Chapter 26 The Double Standards of Princess Jiaoyang
The visitor said, "My lord said that although our Li family is not a prominent clan, we can still be considered a scholarly family. Our ancestors have always upheld the principle of filial piety above all virtues, and we really dare not associate with a family like yours. As for the marriage proposal, let's just pretend that my lord never mentioned it. After all, it was just a casual remark between our two families, and nothing was finalized. So it doesn't count as breaking the agreement."
After the servant from the Ministry of Works finished delivering the message and left, Min Rong was still completely confused and had no idea what was going on.
When the news broke that the Min and Lu families had broken off their engagement, the Minister of Works didn't say anything. Later, when Madam Min Qiao was blamed for the broken engagement, the Minister of Works was still amiable when he saw her. At the time, he thought the marriage between the two families was a done deal.
How come the Minister of Works' attitude has changed so drastically in just a few days?
Min Rong was completely baffled, so he called his confidant to ask. At first, the confidant hesitated, but under Min Rong's stern questioning, the confidant finally told him what Min Qiao had said at the gate of the Prince of Chang'an's mansion that day.
After hearing his confidant's account, Min Rong felt his head go blank and slumped into his official chair.
It's over! Everything is over!
His daughter's marriage is over! His reputation is ruined! His future is over! Everything is over!
***
At the entrance of the Prince of Chang'an's mansion.
Min Qiao's words responded to the rampant rumors and won the sympathy and pity of almost everyone present.
Among the few people who still found Min Qiao Shi an eyesore was Princess Jiao Yang.
Princess Consort of Chang'an stepped in to smooth things over, summarizing the matter in a few words, and then personally invited everyone into the mansion to talk.
Princess Jiaoyang stood beside the Princess Consort of Chang'an County, watching the crowd walk inside.
When Madam Min Qiao passed by them, Princess Jiaoyang suddenly exclaimed, "Madam Qiao, what skill you have!"
His tone was clearly unfriendly.
The Prince's Mansion pulled Princess Jiaoyang aside and shook his head at her.
Madam Min curtsied, smiled, and followed the others into the mansion.
“Sister-in-law, Min Qiaoshi did it on purpose! I dare say that from her confrontation with Wang Zhangshi, which attracted a crowd, to her pretentious words later on, which won everyone’s sympathy, it was all premeditated!”
Princess Jiaoyang said indignantly, "Using the birthday banquet at the Prince of Chang'an's mansion as a springboard to clear her name? How dare she?"
The Princess Consort is almost forty years old this year, and her daughter is already married.
Seeing Princess Jiaoyang, who was even younger than her own daughter, standing up for her family, the Princess Consort couldn't help but smile.
She reached out and patted Princess Jiaoyang's head, patiently explaining with a loving expression, "I know you're the kind of person who can't tolerate any injustice. You feel that Madam Qiao took advantage of our Prince's Mansion. But there's no absolute right or wrong in this world. Madam Qiao was just trying to make her life better."
Princess Jiaoyang was still unhappy, pouting as she complained, "But she ruined my aunt's birthday banquet."
"What trouble have you caused? The birthday banquet hasn't even started yet! Besides, we haven't even entered the manor yet!"
Princess Jiaoyang snorted and said indignantly, "Luckily, she only caused trouble at the gate. If she dared to cause trouble inside the palace... Humph!"
The rest of the words were left unsaid, but the attitude was clearly expressed.
As the two were talking, the Duchess of Jin also mingled in the crowd and walked up to them.
Upon seeing the Duchess of Jin, Princess Jiaoyang's eyes lit up. "Madam Zheng, you've come too! I haven't seen you in the palace to keep Grandmother company lately, and it's been a long time since I've seen you either."
His tone of voice conveyed warmth and joy.
Madam Zheng smiled and said, "I also wish Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and the Princess would come. But the days are short in winter, and I'm afraid that if I go into the palace, I won't even have a chance to say a few words before I have to rush out again. That would spoil Her Majesty the Empress Dowager's enjoyment. It would be better to wait until spring, when the sun is stronger, before I go into the palace to talk to her. The Princess can come then too, and I can tell her stories."
"Great, great. I'll definitely have someone prepare plenty of the snacks that the Dowager Lady likes." Princess Jiaoyang's smile was warm and sincere, a stark contrast to her smile when she was with Lady Min Qiao.
"Then I'll be waiting!" Madam Zheng said with a smile, her tone equally affectionate.
Seeing that the two had finished talking, the Princess Consort smiled and said, "Please come in, Madam. It's cold outside, please don't catch a chill."
"Alright, then I'll go in first." Madam Zheng smiled and went inside.
After everyone left, the Princess Consort looked at Princess Jiaoyang with a strange expression and asked, "You actually like the Dowager Lady of the Duke of Jin that much?"
"Of course!" Princess Jiaoyang explained with a face full of admiration, "Madam Zheng has been my idol since I was a child! I've always listened to the stories of the Duke of Jin's mansion as if they were just tales. Every time I finished listening, I thought Madam Zheng was so amazing, so incredible! She was simply a heroine among women!"
The Princess Consort looked at Princess Jiaoyang with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, "You should read less of those storybooks! As the legitimate princess of the Dayan Dynasty, don't let those storybooks corrupt your character."
Princess Jiaoyang stuck out her tongue and didn't dare to respond.
"Since you like Madam Zheng so much, why do you dislike Madam Xuanping so much?" the Princess Consort asked deliberately. "Speaking of which, didn't Madam Qiao's previous actions bear some resemblance to Madam Zheng's style back then?"
Princess Jiaoyang pouted and retorted, "They're not the same at all! The Dowager Lady of Xuanping Marquis, in order to clear her own name, completely disregarded the feelings of her son and daughter-in-law, and didn't care about the reputation of the Xuanping Marquis's mansion! That's called selfishness!"
"Madam Zheng was different! At that time, Madam Zheng was in dire straits! If she hadn't fought back, she would have died at the hands of those heartless concubines and illegitimate sons of the Duke of Jin's mansion. That's called perseverance!"
The Princess Consort shook her head with a helpless smile; Jiao Yang was clearly applying double standards.
***
Min Qiao followed the crowd into the Prince's mansion and found a secluded corner in the warm pavilion where guests were being entertained to take a seat.
Although everyone felt sorry for Min Qiaoshi after hearing her words at the door earlier.
However, when they were seated, everyone unanimously avoided Min Qiaoshi.
No one came up to her, and Madam Min was happy to have some peace and quiet. She had achieved her goal of attending the birthday banquet today. She just needed to wait until after the meal to beat them up.
With nothing to do, she suddenly realized that no one was around.
"Huh? Where's Ajiu? Wasn't she just here?"
She was right beside me when she and Wei Jia were working together to deal with Wang Zhangshi. Where did she go now?
Upon hearing this, Granny Fang also became anxious, "Why is this child running around like this? What if he offends some important person and causes trouble?"
Wei Jia couldn't help but frown.
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