Chapter 147 Engagement
Emperor Jingwen's expression became a little more complicated. He held the rosary in his hand and looked at the ministers kneeling on the ground, not knowing what he was considering.
After a while, he said cautiously: "I can't make the decision on Afu's marriage without permission. I have to ask Zhenyuan's opinion. Since you are a meritorious official, I will naturally ask for you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lu Xingzhi said, "The forces in Dazhou are complicated, but now the road has been repaired. I am willing to be stationed in Dazhou in the future."
Emperor Jingwen smiled and said with emotion, "You, like your father, have helped me to relieve a lot of pressure. Your father is away from home all year round and rarely comes back to Beijing. With you here, I can keep my throne safe and secure."
Ning Zhenyuan entered the palace that night.
Emperor Jingwen asked, "Why is it so important to reward people according to their merits?"
Ning Zhenyuan said: "This not only maintains fairness to a certain extent, but also shows respect for the ministers. Otherwise, it will inevitably lead to slackness."
Emperor Jingwen smiled and said, "I think the key is the word 'reward'. There is merit only when there is reward, not when there is merit."
In Ning Zhenyuan's eyes, rewarding according to merit is about distribution, but in Emperor Jingwen's eyes, it is a way of motivation.
Although he wanted to marry Ningfu to his son, he never treated his meritorious officials unfairly, so there were very few traitors in Dayan. Among the few, there was even his own fourth son.
Now is the time to deal with the fourth brother.
As for Lu Xingzhi, he had few connections in the court. Even though he had been an aide to Prince Xuan's palace, he was only involved in the affairs of various parties. He was a man who really got things done, not one who formed cliques.
Dayan needs such ministers who can do things efficiently and beautifully.
Emperor Jingwen closed his eyes tiredly, and when he opened them again, he had made up his mind.
No one knows what Ning Zhenyuan talked about with Emperor Jingwen when he entered the palace that night.
Just a few days later, news of a marriage shocked the capital.
Emperor Jingwen actually arranged a marriage between the second son of the Lu family and the fourth daughter of the Ningguo family.
"Mr. Lu is handsome, and Miss Four is also pretty. They are a good match."
"I wonder how handsome the baby will be when he is born in the future."
"You are so bold to think of the doll right away." Another person joked with a smile.
In the capital, everyone was talking about it with great relish.
Ning Fu was in the Duke's Mansion and had not gone out for several days.
Meng Ze had naturally made appointments with her several times, but now that the marriage was settled, it would be inappropriate for Ning Fu to see him again. Otherwise, she would be accused of being fickle, and the reputation of the Lady of the Duke's Mansion would be bad.
However, she had not expected that Emperor Jingwen would suddenly grant her the marriage. Fortunately, she had completed the tasks assigned to her by Meng Yuan some time ago.
Madam Ning was extremely satisfied with this marriage. She had been worried about Meng Ze, but now she could rest assured. Moreover, this son-in-law happened to be the one she had chosen all along, so he couldn't be better.
The entire Ningguo Mansion was extremely happy.
It was in the afternoon when Lu Xingzhi arrived at the Duke's Mansion.
He and Madam Lu came to visit the Duke's Mansion, perhaps to discuss marriage matters, and happened to run into Ning Fu in Qin Garden.
Because the marriage had just been arranged, Nymph's feelings when she saw him again were completely different.
Lu Xingzhi's eyes swept over her, then he looked at Old Madam Ning and said respectfully: "Old Madam."
Old Madam Ning naturally liked him very much, and said with a smile: "You have been in Dazhou for a long time, and now you are finally back, come to the Duke's Mansion more often in the future and treat it as your own home."
Now, we are a family.
Lu Xingzhi behaved very respectfully in front of his elders, both to Ning Zhenyuan and Mrs. Ning.
When Wei from the first wife heard that he had come to the Duke's Mansion, she also rushed over.
Although Wei loved to ridicule people on a daily basis, she was generally happy that Ningfu's marriage was settled. Although she had always been a bit of a flatterer, she also admired Lu Xingzhi very much.
Lu Xingzhi talked with the elders for a long time.
Mrs. Ning saw that he had looked at Ning Fu countless times, and she knew what was going on. She smiled and said, "I can talk to your mother. You and Afu can go down and take care of your own business."
Everyone smiled.
Ning Fu couldn't help but think of her previous life. In her previous life, Zong Si also came to the Duke's Mansion to discuss marriage, but unfortunately, due to his status, no one in the Duke's Mansion dared to act as an elder in front of him.
At that time, it seemed as if they were completing a task. Zong Si was in a hurry and the Duke's Mansion was cooperating. It was completely different from the happy atmosphere at this moment.
Only A'mu showed some genuine concern for Zong Si at that time. Now she understood that it was Zong Si who agreed to the marriage, and A'mu was somewhat grateful.
Ning Fu couldn't help but think about it for a while. In the previous life, Zong Si was actually quite polite to her mother. Whenever her mother went to the palace, he would go to see her if he was free.
He just doesn't like the Duke's Mansion, but it seems that he doesn't dislike his mother.
Lu Xingzhi stood up and saluted, "Thank you, old lady."
Nymph came back to her senses and looked at him, then looked away when she saw he was looking at her.
The two walked in the courtyard of the Duke's Mansion.
"Mr. Lu once told me to go back to Beijing without any worries, and that the Sixth Prince could not do anything to me. But he had already made plans to ask the Emperor for permission to grant the marriage," Ning Fu said.
Lu Xingzhi said: "I didn't expect that someone would ask you to get close to Meng Ze. If I don't ask for permission, the emperor will grant you a marriage soon."
Ning Fu frowned, but she didn't expect Lu Xingzhi to be as bold as Zong Si, and dared to call the prince by his name: "Mr. Lu, be careful of what you say."
Lu Xingzhi was quite obedient. Seeing that she had spoken, he stopped calling Meng Ze by his name: "The fourth lady doesn't seem to dislike the sixth prince."
If you listen carefully, there is actually a hint of sourness in his voice, but his emotions are so flat that it is difficult to tell.
Ningfu said: "I can't say I hate him." But she doesn't like him either. If he doesn't have any intentions towards her, she will just stay away from him.
Lu Xingzhi pursed his lips.
"Mr. Lu doesn't seem to get along well with the Sixth Prince." Ning Fu said.
Lu Xingzhi paused and said calmly: "It's difficult for me to deal with him."
Ning Fu just thought that the two of them had different political views. She could never have imagined that the person next to her had always been jealous of Meng Ze in his previous life. He would be extremely unhappy when she mentioned Meng Ze.
"Mr. Lu, what do you plan to do regarding our marriage?" Ning Fu asked.
"This is just a temporary measure to prevent you from marrying Meng Ze. If the fourth lady is not satisfied with me, our engagement can be cancelled. Everything will be based on the fourth lady's wishes." Lu Xingzhi said.
However, he wanted to marry her once more.
Even if it's fake.
For some reason, when he said this, Nymph felt a little pain in her heart: "You don't have to be like this. I said that since you have a second life, you should live well. You are not my pendant."
Lu Xingzhi's eyes softened a little, and he said, "I am different from the Fourth Miss, but you don't have to worry about me. Everything I do is exactly what I want in my heart."
A thought flashed through her mind quickly, but it was so fast that she couldn't grasp anything.
At the same time, the news of this marriage also spread to the north.
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