Chapter 5 I'm the Fiancé
The Uighur envoys gasped and secretly gave Mingjiu a thumbs-up. If this weren't the Tang Palace, given the Hu people's personality, they would probably all cheer and praise Prince Mingjiu for his outstanding vision.
The Queen and the Crown Prince's eyes fell on her collar. The traces of crimson rouge were clearly visible, unable to be concealed by the light purple color.
In the silence, the Queen solemnly asked, "Lingling, you have several men in your backyard now. Have you made any decisions about how to choose?"
Qiandeng saw that everyone was looking at the marks on his clothes. Although he didn't understand what it meant, he remembered what Mingjiu had mentioned before about the marriage, and knew that he might have been caught in the vortex.
She answered clearly, "There are eight young men living in the palace's backyard, designated by the Ministry of Rites. Now that I am in mourning for my mother, I am carefully observing the young men's daily activities. Once the mourning period is over, they will definitely be married."
Hearing her tactful response, the Emperor and Empress nodded slightly. The Minister of Rites breathed a sigh of relief and said to Mingjiu, "Prince Mingjiu, it seems your country must choose someone else. The Princess of Lingling is already engaged and will marry after her mother's death. She cannot go to the Huihe to make peace with them."
"Oh, there are eight men in the backyard." Ming Jiu folded his arms and looked at Qian Deng, but there was still a sly smile on his face. "Then why do others say you have more than a dozen?"
Qian Deng said calmly, "Because I have a bad fate, I have no relatives, and I have bad luck with my husband. I have already killed six candidate husbands."
"Hahaha, awesome! I'm looking for a wife like this!" Mingjiu was overjoyed upon hearing this, and the Huihe people behind him also smiled in surprise and nodded repeatedly, "Congratulations, Prince! Congratulations, Prince, on meeting the girl of your destiny!"
Seeing how strange these Uighurs were, the people from the Tang Dynasty looked at each other in confusion, unable to understand.
The messenger quickly explained, "According to our Uighur legend, our ancestor's mother died after six husbands, and finally married a seventh great hero, giving birth to our ancestor, who then multiplied and flourished into fifteen tribes!"
A smug smile appeared on Mingjiu's face. "Why am I here just when the county lady has lost six men? Isn't this the fate of the turtle?"
"Ahem, Prince, it is destiny."
This unexpected turn of events left everyone speechless. The Minister of Rites, observing the Emperor and Empress's grim expressions, said, "But... the court has already designated a husband for the County Princess..."
"If you're not married yet, what kind of husband is he?"
The other Huihe people also echoed: "That's right, since she hasn't married yet, she is a spinster. The Emperor of the Great Tang promised that as long as our prince shoots an unmarried woman, she will be the candidate for marriage. Why do you, the Great Tang, change your mind now that the matter is at hand?"
Seeing the chaos in the palace, the empress and the emperor looked at each other helplessly.
The marriage with the Uighurs concerned the diplomatic relations between the two countries, and was also a thank you gift for their assistance in suppressing the rebellion in the Tang Dynasty. However, the imperial court had previously made great fanfare in selecting a husband for Princess Lingling, which had caused constant troubles, and the people of the world were watching. If the imperial court forced her to marry at this time, it would be tantamount to destroying its own promise, and how could it save face?
"After all, Gao Guo is still unreasonable!" The emperor lowered his voice and said to the queen.
The Queen also sighed: "Yes, how could the Grand Princess guide the Huihe people to choose Lingling for her own personal grudges? Now it's like this..."
As she spoke, her gaze inevitably turned to the prince again, with mixed emotions.
The Crown Prince, who had been suppressing his emotions, finally spoke up and asked the Uighur, "Marriage is a matter of affection between husband and wife, and only then can both parties become friends. Now that the Uighurs are interested, I wonder what Lingling County thinks?"
His words were equivalent to handing the initiative to Qiandeng. Everyone's eyes fell on Qiandeng's face, waiting to see how she would answer.
"Your Highness, the Second Saint and the Crown Prince, I already have many potential husbands in my backyard, and my mother left instructions before her death, designating one of them for me." Qian Deng frowned and spoke slowly, "Therefore, my choice of husband will only be among those in my backyard. I will not go to a foreign country to marry someone else."
When these words were spoken, the Uighurs were in an uproar, realizing that she had absolutely refused the marriage proposal.
Being rejected outright, Mingjiu showed an angry expression and asked, "Who did your mother appoint for you?"
The look on his face was as if he was going to rush over and kill whoever she said, making room for himself to take the position.
Qian Deng lowered her eyes silently. "Because the matter happened so suddenly, I don't know who it was, but the one she designated was indeed one of the husbands the court had prepared for me."
"That's fine, maybe the man your mother was referring to is already dead!" Mingjiu gloated. "Besides, after your mother died, did you get a new husband?"
Qiandeng was speechless for a moment.
There were new husbands, and quite a few of them. There was Ling Tianshui, whom she had brought into the mansion on her own initiative, Cui Fufeng, who came in under the pretext of investigating a case, Jian Anting, who came in to add to the auspicious number, and Yang Huaijiang, who was forced in by Princess Gao...
She could only insist, "I have been with the gentlemen in the backyard for a long time, sharing hardships and difficulties, and our relationship is deep. Therefore, if I were to entrust my life to one of them, I would definitely not consider anyone else."
"That makes sense. If they were like the ordinary men and women in your Tang Dynasty, who never saw each other before marriage, they would definitely not get along after marriage!"
Unexpectedly, Mingjiu agreed outright.
"Isn't it just your backyard? If those men can get in, why can't I? I'm moving in tomorrow. I don't believe that a dignified Uighur prince like me can lose to others!"
Under the mixed gazes of the people in the room, he patted his chest and made the final decision with a bold gesture.
"No matter what, I will be your Xianzhu's fiancé!"
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