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◎Old couples, newlyweds◎
After the dinner, Qingyang felt relieved for his taciturn mother, but Princess Deng of Prince Yong was filled with rage.
They didn't dare discuss this in the carriage. When they returned to the palace, and were alone in the room, Mrs. Deng moved her drunken husband to the bed, ready to sleep, and gritted her teeth, saying, "I told my brother to divorce that fool, but he wouldn't listen. And now, tonight, she's become a scandal in our family in front of everyone!"
Prince Yong was drunk, but not so drunk that he couldn't tell the difference between the two. He rubbed his forehead, took his wife's hand and asked, "What's wrong?"
Deng repeated her sister-in-law's words: "What about the Emperor's brother's wife being inferior to his daughters-in-law? Others can say that, but coming from my family, it's like me, a princess, complaining that the Emperor doesn't treat me as well as his daughters-in-law. What would he think if he heard it?"
Sometimes he called her his sister-in-law, sometimes his daughter-in-law. Prince Yong took a moment to sort things out and coaxed her nonchalantly, "Big brother, you're not that petty. You..."
"Bah!" Mrs. Deng glared at her husband and lowered her voice, "If he's not petty, why doesn't he give our Liang brother a good marriage? He really doesn't care about you, his own brother. Why doesn't he marry Meng Yao to Liang brother, who is of the right age, but instead gives her to Qin Bing, who is only seventeen years old? It's obvious that he's afraid of your power and wants to prevent you from competing with his nephews for the family inheritance in the future!"
Prince Yong: "...Meng Yao just lost her mother and has to observe three years of mourning. Qin Bing can wait, but how can our Liang brother delay for another three years?"
Deng: "We've all begged the Emperor to grant Liang Ge'er a marriage, so why doesn't he choose a noblewoman for him? He's still saying there's no one suitable. Yang Zhimin's daughter is fourteen this year, and the Marquis of Jinghai and the Marquis of Jining both have daughters who are fourteen or fifteen. Ha, I deliberately listed a list of people with humble family backgrounds, and the Emperor actually picked a fifth-rank official from among them to marry us off. Isn't that just a precaution against us?"
Prince Yong: "...Zhimin's daughter is a concubine's daughter, right?"
Deng: "Both legitimate and illegitimate children are our flesh and blood. Qingyang is also a concubine's daughter. Look how much the emperor dotes on her. This little girl is so clever. I directed the fire at Concubine Li and the Yuan family, but she actually directed it back at me!"
Prince Yong also remembered that the little princess had used the imperial edict to pressure him, so he really couldn't treat his niece as an ordinary girl. However, since his wife bullied Concubine Li first, it was understandable that his niece would support her mother.
Thinking about his wife's words again, Prince Yong said, "You don't mind that Zhimin's daughter is a concubine's daughter. Big brother might be afraid that we might dislike it, so he didn't think of it. Well, even if Big Brother is wary of us, so what? You told me in person the year we came to Beijing that I must behave properly in front of Big Brother. So let's continue to behave properly and don't do anything that may easily cause Big Brother to misunderstand. Another day, go and scold your sister-in-law and tell her to control her rotten tongue."
Feeling sleepy, Prince Yong's head fell back on the pillow, and he began to snore as soon as he closed his eyes.
Deng pinched him in disgust, and feeling upset, she went to look for her son.
Qin Liang had also been forced to drink quite a bit tonight by a group of noble sons. He had just vomited, and after listening to his mother's complaints, Qin Liang whispered soothingly, "Don't worry, mother. We're not just looking for a short period of time."
Great uncle is wise and brave, they can only be respectful and not fight for him, the best strategy is to wait and see what happens.
As for Qin Hong, Qin Bing and Qin Ren, who are either cowardly, arrogant or incompetent, no matter which one succeeds in sitting on the throne, Qin Liang is confident that he can replace him.
.
The women's banquet ended early last night, so when Qingyang returned to Jiuhua Palace, her third brother had not returned from the banquet yet. She did not wait for her third brother and went to bed early.
He woke up naturally at 2:15 AM, and the summer sky began to brighten. After washing and changing his clothes, Qingyang immediately ran to Chengming Palace next door to wake up his third brother.
Qin Ren's face was pale and his eyes were blue. He pulled the quilt and begged his sister to let him sleep a little longer: "I drank a lot of wine last night and got up several times in the middle of the night. It was really uncomfortable."
Qingyang: "At 7:00 PM, my elder brother and his wife will go to offer tea to the emperor. We can't go with my elder brother this time. We have to arrive before them."
Qin Ren wailed and climbed up.
Qingyang took the initiative to retreat to the side room and asked through a curtain, "Has Zhang Su drunk?"
Qin Ren was in the bathroom, running the water while answering weakly, "I drank it."
Qingyang: "Is he drunk as much as you?"
Qin Ren: "No, he just has a cold face. He won't drink even when others try to persuade him to. They find it boring and stop trying."
Qingyang was pleased with Zhang Su's refusal to drink, but also disliked his brother's folly: "Zhang Su can be cold, and you can also be cold. They are afraid of Zhang Su, how dare they force the prince to drink?"
Qin Ren sighed, "They're all acquaintances. If I don't drink, I'm not giving them face. Besides, my elder and second brothers didn't act like princes at the banquet, so as their younger brother, I can't let them down. Don't you think?"
Qingyang: "No, the prince is the most respected, and it is your turn for those officials' children to act according to your wishes, not for my third brother to sacrifice himself to save their face."
Qin Ren, who had already walked to the washstand, thought for a moment and said, "Forget it, it's better to have less trouble than more. It's because my eldest brother is getting married and everyone is happy that they made a big fuss. It's not like this normally."
Qingyang: “…”
Because Qin Ren was dawdling, the brother and sister only entered the central hall of Qianyuan Palace more than two quarters of an hour earlier.
Emperor Xingwu was already sitting in the main seat on the north side, with the Imperial Concubine and the Beautiful Concubine sitting on his left and right respectively.
After the brother and sister exchanged greetings, Emperor Xingwu stared at the third brother, who looked hungover, with a look of disdain: "If you can't drink well, drink less. People should know their own limitations."
Qin Ren smiled apologetically and said yes.
Without giving Emperor Xingwu the chance to continue scolding his son, Prince Yong's family, the eldest princess' family, and the second prince were all brought over by the palace servants at the same time.
Qin Ren looked around and saw that Uncle Wang, his brother-in-law and second brother drank more than him last night but now they all looked quite energetic. He finally realized that his alcohol tolerance was probably really not good.
Prince Yong's family sat to the lower left of Emperor Xingwu, while the chairs for Prince Yongkang's children were placed to the lower right of Emperor Xingwu.
Yongkang glanced at Princess Yong and smiled towards the main seat, "Father, do you have a choice for my third brother's princess? If not, Aunt Wang seems to have found someone for my third brother."
Qin Ren tilted his head and yawned secretly: "..."
Emperor Xingwu glanced indifferently at his eldest daughter and younger sister-in-law, showing little interest. "Really? Which girl is that?"
Princess Yong said awkwardly, "Your Majesty, I was just joking with the wife of the Marquis of Pingliang last night. I didn't mean to mess around with them. Yongkang was deliberately using my drunken, thoughtless words to embarrass me."
Yongkang: "I don't think the Marquis of Pingliang took it as a joke. She was eagerly waiting for Concubine Li to give her a firm answer. Concubine Li was almost dumbfounded. Fortunately, my sister got drunk and changed the subject. Otherwise, Concubine Li would have to either rashly agree on behalf of the emperor or lose face for the Marquis of Pingliang, which would have put her in a difficult position."
Princess Yong seemed to have just realized this. After a moment of shock, she immediately left the table and knelt before Emperor Xingwu: "It is all your fault for speaking carelessly. I beg Your Majesty and Your Majesty to punish me."
A flicker of delight crossed Yongkang's eyes. Because Qin Liang was only two months younger than his younger brother, Deng had always been proud of Qin Liang's superiority. Even when Qin Liang ate more than his younger brother as a child, Deng would brag to her grandmother about it. It was only after arriving in the capital that Deng's previous arrogance subsided, leading her to complain to her father, who actually advised her not to be so petty.
King Yong looked at his eldest niece and was about to kneel down beside his wife to admit his mistake.
Emperor Xingwu glared at him. "It was just a few jokes. Their aunt was cowardly and knelt randomly, so why did you join in the fun? Why don't you help her up? It's the Crown Prince's big day, and I don't want to see you making such a fuss."
King Yong quickly helped his wife up.
Emperor Xingwu glared at his daughter again.
Yongkang smiled and apologized to Princess Yong insincerely.
Not long after both parties sat down, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess came to serve tea.
The four families of Qin, Deng, Lu and Yang all came from the same place. When the men were attacking cities and capturing ponds on the front line, the four families also followed them to move to the latest occupied big city. No matter where they moved, they lived next to each other. So, except for the little princess who was born in the palace, the second concubine, Princess Yong, Yongkang and the three brothers Qin Hong were all very familiar with the Crown Princess Lu Wenrong. In the past few years since they came to Beijing, they often met at palace banquets and flower parties.
Even so, Lu Wenrong blushed as she walked beside Qin Hong.
Qingyang looked at his elder brother and then at his elder sister-in-law, his eyes full of joy. His second brother had moved out, and his elder sister-in-law had moved in. The East Palace could be more lively again.
.
The next day was a day off, and Qingyang woke up early. Not wanting to eat breakfast alone, and knowing that his third brother was still sleeping in, Qingyang decided to go to his eldest brother's place for breakfast. Afterward, he could take his eldest sister-in-law to the Imperial Garden to enjoy the flowers. His mother said that his eldest sister-in-law might not be able to relax since she had just entered the palace, so she asked her to spend more time with her when she had time.
The gate of Chongyuan Palace was open. The palace servant invited the little princess to the front hall and then went to inform the prince and princess.
Qingyang didn't think much about it.
In the back hall, a newlywed couple who thought they could sleep in had just finished a morning of indulgence and were hugging each other and talking when the voice of the eunuch Dequan came from under the eaves.
Lu Wenrong was so anxious that she pushed the prince away. She sat up and grabbed her clothes to put them on while saying angrily, "It's all your fault. If you had gotten up just now, you wouldn't have kept me waiting."
Qin Hong was also a little embarrassed. His sister used to often come to have breakfast with him. He blamed him for overestimating his sister's "understanding".
Lu Wenrong still needed to comb her hair and dress up, so Qin Hong simply tidied up and left.
Qingyang was sitting in the guest chair, feeling a little hungry. Seeing her elder brother coming in late, the little princess asked in confusion, "Did you get up late today?"
Qin Hong blushed slightly, bullying his sister for not understanding, and lied: "I didn't know my sister would come, so I practiced martial arts for a while, and took a bath and wasted my time."
Qingyang believed it and looked behind him: "Where's my sister-in-law?"
Qin Hong: "...She was exhausted from preparing for the wedding the past two days, and she did get up late this morning."
Although the little princess didn't understand the affection between newlyweds, she knew the etiquette and said awkwardly, "Then big brother, let the eldest sister-in-law continue to sleep. I will go find the third brother for breakfast."
Qin Hong smiled and stopped his sister: "Your third brother's kitchen hasn't started cooking yet, so you can eat here."
Soon, Lu Wenrong also arrived. When she showed up, her face was even redder than when Qin Hong came.
During the meal, Qingyang was placed between her elder brother and his wife. They were busy picking up food for her, and then their faces would blush for no apparent reason.
Qingyang saw it and was suspicious.
When Zhang Su returned to the palace, Qingyang quietly asked him, "Did your eldest brother and his wife, and your second brother and his wife, also blush when they got married?"
Zhang Su: "...I don't know."
Qingyang looked up at his handsome face, imagining what she would look like after marrying Zhang Su, but she couldn't figure out any reason to blush.
【Author’s words】
Here I come [poor thing], 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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