Chapter 349 Marriage and Education
The New Year celebrations passed in the blink of an eye, and the imperial court resumed normal operations.
Since the emperor's health had returned to normal, Shen Cong no longer acted as regent and returned to Jingxing Academy to study.
In February, as the weather gradually warmed up, another joyous event was announced in the palace.
A beautiful woman was diagnosed with a one-month pregnancy.
The emperor was overjoyed and immediately promoted the beauty to the rank of Jieyu, promising that she would be promoted another rank if she gave birth to a prince.
Empress Xue was furious, but dared not retaliate. She could only keep reminding Shen Xu to behave well in front of the emperor every day.
The day after the beauty was diagnosed with pregnancy, the emperor transferred Zhao Hong from the Ministry of Works to the position of Vice Minister of Personnel.
Although it appears to be a lateral transfer in terms of rank, the positions of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel are not comparable.
The Ministry of Works was the core of the imperial court.
Zhao Hong knelt down excitedly to express his gratitude, knowing that the secret recipe for conceiving a child had worked.
Zhao Hongsheng was appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and his daughter Zhao Wanqing was studying at Jingxing Academy. She was also the savior of the eldest prince, Shen Xu.
The Zhao family's residence was suddenly bustling with visitors, and Song Hui received many invitations from ladies of high social standing.
That evening, Song Hui looked at the row of invitations on the table and couldn't stop smiling.
After being reborn, things went smoothly for the first few years. But in the last two years, she suffered a lot at the hands of that brat Li Nanke, which made her wonder whether her rebirth was a blessing from heaven or a prank.
Now, the bitterness has finally turned into sweetness.
It wasn't a wasted rebirth!
"I knew God was on my side."
Song Hui muttered to herself with delight.
"What did Mother say?"
Zhao Wanqing asked, puzzled.
Song Hui snapped out of her daze, smiled, shook her head, and ran her fingers over the rows of invitations in front of her.
"Qing'er, take a look at these posts. Whichever house you want to visit, we'll go there."
Zhao Wanqing looked at each one, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.
"The Marquis of Changping's residence, the Duke of Xue's residence, the Left Prime Minister's residence, and heavens, even the Princess's residence..."
She looked at Song Hui excitedly, "Are all these people inviting us to their homes? Can I go to whichever house I want?"
Song Hui nodded.
"Of course, now that your father is favored, we can go to whichever house we want."
Zhao Wanqing pointed to one of the photos.
“I want to go to the Princess’s residence. I heard that there is a large locust tree there that is several hundred years old. My daughter wants to see it.”
Song Hui disagreed.
"What's so interesting about a broken locust tree? If you ask me, we absolutely have to go to this place."
Song Hui picked out a post from the list.
"This is an invitation from the Marquis of Changping's residence. It's an invitation to the wedding banquet of the Marquis of Changping's heir. The Marquis's residence is forming a marriage alliance with the Duke of Xue's residence. Let's go and have some wedding wine."
Zhao Wanqing pursed her lips reluctantly.
What are some good drinks at wedding banquets?
But she didn’t dare to refute Song Hui, and only dared to mutter to herself: “I see the young master and young lady of the Feng family every day at Jingxing Courtyard, so there’s no point in going to their house for a banquet.”
Song Hui frowned.
"What do you know? The Xue family is the maternal family of the eldest prince. The Xue family is marrying into the Changping Marquis family, so we must go and drink this wedding wine."
Not only must we attend the wedding banquet, but we also need to present a generous gift. Only then can we be considered to have firmly sided with the First Prince.
Zhao Wanqing looked completely bewildered.
"What do you mean by standing on the Crown Prince's side?"
"You're still too young to understand, so I'm just asking you: do you want a better life in the future?"
Zhao Wanqing nodded emphatically.
She had embarrassed herself when choosing a study companion, and the ladies and daughters of wealthy families laughed at her behind her back and refused to play with her.
It wasn't until she became the Crown Prince's savior and entered Jingxing Academy that the daughters of wealthy and powerful families began to take her seriously again.
She never wanted to experience being ridiculed and despised again.
"Mother, I want a better life!"
Song Hui smiled.
"Then you must become someone superior to others, someone who is looked up to by others."
How can one become someone others look up to?
Song Hui patted her shoulder, "As long as you listen to your mother and do what she tells you, don't worry, one day you will definitely become someone that everyone looks up to!"
Zhao Wanqing seemed to understand but not quite, but she still nodded.
“I will listen to Mother, let’s go to the wedding banquet at the Marquis of Changping’s residence.”
Similarly, the Marquis of Anping's residence also received a celebratory banquet from the Marquis of Changping's residence.
Song Yi held up the post and asked Li Nanke about it.
"Ke'er, do you think we should go to the wedding banquet at the Marquis of Changping's residence?"
Li Nanke shook his head.
"Father went to another place to investigate the river channel. It's just my mother and me at home. Our family doesn't have much interaction with the Feng family."
Send someone to deliver a simple congratulatory gift, something that won't be criticized.
Song Yi hesitated for a moment.
"The second young master of the Feng family and the fourth young lady of the Feng family are studying at Jingxing Academy with you. Would it be inappropriate if we didn't go?"
Li Nanke shook his head.
"I am not familiar with Feng Yaojie and Feng Yuzhen, and we rarely talk to each other. There is no need to deliberately consider this relationship."
The marriage between the Feng and Xue families is tantamount to binding the Feng family to the Crown Prince Shen Xu. If we were to formally offer our congratulations, it would be as if we too were on the Crown Prince's side.
"Mother, are you sure our family needs to take sides right now?"
Song Yi's lips moved as she murmured, "But...but His Majesty only has one son, the First Prince. Even if we side with the First Prince, it's...not wrong, is it?"
Could it be... that we have another team to join?
Of course!
Li Nanke thought to herself, she would never stand on Shen Xu's side in her entire life!
She and Shen Cong were already on the same boat!
But he couldn't say these things to Song Yi, so he could only hold her hand and smile, "Father told you before he left that if you have any doubts, listen to me."
Regardless of whether other teams are on our side, we're not going to the wedding banquet at the Marquis of Changping's residence.
Song Yi felt dizzy from being shaken, and smiled as she tapped the tip of her nose.
"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say, alright?"
On February 26th, Xue Shu, dressed in her finest attire, married into the Changping Marquis's mansion, becoming the heir apparent's wife.
The Xue family gave Xue Shu a dowry of 128 loads, and the Marquis of Changping's mansion also gave Xue Shu a very respectable occasion. The entire wedding banquet was held in a very grand manner.
Empress Xue and Shen Xu personally attended to offer their congratulations, and it was said that the wedding banquet at the Marquis of Changping's residence lasted until the afternoon.
Li Nanke didn't pay much attention; she packed some of the camphor she had made herself and went to the Xuan Prince's residence.
Besides studying at Jingxing Academy, Shen Cong has spent most of his time recuperating at the Prince's Mansion these days.
Guiliu devised a strict regimen for him, meticulously overseeing everything from his diet to his daily needs.
After two months, the frequency of vomiting blood has decreased significantly, and the condition has temporarily stabilized.
Li Nanke made some more borneol incense, thinking of giving it to Chen Cong to try.
"Miss Ke'er has arrived. The Prince is in his study. Please come in."
Since Erfeng was not at the Prince's residence, the servants there were used to Li Nanke's frequent visits and led her directly to Shen Cong's study.
As soon as he reached the door of the study, Li Nanke's nose twitched slightly, and he keenly smelled the aroma of wine.
"Ninth Brother has been drinking?"
She frowned, pushed open the door, and was taken aback when she saw who was inside.
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