Chapter 152: Concubine
The King of Qi ate a few almonds in silence and said to the Queen Mother, "My brother is too overbearing. Even if the Queen Mother issues an imperial decree to grant a marriage, it won't work. What else can I do?"
The Queen Mother's eyes flashed, and she glanced at the curtains on both sides of the hall, and lightly rebuked: "You are so outspoken again! Although he is your dear brother, the Holy Lord Tianwei cannot be offended, and he has such a temper. You must be more careful with your words in the future. If he finds your fault and sends you back to your fiefdom, your mother will not be able to save you!"
The King of Qi snorted twice and put an almond in his mouth. His nonchalant look made the Queen Mother angry and helpless.
"What I am most worried about now is you and Su De! If you don't marry, Su De will become a widow. What a shame!"
The King of Qi said: "Su De used to like scholars, but now he has changed and likes people who wield swords and practice martial arts..."
He suddenly thought of something and raised his head: "Mother, Su De likes men like Xu Junying!"
The Queen Mother was startled: "I also think Xu Junying is very good and worthy of Sudeok, but Junying has a wife and a son, what's the point of her liking him?"
The Prince of Qi stared at the Queen Mother without blinking, "Actually, Junying is a good person. He grew up with my brother, and my mother knows him. Sude is a princess, and whoever she likes, who dares to disobey her? Isn't Xu Junying's wife not satisfactory? She is sick and weak, and comes from a humble background. He has long wanted to divorce her, but because the emperor has granted the marriage, he cannot do anything too much, so he asked for a concubine. Instead of letting him marry his cousin, it is better to let him marry the princess! My brother doesn't want him to marry a concubine, so he must have this intention. If he marries Sude, won't he be closer to the royal family and my brother?"
The Queen Mother nodded repeatedly with a smile on her face: "Bao'er, you are right to remind me! Why didn't I think of this? It is my mother's privilege to marry a princess to her husband, and I don't even need to discuss it with your brother! As long as I issue an imperial decree, Xu Junying can divorce his wife, and then choose a date to marry Princess Sude... Sude will marry Junying and live a happy life!"
The King of Qi said, "There is no time to lose. Mother, you must make a quick decision. Otherwise, my brother will say something and make things more complicated. But I think you should ask Su De again. If she doesn't want to, so be it!"
The Queen Mother raised her eyebrows: "Didn't she say that she likes Junying? Last time, your mother was careless and let her marry that sickly guy as her consort. This time, I must take good care of it! Junying is a reliable, steady and handsome man. If Sude can marry him, both of them will be blessed! I will give them another lively wedding to drive away all the bad luck. From now on, they will be prosperous all the way, hahaha..."
The Queen Mother became happier and happier as she thought about it. She grabbed the King of Qi and said, "Don't tell anyone about this. Go and get Su De back. I will have a talk with her and teach her to be more restrained. She is about to get married, and it is not proper for her to hang out with those people every day!"
The King of Qi lowered his eyes, "Brother always thinks that I have led Su De astray. In fact, all those beauties of Su De were brought from her fiefdom. They have nothing to do with me. Every time I go to see her, I just say a few words and leave. I never play with her... If you ask me to pick up Su De, I wonder what brother will say about me in the future. If he knows that I am involved in this matter, he will be happy, but if he is unhappy, won't he find me wrong and send me back to my fiefdom?"
The Queen Mother paused and said, "Then you'd better not go. You can't tell anyone about this. I'll send someone to the imperial farm outside the city to pick up Su De! But... Jun Ying and Qin have a son who is less than one year old. What should we do? Can we let Su De raise his son as soon as she comes home?"
"What's the difficulty? Just give the child to Qin, and then Su De and Wei Yuan Hou can have more children in the future!"
The King of Qi frowned slightly, thinking of what Xu Junying had said: "We are a good couple!"
Is this true or not? He gritted his teeth and said to the Queen Mother, "After all, the Marquis of Weiyuan married Qin with the Emperor's permission. If the Queen Mother issues an imperial decree to let Xu Junying divorce his wife, it will not be good for the Emperor. In order to consider what others say, it would be better to start with Old Lady Xu and find more faults of Qin. I think it will be smoother if we divorce her this way!"
The Queen Mother nodded in agreement: "Bao'er has thought it through. I am arranging a marriage for my sister, and it is legitimate. Your brother wants to stop it this time, but he can't. Let's plan it out first, and then it won't be too late to tell him!"
He immediately called for five or six eunuchs to take the palace maids and rush to the imperial farm outside the city to pick up Princess Sude. The Prince of Qi stayed in the Cining Palace for a long time, waiting for Sude to return to the palace. He only went back after the mother and her two children had dinner.
When I returned to the Prince of Qi's mansion, I suddenly remembered what the emperor said. I was so busy plotting to get Xu Junying to divorce his wife that I forgot to ask my mother about Miss Chen Si! I couldn't help but feel annoyed. It was getting late, and I didn't want to go back to the palace. I ran to Qingqu Garden, where the drums and music were placed, grabbed a drumstick and beat it until I felt better. Then I slowly walked back to the bedroom, took a shower, changed clothes, and lay on the bed, but I tossed and turned for a long time and couldn't fall asleep.
He thought of Jian Yu again. Through the thin gauze curtain, he seemed to see Jian Yu leaning against the table. Under the dim light, there was a warm glow in her handsome eyes. She smiled and said to him, "A nest of gold or silver is not as good as my own doghouse. I can't live here. I'm going back!"
He stretched out his hand to keep her, but Jian Yu left as lightly as the wind. He grabbed nothing and shouted anxiously, but no sound came out. He suddenly opened his eyes and realized it was all a dream!
He leaned dejectedly on the pillow, the pain in his heart spreading. Jian Yu had come many times, and each time he came and went in a hurry, like a dragonfly skimming the water in his dream, only letting him see an image before disappearing.
He couldn't touch him, couldn't keep him, and what was lost would never come back!
The heartache was like a knife cutting a sword, constantly tormenting him and accompanying him through the long sleepless nights. When it was really unbearable, he would call his male favorites, but it was difficult to be happy. Jian Yu's voice, appearance and smile passed through his mind, lingering, but even more painful. So he didn't like the night and longed for the day to come quickly. During the day, he had a lot of things to do, whether it was busy with business or having fun, which could make him forget the past and Jian Yu temporarily. Only when he saw Cen Meimei, that strange and beautiful woman, would he be truly peaceful and happy, and his heart would be as happy and lively as before. Cen Meimei made him think of Jian Yu actively and frankly. Facing her, he felt naturally warm. He even felt that Cen Meimei and Jian Yu were the same person. Jian Yu died, but his soul was attached to her.
He knew that in the eyes of others, he was different. He did not love women and was only close to young and handsome men. However, apart from Jian Yu, he did not seem to be particularly interested in other men. There were many male favorites in the Prince Qi's Mansion, with all kinds of looks and personalities. They were all recruited by people who were good at currying favor. He supported them and had affairs with them, but he could not always be free and happy. He did not have the feeling of being with Jian Yu. He and Jian Yu should have been a pair of affectionate lovers in their previous life, so they could be so connected in mind and harmonious in this life.
As for Cen Meimei, he was first attracted by her masculine appearance. Because she was so much like Jian Yu, he could not let her go. Even after he knew she was a woman, he still did not want to let her go. He did not have too many complicated thoughts. He simply wanted to possess her for himself. He had not even thought about what kind of identity to give her after bringing her back to Prince Qi's Mansion. Perhaps just like Jian Yu, the two men could not get married, but they could stay together for a lifetime. This was enough!
But Cen Meimei was also different from the others. She was generous and delicate, proud and reserved, as hard to grasp as a swimming fish. She avoided him again and again, and did not care about his status as a king at all. Every time they met, she could always bring him a different kind of joy, just like when he got some special reward or toy as a child, he would be excited for a long time, but in the end, he had to give it all back. She gave him so much joy, and sometimes she would take away double. While he was dejected, he was still thinking about when he would see her again!
She is not Jian Yu, she is a special woman, she got married and had children, so what? He kept her in his heart, cared about her, and was willing to protect her. He had heard the story of Xu Junying's marriage, he fell in love at first sight and proposed to her immediately, thinking that there would be a deep affection, but he was disgusted so quickly! He overheard what Mrs. Xu said inadvertently in the Cining Palace that day, and did not take it seriously at all. He was used to seeing men being amorous and wives and concubines competing for favor. He did not believe that there would be a lasting and eternal love between husband and wife in the world. Doesn't the emperor love the queen? It is not surprising that Xu Junying got tired of his old wife and turned around to marry his childhood sweetheart cousin as his second wife, as he also visited other concubines on the same date.
Xu Junying neglected his wife and married a few concubines, but the King of Qi didn't care. However, Xu Junying's wife turned out to be Cen Meimei! The King of Qi was a little shocked, and then angry. He saw with his own eyes that Xu Junying first helped his cousin and then sent Meimei. This was the ironclad evidence of being fickle! What kind of woman was Meimei? She was so important to him. What kind of woman was Xu Junying? How dare he humiliate and abuse her like this!
Meimei refused to turn around and face him. She followed Xu Junying's arrangement and drove away silently. He could have asked someone to stop her, but he changed his mind and understood her thoughts and situation: a lady granted by the emperor cannot be divorced. Meimei will always be Xu Junying's wife in this life. She can only obey her heartless husband. Even if she is unwilling, it is difficult for her to escape!
The King of Qi made a decision. In fact, when Cen Meimei told him that she was a married woman, he had thought about doing just that - breaking up this marriage!
He wanted to lend a helping hand to Xu Junying, so that he could divorce his wife and remarry, and give Cen Meimei freedom!
However, he did not expect that his brother the emperor would stop Xu Junying from taking a concubine. But Xu Junying had already made up his mind. If he could not take a concubine, he could have a concubine. Meimei did not need to stay in the Xu Mansion and be the cowardly and bullied wife. Since she dared to run away from the Mansion, disguised herself and changed her name to run Xiankelai, it meant that she had her own plans. I believe she would like him to interfere in this matter.
As for Su De, the Prince of Qi accompanied her to see the emperor that day, and Xu Junying happened to be talking to the emperor. After Su De came out, she did say something to him: Xu Junying, if he had come back from the border earlier, he would have been the princess's consort!
With the Queen Mother's hand, Xu Junying was given to Su De. After Cen Meimei got the divorce letter, she was free from all worries and became the same as him. No matter where she wanted to fly, he would always follow her. If he had to marry a princess, he would be willing to marry Cen Meimei, but he thought that the Queen Mother would never agree to it. In that case, what was the point of having a princess? There were so many women in the world, but he only wanted to see this one.
If he doesn't marry a princess, he can just go back to his fiefdom. That's just right. What's so fun about the imperial capital? Going back to his fiefdom, he can make his own decisions and live his life the way he wants. Isn't it better?
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