Chapter 182 Chapter 182 is the only genuine version...
Duke Cheng'en felt uneasy when he was stared at by him.
"Your Majesty."
He was also a little confused at the moment.
I don’t know whether the Gu family came to visit because of Jiang Wu, or because his wife wanted to break up the engagement, so she was desperate and tried all kinds of methods to provoke Wang Jiazi, so the Gu family came to deal with him.
Yes, he also knew that the lady took her daughter to catch Wang Xing, the son-in-law.
If the prince of the Wang family is willing to marry, Duke Cheng'en plans to wait until the day when the Prince of Jin's mansion will hold the wedding and then replace her with a concubine's daughter. Anyway, it's good enough that someone is willing to marry into their family.
Wang Jiazi was clearly not engaged, but last time someone coaxed him into saying that he was engaged.
There's nothing wrong with marrying Nian'er without an engagement. They're a good match! It also gives my family a way out. It's much better than randomly marrying Nian'er to a poor scholar.
Although he thought about it, Duke Cheng'en didn't dare to say it out loud, for fear that Prince Jin would cause trouble and the marriage with the Wang family would be ruined.
His eyes rolled around and he said, "The Crown Prince sent me someone."
The Prince of Jin was staring at Duke Cheng'en, looking him up and down. Hearing this, he snapped back to his senses. His Adam's apple rolled, and he said casually, "Fellow-in-law, please come in. We'll talk after you go in."
There were big red paper scraps left by firecrackers at the door, and people were still happily picking up the wedding money and saying auspicious words.
On the foreheads of the stone lions at the vermilion gate, someone took advantage of the chaos to paste two big red wedding characters.
The Prince of Jin was really upset by what he saw, so he asked the steward to clean up quickly and lead Duke Cheng'en in through the corner gate.
As soon as the door closed, Duke Cheng'en couldn't wait to speak, "My dear, Xie Yingchen somehow managed to find a deserter from the Northern Frontier Army, and that deserter actually knew about the agreement between the Emperor and Prince Duoleng."
Duke Cheng En confessed the whole thing fearfully, and then said, "Hey, Gu Yican must have come to torment me on purpose."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with aggrieved expression: "It's really embarrassing."
"The Gu family didn't dare to kill me, so they tortured me in different ways."
Duke Cheng'en was so nervous during the whole journey that he begged and begged. He dared to mess with the King of Jin, but he really didn't dare to mess with Gu Yican.
When he went to the Western Frontier to deliver the secret message, he saw Gu Yican chopping off people's heads in the enemy camp like chopping watermelons. How old was Gu Yican at that time, twelve or thirteen?
Duke Cheng'en trembled and burst into tears: "When Xie Yingchen comes to power, there will be no way for us to survive."
Therefore, even if he didn't say it explicitly, he supported Nian'er in taking Wang Jiazi as his son-in-law.
Prince Jin: “…”
He and the Gu family are mortal enemies, the kind that cannot be resolved.
Not only that, he and Xie Yingchen are also mortal enemies. The death of the late emperor and the death of the deposed crown prince... mean that they can only fight to the death.
The Prince of Jin secretly grasped his hands in his sleeves, glancing at his son from time to time. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but the scab on the back of Yun'er's hand seemed thicker. For the first time, the hand, whose skin had completely peeled off, looked less bloody and mangled.
What Gu Zhizhuo said is true! ?
Could it be that the person who is destined to be Yun'er's match is Lord Cheng'en?
That day, what Gu Zhizhuo said was as if he was teasing him, and King Jin didn't believe it at all. But now, he felt as if he was struggling desperately in the abyss, and found a vine hanging down from above his head.
Even though he was in the dark and couldn't see where the vine was hanging, whether it was firm, or whether it would break if pulled, he still wanted to hold on tightly and struggle out of death.
His heart was pounding.
Prince Jin felt that he must have been possessed by a demon. He quickly retracted the thought and asked absentmindedly, "Why did Xie Yingchen hand the person over to you?"
"How would I know! People like Xie Yingchen have more tricks up their sleeves than lotus pods. If I could guess his thoughts, I would have killed him long ago. How could the emperor lose like this?"
Lord Cheng En wiped his tears and snot, and said aggrievedly: "Jiang Wu is obviously dishonest. Maybe he didn't tell the truth."
"Your Majesty."
Duke Cheng'en came forward and put his fair and clean face, which had few wrinkles even though he was in his forties, in front of Prince Jin, scaring him so much that he almost jumped up.
"We have to think of a way."
"That old fox, the Duke of Wei, is fickle and has so readily surrendered to Xie Yingchen. The entire court is full of people who flatter the powerful and flatter the weak. Now, they are still willing to serve His Royal Highness the Third Prince as their leader. Is that less than 30%? You can't just ignore it."
"His Royal Highness the Third Prince is the legitimate son of the Empress, and is the legitimate heir. Isn't that right, my dear son-in-law?"
Lord Cheng'en asked Xie Qiyun.
Prince Jin has indeed been feeling physically and mentally exhausted recently.
He traveled to various Taoist temples in the capital and visited all the famous Taoist masters. He even asked the abbot of the Longhu Temple to invite a Taoist master who was quite proficient in talismans and spells for him.
After a lot of effort, he only managed to stop the bleeding. His health was getting worse day by day, and now it was difficult for him to even ride a horse when he went out.
He couldn't even take care of himself, so he didn't care much about the affairs of the court.
Now, after hearing what Lord Cheng'en said, he rubbed his forehead with a headache.
"My dear, you have to think of a solution." Lord Cheng En pulled his sleeve, "We can't just sit there and wait for death."
"What else did Jiang Wu say?" Prince Jin pondered. "Tell me everything."
Duke Cheng'en repeated his words, not missing a single word: "The person is still imprisoned in my mansion... My dear, since it has come to this, I think we might as well break off relations. While the Xiliang people are here to escort the bride, we can purge the emperor's court and restore order."
Duke Cheng'en showed a cruel look.
These words gave King Jin an idea.
Clearing out the imperial court is the worst plan.
The emperor has 26 personal guards and three camps of imperial guards, while the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion has a total of 3,000 troops in the capital. If they were to fall out, they would indeed have the upper hand in terms of military strength.
However, the Imperial Guards had been taken away by Gu Zhizhuo. Even if they could obtain the Imperial Guards, the Zhenbei Palace did not have the power to mobilize them, let alone instigate them to help them rebel. However, in this case, mobilizing the Imperial Guards to purge the emperor was equally impossible.
The imperial guards became useless.
Only the 26th Guard remained. The 26th Guard was the emperor's trump card. The emperor no longer trusted him and would not easily entrust him with commanding the troops. The Prince of Jin was not completely confident.
If Xiliang is persuaded...
"Your Highness," the steward came running over from behind and reported, "Everything has been packed up and everyone has left."
The steward glanced at Prince Jin cautiously. After the prince and his companions left, many people came and heard from somewhere that Prince Jin's mansion was getting married and wanted to ask for wedding money.
The manager ordered people to drive them away, but those people acted like hooligans, shouting and cursing that the Prince of Jin’s Mansion did not give any wedding money and that they wanted to cut off their family line.
The steward asked the guards to arrest them, but they all ran away in a swarm, causing such a mess that they were about to become a laughing stock in the whole capital.
He didn't dare say these words.
He said humbly: "Don't worry, Your Majesty..."
“Ahhhh!”
Xie Qiyun suddenly screamed miserably, interrupting the manager's words.
"Father, Father..."
King Jin looked over in surprise and saw that the thin scab that had just formed on the back of his son's hand had peeled off again and fell to the ground, revealing the dark red flesh underneath.
"Father."
Xie Qiyun's voice was hoarse as he said in panic, "It just healed... It clearly healed just now."
Watching myself become more and more like a ghost day by day, after a long time, all I can do is wait for death in despair. Just like my father said, leaving behind an offspring is enough.
And now, after suddenly seeing a glimmer of hope and realizing that he might not have to die, he was back in despair in a short period of time. This psychological shock almost broke him down.
"Father, Father..."
He held Prince Jin's hand, and their skin touched. The back of Prince Jin's hand felt sticky.
Prince Jin's eyes went dark and he staggered.
"My dear son-in-law, oh my, I feel so sorry for your father-in-law."
Lord Cheng'en's eyes were vague, and he didn't even dare to look at Xie Qiyun's hand.
In order to appear less cold-blooded, he turned and shouted to the steward, "Go call the doctor."
"Wait." Prince Jin suddenly asked, "What did you do outside just now?"
The manager looked confused.
"Hurry up and tell me!"
The steward trembled as he spoke, "We chased the people away, swept up the firecrackers and paper scraps on the ground, and tore off the wedding characters on the stone lions. And, we also told the unruly people who came to join in the fun that there was no wedding in our palace."
"I had them all driven away."
I didn't do anything wrong?
If we don't make it clear, will others really think that their prince is going to marry Duke Cheng'en?
Prince Jin raised his eyes and looked at Duke Cheng'en's round, fair face.
A thought popped up uncontrollably.
My son suddenly became ill again. Was it because the servants tore up the wedding characters? He also spread the news that the marriage had not taken place.
Is the wedding ceremony not working anymore?
He felt that he must be crazy, but he couldn't stop thinking so.
Otherwise, why did the son suddenly get better as soon as the sedan chair was brought in?
Maybe there really is something that I don’t understand.
"In-laws."
Prince Jin stretched his face and gave a flattering smile.
Duke Chengen:?
I have a bad feeling in my heart.
Prince Jin patted his son's hand soothingly and said to Duke Cheng'en, "Yun'er is your son-in-law. You also hope for his well-being, right?"
"Of course."
"It is like this, my dear." The Prince of Jin smiled even more warmly, and said gently, "I have had Yun'er's fortune told, and the divination indicates that Yun'er will survive this disaster."
"Oh, that's great." Duke Cheng'en said from the bottom of his heart.
No matter whether she marries Nian Jie'er or a concubine's daughter, he doesn't want his daughter to become a widow early. It would be a blessing if the son-in-law could live to be a hundred years old.
"But the master said that we need someone whose horoscope matches Yun'er's to bring happiness to her."
What's the meaning?
"My daughter hasn't even entered the house yet, and Xie Qiyun wants to take a concubine?!" Lord Cheng'en was furious, with a frown on his face.
"No, no." Prince Jin said quickly, "It's you, my relative."
Duke Cheng'en didn't understand and his eyes were dull.
Prince Jin said in a gentle voice, "My dear relative, your horoscopes are compatible with Yun'er, right? Let's pretend to have a wedding with Yun'er and write a marriage certificate... It's fake! A fake marriage certificate! Just to bring good luck."
Prince Jin couldn't wait to say, "As long as my in-laws are willing, the Prince Jin's Mansion will give you double the betrothal gifts."
Lord Cheng'en opened his eyes wide, and his round face looked as if he had seen a ghost.
"My dear, it's just a good omen." Prince Jin coaxed anxiously, "You also want your son-in-law to be a good person."
He could no longer tell whether Gu Zhizhuo was teasing him or not.
This vine that might save his life was hanging in front of his eyes. Even if it turned into a poisonous snake and bit him after he climbed up, he had to give it a try.
"relatives by marriage."
The King of Jin grabbed his hands, and the burning hot palms frightened Duke Cheng'en so much that his face turned pale.
The Prince of Jin vowed, "My dear, if you agree, I can promise you that if Yun'er doesn't leave behind any offspring... Sheng'er will inherit both branches, and the title will definitely be passed on to Nianjie'er's son. I will never let your sacrifice be in vain."
Manager: ? ?
Should I avoid it?
Duke Cheng'en was so frightened that he pushed him away and retreated repeatedly.
He pulled his face, laughing as if crying, and waved his hands, saying, "Your Highness, stop joking."
"Every word I say is true. It's just a ceremony, I won't tell anyone about it."
Prince Jin thought about it, and perhaps felt that it was not safe, so he added: "How about this, let's move up the wedding date, and you and Sister Nian will marry in together. You can just perform the wedding ceremony on Sister Nian's behalf."
"What are you joking about..." Lord Cheng En wanted to tell him to stop joking, but his serious expression didn't seem like he was joking at all.
Duke Cheng En was so frightened that he turned and ran without even saying hello. He stumbled as he ran, fearing that if he was a step late, he would be tied up and taken to the wedding hall.
"Father."
Xie Qiyun's voice was hoarse, and he wanted to ask if what he said was true.
Xie Qiyun was not as resistant as Cheng En Gong. For him, as long as he could survive, he didn't care about a real wedding, let alone a fake one.
The King of Jin watched Duke Cheng'en's receding figure and said, "Yun'er, don't worry."
At Sanliting, Duke Cheng'en didn't want Sun Nian to get married, but later he obediently wrote a marriage certificate for Sun Nian.
As for now, if he doesn't agree, I have a way to make him agree.
Gotta give it a try.
Duke Cheng'en felt uneasy because his back was being stared at, and he didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he rushed into Prince Jin's Mansion. His panicked look was quickly conveyed to Gu Zhizhuo by Chongjiu who was staring at him.
Gu Zhizhuo had already returned to the Zhenbei Palace. She leaned on the beauty's backrest in the Guanshui Pavilion, feeding the fish while listening to him.
Chongjiu has always been cold and taciturn, and his stories are not as interesting as Qingmei's. But no matter how concise and clear his stories were, when Gu Zhizhuo heard him say that Duke Cheng'en ran away like a dog, he leaned on Xie Yingchen's shoulder and laughed uncontrollably.
Gu Yican silently poured the entire bowl of fish food into the bowl, and the fish swarmed over, shaking their heads and wagging their tails.
"Meow!"
The cat's eyes were wide open and its little paws were eager to try.
Gu Yican took two steps at a time and came over and sat on the other side of his sister. He pulled her shoulders and turned her face towards him, then raised his arms and pressed down gently, making her lie on him.
Now, I am satisfied.
Gu Zhizhuo smiled happily: "Go on."
"After Duke Cheng'en came out, he returned to his mansion first. Not long after, the Third Prince also entered Duke Cheng'en's mansion. He stayed there for an hour until Ji Nan Ke came and they both came out one after another."
Gu Zhizhuo leaned against her brother, eating the fruit juice he fed her. She was too comfortable to bother thinking and asked directly, "What's next?"
"Next, the Cheng'en Guild came to ask for permission to send someone to Liang Country to welcome the bride."
As soon as Xie Yingchen finished speaking, a steward came to report that Huai Jingzhi had arrived.
Huai Jing came to the house for only one thing, that is, Duke Cheng'en came to ask for a meeting, in order to discuss the Third Prince's marriage to Xiliang.
He presented the memorial from Lord Cheng'en and said, "Lord Cheng'en is still waiting at the door."
Gu Zhizhuo clapped his hands in response, "Young Master is right." He then instructed Gu Yican to peel a longan for him, "Young Master wants to have dinner before returning. If he wants to wait, then let him wait."
Xie Yingchen nodded and signaled him to pass on the message.
Xie Yingchen read the memorial at a glance and said, "Prince Duoleng is now the first heir to Liang State, but the King of Liang would rather give the throne to his son." Xie Yingchen did not stay in Liang State for nothing during these years. He was familiar with all kinds of interpersonal relationships in Liang State.
He showed the memorial to the two siblings and said with a smile, "Since Duoleng has used a divisive tactic against Daqing, instigating the Emperor to surrender his father-in-law's life, we can follow suit."
Gu Zhizhuo's eyes lit up and he looked at Gu Yican.
Gu Yican bent his fingers slightly: "You mean..."
"I will personally write a letter to the King of Liang. All he needs to do is send Duo Leng to escort the bride and hand Duo Leng over to me. I will then let him do whatever he wants. Da Qi will not tear up the peace agreement and will not initiate war with Liang for five years."
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