "No. Even if you wait or refuse to believe it, before the Xuanmen coup, I never thought that I could really be a female emperor."
What you say is very unconvincing... Zhao Duan complained.
Xu Zhenguanxu was getting more and more drunk and wanted to talk out loud, so she thought to herself:
"At first, I just held back my anger and wanted to prove that I was not weak to others. Until that year, Prince Jing went to Beijing to propose marriage..."
Zhao Duan pricked up his ears alertly:
"Proposing a marriage?!"
…
…
The capital is on the only way between Tianzi Tower and the Zhao family.
There is a snack street, where the night is getting late and the number of pedestrians is getting thinner.
On the long street, a tall old man walked quietly, walking with an air of immortality.
"Old sir, what do you want?"
In a soup cake shop, the middle-aged boss put a towel on his right shoulder, looked at the demeanor of the old man entering the shop, and asked.
Zhang Yan smiled and said, "Is there any sobering soup?"
"Has the old gentleman had a drink?" The owner of the soup cake shop was suspicious and said:
"You can make it now, but you have to wait."
Zhang Yanyi sat down at a table under the awning outside the shop and said with a smile:
"There's no rush, just take your time. I'm waiting for someone to come."
The middle-aged boss suddenly realized:
"Did the old gentleman prepare the soup for a friend? I don't know where he is, so I can guess the time." Dayu Dynasty, one of the four "celestial beings", the old master of the Tianshi Mansion, the legendary current generation The strongest monk, Zhang Yan smiled.
He raised his gaze and looked across the street above the awnings supported by the shops on both sides, looking at the bright "Tianzi Tower" in the distance, and said leisurely:
"I can't say for sure..."
…
"Proposing marriage?"
Zhao Duan frowned, this was knowledge he had never known.
Xu Zhenguan suddenly threw him a jar of wine and said:
"I want you to drink with me. I'm not a teetotaler. I'll drink this jar full and I'll tell you what I want to say."
After a pause, he added: "No discharge is allowed."
"As ordered..."
Zhao Duan smiled bitterly, thinking that with the alcohol capacity he had developed in his previous life, he could not handle this ancient low-alcohol wine.
Immediately he boldly picked up the wine jar and swallowed it clean without using his internal strength to expel the alcohol odor.
Xu Zhenguan nodded with satisfaction and said:
"Prince Jing's son, he proposed to the late emperor to marry me."
Isn't this a consanguineous marriage? Zhao Duan couldn't believe it.
Then I remembered that Prince Jing was not the former emperor's biological brother, but a prince created from an earlier emperor.
In addition, in the history of this world, the royal family was not so strict on intermarriage within the family.
Compared with having children, the political significance of "getting closer to each other" is more important.
There are even examples of close relatives marrying wives but not having children, leaving concubines to give birth to children who will inherit the family.
It's Prince Jing again. The warlock almost hurt me before, and the prince wants to steal my empress... Zhao Duan is not happy anymore.
He became hostile towards the "Prince Jing" whom he had never met before.
"How did His Majesty deal with it?" he asked sourly.
Xu Zhenguan looked at him with a half-smile and said:
"Of course I don't want to. Who is Prince Jing, who wants to get involved with me? Under the pressure of the late emperor, I simply packed up my bed and went to live in Shenlong Temple to shave my head and become a monk.
The late emperor saw that I had made up my mind, and because Prince Jing's reputation was not good, the prince, brother, mother, and concubine tried their best to speak for me, so the matter was dropped. "
Her tone was casual, but Zhao Duan was frightened when she heard it.
Can you imagine how decisive the Third Princess must have been at that time? How strong?
Xu Zhenguan said calmly:
"Since then, we have determined that we must control our own destiny in this life. I don't want to get married, even if Emperor Taizu climbs out of the imperial mausoleum and forces me, I won't even think about it."
There is amazing power in the calm tone.
This is something that goes without saying... Zhao Duan's head moved and he probed in line with his character:
"Then what kind of man can make His Majesty fall in love?"
Xu Zhenguan looked at him strangely, and after a moment, smiled:
"At least you can't do it now."
Zhao Duan was not convinced: "People can grow too."
Xu Zhenguan burst into laughter. Maybe he was drunk, or he was in a good mood because he did something "pleasant" tonight. Instead of scolding him, he said softly: "Then you should work harder."
"What did your Majesty say? I didn't hear clearly." Zhao Duan blinked.
Xu Zhenguan rolled up his sleeves and returned to the table with a serious face: "It's nothing. I'm hungry. I want to eat. You can tell me some interesting things outside the palace while I drink. Immediately, immediately."
"...I obey the order."
So, in the quiet night downstairs of the emperor, while a group of palace people were waiting with their heads lowered, the drunken and crazy empress began to feast without any image.
Zhao Duan sat next to her and told her stories.
The night is getting darker.
When the "female prime minister" wearing a female official's robe, wingless black gauze, and a cool temperament arrived at the watchtower, she couldn't help but frown:
"Your Majesty hasn't come down yet?"
(End of chapter)