Chapter 386 Imperial Decree
Ye Caiping left the Empress Dowager's palace and came to the Imperial Garden.
The scenery of the palace was beautiful enough before. Today is New Year's Eve, and there are bright lights and beautiful scenery everywhere. All the lights have been replaced with glass ones, which are as bright as day and crystal clear.
"It's Ye Shuren! Hello, Ye Shuren!" Several officials and their wives saw her and greeted her with smiles.
Ye Caiping replied with a smile.
It feels a bit weird to call her "a lady".
There are many ladies of the third rank in the capital, but because they are married, they are all called Madam.
In her current situation, she has been married but divorced and has not remarried, and she also has a high rank. So they all called her by her rank name.
As for Lin Yaxian, she was a commoner of no rank, and calling her Madam was giving her face.
The title of Madam was quite general in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Officials, regardless of rank or not, were generally called Madam, and common people were called Madam.
"Ye, Ye..." a cry of surprise rang out.
Ye Caiping turned around and saw Li Jiaojiao and the wife of the Duke of Ping.
Li Jiaojiao was also dressed up today. When she saw Ye Caiping, she was so scared that her face turned pale.
Ye Caiping smiled and said, "Ah, long time no see. I didn't expect Miss Li to have the nerve to attend the palace banquet."
Li Jiaojiao was both angry and shocked. Lady Pingguo pulled her and glanced coldly at Ye Caiping: "Let's go!"
Li Jiaojiao hurriedly followed the wife of Duke Ping and left quickly.
At this time, Mei came over and said with a smile: "Hello, Ms. Ye!"
Ye Caiping was annoyed and nodded perfunctorily: "Hello, Madam Gu."
Lady Pingguo, who had just taken a few steps, stopped and whispered to Li Jiaojiao: "That... is Gu Han's stepmother, Mei."
Li Jiaojiao was startled and turned around to see Ye Caiping chatting with Mei.
Her face darkened and she gritted her teeth: "Poisonous women really love each other, snakes and rats are of the same nest!"
The wife of Duke Ping was in mixed feelings.
She can't afford to offend Ye Caiping!
She can’t afford to offend the Mei family!
How can we help Jiaojiao and Gu Han?
At this moment, a low bell rang.
Shen Zhiyan walked to Ye Caiping and said, “The party has started, let’s go!”
After saying that, he pulled Ye Caiping away.
Mei was so angry that she trembled when she saw that Shen Zhiyan treated her as air.
They just continued to hold it, and waited for Shen Manman to fall into her hands, and then see if they could still laugh.
Ye Caiping couldn't help but look back at Mei, but Mei didn't catch up with her.
I always feel that Mei is acting weird today.
......
The banquet was held in the largest hall in the palace.
Empress Dowager Shen sat on the dragon throne with the little emperor.
Ye Caiping sat with the Shen family.
Everyone saluted the little emperor, and with the eunuch's order to start the banquet, the New Year's Eve dinner officially began.
String and bamboo music sounded, dancers entered the stage, and the whole hall was filled with laughter.
Ye Caiping turned around and toasted with Shen Zhiyan with a smile.
When the first dance ended, the next performance had not yet begun. Ningguo Marquis Gu's father suddenly stood up:
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Queen Mother."
Empress Dowager Shen was feeding a piece of dessert to the little emperor. When she saw him stand up, she said:
"Commander Gu, is there something wrong? Do you want to dance for the emperor?"
Everyone present laughed when they heard this.
Father Gu bowed his head and smiled: "No. I have a marriage decree, which was granted to me by the late emperor. Taking advantage of this happy day, I want to double my happiness and present the marriage decree to you."
"What, a marriage decree?"
Everyone present was stunned. What was going on?
Empress Dowager Shen frowned, "Why, Commander Gu wants to divorce his wife and marry again?"
The people present also looked at Father Gu with interest.
Ye Caiping had a bad feeling.
Father Gu took out an imperial edict from his bosom and held it up high: "No. This is the imperial edict of the late emperor granting marriage to my son. It was issued in the 32nd year of the Zhengde reign."
"Your Majesty, now that my son has grown up, it's time for him to get married. Please have someone read out the marriage decree between my son Gu Yang and the fourth lady of the Shen family, Shen Manman!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent.
Even the band stopped and took a breath when they looked at Father Gu in the hall.
Shen Zhiyan and the Shen family's faces immediately darkened.
Ye Caiping was so angry that her body was shaking, and she stared coldly at Mei who was sitting opposite her.
I finally know what that weird feeling was. It turns out to be this!
And they are targeting Manman! What a big appetite!
Everyone around was whispering: "This Gu family has such a big appetite!"
"Let's not talk about the Gu family...that Gu Yang...I've never heard of him."
Such an unknown person suddenly appeared and married Miss Shen, whose status and position were almost as noble as those of a princess?
It's really explosive!
Father Gu, who was kneeling in the middle of the hall, was being scrutinized by everyone around him and felt a lot of pressure.
But he still knelt upright.
Shen Manman slammed the table angrily and stood up: "What marriage decree? How come I have never heard of it? Which Gu Yang, do I know him?"
Gu Yang, who was sitting opposite, had a stiff face and was extremely ashamed and angry. This little bitch, wait until she falls into his hands, just wait and see how he tortures her!
“Manman.” Shen Zhiyan’s cold voice sounded.
"father......"
Shen Zhiyan glanced at her.
Shen Manman had no choice but to grit her teeth and sit down.
Shen Zhiyan's eyes fell on Gu's father indifferently, Gu family? What a family man! It seems that they want to disappear from the capital in the most tragic way!
Empress Dowager Shen, who was sitting at the top of the table, had a flash of anger in her eyes and sneered, "Marriage decree? Why did the late emperor grant Gu Yang a marriage? What does Gu Yang do?"
After these words were spoken, Gu's father blushed.
The meaning was very clear; the Gu family was just a middle-class family in the capital and was not even worth their attention.
And Gu Yang is also a nobody.
Why would the late emperor grant marriage to such a person?
Father Gu said, "Your Majesty... At that time, I protected the late emperor during his incognito tour, and I performed a small merit. The late emperor rewarded me with a marriage decree."
The real event was: the late emperor pretended to be an ordinary wealthy man and went out to call a concubine, and called a few guards to protect him secretly.
At that time, Gu's father was just an ordinary guard.
That girl was one of the most famous courtesans, so she would never look down on an ordinary rich man and refused him in every way.
The late emperor fell for this trick. The more the courtesan refused, the more he wanted to get closer to her, and he was determined to conquer her with his charm.
Father Gu thought it was an opportunity and stepped forward to offer a plan.
The late emperor was very proud that he had finally won the heart of the courtesan. On a whim, he decided to reward Gu's father and find him a marriage partner.
The late emperor asked him if there was a girl he liked but couldn't get, and he arranged a marriage for her.
At that time, Gu's father had just married Mei as his second wife, and he was devoted to her and didn't want to marry anyone else.
But an arranged marriage was too rare, and if he refused, he might miss it.
So, he told the late emperor that he was thinking about future generations, but now the child was only two years old and he hoped to find someone he liked.
The late emperor was in high spirits, so he wrote this imperial edict to him with a flourish, leaving it up to him to fill in the name of the woman.
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