Chapter 49. A Nighttime Talk Between Husband and Wife.

"What's wrong?" Chu Heng asked, puzzled.

Daiyu came to her senses and saw that he only had doubt and concern on his face. She felt ashamed first. After a moment, she coughed lightly and said, "I... I meant that next time I go to the palace, I will only bring one of the two Prince Zhao and Prince Zhao. Gradually, I will bring them only once every few times."

Chu Heng nodded and said, "As for what to say in response, we'll teach you later. It doesn't matter if the Empress Dowager finds out; she cares about her reputation and won't expose this matter. Many things in the royal family are like this; everyone just pretends to be ignorant."

“It’s not so bad to play dumb when you know the truth. Otherwise, if the Empress Dowager really breaks off relations, we’ll be the ones in trouble,” Daiyu said gently, her words filled with concern. “In any case, loyalty and filial piety come first. You and I are inferior to the Empress Dowager, so there’s no need to confront her head-on.”

Chu Heng smiled at her and said, "I know. You saw it today too. Fifth Sister also has grievances against the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. The two of them, the most powerful people in the world, have offended everyone around them."

Daiyu pondered for a moment: "I understand Fifth Sister's dissatisfaction, and I also understand His Majesty's dissatisfaction. However, the children are still young, and if the adults get involved, it will only hurt them." As she spoke, she shook her head, clearly disapproving of the Emperor and Hejia's overreaction.

Princess Hejia's youngest daughter was only ten years old, and the second prince was only thirteen. Regardless of the relationship between their parents, they were cousins ​​by blood. They often met and talked, so they inevitably became familiar with each other.

They are clearly just two innocent and adorable children. The adults are overthinking things! I'm afraid they are overreacting, and their methods might hurt the children.

Currently, with the Emperor and Empress Dowager refusing to yield to each other, it remains to be seen who will win between the eldest and second princes. Hejia does not want to get involved in the struggle for the throne again, so she is displeased with her youngest daughter's friendship with the second prince.

The emperor's dissatisfaction was even simpler. While the eldest princess's daughter was indeed worthy of the prince, he had already weakened the Gu family and could not possibly promote them again to bolster the second prince's power. That would be a slap in his own face. Therefore, the Gu family was clearly not a suitable in-law for the emperor.

According to the emperor's plan, the second prince needed to first establish a powerful in-law family, and then discard them when he no longer needed them, just like the path he had taken in the past.

"It's precisely because they are children that adults should pay attention to them early on. If something really happens in the future, they will be even more heartbroken." Chu Heng looked at Daiyu and thought that she also had a childhood sweetheart cousin like this. He wondered if she was thinking of himself, which was why she had these feelings.

Daiyu sighed and said, "That's true."

There are no small matters in the royal family. If things really get out of hand, it will be difficult to handle in the future, and that will be bad for everyone involved.

She couldn't really get involved in these matters, but seeing them made her sigh a few times, and it also gave her a clearer and deeper understanding of the people and affairs of the royal family.

“The Emperor and Fifth Sister are one thing, but I wonder what the Empress Dowager means?” Daiyu said with concern when talking about the powerful and difficult-to-deal-with Empress Dowager. “And after you take up the post of Minister of the Imperial Clan Court, you will have to be careful in dealing with the Empress Dowager. The fact that she brought it up again today suggests that she has a big plan.”

“These are all minor matters. We learn from our mistakes. If we siblings hadn’t learned how to deal with the Empress Dowager, we wouldn’t have made it this far,” Chu Heng said. “The Emperor is the last person we need to worry about. If he can’t handle the Empress Dowager, why should we side with him?”

“That’s true,” Daiyu said. “Instead of thinking about these things, we should think about how we can extricate ourselves from this situation in the future.”

Hearing her mention "us," Chu Heng's face brightened again, and she smiled, saying, "Take your time thinking about it; we have plenty of time. Right now, there's something more urgent I'd like to ask for your opinion on."

Daiyu asked curiously, "Is there anything more urgent?"

Chu Heng suppressed his smile and said seriously, "It's about posthumously honoring my father-in-law and mother-in-law. I'd like to request that they be granted the titles of Duke and First-Rank Lady. What do you think?"

Daiyu was stunned for a moment before she realized that the father-in-law and mother-in-law Chu Heng was referring to were her own father and mother.

"Why...why did you think of this?" Daiyu was a little flustered. She never imagined that Chu Heng would think of her parents who had passed away many years ago.

When his father passed away, the late emperor was still the retired emperor. He also gave this loyal minister posthumous honors, but not as many as those for a duke.

“Our elders have passed away. As their juniors, all we can do to fulfill our filial duties is to attend to these matters after their passing.” Chu Heng reached out and gently took Daiyu’s hand. “If you think it’s alright, I will write a memorial to the Emperor right away. According to the established rules of this dynasty, the princess’s family has always been favored by the emperor. This is not considered an overstepping of our bounds.”

With tears welling in her eyes, Daiyu slowly nodded: "Thank you..."

Although her parents had no children and some relatives inherited the family property, ensuring that there would be someone to perform the ancestral rites after their death, people's hearts are fickle, and Daiyu always felt that it was not quite right.

Having the title of Duke changes everything. When the local government receives the official report, they will not dare to be negligent. The Lin family will be wary and will not dare to slack off just because they are not related to their parents.

Or perhaps it's simply because of the prestigious titles of the Duke and his wife; the Lin family would surely be eager to have their parents' memorial tablets enshrined in the ancestral hall.

"Let's not talk about this." Chu Heng raised his hand and rubbed the corner of her eye. "Don't cry. Take care of yourself. Your parents-in-law will be at peace in heaven."

Daiyu nodded again, but still couldn't hold back her tears. She tried to turn her head away, but Chu Heng grabbed her chin.

Chu Heng took the handkerchief and gently wiped away Daiyu's tears, saying worriedly, "I wonder if my father-in-law and mother-in-law are satisfied with me as their son-in-law. What if they come to me in my dreams to scold me?"

Daiyu chuckled: "Our family originally had a noble title, but it was lost during my father's time. Now, you, my son-in-law, have brought it back for him. He likes you so much that he wouldn't scold you. My mother wouldn't either. She's already a first-rank lady, so she should be thanking you, her son-in-law."

"It's my duty, I dare not thank you." Chu Heng smiled. "The blessings of a virtuous person last for five generations. My father-in-law was born into a noble family and passed the imperial examinations. Few people in the world can match him. I, his son-in-law, am neither good at literature nor martial arts, so he will probably dislike me. As for my mother-in-law, I am not worried. Have you heard the saying that a mother-in-law likes her son-in-law more and more the more she looks at him?"

Daiyu laughed and said, "Then what should we do? Why don't we ask my mother to put in a good word for you?"

Chu Heng brushed away a tear from her eyelashes and agreed, "I'll listen to you. I'll definitely plead with my mother-in-law."

His palm slid down to touch Daiyu's cheek, and she subconsciously tilted her head and rubbed against it. Chu Heng's hand paused slightly, and his gaze towards Daiyu changed slightly.

Daiyu realized what was happening and blushed. Her mind raced, and she said, "There's one more thing... I think we don't need to go back to our parents' home for the traditional wedding ceremony."

There is no custom for the princess to return to her parents' home three days after the wedding, and the prince is not required to accompany the bride back to her parents' home. However, this custom still exists, but the timing is determined by the royal family. The princess's family only needs to follow orders so that they can prepare a grand banquet in advance.

Upon hearing this, Chu Heng suppressed any other thoughts he might have had in an instant. He frowned and said, "How did the Jia family bully you? Don't be afraid, tell me."

The fact that Daiyu didn't even want to step into the Jia family's gate again shows that there were many more serious things that Chu Heng didn't know about.

Daiyu was taken aback, then realized that he had misunderstood. She shook her head and smiled, "If I were to return to my parents' home, the Rongguo Duke's Mansion would become my proper maternal home. Getting close to their family would only lead to endless troubles. Call me heartless or ungrateful, but in short, I don't want to get involved with them anymore."

"You must have suffered a great injustice." Chu Heng looked at her with pity. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it now, just don't keep it to yourself. Don't take your anger out on them. It's not worth getting upset over such trivial people. Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

After hearing his words, Daiyu felt a surge of comfort and slowly said, "It's nothing to suffer some grievances. After all, they gave me a place to stay back then."

Chu Heng said, "My father-in-law gave them many benefits; otherwise, why would they be willing to support you?"

Daiyu was taken aback and blurted out, "How did you know?"

"You can guess it if you think about it. Your father-in-law loves you, so he must have made proper arrangements. Besides, you can see from these events over the past few months that the Jia family is all driven by self-interest," Chu Heng said.

Daiyu's longing for her parents is a testament to the love she received back then. How could Lord Lin not have gone to great lengths to take care of his only daughter who lost her mother and father at a young age?

Daiyu sighed softly, "I am still surnamed Lin, how can I eat, dress and use the Jia family's things? Father taught me not to care about such a small matter."

Upon hearing this, Chu Heng knew that the amount of silver the Jia family had embezzled from the Lin family was not insignificant.

"I'll listen to you," Chu Heng said, but he couldn't get over it in his heart. Given the Jia family's behavior, they must have plenty of leverage against them. If there were things that the law couldn't tolerate, and the Emperor wanted to deal with them, then no one else could be blamed.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard Daiyu say, "This is how things are between me and the old lady. It's just that my mother passed away early and I was unable to repay her kindness in raising me. If I don't repay her on behalf of my mother, I'm afraid she won't feel at ease."

"Why haven't you returned it?" Chu Heng was afraid that Daiyu would be troubled by this matter, so he quickly said, "You and your mother-in-law are both from the Lin family. The old lady took the Lin family's money, and you don't hold their grievances against them over the years. We have already repaid even the greatest kindness."

Chu Heng stroked her face and said softly, "You're just too kind-hearted. I'll have to keep an eye on you from now on and make sure no one bullies you."

His words startled Daiyu for a moment, and she couldn't help but laugh: "Am I still kind-hearted? Only you would say that."

"That just proves I have a keen eye for talent," Chu Heng laughed. "Everyone else is blind."

Daiyu teased, "A discerning eye? That sounds like you're bragging."

Chu Heng laughed and said, "I was clearly saying that you and I are a match made in heaven."

Daiyu was taken aback when he said such a thing, and her worries returned to her mind.

Chu Heng treated her with genuine sincerity, and she couldn't help but feel unworthy of it.

Chu Heng had been momentarily lost in his emotions, but seeing Daiyu's reaction, he realized he had gone too far. He quickly composed himself and smiled as usual, "What? Aren't the Princess and I a match made in heaven?"

A match made in heaven, a union ordained by fate...

Daiyu lowered her head and smiled, saying, "I have them all."

It was a match made in heaven, a perfect union.

Will they fall in love and be devoted to each other in the future?