Chapter 4
The night was dark and the flickering candlelight illuminated the gloomy and depressing ancestral hall.
In front of the ancestors of the Chu family, a young girl was lying on the floor in a very ungraceful manner, snoring.
At this time, the window in the corner of the side of the ancestral hall was pushed open, and a maid came in with a food box in her arms, and tiptoed to the girl's side.
"Princess." Chu He gently woke Chu Miaomiao up, "Get up and eat something before going back to sleep."
Chu Miaomiao sat up in a daze, yawned loudly, took the pork elbow handed to her by Chu He, and complained softly: "Why did you send the food here just now? I'm almost starving."
Chu He was helpless: "No one in our courtyard is allowed to enter the kitchen. It was only with the help of the Crown Prince's Consort that I was able to get this little midnight snack. I quickly brought it to you."
As she spoke, Chu He turned around to look at the two figures reflected on the closed ancestral hall door. "It seems that the prince and princess are really angry this time. There was no one guarding you before. The prince was like that today. I was afraid he would kill you with a knife."
Recalling the King of Chu's furious look, Chu Miaomiao subconsciously shrank her head, feeling quite scared: "Me too."
"What should I do? You won't really get married like this, will you?"
In response to Chu He's worries, Chu Miaomiao waved his hand and said, "Impossible."
Chu He was suspicious: "Are you so sure?"
Chu Miaomiao nodded.
As the master and servant were chatting idly, they suddenly heard the door of the ancestral hall being pushed open with a "creak". They both turned their heads and saw Wei Zhen walking in.
Chu Miaomiao's public forced marriage was absurd, nearly pissing her parents off. However, since Wei Zhen was a guest, and he was a distinguished and elegant man, and innocently implicated in this absurd incident, the Chu King and his wife felt guilty and invited him to stay at the palace for a few more days, treating him as a distinguished guest.
Although he was unhappy about being forced into marriage on the street for no apparent reason, when he saw Chu Miaomiao being sent to the ancestral hall to kneel as punishment, and learned that the prince and princess had cut off her food, he couldn't help but feel a little pity for her.
But when he went to the kitchen to get some snacks to send to the ancestral hall, he opened the door to see Chu Miaomiao happily chewing on an elbow. Perhaps she was surprised by his appearance, her eyes widened.
It seems that the snacks he prepared are useless.
Wei Zhen put his hands behind his back and walked into the ancestral hall. The maid who was guarding the door closed tightly again.
He glanced at the tablets of the Chu family's ancestors, then glanced at Chu Miaomiao, who was chewing meat with big mouthfuls, and said lightly: "Unfilial descendants."
Chu Miaomiao rolled her eyes and turned away: "Mind your own business."
Chu He looked at this cheap son-in-law who was kidnapped from the street, then looked at her own princess, and obediently stepped aside.
"Don't worry, Mr. Tang, this marriage will definitely not be successful."
Before Wei Zhen could speak, Chu Miaomiao made a promise to him: "Just stay in the palace for two days peacefully. It will be of some benefit to you."
This was quite interesting. Wei Zhen raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"
"Firstly, since you are a foreign merchant, this marriage is doomed to fail."
Chu Miaomiao felt full, so she took out a handkerchief and wiped her fingers carefully.
"Secondly, you've explained clearly that you were just an innocent passerby who was dragged into the palace by me. My parents still feel a little guilty about you. If you want to settle down and do business in Pingzhou City in the future, seeing what happened today, they will help you."
Wei Zhen nodded, his analysis was quite logical.
Here, Chu Miaomiao and Wei Zhen were talking very logically, while over there, the King of Chu and his son Chu Xinxiu were seriously discussing the marriage.
"Dad, I asked a friend about it. The Tang family in Changzhou is very powerful in the silk and satin business. They are one of the richest families in the area. If we can establish a connection with such a family, wouldn't our financial problems be solved?"
The King of Chu seemed a little hesitant: "But a family like ours marrying into a merchant family..."
"Can Chu Miaomiao marry into a prominent family with her current status?" Chu Xinxiu curled his lips, his face filled with disdain. "If word gets out about her being forced into marriage today, which respectable family would be willing to marry her? Why not make the best of a bad situation and marry into the Tang family? Then we'll have money."
"What if Mr. Tang disagrees?"
Chu Xinxiu was delighted: "When our great cause is accomplished, I will promote his family members to be officials. I don't believe he won't be tempted."
The King of Chu was also moved by his son's words, but because of the princess's face, he did not dare to make a decision just yet: "I'm afraid the princess..."
"Dad! This palace belongs to the Prince of Chu! It's not the Princess of Chu's palace! You have the final say on all matters big and small in this family! What's the point of being a princess? Doesn't she still have to listen to you in the end?"
The King of Chu, who was completely dazed by Chu Xinxiu's words, slammed his hand on the table and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say!"
*
"Marry into the wife's family?"
After hearing the news from his men, Wei Zhen laughed out loud: "This Chu Palace is really not simple."
When the Ministry of Revenue was tallying up national tax revenue, it discovered a minor problem in Pingzhou. It could have been easily dismissed, but news also arrived that the King of Chu might be harboring rebellious intentions. The Sage then ordered the Crown Prince to conduct an incognito visit to Pingzhou to investigate the situation.
Therefore, Wei Zhen entered Pingzhou under the identity of a descendant of the Tang family in Changzhou, and made a visit on the pretext of conducting business investigations. However, the speed of the progress was beyond his expectations.
Wei Zhen, the crown prince of the past dynasty, was now going to become the son-in-law of the Prince of Chu?
It's ridiculous!
"Your Highness, should we withdraw now?"
Wei Zhen lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment: "No rush, let's see what the King of Chu is up to."
At the same time, Chu Miaomiao also received the same news and was shocked beyond words.
Chu He was still describing it vividly: "The prince and the princess had a huge argument, and I heard they even came to blows! When the little girl in the princess's courtyard saw the prince come out, she scratched her face several times."
"ha."
Chu Miaomiao, still in shock, uttered meaningless syllables in response.
"In the end, it was the princess who asked Mr. Tang to marry into her family, and only then did he reluctantly agree to the marriage."
"ha."
"Princess, you promised Master Tang that this marriage wouldn't happen. How are you going to explain this to him now?"
Chu Miaomiao held her forehead with her hand: "How could I have imagined that my father really doesn't act according to common sense!"
"It may be disrespectful to say this, but if the prince really acted according to common sense, he would not have married an actress into his family," Chu He muttered.
"What should I do now..." Chu Miaomiao covered her face.
This is terrible. She has completely ruined herself and Tang Zhen. What does it mean to be trapped in one's own cocoon? This is a cocoon for oneself!
When Chu Miaomiao was regretting her wrong prediction, Chu Xinxiu and his son came to find Wei Zhen. Especially Chu Xinxiu, who had been beaten up by Wei Zhen's guards not long ago, was not as arrogant as before, but was extremely attentive.
Chu Xinxiu and his son went to find Wei Zhen, naturally for his marriage with Chu Miaomiao.
"Although you may be from a merchant family, the Tang family of Changzhou is also a prestigious family." The King of Chu stroked his beard with a smile, and looked at his future son-in-law with great satisfaction. "If you are willing to marry into the Chu Palace, we can join forces and achieve great things in the future."
The King of Chu is really confused as to how the royal palace would marry a merchant.
Wei Zhen sneered in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He just kept a distant smile and declined politely: "I am just a businessman. Such status is really not worthy of the palace. I am afraid that I will make you laugh in the future."
"It's hard to predict what will happen in the future. Who knows who will laugh at whom," Chu Xinxiu echoed. "If our two families marry, we'll just gain some face. It will be a hundred benefits for you, young master, with no harm at all."
Are all the Chu family members so interesting in their conversation?
Wei Zhen found it amusing, and then acted extremely interested, as if he was persuaded by the benefits Chu Xinxiu mentioned: "I am all ears."
"After the marriage, our two families will become one. Who would dare to offend you when you do business in Pingzhou?" Chu Xinxiu smiled complacently. "With a longer-term vision, perhaps one day all the children of the Tang family will be able to serve as officials in the imperial court."
Merchants held the lowest status in the dynasty. Their sons were not allowed to take the imperial examinations or become officials, and were forced to remain merchants for generations. Chu Xinxiu had the audacity to offer such conditions, suggesting the news he had received might not be groundless.
Wei Zhen felt he couldn't appear too eager at this moment, as that would only arouse suspicion. After a long silence, he looked at the King of Chu and his son suspiciously, "Are you serious?"
"certainly."
Despite the King of Chu and his son's confidence, Wei Zhen still pretended to be unconvinced. "Marriage is a matter of great importance and should be decided by our parents and elders. Please wait for me to write a letter and send it back home. If my parents agree, I will come to Pingzhou to pay my respects."
Although he didn't directly agree, it was clear that this young master Tang was already interested. The King of Chu and his son praised him repeatedly, and treated Wei Zhen even more warmly.
In order to show his trust in his future brother-in-law and to demonstrate the power of the Chu Palace, Chu Xinxiu took Wei Zhen to various social events to pave the way for his future business in Pingzhou City.
Out of respect for the Chu Palace, everyone was naturally attentive to Wei Zhen, praising Chu Xinxiu and the Chu Palace to the skies. These flatteries made Chu Xinxiu even more complacent, and he felt that the marriage was a done deal, so he made a bold decision.
In the forest outside Pingzhou City, hidden in the shade of a mountain, there is a cave. Inside the cave, many craftsmen in heavy clothes are busy smelting iron and forging swords.
Ding-ling-clang-dang, the red-hot sword blank was hammered one after another; on the other side, a craftsman heated the hammered sword again and then quickly put it back into cold water, with a crackling sound and white steam rising.
This is a workshop that secretly manufactures weapons.
Wei Zhen was secretly shocked.
No wonder Pingzhou is in trouble. I'm afraid the King of Chu has secretly turned the mines controlled by the court into his own private property. This is strong evidence that the King of Chu has rebellious intentions!
"My dear brother, when we become a family, will you still worry about the day when the Tang family will not prosper?"
Wei Zhen just smiled and said nothing.
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