Chapter 219 The Twins' Marriage Proposal

Her charming and captivating appearance made it impossible for Yinzhen to look away. They had been together for almost twenty years, from the Prince's Mansion to the Imperial Palace. Lü Jiayingfeng was always so vibrant. Even he felt that being around her made him smile more, and he suppressed the little bit of probing he had in his heart.

Lu Jiaying leaned against his chest, and the low laughter from the vibrations of his chest seemed to be amplified several times over, reaching her ears. She even pretended to be embarrassed and annoyed, tugging at the emperor's sleeve twice.

"Your Majesty, you kept Hongjin's matter from me, but now I've seen through Hongzhao's situation myself. How can Your Majesty still laugh at me!"

Seeing that he was about to anger the man, Yinzhen quickly tried to appease him with a few words.

"How could I possibly laugh? It's just that the Empress is exceptionally intelligent, and I await your 'generous guidance'."

Lu Jiaying's phoenix eyes flickered. "Among Hongjin's companions, the eldest daughter of the Fucha family is the oldest. When she entered the palace, she was given her age according to the traditional Chinese age reckoning. Now, she is actually twenty years old. If this were before, I would have already bestowed upon her a favor, or granted her a title, or arranged a good marriage for her to leave the palace."

"But I mentioned this to you several years ago. What did you say then, Your Majesty?"

Now that a major worry had been resolved, Lü Jiaying was naturally refreshed and didn't hesitate to tease her ailing husband, deliberately sitting up straight and putting on a stern face, mimicking Yinzhen's usual demeanor. "Ahem, I am aware of this matter. In any case, Hongjin cannot be left alone, so let's discuss it later."

Yinzhen was amused by her affected tone and listened to her continue.

"Even if the Emperor doesn't mention it, and the Fucha family doesn't mention taking their daughter back, I should understand something, no matter how stupid I am."

"Hmm, I underestimated Ying'er in this matter. What does the Empress think of this?"

Yinzhen liked intelligent women, but not those who were too intelligent; someone like Lü Jiaying was just right.

The Emperor has already made his decision on this matter, and even if she says no, there will be no further changes. When it comes to matters concerning Hongzhao, the Emperor has always been the one with the final say.

Furthermore, Fucha Yingjun practically grew up alongside Hongjin in Yongshou Palace, and her mother was quite satisfied with this future daughter-in-law, so naturally she had no reason to object. Besides, as her mother, she could discern her son's feelings to some extent, and thus didn't hesitate to offer a few words of praise.

Speaking of Yingjun, she spoke of her as if she were talking about her own daughter, listing her good qualities on her fingers: "That child is good in both family background and temperament. Her father and brothers are capable, and she has many nephews and nieces. There are two of them who grew up with Hongzhao. She herself is also capable. She looks gentle and kind, but she is also very good at managing the household and accounts."

"The key is the bond we formed growing up together; that's the most precious thing."

Hearing her say this, Yinzhen became even more determined in his mind. He moved his stiff neck and stared at the Western clock in the bedroom to calculate the days. "Hongjin is the elder sister, so let Hongjin handle this marriage first. Tell the Imperial Household Department to make preparations on both sides. If the princess's residence cannot be repaired in a day or two, we can move it to another palace first. In any case, Hongjin will often need to stay in the palace in the future."

"It's the Empress who needs to put in a lot of effort to prepare for the weddings of two children at once," Yinzhen said, patting the Empress's hand.

Lü Jiaying swayed slightly with his force, and the slap reminded her of what Hongzhao had discussed with her in private a few days ago, something she had almost forgotten to mention to the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, there is one more person we haven’t arranged yet.” Lü Jiaying patted her hands, which had distinct knuckles, and reminded him. Under Yinzhen’s questioning gaze, she whispered, “She is also the daughter of the Hui Fa Na La family, who is also by Hong Jin’s side.”

Actually, the quickest way to remind the Emperor would be to mention the Empress Dowager. However, the Empress Dowager practically forced the Emperor to agree to Shushen's entry into the palace by hosting a banquet. Bringing up the matter again would inevitably anger the Emperor, and Hongzhao's intention was to give the child a stable life.

Yinzhen's eyes flickered, clearly remembering that there was such a person. He moved his lips and frowned slightly, about to say something, when he heard Lü Jiaying speak softly first.

“This child entered the palace late, so Your Majesty hasn’t seen her much. From what I’ve observed, she has a calm and collected nature, somewhat resembling the demeanor of Consort Jing in her youth. She’s completely different from the previous one… well, they’re worlds apart.”

Yinzhen naturally understood the meaning behind these words. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. The Empress was always cautious about the people around the Crown Prince. Even if some positions were vacant, she would not casually appoint others to them. She was like this even with servants. It seemed that this Princess Huifa Nara was really a good person, so that the Empress could trust her to place her by Hongzhao's side.

Swallowing back the words he had intended to casually dismiss, he said only after hearing the Empress's praise, "Since the Empress has said so, the position of a secondary consort is certainly worthy of her. Let's set it for a month after the Crown Prince's wedding. Empress, you should also take the time to prepare for this."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will keep a close eye on it. Please rest assured."

In this way, during their somewhat perfunctory conversation, the marriage between these two auspicious babies was finalized in less than half an hour.

Seeing that the Emperor's mood was much better than when he had just regained consciousness, Lü Jiaying hesitated before bringing up another matter.

She picked up the medicine that Zhou Qi had just prepared and brought to the Emperor, and served him slowly as he drank it. When she talked about this matter, the smile that usually graced her face disappeared, leaving only a solemn expression.

"Your Majesty, you entrusted those treacherous officials to Hongzhao. Hongzhao has certainly lived up to your years of nurturing. I am ignorant of court affairs, but I am not a recluse. Whenever rumors circulate outside, they all praise Hongzhao. However, there is only one thing..."

Lu Jiaying paused slightly, and it was clear that Yinzhen was also holding his breath, waiting for her to continue.

She said, "Only the guilty Meng and Consort Qi are Your Majesty's concubines. As for how to punish them, Hongzhao cannot speak up."

When the Emperor heard about these two people, especially Meng, his back teeth clenched tightly, clearly showing that he deeply hated this person and wished he could get rid of her as soon as possible.

After thinking for a moment, she spoke up, "I don't know about others, but this Guarjia clan member is really wrong. She has never been very bright and usually just likes to bicker with Consort Zhen and compete for favor. Now she has the audacity to leak information to the outside of the palace. She should be punished severely."

There was an element of intent in her words, after all, Consort Qi's crime was indeed serious on its own. But in the end, which concubine in the palace could truly not keep in touch with her maternal family? She had gotten to this point entirely because of her exceptionally clever father, and with the lawless Meng Shi leading the way, it wouldn't be difficult for her to save her life.

As expected, the Emperor's attention was not on Consort Qi at all. He simply waved her away and said, "Guarjia clan, I don't want to see her again. I didn't give many instructions in the heat of the moment. Empress, you can handle it."

"But that poisonous woman, Meng..."

Lu Jiaying could almost hear the grinding of teeth, a sound that sent chills down one's spine. The wrath of an emperor always resulted in rivers of blood, and in just one day, not a single member of the Meng clan remained alive. Meng Jingxian, now imprisoned in the Censorate, was practically the last one.

Yinzhen seemed to recall Meng Jingxian's "true feelings" in front of his bed. He naturally hated this vicious woman, but he hated the seventeenth prince even more. In his opinion, he was the one who instigated this whole thing, and he couldn't even let anyone have a moment's peace once he entered the Imperial Clan Court!

He could not accept the repeated betrayals of his concubine, and the fact that the adulterer was always the same person, which made him unable to suppress the murderous intent in his heart.

Your first concubine got pregnant with your brother's child and almost registered the child under your name to inherit your estate. Your second concubine, in order to avenge your brother, went all out and tried to poison you. The key point is that both of them almost succeeded.

No one could accept this situation, not even Lü Jiaying.

"Kill her! Kill this poisonous woman!"