After a moment of silence, Lady Jing'an finally let out a sigh of relief, pretending not to have heard what Jiang Xuelin had just said.
“I told Princess Consort Ping that tomorrow Prince Ping and your father will go to the palace to ask the Emperor for an imperial decree to grant them a marriage. The day after tomorrow is the day Prince Ping’s family will formally come to propose marriage. Once the imperial decree is issued, those scoundrels will naturally not dare to use those underhanded methods.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xuelin immediately became anxious.
The Emperor has decreed a marriage!
No way!
This is a joyous occasion for others, but for Jiang Xuelin, who has her own ideas, it is definitely not a good thing.
"Mother! We can't let the Emperor grant us this marriage!"
Lady Jing'an, seemingly gentle but actually threatening, swept her gaze over him. "What?"
Jiang Xuelin: "..."
In her haste, Jiang Xuelin's mind worked much faster, and she almost immediately found a reason to persuade him.
“Mother, you know the situation between your daughter and the Prince of Ping’s son. I know you mean well, and that it’s good if we get to know each other better. The arranged marriage was also to save face for your daughter and shut others up, but think about it, think about it…”
What am I thinking about?
"Think about it, if our daughter is unhappy in the future and wants a divorce, if this marriage is granted by the Emperor, she won't be able to get a divorce. Even if she is unhappy and suffers in the Prince Ping's mansion every day, she will not be able to escape..." Jiang Xuelin described carefully, while watching the expression on the face of the Lady of Jing'an Marquis.
As Lady Jing'an followed Jiang Xuelin's words, her expression grew increasingly grim.
...because she thought that, given her daughter's personality, she might actually want a divorce in the future.
"..."
etc!
wrong!
Lady Jing'an, regaining her senses, said through gritted teeth, "Lin'er, you're really something, thinking about divorce before even being engaged, aren't you?"
Who starts making preparations for divorce before the engagement is even finalized?
Lady Jing'an was led astray by Jiang Xuelin without her noticing, and the more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed to her.
Even if other families' daughters are not doing well, they would not allow them to divorce as long as they could make do. But Lady Jing'an Marquis did not think that way.
Nothing is more important than her daughter, so if Jiang Xuelin really doesn't have a good life in the future, Lady Jing'an will naturally support her in getting a divorce.
Well, it's not that I wish my daughter bad luck before she's even married; it's just that I'm making all the necessary preparations.
As the saying goes, raising a child is a lifelong worry, even for ninety-nine years. It's really that simple.
"...Daughter is just taking precautions. Mother, didn't you say that one is born in hardship and dies in comfort?"
Lady Jing'an: "..."
The saying "Born in hardship, die in comfort" is not used in this way!
“...Even if your father doesn’t go to ask the Emperor for a marriage decree, the Prince Ping’s mansion will go.” Lady Jing’an rubbed her temples, her voice tinged with helplessness.
"That's alright, Fu Han will stop it."
Lady Jing'an: "..."
"...Is this what you discussed while admiring the peach blossoms in the grove today?"
Jiang Xuelin: "..."
They're both really something, Lady Jing'an was almost laughing in exasperation at the two of them—how could they get along so well at a time like this?
"What sins did I commit in my past life to deserve having a debt collector like you?"
She now suspects that what the two were discussing in the peach blossom grove might not have been romantic matters of appreciating flowers, but rather how to get a divorce after marriage.
Enraged to the point of a heart attack, Lady Jing'an took a deep breath. Considering that Jiang Xuelin was wearing a fairy dress and not riding a horse today, she did not force her off the carriage. She leaned back on the cushions and closed her eyes to rest, determined not to see her debt-collecting daughter for the time being.
Seeing the reaction of Lady Jing'an, Jiang Xuelin knew that she had persuaded her and breathed a sigh of relief.
The carriage returned all the way to the Marquis of Jing'an's residence.
Everyone in the Jing'an Marquis's mansion knew that the Lady of Jing'an Marquis was in a bad mood when she went out to burn incense and fulfill her vows, and her steps were noticeably lighter.
After returning to her residence, Jiang Xuelin immediately slipped away, not daring to provoke the tiger at this time. She remained quiet for the next two days, not mentioning the marriage proposal again.
What do you mean she told her eldest, second, and third brothers to just find any military officer, go to the border, and then get a divorce? That's not true.
Unable to control her own mother, she could only hope that Fu Hanlai had some ability to stop Princess Ping.
Unfortunately, Fu Hanlai also held the same expectations for her. He couldn't win over Princess Ping himself, so he hoped that Jiang Xuelin could step in a bit more.
The only thing that allowed the two to succeed was that neither Prince Ping nor Marquis Jing'an went to the palace to request an imperial decree.
The whole capital knew that the Ping Prince's Mansion and the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion had become related by marriage. On the engagement day, the Ping Prince's Consort, supported by the respected old princess of the imperial clan, came to propose marriage.
The Prince of Ping's mansion was grateful to Jiang Xuelin and attached great importance to this marriage. They used only the best materials and the pair of live geese they prepared were extremely healthy. The Marquis of Jing'an's mansion was naturally satisfied with this.
That day, the Marquis of Jing'an also took leave and stayed at home. The next day, after court, when he accompanied the current Emperor Xuande to play chess, he was ridiculed by the Emperor.
"I heard that Lao Liu went to Zi'an's house to propose marriage yesterday?"
As a terrible chess player, Emperor Xuande's favorite pastime was playing chess with Marquis Jing'an, who was also a terrible chess player.
The two are evenly matched, with back-and-forth exchanges, wins and losses, making the game interesting.
When Emperor Xuande inquired about this matter, Marquis Jing'an was not surprised. He held a chess piece and pondered deeply, "Your Majesty, that is indeed the case."
"Since your two families intend to form a marriage alliance, why didn't you inform me? My nephew may seem uneducated and incompetent, but he is actually simple-minded and not the kind of person who would act recklessly. If you had informed me, I would have directly issued an imperial decree to bestow the marriage upon him, which would have been a double blessing."
Marquis Jing'an thought to himself that Fu Hanlai hadn't become a complete wastrel, and his daughter might have played a part in it. When he heard Emperor Xuande mention the bestowal of a marriage, he immediately thought of his wife's words.
"Your Majesty, it is nothing but a trivial matter, nothing to worry about."
The imperial decree to grant them marriage must be refused.
Emperor Xuande and Marquis Jing'an had known each other for many years, having grown up together. Marquis Jing'an had even been Emperor Xuande's study companion. Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuande knew that he did not want the marriage to be bestowed upon him.
Then, recalling what the Empress Dowager had told him—that Prince Ping wouldn't allow a marriage to be bestowed, and that if he wanted to, the Empress Dowager would have to stop him—he suddenly became curious.
There's clearly something fishy going on here.
Moreover, Emperor Xuande had already heard of Jiang Xuelin.
She's too famous. As the only son of Prince Ping, Fu Hanlai was also very much loved by Emperor Xuande. As his mortal enemy and also his confidante's daughter, how could he not know her?
"how?"
"There's really no need for Your Majesty to trouble yourself. My daughter's matter is nothing more than a trivial one."
"You old rascal, you're not being honest."
Marquis Jing'an smiled awkwardly.
You can't exactly say that his daughter is worried that if the marriage is arranged by imperial decree, it will be difficult to get a divorce, can you?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
