The arrival of the imperial edict stunned everyone in the Su family.
Su Chengye vaguely remembered that the last time he received an imperial edict was when the old man of the Su family passed away, and the emperor issued an edict to posthumously confer a title on him.
Why was the imperial decree issued at this time? It couldn't be because the Su and Chen families were engaged, so they sent people to congratulate them, right?
While he was thinking randomly, he ordered the housekeeper to prepare the incense table and be ready to receive the order.
Shen Zhixiu, who was standing aside, lowered his eyes slightly, and his deep eyes were calm.
The one who came to the Su family to announce the decree today was Hu Lu, the chief eunuch beside the emperor. He was not tall, but he stood straight.
Behind him followed a young eunuch, holding a bright yellow imperial edict in both hands.
"Marquis of Pingning Su Chengye, and the eldest daughter of the Su family Su Qingyu, receive the imperial edict." Hu Lu shouted.
When the voice fell, he also saw Shen Zhixiu standing next to Su Chengye.
Her face, which was tense before, suddenly became much more lively when she saw Shen Zhixiu, and was instantly filled with smiles.
"Master Shen, why are you here?" Hu Lu walked forward and asked.
Even the most trusted eunuch in the inner palace did not dare to look down on Shen Zhixiu in the slightest.
Shen Zhixiu said politely, "Why did Eunuch Hu come here in person to announce the decree? I'm here today to propose marriage to the eldest daughter of the Su family. On the day of the wedding, please come to the Shen family for a drink at the wedding."
Hu Lu's face was full of smiles, his eyes were wide open, and he didn't say anything for a long time.
Mr. Shen San and the eldest daughter of the Su family are engaged and have even paid the betrothal gift.
What about the imperial edict in his hand?
You can't just say, "Mr. Shen, please don't get engaged, because your unmarried wife has been favored by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
The Shen family is not an ordinary family, and Shen Zhixiu is not an ordinary person either. The royal family would never do such a thing as kidnapping a bride.
But if he doesn’t read it, how will he explain it?
I have been announcing imperial edicts for so many years, but I have never encountered such a difficult situation.
Everyone in the Su family who was kneeling on the ground looked up at Hu Lu, wondering why he didn't read it out.
The longer Hu Lu didn't read out the answer, the more anxious Su Chengye became. In a split second, he thought of countless possibilities, even digging out the mistakes he'd made years ago from the depths of his memory.
The feeling of waiting for the verdict is really unpleasant.
Shen Zhixiu naturally knew Hu Lu's dilemma, so he asked, "Eunuch Hu, what's wrong? Is there something troubling you? Or does this imperial decree require me to recuse myself?"
Hu Lu hurriedly said, "Lord Shen, you are worrying too much. There is no need for you to withdraw. Marquis Su, please stand up. This imperial edict cannot be announced. I need to return to the palace to report to the emperor."
Su Chengye asked in confusion, "What did Eunuch Hu mean? Why didn't I understand?"
Hu Lu hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the truth.
Of course, it cannot be said that the prince took a liking to Su Qingyu and personally went to ask the emperor for help.
He organized his words and said with a smile, "The emperor heard that the eldest daughter of the Su family is both talented and beautiful, and has good character, and wanted to grant her a marriage."
"I didn't expect that the Su and Chen families have already been engaged. I will report this to the Emperor."
Su Chengye's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he stepped forward and asked, "Eunuch Hu, I wonder whose family the emperor has granted the marriage to?"
Su Qingyu couldn't help but shake her head. Her father was not suitable to be an official. He was only suitable to go back to the countryside and farm.
Is this the time to get to the bottom of things?
Eunuch Hu obviously wanted to cover up the past, but he still insisted on asking further questions.
Shen Zhixiu is standing next to us, wouldn’t it be embarrassing to ask?
Eunuch Hu was also stunned. He didn't expect Su Chengye to ask directly.
He thought about it and said without hiding anything, "The emperor wants Miss Su to enter the Eastern Palace. Now it seems that Miss Su has no chance of joining the royal family."
"Congratulations to Lord Su, for getting a son-in-law like Elder Chen. I wonder how many people in the capital envy him."
Su Chengye smiled awkwardly twice, but the smile looked forced.
The wealth that was about to come flew away.
If Su Qingyu entered the Eastern Palace and waited for the crown prince to ascend the throne, she would at best be a concubine. If she won the crown prince's favor and her family provided some support, it would not be impossible for her to ascend to the throne of empress.
On that day, he would be the powerful father-in-law of the emperor.
He had previously thought the Shen family was a good match, but now that something better had emerged, his mind had changed. The Shen family and Shen Zhixiu had become a stumbling block in his path to becoming the father-in-law of the emperor.
Shen Zhixiu was such a smart person that he could see Su Chengye's thoughts at a glance.
He just glanced at Su Chengye's face lightly, and Su Chengye suddenly woke up as if someone had poured a basin of cold water on him.
The marriage between Su and Chen has been decided. If he cancels the engagement at this time and sends Su Qingyu to the Eastern Palace instead, not only will the Shen family not agree, I am afraid that the emperor will not agree either.
If Shen Zhixiu is angered, the Su family will not have a good life.
Thinking of this, Su Chengye's expression returned to normal. He clasped his fists towards Hu Lu and said, "I'm sorry to bother you today, eunuch. I'll have to explain this to the emperor in a polite manner when I get back."
After saying that, he ordered the people around him to bring over a silver ingot of twenty taels and put it into Hu Lu's hand.
After sending Hu Lu away with kind words, Su Chengye said to Shen Zhixiu, "It's a good thing you came to propose marriage in advance, otherwise it would be difficult to handle this imperial edict."
Shen Zhixiu thought to himself that if he had not come to propose marriage in advance, the Su family would probably be overjoyed to receive the order now.
There was no unnecessary expression on his face as he said, "It's just a coincidence."
After the betrothal gifts were delivered and stored in the warehouse, Shen Zhixiu did not stay for long and said goodbye and left the Su family.
Back at Bishui Pavilion, Su Qingyu sat on the big kang by the window, staring blankly at the large pillow embroidered with lotus leaf patterns in gold thread in her hands.
Zhenzhu brought in some fresh Huangyan tangerines. Seeing that Su Qingyu had a sullen face and didn't know what she was thinking, she tried to join in the fun.
“Miss, are you thinking about Mr. Shen San?”
Su Qingyu shook her head and said quietly, "I'm thinking about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Zhenzhu was peeling an orange for Su Qingyu. When she heard this, her fingers trembled and she squeezed the orange segments to extract juice, which flowed down her hand to her wrist.
As she wiped her hands, she whispered, "Miss, you want to marry the prince? But you're already engaged to Mr. Shen San, so I'm afraid it won't work."
Su Qingyu twitched the corner of her mouth and rolled her eyes at Zhenzhu. "What are you thinking about? I'm wondering where this imperial edict came from."
Zhenzhu was confused. "Didn't Eunuch Hu say that the Emperor granted the marriage because he heard that the young lady was both talented and beautiful, and had good character?"
Su Qingyu shook her head and said, "These are all excuses. The emperor is busy with all sorts of affairs, how could he care about the daughter of a marquis?"
Yesterday, she met the Crown Prince and Princess Chaoyun outside the city, and today the imperial decree granting their marriage arrived. How could there be no connection between the two?
And what was the purpose of the clothes Li Chaoyun gave her?
Su Qingyu remained dignified even after lunch. She couldn't sleep or eat until she got to the bottom of this matter.
But if she wanted to investigate, she would have to start with the Crown Prince or Li Chaoyun. Neither of them was someone she could investigate.
"Prepare the car, I'm going to the Shen family." Su Qingyu suddenly ordered in a deep voice.
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