Chapter 57 Choosing a Concubine on Dragon Boat Festival
The eldest prince calculated that the Duke of Zhenguo would not reveal the matter, and if he did, the emperor would have no choice but to marry Xue Weiyang to him for the sake of the royal family's reputation.
Thus, his plan succeeded.
As expected, the Duke of Zhenguo listened as if he hadn't heard anything, standing in the line with his eyes downcast and mind at ease.
Upon seeing this, the eldest prince assumed that he had made the right calculation.
However, after the morning court session, the Duke of Zhenguo stayed behind and spoke to the emperor in the imperial study:
"Your Majesty, my daughter went out yesterday and was hit by thieves on her way home at night, and she fell off her horse."
I was unconscious all night and just woke up this morning.
"I cannot attend tomorrow's Dragon Boat Festival banquet at the palace; I have come to apologize."
The emperor glanced at the Duke of Zhenguo and asked with concern, "Should I send an imperial physician to take a look?"
The Duke of Zhenguo smiled憨厚ly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but no need. He has already woken up, but he needs to rest for a while longer."
The emperor thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "In that case, she will be exempted from entering the palace the day after tomorrow."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After the Duke of Zhenguo left, the emperor, with a gloomy face, said to the people behind him:
"Send someone to investigate what exactly happened to the young lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's family yesterday."
The young eunuch behind the emperor responded, "Yes, sir."
He then turned and hurriedly left.
After a while, the young eunuch returned and reported what had happened the night before.
The emperor listened with a gloomy face and smashed the teacup in his hand on the ground with a loud bang.
"A prince of such high status actually resorted to such despicable means to plot against a woman's innocence. This rebellious son has utterly disgraced the royal family."
Wang Degui, the chief eunuch by the emperor's side, quickly said:
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."
The emperor listened without speaking, then his face darkened.
"They're not after the Duke of Zhenguo's daughter, they're after the Duke of Zhenguo's military power."
Wang Degui chimed in from the side, "Fortunately, the Duke of Zhenguo is aware of this."
"Well, he's still quite sensible. It's a good thing he knows his daughter won't be going to the palace tomorrow."
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Wu Yumin was summoned to the palace.
Because she was already engaged, she was no longer among the people participating in the selection process, but instead stood with a group of older noblewomen.
He looked up and searched the crowd twice, but couldn't find Xue Weiyang.
Just as I was wondering, I heard someone ahead ask:
"Madam Xue, where is your Weiyang?"
“Alas, my child is always wielding swords and spears. She was injured in a fall from her horse a couple of days ago, so His Majesty has exempted her from entering the palace today.”
"That's how the Duchess of Zhenguo answered."
Wu Yumin was surprised to hear this: Wei Yang is injured?
How badly is the injury?
He then moved his foot, intending to go and ask.
When Madam Wu noticed that she was acting strangely, she reached out and pulled her.
Wu Yumin came to her senses.
This is the palace, not the place to talk. Let's go outside the palace later and see her first.
Perhaps Weiyang was just looking for an excuse not to enter the palace.
He then relaxed and continued watching the scene, eating and drinking.
Qin Yingying, Wei Ningyan, Liang Mo, Zhou Yunjiao and other noble ladies were all present.
But some are happy while others are sad.
Finally, it came time to choose the mothers. The eldest prince's mother was Consort Shu, the second prince's mother was Consort Xian, and the third prince's mother was Consort Rong.
Consort Shu has taken a liking to Liang Mo from the General Wei Wu's mansion.
The virtuous concubine took a liking to Wei Ningyan, who was gentle, charming, knowledgeable and reasonable.
Consort Rong, on the other hand, set her sights on Feng Ling Shuang from the Marquis of Changping's residence.
These people all received flowers as gifts from the concubines.
Qin Yingying was the only one standing there. No one chose her. Finally, the Empress sighed and had someone send her a flower.
Qin Yingying managed to save face.
When the list was presented to His Majesty, the emperor glanced at it and his expression turned wry.
He smiled and said, "Go and inform the Empress that I understand."
The imperial edict bestowing this marriage will be issued shortly.
The crown prince, who was standing nearby, acted as if he hadn't heard anything and didn't care at all.
The emperor looked at the crown prince and asked, "Don't you care at all about the outcome?"
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince looked up at the Emperor and said, "It's all up to my elder brothers to choose the people. They just need to find someone they like."
What does this have to do with me?
The emperor listened and nodded with considerable satisfaction.
At the flower-viewing banquet, Qin Yingying and Wei Ningyan, unsurprisingly, clashed again.
To outsiders, Qin Yingying appears to have a bad temper, be aggressive, and target Wei Ningyan.
But in Wu Yumin's eyes, Wei Ningyan's eyes were filled with smugness, and she must have been the one to provoke her first.
The two started arguing, which was naturally reported to the Empress.
Upon hearing this, the Empress angrily exclaimed, "How can Yingying be so brainless?"
"Don't look where you are, go and call her back to me."
The nanny beside the Empress hesitated and said, "Miss Yingying has been unhappy these past two days, and I'm afraid we can't persuade her."
"Who gave you permission to persuade her? Bring her back to me!" the Empress roared.
The old woman bowed and said, "Yes, sir."
He then led his men down.
When the nanny from the Empress's palace arrived.
The two had already started arguing so badly that Qin Yingying was about to draw a guard's sword to kill someone, and Wei Ningyan was crying so hard she was about to faint. This was the beginning of the argument.
A group of young women stood on the side, most of them speaking up for Wei Ningyan, while only a few were trying to persuade Qin Yingying.
Liang Mo, from the General Weiwu's mansion, held Qin Yingying tightly, whispering in her ear as he pulled her along:
"Calm down, this is the palace, not outside."
Her purpose in doing this is to provoke you into making a mistake.
When she becomes the victim, and the matter is brought before the Emperor, His Majesty will feel that she has been wronged and will want to compensate her.
She could then make an outrageous and perfectly legitimate request to marry the prince.
So stay calm and don't fall for her tricks.
Wu Yumin, who was standing nearby, heard this and chimed in:
"Yes, Sister Liang is right, Qin Qi, don't fall for her tricks."
Wu Yumin interrupted because she simply couldn't stand Wei Ningyan's behavior.
According to Yunyu, she's a total innocent white lotus.
Damn it, he looks gentle, but he's actually a black-hearted bastard.
She didn't want to see this person cause trouble, nor did she want her schemes to succeed.
After listening to what the two said, Qin Yingying gradually calmed down.
He said to Wei Ningyan, "Wei Ningyan, you vicious slut."
You don't want to marry the Second Prince, so you're trying to provoke me and make me make a big scene.
They'll make a scene in front of His Majesty, then you'll feign weakness and act pitiful to gain His Majesty's sympathy.
Then you make an outrageous demand, proposing to marry the prince.
Don't think I don't know what you're planning; I'm going to make sure you don't succeed today.
After he said that, many of the young women in the room realized what was going on.
Some of the people standing behind Wei Ningyan slowly took two steps back.
Wei Ningyan continued to sob, "Seventh Sister Qin, what do you mean by this?"
You forced me first, and now you're slandering me.
I...I...I didn't do anything to you, can't you just leave me alone?
After saying that, she covered her face and cried again, her tears falling like raindrops, as if she were sobbing and lamenting.
Just then, the Queen's men arrived, and everyone cleared the area.
The old woman stepped forward and bowed to Qin Yingying, saying:
"Seventh Lady, Her Majesty the Empress requests your presence."
Upon hearing this, Qin Yingying arrogantly raised her head, glanced at Wei Ningyan, and turned to leave.
Once Qin Yingying left, the excitement was over, and the crowd dispersed.
Only Zhang Jin stayed with Wei Ningyan, constantly comforting her.
Qin Yingying followed the nanny to the Empress's palace, where the Empress looked at her angrily.
Qin Yingying was frightened and stepped forward to bow respectfully.
With his head down, he was a far cry from his previous arrogance, standing like a quail.
When the Empress saw her adopting such a docile demeanor, her anger subsided by half.
"You can't beat that young lady from the Wei family. Even if you're in the right at first, you'll end up being in the wrong."
Nine times out of ten, you're the one who gets the short end of the stick. Why can't you learn your lesson?
The Empress was furious at his lack of self-discipline.
"Aunt, she provoked me first this time, I'm innocent," Qin Yingying muttered.
"She came to provoke you; she clearly has ill intentions."
Are you going to jump into a pit someone's dug?
"How come we ended up with such a straightforward person like you? It's really a headache."
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