Chapter 374 The First Wife Given Away by Her Husband (12)

Ning Yan followed her gaze and looked over. He was indeed good-looking. Just by looking at the jade pendant at his waist and the crown on his head, one could tell that his family background and status were not low. Fortunately, at least that girl was not a poor, uneducated woman.

At this moment, the emperor, accompanied by several important court officials, entered the Imperial Garden.

The group bowed and greeted each other again.

The King of Yue looked at the group of young men and women with a serious face. Soon, when he saw his queen, his eyes were fixed on her. The queen was indeed suited to this kind of attire. She was both beautiful and ethereal. He had been chanting scriptures for more than ten years, but he had never seen the Buddha show him any mercy. Only when the queen came did he feel that he had seen the true Buddha.

"I heard you're writing poetry here, so I brought the Grand Secretary and the Prime Minister over to take a look."

Ignoring what the Emperor and Empress said, the Prince of Yue went straight to his princess and asked, "Are you tired?"

Ning Yan smiled and shook her head, "Not tired."

"Let's go, accompany me to admire these famous chrysanthemums."

Concealed by the wide sleeves of his robe, the King of Yue led Ning Yan by the hand as they strolled through the imperial garden filled with chrysanthemums.

The two strolled along, admiring the flowers, which was quite enjoyable.

"I really don't understand why the King of Yue would take a fancy to such an old woman who had been divorced. The moment he appeared, his eyes were glued to the Queen Consort's face."

"Hehe, who can blame me for being good-looking? If I had a face like that, I could be the Crown Princess too."

The King of Yue was already furious. He was already angry that the matter involved the Queen, but now the Crown Prince was being dragged into it. He was truly courting death.

Looking at the two people speaking, their attire clearly indicated that they were young ladies attending a banquet.

He pulled the princess towards the two women, intending to teach them a lesson, but Ning Yan stopped him, saying, "Just find out whose family they belong to."

"You are now the Princess Consort of Yue, why should you tolerate them?"

"It's just a few idle words, let them talk."

The King of Yue thought to himself, "Who said I would punish them by making them copy scriptures and confine them to their quarters? However, since the Queen Consort is unwilling, then so be it." He glanced behind him, and Ji Liang silently withdrew.

Ning Yan didn't want to go any further, so she simply pulled the King of Yue around and turned back the way they came.

Aren't you angry at all?

"What's there to be angry about? If I get angry over such a small thing, I'll be furious to death."

It's just a matter of discussing things; we can't very well kill the two of them at the Empress's banquet, can we?

Tomorrow, those ministers will be in an uproar, and the memorials impeaching the King of Yue will probably pile up as thick as a city wall.

Perhaps it was the sandalwood incense in the Buddhist hall of the Prince's Mansion that imbued her with a touch of Zen, and her heart grew increasingly peaceful.

King Yue, who chanted Buddhist scriptures and ate vegetarian food all day long, could not suppress the evil fire in his heart. How could he tolerate two girls who had not yet grown up talking about him?

"What happened today is my fault. I will make it up to the princess when we get back."

Ning Yan said helplessly, "How can you blame the prince? Their nonsense has nothing to do with the prince. You can't blame the prince for leading the wrong way."

"It's all my fault."

It was his vegetarianism and Buddhist practice over the past two years that gave those people the wrong impression, making them think that his queen could be bullied at will.

But it doesn't matter. He won't hold a grudge against the two women; let their families bear the consequences.

The two slowly turned back. Just as the Emperor was about to call his younger brother to look at the poem written by his child, a palace servant rushed in to report that two young ladies had accidentally fallen into the water. Fortunately, one was rescued by the fourth young master of the Duke of Wen's mansion, and the other was rescued by a guard. Their lives were saved.

Someone asked, "Which family's young lady fell into the water?"

"One is the eldest daughter of the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, and the other is the second eldest daughter of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

Just then, Ji Liang returned and whispered in the Prince of Yue's ear, "Your Highness, the two who fell into the water are the ones who were talking about our Princess Consort."

King of Yue: ...You little brat, you laid a hand on me.

Ji Liang shook his head slightly: "...When I went to inquire about matters, how could I have had the opportunity to make a move? Besides, even if I were stupid, I wouldn't do anything in the palace."

King of Yue: ...That means we just happened to be there at the right time.

He gestured with his chin towards the warm pavilion, and Ji Liang immediately understood, disappearing again.

After the two young ladies changed their clothes, they were invited out. Their reputations were damaged because they had been intimate with someone in the palace. The fourth young master of the Duke of Wen's mansion immediately asked for their hand in marriage, and the Empress granted the marriage.

The second daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites pretended to faint on the spot. She was saved by a guard. If she were to marry a guard, she would rather stay in the mansion and never marry.

The guard wasn't so ambitious as to eagerly seek to marry the legitimate daughter of a third-rank official. He obediently remained hidden, and when he saw her feigning unconsciousness, he didn't take a single step forward. He even regretted not having intervened to save her earlier; if it had been any other young master, wouldn't today have become another wonderful occasion?

The incident of falling into the water was over, and the emperor immediately bestowed marriages upon the two princes. This daughter-in-law was someone the mother of the prince had long admired, and the two princes met once and did not object, so the marriage was settled.

Next was Pang Xuan'er, whose marriage was personally arranged by the Emperor to the heir of the Marquis of Nan'an.

Judging from their reactions, both of them were very satisfied.

Ning Yan took a closer look at the face of the Marquis of Nan'an's heir.

She is a sentimental person.

However, that's how it was in ancient times. It was perfectly normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines, as long as they didn't kill their wives for insurance money—no, they did kill their wives and take their lives.

After the marriage was granted, the family of three left the palace, and Pang Xuan'er insisted on riding in the same carriage as her father.

The King of Yue was very annoyed. He wanted to ride in the same carriage as his queen, but Pang Xuan'er insisted on pulling him away. Just as he was about to scold her, Ning Yan stopped him, saying, "She's already engaged. How many more times can she ride in the carriage with you? Why don't you go?"

The King of Yue was puzzled, but he still went.

When I got there, I found out there was another person in her carriage.

Mrs. Qu, Xiang Zizi.

The King of Yue only lifted the curtain before retracting one of his outstretched legs.

He then turned and left.

The two people in the carriage changed their expressions. Pang Xuan'er was furious, but many carriages from various families, including her fiancé, had not yet left the palace gate.

She swallowed her anger.

Xiang Zizi patted her niece's hand to comfort her, saying, "You see, your aunt said long ago that no matter how much your father loves you, as long as someone whispers in his ear, his heart will be biased."

"Over the years, your father has been celibate and ascetic, so I never thought of anything in that direction. Who would have thought that the new queen consort would be so cunning, making your father so infatuated with her so quickly after only a short time in the palace."

Pang Xuan said, "Don't worry, Aunt. I will definitely arrange for Father to marry you. You can't be the Queen Consort, but you can definitely be a Concubine."

In the Great Mo Kingdom, a prince can marry one principal wife, two concubines, and three secondary wives; there are no other restrictions.

The King of Yue currently only has Ning Yan as his principal wife; the positions of concubines are all vacant.

Xiang Zizi coveted the position of principal wife, but unless Ning Yan died, she had no chance of obtaining the position of princess.

So a concubine is also acceptable.

She regretted it more than once. If she had known that the prince would marry a divorced woman, she would have slept with him long ago!

But it's not too late now. She's just a female merchant; sooner or later, she'll trample her underfoot!

It's a pity that this opportunity was missed today. She had prepared "hot" tea, and as long as the prince entered the carriage, she would surely get what she wanted today. But he didn't even step into the carriage.

Thank you so much, Big Eyes, for the 1500 Qidian Coins!

Thank you Lily for the 500 Qidian Coins!