Roude also didn't want to see the Ming family's foster daughter. In her opinion, people who grew up in small places always had an indelible smell of mud on them.
But reality forced her to bow her head.
Ever since something happened in the family of the Prince Consort's uncle, she and the Prince Consort have been implicated. Some people even suspected that she was involved in this matter because she had a bad relationship with the Fourth Prince's biological mother.
Today, Imperial Concubine Su... Empress Su granted them permission to leave the palace to see the Prince Consort. Only then did she realize that the Prince Consort's family had been controlled by the Jinwu Guards, and even her attempt to summon the Prince Consort to the Princess's Residence was rejected by the Jinwu Guards.
She knew that this matter involved many people and many people did not dare to intervene. The only people she could ask for help were Queen Su and Prince Chen.
Empress Su had never been harsh towards the princes and princesses, but she wasn't necessarily very close to them either. It is even more impossible for the Prince of Chen to give her face, and he might even laugh at her wild ideas in public.
So she could only place her hope on Ming Jiuju.
Now everyone in the capital city knows that Empress Su is very satisfied with Ming Jiuzhu, her future daughter-in-law. Not only does she praise her in every way, she also explicitly tells the ladies in the court to take good care of her.
On New Year's Eve, Prince Chen personally brought Ming Jiuzhu into the palace. The two behaved intimately and had a good relationship.
Some people speculated that Empress Su and her son treated Ming Jiuzhu in this way in order to show their goodwill to Bu Wenchen and demonstrate their close attitude towards civil officials. But whether it was true love or forced by the situation, it was enough to prove Ming Jiuju's position in the hearts of Queen Su and her son.
If she can’t ask Prince Chen for help, she can still ask Ming Jiuzhu for help.
A girl from a small place is much easier to deceive than a girl who was raised in a wealthy family.
"Your Highness." Jiuzhu looked at Princess Roude, then at the gift box on the table, wondering what her intention was.
"The county lady and my fifth brother are getting married soon, and I don't have anything good to give you. I'll give you this headgear to add to your box." Roude smiled kindly, "Please don't dislike it, county lady."
A gift for adding to the box?
But the gifts are always given by the bride's relatives. Princess Roude is your highness's elder sister, so what gifts should we give her?
"Princess, open it and take a look. Do you like it?" Princess Roude hid her disdain well. She heard that this princess had come to the palace to congratulate Empress Su early in the morning in order to please her. She was very superficial. This precious black cat-eye stone mask of hers would surely tempt her...
"Thank you, Princess." Jiuzhu opened the box and took a look. What was inlaid on the jewelry was pitch black. The hairpin that His Highness and His Majesty gave her is still the prettiest.
She closed the lid and handed it to Chunfen behind her: "I'm sorry for the expense, Princess."
That's the reaction?
That’s it?
The surprise Roude expected did not appear. She secretly swallowed her breath and said, "Excuse me, county lady, do you like this set of jewelry?"
"Well, not bad." Even if someone means well, you can't despise them. It would hurt their feelings. Jiuzhu smiled at Roude and thanked her again.
I don't believe it!
Your eyes don't show any affection at all!
Roude took another deep breath: "As long as the county lady likes it."
Then the two of them were speechless. Roude pretended not to notice the awkward atmosphere between them and tried to follow the topic: "Excuse me, where are Lord Ming and Madam Ming? Why can't I see them?"
"My father is still in the Ministry of Rites, and my mother has not returned from the tea party yet." Jiuzhu picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea: "If Your Highness wants to see them, please wait a moment."
"No, I came here today specifically to see the county lady." She came here specifically because she found out that Ming Jingzhou and Shen Ying were not at home. With them around, how could she trick Ming Jiuju into agreeing to her request?
"Oh." Jiuzhu nodded.
Roude: “…”
Why only oh?
Now that things have come to this, wouldn’t a normal person ask, what do you want from me?
Why didn't she ask? !
"County Lady." The other party didn't ask, but Roude couldn't help but mention it. She gritted her teeth and continued, "I came here today to ask for something."
Jiuzhu blinked at her but didn't ask her what was the matter.
Roude almost broke her teeth, but it was okay, she could still hold on.
"I think the county lady also knows that my husband is involved in a case..."
"What case?" Jiuzhu blinked her innocent eyes and looked at Roude with a smile: "I don't know."
have no idea?
have no idea? ! If you say this, even a three-year-old child won’t believe it.
"It's understandable that the county lady didn't know." Roude smiled and told the story of how her uncle-in-law was involved in the assassination of the fourth prince. "My uncle-in-law is a person who knows nothing. How could he have the courage to participate in the conspiracy to murder the prince? Now the Jinwu Guards surround the uncle's house every day. When other people see it, they really think that he killed the fourth prince. What do you think of this matter..."
"Spring Equinox, refill the princess's tea." Jiuzhu listened with great interest and motioned for Roude to continue.
Roude met Jiuzhu's curious eyes: "...
As if she was a storyteller?
"So can you please help me put in a few good words in front of my fifth brother and ask him to be flexible?" Roude smiled and said, "Of course, I will definitely not let the county lady suffer in vain. After the matter is completed, I am willing to give the county lady another 2,000 taels of dowry."
Two...two thousand taels? !
Jiuzhu's heart trembled. This princess is really rich.
"But..." She threw the two thousand taels out of her mind: "The princess is your highness's sister. If you have anything to say, just tell your highness directly. Why do you need to let me pass on this message?"
And it costs so much money, it's such a loss. Are people in Beijing so generous with their money?
Hearing this, Roude almost couldn't keep the smile on her face. She suspected Ming Jiuju was deliberately mocking her.
Looking at the other person's confused eyes that couldn't tell the truth from the false, although he was from a small place, his pretentiousness was learned 100% from the people in the capital.
Roude forced a smile and said, "Fifth brother has a straightforward personality and may not listen to what others say. But you are different. You are his soon-to-be princess. As long as you say something, he will definitely listen."
Jiuzhu understood. This was what her mother had mentioned, the famous flattery method in the capital.
First, flatter people until they forget themselves, and then foolishly help them run errands...
"I just thought about it, two thousand taels for the dowry is still a little too little. For a person as iconic as my sister-in-law, as her elder sister, I have to pay at least three thousand taels to make her look presentable. What do you think, County Lady?"
Jiuju thinks that the money is a lot and she is scared.
What kind of words would cost three thousand taels to convey?
"Your Highness, you are joking. I will tell Your Highness about what happened today. There is no need to add any makeup." Jiuzhu raised the teacup and signaled to send the guest away.
Roude's face darkened. Should she tell Yun Duqing what happened today?
Is this something that can be said straightforwardly?
"Since the county lady is not convenient, I will not force you. As for what happened today, don't tell my fifth brother, so as not to upset him." Roude stood up and said, "Goodbye."
After leaving Minister Ming's residence, Princess Roude got into the carriage and the smile on her face fell. She turned around and asked the maidservant: "Do you think Ming Jiuzhu has a problem with his brain?!"
She told Yun Duqing everything. Did she really think that Yun Duqing would treat her wholeheartedly?
She wanted to see if Ming Jiuju could still trust him like this when Yun Duqing had a group of concubines.
Outside the city gate.
"Sir, we have arrived at the capital." The driver jumped off the carriage and asked the people in the carriage, "It seems that something has been posted at the door, and many people are gathered around to look at it."
"Ask someone who can read to see what's written on it." The man in the carriage lifted the curtain and saw the bright yellow background of the paper with the notice, surrounded by dragon guards. His expression was slightly moved.
What big thing happened in the palace that required an imperial edict to be posted outside the city gate?
"My Lord." The book boy came back after reading the contents of the imperial edict and said happily, "It's good news. His Majesty has appointed Prince Chen's biological mother as the queen!"
"What?" The man jumped off the carriage, squeezed in front of the imperial edict, and read the words on it from beginning to end.
The Emperor actually appointed Su as his empress, so wouldn't Prince Chen become the legitimate son?
He stood there in a daze for a while.
"Do you still want to watch?" Someone pushed him aside and said, "If you don't want to watch, move aside."
"Who is this Concubine Su? She has been managing the harem for His Majesty for so many years, and she has no regrets even when being ignored by His Majesty."
"I know, I know. I heard that this Concubine Su is an unrivaled beauty, and looks like a fairy."
"What does it mean that you know this? Not only do I know that she is beautiful, I also know that she gave birth to a good son who is both civil and military. Your Highness, do you know this?"
"I know, I know. He's the overbearing prince who came down from heaven to fight bandits, won the imperial examination, and has a pretty fiancée. No wonder the emperor wants to enthrone her as queen. She must be amazing to have raised such a great son."
Suppress bandits?
Be the top scorer in the imperial examination?
A cute fiancée?
Domineering prince?
The man in the green shirt listened to this conversation in astonishment, thinking there was something wrong with his ears.
Did he really just serve in another place for two years?
Why has Prince Chen become so famous among the common people?
When did the imperial examination take place? He knows the number one scholar this time. Isn’t he the Prince of Chen?
As for the suppression of bandits, this matter was not mentioned in the letters written to him by his family. Why are these people so confident about it?
Is this capital city still the capital city in his mind?
"Hey, I heard a piece of gossip, did you guys hear it?"
The green-shirted man's ears twitched and he glanced at the expressionless dragon guard.
Is it really appropriate to talk about these royal gossips in front of the Dragon Guards?
"What's the news? Tell me quickly?"
"I heard that something earth-shattering happened on New Year's Eve."
"Go on, don't dawdle."
"A demon concubine was executed because she was jealous of the overbearing prince's talent and wanted to kill him. But the wise and powerful emperor discovered that she not only wanted to harm the prince, but also killed a princess's biological mother. So the emperor sentenced her to death."
"Tsk, I thought it was some earth-shattering event. It's just the Zheng family incident. It's boring."
The evil concubine was executed?
Zheng family?
The man in green became more and more confused the more he listened. What was the relationship between the evil concubine and the Zheng family? In the past, some officials in the capital seemed to like to call Concubine Su a "witch concubine" in private?
Why does it seem like this isn't what the people mean?
"Third Young Master!"
"Third Young Master!"
Several men dressed as stewards walked towards him quickly, their faces full of smiles of reunion after a long absence: "Finally we've waited for you, greetings to the Third Young Master."
"Are mom and dad okay?"
"All good, all good. Madam guessed that you would arrive in Beijing soon, so she arranged for people to wait at the city gate every day these days. Finally, she didn't miss you."
The man in blue shirt continued to ask: "Miss, are you used to your life after returning to the capital?"
"My lady is fine too." The servant replied, "My lady is at home, and she misses you every day. It snowed in the capital before, and she was worried that the roads would be slippery and difficult to walk on, and that you would have a hard time walking."
The man in green shirt, Ming Jiyuan, the third son of the Ming family and Jiuzhu's biological brother, looked at the bustling capital city and could not hide his excitement, for he could finally see his sister.
It’s a pity that just as he returned to Beijing, his sister was about to get married, and her husband was Prince Chen.
"Is that the third son of the Ming family, Ming Jiyuan?"
Ming Jiyuan looked in the direction of the voice and saw Prince Chen riding on horseback.
He was a little surprised that Prince Chen actually took the initiative to greet him?
I looked at the sun in the sky. It was rising from the east.
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