The emperor was afraid:

"Mother, I have many children, but the Regent's harem is still empty. As the elder brother, I should take care of my younger brother. Let the Regent choose first. Once he chooses, I will grant him the marriage."

Since the emperor said so, the empress dowager had no choice but to agree.

The ladies were all very nervous, fearing that the regent's eyes would fall on them.

However, seeing that the emperor was so cowardly towards the regent, she no longer had much interest in becoming his concubine.

Ji Chenglin looked around and said slowly:

"I think that Duke Cheng'en's eldest daughter, Ning Danruo, is very suitable to be my princess consort."

The Queen Mother's face was frozen as she politely declined, "We still need to see if our horoscopes are compatible. Don't let this affect the Regent's fortune."

Ji Chenglin raised his hand, and the person in charge of the Imperial Observatory immediately appeared.

"The Prince Regent and Miss Ning are a match made in heaven. The auspicious date will be in three days."

Everyone thought that even the date was calculated, it was obvious that they came well prepared.

The concubines exchanged glances with each other. They heard that not long after the Regent had an accident, the Ning family came to cancel the engagement. Now the Regent wanted to marry her and torture her severely in revenge for the humiliation of canceling the engagement?

However, the absence of this designated queen is a good thing for them.

Seeing the emperor and the empress dowager's unpredictable expressions, Ji Chenglin smiled with a relaxed expression:

"Then I will take the princess back now to prepare for the wedding. Everyone, remember to come and drink my wedding wine in three days."

After saying this, he signaled the two maids he brought with him to help Danruo pack up and prepare to leave the palace.

Then he left like a gust of wind, leaving the crowd in a mess.

The selection was already on the verge of happening and had to be launched, and there had to be a result in the end. The emperor and the empress dowager discussed and announced that Ning Rongrong, the fifth daughter of the Cheng'en Mansion, would be appointed as the queen.

At this time, the prime minister arrived on time.

He originally wanted to report that Ning Danruo was unfit to be the queen, but he heard that Ning Danruo had been forcibly snatched away by her ex-fiancé, the Regent. Now that everyone is here, he has to take action regardless of whether he has a chance or not.

After all, it is always a good thing for his daughter to become the queen. Although the regent is extremely powerful, he has no heir. The aristocratic families represented by Duke Cheng'en want to compete for the next generation of emperor. As the head of all officials, he has countless upright people standing behind him, so he may not be unable to compete.

He knelt in the hall and said, "Empress Dowager, Your Majesty, since the founding of our dynasty, the fifteenth empress has never been a concubine's daughter. I think it is inappropriate to make a concubine a minister this time."

Ning Rongrong's eyes flashed with anxiety. She didn't want the position of queen to slip away, so she immediately knelt down and pleaded:

"My elder sister has been in seclusion for three years, and I have often been by my mother's side. She has registered me under her name, but she hasn't officially announced it to everyone yet."

This is of course a complete fabrication, but it depends on whether the Queen Mother is willing to admit it.

The Queen Mother naturally took over and covered up her lie: "Duke Cheng'en's wife came to the palace and told me about this. I was naturally considerate in choosing a queen for the Emperor. I'm afraid the Prime Minister is too selfish."

The Prime Minister quickly apologized: "This old minister dare not."

The dust finally settled. Ning Rongrong concealed her ecstasy and tried to imitate Ning Danruo's usual dignified demeanor, but it felt a bit like she was just imitating someone ugly.

The positions of the other concubines entering the palace were: Lin Canhua, the prime minister's legitimate daughter, was the newly appointed Defei, and the other noble ladies were two as second-rank concubines, four as third-rank imperial concubines, three as fourth-rank beauties, and two as fifth-rank talented women.

No matter how beautiful a woman from a low-class family is, she will not be chosen. The emperor is more interested in winning over the court officials.

When the Queen Mother returned to the palace, she smashed all the porcelain in the room.

Ning Rongrong is physically impaired and has difficulty in having children. The reason why we support her today is just to secure the position of queen first. Later, we will choose a daughter of the Ning family and send her to the palace to give birth to a child. In the end, we will see which daughter of the Ning family is smart and that daughter will become the queen.

What made her most angry was that the Regent himself was unable to bear children and had no chance of becoming emperor, but he insisted on taking her, the daughter of the Ning family who had been carefully nurtured as the queen since childhood. It was not enough to cancel the engagement the first time, he resorted to forcible abduction the second time.

If I had known this would happen, I would have called off the engagement three years ago, causing Ruo'er to suffer in the temple for three years.

--

Outside the palace gate, Ji Chenglin's carriage was waiting on the left, and Cheng Engong's carriage was waiting on the right.

Dan Ruo had just walked out of the palace gate with Cai Yue and the two maids given by Ji Chenglin.

Ji Chenglin and Cheng Engong walked out of the carriage and headed straight for Danruo.

Before Danruo could even salute, Lord Cheng'en stepped forward and said, "Daughter, come home with your father."

Ji Chenglin directly stopped him: "I want to send the princess back to my own villa."

Duke Cheng'en puffed his beard and glared: "Before the wedding, my daughter from the Ning family will naturally return to my Duke Cheng'en Mansion."

Ji Chenglin: "I am afraid that Duke Cheng'en will not agree to this marriage and will create obstacles. What if he hurts my princess?"

Lord Cheng'en's face flushed. "Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. Everything I do is for the good of my daughter."

Dan Ruo looked at the two people who were not on good terms with each other. Lord Cheng'en was the father of the original owner.

For the sake of the original owner's reputation and the reputation of his subsequent descendants, he cannot be labeled as unfilial. In the tide of the times, going against the current will probably lead to public criticism.

Then he looked at Ji Chenglin and said, "I will follow my father back to the palace to prepare for my marriage. If Your Majesty is worried, you can send a few of your own people over."

Seeing Dan Ruo speak, Ji Chenglin softened his attitude and said, "Then I will have a few words with the princess alone and then send her back home. Lord Cheng En, please go back home first."

When the two of them got on the carriage, Ji Chenglin spoke first:

"Do you blame me for my actions today? I've stopped you from becoming queen, and if you marry me, you'll lose the support of your family."

Although he sounded very strong and domineering, the bulging veins on his knees and hands revealed his nervousness.

Dan Ruo placed her hand on Ji Chenglin's tightly clenched hand, "Prince, will you let me suffer any injustice?"

"Of course not. I swear on my life." Ji Chenglin took the opportunity to clasp the soft little hand.

Dan Ruo smiled sweetly. It didn't matter whether she promised or not. If she was wronged, she would run away by herself.

The two held hands all the way and soon arrived at Duke Cheng'en's mansion. Ji Chenglin let go reluctantly and said, "I will come to marry you in three days."

Dan Ruo nodded, and then entered the palace under the protection of a group of royal guards.

Duke Cheng'en thought that the Regent would at most send some maids and old women, but unexpectedly a team of fifty elite soldiers surrounded Danruo's yard and protected it like an iron barrel.

The three-day wedding date was indeed rushed, but Danruo's dowry had been prepared three years ago, and the wedding dress was sent by Ji Chenglin.

Lady Cheng'en sent all the servants away on the pretext of teaching her daughter about bedroom matters.

After closing the door, he advised Danruo to wait for an opportunity to kill the Regent after entering the mansion. In this way, after the girl from the Ning family gave birth to the emperor's child, Duke Cheng'en would still be a glorious descendant of the family.