Zhang You did not sleep all night. They waited until late at night, but Qiao Si and the others did not come back. Prince Qiao was worried that they would anger the emperor, so he rushed to the palace overnight.
It was not until the sun rose and a new day arrived that the three of them returned from the palace exhausted.
Looking at their haggard appearance, Zhang You had already guessed that the outcome of this matter was very bad. They did not ask any questions, but just changed Qiao Si's dew-soaked cloak and handed her the hot water bottle that had been filled with it.
"Princess, please drink some hot soup first. Your hands are cold." When Zhang You handed her the hot water bottle, he found that her hands were red and very cold.
Qiao Si agreed with her suggestion, and thinking of his father and brother who had also worked hard all night, he asked them to offer it to them as well.
They went straight to the front hall, where several charcoal fires were lit, making the room quite warm. Qiao Er, who had been worried all night, had been waiting for them there early.
After they had warmed up a little, Qiao Si began to talk about the outcome of the matter.
Qi Ce cried and complained before the emperor, deliberately playing the victim. Qiao San and Qiao Si said a lot of sincere words, but the emperor remained indifferent. He was determined to think that Qi Ce had deliberately hurt people in the Qiao Palace. For this reason, Qiao San and Qiao Si knelt in the imperial study for a long time.
When Prince Qiao arrived, he knelt for two hours at the entrance to the imperial study. The previous night was particularly dark and the dew was heavy, and Prince Qiao, who already had a history of leg problems, could no longer hold out after kneeling for two hours. The emperor then invited Prince Qiao in. In consideration of all Prince Qiao had done for him over the years, the emperor said he would let them go, but he had to follow Qi Ce's advice and marry the two families to him—betroth Qiao Er to him.
Qiao Si and the others were of course unwilling, but they could not resist.
So, the matter ended with the sacrifice of Qiao Er.
I wonder if that dog emperor wanted to see them having fun, but he actually arranged their wedding on the ninth day of the first lunar month, eight days later.
That day was the day when Xie Zhuan and Lin Qingyao got married.
Zhang You and the others were naturally angry when they heard this, but when they saw that the three most powerful people in their mansion were unable to change this result, their anger was replaced by depression.
The Dog Emperor has become increasingly crazy in the past two years.
Two years ago, he allowed his concubine to massacre over a hundred members of the Sun family. Last year, he exiled Minister Jiang's entire family without cause. Now, he's arbitrarily arranged marriages against the Qiao Palace. The court has completely become his one-man show, disregarding justice and acting solely on his own whim...
The front hall was quiet for a moment, and the only sound was the crackling of the burning charcoal.
After a long while, Prince Qiao looked at Qiao Er, his face full of guilt: "Yin'er, I am useless and cannot influence your marriage."
Qiao Er had respected her father since she was young, so how could she resent him for this? "Father, don't feel guilty. This matter is not yours to decide. I have an old illness and I knelt for so long last night. You must take good care of me and don't worry about me anymore. I'm already grown up and will be fine in the future."
Qiao Er agreed to the marriage with a smile, but he didn't want them to get hurt because of him again.
"The wedding is in eight days, and I still have a lot of things to prepare. Sister, please make arrangements with me." Qiao Er changed the subject as if it was a very ordinary matter.
"Yin'er..." Prince Qiao's eyes were full of heartache.
Looking at Qiao Er like this, Qiao San couldn't stand the depressing atmosphere anymore. He stood up suddenly, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Finally, he had to leave in anger.
"Duzhou! Where are you going?" Prince Qiao looked at him walking out impatiently and spoke worriedly.
"I'm going out for a walk." Qiao Duzhou walked hurriedly without even turning his head.
"Father, don't worry and ruin your health. I will be fine." Tears welled up in Qiao Er's eyes. She squatted down and looked up at Prince Qiao, as if saying goodbye.
Zhang You couldn't bear the emotional scene and burst into tears. Chunhua and the others were also moved and became less talkative.
Prince Qiao and his companions returned at 11:00 AM, while the imperial decree granting the marriage arrived at 7:00 PM. Soon, the news spread throughout the capital. Many mocked the declining morals of Prince Qiao's mansion, saying even Prince Qiao's former apprentice could step in and take advantage of them. The so-called granting of marriage was actually a blow to Prince Qiao's mansion, a ploy by the Emperor to disgust them.
Everyone in the capital could see clearly that Qi Ce was a treacherous, opportunistic villain. He had spent every night in prostitutes during his few days back in the capital. The thought of such a man marrying Prince Qiao's daughter was truly heartbreaking. Most of the women who knew about this sympathized with Qiao Er's plight.
With the imperial decree already issued, Prince Qiao's palace could only begin preparations for the wedding. However, when contacting Qi Ce's people, they learned that Qi Ce, this fickle scumbag, was going back to his fiefdom on the eighth day of the first lunar month. He hadn't made any preparations at all and only wanted to embarrass Qiao Er!
For this reason, Qiao Si went to the brothel where he was drinking and made a big scene. In the end, it took the imperial edict to make him calm down and prepare to pick up the bride.
The wedding was a sudden event, and over twenty embroiderers from the capital worked tirelessly day and night to create Qiao Er's wedding attire. The three letters and six ceremonials were greatly simplified. Because of the princess's presence, the palace couldn't be extensively decorated; instead, only red silk and red lanterns were hung along the path from Qiao Er's courtyard to the main entrance.
Qi Ce's betrothal gift was only delivered after Qiao Si sent people to urge him many times. It was still just a few very shabby boxes. Under Qiao Si's contemptuous eyes, Qi Ce added some more gold and silver.
On the fifth day of the first lunar month, Xie Zhuan came to the palace and met Qiao Er.
Zhang You and the others wanted to see what he was going to do, so they sneaked into the front hall to take a look. They didn't know until they saw it that this man came to regret his actions.
Xie Zhuan had been accompanying Lin Qingyao in preparing for their wedding for the past few days, and it had been five days since he heard about Qiao Er's affairs from the servant. He actually guessed that Lin Qingyao had some trickery behind this, otherwise he wouldn't have heard the news until now, or only after the servant let it slip.
He hurried over, just wanting to see her, but after seeing her, he didn't know what to do or say.
He is no longer her fiancé and is no longer qualified to make decisions for her.
He hesitated and spoke, his eyes filled with deep guilt: "Ayin..."
"Mr. Xie, do you have anything else to say? If so, please tell me now. I still have to go pick out my headwear for the wedding and don't have time to waste here." Qiao Er urged coldly.
Xie Zhuan was hurt by her words. He had not expected this. "Ayin, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. If I hadn't broken off the engagement with you, you wouldn't have been blackmailed by Qi Ce and wouldn't have been granted the marriage... It's all my fault... Ayin..."
As he said this, he tried to get closer to Qiao Er, but Qiao Er dodged him.
"Mr. Xie, is this all you have to say? If that's all you have to say, can you go back? Since you can't save me, stop saying useless things." Qiao Er didn't want to pay attention to him and was about to leave by walking past him.
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