Unexpectedly, the Jade Kingdom agreed, and the gift they sent was indeed as Consort Cheng had said: the son of the Jade Kingdom's most beloved consort.
Seeing this, Consort Zheng also had her own selfish motives. She was unwilling to remain a mere Consort, and since Jing Huaixu was already quite old, she could make a suggestive gesture at night.
My daughter is still young. If she marries into the Jade Kingdom, she won't lack opportunities. If she gives birth to the Jade Kingdom's emperor's child in the future, it wouldn't be impossible for the Jade Kingdom to change its crown prince.
At that time, her daughter was the Empress Dowager of the Jade Kingdom, and she always helped her younger brother in the family to rise to a higher position.
Jingning had no desire for a marriage alliance, but she couldn't resist. Being teased like this on the spot, and thinking about how old her future husband was, she couldn't help but tear up and bite her lip tightly.
Empress Ye listened to the two of them, one boasting and the other making sarcastic remarks, and realized that no one cared about Jing Ning's feelings. She couldn't help but shake her head.
The marriage was proposed by Empress Dowager Zheng, who discussed it with the Yu Kingdom without consulting her own family.
Yu Guo agreed, and Jing Huaixu couldn't object. Empress Ye had no other choice, as she also had a daughter.
Empress Ye only hoped that Jingyi would marry someone of equal status and live a peaceful life, even if he didn't marry into a very noble family.
"Alright, now that everyone knows that the arrival of the Ninth Prince of Yu Kingdom in Jing is a big deal, there will be one more person in the palace from now on. He is frail and sickly, so when our princes and princesses play with others, please don't bully him."
"Jingning's wedding day is this autumn. Everything that needs to be prepared should be prepared. Consort Zheng should also take good care of Jingning."
"Yes, Your Majesty, we obey your command," the princes and princesses replied.
Consort Zheng curtsied: "Your Majesty, I understand!"
Jingning's dowry still needs to be handled by Empress Ye and the Ministry of Rites. As she is getting married as an empress, her dowry cannot be meager. She is hoping that Empress Ye will provide a dowry comparable to that of a legitimate princess.
Finally, Consort Zheng gave Yue Jiang a meaningful glance.
Yue Jiang inadvertently met Consort Zheng's gaze and instinctively felt that something was amiss.
Soon after the event at Jiaofang Palace ended, Yue Jiang also took her leave. However, shortly after leaving the palace, she bumped into Consort Cheng and her son, the Second Prince Jing Shuo, at the pavilion she was passing.
Last time, Consort Cheng didn't make things difficult for her on the surface because of the orphans of the sacrificial festival, but she gave her a sarcastic look.
When Yue Jiang passed by, Consort Cheng took the initiative to greet her, abandoning her usual arrogance and smiling kindly: "Crown Princess!"
Yue Jiang paused slightly, looking suspicious: "Your Highness, were you waiting for me?"
Consort Cheng did not deny it, and first apologized to Yue Jiang: "The matter of the orphan a while ago troubled the Crown Princess. The Cheng family really did not know beforehand that the orphan was making such a fuss."
"I never imagined they would have such audacity, daring to speak so arrogantly on behalf of the Cheng family at the sacrificial festival. Su Yun was so frightened when she got back that she fell ill, and the Empress Dowager was also heartbroken for a while and hasn't recovered yet."
"They are both old and young and they are embarrassed, so they don't dare to speak directly to the Crown Princess. Let me explain to the Crown Princess and tell her not to take it to heart."
Yue Jiang: "Yue Jiang has forgotten. Now that the orphans are at peace, I believe they have all come to their senses. Please don't anger the Empress Dowager again."
Now that the Cheng family can no longer control the distribution of welfare to orphans, which has been transferred to the Six Ministries, the people's hearts that the Cheng family has been able to unite will slowly crumble, and Yue Jiang is indeed very relieved.
"The Crown Princess is indeed a clever person, smarter than me," Consort Cheng exclaimed, surprised that Yue Jiang hadn't taken it to heart at all.
Immediately, she spoke of the important matter of the day, but Consort Cheng kept it a secret for a moment.
"Actually, there were a few things I couldn't say in the hall just now, so I wanted to wait for the Crown Princess to remind you not to let others take advantage of you."
The Cheng and Zheng families are mortal enemies, but for the sake of the Crown Prince, they can regard Yue Jiang as an enemy at any time.
Furthermore, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Consort Cheng, thinking about Consort Zheng's daughter's marriage, pretended not to know the look in Consort Zheng's eyes and humbly asked for advice.
"Yuejiang has left her hometown and, apart from the Empress Dowager, no one else has ever spoken to her with such heartfelt words. Your Highness, please speak frankly. If you can help Yuejiang, she will be eternally grateful."
Consort Cheng liked to reason with Yue Jiang, so she spoke frankly without needing Yue Jiang to waste words or make things mysterious.
"It's all because Consort Zheng wants to marry off her daughter. The Jing Kingdom's treasury has been struggling to raise funds in the past. This time, she wants to marry her daughter off to the Yu Kingdom as queen, and she'll probably demand a very generous dowry."
"But money can't just come out of thin air. Over the years, it's common for Her Majesty the Empress to use her own private funds to supplement the palace. The Crown Princess's dowry is many times more generous than Her Majesty the Empress's."
"I'm really afraid that Consort Zheng will set her sights on this, and that she'll make the Crown Princess suffer a loss just to save face for her daughter. Don't be foolish about the dowry; once it happens, it will happen again, so don't give in."
Yue Jiang now understood that even ordinary families were going to great lengths for a dowry, and the royal family was no exception.
Consort Zheng must have wanted to give Jingning enough confidence to marry into a foreign country, so that the Yu Kingdom wouldn't look down on her.
She insisted that she couldn't give it to him.
"Your Highness is right, Yuejiang remembers."
"That's good," Consort Cheng said, genuinely pleased that Yue Jiang had taken it to heart.
Although Yue Jiang's dowry wasn't hers, she couldn't stand seeing the Zheng family so smug.
"Your Highness, if there's nothing else, Yuejiang will return to the East Palace first," Consort Cheng said. This wasn't exactly a kind reminder; she just didn't want Consort Zheng to get too cocky. Yuejiang didn't want to get too close to Consort Cheng.
Just as she was about to turn and leave, Jing Shuo suddenly called out to Yue Jiang.
"Princess Consort, wait a minute, this is a gift that Mother Consort prepared for you. Do you like it?"
Yue Jiang Moming turned around.
Consort Cheng suddenly remembered and introduced the brocade box in her son's hand to Yue Jiang.
“The Crown Princess comes from the wealthy Yue Kingdom, so she must have no shortage of gold, silver and valuables. I noticed that the Crown Princess likes to wear sachets, so I had her maids make a few.”
Yue Jiang feigned being flattered and politely declined, saying, "Your Highness is too kind. I haven't prepared a gift for you yet, so how can I accept yours?"
"What's the big deal? It's just an apology. I just wanted to please her. I hope the Crown Princess doesn't mind that it's a small gift," Consort Cheng said dismissively.
Jing Shuo took two steps forward, handed the box to Yue Jiang, and explained it in detail.
"The fragrance of magnolia is delicate and elegant, while mint, though refreshing, can be overpowering if worn for too long. Your Highness, the Crown Princess, could try it first."
"There are many of these flowers in my mother's palace. She and my grandmother love to use these flowers to calm their nerves. If you like them, you can visit my mother's palace more often."
Yue Jiang: "Thank you!"
She glanced at the three sachets in the box, and when she looked up, she saw Jing Shuo staring at her with deep, enigmatic eyes, the fragrance of which was even more mellow and lingering than that of magnolia blossoms.
Yue Jiang knows all too well what a man's eyes can reveal, but Mei Xiang's allure is concealed by the fragrance, and she hasn't been alone with Jing Shuo, so it's impossible for her to have any influence on him. Could it be simply because of her beauty?
Regardless, Jing Shuo actually dared to look at her, his sister-in-law, like that! He's incredibly audacious.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
