Xiao Qingwu, who was sitting on the ground, frowned and moved his lips slightly.
Concubine Duan had been observing her out of the corner of her eyes. Seeing that she was about to speak again, she warned her with her eyes.
Xiao Qingwu closed his mouth in disappointment.
Fu Ping looked at the earrings in his hand, sneered, and put them back in her hand. Looking at Concubine Duan's frozen smile, he said softly, "I am just a eunuch. Your Majesty, there is no need to worry so much. Now that the decree has been passed on, I will return to report."
He handed the imperial edict in his hand to the palace maid beside him and turned to leave.
After leaving the palace, the eunuch next to Fuping suddenly spat: "What are you talking about? Do you still think she is the pampered princess? If you are so outspoken, sooner or later..."
"Tsk, shut up." Fu Ping tsks softly, scolding him, but there's no hint of rebuke in his tone: "She is a princess after all."
The young eunuch studied his expression, not understanding what he meant.
Fu Ping looked at him with a look of disappointment: "No matter how unfavored she is, she is still of royal blood and her status is higher than ours. You can scold her if you want. Besides, now that she has lost the emperor's favor, I don't know how hard it will be for her to marry him in the future. If we want to ask for it, we should ask for it from others."
Others...
The young eunuch suddenly understood.
"Alright, just know it in your heart, no need to say it out loud." Fu Ping turned his head to look at the magnificent palace and sneered, "Let's see how long she can be so proud!"
In Yilan Palace, Xiao Qingwu looked at Concubine Duan with dissatisfaction: "Mother, why didn't you let me continue? Father suddenly arranged a marriage for me, and it's only to the son of an assistant minister. Are you willing to accept this? No, I want to go find the Empress Dowager and let her make the decision for me!"
"Enough!" Concubine Duan looked at her and said sternly.
Xiao Qingwu was stunned by her yelling and looked at her blankly.
"Everyone, get out! No one is allowed to come in without my permission!"
The palace maids serving in the hall filed out one after another. After everyone had left, Concubine Duan walked up to Xiao Qingwu, saw her obviously unconvinced look, raised her hand and slapped her.
The voice was crisp. Xiao Qingwu covered his face and looked at her stupidly, with a layer of mist in his eyes.
"Mother..."
Concubine Duan's chest heaved, and she looked at her coldly: "What on earth did you and your brother do?"
Xiao Qingwu: “!!!”
A trace of panic flashed in Xiao Qingwu's eyes, her heartbeat quickened, and her breathing became rapid. She asked in a tone that made it even more obvious: "Why mention, why mention my brother?"
Seeing her guilty look, Concubine Duan was furious: "Why did I mention your brother? Do you want me to repeat all the dirty things you did to each other?!"
As soon as she said this, the last glimmer of hope in Xiao Qingwu's heart vanished. She slowly knelt down, grasped the corner of Concubine Duan's clothes, and tears welled up in her eyes: "Mother, I know I was wrong, but my brother and I are truly in love..."
The slight sense of heartache that had risen in Concubine Duan was completely dissipated by her words.
"You are committing a crime!" She pointed at Xiao Qingwu's head, and the long armor poked Xiao Qingwu's forehead, causing it to turn red.
"Tell me honestly, has His Majesty also known about this?"
Xiao Qingwu bit her lip and nodded.
Concubine Duan took a deep breath and said, "You just stay here and don't go anywhere. Wait until the Imperial Observatory chooses a suitable date, and then we'll get married!"
Hearing this, Xiao Qingwu suddenly raised his head and looked at her in disbelief.
Concubine Duan no longer looked at her, brushed her hand away, and walked straight out of the palace.
Xiao Qingwu heard her order: "Keep an eye on the princess. Don't let her leave the palace until her wedding. If I catch her leaving, you will be held accountable!"
…
Compared to Xiao Qingwu's despair, when the Minister of Works received the imperial edict at his residence, except for the future prince consort, everyone else had a look of joy on their faces.
Given their status, being able to marry a princess is a great honor!
Although being a son-in-law meant he could only hold an honorary position in the court, the Minister of Works looked at his third son.
He had never had any ability and was too mild-mannered. At one point, he and the third daughter of the prime minister's family became the laughing stock of the capital.
But for some reason, his personality changed drastically since he came back from the hunting ground. He stayed in his study all day, saying that he was preparing for the imperial examination.
The Minister of Works had no confidence that he could pass the exam, but now that the imperial edict had come, he felt relieved.
As long as his son marries the princess, what else is there to worry about?
Compared to them, the third assistant minister was confused. Listening to the eunuch reading the imperial edict, he couldn't help but want to ask, is this talking about him?
Is this really not a mistake?
"My Lord, please accept the order."
The eunuch looked at the confused Third Minister and smiled.
Seeing his son didn't move, the Minister of Works smiled and said, "Look at this kid, he's so happy he's almost silly. Xingchun, take the order!"
The Third Assistant Minister finally woke up from his dream and said, "Your Majesty, I am Qu Xingchun. I accept your order and thank you for your grace. Long live the Emperor."
The others followed his lead and the eunuch smiled so much that wrinkles appeared on his face. "Congratulations, Prince Consort."
The Minister of Works did not expect his son to be able to take care of anyone, so he took action himself, which made the eunuch laugh.
After the eunuchs were sent away and they were alone in the room, the Third Assistant Minister whispered, "Father, I have someone I love."
The Minister of Works was taken aback. The Third Minister was prepared for him to curse, but he only heard him sigh deeply: "I know."
The third assistant minister raised his head.
"That's the girl you sent to Red Fox, Xu? But didn't she reject you? Besides, she's just a commoner. If you really like her, then you can see what the princess has to say. If she doesn't mind, then you can take her in. If she does... then you can keep her as a concubine."
"How can this be!" The Third Assistant Minister said hurriedly: "I am attracted to her and will marry her as my principal wife."
"Come on," the Minister of Works waved his hand. "Don't think I don't know. I've heard Fengnian say it a long time ago. Are you still attracted to the Prime Minister's Third Daughter? Work hard for the imperial examinations. Who do you want to marry when you pass?"
The Third Assistant Minister: “…”
He bit his lip and said nothing. After a moment, he mumbled, "The Third Miss and I are just friends."
"Oh," the Minister of Works said perfunctorily, "Alright, no one knows a son better than his father. Do you really think that all the twists and turns in your mind can deceive your father? Forget about your father, you can't even deceive the Third Young Lady."
The Third Assistant Minister looked up at him blankly. The Minister of Works sighed softly, "Before, the Third Miss came looking for you every now and then, but after such a long time since returning from the hunting grounds, has the Third Miss looked for you again?"
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