Chapter 430 Engagement
The Queen was also worried about this matter.
With Song Mozhuyu by her side, she felt dissatisfied with everyone she looked at.
Hearing the emperor say this, she sighed secretly.
It seems that we can only pick the general from among the dwarfs.
"I will ask the Ministry of Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Rites to submit the list tomorrow." The Queen's tone was quite helpless.
The emperor became a little proud and said, "The third prince consort told me that Song Yichun intends to let his second son marry the princess. What do you think?"
The Empress had already had ideas about the marriages of several princesses, especially Princess Jingyi.
She couldn't help but frown when she heard this, and said, "The previous marriage with Yan Tang failed. Although not many people knew about it, there were still clues. Now he is holding the second son of the Song family... It's not like our daughter can't get married. I'm afraid she will be laughed at!"
The emperor thought about it carefully and indeed found it somewhat disgusting.
He waved his hand irritably and said, "Then let's call it quits! Jingyi and Jingfu, please worry more and make a decision soon."
The Queen smiled and agreed. She discussed the marriage of the two princesses with the Emperor for a while before leaving the Qianqing Palace.
At that time, Lord Ningde had already left the palace, and the Empress did not take this matter to heart. But when the Emperor and Empress went to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager in the evening, the Empress Dowager greeted them happily and said to the Emperor with a smile: "A few days ago, Concubine Miao was unwell, and I allowed her niece-in-law from her mother's family to visit her. I just found out that her two nieces have reached the age of marriage. I saw that the sixth-ranked girl was very pretty, just like Concubine Miao in her youth, so I thought of matchmaking for her. What do you think of the second son of the Song family in the Duke of Ying's Mansion?" She said, looking at the Empress.
The empress and the emperor were both stunned.
The emperor cursed Song Yichun in his heart.
Do you think the royal family is a gate to a vegetable garden where you can enter and exit as you please?
He first helped Shi Chonglan to marry his second son to the princess, and then he came to the Queen Mother to show his courtesy. What the hell do you want to do? Do you think I'm a fool and you can bluff me however you want?
The emperor said without thinking: "No! The second son of Song Yichun's family is not suitable."
The Empress Dowager's face immediately fell.
It was because it was not suitable that she wanted to marry Concubine Miao's niece to the second son of the Song family. If it was suitable, she would not do it!
"What do you mean by that?" After enduring for decades in front of the late emperor, the Empress Dowager finally let her son take the throne. She didn't want to endure it any longer. Her temper became more and more irritable, and she lost her temper on the spot, "Can't I even grant you a marriage?"
The Emperor then remembered the rift between the Empress Dowager and Concubine Miao, and realized that he had said the wrong thing. But he couldn't bring himself to tell the Empress Dowager that Song Yichun wanted his second son to marry the princess, and he had almost agreed to this just now, so he had to use the Empress Dowager's words to evade the Empress Dowager: "We wanted Song Yantang to marry Fuyuan before, but Song Yichun gave his son a marriage without saying anything. It shows that he is quite opinionated. I think we should not meddle in their family's affairs."
If the news got out that Concubine Miao's great-niece was going to marry Song Han, and Song Yichun was unhappy about it and arranged another wife from a wealthy family for his second son, that would be hilarious!
The more the Queen Mother thought about it, the more interesting it seemed to her, and she became more determined to arrange a marriage between the Miao girl and Song Han.
"I'll call Song Yichun into the palace and tell him in person. I just don't believe that he won't even listen to me." The Queen Mother made a decisive decision, "This matter is settled. I'll let Song Yichun into the palace tomorrow."
The emperor was so angry that his liver ached.
But the Queen noticed something was wrong.
She thought back to the morning when she came to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager, who hadn't said anything. So why did the Empress Dowager think of this after Princess Ningde came into the palace?
Could this matter be related to Princess Ningde?
She winked at the emperor, and after leaving Cining Palace, she whispered, "My mother has always disliked Concubine Miao. Why did she think of arranging a marriage for Miao's daughter this time?"
The emperor was so angry in the side hall that he calmed down and felt something was amiss. But he didn't want to pay attention to such women's tricks and told the empress, "Just find out what's going on."
The Empress took the order and asked people to find out what Princess Ningde said when she met the Empress Dowager when she returned to the palace.
Soon, she knew the purpose of Princess Ningde's visit and also learned about Song Han.
The Empress was so angry that her face turned red, and with a "snap", she broke the round fan in her hand.
The palace maids were so frightened that they all knelt on the ground.
The hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
The Queen took several deep breaths before she came to her senses, and ordered someone to summon Princess Ningde to the palace.
Since Princess Ningde dared to act as a matchmaker in front of the Empress Dowager, she must have had a plan in mind.
When the Empress asked, she was not nervous, but showed a shocked expression on her face, saying: "How did the word get spread like this?" She told the Empress that Song Mo had a cousin who looked exactly like Jiang and came to Beijing to seek refuge with Song Mo because she was a widow. "Because Jiang Yan and Song Han were born on the same day, we joked that maybe Madam Jiang gave birth to twins, and the Duke didn't like the daughter, so he kept the son and gave the daughter to the Jiang family to raise? Unexpectedly, it was "It's so unbearable!" She said, her face full of regret, "If I had known this, I would not have told this to Concubine Shi as a joke. Now it has been spread like this, what should I do?" She added, "The Duke of Ying's family has few children. If Madam Jiang really gave birth to twins, let alone the rare dragon and phoenix twins, even if they were both girls, there is absolutely no reason to give them to other families to raise. Such a simple truth, it is clear at a glance, how can anyone believe it?"
The Empress was half-believing and half-doubting, and said, "Then can you bring Jiang Yan into the palace someday for me to see?"
Princess Ningde said "yes" respectfully, and then complained that people in Kyoto nowadays have no taboos when speaking.
The Empress was already disturbed by the news that Song Han might be a bastard. She had no intention of listening to Princess Ningde's nagging anymore, so she took the opportunity to serve tea to see the guest off.
Princess Ningde left Kunning Palace in embarrassment.
The empress went to the Qianqing Palace and told the emperor what had happened.
The emperor was stunned, and after a while he said, "Could it be a rumor? No matter how stupid Song Yichun is, he can't do such a thing as confusing legitimate and illegitimate children and confusing right and wrong!"
The Empress also thought this was too unbelievable and said, "Princess Ningde has always been very cautious and prudent in her actions. How could she make something up out of nothing?"
The emperor was somewhat at a loss, and he blamed the two parties involved: "This Song Yichun has never been quiet for a moment! Look at what he has done since he inherited the title, I feel ashamed for him... And Princess Ningde, why did she say these things to my mother? Now, my mother wants to arrange a marriage for the second son of the Song family. If this is true, isn't it a slap in our faces?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the emperor and the empress froze.
Did Song Yichun let her second son marry the princess in order to use the royal authority to save her second son's life?
The two suddenly changed their views on Princess Ningde.
What if Princess Ningde knew the truth and had no way to stop Song Yichun from marrying her second son to the princess, so she had to use this euphemistic method to let them know what happened in the Song family?
The emperor was furious and said, "This bastard, his conscience has been eaten by a dog! I was wondering why he always disliked Yantang before. It turns out that he wanted to favor his concubine over his wife! Fortunately, I raised Yantang. If I didn't care, wouldn't Yantang be killed by him? How could the old Duke, who is such a kind-hearted person, give birth to such a vicious son? He is simply kicked in the head by a donkey, and he regards others as rotten-hearted people like him... Pass on my order, let him hand over the seal of the Five Military Commandery to me, and let the late emperor guard the imperial tomb!"
I already believe in my heart that Song Han is a bastard!
Wang Ge was so frightened that his forehead and heart were covered with sweat. His legs trembled as he answered "yes" and was about to retreat.
The Empress said, "Wait a minute," and advised the Emperor, "The Duke of Ying is one of the most meritorious. You want Song Yichun to hand over the seal of the Five Military Commandery to the late Emperor to guard the imperial mausoleum. There must be a plausible reason, right? Is it really because Song Yichun confused legitimate and illegitimate children? Where is the evidence? Is it just because that guy named Jiang Yan looks exactly like Madam Jiang? I think it's better to discuss this matter slowly and settle the marriage of Song Yichun's second son first. Fortunately, no one knows that Song Yichun wants his second son to marry a princess, so it's better to let the Queen Mother arrange a marriage for him. This way, we can appease the Queen Mother and give Song Yichun a warning."
The Emperor understood what the Empress meant and said, "Tomorrow, remember to have someone present Princess Ningde with some rare treasures. If it weren't for her, we would have married our daughter to Song Han without thinking, and we would have become a real laughing stock!" He also asked the Empress to go to Cining Palace immediately, "Go to the Queen Mother and ask Zi Tong to apologize on my behalf, saying that as long as the Queen Mother is happy, I have agreed."
The queen smiled and said "yes", and went to Cining Palace.
The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "I know the Emperor is a filial son." She asked the chief eunuch of Cining Palace to invite the Emperor to dinner, and then asked the Empress Dowager to discuss Song Han's marriage with her, "Who do you think is suitable?"
Since the Empress wanted to make amends for the Emperor, she had already inquired about the situation at Concubine Miao's home before coming. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you have eaten more salt than I have eaten rice. How can I be as thoughtful as you? Your Majesty's decision will definitely not be wrong."
The Queen Mother was even happier when she heard this and said, "Then let's marry the girl named An Su from the Miao family to the second son of the Song family!"
Miao Ansu is the sixth daughter of the Miao family.
She is the eldest daughter of Concubine Miao's nephew.
It is said that this girl was not only beautiful, but also kind and filial. In order to pray for her sick grandmother, she personally copied 100 copies of the Lotus Sutra and gave them to passers-by.
In the eyes of the world, it was a great honor for the Miao family, who used to run a grocery store, to marry their granddaughter to a prominent family like the Duke of England. But for the Miao family, marrying their carefully raised daughter to the second son of a noble family who could not inherit the family business was not necessarily a happy thing.
The Empress Dowager smiled and responded, and personally called a female official in to write the imperial edict.