Episode 3: The concubine of Duke Wei was kicked out

Shen Xihe and his entourage returned to the Duke of Wei's mansion after a long absence. The housekeeper A Qingbo's temples had already been stained with frost. Over the years, he had been thinking about the princess who was far away in the northwest. When he saw her safe return, his eyes turned red.As for her half-sister Shen Yingluo, with a fake smile on her face, she stepped forward to salute her eldest sister.In the backyard, Mrs. Xiao, the concubine of Duke Wei, was sitting uneasily, worrying that her son Xiao Jing would be exposed. Before she could think of an excuse, Mo Yu, who was leading an attack to investigate, dragged her out of the main courtyard of her mistress.

This courtyard was originally the residence of Shen Xihe and his biological mother. A concubine with a humble background was not worthy of setting foot in this courtyard. It was she who had planned to climb into Duke Wei's bed, which caused Shen Xihe's biological mother to pass away. Shen Xihe had carried this old grudge for many years, and now that Xiao Jing had planned to kill her on the street, it was even more sinful. He immediately ordered the Xiao family to be driven out of the house completely.Shen Yingluo cried and begged for mercy for her mother, but Shen Xihe did not drive her away. Instead, she kept her because she would be needed in the future.The news that Mrs. Xiao was kicked out of Duke Wei's mansion in public spread, and the people in the capital realized later that she had been the false mistress all these years.

Xiao Huayong, who had left Beijing on business before, finally rushed back to the palace. The emperor, who had always favored him, heard the news and rushed to the East Palace overnight to see his beloved son.In order to show the uniqueness of the prince, the emperor even decreed that all the characters in the names of other princes should be changed to "长%". This unique favor was well known throughout the court.But Xiao Huayong has always been suspicious over the years. The incident of accidentally eating poisonous cherries when he was a child is definitely not an accident. He has been secretly planning for many years and must thoroughly investigate the truth of that year.

On this day, Shen tide and Fengzhi entered the palace to meet the emperor. All the concubines in the harem coveted the northwest military power behind her, and they all came forward to introduce their sons to her, secretly or overtly.The princes in the palace also worked hard, showing off their talents and martial arts in turn, trying every possible means to please the princess who had a large number of soldiers.Shen Xihe saw through everyone's thoughts at a glance, and immediately confessed to the emperor that she would choose the person of her choice for her marriage. This frank and transparent view made the queen mother and the emperor happily agree, and they issued an order allowing her to choose her husband from among the princes of the right age.

Xiao Huayong found an opportunity to meet with Shen Xihe alone and explained the details of the five potential princes one by one: the second prince Xiao Changmin's first wife, Yu Shi, died of illness and has not yet rekindled their relationship; the fifth prince Xiao Changqing and the ninth prince Xiao Changying are from the same mother, and their biological mother is Concubine Rong. Their mother's family has 100,000 frontier cavalry; the sixth prince Xiao Changyu's mother-in-law, Liang, is now the most beloved concubine in the harem.These princes have the support of intricate aristocratic families, but when it comes to himself, Xiao Huayong only said lightly, saying that he was weak and was not going to die soon, so he was not a suitable husband candidate at all.Xiao Changying was anxious and went to the Duke's Mansion in person with generous gifts, hoping to find out which prince Shen tide favored. However, he was stopped by the guard at the door and was rejected.

Not long after, Shen Xihe's grandfather Tao Zhuanxian came to visit with his uncle's family, and specially brought her favorite Jiangnan snacks when she was young. The old couple remained as before, fearing that she, who had always been docile, would be wronged in Beijing.But after not seeing each other for many years, they realized that Shen Xihe was no longer the little girl who would hide and cry secretly when she was bullied.At the same time, the sixth prince Xiao Changyu came to the house with several carts full of rare treasures to please him. Shen tide and he didn't show any emotion at all. They just excused themselves as it was getting late and politely sent him out of the house.

Xiao Changying always bumps into Shen Xihe these days. Xiao Changqing sits quietly in front of Gu Qingzhi's memorial tablet every day and misses her. He looks at the tablet and prays secretly, hoping that his brother Xiao Changying will not miss the person who is at the top of his heart like he did back then.A few days later, Shen Xihe was invited to the Prince's Mansion for a banquet. As soon as she entered the garden, she was attracted by the elegant decoration in the courtyard. She didn't know that Xiao Huayong had ordered people to transplant them from other courtyards overnight in order to suit her preferences. He even practiced tea art for many days in order to show off his skills in front of her.During the dinner, Shen Xihe handed the book that recorded secrets - Rouge Record - into Xiao Huayong's hands. He looked at this book that he had planned for a long time and felt that it took no effort at all.

Sitting across from each other under the night light, Xiao Huayong could see clearly that Shen Xihe did not completely trust her, but she chose herself to entrust this book - because he was the only one among all the princes who was not tied to his relatives and family. Only by putting the Rouge Record in his hands could the old cases from that year be investigated further along the clues.The next day, Xiao Huayong went to visit Xiao Changyu on the pretext of practicing piano skills. He had already secretly found out that the sixth prince had always hidden a dancer named Bian Xianyi in his heart. He planned to start with this clue and slowly reveal the secret of the year.