"He still expects the Emperor to bestow upon him the title of First-Class Duke of Cheng'en? Ha!"
Ru Hua and Nong Ying lowered their heads.
Xu Lejin said slowly and deliberately, "His Majesty originally wanted to bestow upon him the honorary title of Duke Cheng'en, but I persuaded him to stop. Letting him stay peacefully in Xu Mu'er's house is already the greatest mercy I can show. He still wants to be Duke Cheng'en."
"Dream on."
Inside the palace, several imperial decrees were issued regarding arranged marriages.
The families outside the palace were stunned. Those who had been betrothed to the princess by the emperor were overjoyed, while the Ma Jia and Qi Jia families, who had not been betrothed, were secretly plotting.
Xu Muer's family
Xu Lu learned of the imperial decree to arrange a marriage from the maid, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of old blood.
Despite the doctor's best efforts to save him, Xu Lu suffered a stroke and will be bedridden from now on.
Madam Xie glanced at Xu Lu with disdain, thinking to herself that it was good that he had suffered a stroke; with a stroke, he wouldn't be able to cause any more trouble, and the maids in the house would be spared from being harmed.
If it weren't for the Empress in the palace saying that he couldn't die, she would have killed this old man long ago. He was unreliable, disrespectful to his elders, and easily fooled by his illegitimate sons. He even had designs on her granddaughter...
The only regret is that since that old geezer is still alive, his illegitimate sons have to continue living at home.
"Father? Father, what happened to you? How could you suddenly have a stroke? Now that you've had a stroke, how am I supposed to live? How am I supposed to live?"
"Father, we won't marry the princess anymore, we won't marry the princess anymore, your son only wants you to be well, Father."
Nearly forty years old, Xu Lu's eldest son, who was already of grandfatherly age, cried like a child.
If someone didn't know the situation, they might think it was a deep father-son bond.
Madam Xie glanced at her eldest son with disgust and said coldly, "Who let the eldest young master out?"
"Why isn't the young master staying in the courtyard? What are you doing running out here? Your father was angered by you, which is why he vomited blood and had a stroke. What more trouble are you causing?"
With a sharp voice and stern expression, Madam Xie reprimanded her eldest son, who was born out of wedlock.
Immediately afterward, Madam Xie spoke again in a deep voice, "Guards, take the eldest young master back to his courtyard. Without my permission, he is not to step out of the courtyard."
"It's the same for the second and third young masters."
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