Chapter 345 Grace
"Because of this, I also unexpectedly discovered a way to control the Gu poison in his body."
Su Leyan turned to look at Wen Kehao and lowered her voice, saying, "He said that since the Guandu Prefecture's territory was burned down by the government troops, it must be the will of Heaven. The Gu poison can be controlled now, and he wants to marry me, so we might as well stay in the capital. He should ask the Emperor for a favor later."
Meng Lingge was the one who knew Su Leyan's feelings for Wen Kehao better than anyone else, and now that she could get what she wanted, she was very happy for her.
"What a coincidence, the two brothers have come up with the same idea this time."
As they spoke, they arrived at the pavilion. The carved railing was half-open, and inside the pavilion was a jade table with several kinds of snacks on it. A gentle breeze blew, and the aroma of the food wafted towards them.
Upon seeing them approach, the palace maids immediately pulled out embroidered stools from beside the stone table for them to sit on. At this moment, Wen Kehao already knew about Wen Zhiming's arrangements, so he immediately went over and pulled Su Leyan to his side, leading her to kneel down in front of Wen Zhiming.
Wen Zhiming hadn't expected Wen Kehao to react so strongly. He thought Wen Kehao was dissatisfied with his arrangements, so he quickly helped him up and said, "Get up and talk first."
Wen Kehao remained kneeling, his gaze resolute, and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. Le Ran is deeply in love with me, and I have long harbored feelings for her as well. I humbly beg Your Majesty to grant us a marriage. I would be eternally grateful."
He knew that Wen Zhiming would not stop him from being with Su Leran, but because the two had crossed the line before their marriage, he always felt that he had been presumptuous to the beauty and wanted to make up for it as much as possible. Asking his elder brother, the emperor, to grant them a marriage was one of the ways he thought of to make amends.
"That's a good thing. You scared me half to death, you little rascal." Wen Zhiming helped the two of them up. "It's just that I'm fed up with the former emperor's practice of arranging marriages for people, and I really don't want to follow in his footsteps. Let's skip the arranged marriage, but I can be your officiant at the wedding. How about that?"
Marriage is a life-changing event for both men and women.
Because of a single word from the emperor, two people, or even two families, were bound together. This was the most absurd form of power oppression. After ascending the throne, the first thing he abolished was the practice of bestowing marriages and the outdated rule that women who had not yet married in time had to be betrothed to old eunuchs.
Although Wen Kehao and Su Leyan were mutually in love, once this precedent is set, people with ulterior motives will come knocking on their door again.
The officiant at the wedding was different; he was given dignity without being subject to the control of imperial power.
Wen Kehao wanted to say something more.
Su Leyan said, "That would be perfect. With the Emperor as our officiant, you can't bully me today, or I can complain to the Emperor."
Wen Kehao immediately declared, "After we get married, only you can bully me; I will never bully you."
Seeing that the two had no objections, Wen Zhiming walked over and sat down next to Meng Lingge. The two smiled at each other, feeling gratified by the progress in Wen Kehao and Su Leyan's relationship.
The group took their seats, and palace maids moved about, serving up one delicious dish after another.
Wen Zhiming had already drunk quite a bit of wine during the day, and this was Meng Lingge's first day living with him in the palace. Not wanting to displease his wife by indulging in too much drinking, he had some fruit wine sent over.
The fruit wine was sweet and mellow, and all four of them could enjoy it. The family ate and chatted, with Wen Zhiming and Wen Kehao discussing national affairs, and Meng Lingge and Su Leyan talking about their experiences and changes after they separated.
Dinner lasted for two hours, until the food was cold and the wine was finished, before Wen Kehao and Su Leyan got up to say goodbye.
Wen Zhiming and Meng Lingge saw the two off onto the carriage. They watched the carriage leave Yuehua Palace.
The evening breeze made the lotus flowers dance, and the moonlight made people's shadows hazy.
Wen Zhiming brushed the stray strands of hair from Meng Lingge's forehead behind her ear. "You must be tired after a long day of running around."
Apart from mealtimes, he and Meng Lingge hadn't had a moment's rest all day. He was already used to it, but Meng Lingge was definitely struggling. He had sensed that his wife was a bit out of energy during dinner earlier.
Thinking of this, he bent down and picked her up before Meng Lingge could reply. "I will take you back to Fengyi Palace to rest. We can deal with other matters tomorrow."
"No, I will go back by myself." Meng Lingge struggled to get down. "Your Majesty, please take care of your business first. I will go back to the palace by myself."
She was a little sleepy, but not so tired that she couldn't walk. Wen Zhiming clearly had other things to do, so there was no need to make him make this extra trip.
"Then let's take the carriage back. I'll come back to keep you company when I'm done with my work." After Wen Zhiming finished speaking, a eunuch ordered someone to bring Meng Lingge's private phoenix carriage.
It is embroidered with phoenix patterns, and the colors are bright yellow with red borders. It features six horses running side by side, and the style is very luxurious.
Meng Lingge didn't refuse this time; it would be a waste not to take advantage of the convenience that came with her status.
With Wen Zhiming's help, she boarded the phoenix carriage, thinking that Wen Zhiming had said he would go back to be with her. The word "go back" made her very happy.
Meanwhile, in a farmhouse courtyard a dozen kilometers away from the palace, a young woman who looked to be only twenty years old cautiously looked around to make sure no one was there before slowly walking into the courtyard and gently knocking on the door three times.
The door creaked open, but only a crack. After seeing who it was, a hand reached out from inside and pulled the girl inside, then closed the door again.
The room was dimly lit, with only one candle burning.
The wind seeping through the crack in the door made the candlelight flicker, and the two girls' faces looked somewhat eerie and sinister in the light.
The girl who was pulled in was panting heavily. She slowly sat down, holding onto the table with one hand. "Princess, this old servant's face is only twenty, but this old servant's body is already over sixty. I can't withstand such strong pulling. If this old servant's bones are broken, then there will be no one to replace the princess's human skin."
The voice was particularly hoarse and unpleasant, completely at odds with her face.
That's Mr. Fu's voice.
Sitting next to her with a cold expression, the one she addressed as "Princess" was naturally Princess Qiongxiao.
However, their faces have now been replaced with those of Han Lu and Han Yan, maids from the princess's residence.
Princess Qiongxiao frowned upon hearing this. "I have said this several times already. Do not call me princess. You must call me Hanlu."
Fu Lao was speechless. Princess Qiongxiao couldn't change her self-reference and kept calling herself "this palace," so he blamed her for calling her by the wrong name.
How could she possibly address a woman who was so domineering and arrogant, who acted as if she were the only one in the palace, by the name of a maid?
But there was nothing she could do; after all, the other person was rich and wanted to live a comfortable life in her old age, so she had no choice but to obey.
Although Old Master Fu didn't say anything, Princess Qiongxiao realized her mistake from her expression, so she changed the subject and said, "I asked you to go out and find out some information, did you find anything?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
