Three days later, Xiao Yujue began to summon the new beauties into the palace.
Perhaps to give face to King Ming, the first concubine he favored was Wu Pianpian.
Soon, Wu Pianpian was given the title of Duanpin as an exception.
This is a grace that has never been experienced before.
Mu Jingyan looked at Wu Pianpian who came to pay his respects and express his gratitude, and felt very uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do.
After the morning court session that day, Xiao Yujue left Mu Jingrui alone and called him to the imperial garden to chat.
"It's been a while since you returned to the capital. Why haven't you arranged your marriage with Princess An Ning?"
Mu Jingrui lowered his head and smiled bitterly. "Your Majesty, you are very happy right now. How can a minister break the rules?"
Only then did Xiao Yujue remember the unwritten rules of the court.
As long as he had not favored all the beautiful women, the ministers in the court could not get married, unless they just took concubines.
“Haha, I see.”
Xiao Yujue laughed a few times and said, "How about this, I will issue an imperial decree so that you and the princess can get married as soon as possible. You and I have experienced life and death together, so it is only natural that we share happiness and difficulties together."
A gleam of joy flashed in Mu Jingrui's eyes.
"real?"
If it were something else, he might not accept it.
After all, the greater the achievements, the more one should learn to be low-key. Otherwise, it will easily become a reason for others to attack and impeach him.
However, since it concerned his marriage with Shangguan Wanning, he could not bear it no matter what.
"I am the ruler of a country, and I never joke. But..."
Um?
Mu Jingrui's heart tightened. Was there any condition for him to marry Shangguan Wanning?
"After you marry Princess An Ning, you should ask her to come to the palace often to accompany Xiao Yan."
"What does the Emperor mean?"
Xiao Yujue sighed softly, his face full of helplessness and sadness.
"Your own sister, don't you know what kind of personality she has? She is straightforward and cheerful, with no intention of harming others, nor is she defensive. She was the only one in the harem before, and no matter how willful or mischievous she was, I always tolerated her."
"But now there are so many more people in the harem... With more women, there are more disputes. Sometimes, in order to find some balance in the former dynasty, I can't help but do something that makes her sad. I'm worried that if it goes on for a long time... she won't be able to handle it."
"Princess An Ning is thoughtful and intelligent. Once she enters your Mu family, she is a member of your Mu family. I believe she will do her best for Xiaoyan. From now on, as her sister-in-law, you should try your best to enlighten her."
Mu Jingrui lowered his eyes. He could almost imagine how difficult and sad Mu Jingyan must have felt during those days when he was alone and unable to sleep.
However, she chose her husband herself, and as an emperor, there were many things that were beyond her control.
When Xiao Yujue's imperial edict was delivered to the Prime Minister's Residence, Shangguan Wanning was not at home.
She took Grapes to Lutong's house.
Lutong was sold into the Prime Minister's Mansion as a slave when she was young. However, she was smart and clever and won the favor of Shangguan Wanning. Therefore, she was allowed to contact her family and go home from time to time.
Shangguan Wanning knew that Lutong's family was poor, and she would always save up all the rewards she received and then take them home to her parents and siblings.
She also saved some gold, which she said she would keep for her old age.
Whenever Shangguan Wanning thought of how Lu Tong's eyes lit up when she saw gold, her heart ached violently.
The little sister who grew up with her will never come back.
Shangguan Wanning instructed the housekeeper to send money to Lutong's family every month. She wanted to take good care of Lutong's family on his behalf, and find a good school for Lutong's younger brother.
"Ning'er."
As Shangguan Wanning stepped into the house, her mother came up to her with a smile on her face, holding her hand, with tears in her eyes.
"Mom, what's wrong with you?"
"It's okay, mother is happy." Madam Shangguan told her that the emperor had issued an imperial decree for her and Mu Jingrui to get married.
Shangguan Wanning's cheeks turned red, and her mind couldn't help but speed up.
"Mom, what's there to be happy about... I won't get married. I want to stay with you..."
"Pah, pah, pah!"
Mrs. Shangguan's face changed and she gently hit her daughter's hand.
"Don't say that again. You've reached the age to get married. So many things happened in your family in the past few years that delayed you. It's rare for you to find a man who loves you and cares for you. If anything happens again, I will never rest in peace."
"Oh, ma'am, that's an unlucky thing to say."
Shangguan Yue looked at his daughter and said with a smile: "Do you really think she doesn't want to get married? Maybe she has already flown to the Zhennan Palace..."
"Dad!" Shangguan Wanning blushed shyly and stamped her feet to express her dissatisfaction, "How can you say that to me? I won't pay attention to you anymore."
After saying that, he ran back to his room.
Mu Jingrui and Mrs. Shangguan went to choose an auspicious day. Both of them were worried about any unexpected events, so they decided on the eighth day of the next month.
"Time is a bit tight..." Mrs. Shangguan was worried that there would not be enough time to prepare and her daughter would be wronged.
"Don't worry, the emperor has already issued an edict, and he can mobilize the palace's manpower to help. Ning'er will not be left with any regrets." Mu Jingrui understood Mrs. Shangguan's concerns.
When Mrs. Shangguan heard this, she was delighted.
Regarding this wedding, Mu Jingrui did almost everything himself. He even borrowed craftsmen from the Ministry of Works from Xiao Yujue to rebuild the courtyard. Everything was built according to Shangguan Wanning's preferences.
He was worried that Shangguan Wan Ning would not be used to the new life after marrying into the family, so he made her room exactly the same as her room in the Prime Minister's Residence.
Before the marriage, the two were forbidden to meet, and Shangguan Wanning did not need to worry about the wedding, so she had plenty of free time.
She went to the clinic almost every day to discuss some difficult and complicated diseases with two doctors, Li Qiao and Zhou Shan.
She noticed that in recent times, the number of people coming to the clinic for treatment due to convulsions has been increasing, which made her feel confused.
The symptoms of these people seemed to be the same as those of the little palace maid she saw in the palace that day.
Shangguan Wanning made detailed inquiries and found that there were men, women, young and old who had the disease over the years, and that none of them had ever had epilepsy or similar conditions before the onset of the disease.
This... is strange.
Shangguan Wanning sent away another patient. She returned to the inner hall and saw that Li Qiao and Zhou Shan were also frowning.
"Miss, what do you think?"
"It's really strange... these conditions don't seem to be contagious, so why are so many people experiencing the same symptoms?"
"Could it be poisoning?"
Shangguan Wanning thought about it carefully and shook her head uncertainly. "If it was poisoning... I don't think I've ever heard of anyone dying from this."
"Miss, so far, no one has shown any symptoms of recurrence. Could it be... that there is something wrong with the food or drinking water?"
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