In order not to make his sister sad, Mu Jingrui finally agreed to let her marry Xiao Yujue.
It was only at this time that the emperor discovered that Mu Jingrui had always been Xiao Yujue's man.
He didn't expect Mu Jingrui to be so cunning that he was deceived. He thought about punishing Mu Jingrui immediately, but after calming down and thinking about it, now is definitely not the time.
Because he needed Mu Jingrui to check and balance the Yiyonghou Mansion and Shangguan Yue.
In order to show his respect and commendation for Mu Jingrui, the emperor specially issued an order to make Mu Jingyan Xiao Yujue's concubine instead of a maid, and awarded her a lot of gold, silver and jewelry as a dowry.
Xiao Yujue also gave Mu Jingrui enough face. He, who had always been low-key, held a grand banquet and entertained court officials in order to marry Mu Jingyan.
In order to prepare for his sister's wedding, Mu Jingrui was so busy every day that he had no time to rest. Whenever it was late at night, his heart would ache.
Many times he couldn't help wanting to visit Shangguan Wanning, but...
"Sir, there's a message from the palace, summoning you to come in." The butler knocked on the door and came in to report.
Mu Jingrui put down the book in his hand and frowned slightly. "I just came back from the imperial study this afternoon. The emperor wants to see me again? Is there something urgent?"
"No, it was the Queen Mother who summoned you to the palace."
Mu Jingrui's thoughts paused and he became alert instantly.
He and the Queen Mother have never had any contact before, so why does she suddenly want to see him?
Putting aside his doubts, Mu Jingrui changed his clothes and went to the Cining Palace. Under the guidance of the eunuchs, he came to the Imperial Garden.
From a distance, Mu Jingrui saw Xiao Yujue also standing in front of the Queen Mother.
I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Xiao Yujue's face didn't look very good.
"Your Highness pays homage to the Queen Mother."
"Stand up." The Queen Mother looked at the tall and handsome Mu Jingrui and nodded with a smile. "It is true that heroes emerge from youth. I have often heard people mention that the newly appointed Minister of War is young and promising. Seeing him today, I find that he is indeed worthy of his reputation."
"Thank you, Queen Mother." Mu Jingrui glanced at Xiao Yujue out of the corner of his eye and saw that Xiao Yujue's brows were furrowed, and he didn't even have the mind to communicate with him.
"Master Mu is so outstanding, so his family must be very good. The young lady of the Mu family must be dignified, beautiful, virtuous and generous. No wonder the prince is so fond of her."
Mu Jingrui felt that all the words the Queen Mother said in praise of him and his sister were just a prelude.
He didn't respond, but just stood there quietly.
"I know that the prince and Miss Mu will get married in three days. I am very happy for the prince. In fact, I have shown too little love and care for the prince over the years, so that there are only three or five people serving him."
"I thought, taking advantage of this opportunity of the Crown Prince marrying his concubine, I should simply make the wedding more grand and lively."
Mu Jingrui was a little surprised.
Marrying a concubine is actually taking a concubine.
If it was any more grand... I'm afraid it would be an act of usurpation. If someone with ulterior motives got it in their hands, it would not be a good thing for Xiao Yujue or him.
"I am deeply grateful for your kindness, Queen Mother. But I am afraid that my sister cannot bear the responsibility."
After hearing this, the Queen Mother smiled even more.
"Master Mu, what I mean is that I want to find another concubine for the prince so that we can have the wedding together."
Mu Jingrui was stunned, and then he understood why Xiao Yujue's face was so ugly.
"The prince is not young anymore, but he has no children. This is not a good thing. It's all because there are too few people in his room. I have a niece who is sixteen years old this year. I can't say she is proficient in everything, but she can read a few words. How about letting her be a companion to Master Mu's sister?"
Mu Jingrui lowered his head and said nothing, his mind working rapidly.
In fact, the Queen Mother didn't need to ask for his opinion on such matters. Once an imperial decree came down, they had to obey it even if they were unhappy.
But doing so would be too unfair to my sister.
If the two of them entered the palace together, the girl from the Queen Mother's family would definitely have a higher status than her sister. On the wedding night, there was only one groom.
Mu Jingrui felt an inexplicable surge of anger in his heart.
The royal family was clearly taking advantage of their power to bully others. They were ostensibly asking for his opinion, but in fact they were just notifying him.
"I appreciate the Queen Mother's kindness, but..." Xiao Yujue said with a cupped hand, "If I do that, I'm afraid I'll let down both girls at the same time. I hope the Queen Mother can take back her decision."
The Queen Mother's face darkened and the cup in her hand was placed heavily back on the stone table.
"Retract your promise? Your Highness, do you want my niece's granddaughter to withdraw, or do you want to cancel the engagement with Lord Mu's sister?"
Only then did Mu Jingrui understand the other meaning behind the Queen Mother's summons.
The Queen Mother and Xiao Yujue have never been very close. No matter how difficult Xiao Yujue's life has been over the years, the Queen Mother just watched coldly.
Now he wants to marry his niece's granddaughter to him, just to add another bargaining chip.
However, she probably guessed that Xiao Yujue might refuse, so she wanted him to persuade Xiao Yujue to accept it.
After all, this is the time for Mu Jingrui to show his magnanimity.
He advised, Xiao Yujue accepted, and everyone was happy.
Mu Jingrui sneered secretly in his heart, but he was not the kind of person who could be manipulated or controlled by others.
Therefore, no matter how the Queen Mother looked at him, he just stood there quietly without saying a word.
He would never put his sister in a difficult position just to please the Queen Mother.
"Queen Dowager, my grandson and Miss Mu have experienced life and death together, and we love each other. My grandson promised her that he would take good care of her and love her. If I marry someone else on the wedding day, I am afraid it will hurt her heart. Please grant my wish, Queen Dowager."
The empress dowager did not expect Xiao Yujue to be so disrespectful to her. She took the initiative to marry her niece's granddaughter from her mother's family to him as a concubine, but he actually refused.
How could this be possible?
"You have to think carefully. If you miss this opportunity, I'm afraid..."
The Queen Mother betrothed her niece's granddaughter to Xiao Yujue, and her meaning was very clear: she would stand on his side in the future fight for the throne.
"My grandson has thought clearly. I beg the Queen Mother to revoke her order."
"Hmph!" The Queen Mother was so angry that she was shaking all over. She swept the snacks and tea on the stone table to the ground with a wave of her sleeve and left angrily.
The surroundings fell into silence.
Xiao Yujue let out a long sigh, turned to look at Mu Jingrui, his face full of helplessness.
"Your Highness, actually... have you ever thought that you gave up a good opportunity to expand your power?"
"Why haven't I thought about it? But I don't regret it. In the past, no matter what I did, it was just to survive in the cracks. I sacrificed everything. But now... I can't let down the person I love the most."
Xiao Yujue looked up at the sky and sighed, "If I can't even protect Xiaoyan, what good will it do even if I get Jiangshan?"
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