Chapter 11 Who will be the Crown Princess?

The emperor remained silent, his eyes dark, and his knuckles tapping rhythmically on the edge of the table.

That night, the little palace maid was wearing coarse cloth clothes. Apart from the plain pearl flowers pinned in her hair, there was no gold or jade decoration on her body. She did not look like a beauty entering the palace for selection at all.

Recalling the girl's charming face and the sensation of their skin touching his, Xiao Ke's Adam's apple rolled unconsciously.

He quickly concentrated his mind and regulated his breathing, forcibly suppressing the desire surging in his body.

Well, women can mislead people, and he is definitely not a tyrant who is addicted to beauty. She is just a little palace maid whose origin is unknown, so it doesn't matter if she can't be found.

He flipped open a memorial and asked casually, "Is the selection at the Cining Palace over?"

Chang Ying was relieved to see that he would no longer pursue the matter of the palace maids, and quickly replied: "It's over. The Queen Mother ordered the seven beauties to be sent back home to await her orders. However... after the prince left, the Queen Mother flew into a rage and smashed all the Ru porcelain tea sets on the table."

The emperor raised his eyebrows, having anticipated this. "Send the imperial edict I have prepared to the cabinet, and order the eunuchs to go to the Duke of Wei's mansion tomorrow to announce the edict."

"Yes!" Chang Ying suggested with a flattering smile, "By the way, Your Majesty, the Crown Princess's mother's family has been staying in the Duke of Wei's mansion until now. It's not appropriate. Why don't Your Majesty grant the Yang family a mansion?"

Although she has not been officially crowned, he has already called her "Crown Princess" in advance.

Chang Ying has served the emperor for many years and is very good at changing his attitude according to the situation. Now he should do good things for the Yang family, which may come in handy in the future.

The emperor nodded slightly: "Alright, you go and do it."

Chang Ying took the order and withdrew, wondering in his mind which mansion in the capital would be both decent and pleasing to the emperor.

At dawn the next day, Duke Wei's mansion was still shrouded in silence.

Suddenly, a servant rushed into the main courtyard in a panic and told the head maid the news.

When the maid heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up and she immediately rushed into the room: "Master! Madam! The imperial edict... the imperial edict is coming!"

The Duke of Wei and his wife were still sleeping soundly, and they looked confused after being awakened.

The servant shouted loudly outside the door: "Master, Madam! The procession to announce the decree has left the palace. The eunuch came to inform us that we should prepare to receive the decree!"

Duke Wei and his wife looked at each other and were delighted - Miaohua was indeed chosen!

The Xu family is going to have a second Crown Princess, who may even become the Queen in the future!

Guo happily ordered: "Quick, everyone in the mansion should prepare to receive the imperial edict!"

Soon, the news that Xu Miaohua was elected Crown Princess spread throughout the Duke's Mansion, and lights and decorations were hung everywhere, filled with joy.

Xu Miaohua couldn't help but feel complacent when he found out.

Sure enough, how could His Majesty allow His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to choose a vixen as the Crown Princess?

As the auspicious time approached, all the people in Duke Wei's mansion gathered outside the gate to welcome the imperial edict.

The sound of gongs and drums could be heard from outside the long street, and a few young eunuchs came to check the situation.

The leading eunuch glanced around and asked in a shrill voice, "Where are the people from the Yang family? Why haven't they come out yet?"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

The eunuch urged impatiently: "Hurry up and ask Miss Yang to come out to receive the order. Can you afford to miss the auspicious time?"

The Duke of Wei and his wife as well as the Crown Prince Xu Chengzong's faces suddenly changed - how could it be that poor girl from the Yang family?

Was she chosen as a concubine in the Eastern Palace? Then who would be the crown princess?

Xu Chengzong's face was terribly gloomy. He had just advised the Crown Prince yesterday to stop Yang from entering the palace, but he had not expected the imperial edict to come today. It seemed that his words had no effect at all, and the Crown Prince still took Yang in...

Xu Miaohua, who was standing in the middle of the crowd, turned pale in an instant.

Yesterday she saw with her own eyes that the prince chose Yang Manyan, but Queen Mother Jiang's attitude made her feel lucky, and she did not explain it in detail after returning home.

Now the imperial edict only summoned Yang Manyan, and her only remaining hope was completely shattered.

At the same time, in Lingyun Courtyard where the Yang family was staying, Yang Qianxing and his wife were having breakfast with their two daughters.

When they heard that the imperial edict was coming, they thought it was the eldest daughter of the Xu family who was elected. They thought that they were just guests staying there temporarily and it would be inconvenient to disturb them.

Yang Manyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The absurd experience that night weighed heavily on her heart like a huge rock. If she was really chosen as the Crown Princess, it would be a blessing or a curse...

Just as he was thinking about it, a servant came running over, out of breath: "Congratulations, Master Yang! The palace has sent a message, asking Miss Yang to go out and receive the imperial decree!"

When these words were spoken, the four members of the Yang family were stunned for a moment.

Yang Jingzhen hurriedly asked, "Is it really my elder sister? Not Miss Xu?"

The servant nodded repeatedly: "Absolutely true!"

Yang Qianxing looked at his daughter with a puzzled look on his face: "Yuanyuan, what's going on?"

Xue Shulan was also confused.

Before Yang Manyan could explain, the servant urged again, "The imperial edict will arrive soon, Master, Madam, and the two young ladies, go out and greet it!"

"Oh, yes." Xue Shulan woke up as if from a dream, and hurriedly directed her husband and daughter to go out.

The four members of the Yang family hurried to the gate of the Duke's Mansion, and the governor of the Imperial Household Department who was in charge of announcing the edict also arrived.

After all, the Duke of Wei's Mansion was a noble family that had gone through several dynasties. Even though they were reluctant, they still gave up the central position.

When Xu Chengzong thought of what happened yesterday, he felt his face getting hot.

After everyone knelt down in unison, the edict announcer solemnly took the bright yellow dragon-patterned imperial edict from the red lacquer tray and read aloud: "The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: ... Yang, the eldest daughter of Yang Qianxing, the Silver Palace Councillor, is gentle, virtuous, prudent and brilliant. I hereby grant you the golden edict and golden seal, and appoint you as the Crown Princess. ... May you extend the happiness of Kunyuan and double the prosperity of Taiyun. I respect you."

The three words "Crown Princess" exploded like thunder, shocking everyone present.

Especially the Xu family, their faces turned ugly in an instant.