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But because the Eighth Prince had just been assassinated, and no one knew whether the Queen Mother had spread the news on purpose.
In short, in the past half month, rumors have been spreading in Luoan City, saying that the Eighth Prince wants to kill the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother wants to kill the Eighth Prince.
After all, these two are Xia Fengxiang's elders, and it is inappropriate to announce one's wedding date to the world at this time.
So, about seven days after the Eighth Prince was assassinated, because the murderer had not yet been found, Xia Fengxiang reprimanded the Supreme Court Minister, the Imperial Guards Commander Meng Qin, and the Jingzhao Prefecture Governor Luo Anxu at the court meeting.
then
This matter gradually faded away.
then
Xia Fengxiang then announced to the world that his wedding with Su Changan would be officially held on January 1st of the following year.
The news spread in all directions, with Luoan City as the center.
The entire city of Luoan was celebrating this event, and as for the assassination, it had long been forgotten by people.
Although the scholars in the city who admired Su Changan were also excited, they had no time to think about it because the winter examination was approaching, and they all prepared for the exam at home or in the inn.
Many things happened in the temple within half a month.
For example, Li Min, the governor of Yanzhou, was sued by the common people who came to Beijing from Yan. They accused Li Min of occupying farmland, enclosing land for personal use, embezzling military funds, and even of raping women and killing innocent people.
Although the Eighth Prince has been protected, the evidence is conclusive, so the Empress ordered Su Zimu to personally try the case.
As a result, Li Min was executed, his entire family was stripped of all their property, and exiled to southern Xinjiang.
At the same time, He Ershan, the commander-in-chief of the Left Guard, was reported by the censor for crimes such as oppressing innocent people, so the empress waved her hand and asked Li Jiulang to handle the matter.
So He Ershan was dismissed from office and exiled.
These two were capable men under the Queen Mother and the Eighth Prince. Apart from these two, many officials were either dismissed or demoted three levels and transferred out of the capital.
A dog bites a dog.
Xia Fengxiang kept watching them biting each other happily, and he arranged some of the people he liked to go up there. But in order to prevent the two from not biting each other, he arranged for people from both sides to take over some positions and add fuel to the fire.
During this period, the Eighth Prince seemed to come to his senses and wanted to negotiate peace with the Queen Mother, but the Grand Tutor Yang Shanchang visited the Eighth Prince, and the Eighth Prince hated the Queen Mother even more and made even more trouble.
Although the situation may seem stormy in the temple, many people are actually just watching the excitement every day.
Only half a month.
The common people were peaceful and quiet here. I don't know if it was because the winter imperial examination was only a few days away, or for other reasons. The imperial guards were patrolling frequently, so even though there were many gangsters on the streets, there were very few people causing trouble.
However, this tranquility makes ordinary people a little difficult to adapt to.
Because in the past two months, every now and then, there would always be topics about what Miss Changan did, or how Miss Changan was.
But the past half month has been peaceful and nothing has happened.
Why can't they get used to it?
There are rumors that Miss Chang'an is learning etiquette, after all, the wedding is still more than three months away.
But things like weddings usually require preparation half a year in advance, which is already considered rushed.
So Miss Chang'an has a lot to learn.
There are also reports that Miss Changan is busy working on a new masterpiece, and it won’t be long before another work appears.
In short, just follow the crowd. If you have no topics to talk about, just make up some. You can't go wrong.
But in fact
For half a month, Su Changan was indeed learning etiquette while frantically thinking about how to arrange the wedding.
During this period, he didn't encounter any problems.
That is, when he learned that people from those vassal states were coming, he also learned that people from Japan were coming, which made Su Changan a little disgusted.
He does not discriminate against Japan, but he hates it from the bottom of his heart.
Maybe it's because it's ingrained in our bones.
But at the same time, when talking about Japan, Su Changan thought that although this small island country was not very good, there was indeed a lot of gold on the island.
For this purpose, Su Changan went to the Hanlin Academy to look for relevant books. He discovered that although there were not many records about Japan from Daxia who had been there, they all stated that a lot of gold was circulated among the nobles there, and many luxury items were purchased with gold.
Su Changan kept this matter in mind.
Today, Xia Fengxiang came over in the afternoon again.
Since the two made their relationship public during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Xia Fengxiang has become more and more unrestrained, especially now that it has been made public.
In the afternoon, he would rush over to Lingqi Pavilion with memorials to handle government affairs.
Because the weather is cold.
Therefore, a thin layer of cloth is hung outside the bamboo curtains on all four sides of the hall of Lingqi Pavilion to block the wind and also look good.
Xia Fengxiang leaned on the cushion, and Su Changan sat on the side and let Xia Fengxiang put his legs on him. Both of them were covered with a blanket.
After putting down a copy of the invitation, Xia Fengxiang looked at Su Changan who was drawing something, and turned his head curiously, and saw that Su Changan was drawing something that looked like a boat.
Xia Fengxiang looked at the ugly thing and asked, "Whose boat looks like this? And Su Changan, can you please stop painting? What you painted is so ugly, just like a ghost. And haven't you been busy with your wedding recently? You seem to be working for the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Music Bureau, or the Music Bureau."
At this point, Xia Fengxiang revealed a look of disgust that he could not conceal: "You are not going to do something like this at our wedding, are you? I tell you, if you dare to do this, I will immediately banish you to the cold palace!"
Su Changan turned his head to look at Xia Fengxiang, then picked up the 'warship' he had drawn, looked at it for a long time, frowned and said, "It's not ugly, it's pretty good."
After saying that, he put the painting aside and shook his head, "You're overthinking it. This thing is used to get gold and has nothing to do with our wedding."
Xia Fengxiang originally wanted to continue to disdain him, but after hearing this, he looked at Su Changan with curiosity.
Su Changan shook his head: "It's a complicated matter, I can't explain it to you right away. Aren't the two master craftsmen from the Shen Ce Mansion going to come to see me tomorrow? I'll talk to them tomorrow, and if they think it can be done, I'll tell you how to get the gold then."
When Xia Fengxiang saw Su Changan talking, he looked at the ugly thing he had painted with admiration, and said with disdain: "Who wants to listen! And do I need your little gold? Humph!"
but
After saying that, Xia Fengxiang suddenly thought of something, looked at Su Changan and asked, "Come to think of it, are you planning to dance for me on our wedding day?"
Hearing this, Su Changan was stunned for a moment and looked at Xia Fengxiang: "What are you thinking about? How is it possible?"
Xia Fengxiang put the letter in his hand aside, walked closer to Su Changan, and said expectantly: "Do you want to dance for me?"
Su Changan stretched out his hand and pushed Xia Fengxiang away: "No."
Xia Fengxiang opened Su Changan's hand and moved closer with an expectant look on his face: "Is it true? Is it true? If so, don't be shy. Anyway, I know you will only dance for me."
Su Changan once again pushed away Xia Fengxiang's curious face and said ruthlessly, "First of all, I am a man. Secondly, although I know a lot of women's things, I learned them just for fun. I really can't dance, so don't count on me. Finally, I went to the Taichang Temple just to learn about the marriage process."
When Xia Fengxiang heard this, he hugged Su Changan and said, looking straight at Su Changan with a smile: "So what if you are a man? Being a man does not prevent you from being my queen, nor does it prevent you from wearing women's clothes, and it certainly does not prevent you from dancing, right? So how about you dance for me? You can learn if you don't know how. There are still dozens of days left. Even if you are a little stupid, it is enough for you to learn."
Su Changan looked at Xia Fengxiang, thought for a while and said, "In fact, sometimes I think that you are really a pervert. Why don't you tell me if you are, we are about to get married, we should be honest with each other, and I will not discriminate against you."
A trace of anger flashed across Xia Fengxiang's eyes, but it was fleeting. Then he held Su Changan's hands with both hands, looked straight at Su Changan and said, "Su Changan."
Su Changan looked at Xia Fengxiang like this and said seriously, "It's useless for you to act like a spoiled child this time, do you understand?"
Xia Fengxiang looked at Su Changan with a pitiful look in his eyes: "I know it's useless no matter what I do, you know?"
Su Changan leaned back, ready to fight, determined not to waver!
Xia Fengxiang continued, "You have been getting better and better. From being a maid in the imperial kitchen, you have now become a future empress who is extremely loved by the people. Many students even said it was a pity that you did not take the imperial examination, otherwise you would have been the top scorer this year. But what about me!?"
Su Changan was somewhat stunned. Looking at Xia Fengxiang's expression, although he didn't know what this girl was up to, he was still a little shaken: "Stop making trouble and talk properly."
Xia Fengxiang choked up as he looked at Su Changan and continued, "I have really been standing still. I am still the same as I was before."
As he spoke, Xia Fengxiang sobbed and even tears began to well up in his eyes. He especially grabbed Su Changan's hand and rubbed his face.
Su Changan looked at Xia Fengxiang like this, pursed his lips, and was about to say something but stopped. Reason told him to continue defending!
Xia Fengxiang continued to sob and said, "Many times I also want to work harder, but I just can't muster the energy to do anything! Su Changan, do you know what I'm thinking when I see you become so outstanding?"
Having said that, Xia Fengxiang took Su Changan's hand and wiped away his tears.
See this scene.
Su Changan frowned. Very good, he couldn't defend himself anymore, so he said, "Wife, if you have something to say, please talk nicely. Don't cry."
Xia Fengxiang looked at Su Changan and pursed his lips: "Then you can dance for me, right? If you dance for me, I can even be better than you!!"
Su Changan looked at Xia Fengxiang, wanting to say something but stopping himself. However, he couldn't help but looked at Xia Fengxiang, who couldn't hold back his smile anymore, and said, "Do you know what a drama queen is?"
Xia Fengxiang shook his head.
Su Changan reached out to help Xia Fengxiang wipe away the tears that came out in an instant and said, "That's what you did just now."
Xia Fengxiang frowned: "Are you scolding me?"
Su Changan was helpless: "I'm praising you! After all, who can cry in a second?"
Xia Fengxiang snorted, then looked at Su Changan and asked, "Do you want to dance for me? If you don't, I will continue to cry. Do you believe it?"
Su Changan sighed: "Dance! Dance for you to see!"
Xia Fengxiang was satisfied, and after thinking for a while, he said, "I can also dance for you."
Hearing this, Su Changan narrowed his eyes and looked at Xia Fengxiang with emotion, "As a pervert, you really know how to have fun."
Xia Fengxiang glared and said, "What are you talking about! Believe it or not, if you scold me like this again, I will punish you!"
Su Changan smiled helplessly.
But just speak.
Su Changan was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but look back outside, then frowned and looked puzzled.
Xia Fengxiang saw it and looked over there, then looked at Su Changan: "What's wrong?"
After saying that, thinking about how Su Changan seemed to be like this lately, he asked, "And you've always been like this lately."
Su Changan frowned, looked at Xia Fengxiang and asked seriously, "Is there anything dirty in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Fengxiang immediately said, "Su Changan, do you know that you can be beheaded for saying this?!"
Su Changan shook his head: "Didn't we worship our parents during the Mid-Autumn Festival? Then I felt that there was something dirty in the Taimiao that seemed to be staring at us. Later, after I came back, so much time has passed, and I always feel that the dirty thing is around me, staring at me. Sometimes I feel it is in my house in the middle of the night, but when I look closely, it feels like there is nothing there."
Xia Fengxiang was somewhat surprised: "So that's why you asked Yan Ruyu to go to Yuqing Temple to ask for the talisman?"
Su Changan nodded.
Xia Fengxiang rolled his eyes: "I don't know what you are thinking. A gentleman does not speak of strange things! A gentleman does not speak of strange things. You are such a talented man and woman. If people know about it, they will laugh at you! And there is no such thing. This is the imperial palace. How dare it come here?"