Chapter 198 Wedding
Because the prince caught a slight cold and had a stuffy nose, and cried from time to time, although Zhang Jingyun and Lingxuzi said that it was okay and that he would get better slowly if he was taken good care of, the empress was still very nervous. The Kunning Palace was full of imperial doctors, and some said that it was appropriate to give alms to the prince to eliminate his disaster. The emperor then issued an edict to cancel the full-month celebration, and all expenses and gifts from various places were converted into money and food, which were distributed to the drought-stricken areas in the south and distributed to the victims.
These actions won the hearts of the people, and for a time, joint memorials signed by all the people came in frequently, praising the emperor's benevolence and wishing the prince good health. All kinds of simple words represented the beautiful feelings of the common people.
However, the emperor was intoxicated by the joy of being supported by the people. While he was preparing to personally test the talents of the world, he did not forget to do two other things: execute the King of Wei and force the King of Qi to marry a princess!
The King of Wei wanted to rebel, and there was evidence, so he could not escape a cup of poisoned wine. The King of Qi was absurd, unruly, self-willed, and trouble-making. If he were not a brother who had cared for each other since childhood, I am afraid he would have been stripped of his royal power long ago. Let him get married and have a bond, maybe he would be more restrained. Before, I gave him a deadline of one month. If he couldn't find a princess, he had to accept the marriage. Seeing that the deadline had passed, he couldn't regret it. He had to think carefully. Find him a noble lady who was smart, virtuous, orthodox, gentle, lively and bright? It would be best if he knew her inside out.
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So April became an eventful early summer, busy and chaotic, and it passed in the blink of an eye!
After the palace examination, Qin Boqing got what he wanted and won the first prize. The emperor had long heard Meimei talk about how good her brother was, how talented and knowledgeable he was. When he saw her in person, he nodded secretly; it was indeed as good-looking as Pan An, with extraordinary bearing, elegant words, and rich knowledge. The first prize was given to him. It was well-deserved. He won the first prize three times in a row and was a genius.
The Qin family was overjoyed when he won the first place in the imperial examination. Qin Boqing immediately asked his mother to take Meimei home. However, Mrs. Qin had her own plans. She only sent her family to deliver some food and snacks to the Cen residence and informed her aunt: "Master won the first place in the imperial examination!" Meimei was angry and helpless when she received the news. The old lady of the Qin family was so unkind that she refused to tell you to go home directly. If you want to go back, you can go back. If you don't go back, you won't be divorced. Just stay here for now! What tricks did she use? It was similar to Xu Junying's.
No matter what happened to her, she packed up and happily went back to her parents' home to be happy for Qin Boqing. Xu Junying had already arranged spies to observe her movements and show up at the right time. It would be unreasonable not to let him go with her. What's more, he has been behaved very well these days. Regardless of his busy official duties during the day, he insists on taking care of Heng'er at night. After all, they are of the same blood. Heng'er, who has grown up and become sensible, does not understand what admiration and worship are, but he clings to Xu Junying, even more than to Meimei. The boy manipulates the two adults. When he wakes up and cries at night, he must see the two of them in the same room, and one of them coaxes him for a while, and neither of them can be missing. Only then will he be willing to calm down, play, laugh, and go to sleep when he has enough time. After three or five nights, Meimei compromised and let Xu Junying move back to the study on the right. Heng'er is getting more and more clever. No matter where he sleeps in the first half of the night, he must go back to the upper room when he wakes up. He knows that is where his parents live, and he feels that he should live there too. He needs a father and has already identified Xu Junying. Only Meimei is unwillingly making a meaningless resistance.
For three consecutive days, Meimei went to her parents' home. The whole family was immersed in infinite joy and didn't think about other things outside. Qin Boqing was in high spirits, welcoming and seeing off guests with a smile on his face. He was even more happy to see his sister back. He sent his sister to his mother in the backyard, and then went back to the front hall to renew the greetings with Xu Junying. Mrs. Qin was very proud. She was deliberately cold to Meimei for a while, and then she couldn't help crying, calling her darling, and she was in pain, which made Meimei cry too. When Wang Mama, Cheng'er and Ping'er saw Meimei coming back, they were so happy that they surrounded her. Meimei brought them gifts and asked them if they wanted to go back with her. If they felt comfortable in Qin's house, they could live there. Cheng'er and Ping'er immediately said that they wanted to go back with the young lady. Wang Mama thought about it again and again and said with tears in her eyes, "I'm old, and the young lady has taken on responsibilities. I have nothing to worry about. You can stay here with the madam. These days, I have been with the madam and it's been very good!" Meimei understood Wang Mama's heart and was deeply grateful to this considerate wet nurse. She said to Wang Mama, "You can stay at home. Your brother and sister-in-law will take good care of you. I will come back to see you often. I care about you and mother as well!" Wang Mama wiped her tears and nodded repeatedly, "Okay! Okay! I'll listen to you!"
Feng recovered very well, she gained some weight, and she was beautiful and plump. Her face no longer had the worry in the past, and she looked cheerful and lively, and loved to talk and laugh. ~ The two little nieces and nephews were so well-behaved that Meimei couldn't get enough of them. She didn't want to put them down after holding them, which always made Heng'er jealous and cry. Meimei pointed at him and laughed and scolded him; "You are still a boy! You are so stingy. You are the older brother. What's wrong with your mother holding your younger brothers and sisters? Be generous, come, let's hold them together-here! This is the younger brother, this is the younger sister, aren't they cute? Heng'er was also so lovable when he was a child!"
Heng'er moved closer to the two younger people and became happy again. He reached out and gently stroked their little faces with a caring look, which made Meimei laugh non-stop.
Xu Junying brought the news that the court had cleared Lin Changqing's name, re-employed him, and granted him another official position. Meimei was stunned, knowing that the matter was settled. She didn't expect it to come so soon, and she hadn't yet planned how to get Lin Runan out of it. She thought it was Zhang Jingyun. Lin Runan had a good impression of Zhang Jingyun, but Zhang Jingyun was obviously not suitable. He had heard the news a long time ago, and did not express any opposition at the time. How could he justify proposing to Lin Runan instead?
Besides, when he came to Cen's house to deliver pills to Heng'er that day, Meimei tried to say a few words. He flatly refused, which made Meimei feel red for a while. Who am I? He just randomly introduced others, knowing that it would be a burden.
Alas, it really has nothing to do with me, but I can't help it! The emperor fell in love with Lin Runan and promised her to the Prince of Qi. Not only are these two people at loggerheads, but the Prince of Qi also has a large number of male favorites in his mansion. How should he treat his princess? How can Lin Runan bear it? This is a mess!
As soon as the imperial decree of marriage was issued, Lin Runan felt like being struck by lightning. She became completely depressed and cried to Meimei several times. Prince Qi also went to Cen's house and lost his temper. He beat people and kicked the door, making a big fuss, as if Meimei was the culprit. Meimei could understand their feelings, but she had no choice but to swallow her anger. After accompanying Lin Runan in her sadness, she listened to Prince Qi yelling and scolding. She let them vent their anger and only asked Cuisi and the others to hold Heng'er away.
If Xu Junying encountered this situation at home, would he ignore Lin Runan and unceremoniously drag Prince Qi away and ask him to go to the garden to make trouble? Prince Qi refused and confronted him, insisting on staying with Meimei. So he stayed with Meimei every step of the way to prevent her from being accidentally hurt by Prince Qi.
Xu Junying advised the King of Qi, "Your Highness has reached the age of marriage. The imperial decree granting the marriage is a manifestation of the Emperor's kindness and care for his brothers. Your Highness should be grateful. Besides, Miss Lin is outstanding in appearance and is not someone you don't know. Why is it like this?"
The King of Qi looked at Xu Junying coldly, "You don't need to persuade me! The Queen Mother ordered you to divorce your wife. She wanted you to marry the princess. Don't you know Su De? She is noble and beautiful. You value honor the most. This is the supreme honor. Do you regret it? If you are still willing, I will ask for your permission tomorrow. How about that?"
Xu Junying's eyes gleamed, and his face darkened. "Your Highness, Prince Qi, please forgive me for my rudeness. What do you mean by Princess Shang? I don't understand! Princess Sude is noble and elegant? When choosing a consort, you only look at the newly promoted talents of the dynasty? I am just a military general, and I am married. We are a loving couple, how can you say this?"
Just as the King of Qi was about to say something, Meimei hurriedly brought him a cup of tea. "You must be thirsty after standing and talking for so long. Have a cup of tea first!"
A pair of bright eyes stared at the King of Qi, stopping him from talking any further. Who is Xu Junying? The emperor trusted him the most. The emperor would believe all ten of his words. If Xu Junying found out that the Queen Mother's decree to divorce his wife was instigated by the King of Qi, and that he also wanted Xu Junying to marry Princess Sude and become a royal son-in-law who didn't care about state affairs, although the matter had passed, Xu Junying would just let him go. If he didn't let him go and exaggerated the matter in front of the emperor, the King of Qi would suffer in the end.
It’s better to keep things quiet than to make them shut up.
He brought a cup of hot tea to Xu Junying, "Have a cup of tea, too, Lord Hou!"
Xu Junying glanced at her and silently took the teacup. How could he not see her intentions? She would protect outsiders and even serve tea to others first. He had fought for ten years, led soldiers for ten years, was good at identifying the enemy, and had always employed people correctly, but in the end he married a wife with a rebellious nature! This really left him speechless.
The King of Qi was unwilling to accept this and never thought of marrying a princess. The closest woman to him except the Queen Mother and his sister Su De was Mei Mei. Other women would give him goose bumps when touching him, but not Mei Mei. Therefore, he thought that if it was Mei Mei, he could... But who knew that the Queen Mother suddenly fell ill, with pale lips, sallow complexion, dishevelled hair, lying on the bed, crying, and weakly asking him to marry a princess. Even if she died, she wanted to see him marry and start a family. The King of Qi was not a heartless person after all. Seeing his mother who was devoted to him like this, he felt sad. He casually said that he would marry the right person as long as there was one. Unexpectedly, the imperial edict came down a few days later? It turned out to be her, Lin Runan!
He only cared about Lin Runan for Meimei, because Lin Runan liked to wear men's clothes, and after getting to know her, he didn't think she was difficult to approach, but he didn't like it and couldn't accept it! Thinking about the fact that there would be a mistress in the palace, eating and living with him every day, monitoring him all the time, asking him questions, and she would talk back to him ten times if he scolded her, he was going crazy!
Lin Runan was also desperately trying to find a way out of this marriage. She felt sick when she thought of the large group of male favorites of the King of Qi. What was annoying was that she had personally led four male favorites to eat at Xiankelai for him. They were all gentle, handsome, and had delicate and fair skin. She felt very sorry when she saw them. Why did they become male favorites? What was it like for men to get close to other men? How could it be fun? She blushed from thinking about it. She just felt that the King of Qi was ridiculous. Who would be willing to marry the daughter of a good family? She never thought that she would be the one who suffered in the end!
Lin Runan was extremely unwilling, and she forced Meimei to go to the palace to see the Queen. The Queen did not avoid them, but sat on the throne, spoke to her heart and frankly, and said a lot of truths. Lin Runan's eyes suddenly became empty and she was completely desperate. Meimei looked at her sympathetically and deeply understood her feelings, but things had come to this point and no one could save it.
So in early May, the Prince of Qi got married and married Lin Runan, the daughter of Lin Changqing, a third-rank minister of the Ministry of Rites, as his princess.
The day before the wedding, someone from Prince Qi's mansion came with a letter written by Prince Qi. Xu Junying was standing by and watched Meimei solemnly open the envelope and pull out the letter. Light and shadow shone through the back of the paper, revealing only a short sentence. Meimei stared at it for a long time, and finally sighed and tore the letter to pieces.
Xu Junying didn't ask her why, but he soon found out; it turned out that she was denied to attend the wedding!
Meimei was depressed and angry; it was so unfair! Not only did she not have the chance to be a bride, but she couldn't even watch the lively and festive ancient weddings!
I didn't get to attend the wedding, but ended up in big trouble.
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