Chapter 227 A Promise Is Made
She had previously expressed a lot of dissatisfaction with the Crown Prince in front of him, but when it came to the crucial moment, she still sided with her own brother!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have let his mother choose a prince's wife for him, even knowing what kind of person she was.
Isn't it just that they're afraid he'll marry a woman from a high-ranking family, and with the help of his wife's family, he'll pose a threat to the Crown Prince's position?
Ah, as everyone knows, the Emperor's ascension to the throne was inseparable from the Empress's maternal family, the Marquis of Yongchang's mansion.
The Yongchang Marquis's Mansion once commanded a large army, stationed in the west, and directly confronted the Da Xie.
Back then, the Yongchang Marquis's mansion was a force to be reckoned with; if they stomped their feet, the entire Dayan would tremble.
Unfortunately, times have changed. More than 20 years have passed, and the military power held by the Marquis of Yongchang has been repeatedly reduced, and it is now far less powerful than before.
Just as the Third Prince was questioning Li Sanqi, Li Sanqi urged him mysteriously, "Third Brother, what are you standing there for? There's one more you haven't seen yet. Hurry up and open it!"
The third prince frowned slightly, and with some impatience, unfolded the portrait, glanced at it hastily, and was about to throw it away like the previous two.
But as soon as he reached out, he realized what he had seen. He quickly pulled the portrait back.
He looked at the small print next to the portrait again and again in disbelief, and finally confirmed that it read: "Zhong Liuniang, age sixteen, daughter of the prefect of Qingzhou, granddaughter of the Minister of Personnel."
The surprise was so great that Li Chengrui felt like he was in a dream.
"This...this was also chosen for me by my mother?"
The Ministry of Personnel is the head of the Six Ministries! The granddaughter of Minister Zhong, that's a first-rate family background!
Moreover, the fact that Zhong Liuniang's father was able to serve as the prefect of a prefecture shows that he was quite capable. With a father as high-ranking and powerful as Minister Zhong, it was only a matter of time before she returned to the capital.
In the past, he wouldn't have even dared to dream of having a girl from such a family.
Didn't you see that the Crown Prince only married the granddaughter of a third-rank official? And she was a useless third-rank official at that.
He originally hoped to marry the daughter or granddaughter of one of the Six Ministries' Vice Ministers, which would be good enough to surpass the Crown Prince. Alternatively, a woman from a noble family would also be a good choice.
Unexpectedly, he would see a woman with a family background like Zhong Liuniang among the candidates for his prince's consort.
This is such a wonderful surprise!
"So, what do you think? Does Third Brother like this candidate?" Li Sanqi asked with a smile as he approached Li Chengrui.
Li Chengrui composed himself and asked casually, "This person wasn't chosen by my mother, was it?"
"Of course," Li Sanqi said with a look of seeking praise, "I chose this person. Consort Hui originally didn't agree, but I insisted, and with the help of my mother, I finally managed to get Consort Hui to give in."
Li Chengrui looked at Li Sanqi in disbelief, "My mother actually agreed?"
He knew perfectly well how cautious his mother was. How could he possibly be swayed by just a few words?
Li Sanqi sighed, looking terrified, and said, "You have no idea how many kind words I said to get Consort Hui to agree to add Miss Zhong Liu to the list of candidates."
"Third Brother, how can you possibly thank me?"
Li Chengrui's heart was churning with emotion, but his face remained calm with a smile. "The final selection hasn't been made yet. Who would ask me for benefits halfway through?"
Li Sanqi pouted, "Third Brother, are you trying to renege on your promise? I already asked Mother to help you choose a prince's consort, and you're still not keeping your word! Are you trying to go back on your word and profit from it?"
Seeing that Li Sanqi was angry, Li Chengrui quickly coaxed her, "How could I go back on my word? Don't worry, I will definitely do what I promised you."
"Really?" Li Sanqi asked, still unsure.
Li Chengrui said seriously, "Don't worry, within three days you will definitely hear the news that Lu Ming is in trouble."
Hearing this, Li Sanqi immediately perked up, "I knew Third Brother was the best!"
Then he assured him, "Third Brother, don't worry, I will do everything in my power to get Father to betroth Miss Zhong to you!"
Li Chengrui also promised, "If Seventh Sister can really help Third Brother marry Miss Zhong, then Third Brother will definitely find a way to make Seventh Sister's marriage with Lu Ming fall through!"
Li Sanqi's eyes sparkled as she reached out her little hand to give Li Chengrui a high five. "Then it's a deal?"
“It’s a deal!” Li Chengrui readily extended his hand.
With a sharp "snap," the two looked at each other and laughed.
“The Yongning Marquis’s residence will be holding a flower banquet in a few days. I have already inquired and I know that Miss Zhong will be attending.”
"Third Brother, how about we go join the fun?" Li Sanqi said slyly. "I'll bring Miss Zhong Liu along to bump into you, Third Brother. What do you think?"
"If Miss Zhong falls in love with Third Brother at first sight, and the Zhong family can put in some effort, and I can also plead with Father Emperor, wouldn't this matter be a sure thing?"
Li Chengrui thought for a moment, "Wouldn't this be too deliberate?"
Li Sanqi laughed and said, "If you bring Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother along when you go, it won't seem so deliberate, right?"
“Alright.” Li Chengrui thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he nodded and said, “Then I’ll have to trouble Seventh Sister.”
"No problem, no problem."
***
After resting at the teahouse, Madam Min and Madam Zheng went to the best-performing cloth shop in the southern part of the city.
Seeing the bustling crowd and booming business in the store, Min Qiaoshi was taken aback.
She stood at the door and looked again and again before she was sure that the cloth shop was indeed hers.
All she knew was that after Wei Jia took over Yang An's business, she managed it well and earned much more money than before.
But I never expected the business to be this good.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that she was standing still, Madam Zheng turned around and asked.
"It's alright. Let's go inside." Madam Min Qiao waved her hand with a smile and walked into the shop with Madam Zheng.
As soon as the two entered the store, a servant came to greet them. "Would you two ladies like to choose fabrics or buy ready-made clothes? The second floor is the VIP room, where the quality of both fabrics and ready-made clothes is better. Please come upstairs, ladies."
This servant boy is clearly well-trained and has a keen eye for detail.
Both of them were dressed casually today, but they were still classified as VIPs and were invited upstairs as soon as they entered.
Yes, the second floor also means things are more expensive.
Madam Min smiled and waved her hand, "We'll just take a look downstairs."
“Yes, don’t worry about us, we’ll just look around.” Madam Zheng wasn’t specifically looking to buy anything, so she didn’t care whether it was upstairs or downstairs, and echoed Min Qiao’s words.
Just then, a young girl who was about to go upstairs glanced at the two of them disdainfully and scoffed, "If you can't afford it, don't come! Do you really think this embroidery shop is for just anyone to buy?"
The speaker was a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old, dressed in fine clothes and adorned with jewels. She was followed by four maids and four servants, clearly a young lady from a wealthy family.
She's fairly good-looking, but her eyes are on top of her head, and the way she looks at people with disdain is really unpleasant.
The girl mocked the two of them and then went upstairs to the second floor.
Ah Shuang was a little angry and was about to call the person over to argue with them when Min Qiaoshi raised her hand to stop her.
"I wonder whose daughter she is, raised to be so arrogant and snobbish," Madam Zheng sighed, shaking her head.
Madam Min smiled and said, "We're all so old, how could we possibly argue with a young girl?"
"That's true." Seeing that Madam Min was open-minded, Madam Zheng didn't take it to heart.
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Min Qiaoshi said, "Let's go upstairs and take a look."
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