Chapter 197: Granted Marriage
"I wish Your Majesty good health and a long-lasting prosperity for the nation!"
"I wish Your Majesty good fortune as vast as the flowing waters of the East Sea, and a long life as long as the evergreen pines of the Southern Mountains."
"Your Majesty, may your life be eternal, as constant as the sun, as rising as the moon, as long-lived as the Southern Mountains, never crumbling or collapsing. Like the flourishing pines and cypresses, all may inherit your legacy. Your life shall be like the stones of the Southern Mountains, your limbs shall be healthy and straight..."
Before and after the emperor appeared, congratulations began to pour in. First, it came from the princes and concubines, then from the ministers in the court, and even from other envoys who came out to wish him a happy birthday.
Su Fengzhang also joined the crowd in celebrating the birthday. His position was neither too far nor too far, but in the middle of the hall. He could vaguely see the emperor by looking up. Although Emperor Xuanwu was already quite old, he now had a rosy complexion and looked very energetic.
This grand scene of joy and happiness gathered together is what the emperor likes most.
Sitting at the front were the three princes. The crown prince wore a golden crown and jade belt, looking quite noble. There was a hint of arrogance on his face, and a sinister look in his eyes that could not be shaken off.
In comparison, the Fourth Prince's attire was much more restrained. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he wore a jade pendant, which was a personal jade pendant specially awarded to him by the Emperor when he was in favor.
Prince Rong and Prince Cheng sat below the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince respectively. This arrangement was quite confusing.
If we follow the distinction between monarch and minister, then Prince Cheng should sit in front of the Fourth Prince, but if we follow the royal ranking, then Prince Rong is the Crown Prince's elder. However, naturally no one has any objection at this time.
Prince Rong's complexion was not very good either, and he looked a little pale. It was obvious that a serious illness a few months ago had caused his health to deteriorate rapidly.
The emperor also noticed that his brother looked unwell and asked with concern, "Ah Le, have you gotten better? Why do you still look pale? What do those people in the Imperial Hospital do for a living?"
Prince Rong smiled and said, "Brother Your Majesty, I am much better now."
The emperor sighed, shook his head, and said, "You didn't take care of your body when you were young, and now you're old you're suffering. I advised you against it back then."
Prince Rong just smiled and changed the subject, saying, "Today is your royal brother's birthday, so please don't worry about me anymore. Come, I offer a toast to Your Majesty, and wish you a hundred years of longevity and happiness."
The emperor drank the wine with a cheerful laugh and said, "Today is a great day, and I am very happy. Why not double my happiness?"
After saying this, the emperor looked at Empress Yun on his left. Empress Yun smiled slightly, patted Princess Hejing who was sitting beside her, and said softly, "Hejing is not young anymore. You can't continue to follow your wishes. Why don't you ask Your Majesty to grant them a marriage so that they can become a perfect couple."
Princess Hejing had obviously known about this for a long time, and her face showed no surprise, only a slight blush.
The emperor also laughed and said, "Ah Le, as your uncle, I am the one who arranged the marriage for He Jing. You won't disagree, will you?"
Prince Rong simply smiled and said, "My daughter is spoiled and willful. Now that Your Majesty is in charge of her affairs, I can rest assured that she will not be bullied after she gets married."
The emperor immediately said, "Hejing is your daughter, and also my niece, the princess of the Great Zhou. Who dares to bully her?"
"Ajun, why don't you kneel down and listen to my orders?"
Prince Xi was usually a rather rebellious man, but at this moment his cheeks flushed red as he came out obediently to receive the decree. He Jing, who was sitting next to the Queen, glanced at him, and soon came out to receive the decree together.
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: We have heard that Princess Hejing is skilled, generous, kind, and of outstanding character and appearance. The Empress and I are greatly pleased to hear this. Now, when Prince Xi is getting married, the daughter is the eldest daughter of Prince Rong, and the husband is the eldest son of Princess Ronghe and General He. Princess Hejing is currently staying at home, and she and Prince Xi are a match made in heaven. To bring this beautiful woman together and bring our two families together, all ceremonial arrangements shall be handled jointly by the Ministry of Rites and the Director of the Imperial Observatory, and an auspicious date shall be chosen for the wedding."
"I accept your order and thank you for your grace." He Jun took the imperial edict respectfully, and He Jing had no objection.
The royal family members were not surprised, but some civil officials began to grumble in their hearts, wondering how Prince Xi and Princess Hejing came together. Wasn't it said that these two were incompatible?
However, one of them was the emperor's niece and the other was his nephew, so it was not surprising that they were granted marriage.
Su Fengzhang instantly thought of He Jun's hostility towards him, and then thought about today's arranged marriage, which was both ridiculous and sad. He thought to himself that this guy had always picked on him because he was jealous, so he was really wronged.
Just as he was thinking about it, Su Fengzhang noticed a look in his eyes. He looked up and saw Prince Cheng looking at him and smiling.
Su Fengzhang showed a helpless smile. Well, there was also this person who insisted on forcing him into the love triangle.
After granting the newlyweds a marriage, the emperor said with a cheerful smile, "Ajun, Hejing, you are no longer children after you get married. You should both control your tempers and live a good life."
"Your Majesty..." He Jing's cheeks were red and she looked shy.
He Jun said shamelessly: "Uncle, don't worry, I will take good care of He Jing."
"Hmph, who wants you to take care of them? Who knows who will take care of whom when the time comes." He Jing muttered in a low voice.
Seeing this, the emperor felt that he had done a good thing, but when his eyes fell on Su Fengzhang, he felt a little embarrassed. He thought to himself that he had spoken about granting the marriage before, and it was Prince Rong who came to ask for it, but who knew that He Jing looked down on Su Fengzhang and instead got together with He Jun. Now he has a hard time explaining himself.
This thought only flashed through his mind, and the emperor's eyes quickly fell on his fifth prince, and an idea flashed through his mind.
At this moment, Concubine Yu, who was sitting below the Empress, suddenly spoke up: "Your Majesty, they say good things come in pairs. Taking advantage of today's great joy, Your Majesty has also granted marriage to Prince Xi and Princess Hejing. I, the concubine, would also like to ask for an imperial decree."
Yu Fei's words came out of the blue, but the Emperor was not angry. He knew that Yu Fei was a woman who knew her limits. "Oh, my beloved concubine, what decree do you want? Do you also want me to issue a decree to grant you a marriage?"
Concubine Yu smiled sweetly, nodded, and said, "That's right."
"My eldest brother is engaged to my aunt's niece, and I, shamelessly, would like to ask for an imperial decree granting the marriage."
The aunt that Concubine Yu mentioned should be the wife of Mr. Fang, the prefect of Qingzhou. Mr. Fang's wife was born into an ordinary family, and her niece must not be from a wealthy family either.
At that moment, there was a young woman sitting next to Concubine Yu. She was very beautiful, but looked quite timid.
Although Fang Yu's official position is not high, he has a good sister, and it is unexpected that he has decided to marry such a person.
Everyone present thought of the beautiful but ill-fated Miss Xu from the Xu family, and then remembered that Fang Yu had married a dead person, and for a moment they felt a lot of sympathy for him.
The emperor sighed inwardly, thinking that when the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince competed, the girl from the Xu family died, and in the end, Concubine Yu's brother was wronged. He also liked Fang Yu's appearance and character, so he said, "Why not? I will grant you the marriage now."
"Then I would like to thank Your Majesty on behalf of my brother and future sister-in-law." Concubine Yu said with a smile.
In the crowd, Fang Yu, who was originally sitting with a gloomy expression, stepped out to express his gratitude after hearing this.
Madam Fang's niece's face also flushed bright red. At Concubine Yu's prompting, she bowed and said, "Huang Ying thanks Your Majesty. I wish Your Majesty good fortune as vast as the East Sea and a life as long as the Southern Mountains."
"She's a lovely girl." The emperor praised with a smile.
Regardless of her temperament, this Miss Huang Ying is extremely beautiful, and looks a bit like Concubine Xu in the past.
After the marriage was granted, the concubines in the harem breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Huang Ying was not brought into the palace by Concubine Yu to win favor. No matter who she was going to marry, it was good that she would not marry the emperor.
You should know that when Concubine Yu summoned Huang Ying to the palace to accompany her a few days ago, the concubines in the harem all thought that she was afraid that she would lose favor after giving birth to a child, so she was busy bringing a child from her parents' home to win favor.
After the two marriages were granted, the atmosphere of the palace banquet became increasingly lively. The Empress also said with a smile, "I am old now, and I like to see young children happy and joyful."
Concubine Xu also said in a daze, "Your Majesty is celebrating his sixtieth birthday today, and you have two such auspicious events. It shows that you are blessed with good fortune and great luck. You will surely be blessed with great fortune."
The emperor even said: "If there are any ministers who would like me to grant them marriage, please feel free to ask me for your permission."
After saying this, the emperor subconsciously glanced at Prince Cheng. Fortunately, he had given up that unreliable idea.
Instead, Prince Rong looked at his nephew opposite him with a smile, then turned to look at Su Fengzhang and deliberately winked at him. At this moment, he looked a bit like the man he was in Hushan County back then.
Su Fengzhang was speechless, thinking to himself, is the emperor planning a collective marriage? He hoped he wouldn't match you up with someone else.
Naturally, there were people who came forward to flatter the emperor's horses. Soon, several ministers came out shamelessly to ask for marriages. It was not known whether these marriages had been arranged long ago or were arranged on the spur of the moment to flatter the emperor.
The emperor did not investigate. He would grant the marriage to anyone who dared to ask. It did not matter if they became a pair of resentful couples. After all, it was not him who was going to live with them.
Su Fengzhang watched privately and found that most of the people who were granted marriages were overjoyed, but a few of them had stiff faces, obviously having been tricked at the banquet.
But the emperor has already issued the decree to grant the marriages, and these marriages can never be changed, so we can only swallow this bitter pill.
This is the emperor, this is the imperial power, he can decide the life of others based on his own selfish desires.
At this moment, Su Fengzhang was extremely grateful for the rumors between him and Prince Cheng. At least the emperor would not grant them a marriage in court, so he was temporarily safe.
When the banquet was almost over, the emperor unexpectedly granted marriages to ten couples. All the officials congratulated him and said, "Perfect and perfect, a great blessing from heaven."
Su Fengzhang watched and thought to himself that these civil servants who shouted "perfect" were afraid that the emperor would continue to grant marriages, so they quickly stopped talking about granting marriages!
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The author has something to say: I will be a little sadistic later
I'm not torturing Feng Er, I'm torturing the male and female supporting roles I like.
By the way, I recommend a new article:
He approached step by step, and a hint of smile appeared on his cold and self-possessed face: Sister, you are not going to admit it after you have played with it?
He said imposingly: "Sister, don't be afraid, let me take care of you?"
Her heart was trembling: "Where is it, on the bed?"
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