Chapter 298 Contrast
The most excited person among them was not Pei Shaorong, not Madam Pei, not Master Pei, or Madam Pei, but Pei Shaorong's father!
He never thought that the emperor would actually give his daughter a marriage, and the object was the fifth prince who had the greatest chance of winning in the battle for the crown prince! In other words, his daughter is likely to become the crown princess, the future... mother of the country!
Then he would be the father-in-law of the country!
At this time, Lord Pei completely forgot that he had always disliked his daughter Pei Shaorong. Compared with Pei Zhen, Pei Shaorong, the legitimate daughter, received too little care from him!
On the contrary, he often scolded Pei Shaorong for Pei Zhen, saying that she was narrow-minded, and even said that she was vicious and had no demeanor of a legitimate daughter. He used his father's status to force Pei Shaorong to give in countless times. Not to mention how he humiliated Pei Shaorong's biological mother for Aunt Zhao.
Compared to his excitement and ecstasy, Master Pei was much calmer, even a little worried.
He had never thought of letting his eldest granddaughter marry any prince, no matter whether that prince had a chance of winning or would become the crown prince. He knew very well how difficult it was for a woman to marry into the royal family. His
granddaughter was unlucky and had to deal with such a terrible father. He was old and could not protect her for long, so he hoped to find a good marriage for her while he was alive so that she would have something to rely on for the rest of her life.
Who knew that the emperor suddenly issued an order to grant marriage!
Master Pei was not aware of it at all!
Master Pei felt that he had been cheated by the emperor!
Because of the marriage, Pei Shaorong's coming of age ceremony suddenly changed its meaning.
Originally, everyone should have left after the coming-of-age ceremony, but now, not only did they not leave, but people continued to come! Some people who were not invited to the coming-of-age ceremony came uninvited with generous gifts after hearing the news of the arranged marriage, saying that they were here to congratulate!
They came to congratulate, and the Pei family couldn't possibly chase them away! As a result, there
were more and more guests, and fortunately Madam Pei was prepared, otherwise it would be embarrassing.
In Pei Shaorong's yard, several girls who had a good relationship with her all crowded together to congratulate her.
"I really didn't expect that the emperor would suddenly arrange a marriage. Arong, did you and the Fifth Prince know each other before?"
Sun Xuehe asked.
Xu Muhua couldn't help but glance at her, but Sun Xuehe only looked at Pei Shaorong and didn't notice that Xu Muhua looked at her with a strange look in his eyes.
Lu Yingzhu and Mo Ying felt that Sun Xuehe
's words seemed strange, but they couldn't put it into words, and thought they were just overthinking. Although Pei Shaorong had the best relationship with Xu Muhua, she also had a good relationship with the others. They often met, reciting poems, painting, and boating. So when Sun Xuehe asked this question, they didn't think much about it, just thinking that she was curious and asked casually.
She smiled and said, "Speaking of acquaintances, everyone knows the Fifth Prince, right? Have you forgotten the autumn hunt last year? Later, I did meet the Fifth Prince a few times, but the contact was not much."
She was not lying when she said this. How could a lady from a noble family have much contact with a man outside the family?
"So that's how it is..."
Sun Xuehe said, looking calm on the surface, but only she knew what she was thinking in her heart.
"I never thought that the emperor would grant a marriage to Arong and the Fifth Prince today! Arong, is this double happiness? Hey, should we start preparing gifts for Arong's wedding?"
Lu Yingzhu asked jokingly.
Pei Shaorong couldn't help but blush, and raised her fist to hit Lu Yingzhu. Lu Yingzhu quickly hid behind Xu Muhua, and even shook her head proudly at her, which made Pei Shaorong so angry that she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"The imperial edict didn't say when the wedding will be, so there's no need to rush to prepare gifts?"
Xu Muhua said.
Although she said this, Xu Muhua knew what was going on in her heart.
The marriage decree did not mention the wedding date, but now that it has been issued, the Qintianjian will calculate a suitable day later, and the wedding date will be set.
And it won’t be long before Zhao Chengye will be appointed as the crown prince. In this way, the wedding of the two will have to be upgraded to a higher standard, and it is unknown how much time it will take just to go through the procedures.
Therefore, the wedding date will not be set too hastily, and they, as sisters and friends, still have time to prepare gifts.
But she can’t say it! She has to pretend that she knows nothing!
"Muhua!"
Pei Shaorong glared at her when she saw that she was also making trouble.
Xu Muhua smiled with her hands covering her lips, "Oh, men should get married when they are old enough, and women should get married when they are old enough. We are all family, why are you still shy! Let’s not talk about you, the others will probably be here soon."
She said this and winked at a few people.
It is true. Among these people, Xu Muhua is the youngest. The others are of the same age. Even Sun Xuehe and Mo Ying were born in the same month. They both just passed the age of 15 not long ago.
Lu Yingzhu is the oldest. She turned 15 at the beginning of the year. I heard that Madam Lu has been in close contact with the wife of a master recently. The other party happens to have an 18-year-old legitimate second son.
However, the marriage between the man and the woman will not be announced until it is finally confirmed, so as to avoid ruining the woman's reputation if it fails in the end.
Lu Yingzhu and Mo Ying were fine, but Sun Xuehe's expression froze for a moment, pursed her lips, and the smile on her face was a little forced.
Her family is also arranging a marriage for her, but her situation is not as good as theirs.
She is of a good family. Her father is the Minister of Rites and she is also a legitimate daughter. But she was not favored, and her parents only had her brother in their eyes and hearts. Seeing that she was about to reach the age of marriage, her father still wanted to use her marriage to plan benefits for himself and the Sun family, and did not consider her lifelong happiness at all.
A few days ago, she accidentally overheard her father and mother discussing that they wanted to marry her to the son of her superior.
But his superior was already in his thirties, and his original wife was dead! The original wife also gave him a legitimate son, who had grown up and was not much younger than her!
How could she accept this?
They were all legitimate daughters, but Arong was still not favored. Her mother was bullied by a concubine in the mansion, but she was betrothed to the fifth prince. And she might be sold by her father soon!
The more he thought about Sun Xuehe, the more uncomfortable he felt. He couldn't help showing some signs on his face.
"Xuehe, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so bad? Are you feeling unwell?"
Mo Ying suddenly asked.
All the eyes of the people fell on Sun Xuehe.
It was clearly a caring look, but Sun Xuehe didn't know why, she always felt that everyone seemed to know that her father wanted to marry her to an old man whose first wife had died and had a legitimate son. She always felt that everyone seemed to pity her.