The Wife is First

The first time Gu Huaiqing met Jingchen was in a restaurant in Pingjiang City.

Jing Shao sent him a message saying that King Rui would come to Pingjiang to see him in the near future, so he had another reason not to go back. Anyway, he had the capable Huai Prime Minister to handle all government affairs for him, and if he could go back a day late, it would be an extra day.

That sunny day, Gu Huaiqing went to the wine shop he frequented by the Qingshui River for a drink, and saw that his favorite seat by the window had already been taken. He frowned displeased, grabbed the waiter and threw a piece of silver over: "Ask the people there to move."

The waiter held the silver in embarrassment. This young man was a regular visitor, but the one sitting now was also well-dressed and could not afford to offend him at first sight. He felt a little embarrassed for a moment and weighed the silver in his hand. It was really heavy. He gritted his teeth and said, He threw the cloth over his shoulder and walked over.

Jingchen was sitting alone on the table by the window, looking at the Qingshui River outside and observing the bustling scene in Pingjiang City. The guards were sitting next to him and did not dare to disturb him. At this moment, the waiter suddenly came over.

"Sir, I'm so sorry. This small seat was previously reserved for that gentleman. Can you please move to the next table?" The waiter pointed to Gu Huaiqing not far away.

The guard over there was very unhappy after hearing this, and was about to stand up to argue, but was stopped by Jingchen's eyes. Jingchen followed the waiter's hand and looked over, and saw a man wearing a snow-white coat standing not far away. He had a handsome face and noble temperament, not like an ordinary rich man.

When the man looked over, Gu Huaiqing was also looking at him. He was handsome and handsome, not angry but powerful. More importantly, he looked exactly like Jing Shao! Gu Huaiqing was stunned for a moment, and immediately walked over quickly: "Waiter, I asked you to find a seat by the window. It's just that there is no toilet. How can you ask someone to move your seat!"

The waiter stared at Gu Huaiqing dumbfounded. Seeing that he had no intention of asking for the money back, he hurriedly followed his words and said a few words.

"I bumped into you. I hope you will forgive me." Gu Huaiqing smiled and cupped her hands towards Jingchen.

Jingchen glanced at him, and he could clearly see the twists and turns, but he didn't know why the man changed his mind, so he responded calmly: "It doesn't matter."

Gu Huaiqing looked at the person in front of him. He looked similar to Jing Shao, but his temperament was completely different. That calm and noble temperament would unconsciously attract people's attention to him, but it made people dare not look directly at him. See. Although he roughly guessed the identity of this person, Jingchen didn't know who he was. Thinking of this, Gu Huaiqing suddenly had a fun idea.

The King of Huainan has always been a romantic and uninhibited person. He can't help teasing beauties when he meets them. Because of his good looks, few people will treat her with a cold face, except of course Jing Shao, who only knows how to shake his fist. So, Gu Huaiqing, who was planning to eat and drink, consciously sat down opposite Jingchen and said with a smile: "Meeting each other means we are destined. I'm looking at the young master's waist..." As he said that, he glanced at Jingchen's waist, thinking about him. There will definitely be something like a sword. I am good at treasures, and I have something to talk about when appreciating them. After looking around, I was speechless. Jingchen didn’t have a sword on his waist!

"What?" Jingchen frowned, feeling that this person was a little baffled.

"Uh... the jade buckle is nice," Gu Huaiqing was glared at by the person opposite, and her brain suddenly became knotted, so she said it smoothly, "Can you let me have a look?"

Jingchen's face suddenly turned dark.

All this is the beginning of evil fate.

But now Emperor Sheng Yuan was looking at the Taizu's Notes in his hand and felt a huge headache.

Although it is said to be a handbook, there are very few things in it about governing the country. Most of them are small things that Taizu accidentally jotted down on a whim, but the most about the Huainan fiefdom.

Taizu said that he and the three rebel kings conquered the world together, but he was the closest to Gu Xi. The two became sworn brothers and often slept together. Among them, Taizu spent a whole page describing Gu Xi's beauty, which made Jingchen's mouth twitch. He didn't expect that Taizu, who was regarded as a god by future generations, also had such a good time. What happened later is full of laments. The folk customs in the previous dynasty were not like this. Men were not allowed to marry men. Taizu set up the Dachen Law and insisted on including the list of marryable men. However, no matter how hard he tried, the King of Huainan finally failed. Marry Taizu.

What exactly happened during this period is unknown, but Taizu finally wrote it in the handwritten note, warning the descendants who saw the handwritten note not to take the initiative to invade the Huainan fiefdom, and to withdraw from the feudal vassal, they must marry the King of Huainan as their queen, and Listed various rules willfully.

Jingchen closed the note and sighed softly. Taizu was talking about marrying a male wife, but over the years the laws have been continuously improved, and an unwritten rule has been formed among the people that a concubine should marry a male wife. This has led to the situation today. The reason why successive emperors failed to regain Huainan was that the king of Huainan had to be willing to marry him, which might lead to war; and the king of Huainan had to marry the king, and all the officials from Huainan had to join the court, which was also a major threat to the imperial power.

"Report to your Majesty, King Cheng asks for an audience." The chief eunuch reported.

"Let him in." Jingchen rubbed his brows.

"My dear brother, see you, Your Majesty. My Emperor..." Jing Shao knelt down and saluted, but was interrupted by Jing Chen before he could finish his words.

"What's the matter?" Jingchen waved his hand to let him get up, and the eunuchs retreated knowingly.

"Brother," Jing Shao got up consciously, moved closer to his brother, and glanced at the yellowed booklet in Jing Chen's hand, "What exactly was written in Taizu's handwriting?" The more Jing Shao thought about it in the past two years, the more he felt. Taizu must have a spirit in heaven. When he destroyed Huainan, he was suddenly framed by many people and finally died in Fengyue Mountain. In this life, he did not fight seriously, but Emperor Hongzheng insisted on withdrawing the vassal, and Taizu took it away early. go. So he especially wanted to know what Taizu said in his handwriting.

Jingchen pressed the note under his palm and refused to show it to him: "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, Gu Huaiqing has come to Beijing and insists on living in my house." Seeing the sudden change in the emperor's eyes, Jing Shao thought he had said something wrong, shrank his neck and said seriously, "Brother, please report. The King of Huainan came with Taizu’s instructions and asked to see the emperor’s brother.”

Taizu's legacy was written by Taizu himself before his death and was given to King Huainan as a life-saving talisman. It is said that when the first king of Huainan received the legacy, he fell to the ground and cried bitterly, and followed Taizu a few days later.

The news that King Huainan came to Beijing with Taizu's instructions soon spread throughout the capital.

There was a lot of discussion in the court, and everyone was speculating on what Taizu's legacy was. Jingchen vaguely guessed what it contained, but when Gu Huaiqing read it out in front of the civil and military officials of the court, he still felt the veins on his forehead twitching.

Gu Huaiqing stood in the center of the court, looking up at the handsome emperor on the dragon throne, waiting for him to speak with a half-smile.

The hall was so quiet that you could hear a silver needle drop to the ground, because this Taizu's legacy was so shocking!

"Since there is such a legacy, I should abide by Taizu's wishes," Jingchen's expression remained unchanged and he looked at Gu Huaiqing with a deep look, "You can continue to guard Huainan and pay taxes and tribute as usual."

A trace of disappointment flashed in Gu Huaiqing's eyes, but the emperor's reaction was as expected. He immediately knelt down to thank him: "I must do my best to protect Huainan for my emperor."

In the third year of the Sheng Yuan Dynasty, the Huainan king read out Taizu's legacy, returned to the main city of Danyang in April, and invaded Jiangzhou in May.

"Your Majesty, the King of Huainan is acting recklessly in the south of the Yangtze River based on Taizu's instructions. Moreover, Huainan is eight hundred miles away from the capital and a flat river. It is really dangerous to stay here!" the Minister of War said with a bitter face.

"Your Majesty, in the past few years, the national treasury has been in deficit due to the wars in all directions. Now that the overall situation has been decided, it is the time when we urgently need to recuperate and recuperate. It is really not appropriate to start another war." The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue also joined in.

Jingchen sat behind the desk in the imperial study, listening to the discussions of several important ministers with an expressionless face. He was so upset that he glared at a certain prince who was sitting beside him drinking tea.

Jing Shao was secretly stuffing snacks into his mouth when his royal brother glared at him and almost choked him, so he quickly took a sip of water.

The so-called King of Huainan invaded Jiangzhou. In fact, Gu Huaiqing swallowed up another city in order to force a marriage, and then stayed there. The treasury was in short supply because Jing Shao went out to fight and spent it. He hid a lot of money secretly, but later he honestly handed it over to the government. Jingchen died, and even Gu Huaiqing handed over his share. But this cannot be said on the surface. Jingchen can only keep the money temporarily. If it is filled directly into the treasury, it will be evidence of Jing Shao's crime. So Jingchen had no choice but to glare at his brother a few more times to vent his anger.

"The queen passed away and the harem was left without a master. Why didn't the emperor just agree to King Huainan..." Ma Zhuo whispered.

Several veterans looked at each other and did not dare to speak.

"Do you think so too?" Jingchen scanned the crowd.

"What Mr. Ma is saying makes sense, but this matter needs to be considered in the long term..." Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance agreed in a low voice. In the past, no Huainan king was willing to marry into the palace. It is rare to have a special one who is willing to marry. If he just accepts it, The Huainan fiefdom is a great thing that will benefit future generations. However, the emperor was unwilling to marry, and they did not dare to say anything more. After all, the emperor had never taken a male concubine, and he had not even favored a man since he left the palace and established his palace. He must not like men... right?

After the ministers left, Jing Shao saw that his brother was in a bad mood, so he also wiped the soles of his feet and fled. However, Jing Chen grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to play chess with a grimace.

Jing Shao had a headache just looking at the black and white players on the board. He had never had any talent for playing chess, calligraphy and painting, let alone playing chess with his brother, who would only have the fate of being killed.

Jingchen watched his brother wrinkle his nose and be killed in pieces, and a hint of joy gradually filled his troubled heart: "You didn't even mention learning from Han Zhang, but you are still so unimproved."

"Old Jun Qing coaxed me to play, but he refused to play nice with me." Jing Shao scratched his head, not knowing where to put it next, so he stuffed it in a random place. As expected, his brother caught him and ate several pieces in a row.

"Xiao Shao," Jingchen looked at his younger brother who smiled when he mentioned the princess, "when Hanzhang was not made a marquis, did you ever think of letting him go?"

"Ah?" Jing Shao was stunned while holding the chess piece. Although he didn't know why his brother suddenly asked this, he still shook his head honestly, "I never thought about it."

"Can you bear it if he marries you and can only be trapped in a small space in the inner house?" Jingchen didn't hesitate and stared straight at Jing Shao. This was what he couldn't figure out these days. He asked himself It was not that she was unintentional towards Gu Huaiqing, but she didn't know whether she was greedy for his appearance or was really attracted to him. Just thinking that such a magnificent person would be trapped in the harem fighting with a group of women openly and secretly made her feel irritated.

Jing Shao heard the meaning of his brother's words and flexibly turned the black spots in his hands: "I pity Jun Qing, but I know better that I will never like anyone else except Jun Qing, and he has left me." I may not be able to live a happy life, but as long as I can be with him, I will do my best to give him whatever he wants, and I will definitely not make him feel wronged."

Jingchen listened to his brother's words quietly without hesitating or speaking.

"Brother..." Jing Shao looked at his brother and finally couldn't help but sigh. Before going out, his princess repeatedly warned him that he should not directly persuade him about the matter between his brother and Gu Huaiqing, because as an emperor, Jingchen would definitely think more carefully than he did. Since ancient times, beauties cannot have both. Now that he had such a good opportunity, he never knew what his brother was hesitating about, but it turned out that he felt pity for Gu Huaiqing...

After his brother left, Jingchen sat in the imperial garden and looked at the falling flowers.

"Every king of Huainan was named Gu Huaiqing, so did you have another name when you were a child?" He asked out of nowhere while looking at the man's delicate face.

"Give me the jade buckle, and I will tell you the latest chapter." Gu Huaiqing smiled in the memory with a malicious look on his face.

"Just don't tell me." I looked at his smile and thought it was so beautiful, so I didn't care about his rudeness.

"Feng Xi," Gu Huaiqing grabbed his jade button and laughed so hard that everyone was stunned. The Huainan prince should be named after Xi, "When I was a child, my name was Feng Xi."

In February of the fourth year of Sheng Yuan Dynasty, it was the anniversary of the queen's death, and the courtiers asked for a new queen. In March, Emperor Shengyuan announced an edict to respect the Taizu's instructions, marry the king of Huainan, Gu Huaiqing, and withdraw from the Huainan fiefdom. Emperor Shengyuan appreciated Huaixiang's talent and named him Zuoxiang.

Although Gu Huaiqing was regarded as the successor, because it was the legacy of Taizu and the Empress Yuan was brought up by the palace, the wedding was held with great grandeur. Ten miles of red carpet, everyone is celebrating.

Jingchen pushed open the door to the inner room of Fengyi Palace and looked at the person sitting in front of the red tent with slightly drunken eyes. The wedding dress was similar to his own, embroidered with gorgeous golden phoenixes, and set off his handsome face. , more and more charming.

Slowly walked over and picked up the wine cup on the table. Jingchen handed him a glass, but he was not in a hurry to drink it. He just looked at him quietly: "Is it worth it?" He gave up everything just for him, who carries the world on his back. Is it really worth it for someone who is destined not to invest all his energy in him?

Gu Huaiqing shook the golden cup in his hand, stood up and crossed arms with the emperor: "On a night of flowers and candles in the wedding room, why is the emperor so incomprehensible about the style?"

Jingchen didn't ask any more questions, just crossed arms with him and drank the glass of wine.

Jingchen hugged his newly married queen and lay down on the large bed. The candlelight reflected Gu Huaiqing's face through the red curtain, making her look somewhat coquettish in the dimness. Caressing the soft green hair, he sighed softly.

"Why is the emperor sighing?" Gu Huaiqing stretched out a slender finger and touched his lips, "Time is short, the emperor should not waste time."

Jingchen slowly untied the belt embroidered with the phoenix pattern, revealing his well-proportioned chest, and placed a soft kiss on it: "Since you are willing to marry me, I will definitely not let you down."

Gu Huaiqing bent her narrow eyes and waited quietly for her husband to take off all his clothes. Then, he turned over and pressed the emperor under him: "Your Majesty, please rest. I will take care of you."

"No," Jingchen frowned, feeling that this approach was a bit inappropriate, so he turned over and pressed Gu Huaiqing down, "How is it appropriate for the queen to turn over on top of me?"

"Your Majesty, forgive me," Gu Huaiqing said without sincerity, and with one force, he suppressed the person again, "I really miss the Emperor day and night and cannot bear such slow torture, so..." As he said this, he held the person down with one hand. Already slipped into the dragon robe.

The emperor's wedding will last for three days.

During these three days, the emperor never stepped out of Fengyi Palace. People in the palace were talking a lot, and they all said that this male queen seemed to be particularly favored. When the emperor went to the second prince's concubine, he had never been so fond of him.

A year later, Mu Hanzhang went to the imperial study to submit the memorial that he had been handling for the emperor these days. Jing Shao, who had nothing to do, followed his princess into the palace to watch the excitement.

"Why don't you see the emperor's sister-in-law?" Jing Shao looked around. Didn't his brother say that he could ask Gu Huaiqing to help approve the memorial?

"The queen is a little tired. I asked him to rest in Fengyi Palace." Jingchen looked at several memorials expressionlessly and felt that Mu Hanzhang handled it without any problems, so he put it aside and picked up a new memorial and started to review it. .

Jing Shao understood instantly, exchanged a knowing look with his brother, and pulled his princess away.

After everyone left, Empress Gu, who was wearing a phoenix robe, walked out from behind the screen. She approached the emperor with a shy face and said flatteringly: "I'm tired of sitting, can I lean on you?"

Jingchen turned a deaf ear and continued to criticize the memorial. The queen consciously came over and slowly rubbed the emperor's waist.

"If you keep doing this, I will lock you in the cold palace tomorrow." Jingchen snorted coldly, but unconsciously leaned against the person next to him.

"How can the emperor be so ruthless?" Gu Huaiqing frowned and lay on his shoulder aggrievedly, "I am pregnant now. If I go to that cold place, I am afraid the child will not be able to survive."

Jingchen rubbed his forehead with a headache and squeezed out a sentence through his teeth: "As a queen of a country, talking nonsense, how unbecoming it is!"

"The emperor actually doubted me!" Gu Huaiqing's expression became even more resentful. "I will prove my innocence to the emperor now." As he said this, he put his hand into the lapel of the emperor's clothes.

"……roll!"