Chapter 360 The Wedding
"That alone is enough to show how beautiful she is. However, Huo Ran is not one to judge people by their appearance. What other background does this woman have?" Consort Jing was quite certain.
Granny Liu recalled for a moment and said, "It's pretty much what Miss said. They came from a poor, remote area and haven't been in the capital for long. It seems like their hometown was just a farming village, but somehow they got rich and opened a restaurant. Their eldest son runs the restaurant back home. Oh, and it seems like that Yue Shangshao incident had something to do with them."
"Oh? Moonrise?" Consort Jing quite liked Moonrise soap. If it weren't for the fact that Manager Liu was a distant relative of hers, she would have kicked him far away long ago.
"Yes, it seems to have been done in their home, but I'm not entirely sure what exactly happened. We're still investigating."
Consort Jing nodded: "Investigate. I'm becoming more and more curious about her. By the way, is His Majesty going to the Empress's place again tonight?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than the Emperor's voice came from outside. Consort Jing was shocked and looked at Granny Liu in disbelief.
Granny Liu was also surprised, but she quickly recovered and congratulated Consort Jing, saying, "Congratulations, Your Highness! Hurry up and go greet the Emperor!"
Consort Jing was too excited. She had been feeling very lonely these past few days and hadn't bothered to dress up. Now that the Emperor had suddenly arrived, she didn't have time to get ready.
"Granny, please look at me! Am I not looking too disheveled? I didn't put on any powder today, and I just threw on whatever clothes I had on. How am I supposed to meet the Emperor?"
As they were talking, the Emperor arrived. Hearing this, he said with concern, "I love my beloved concubine no matter what she looks like. Why have you become so reserved after only a few days?"
Consort Jing said aggrievedly, "Your Majesty, you still remember me? I thought you had forgotten me."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, making her look pitiful. Although the years had left their mark on her face, her beauty remained undiminished.
The Emperor embraced her and said, "How could that be? I just saw Zijun; she didn't stay in the palace for dinner?"
Consort Jing wiped away her tears and said, "She came to pay her respects to me. She said it had been a long time since she had visited me. This child is very filial and always thinks of me. She even asked how the Emperor was."
"Oh? Really? This child is so sensible. It's kind of you to have always thought about her. It seems your love for her hasn't been in vain."
When Liu Mama saw that Consort Jing was deliberately saying this, she realized that Consort Jing wanted to help Liu Zijun. After all, they were family, and even if the child was immature, she, as an elder, had to help her out.
"I haven't seen my beloved consort these past few days. You've become so thin!"
The Emperor asked knowingly, and Consort Jing lowered her head in grievance: "Yes, Your Majesty, I haven't been able to see you for a long time, so naturally I'm very anxious. As a result, I haven't been able to eat or drink, and it's no wonder I've lost weight. I wonder how Your Majesty has been these past few days?"
The Emperor sighed: "I haven't been doing well these past few days either. I think about my beloved concubine every day, and I can't eat or sleep well. After I was harsh with her last time, I've been feeling guilty and haven't been able to come see you, afraid that if I did, you would be even angrier."
As the two talked, they reconciled. Consort Jing felt better and then told them what had just happened.
"You know, no matter what I say, it's no use. She insists on marrying Huo Ran. I don't even know how good Huo Ran is. She's practically obsessed. Your Majesty, it's not that I want to interfere, but the child is crying so pitifully that I can't bear it. Perhaps Your Majesty could reconsider?"
The Emperor shook his head firmly this time: "If Huo Ran didn't have someone she liked, I could still try to persuade her, but now that Huo Ran has told me that she has a woman she likes, I can no longer interfere."
Consort Jing asked, "Is she the top scholar's sister? Just now, Zijun also told me that Huo Ran has fallen in love with a peasant girl, who is also the top scholar's sister. Even so, their social statuses are quite different, aren't they?"
The Emperor sighed: "That's what I said at first too. If he really likes her, he can just marry her as a concubine. But he doesn't want to. He insists on a proper marriage, and he only wants her. I'm very curious about this woman."
After hearing this, Consort Jing became even more curious. What was it about this woman that made Huo Ran so infatuated with her?
Consort Jing originally said these words in the hope of moving the Emperor with her sincerity so that he would agree to the marriage between Huo Ran and Liu Zijun. However, the Emperor's words were all from the bottom of his heart, so it was not appropriate to say anything more.
"Sigh, children and grandchildren have their own blessings. We elders have done what we should do. The rest is up to them."
The Emperor glanced at Consort Jing and said, "Aren't you going to continue to fight for your niece? If your niece knew, she probably wouldn't agree."
Consort Jing snorted: "What can she do if she doesn't want to? I can't force Young Master Huo to marry her, can I? What kind of situation would that be? It's already caused a huge uproar in the city. She has no dignity as a girl, and he still doesn't want her. What can I do?"
That makes sense. The Emperor also felt that this was inappropriate for the girl. However, he couldn't blame Huo Ran, since he hadn't provoked her.
"Never mind that, I'll stay here tonight..."
Jiang Mi accompanied her mother shopping all day and didn't return until evening. As soon as she got back, she saw Huo Ran standing at the corner. Jiang's mother naturally saw him too, but she pretended not to know anything and took Su Yindi and Liang Lan home, leaving Jiang Mi and Huo Ran outside.
"Why are you here?" Jiang Mi was happy to see Huo Ran, but she was also worried that something might have happened.
"I missed you, so I wanted to see you." Huo Ran said very frankly; he just missed Jiang Mi and wanted to see her.
Jiang Mi smiled and lowered her head. She enjoyed the sweet atmosphere for a while, and then heard Huo Ran say, "I've almost finished dealing with things here. I should be able to go and propose marriage in a few days."
Jiang Mi smiled even more happily. Their relationship had been dragging on for a long time, and now they could finally make it work, right?
"You only said you needed the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's consent, but what about your family? Do they agree?"
Huo Ran's smile vanished. At home, he now had a bedridden father, a young and beautiful stepmother, and a troublesome younger brother.
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