Chapter 39 Min Hui's Marriage
The Imperial Palace.
The events that occurred during the day in the Painted Corner Tower were meticulously detailed and presented on Emperor Xiaozhao's desk.
After reading it, Emperor Xiaozhao only gave a cold laugh and said nothing more.
Half an hour later, he arrived at Consort Zhao's place.
"Look at this! This is your good nephew from your maternal family! He actually dares to threaten a first-rank noblewoman in public. It's truly an eye-opener!"
Emperor Xiaozhao coldly threw the memorial at Consort Zhao, "Ha, Grand Secretary Zhao's grandson, Consort Zhao's nephew, what a prestigious title!"
Consort Zhao knelt on the ground, picked up the memorial, quickly glanced at it, and said with a wronged expression, "Your Majesty, please calm down! This is all my fault!"
Emperor Xiaozhao stared coldly at Consort Zhao, waiting for her to continue.
Consort Zhao didn't dare keep him waiting any longer and quickly explained, "Your Majesty knows that although I am my father's youngest daughter, my mother died in childbirth because of me. Therefore, I suffered some hardships in my childhood."
"Zhiheng, like me, is the late-born child of my elder brother and sister-in-law. As his aunt, I inevitably think of myself when I was young, so I dote on him a bit, which is why he has developed such an arrogant and conceited nature."
"Your Majesty, please have mercy and forgive him this time. I will have my elder brother and sister-in-law prepare generous gifts and take Zhiheng to apologize to Madam Qiao of the Xuanping Marquis's residence."
Emperor Xiaozhao raised his hand, gesturing for Consort Zhao to rise. "An apology is enough. You should keep an eye on your nephew. Don't let him cause any real trouble. Otherwise, you won't be able to protect him!"
"Your Majesty understands. Your Majesty will remember."
Zhao Yan lowered her head and looked down, her eyes swirling with unspoken emotions.
***
The Zhao residence.
Zhao Zhiheng returned home bruised and battered, looking utterly disheveled, and Madam Zhao immediately received the news.
Rushing to her son's residence, she saw the injury on his face and was heartbroken. She shouted that she would make Min Qiao Shi pay.
Zhao Zhiheng launched into another tearful tirade, infuriating Madam Zhao to the point of near death. The mother and son then decided to send their petition to the palace the next day to seek the support of the Virtuous Consort.
Before the mother and son could finish speaking, Grand Secretary Zhao, who had also received the news, arrived with the family law.
"Beat them! Beat them to death!"
At Grand Secretary Zhao's command, Zhao Zhiheng was tied to a bench.
After twenty blows, Zhao Zhiheng was no longer able to groan.
Madam Zhao was so frightened that she didn't dare to say a word, for fear of displeasing the old man and being punished with family discipline as well.
After beating the woman, Grand Secretary Zhao coldly warned the mother and son, "You are not allowed to go to the palace to see Consort Xian! You are not allowed to go there again! Just pretend that the Zhao family does not have such a person! You are not allowed to have any contact with her anymore, do you hear me?"
Madam Zhao dared not disobey her father-in-law, so she could only nod repeatedly in agreement.
But after Grand Secretary Zhao and his men left, she instructed people to fetch a doctor and carefully carry her son into the house, while also pondering her father-in-law's attitude towards her sister-in-law.
This father and daughter are really quite strange!
My father-in-law was willing to swallow his pride and kneel before the Emperor to beg him to let his sister-in-law enter the palace. He seemed like a good father.
But now that her sister-in-law has finally climbed to the position of Consort Xian, she has a place in the harem. However, her father-in-law's attitude towards her sister-in-law is really not good.
On the contrary, the younger sister-in-law was very filial to her father-in-law from beginning to end. As a result, she also took good care of the eldest branch of the family. She was especially fond of her nephew, Zhiheng.
If Zhiheng weren't her own son, she would have suspected that he wasn't her sister-in-law's son! She had never seen an aunt treat her nephew so well.
With Grand Secretary Zhao's words, Madam Zhao dared not enter the palace for a while.
Zhao Zhiheng was punished with a beating and will be unable to leave the house for a while.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Min Qiao couldn't help but exclaim, "As expected of Grand Secretary Zhao!"
She really has the heart to beat her grandson!
Of course, Min Qiao was just making a sigh.
She also has her own worries now.
Looking at the Lady of Annan sitting below her, Madam Min Qiao felt completely distraught.
"What did you just say, Madam?"
Lady Annam covered her mouth and smiled before saying, "To be honest, Madam, I've come today to discuss the marriage between our two families."
Madam Min thought she had misheard. "Our two families? A marriage alliance?"
“Isn’t it just our two families?” Lady Annam said with a smile. “Our daughter, Arou, is as gentle and virtuous as her name suggests. Your third son is also a handsome and talented young man. Isn’t it a match made in heaven?”
"Wait, you mean your fifth daughter, Feng Yuerou, and our third son, Min Hui?"
Madam Min Qiao looked at the Earl of Annan with a strange expression.
That didn't happen in my past life! In his past life, Min Hui didn't marry the daughter of the Marquis of An'nan. He married the daughter of a minor official.
She personally selected the candidate; she wasn't particularly outstanding in appearance, but her family had a good moral character and the girl herself was of good character.
Why did the Duchess of Annam suddenly come to visit us in this lifetime?
Moreover, isn't this just too inappropriate? Who goes to their own parents' house to arrange a marriage for their daughter?
Families with even a modicum of manners would send a matchmaker to mediate, and would never come to the door in person like the Duchess of Annam did.
However, thinking about what kind of person Lady Annam was, Lady Min Qiao felt relieved.
"Madam, I'm not afraid to tell you, I never originally intended to arrange a marriage between our families. It's just that I happened to see your family's Third Master a few days ago. Tsk tsk, he's so handsome and talented. And now he's even gained the Emperor's favor."
Lady Annam gave a slightly exaggerated slap and laughed, "I thought to myself, isn't this Third Master Min a perfect candidate for son-in-law? So, I rushed over here."
"Please don't blame me for being impolite, I'm just really anxious! If someone else snatches up such a good son-in-law, I'll regret it to death!"
Madam Min's lips twitched. She really wanted to remind the Lady of Annan that she was overacting. But in the end, she held back.
She remembered that in her previous life, the fifth Miss Feng of the Marquis of Annan's mansion eventually married a poor scholar who had passed the imperial examination. It was a beautiful story of a talented man and a beautiful woman.
But heaven knows, after Miss Feng married into the family, she angered her mother-in-law to death within just two or three years.
In the end, the poor scholar who had passed the imperial examination was so upset that he was willing to risk his career and future to divorce his wife!
This incident caused quite a stir at the time, making the whole capital a laughing stock.
It's easy to imagine what kind of kind Miss Feng could be.
"You flatter me, Madam. Although my third son is good-looking and has a decent job, he is not from a proper imperial examination background. It is still unknown how well he will fare."
Madam Min Qiao modestly declined the marriage proposal, intending to do so tactfully.
But thinking back to her past life, among the accusations Min Hui leveled against her at her bedside, one was that she had married him a wife with neither family background nor looks. He even said that every time he saw the wife she had arranged for him, he felt nauseous! Every time he touched his wife, he felt disgusted, like he had swallowed a fly!
By the time she became bedridden due to the effects of the poison, Min Hui's wife had already been driven to depression and madness by Min Hui's torment.
Not long after, she heard that Min Hui's wife had fallen into the water and drowned.
But by then, she was already struggling to protect herself and couldn't even take care of Granny Fang, so how could she possibly care about others?
After thinking about it, I decided to let it go. I'd better not let Min Hui ruin any more good girls in this lifetime.
With a change of heart, Madam Min Qiao also changed the subject.
"Please don't laugh at me, Madam. This old woman is no longer useful and can't manage things anymore. I now let my sons make their own decisions about their affairs."
Madam Min smiled, subtly shifting the blame, "So, this matter you mentioned, I'm afraid you'll have to discuss it with Min Hui himself. Of course, you can also go to my eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Wu. After all, she's the one in charge of the Xuanping Marquis's residence now."
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