betrothal
Jiang Chaoyu put the pastries back in her hand and quietly turned them around. She then looked around to make sure no one was watching her.
I tried to make it look like I hadn't been disturbed, but because I was so hungry earlier, I ate a few pieces, so it's still quite obvious now.
Jiang Chaoyu prayed inwardly that she wouldn't be called out later. Besides, she'd never seen eating pastries as a symbol of marriage before.
No wonder the pastries are shaped like peach blossoms; they're meant to attract romance. No wonder not a single woman in the room touched them, even though some stomachs were rumbling.
Upon seeing this, Prime Minister Jiang assumed that Jiang Chaoyu was interested, so he planned to have the Zhang family propose marriage after the dance ended. He glanced at Zhang Chengfu.
Jiang Chaoyu was still regretting eating the peach blossom cake and didn't notice anything else.
However, Zeng Chenhua, in his high position, noticed the exchange between the two. He curled his lips and looked at Jiang Chaoyu. The peach blossom cake on the table had indeed been touched, and she still looked guilty. It seemed that this was her first time attending such a banquet and she was unaware of the etiquette.
The song and dance in front of her was a bit boring, so Jiang Chaoyu looked around and saw Zeng Chenhua staring straight at her. Then his gaze moved down, indicating that the plate of pastries in front of her had been switched with the tea, so that the pastries were now in the dark.
When you look up again, look directly at yourself, as if to indicate that you are doing so.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Chaoyu understood and switched the positions of her teapot and pastries. However, since a lot of the pastries had been eaten, someone who looked closely would still notice.
Helplessly, he shrugged slightly at Zeng Chenhua, his lips turning down.
Seeing this, Zeng Chenhua signaled to Shanyao to have someone replace Jiang Chaoyu's pastry with a completely new one, but they had to do it discreetly.
Therefore, we had no choice but to focus our efforts on dance.
Seeing that everyone on the stage was standing together and the dance was about to end, Yam walked forward, wearing a mask, with a mouthful of wine in his mouth, and placed a tinderbox next to his mouth. He then spat it out forcefully, and with the help of the fire on the tinderbox, it made a loud noise as it collided, attracting everyone's attention.
Even Jiang Chaoyu's gaze was drawn to it, but when someone approached her, she could still sense it. Turning her gaze, she saw a palace maid holding a plate of pastries.
The flames that shot out illuminated the main hall, and the dancers on the side joined in the dance, creating a wonderful performance that drew cheers and applause from everyone.
This kind of performance was unprecedented in Beijing, which is why Shanyao used it to attract everyone's attention. Sure enough, the audience's reaction showed that she had succeeded.
By the light of the fire, only three people noticed that the pastries on Jiang Chaoyu's table had been replaced.
Zeng Chenhua watched Jiang Chaoyu's reaction intently, noticing her eyes lighting up and her face beaming as she was captivated by the dazzling firelight. He was also amazed by her reaction; she managed to detach herself from the spectacle and notice the actions of those around her.
Jiang Yuyao watched as a palace maid sneaked over to change the clothes, a slight smile playing on her lips. She looked to the other side and, sure enough, it was her.
The second prince was gazing at Jiang Chaoyu with deep affection, perhaps unaware of it himself.
Jiang Yuyao picked up the teacup on the table, took a small sip of the tea, and found it slightly bitter at first, but then tasted sweet.
Jiang Yuyao looked at Jiang Chaoyu, who was happy at the moment, and didn't know how to react. Perhaps she felt a little bittersweet.
After the dance ended, the person in the highest position reacted the most enthusiastically, clapping and saying repeatedly, "Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" The others echoed, and the whole audience burst into enthusiastic applause.
“I have never seen such a wonderful performance in the capital. You are the first.” He pointed directly at the dancers in front of him and the masked man.
The emperor was very pleased and ordered a reward of 10,000 taels of gold and a large quantity of silk.
These gifts delighted the dancers. They were so grateful to this woman who appeared out of nowhere; without her fire magic, she probably wouldn't have been so popular.
"However, could the masked woman remove her mask so that I may see her true face?"
Before taking the throne, Shan Yao knew that the dead emperor would say this, so she took a rash medicine, saying, "My face is ugly, I fear I will frighten the emperor."
Yam knelt down immediately, leaning low to the ground.
But the emperor, unwilling to give up until he saw the real face, insisted, "It's nothing!"
He leaned forward, wanting to get a closer look at the woman's face, hoping to take her into his harem if she was beautiful.
Upon hearing this, Yam slowly raised her head and gradually removed her mask. However, just as her forehead was revealed, a cluster of red rashes appeared, so dense that some people felt nauseous at the sight, but dared not show it in front of the Emperor, otherwise it would be a capital offense.
The emperor, having only seen a glimpse of her, also felt somewhat disgusted. He knew the woman's true appearance must be utterly repulsive, so he quickly ordered a halt and told her to take her back.
He lay back on the dragon throne. He had thought she was a stunning beauty, but she turned out to be a poisonous thorn.
Yam was delighted, after all, she had taken a much larger dose, and the medicine worked quickly; in no time, her face naturally looked like this.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you for your reward."
But Jiang Chaoyu found the woman's back view very familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before. She stared intently in the direction the woman had gone, trying to figure out who she was.
As she turned around, Jiang Chaoyu looked into her eyes. The moment their eyes met, her pupils dilated instantly. Jiang Chaoyu recognized her. She was Shanyao from the Second Prince's residence, the woman who had saved her back then.
The woman nodded at him, as if exchanging greetings, and he responded with a slight smile.
"You know him?"
Jiang Yuyao's voice came from the side. Jiang Chaoyu came back to her senses, shook her head and said, "I don't know her."
Looking down, she realized her pastries had been replaced. She glanced at them before pretending to be captivated by the fire-breathing display, even though she'd seen it countless times. Now, everything was neatly arranged. She looked up at Zeng Chenhua, feigning confusion. Could this be his doing?
But Zeng Chenhua just smiled at her, and Jiang Chaoyu knew the answer in her heart. This guess was his doing. If that's the case, then she should accept it.
Something was bound to happen today. Seeing her father exchanging glances with the people from the Zhang family, Jiang Chaoyu thought to herself, "It must be about getting me married."
I've never seen a father so eager to get married. What exactly does he want?
etc!
The Zhang residence?!
This seems to be Zhang Chengfu's residence, but the woman I met earlier also seemed to be from Zhang's residence.
So it's just that woman's house, isn't it?!
However, the marriage partner is Zhang Xunyan, and the Zhang family has some kind of leverage over the father.
In terms of official rank, the Prime Minister's mansion is the highest; in terms of seniority, Prime Minister Jiang also has the advantage, even his eldest son from a concubine doesn't seem to have any ambition. What exactly is Father plotting, unless someone really has some leverage over him?
"Don't bother looking, you'll find out later."
Jiang Yuyao, who was standing to the side, knew about Jiang Chaoyu's confusion. She had once hated her father, but she had kept that hatred hidden in her heart and slowly buried it. However, she knew that it would explode one day, so Jiang Yuyao was enduring it for now.
"But, sister..."
"No buts! What if we say any more and people notice us?" Jiang Yuyao was right. If they noticed us, we'd be finished.
After the dance ended, it was time for the marriages between the officials. Just as Zhang Chengfu was about to get up, Zeng Chenhua, leaning on his jade cane, stood up first and stood in front of the emperor to pay his respects.
"Your Majesty, I have a request that I cannot make."
At this moment, neither Zhang Chengfu nor Prime Minister Jiang realized the seriousness of the problem. Seeing that the Second Prince had stood up first, Zhang Chengfu naturally sat back down, thinking he would get up and explain later.
Only Jiang Chaoyu's heart was beating a little fast at this moment. She seemed to know what Zeng Chenhua was going to do, but the more she knew, the more uneasy she became. She held her hands tightly, watching Zeng Chenhua's every move, and seeing his every word and action jumping in her heart.
The emperor was very curious to see his second son in front of him. He hadn't seen him much since his leg injury, and he was quite surprised that his son was able to attend the grand spring banquet today.
Because of his leg injury, the emperor exempted him from kneeling and allowed him to speak while leaning on his jade cane.
"What is it for?"
"Your subject wishes to marry someone."
These words caused an uproar in the hall, with everyone discussing who this person was and how he could have won the favor of the Second Prince.
At this moment, Prime Minister Jiang and Jiang Yuyao began to realize that something was wrong. Jiang Yuyao looked at Jiang Chaoyu and found that she was extremely nervous and staring intently at Zeng Chenhua on the field. Jiang Yuyao then realized that the Second Prince's feelings had not subsided.
At this moment, Zhang Chengfu was also waiting for the Second Prince to reveal his beloved, but seeing that Prime Minister Jiang's expression was somewhat off, he couldn't help but guess that it might be his eldest daughter. As for his second daughter, she was frail and sickly, and few people had ever seen her face, not even himself, let alone had any man interested in her. Therefore, he was quite confident about this marriage. As long as she wasn't ugly, it was acceptable for his eldest son to marry her.
The emperor, high above, was also pondering who this person was.
Jiang Yuyao suddenly grabbed Jiang Chaoyu's hand and said in a low voice without any politeness, "Jiang Chaoyu, when did this happen?"
After being pulled, Jiang Chaoyu was a little confused. When Jiang Yuyao asked her a question, she was even more puzzled, her brows furrowed, not understanding what Jiang Yuyao meant.
"When did you start flirting with the Second Prince again?" he asked, seeing that she didn't understand.
Jiang Chaoyu didn't know how to explain what had happened. Jiang Yuyao was holding her hand and it hurt a little. She tried to struggle to get it off but to no avail. Jiang Chaoyu stared at Jiang Yuyao, whose eyes were full of anger. Jiang Chaoyu was very puzzled.
Why is she so angry? Isn't it a happy thing for her to marry into the household of this lame prince? Why is it different from what she thought?
"I don't understand what you mean, sister?"
After saying this, Jiang Chaoyu tried her best to break free from Jiang Yuyao's hand.
"The second young lady of the Prime Minister's residence."
These words left countless people even more bewildered. The second young lady had been frail for years, and very few had ever seen her. She was kept hidden away by Prime Minister Jiang, and even now, with her present, no one recognized her. Some only guessed whether the person next to her was indeed the frail second young lady based on the seat of the eldest young lady, but no one dared to be certain.
To everyone's surprise, the Second Prince immediately announced his intention to marry Miss Jiang.
However, if they want to join forces with the Prime Minister's Mansion, the eldest daughter seems to be more sought after, but it's unclear why she remains unmarried.
Zhang Chengfu was also surprised and looked directly at Prime Minister Jiang, asking with his eyes why, but Prime Minister Jiang just shook his head.
Upon hearing Zeng Chenhua's words, the emperor was even more pleased. Rumor had it that the second young lady was frail and only kept alive by medicine; now that she was at his residence, who knew how long she would live.
This son is too conspicuous; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent someone to sabotage him in the first place. Zeng Chenhua's leg was his doing. He cares more about staying in this high position for as long as possible than about his own offspring.
The emperor smiled and said, "Good, good, very good. It's best that you're thinking about getting married. Since you sincerely want to marry me, I will make an exception and promote this concubine's daughter of the Jiang family to your principal wife. What do you think?"
Zeng Chenhua hadn't expected the emperor to be so satisfied. Since that was the case, there was no need for him to waste any more words. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
He stood and gave a slight bow.
Jiang Chaoyu was somewhat bewildered. Before she could even stand up, Prime Minister Jiang knelt down before her and said, "Your Majesty, Second Prince, my daughter is unwell and I fear her illness might pass to you..."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chaoyu also ran over and knelt down beside Prime Minister Jiang without saying a word.
"Oh, is Prime Minister Jiang saying that my fate is weak?" Zeng Chenhua narrowed his eyes, looked at Prime Minister Jiang kneeling on the ground, and said in a somewhat threatening tone.
Prime Minister Jiang did not expect the Second Prince to say such a thing. "I dare not, but I am afraid that my illness will be passed on to the Second Prince."
The illness was passed on to Zeng Chenhua?! To the emperor, this was a good marriage prospect, and he said, "Prime Minister, you are indeed mistaken. My son is full of yang energy. Your daughter might even recover if she marries my son."
"But..." Prime Minister Jiang wanted to continue. He really didn't want to go through with this marriage, but that was the Emperor. If he showed his unwillingness, it would be a capital offense.
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