But in the palace, there were so many people and it was inconvenient for Jiang to say anything.
Shen Liyue gently patted the back of her mother's hand, planning to ask her mother out for a walk alone in a few days.
After the two sat down, Shen Liyue realized that Shen Liqing was here today as well.
Seeing that Shen Liqing looked a little uneasy, Shen Liyue had an idea in her mind. Most likely, Shen Liqing knew that many men from aristocratic families would come to the palace banquet today, so she specially asked her mother to bring her out.
Shen Liqing stood up with a red face and saluted Shen Liyue, who only nodded slightly.
Shen Liyue sighed in her heart, afraid that Shen Liqing’s heart was too big, and she didn’t know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.
At the palace banquet, the emperor first praised the soldiers of the northern border, and rewarded them according to their merits from top to bottom. The court had originally allocated 400,000 taels of silver for the northern border war, but now the northern border had been recovered before the war started. The emperor was happy and used all the 400,000 taels as rewards. The soldiers expressed their gratitude one after another, and even those soldiers whose ranks were not high enough to attend the palace banquet could get a share.
The emperor announced his intention to marry Princess Anle to Du Ruoheng at the palace banquet. For a moment, everyone looked at Du Ruoheng with envy or jealousy.
Du Ruoheng was originally just a royal guard, but now that he is married to the princess, although he can no longer hold a position in the court, he will have wealth and glory in this life, and even the Du family will benefit from it.
Shen Liyue looked at Lu Yun, and Lu Yun nodded at her with a blushing face.
Shen Liyue felt relieved. Now, seeing Lu Yun's happy face, she knew that she must have made an agreement with Du Ruoheng in private.
There is nothing more joyful and happy than two people loving each other.
Shen Liyue was also very happy. She raised her glass and toasted Lu Yun. Lu Yun also picked up the glass and drank it all. The wine was so spicy that she almost cried.
But she was happy in her heart, because the man she loved when she was young was finally going to marry her.
When the palace banquet was halfway through, Shen Liqing said that she wanted to go to the palace. Shen Liyue nodded. There were maids in the palace on both sides to guide her, so she thought that nothing would happen to Shen Liqing.
Shen Liqing came back when the palace banquet was almost over. Shen Liyue felt something was strange and asked one more question.
"Why did it take so long?"
Chen Liqing blushed: "I think I have an upset stomach. I don't feel well."
Shen Liyue glanced at Shen Liqing, thinking in her heart that things might not be that simple.
But in such an occasion, Shen Liyue didn't want to ask too much. She just wanted to ask her mother about their situation in detail when she came back.
Unexpectedly, the next day, the Shen family sent someone to look for Shen Liyue, saying that the eldest prince had sent someone to ask for Shen Liqing's hand in marriage.
"What?" Chen Liyue was very surprised. The eldest prince usually kept a low profile, so why would he suddenly fall for Chen Liqing?
Shen Liyue went back to the Shen family specifically for this matter.
As soon as she returned to the Shen family, Shen Liyue saw her father and mother sitting in the main hall with surprised expressions. Shen Wangshi from the third room, his wife Xu, and Shen Liqing and Shen Weian were all there.
Seeing Shen Liyue, Shen Liqing's eyes flashed, and he stood up and saluted Shen Liyue.
Shen Liyue nodded and asked, "I heard that the eldest prince came to ask for your hand in marriage. How did you recognize the eldest prince? What exactly happened?"
Before Shen Liqing could speak, Xu interrupted and asked, "Princess, are you back to interrogate Qing'er?"
Chen Wangshi tugged at Xu's sleeve, and Xu rolled her eyes at him.
Xu continued, "I asked the princess to help Qing'er find a good marriage before, but the princess only introduced Qing'er to a lieutenant general. The princess herself is marrying a prince, and Qing'er will never go beyond the princess no matter what. Why did the princess humiliate Qing'er with a lieutenant general?"
Only then did Shen Liyue realize that Xu was resentful of her because of this incident, but Xu was the elder, so Shen Liyue didn't intend to argue with her.
Shen Liyue only looked at Shen Liqing, waiting for Shen Liqing to give her an answer.
Chen Liqing mumbled, "It was at the palace banquet yesterday... I went out to look for the concubine, and when I came out, I happened to meet the eldest prince. The eldest prince said he fell in love with me at first sight..."
"Love at first sight?" Shen Liyue was almost laughing out of anger. Who would believe such nonsense as love at first sight? What's more, the eldest prince had already married.
"What position did the eldest prince promise you, concubine?" Shen Liyue asked again.
According to the laws of the Great Chu, a prince can marry one principal wife and two concubines, and the rest are concubines.
But if the eldest prince wanted to marry Chen Liqing as his concubine, he would not easily send someone to convey the message. The necessary regulations must be followed.
Shen Liqing felt even more embarrassed, "No... the eldest prince said he wanted to take me as his concubine..."
Shen Liyue was really fooled by Shen Liqing's stupidity, "You are a pure and innocent girl, why don't you be a legitimate wife and become someone else's concubine?!"
Putting aside the others, didn't the Third House know the hardships of being a concubine? Not only was she looked down upon, but even her own children were inferior to hers. Wasn't the suffering she had endured since childhood enough?
Shen Wangshi also had a look of disappointment on his face at this time. He usually neglected to discipline his two children, but Shen Weian was a promising child. Although he did not pursue a career in politics, he now learned business from Shen Liyue and earned enough money to support the third room. He did not expect that his daughter would have such thoughts.
Seeing her daughter speechless under Chen Liyue's questioning, Xu couldn't help but retort, "Even if she's a concubine, so what? She's still a concubine of the royal family. How can she be compared to the wife of some random lieutenant general out there?"
In the past, Xu would not have dared to speak to Shen Liyue like this, but now that her daughter was going to marry the eldest prince, she seemed to have more confidence.
Chen Liyue was so angry at their logic that she was speechless. Chen Wangshi said with a bitter face, "Princess, what should we do now? Although I don't want Qing'er to marry the eldest prince as a concubine, the eldest prince has already sent something, and I'm afraid it's difficult for us to refuse."
Shen Liyue glanced at Shen Liqing, cleared her throat and asked, “Are you willing to this marriage?”
Shen Liqing lowered her head and blushed, and said shyly: "I...I have nothing to be unwilling about."
She met the eldest prince yesterday. The eldest prince had an extraordinary aura and was incomparable to the men her mother had taken her to see before.
Now that the eldest prince has really sent someone to propose marriage, how could she not be unwilling?
Shen Liyue took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, "If that's the case, then let's just leave it at that."
Xu and Shen Liqing looked happy, but Shen Liyue thought they were really stupid.
In the Great Chu, the status of a concubine and a wife is very different. If the eldest prince really has feelings for Chen Liqing, he would at least grant her the position of a concubine. How could he just send someone to take Chen Liqing to be a concubine?
However, Xu and Shen Liqing couldn't understand this and were still complacent.
Never mind, this is not something Chen Liyue can control anyway. Chen Liqing has always wanted to marry into a wealthy family, and now she has gotten what she wanted.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
