Princess Fuyang was so angry that her mouth twisted in disbelief, and she couldn't help but raise her voice: "Royal brother, your subject does not want to marry Zhou Ping!"
The Emperor of Chu wanted to escape, but he knew that issuing an imperial edict rashly was somewhat unethical. However, he was too ashamed to separate the Lu couple, and since Consort Yue was asking for a marriage proposal for her nephew, he took the opportunity to issue the edict.
Once an imperial edict is issued, it is as good as gold and cannot be changed.
The Emperor of Chu dared not pay any attention to Princess Fuyang, waved his hand, and tried to escape the scene. Consort Yue quickly stepped forward to support the Emperor of Chu, turned around and smiled at Princess Fuyang, but the smile did not reach her eyes: "With the imperial decree issued, Princess Fuyang, rest assured and await your marriage. My maternal family has not disgraced the princess."
The Emperor of Chu quickened his pace, and Consort Yue almost couldn't keep up with him.
He didn't want to lose his kingdom because of an insignificant princess.
If the Lu couple were pushed to the brink and were to betray their country and sell the muskets and farm tools to other countries, or have them used by other countries, then it would truly be a case of losing more than they gain.
Princess Fuyang cried out, "Royal brother, how can you leave like this?"
What is this about her? She not only failed to get a marriage decree but also humiliated herself. She doesn't want to marry that Zhou Ping. He's supposed to be a third-ranked scholar, but he's actually as sleazy as can be.
Lu Yanzhao could not stay any longer and cupped his hands towards Prince Cheng: "Your Highness Prince Cheng, my wife and I have important matters to attend to, please excuse me for taking our leave!"
"Please wait a moment, Lord Lu!" Knowing that Lu Yanzhao did not want to stay any longer, Prince Cheng said apologetically, "I apologize to you both on behalf of my imperial aunt. She is ignorant of court affairs and rashly requested my father to grant her a marriage, which almost ruined the affairs of the state."
Lu Yanzhao smiled calmly and respectfully replied to His Highness Prince Cheng:
"Fortunately, His Majesty stopped the damage in time. Your Highness, please rest assured that my wife and I will be loyal to His Majesty and dedicate ourselves to the country."
Anyone can say nice things, but Princess Fuyang's face grew paler and paler as she listened.
She had only taken a liking to someone and asked her brother, the Emperor, to grant her a marriage. How did it come to the Prince of Cheng's mouth as her delaying state affairs? What a huge accusation he had pinned on her head.
“Your Highness is being presumptuous. I have only taken a fancy to a minor official of the fourth rank, but in your mouth it has become delaying state affairs. I would like to ask Consort Yue how she raised her children, that they dare to be so disrespectful to their elders.”
Prince Cheng raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a blade as he stared at Princess Fuyang: "I was personally taught by my father, and it has nothing to do with Consort Yue. Is my aunt blaming my father for not knowing how to educate his children?"
For Prince Cheng, Consort Yue was merely a figurehead mother, with no real maternal affection between them. From childhood to adulthood, Prince Cheng had never experienced a trace of maternal warmth, and it was only after learning about his true parentage that he finally understood.
Princess Fuyang? She was born to a palace maid and gained her father's respect by marrying into the northern kingdom. If the Chu emperor hadn't valued her reputation and brought her over, she would probably have turned into dust in the northern kingdom by now. How could she have the right to shout in the main hall?
Princess Fuyang felt a pang of heartache from the words of the Prince of Cheng. She looked up at Lu Yanzhao, a handsome man who was holding his wife's hand tightly as they walked out of the palace.
This scene stung Princess Fuyang's eyes. Tears streamed down her face as she asked unwillingly, "Lu Yanzhao, if I am willing to be your concubine, would you...?"
"I refuse!" Lu Yanzhao left without turning his head, hand in hand with Gu Nanjiao.
"You!" Princess Fuyang's face turned deathly pale, and she swayed precariously, almost losing her balance.
Prince Cheng scoffed: "Imperial Aunt, you are a widow who has been sent to a foreign land for political reasons, and you are old. Father Emperor has given you some face, but you really think you are great. Throughout history, there have been countless princesses who were sent to foreign land for political reasons, and which one did not end up tragically? You are fortunate to be treated well by Father Emperor, so you should cherish this hard-won blessing and not squander it."
She paused for a moment and then said, "You should obediently marry Zhou Ping. He is the grandson of Minister Zhou, the nephew of Consort Yue, and my cousin. Such a status would not be an insult to your imperial aunt."
After uttering those words, King Cheng strode away.
"I don't want to marry!" Princess Fuyang shook her head and collapsed to the ground in a hysterical outburst.
If she marries into the Zhou family, she will lose her freedom. It's better to be a princess.
She has a princess's residence bestowed by the emperor outside the palace, and everyone respects her. If she were to go to the Zhou residence, her every word and action would be restricted.
As dusk approached, Princess Fuyang returned to her residence, utterly dejected.
Zhou Wan had been waiting for a long time, and upon seeing Fu Yang, she immediately offered her congratulations: "Congratulations, Princess, on fulfilling your wish and marrying your ideal husband."
After waiting for a while without receiving a response from Fu Yang, she looked up and found that Fu Yang's face was gloomy and his eyes were as sharp and cold as knives.
Zhou Wan was stunned. Her gaze swept over the imperial edict that Princess Fuyang was holding in her hand. It should be correct. She had even brought the imperial edict of marriage.
To everyone's surprise, Princess Fuyang's face contorted with rage as she kicked Zhou Wan, shouting, "You two-faced wretch, you conspired with your aunt to scheme against me!"
Zhou Wan screamed in pain, bewildered, and her maids and servants quickly helped her up.
...
Lu Yanzhao and Gu Nanjiao returned to the Lu residence, and before they could even rest, Lu's mother arrived.
"What does the Emperor want with you?"
Lu Yanzhao didn't want his mother to worry, and he didn't want to tell her about Princess Fuyang's request for the emperor to grant her a marriage. He pursed his lips and said, "Mother, the emperor summoned us to the palace, which is of course to reward us. Now Jiaojiao is a third-rank lady."
Lu's mother didn't understand what "Third-Rank Lady" meant; she only knew that her daughter-in-law had a rank. She was very happy for them.
Gu Nanjiao was in a good mood after she had thoroughly tricked Princess Fuyang and ruined Zhou Wan's plan.
When I'm in a good mood, I want to cook something delicious.
For dinner, I made stir-fried pork intestines, salt-baked pork, chicken wings with salted egg yolk, pig ears in chili oil, and tiger-skin green peppers.
Cui'er and Guo'er stood aside, quietly watching Gu Nanjiao cook.
The new cook, surnamed Zhang, squatted under the stove, tending the fire, and occasionally glanced into the pot.
There was too much chili in the stir-fried pork intestines, and it made everyone cough. Cui'er and Guo'er covered their noses and mouths and ran out, while Chef Zhang stared wide-eyed as the pork intestines were constantly being stir-fried in the pot.
She swallowed hard and asked, "Madam, can pig intestines be eaten like this?"
"Yes, there are many ways to eat pig intestines. I'll teach you later."
Cook Zhang was overjoyed. She had been worried that her wife might not like her cooking and might replace her.
Now it seems that her own wife is quite generous in teaching her how to cook. She wants to learn more so that she can have a skill to rely on and won't be afraid of being disliked by her employer.
Zhang, the cook, was a widow who struggled to raise her two children.
Lu's mother was kind-hearted and felt a sense of sympathy for Zhang's plight, so she immediately hired Zhang to work in the household.
Cook Zhang was efficient and quick in her work. Gu Nanjiao only gave her a few pointers, and she learned to do it quite well.
After dinner, Lu's mother hesitated to speak.
Gu Nanjiao let out a burp and rubbed her slightly full stomach: "Mother, what do you want to say?"
"Sigh!" Madam Lu sighed, "Since coming to the capital, my back aches, my legs hurt, and I feel uncomfortable all over. I'm cooped up in the mansion every day, and I've developed a lot of illnesses."
Lu Yanzhao felt guilty. Since his mother came to the capital, he had never taken her sightseeing. He said to his mother with self-reproach, "Mother, I will take you to see the capital and its prosperity another day."
To his surprise, Lu's mother was not happy with his words. Instead, her brows furrowed even more. She ignored Lu Yanzhao and grabbed Gu Nanjiao's hand, saying, "Jiaojiao, I want to do business. How about we open another Meiwuzhai restaurant in the capital?"
“How can that be? Mother, you’ve worked hard your whole life, it’s time for you to enjoy your retirement. Why don’t you just stay home and be a good old lady?” Lu Yanzhao strongly disagreed with his mother’s suggestion.
His mother worked hard all her life, raising his younger sister and him with great difficulty. Now that he has achieved success, how can he let his mother still have to work hard?
Gu Nanjiao pondered for a moment: "It's much easier to do business now than before. We have money and influence. If Mother wants to do business, then let's do it."
"Great!" Mrs. Lu was so excited that her heart almost jumped out of her chest.
Gu Nanjiao grabbed Lu's mother's arm intimately: "Mother, let's go plan the blueprint, see where to choose the location, how to decorate, and how many people to hire."
“Okay!” The two of them did as they said, leaving the hall hand in hand, leaving Lu Yanzhao alone in a daze.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law can do whatever they want, as long as they agree, Lu Yanzhao's opinion doesn't matter.
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