The eunuch announcing the imperial decree began in a high-pitched voice: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: My fourth son, Aisin Gioro Yinzhen, is of noble character, exemplary in filial piety, and accomplished in both literary and martial arts. Now that he has reached the age of maturity, there is a daughter of the Vice Minister of Works, of the Tongjia clan, Cheng'er, who is fourteen years old, a Manchu of the Plain White Banner, of dignified appearance, and beautiful both inside and out. Therefore, I hereby decree that she be chosen as the primary consort of the Fourth Prince, and a wedding date shall be chosen. This is the imperial decree!"
The moment the imperial edict was read, everyone kneeling in the courtyard was stunned.
Looking at the stunned crowd, Eunuch Ming wondered why they were so overjoyed that they wouldn't even accept the imperial edict.
Eunuch Ming reminded him, "Lord Alhatu, it's time to receive the imperial decree."
Alhatu snapped out of his daze and said, "This servant kowtows to thank Your Majesty for your great favor."
As soon as Alhatu finished speaking, everyone realized what he meant and quickly expressed their gratitude.
With smiles, they saw off the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, and then everyone tacitly headed towards the main courtyard of the Shumulu clan. Once inside, they dismissed the servants.
With no outsiders around, Shumulu almost burst into tears: "My poor daughter, how could she be betrothed like this!"
Tong Cheng'er looked at her mother, never expecting such a strong reaction.
A marriage decreed by the emperor…a marriage decreed by the emperor shouldn’t be this distressing! She, the person directly involved, hasn’t even cried yet!
Moreover, she had met the Fourth Prince. Although he was a bit cold, he wasn't so bad that he would make her mother cry, was he?
Al-Hatu looked down and saw his son and daughter-in-law were there. He said, "Alright, the imperial decree has already been issued. What's the point of saying all this useless stuff? Let's see what to do!"
what to do?
Everyone looked at Tong Cheng'er.
Even if His Majesty were to bestow a marriage upon a member of the imperial family, the merits left by the Tong family's ancestors would ensure that no one would bully the daughters who had married out of the family.
However, the person to whom the marriage was arranged was the emperor's son. If the daughter was disliked for being too lazy and suffered grievances, they would have no one to complain to.
So all I can do is try to stop her from being so lazy.
Tong Cheng'er felt a chill run down her spine from being stared at; she had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.
It came true the next day; she was woken up half an hour earlier than usual in the morning.
Even the housekeeper she used to dislike the most was now required by Shumulu to work with her on all the big and small matters in the mansion.
No matter how much Tong Cheng'er tried to act pitiful, it was no use; even her cuteness failed.
If she feigned pitifulness and acted cute, Shumulu would tearfully complain to her with red eyes and a dejected face, "My dear, I don't want to force you, but you're marrying into the royal family. Tell me, if you're bullied, I'll risk my life to get justice for you. Is the imperial family a place where we can reason? I only regret that I've been too lenient with you. If you don't have a good life in the future, it will all be my fault..."
Tong Cheng'er had a headache listening to this.
In truth, she knew that the situation wasn't as serious as her mother had made it out to be. After all, the royal family wasn't some den of dragons and tigers where going in would mean the end of one's life.
But hearing this, Tong Cheng'er really couldn't remain unmoved. There was no other way; to put her elderly mother's mind at ease, she had to become less lazy.
Of course, it just means she's not so lazy; it's impossible to expect her to be more diligent.
Shumulu felt sorry for her when she saw her like this, but she softened her heart now, fearing that her daughter would cry later.
After being "diligent" for several days, Yingyu delivered a letter.
Tong Cheng'er still missed her friend who had lived with her for half a month. In addition, the housekeeper was a little tired and she wanted to take a break, so she sent someone to Niu Gulu's residence to invite her over for a chat.
Yingyu also remembered Tong Cheng'er, who lived with her, and since Tong Cheng'er was talkative and liked to hang out with people, she went over.
As soon as Yingyu arrived, she smiled and said, "Congratulations, you will be the Fourth Princess Consort from now on."
Tong Cheng'er gave her a reproachful look: "Aren't you teasing me too?"
Yingyu laughed out loud: "Alright, let's not talk about you anymore. By the way, speaking of which, the illness you had wasn't such a bad thing. After you left, a lot of things happened in Chuxiu Palace, affecting many people. I think there were innocent people among them. Many of the palace ladies were sent away, and two of them were disfigured."
Yingyu still feels a bit scared when she talks about it now. She's not very brave, and this incident almost affected her. Just thinking about it makes her feel terrified.
Upon hearing this, Tong Cheng'er was surprised to hear that so many things had happened in Chuxiu Palace after she left. After all, while she was still in Chuxiu Palace, although there were some minor frictions among the people there, none of them were serious.
Her illness looked serious, but she didn't suffer any real pain.
In this light, she managed to escape these conflicts by using her illness, and even went home to enjoy herself. In the end, the Emperor even bestowed a marriage upon her. Although her family didn't think much of the marriage, it seemed like a windfall to outsiders.
So, she's been hit by a golden pie.
It hurt quite a bit when it was "smashed," and she's been suffering a lot because of it lately.
After hearing what she said, Tong Cheng'er couldn't help but feel a little fortunate that she hadn't experienced those things.
"That makes sense."
Yingyu nodded: "That's right!"
After saying all this, Yingyu added, "Speaking of which, I was quite surprised when I heard that you were betrothed to the Fourth Prince."
Tong Cheng'er was also startled when she heard the imperial edict.
Yingyu actually had some things she didn't say. Back then, she and the Fourth Prince fell together in the Imperial Garden, and after she left, the ladies-in-waiting in Chuxiu Palace gossiped a lot.
However, bringing this up would be seen as gossiping behind someone's back, and since Tong Cheng'er's future is already set, there's no need to say anything; doing so would only cause unnecessary trouble.
As the two were chatting, Ruxue came in and said, "Princess, Third Master is here."
Tong Cheng'er asked in confusion, "Why did Third Brother come at this time?"
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