Chapter 104 Ignore Her
"Do you know what the Crown Princess meant just now?" Cui Jingshu asked condescendingly, with a look of disdain and complacency on her face, as if she thought Jiang Lan was too shallow to understand the deeper meaning of the Crown Princess' words. She cleared her throat and prepared to let her listen carefully to her opinion.
"The Crown Princess wants you and me to make peace," Jiang Lan said calmly, "but peace cannot be made. We'll just have to keep our distance from each other from now on."
Although the Crown Princess did not say it explicitly, she only mentioned that there were some misunderstandings between the two, but she must have known about the incident of falling into the water. She advised the two to put aside their past grudges and shake hands and make peace. It was also for the Crown Prince's sake. She did not want the two families to have a rift and fight openly and secretly.
She understood the logic, but the emotion was another matter. The other party had hurt her twice and asked her to be tolerant and generous to accept the other party. Unless she was mentally ill, she would get revenge for these two debts sooner or later.
"Who wants to make peace with you?" Cui Jingshu rolled her eyes, and the next moment she looked surprised, as if she had seen a ghost.
Jiang Lan followed her gaze and saw that Lord Zheng and his family, Madam Zheng and Zheng Qian'er had all arrived.
Zheng Qianer's face looked more delicate and fair than before, without any scars left on it.
Seeing that the face was not only fine but also a little more beautiful than before, Cui Jingshu felt surprised and confused, angry and unwilling... Her nails gradually dug into the flesh, and her face became gloomy.
Zheng Qian'er also looked over, her eyes filled with hatred and hostility when they fell on Cui Jingshu's face, and she wanted to seek revenge on her on the spot. Madam Zheng called her and whispered a few words to persuade her before Zheng Qian'er withdrew her gaze.
Cui Jingshu saw that Zheng Qianer also felt it was unlucky and walked away with a cold face.
After taking her seat, Cui Jingshu glanced towards Zheng Qianer from time to time, and always met Zheng Qianer's gaze as if she were looking at an enemy, which made her very uncomfortable, and she wanted to dig out the other person's eyes to vent her anger!
After Qi Wuhan took Jiang Lan to a seat, he asked gently, "What did the Crown Princess tell you?"
"The Crown Princess praised me for being pretty and said that it was a blessing for you to marry such a beautiful and virtuous woman like me~" Jiang Lan raised her chin with a proud look.
Qi Wuhan smiled and said lovingly: "It is my great blessing~"
"It's also my blessing~" Jiang Lan smiled, with a sweet smile between her eyebrows.
"Your Majesty, look~" The Queen led the Emperor up to see how the two of them were interacting, praising them with a smile, "Your Majesty's original arrangement of their marriage was a match made in heaven."
Prince Rui glanced at the two of them, and seeing their affectionate scene, he picked up the wine glass and took a sip of wine, his eyes becoming a little sinister.
"I tried to arrange a marriage for him several times before, but he refused. I thought he was planning to remain single for the rest of his life. I never thought he would turn over a new leaf one day. Seeing him like this, I wish I could tie this young lady of his to my belt~" On this great day of family reunion, the emperor was happier than usual and even joked with the queen, which not only made the queen laugh, but also made Concubine Rong next to her laugh.
Only Concubine Zhen couldn't smile. Seeing the two of them being so affectionate, she felt like being stabbed in the heart. She looked at Jiang Lan with such cold and vicious eyes that it seemed as if she wanted to rip her heart out. She wished she could be beaten to death on the spot.
Jiang Lan also felt the chill of being stared at. When she turned to look at Concubine Zhen, Qi Wuhan held her hand and said, "Ignore her." Jiang Lan nodded and said "hmm" without looking in that direction. She knew that he definitely wanted to kill her with his eyes. Every second he looked at her would make her feel more upset. Why bother making herself unhappy?
"Don't be angry, Your Majesty. The Marquis is just acting according to the situation." Hong Gu whispered to comfort Concubine Zhen as she bent down to pour wine for her.
Concubine Zhen sneered, "Some people just don't learn from their mistakes. They try to make their fake play real. How ridiculous."
"Your Majesty is right. Such an idiot is not worth your anger." Hong Gu echoed.
Concubine Zhen hummed coquettishly. Seeing that the emperor and the empress were talking happily, she picked up the wine glass to toast the emperor. The emperor drank a glass with her, and then drank a glass with Concubine Rong. He also reminded Concubine Rong to take care of herself.
After talking to His Majesty for a few more words, Concubine Rong seemed much more energetic.
Concubine Zhen looked coldly at Concubine Rong's smug look, curled her red lips and sneered, feeling that Concubine Rong was really pitiful. She was old and ugly, and she was so happy that she almost lost her mind when she could even talk to the emperor. She must have been alone in the empty room for too long, and her bedroom must have become like the cold palace.
Then the Queen brought up a topic and told His Majesty that Prince Fu and Prince An were not young anymore, and mentioned that the Crown Prince and Prince Rui also got married when they were about the same age.
The emperor looked at Prince Fu, then at Prince An, and nodded, "It's time to get married."
From the moment he heard the word "marriage", Prince Fu kept his head down, as if he didn't want to face reality, but what is coming will always come.
The Queen mentioned that Cui Jingshu and Zheng Qian'er were still waiting to be married and had not yet been betrothed. Both of them were talented and beautiful, and were proficient in everything from playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.
His Majesty nodded.
Princess Pingyang signaled Cui Jingshu to go and see the emperor. No matter how reluctant Cui Jingshu was, she did not dare to disobey. When she stood up, she met Zheng Qianer's provocative eyes. The two exchanged glances for a second, then lowered their heads and left their seats, and came to the emperor and the queen to pay their respects.
The emperor looked at Prince Fu and Prince An again. Seeing that Prince Fu was still burying his head like an ostrich, he coughed and said, "Why are you lowering your head?"
Prince Fu raised his head a little, looking discouraged and resigned.
He had to get married even if he didn't want to, and he had to marry her even if she didn't want to. After all, he was a prince, and his marriage was not his own decision.
Jiang Lan felt a little sympathetic towards him. The woman he married was not only not gentle and virtuous, but also had someone else in her heart. This Fifth Prince was really unlucky...
Prince An looked calm and peaceful from beginning to end, and it was impossible to tell whether he was satisfied or dissatisfied with the marriage. However, since it was an arranged marriage, according to his personality, he would only accept it silently and would never disobey the emperor's order.
The emperor saw that the four people looked very well-matched together, so he granted their marriage on the spot.
Prince An and Zheng Qian'er accepted the decree and expressed their gratitude.
Prince Rui and Cui Jingshu were both a beat slow. They only reacted after hearing the two people's voices of thanks and thanked together, as if they had just woken up from a dream.
The more reluctant Cui Jingshu was, the happier Zheng Qianer felt.
Before, she had only wanted to be Princess An, and now the position was hers. How could Zheng Qian'er not be happy and proud? In the future, when they were on equal footing, she would have plenty of opportunities to settle accounts with her. Just wait and see!
After the emperor granted the marriage to Prince Fu and Prince An, Concubine Zhen asked Hong Gu to tell the emperor that she was a little drunk and wanted to sober up.
Afterwards, Concubine Zhen took Hong Gu away. Before leaving, she glanced in the direction of Jiang Lan and a charming sneer appeared on her red lips.
After a while, a palace maid came over and whispered something to Qi Wuhan. His face suddenly became extremely cold and gloomy. Jiang Lan also heard it. The palace maid did not avoid her and it was obvious that she was saying it on purpose for her to hear.
"Believe it or not, I will go and tell His Majesty and the Empress right now that you falsely conveyed the Empress's order and tried to trick my Marquis out." Jiang Lan pretended to stand up, scaring the palace maid so much that her face turned pale. She shouted in a low voice, "Hurry up and leave!" Qi Wuhan glanced at her, and the palace maid immediately left tremblingly.
"There's really nothing between her and me. We've never spoken to each other alone, let alone met alone." Qi Wuhan explained with a serious look on his face. He didn't want to be perfunctory at all, and he wanted to show her his heart. Jiang Lan nodded trustingly and repeated what he had said before, "Ignore her."
She wanted to make her unhappy, but she insisted on spending the New Year happily, leaving her alone to be unhappy.
Here, Concubine Zhen was leaning on the railing, looking gentle and seductive. When she caught a glimpse of someone coming, her posture became even more charming, like an enchanting mandala, exuding a poisonous fragrance.
"You're here~" The voice was as charming as honey mixed with poison.
With a thud, the palace maid knelt on the ground and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me..." Her voice was trembling with fear, and she didn't dare to lift her head up from the ground.
Concubine Zhen turned around and saw that no one had come. Her expression instantly became extremely sinister. "You useless thing, you wouldn't even pass on a message when I asked you to. Why am I still keeping you here?"
"It was...it was Marquis Qi's wife who threatened me..." The maid hesitated for a moment, then was scolded by Hong Gu, and immediately blurted out the rest of the words, "She said she would go to the Emperor and the Empress and report me, saying that I had used the Empress's order to trick the Marquis out."
"It seems that if I don't show her some power, she won't know her place." Concubine Zhen raised her hand to look at the scarlet Dan Kou and said lightly, "Since she has turned a deaf ear to my words, I can no longer keep her."
"Your Majesty, please think twice," Hong Gu advised. "After all, it was the Emperor who granted the marriage. If the person really dies, I'm afraid the Emperor will blame the Marquis."
"Then what do you think we should do?" Concubine Zhen said unhappily.
Hong Gu replied, "When the Marquis goes to war, if anything happens to anyone, it won't be the Marquis's fault."
…
After the banquet, Qi Wuhan took Jiang Lan to a place.
On the city wall, Qi Wuhan wrapped Jiang Lan in his cloak and watched the starry sky and the lights of thousands of homes with her.
Jiang Lan had never stood at such a high place to see the brilliant stars and lights. The vastness of the world in her eyes seemed to make her cast aside all her worries.
"Did you often come here alone before?" She looked up at him, her eyes shining like stars. "I'll come with you from now on."
"Okay, we'll come together next time." He smiled gently, and peach blossoms seemed to bloom in his eyes.
When Qi Wuhan looked up at the stars and the moon in the sky, Jiang Lan clasped her hands together in his arms, closed her eyes and made a wish.
I wish my husband to live a long life and grow old with me.
Second, I wish my brother good health and peace.
Third, I wish for peace in the world and no more wars.
…
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