Fourth Master was taken aback. He said, "What do you mean by this? Get up quickly."
Lanqin replied, "Your Majesty, I will not get up unless you agree!"
The Emperor asked, "What is your purpose?"
Lanqin replied, "Your Majesty, Hongli is still a child. I don't want him to be seen as a thorn in someone's side so early. If you hold a wedding for him in the palace, then Hongli will live under the schemes of others from now on."
The Emperor said, "Lanqin, don't worry, with me here, I will protect Hongli."
"Your Majesty knows that you love Hongli, but even if Your Majesty can withstand open attacks, the harm from the shadows is unpredictable! So please, Your Majesty, withdraw your offer!" Lanqin insisted.
After listening to Lanqin's words, the Emperor felt that they made a lot of sense and realized that he had been too hasty. He decided not to spoil Hongli too much before Hongli had built up his own power base, so he gave up the idea of holding a wedding for him in the palace.
The Emperor said, "I understand. I will not hold a wedding for Hongli in the palace. Alright, you can get up now."
Lanqin stood up and asked again, "Then how much the betrothal gifts should be is up to Your Majesty to decide!"
After thinking for a while, the emperor said, "Let's give the Fucha family 100,000 taels of silver first, and the Ulanara family 60,000 taels. After all, the Fucha family's daughter is the principal wife, so the betrothal gifts should be more generous. As for the others, let's give them the same gifts as the principal wife and concubines."
Lanqin nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I understand." Then she added, "Your Majesty, if you have nothing to do today, please come to Changchun Palace and have dinner with me! You haven't been here for a long time."
The Emperor was already troubled by Hongshi's affairs. He was now utterly disappointed in Hongshi because of this matter. In a bad mood, he simply didn't want to care about state affairs anymore. So he said, "Alright, I'll go back with you. Consider it a way to clear my head."
A few days later, Wang Li told the Eighth Prince that the matter he had been asking about had been resolved.
The Eighth Prince asked, "How is it? What are their family members doing now?"
Wang Li replied, “Your Highness, Ruan Meiying has parents and an older brother. Before the drought, her family was doing alright. But since the drought, Ruan Meiying’s father starved to death because of lack of food, and her brother Ruan Dafeng went missing a few days ago.”
The Eighth Prince frowned and said, "Disappeared? Why did they disappear?"
Wang Li said, "No one knows that Ruan Dafeng told his wife that he was just going on a long trip to visit his relatives, but who knew that he would never come back. Moreover, it is said that the time he disappeared was the same time that Prince Beile brought Ruan Meiying back to the capital."
Knowing something might go wrong, the Eighth Prince immediately gave the order: "Wang Li, send someone to tell Linlang to keep a close eye on Ruan Meiying, and tell Guan Bin to keep an eye on Ruan Meiying's family. Then send someone to find Ruan Dafeng. Make sure to find him alive or dead. This Ruan Dafeng might ruin our plans."
"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Just as Wang Li was about to leave, he heard the Eighth Prince say, "Wait a moment, then send someone to tell Hongshi that I've arranged to meet him at the Red Crane Tower tonight."
The Eighth Prince never expected his plan to be so flawless, but who knew that a farmer would ruin it? If this got back to the Emperor, everything would be over.
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