Chapter 217 · Extra 2 (revision)
King Ming admired Achan's character. In his opinion, if both the man and woman were interested in marriage, they should agree directly.
Although my son acts like he's worthless in front of the woman he likes, at least he has good taste.
"In that case, the marriage is settled."
The Ming Dynasty waved his hand behind his back, and the people waiting outside carried in boxes one after another, with three pairs of geese at the end.
Among them, Chen Hui, the only one who had been married, was dumbfounded. It was just a betrothal ceremony, did it really require sending gifts that amounted to half a house?
The Vice Minister of Rites and the Director of the Imperial Observatory who accompanied the prince kept their eyes downcast. The prince had never been married and wouldn't listen to their rules; all he needed to do was send a generous gift.
Achan looked at the tightly packed boxes, which contained exquisite fabrics, luxurious jewelry, and large, unset gemstones.
Mingwang said to Achan, "There aren't many things, you can take them and play with them."
"Thank you, Your Highness, I like them very much." Achan smiled, her eyes crinkling, making no attempt to hide her delight in the gifts.
The King was quite pleased; when giving a gift, one naturally hopes the recipient will like it. This girl, indeed, is just like her father—she loves ornate and beautiful things.
He then turned to the Vice Minister of Rites and asked, "Should we ask about your birth date and time next?"
The Vice Minister of Rites stepped forward, bowed, and respectfully said, "Yes."
There's no rule that asking for a name and accepting betrothal gifts can't be done on the same day. If the prince says it's okay, then it's definitely okay.
Mingwang turned to look at Achan, paused for a moment, and then asked, "Are you called Achan now?"
Achan nodded.
She no longer used Ji Chan's name, and naturally, she couldn't use the other person's birth date and time.
Her actual birth date is a century earlier, and if written out, it would probably frighten people.
The King of Ming only asked this one question before turning to the Director of the Imperial Observatory and saying, "There's no need to ask about the birth dates. Knowing the name is enough. The marriage between Achan and my son is a match made in heaven. Prepare a few auspicious words later."
The Director of the Imperial Observatory dared not question the Prince's words in the slightest, and forced a smile: "Yes, Your Highness."
It turns out his role wasn't to match birth dates with horoscopes, but rather to come up with auspicious phrases. It seems the Imperial Observatory was more useful than the Ministry of Rites.
With the involvement of the Ming King, Bai Xiuming's wish to get married as soon as possible was fulfilled. His engagement time with A Chan was greatly shortened. With the Ministry of Rites and the Astronomical Bureau running back and forth, and the Empress personally overseeing things, the three rites were completed in the blink of an eye, and they went straight to the betrothal ceremony.
Because the wedding was approaching, Chen Hui discussed with A Chan about moving back to their house in Chongmingfang. Having witnessed the Ming King's style, she was really worried that there would be nowhere to put the betrothal gifts on the day of the betrothal ceremony.
Achan had no objections. It just so happened that this house was right across from Lin Sui's house, so she could invite Lin Sui to come over and play.
Lin Sui was naturally happy to know that A Chan had moved back, but when she learned that A Chan had moved back to prepare for her wedding, she was completely stunned.
After struggling for a long time, she didn't dare to say a bad word about Bai Xiuming, and in the end, she could only helplessly accept the fact that A Chan was about to get married.
As evening fell, Hui Niang prepared a table full of delicious dishes and sweet wine. While the three of them were eating, they suddenly heard a knock on the door.
Summer days are long and dark, but it was still bright outside. Hearing the urgent knocking, they all put down their chopsticks, and Chen Hui got up to open the door.
The door opened, and two middle-aged men stood outside. One of them looked familiar to Chen Hui. After a moment's thought, she remembered his identity. He was Lin Chenghe, Ji Chan's second uncle, who had come to the shop to look for A Chan before. The other man should be Lin Chengli, Ji Chan's eldest uncle.
The two men rode up, looking somewhat disheveled, with a layer of sweat on their foreheads and wet strands of hair at their temples, clearly having arrived in a hurry.
Lin Chenghe recognized Chen Hui. He calmed his rapid breathing before speaking, "I wonder... if Achan is home? We'd like to see her."
Chen Hui turned her gaze away and nodded: "Come with me."
The two Lin brothers silently followed Chen Hui into the house. They hadn't gone far when they entered the main courtyard, where they saw a table full of dishes and Ah Chan and Lin Sui sitting at the table.
Achan was slightly surprised by their arrival, but not entirely.
When Lin Sui saw that there were outsiders, she glanced at Chen Hui. Chen Hui beckoned to her, and she got up. The two of them walked out together, leaving only A Chan and the Lin Chengli brothers behind.
Achan also stood up and said to the two of them, "Please sit down, gentlemen."
She stopped calling them uncles, and they probably knew why.
Lin Chengli's eyes were slightly red, and he was a little agitated. Lin Chenghe was relatively calmer. He pulled his older brother to the table and sat down.
As they did this, they kept their eyes on Achan, as if trying to read something from her face.
Once the two were seated, Lin Chengli finally couldn't hold back any longer. His voice trembled slightly as he said, "We went to the outskirts today and saw... we saw Achan's grave."
Since they were led astray by Master Lü and began to doubt A Chan's identity, and learned from the Mingjing Division guards that Master Lü was a heretic, they have not contacted A Chan again.
Although the Mingjing Division did not respond to their appeals and Master Lü's identity was questionable, they still felt that Achan was very strange.
This time, the elderly father in the family was seriously ill. In his delirium, he kept saying that he dreamed that his younger sister was crying cold underground and asked them to send her some clothes to keep her warm and honeysuckle to use.
They had previously learned about the location of their younger sister's grave from Achan, and had even taken the younger members of their family to pay their respects there.
To my surprise, when I went there again, I found a new grave next to my younger sister's grave, with Ji Chan's name clearly engraved on the tombstone.
Although they did not go looking for Achan again, they knew she was still alright. So what did this tomb mean?
The two brothers looked at the tombstone and felt a chill. Although they had guessed it before, seeing the tombstone in person was a huge shock to them.
After much discussion, they finally decided to visit Achan. Although she had a different identity, she did not show any hostility towards the Lin family. Perhaps only from her could they learn the truth.
"That's a cenotaph I erected for Ji Chan." A Chan didn't beat around the bush with the two of them; she knew the Lin family would see it sooner or later when she erected the tombstone.
Bai Xiuming had told her that the Lin family had once reported her to the Mingjing Division. At the time, Achan could only sigh. In Ji Chan's memory, she hadn't spent much time with her two uncles, but they still noticed something was wrong and even reported it to the authorities.
"A cenotaph? What about her body?" Lin Chengli asked with difficulty.
Both brothers stared at Achan; she clearly looked exactly like Achan.
"Before she died, she left her body to me, so there is no corpse."
These words were truly horrifying, but they had no time to investigate further, only repeatedly asking, "How exactly did she die?"
They had already come to believe Achan's story; otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why Achan was exactly like their niece.
“Last year during the Lantern Festival, Ji Heng’s second wife, Xue, couldn’t tolerate Ji Chan, so she asked her younger brother, Xue Mingtang, to kill Ji Chan. When we met her, she had already been shot with an arrow.” A Chan did not tell the whole truth, only the truth that they could find out.
Where is Xue Mingtang now?
“He’s dead,” A-Chan said casually. “He was the first one to die.”
The two brothers looked at Achan at the same time; there was clearly a deeper meaning behind her words.
They recalled the misfortunes that the Marquis of Jinyang's mansion had suffered over the past year, as well as the recent conviction of the entire Ji clan, and a suspicion suddenly formed in their minds.
"Then the Marquis of Jinyang's residence... was it you who did it?" Lin Chengli asked uncertainly.
This matter is too strange and coincidental. The two children born to the Marquis of Jinyang's mistress died in accidents one after another within a year. Then his mistress was convicted of a crime, and he was suddenly found to have sold official positions, implicating his entire clan.
This cannot be explained by accident at all. Ah Chan's words do explain why the Marquis of Jinyang's mansion suddenly ended up like this.
They couldn't imagine how Achan had managed to do all this, but the ending was truly satisfying.
"Ji Chan saved my life, so it's only right and reasonable for me to avenge her."
Lin Chengli was stunned for a long time, then suddenly grinned: "Good, well done, they all deserve to die!"
After saying that, he covered his face with his hand, his shoulders trembling, and his voice was muffled: "I'm sorry to Yue Niang and A Chan!"
His sister's only daughter ultimately could not be saved.
Lin Chenghe wiped away his tears while patting his older brother's back.
After a while, they calmed down. Lin Chengli helped his younger brother to his feet and bowed solemnly to Achan: "We were very offended when we doubted your identity before. My brother and I thank you for avenging Achan."
After accepting their greetings, Achan said, "There's no need for that, I didn't mind. Now that she has avenged herself, I've returned her name to her. I think she would like to stay with her mother."
Lin Chengli nodded emphatically: "The child will definitely be willing."
Having said everything that needed to be said, the Lin brothers finally got up to take their leave.
As Achan saw them off, they suddenly turned around and solemnly said, "We brothers will never tell anyone what you said today, young lady."
She twitched her lips slightly: "Take care."
Achan didn't care whether the Lin family would keep it a secret. She just thought to herself that it wasn't that no one cared about Ji Chan; she was just unlucky.
The arrival of the Lin brothers had no effect on Achan, but it caused turmoil on Bai Xiuming's side.
Bai Xiuming's status was different after all. He had now been appointed as the heir apparent of the Ming King, and the fact that the Ming King had proposed marriage for him had truly alarmed many people.
This matter was not kept secret, and soon it became known to almost everyone in the court and among the people.
Ji Chan's true identity was naturally exposed.
The entire clan of the Marquis of Jinyang was convicted of a crime, but Ji Chan, the original legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Jinyang, was not only not implicated, but was also to be married into the Ming Prince's Mansion and become a member of the imperial family. Many old princes in the imperial clan who wished they could live by the rules of their ancestors could not sit still.
At first, they only tentatively sent the women of the household to subtly probe the Empress's intentions. When they learned that Bai Xiuming's marriage was being arranged by the Empress, they requested to see the Emperor and ask him for an explanation.
He even sent a message saying that if Bai Xiuming were to marry a woman of such status, it would be a disgrace to the entire royal family and a disrespect to their ancestors.
Some even suggested that if Bai Xiuming really liked her, he could take her as a concubine after marrying a noblewoman.
The emperor was too impatient to deal with these arrogant and domineering relatives, and he couldn't just lock them up because of a few words, so he simply sent his chief eunuch to the princes' residences to reprimand them and suppress the matter.
After being reprimanded by the emperor, these relatives became well-behaved. However, within a few days, court officials began to submit memorials impeaching the matter.
The emperor simply pressed down the memorial without responding. It wasn't until the morning court session that day, near the end of the session, that a censor suddenly stepped forward.
The Imperial Censor Han, who stepped forward, stood ramrod straight and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I accuse Prince Bai Xiu of harboring the daughter of the criminal Ji Heng and concealing her identity. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly."
After he finished speaking, the court fell silent.
Many ministers turned to look. Many people knew about this matter, but no one dared to mention it in the court. However, Imperial Censor Han deliberately chose to bring it up when both Prince Ming and Bai Xiuming were present. He was truly fearless.
Standing among the officials, Bai Xiuming glanced at the agitated Imperial Censor Han. Recently, Qin Heng had resigned, but his father hadn't even agreed before he ran away. Now the entire Mingjing Division had been thrown into his hands. He was receiving the salary of a garrison commander but doing the work of a commander, so busy that he couldn't even see Achan.
But his father not only didn't help, he also made sarcastic remarks, saying that men should establish their careers before starting a family, otherwise the woman would be disliked, and that he should be patient and see her every day after the marriage.
Bai Xiuming was already in a bad mood, and now someone was even trying to cause him trouble in the imperial court.
The emperor's gaze swept over the faces of the princes in the front row, but they all lowered their eyes and did not meet his gaze.
The emperor's indulgence of Bai Xiuming will not be tolerated.
They could not stop King Ming from requesting that Bai Xiu be made crown prince, but his marriage involved the reputation of the royal family and could not be taken lightly.
The emperor spoke: "Bai Xiuming, do you have anything to say?"
“Your Majesty, my fiancée has long since severed ties with the Marquis of Jinyang and is not considered a member of the Ji family. Therefore, she will not be implicated because the Ji family has committed a crime.”
This explanation did not silence Imperial Censor Han; on the contrary, his eyes lit up as if he had found some leverage: "Lord Bai's words are reasonable, but I have heard that the Marquis of Jinyang drove her out of his mansion because she was not of Ji family blood. If that is the case, she is an illegitimate child and has no right to marry into the royal family."
After Han finished speaking, he kowtowed to the emperor again: "What I have said is true. This woman's identity is truly unacceptable. I beg Your Majesty to make a decision as soon as possible."
At this moment, the newly appointed Prince Zonglingmin, who had been elected by the imperial clan, spoke up: "Your Majesty, Bai Xiuming's marriage is related to the reputation of the royal family and even more so to Your Majesty's face. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider."
The emperor rubbed his temples, wanting to retort that he didn't care about saving face.
This group of people is giving him no peace of mind at all. What good would it do them to anger the King of Light?
Prince Min and Imperial Censor Han were still eagerly awaiting the emperor's response, unaware that the surrounding courtiers' discussions had suddenly ceased.
The King slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the two men's faces, his expression inscrutable: "Are you two very interested in my family affairs?"
Prince Min was very close to Prince Ming, and he subconsciously took a step back. Under Prince Ming's gaze, the words he had prepared were swallowed back.
Imperial Censor Han, however, argued vehemently: "This humble official dares not, but this is not a prince's wedding, but rather the heir apparent choosing a wife, so naturally we must abide by the rules."
The implication is that they accept King Myeong's lack of discipline, but they cannot accept the Crown Prince breaking the rules.
The King stared at him for a while and said, "What you said makes some sense."
Han Yushi's lips curled into a slight smile, but before he could be happy for long, he heard Prince Ming say, "Son, what do you think?"
Bai Xiuming's voice rang out: "Since only the Ming King is exempt from the rules, then I dare to ask my father to pass the throne to me."
"absurd!"
"no!"
"Absolutely not!"
"How can the succession to the throne be treated so lightly?"
The faces of all the royal relatives and court officials changed upon hearing this, and one by one they spoke up to stop it.
The Ming King has been in power for many years and has always been too lazy to meddle in other people's business. However, his adopted son, Bai Xiuming, is ruthless and cruel. He is either confiscating property or on his way to do so. He doesn't even spare his own father. If he were to take over the throne of the Ming King, wouldn't he become even more lawless? Would they have any chance of survival?
Bai Xiuming's single sentence instantly threw the court into chaos. Now, no one cared about his marriage anymore; they were more concerned about who would inherit the throne.
Ironically, the Ming King, who should have been the most concerned about this matter, showed no displeasure whatsoever. Instead, he asked the Emperor with some anticipation, "What does Your Majesty think?"
The ministers thought the emperor would immediately reject this absurd proposal, but to their surprise, he pondered for a moment and said, "According to ancestral rules, the position of the wise king should be held by the capable. If Bai Xiuming's cultivation is sufficient, it is not impossible."
Now it's finally his turn to bring up ancestral rules, and his words are impeccable. In the royal family, only the succession to the throne of the Ming King is not hereditary; it is based solely on merit.
After saying that, he asked casually, "How is Bai Xiuming's cultivation level now?"
The Ming King seemed to be showing off: "My son's talent is average. He only broke through to the fifth realm not long ago, which is really a bit slow."
A deathly silence fell over the court. Then the Minister of Rites stepped forward and said righteously, "Your Majesty, Imperial Censor Han slandered a woman's reputation without any evidence. His character is truly despicable."
"Your Majesty, I believe that Imperial Censor Han is unworthy of his position and is not fit to serve as an official."
"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach Imperial Censor Han..."
Seeing the ministers who had changed their tune so quickly, the emperor asked Prince Min, whose face had turned pale, "What does Prince Min think?"
Prince Min felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to make such a fuss?
He should have stayed obediently in his own palace and done whatever His Majesty said, instead of being pushed out by his relatives to be the first to stick his neck out.
Now look what's happened. He's offended Bai Xiuming. The previous sect leader was kicked by Bai Xiuming when he was only at the fourth realm. Now he's at the fifth realm. How could he possibly survive a kick like that?
Hearing the emperor's question, Prince Min's voice trembled: "Your Majesty, I believe that marriage is a major event, and it is a matter of parents' orders and matchmakers' words. Others should not interfere."
"Oh? This is just Prince Min's own idea, isn't it? You alone cannot represent the entire royal family."
The other princes in the court, fearing they would be too slow to speak, quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I think Prince Min is right."
"Lord Bai's marriage should be decided by the King of Ming."
As for the matter of replacing the Ming King, no one dared to mention it from beginning to end.
Bai Xiuming can marry whomever he wants, as long as he doesn't become the Ming King, everything is negotiable.
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