Shen Wan was displeased, and the others were also puzzled, not understanding why the Emperor had made this arrangement. Even Shen Jing, who prided himself on understanding the Emperor, was baffled.
The Pingyang Marquis's residence was bustling with activity as Shen Wan and Shen Ying got married on the same day, but what about the Ling Prince's residence and the Jin Prince's residence?
The civil and military officials couldn't be in two places at once, so they could only choose one of the two princes to attend the wedding banquet. It was obvious to everyone how the officials would choose between the unfavored Prince Ling and the Prince Jin, who was currently favored by the emperor.
Even if the Emperor dislikes Prince Ling, he wouldn't humiliate his own son like this, especially since Prince Ling married Shen Jing's precious daughter.
What exactly is the Emperor planning to do? Shen Jing finds herself increasingly unable to understand the Emperor.
The others looked at each other in bewilderment.
Seeing that no one had accepted the imperial edict after he finished reading it, the eunuch reminded Shen Jing, "Marquis Pingyang, please accept the edict."
Shen Jing raised both hands above his head and said, "Your subject receives the decree."
The eunuch placed the bright yellow imperial edict in Shen Jing's hand and said with a smile, "Two princesses from one family, and they even got married on the same day. This is the first time in the capital. It is truly a cause for celebration."
The one who came to deliver the imperial decree was Eunuch Yuan, the emperor's trusted advisor. Shen Jing personally saw him off at the residence and asked, "Eunuch Yuan, could you tell me why the emperor ordered Prince Ling and Prince Jin to hold their weddings on the same day?"
Eunuch Yuan didn't hide anything and told the truth, "The Empress felt that the wedding banquet of Prince Jin and Miss Shen should be held first, but after consulting the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, the nearest auspicious day was the 18th of next month. The wedding day of Prince Ling and the eldest daughter had already been set, so it was unreasonable to ask the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion to postpone their wedding. Therefore, she suggested that His Majesty allow the two to marry on the same day. His Majesty thought about it for a while and then agreed."
The Empress's suggestion was clearly revenge for Shen Wan's failure to choose her son Xie Jingyin that day, something the Emperor was well aware of. His agreement to the Empress's suggestion—was it because he was angry that his daughter had chosen Prince Ling? Yet, in recent days, he hadn't sensed any displeasure from the Emperor towards him…
Inside the main hall, the Emperor decreed that Shen Ying be given to Prince Jin as his principal wife, finally putting the old lady's mind at ease. The old lady, who had been anxious for several days, was overjoyed and rewarded the entire Marquis's mansion with two months' wages.
The servants in the manor also benefited from the good fortune, and they were all beaming with joy. The Pingyang Marquis's manor only had four daughters in total. Two of them had become princesses, one was a future duchess, and only the third daughter's marriage was still undecided. Even the fourth daughter would become a duchess in the future, so the third daughter's marriage was sure to be good. No one in the entire capital was as good at marrying off their daughters as the Pingyang Marquis's manor.
Congratulations were endless, and the blush on Shen Ying's face never faded until Shen Rong poured cold water on her, saying, "It's fine if Second Sister gets married first, but if she gets married on the same day as Eldest Sister, her dowry will definitely be inferior to Eldest Sister's."
Shen Wan's dowry, which came from the public funds alone, was four thousand taels more than Shen Ying's. There was also the dowry given by Shen Jing, the dowry left by the Yun family, and the dowry from the Yun family...
Unless the second wife gives all her family's wealth to Shen Ying, she can forget about being able to compare with Shen Wan.
The old lady frowned. After Shen Jing returned from seeing off Eunuch Yuan, the old lady said, "Ying'er and Wan'er are getting married on the same day. Her dowry is too small, which is not good for Prince Jin's reputation. I think the public funds should also prepare for Ying'er according to Wan'er's share. When she gets married, part of Wan'er's dowry should be sent to Prince Ling's residence in advance..."
Shen Jing raised his hand to interrupt the old lady, his face darkening as he said, "The Emperor and Empress insist on setting Prince Jin's wedding on the same day as Prince Ling's. I can't stop them, but I, Shen Jing, will not yield to anyone when it comes to marrying off my daughter!"
The Prince of Ling is his son-in-law. If the Empress doesn't give the Prince of Ling face, it's because she doesn't give Chen Jing face. She also expects his daughter to consider the Prince of Jin's reputation and secretly send the dowry to the Prince of Ling's residence. How could Chen Jing possibly agree to that?
After saying that, Chen Jing turned and left.
In Shen Wan's memory, this was the first time Shen Jing had spoken such harsh words to the old lady, but it was to protect her. Shen Wan's nose tingled with tears.
Shen Wan was so moved that she cried, which made the old lady's face turn ugly. She didn't expect Shen Jing to contradict her in front of so many people, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
After Shen Jing left, Shen Wan also left. Watching her leave, Shen Ying looked at the old lady with a wronged expression, "Grandmother, my eldest uncle only cares about my eldest sister. It's one thing if my dowry is a little less than my eldest sister's, but if it's so much less, people will laugh at me."
The old lady was still seething with anger from Chen Jing's retort. She said, "How could your grandmother possibly wrong you?"
All she wanted to know now was how the Second Madam had persuaded the Empress, and why the Empress wanted Shen Ying and Shen Wan to get married on the same day. She hoped it wasn't what she thought.
The old lady returned to Qinghui Courtyard and drank half a cup of tea when the second wife returned from the palace.
She entered the room with a smile, after all, her daughter could become the Prince of Jin's principal wife. But as soon as she waved her hand to dismiss the maids and servants, the smile on the Second Madam's face vanished.
The old lady knew that what the second wife was about to tell her was not good news.
The second wife told the old lady about the Empress's plan in detail. The old lady frowned and asked, "You agree to this too?"
The second wife pursed her lips and said, "I will not agree. The Empress will not grant Ying'er the position of the principal wife."
After a pause, the second wife said in a cold tone, "Once the imperial decree is issued, Ying'er's position as the principal wife is set in stone. The matter I promised the Empress may not be fulfilled."
...
As for Shen Wan, after returning to Qinglan Garden and drinking a cup of tea, she picked up her embroidery hoop to embroider a belt.
She needed to finish embroidering her elder brother's belt as soon as possible, and then embroider one for Xie Jingyan.
Shen Wan anticipated that her choice of Xie Jingyan would cause him to be resented by Prince Jin and the Empress, but she did not expect the Empress to suppress him in such a devastating way, with the Emperor acting as an accomplice. She had no intention of remarrying in this life, and joining forces with Xie Jingyan was out of necessity. Shen Wan did not care how the wedding banquet turned out, but Xie Jingyan might not care, after all, it was a matter of face.
Shen Wan felt guilty, but there was nothing she could do. All she could do was finish embroidering the belt he wanted as soon as possible.
Inside the room, Shen Wan sat on a small couch embroidering a belt. The belt was already more than half finished and should be completed tonight.
Shen Wan embroidered with great care. Yin Shuang took the tea out and returned, placing the teacup on the small table. She reported, "Miss, the Second Madam has regained control of the household..."
They really couldn't wait. The matter of Shen Ying had just been settled, and they had already taken back the power of housekeeping. However, Shen Wan knew that if Shen Ying hadn't had an accident at the Changshan Prince's Mansion, the Second Madam would have asked the Third Madam to return the power of housekeeping to her the day after she finished copying the Buddhist scriptures.
Shen Wan casually asked, "Did the Third Madam hand it over so readily?"
How could that be? That's the power of housekeeping.
Yinshuang replied, "Third Madam didn't want to hand over the management, saying that Second Miss's wedding was imminent and Second Madam was busy preparing her dowry. She said that since she had nothing to do, she could manage the household for a while longer. Second Madam disagreed, saying that it would be more convenient for her to manage the household and prepare the dowry for Second Miss. Otherwise, she would have to ask Third Madam to buy things for the embroidery workshop. The Old Madam also spoke up for Second Madam. No matter how unwilling Third Madam was, she had no choice but to hand over the management. I heard from the maid that the Old Madam rewarded Third Madam with a pair of mutton-fat jade bracelets to appease her dissatisfaction."
Even the old lady knew that the power to manage the household should not be coveted by the third wife, otherwise it would affect the unity of the brothers. How could the father feel at ease handing over the power to manage the household entirely to the second wife? It would be strange if this did not encourage the second wife's ambition.
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