After Jiang Qingyuan stayed in the capital, perhaps influenced by Jiang Yimian's marriage, he would always be pulled by Wang Fengqin to look at portraits of young ladies from various families in the capital every day when he returned to his residence.
For several months in a row, he was curious about how there could be so many portraits.
As a result, he now only returns home once every ten days or so.
He made preparations before returning home today.
As soon as we entered the Jiang residence, we had to hurry and find a few little ones.
Unexpectedly, before they even left the corridor, they saw a lady walking around the corner with Wang Fengqin on the opposite side of the artificial hill. The two were chatting happily.
Jiang Qingyuan looked at the maid who was walking towards him and casually asked, "Are there any guests in the manor today?"
The maid quickly bowed to him and said, "It is the wife of the Vice Minister of War who has come to your residence with her daughter. They sent their visiting cards a few days ago."
After saying that, he lowered his head somewhat guiltily.
Jiang Qingyuan had only asked casually and was about to leave without paying much attention when he suddenly noticed the maid's unusual behavior and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
The maid hesitated for a moment before respectfully saying, "Young master, the madam instructed me to invite you over."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qingyuan immediately understood and shook his head helplessly, "There are still some matters to attend to in the military camp, so I will not rest at the mansion today."
After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the Jiang residence.
The maid tried to stop him, but she was no match for his speed, and could only watch helplessly as Jiang Qingyuan rode away swiftly.
After leaving the Jiang residence, Jiang Qingyuan was riding his horse straight to the military camp in the suburbs, but he had to dismount due to the crowds in the middle of the street.
Leading the horse through the crowd, I overheard many people talking.
He didn't pay any attention and was about to mount his horse and leave when he suddenly heard the men continue, "Have you heard? It's a princess."
Jiang Qingyuan subconsciously stopped in his tracks, and then heard the people talking even more.
"The heir of Marquis Wuxuan is going to be the emperor's son-in-law. I heard that Marquis Wuxuan asked His Majesty for the marriage, so it's probably settled."
"Really? Where did this news come from?"
“How could Zhang Qiyan’s words be false? He said it himself a few days ago at the Jinyu Tower, and many people heard it.”
"So it must be true? What a pity."
"What are you regretting? What, do you want to be the prince consort?"
Upon hearing this, everyone around burst into laughter.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm just feeling sorry for the princess."
The Zhang family has been loyal ministers for generations, and going back three generations, they were all civil officials, each one extraordinary.
But Zhang Qiyan is really not up to par. After all these years, he's only managed to become a minor official in the Ministry of Rites with little real power. For such an unremarkable person to marry a princess is really a bargain for him.
However, some people disagreed with this view.
“You’re wrong. If you ask me, Zhang Qiyan is handsome and dignified. He has a good reputation in the capital and is the heir of the Marquis of Wuxuan. He and the princess are a good match.”
It wouldn't be unreasonable for him to become the emperor's son-in-law simply because of his future title of Marquis Wuxuan.
If he were to find someone with a smooth career path and considerable power in the court, how could he possibly marry a princess?
Upon hearing this, the people around immediately fell silent, and no one dared to continue speaking; they all ran away.
The person who spoke then realized that something was wrong, covered their face, and ran away quickly, afraid of being caught.
What he just said was truly outrageous.
Normally, talking about the recent rumors in the capital wouldn't be a big deal, but when it comes to matters of the imperial court, they wouldn't dare to say a word even if they had ten heads.
While what he said wasn't wrong, after all, if the prince consort held considerable influence in the court and married a princess, his power would be far too great.
If the prince consort were to harbor any ill intentions, it would be a real problem.
To avoid this possibility, His Majesty naturally carefully selects his consort.
Jiang Qingyuan was somewhat stunned as he watched the people who had been speaking disperse in an instant.
He hadn't been back to Beijing for almost half a month, so he didn't know about this.
I can't quite describe how I felt. I mounted my horse and rode away.
The sky quickly darkened, but the capital city remained bustling and brightly lit.
In a fairly lively alley, a servant was frantically helping a drunk man beside him toward the alley's exit.
However, he kept a close eye on his surroundings, as if afraid of being discovered by someone.
When Zhang Qiyan saw him like this, he just laughed. Even though he was drunk, he still said arrogantly, "Don't worry about anything. Nobody here knows me."
"Relax, you've been here so many times before, look how scared you are."
Hearing this, the servant was not relieved at all; instead, he became more nervous. "Shh, young master, keep your voice down. Things are different now than before."
The master said that nothing can go wrong these days.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiyan immediately snorted coldly, staggered as he was helped up, and waved his hands in dissatisfaction, "No, isn't it just about marrying a princess?"
What's there to panic about? No matter how noble a princess's status is, she's still just a woman. My father is a coward.
If you had followed my method earlier, I would have been the prince consort long ago.
The servant beside him hurriedly agreed, but kept glancing around, afraid that someone with ulterior motives might overhear their words.
Seeing that there was indeed no one else in the alley, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, a drunkard is not so easily fooled.
Zhang Qiyan flung the person beside him aside and shouted angrily, "You, who are you? Am I wrong?"
No matter how noble a princess is, she is still just a woman. For me to marry her is an honor.
If it weren't for me, who else in the capital do you think could marry her?
Now, because of her, I've come to Wanhualou, and there are fewer of them. It's really annoying.
No, no, I... I'm going to have fun today, to play to my heart's content. I can't give up my pleasure for a woman.
As he spoke, he tried to walk back, but because he was drunk, he was unsteady on his feet and soon fell to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
So he simply tilted his head to the side and fell asleep.
The servant was startled and hurriedly tried to help the other person up, but the other person was already asleep, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wake the person on the ground.
It would be quite difficult for him to get rid of a drunk and unconscious person by himself.
He only had a headache. Seeing that no one would come to this alley anytime soon, he didn't hesitate any longer and quickly ran out of the alley.
Fearing their identities would be exposed, the Zhang family's carriage was parked at the entrance of another alley, not far from here.
However, just after the servant left, a man emerged from the shadows of the alley and punched the man on the ground several times in the face.
Before leaving, as if still not satisfied, he kicked the other person in the stomach several more times.
Just then, the servant who had left earlier returned. Upon seeing a dark figure beside Zhang Qiyan, he immediately shouted, "What are you doing? Don't run away!"
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