Chapter 45: Arranging a Ghost Marriage for the Prince of Jin (Part 1)
"Although Zhen'er is no longer worthy of being my concubine, since she saved me, I will naturally keep a place for her by my side. Didn't you oppose me making her a concubine before? Then change her to a concubine."
In the Great Qi State, the difference between the king's concubine and concubine was only one character, but the status difference was huge. Concubines had official titles, and their children were eligible to inherit the title.
A concubine, like a concubine of an ordinary family, had a low status. Her children would not have any titles. Even if Dongfang Yan became emperor in the future, the concubine's children would not have the right to inherit.
Lin Qingyue said, "Concubine, I don't agree either."
Dongfang Yan: "Lin Qingyue you..."
"If you can agree to one condition, I will allow you to take a concubine, how about that?"
Dongfang Yan didn't expect her to change the subject so quickly and actually agreed.
"Okay, go ahead." In Dongfang Yan's eyes, when a woman makes conditions, it's nothing more than asking for some benefits.
As long as Lin Qingyue is willing to speak nicely, he is willing to pamper her.
"There are still many treasures in my storehouse. I'll let Zhao An take you to choose. It doesn't hurt to choose a few more."
"I don't want anything, I just want Your Highness to accompany me somewhere tonight."
"Where?"
"Am I not serving as the deputy envoy of the Xuanjing Division? Lord Xie has assigned me a case, and I have to leave the city tonight. However, I am a woman, and the Princess of Jin. Leaving the city in the middle of the night without permission, even for official business, will always affect my reputation. If the prince were to accompany me, it would be different."
"Lin Qingyue, you don't want to harm me, do you?" For some reason, Dongfang Yan felt like he was being plotted against when he heard Lin Qingyue call herself "your concubine".
Lin Qingyue smiled brightly, "How could that be? If Your Highness is worried, you can bring more guards. Besides, I am your legal wife. If I kill you, wouldn't I become a widow?"
After some deception, Dongfang Yan got on the carriage leaving the city.
Sitting in the carriage, Dongfang Yan asked, "What is the case that Xie Shouzheng assigned to you? Is it dangerous?"
"Of course it's not dangerous. It's just a poor girl who died unjustly in the river. I can go over and help resolve her obsession and let her go. Compared to what happened with the Lin family a while ago, it's nothing."
"Lin Qingyue..." Dongfang Yan felt that Lin Qingyue seemed to have restrained all the thorns in her body at this moment, so he couldn't help but want to say a few more words to her.
"I didn't know you were having such a hard time..."
Lin Qingyue was confused by these sudden words for a moment: "What are you going to say?"
There was only a small light in the car, and the bright yellow light cast a shadow on Dongfang Yan's face, not as cold as usual.
His tone also softened a bit: "I will treat you well in the future."
Lin Qingyue blinked and said, "Oh."
Dongfang Yan wanted to say something else but was suddenly interrupted by a cat's meow.
As soon as the car curtain moved, the tabby cat jumped in, meowing and rubbing against Lin Qingyue's feet.
Dongfang Yan's face was filled with disgust: "How did this cat get into the car? Get it out."
He really hated those furry things, and especially hated the contemptuous look the cat gave him.
Lin Qingyue said, "Cats are afraid of the cold, so they might want to get into the car to warm up. Does Your Majesty hate cats?"
Dongfang Yan nodded. "I was caught with it when I was little, so I don't like it. If you really like this cat, just let it stay in the car. Just don't let it get close to me."
Since they got married, they haven't had many chances to talk properly to each other, and Dongfang Yan doesn't want to ruin their harmony for a cat again.
"In that case, thank you so much, Your Highness." Lin Qingyue smiled, and her whole person became much gentler.
It turned out that the feeling of having a good chat with her was so comfortable. Dongfang Yan suddenly felt that this trip was worthwhile.
He was even considering whether he could bring their relationship closer after tonight and let Lin Qingyue become his real woman.
When he thought of this, his gaze towards Lin Qingyue became somewhat ambiguous.
It was only at this moment that he realized that Lin Qingyue seemed to have become much more beautiful. As expected, the Wang Mansion was better at supporting people than the Lin family.
"Qingyue..." When a romantic thought arose in his mind, Dongfang Yan couldn't help but move closer to Lin Qingyue.
He thought: She is my wife, and I haven't been close to her for such a long time.
Lin Qingyue was looking out the window and didn't notice Dongfang Yan approaching, nor did she notice that he was reaching out to touch her face.
Just as the hand was about to touch Lin Qingyue's face, a cat's claw suddenly swung out and grabbed Dongfang Yan's hand fiercely.
Dongfang Yan quickly withdrew his hand in pain, and when he looked down, he saw three bloody scratches on his hand.
"You beast!" Dongfang Yan's face suddenly changed and he was about to get angry.
But then Lin Qingyue said, "You're pressing his tail. Hey, weren't you sitting over there just now? When did you move over here?"
Dongfang Yan: "..."
After leaving the capital, we staggered along the way and walked for more than half an hour before finally arriving at Wangjia Village in Wan'an County.
Upon learning that Xuan Jingsi was coming to exorcise evil spirits tonight, the entire village gathered at the entrance to watch the fun.
There are also well-informed people who heard that the drowned daughter of Wang Kuang's family had wanted to marry, and that she had to marry a nobleman.
At first, no one believed that such a ridiculous idea could come true.
Even the victims, Wang Kuang and his wife, thought this was a fantasy. They even said to Xie Shouzheng sensibly, "Sir, how about letting me and her mother go and persuade her? We ordinary people, how can we get involved with the nobility? Besides... what's more, it's a ghost marriage?"
At this moment, a graceful and luxurious carriage came in the night, surrounded by guards in military uniforms and armor in front and behind, looking majestic.
The literate people in the village gasped when they saw the word "Jin" printed on the carriage. "Four horses with golden bridles—that's only for princes. Could this be His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin?"
The crowd began to discuss quietly, and most people did not believe it: How could the prince come to this rural place?
The carriage stopped, and Chief Steward Zhao shouted, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has arrived!"
It is indeed the King of Jin!
The people knelt down and kowtowed.
Wang Kuang and his wife were both stunned. Xie Shouzheng stroked his beard and said with a smile, "Look, your son-in-law is here."
That one sentence frightened Wang Kuang and his wife so much that they collapsed on the ground - asking the Prince of Jin to marry their daughter after death? They wouldn't dare to do it even if they were killed!
"Why are there so many people?"
Dongfang Yan looked at the people coldly.
He always held himself in high esteem, rarely interacting with the public. Seeing everyone's respectful demeanor, he took it for granted. But why did those people's furtive, prying eyes hold a certain strangeness?
"This place is small and things can't be hidden. If anything happens, the whole village will know about it. Of course we come here to watch the fun." Lin Qingyue calmly led Dongfang Yan to the river.
The boat had been prepared long ago. It was painted red all over and a red ribbon was tied to the bow.
Dongfang Yan asked in confusion, "Why is this boat red?"
Lin Qingyue opened her mouth and said, "Red is for warding off evil spirits. Let's go, get on the boat first."
"Why did the king come on board?"
Nonsense, how can we pick up the bride if the groom doesn’t get on the boat?
"Let's watch the fun together!" Without waiting for Dongfang Yan's consent, Lin Qingyue pushed him onto the boat and jumped on right after him.
Xie Shouzheng had already boarded the boat. When he saw Prince Jin boarding, he didn't wait for anyone to stand firmly. He pushed the boat away with a pole. His speed was so fast that even Dongfang Yan's guards couldn't catch up.
"Lin Qingyue, you are not going to murder me in the middle of the river, are you?" Dongfang Yan couldn't help but think of the time when he was kidnapped by Ah Heng. Lin Qingyue seemed to have said that she didn't mind being a widow?
"We, the Xuanjing Division, are dedicated to slaying evil spirits and suppressing demons, protecting the peace of this region. We will never do anything to harm others!"
Lin Qingyue spoke righteously, acting like a gentleman. But the more he spoke, the more uneasy Dongfang Yan felt.
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