Sheng Xingan felt that after talking with Sheng Xiyan, the heavy stone in his heart was finally lifted. This marriage with the Zhenbei Palace did have risks, but it was more of an opportunity.
Besides, he couldn't just give up this marriage if he wanted to, so if that was the case, he should just seize the opportunity.
Sheng Xiyan sipped tea leisurely and said no more.
The news that the Zhenbei Palace and the Sheng family had decided to pay the betrothal gift on October 18th soon spread among the nobles. Everyone knew that the Zhenbei Palace attached great importance to this marriage and prepared the betrothal gifts in a high-profile manner. Princess Jingle had expressed more than once that she was very satisfied with this marriage and was eager to marry her daughter-in-law as soon as possible.
Thinking back to that palace banquet, Jingle took this Miss Sheng with her wherever she went. Everyone could see that she was really satisfied and it was not just a casual remark. This made people sigh at how lucky Sheng Xiyan was.
The attention from the Zhenbei Palace gave Sheng Xing'an enough face, and his complexion became better and better. After receiving a lot of "congratulations" in the yamen, Sheng Xing'an returned home with a beaming face. He urged Liu to prepare a dowry for Sheng Xiyan as soon as possible, and specially asked someone to call Sheng Xiyan over, wanting her to see if there was anything she was not satisfied with the dowry, so that she could make some changes while there was still time.
"Master," Liu said with a smile, "Don't forget that I have already prepared Sister Yan's dowry."
Sheng Xingan raised his eyebrows: "What did you prepare? Show it to me."
Liu asked someone to bring out the dowry list, and presented it in person, saying with a bit of boasting, "I have copied it down, please take a look. It is a full sixty-four ounces."
Sheng Xingan wanted to watch it at first, but when he heard it was sixty-four jin, he didn't want to watch it anymore. He threw it on the tea table, his face turned stern, and he scolded: "Sixty-four jin? You only prepared sixty-four jin for her?!"
"But, the last time I asked you, you said you agreed." Liu said aggrievedly.
Sheng Xingan was stunned for a moment and asked back, "When did you ask?" Why didn't he remember this happening?
Liu felt a little guilty and stammered, "Just, a year ago..."
Sheng Xingan almost couldn't help wanting to flip the table. How could it be the same? !
At that time, Sheng Xiyan was only planning to marry into the Marquisate, so sixty-four kilos was enough. But now she is marrying into the Zhenbei Palace! Sheng Xingan was secretly thinking that if she was lucky, she might become the future Empress. How could an Empress only have sixty-four kilos of dowry when she got married?
If I tell anyone about this, how can I save my face?
"Prepare it again." Sheng Xingan said in a relaxed tone, not wanting to scold her, and said directly, "Prepare it according to 128 pounds."
Mrs. Liu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Will it be too late?" Then she turned to Sheng Xiyan and said, "Sister Yan, it's not that mother doesn't want to prepare for you, but she's afraid that it won't be in time..."
Sheng Xiyan drank her tea leisurely, not anxious or impatient: "If you can't make it in time, just get married later. There's no rush for my daughter."
Liu was choked up. She was so anxious! She wanted to get rid of this evil spirit. She hadn't had a good night's sleep in these days.
Sheng Xing'an slammed the table and looked at her coldly. Liu was a little flustered by his look and said quickly, "Just one hundred and twenty-eight pounds. I will prepare it as soon as possible."
Sheng Xingan saw what she was thinking at a glance, and added: "According to the specifications of 10,000... 20,000 taels, you can give me a list first, and let me see the account book first."
Seeing Liu's eyes wandering, Sheng Xing'an emphasized word by word: "You are Madam Sheng, I still believe you."
Although he didn't explain it explicitly, what he meant was that if she couldn't be Mrs. Sheng, he could still find someone else.
Liu didn't dare to say anything else and quickly agreed.
She pinched her handkerchief and said, "Master, yesterday the Yongning Marquis's Mansion went to the Zhao family to propose marriage to Rou Jie'er, but Rou Jie'er left with her eldest aunt. The Zhou family was turned away."
Sheng Xiyan put down the teacup, and after a brief surprise, she felt that Zhao Yuanrou was capable of doing such a thing.
Sheng Xingan frowned and said in a deep voice: "What's going on?!" There was obvious displeasure in his voice.
Seeing that Sheng Xing'an's attention was finally diverted from the dowry, Ms. Liu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said: "The Yongning Marquis Mansion originally planned to go to the Zhao family to hire someone yesterday. The betrothal gifts were all sent to the Zhao family, but Sister Rou was not there. She also left a letter saying that she wanted to terminate the engagement."
Sheng Xing'an knew about the proposal from the Yongning Marquis's Mansion. After all, she was his niece. He also told Liu to go and get some makeup after the proposal was made.
Liu continued, "Originally, when it came to the betrothal, it didn't matter whether Sister Rou was there or not, as long as the elders were there, but the Yongning Marquis's Mansion probably felt humiliated, and the Yongning Marquis's wife was so angry that she almost had a heart attack. She said that the Yongning Marquis's Mansion was out of her league, so she just sent the betrothal gift away."
Sheng Xiyan: “…”
"Ridiculous! It's absolutely ridiculous!" Sheng Xing'an's forehead twitched and he said angrily, "Is this how the Zhao family does things?"
Zhao Yuanrou ran away. It was indeed Zhao Yuanrou's fault. But shouldn't the Zhao family keep it a secret and wait until the engagement was made before slowly looking for her? Even if the Yongning Marquis' Mansion found out that Zhao Yuanrou was not there, they could just make up a story that she was unwell and save everyone's face. On the day of the engagement, wouldn't it be making enemies with the Yongning Marquis' Mansion by telling them so bluntly that Zhao Yuanrou refused the marriage and left home? !
Liu said, "It must be that the eldest aunt wanted to return home and caused trouble for the Zhao family."
How can the Zhao family expect that someone who is bent on changing her surname and clan name will be able to bring benefits to her mother's family after she marries into the marquis's mansion? I'm afraid they are hoping that this marriage will fail.
This time, Zhao Yuanrou handed the evidence to them herself.
"Sister Rou has lost her sense of propriety as she grows older." Sheng Xing'an felt angry.
Mrs. Liu nodded and added carefully: "Maybe Sister Rou was just throwing a tantrum. She didn't expect the Zhao family..."
Why.
In Liu's opinion, Zhao Yuanrou was taking advantage of Zhou Jingxun's liking for her and making trouble, hoping that the wife of Marquis Yongning would not dare to take advantage of her in the future. Perhaps she herself did not expect that the Zhao family would not comply with her wishes.
Sheng Xiyan felt something strange in her heart.
The last time Zhao Yuanrou came, she vowed to cancel her engagement with Zhou Jingxun.
In fact, she had seen these two people quarreling and getting along with each other in her previous life. There was nothing strange about it. It was as if they were destined to be together. No matter how much quarreling they had, they could always reconcile in the end, and their feelings for each other deepened.
Even if Zhao Yuanrou had embarrassed the Yongning Marquisate, Zhou Jingxun would still have bowed his head. However, it was not certain what the Yongning Marquisate would think.
Even though the Yongning Marquisate has moved away from the center of the imperial court in recent years, it is still a marquisate after all.
Seeing that the Zhenbei Palace was preparing the betrothal gifts in a high-profile manner, the wife of the Yongning Marquis did not want to be outdone by them.
From the perspective of the wife of Marquis Yongning, Sheng Xiyan was originally going to marry into their mansion, but now she has married someone higher up, which makes her unhappy. Add to that Zhou Jingxun's nonsense, and she simply sets the date for the betrothal ceremony in front of Prince Zhenbei's Mansion, which gives her a sense of pleasure in suppressing Sheng Xiyan. Unexpectedly, the result is that the Marquis Yongning's Mansion loses face and becomes a laughing stock in the capital.
The wife of Marquis Yongning was determined. Even if the empress dowager had arranged the marriage, she could not disobey it. She had to find a good concubine for Zhou Jing, and she had to marry into the family before Zhao Yuanrou.
She was also annoyed with Zhou Jingxun. No matter what Zhou Jingxun said, it was useless. She openly stated to the outside world that she would choose a good concubine for Zhou Jingxun. She didn't want one from a small family or a peasant family. At least there had to be someone in the family serving as an official in the court, even if it was a concubine's daughter. She even hinted that she could have a concubine's eldest son.
These things were widely circulated in the capital, especially the condition of the "eldest son of a concubine", which also attracted some families.
When the news reached Sheng Xiyan's ears, it was said that the wife of Marquis Yongning had already taken her eyes on three of them and was planning to pick one from them, but Sheng Xiyan just laughed it off.
She changed into a plain lotus-colored dress today, which was rare, and only wore a jade hairpin in her hair.
She and Cheng Chuyu made an appointment to go to Huangjue Temple together to burn incense to King Lingnan. She left the house after half past noon, and before long, Cheng Chuyu's carriage arrived.
Cheng Chuyu lifted her skirt, happily got off her own carriage, ran to her carriage, and sat with her.
Cheng Chuyu was also dressed simply, without any makeup or pearls. Unlike her usual pretty look, she looked more pure.
Since Xue Chongzhi's body was placed in Huangjue Temple, the abbot of the temple has specially offered a tablet for him. In recent days, there has been an endless stream of people going to Huangjue Temple to burn incense.
Cheng Chuyu had wanted to go a few days ago, but after discussing with Sheng Xiyan, she decided to avoid crowded days and not go out of her way to join in the hustle and bustle.
So they didn't go until the fifth day of October.
In fact, there were quite a few people in Huangjue Temple. It took a full hour to burn incense and offer some money for incense. Sheng Xiyan also added some extra silver and asked the temple to serve porridge on his behalf.
When they left Huangjue Temple, Cheng Chuyu took her hand and said excitedly, "Sister Yan, let's go to the opera. Recently, Jinjiayuan has staged a new play, which is an adaptation of "Jinxiu Ji"."
Jin Xiu Ji? Xigui feels a bit familiar. Oh, right! I was reading this storybook a few days ago. It seems to be about the story of a female ghost's revenge?
Sheng Xiyan responded and said happily: "Okay, the female ghost's revenge is quite interesting."
"Female ghost...revenge?" Cheng Chuyu was dumbfounded. "Sister Yan, doesn't "The Jin Xiu Story" tell the story of how Jin Xiu went from a maid to a noble lady?" Could it be that they were not reading the same storybook.
Sheng Xiyan raised her finger and waved it, saying, "But Jinxiu also poisoned her master, so Miss Gu turned into a fierce ghost to seek revenge."
Cheng Chuyu was stunned: "Miss Gu was poisoned by Jinxiu?" She remembered clearly that Jinxiu took care of her aunt after her master died, and then fell in love with her aunt. After her aunt passed the imperial examination, she became a lady of the imperial court. The part about encountering a ghost in the study was because Miss Gu was worried about her husband and she dreamed about him at night.
"It's all written in the storybook. Miss Gu's ghost has black nails, blue lips, and blood in the corners of her eyes. She clearly died of poisoning." Sheng Xiyan said clearly, "When Jinxiu saw her ghost, she was not happy, but terrified. She must have something wrong in her mind..."
Xigui: “…” No wonder she felt the storybook was a bit strange. It wasn’t that the storybook was strange, it was that the girls thought differently from others.
"And she showed up again and again, causing Jinxiu and her husband to fall into the lake and become seriously ill. This is revenge."
Cheng Chuyu was skeptical at first, but then her mind became confused. After thinking about it again, it seemed to be the same as Sheng Xiyan said. It turned out to be a revenge drama. She would go back and take another look.
Seeing her serious expression, Sheng Xiyan smiled with her hands covering her lips.
"Miss, we've arrived at Jinjiayuan." The driver's voice came from outside.
Cheng Chuyu was happy again: "Come on, let's go watch a play."
She didn't even need anyone to bring her a footstool; she just jumped off the carriage. After Sheng Xiyan got off, she took her arm and happily walked into the Jin family. Someone immediately led them to the reserved private room.
Walking up to the second floor, Cheng Chuyu suddenly paused. She nudged Sheng Xiyan with her elbow and said, "Look."
Following her gaze, Sheng Xiyan saw Zhao Yuanrou in the lobby. She was wearing a gorgeous jacket with a butterfly pattern and was walking slowly and steadily in the lobby, her skirt fluttering, as if she was looking for someone.
"What a coincidence." Cheng Chuyu muttered, why do I see her everywhere? "What happened between her and Zhou?"
Cheng Chuyu had also heard about the Yongning Marquis's proposal being rejected, which had caused quite a stir recently.
According to her, Zhao Yuanrou was simply looking for trouble. If she really didn't want to marry Zhou Jingxun, why did she try to get involved with him even though she knew he was engaged? The two of them were entangled with each other. Now that she got what she wanted, she is making trouble again? She doesn't know what she is making trouble for.
Cheng Chuyu snorted coldly: "She likes to be the moon surrounded by stars. She can't stand it without one less person."
"Sister Yan, let's ignore her."
Sheng Xiyan was about to look away, but Zhao Yuanrou had already found the person and was walking towards a table with a clear goal.
"Is it the Crown Prince?" Cheng Chuyu blurted out, then lowered his voice and said, "That's the Emperor... Master Qin, right? Prince Zhao is here too."
There were five or six people sitting at that table. In addition to Chu Yuanchen, the emperor and King Zhao, there was also a foreign man with dark skin and the eunuch Song Yuan beside the emperor.
Cheng Chuyu muttered, "Why doesn't Mr. Qin want a private seat? Sitting in the lobby is...not good."
Sheng Xiyan said casually: "Maybe it is to experience the various aspects of folk life." Who knows.
Chu Yuanchen seemed to notice the gazes falling on him and looked up. At that moment, he was filled with a brilliant smile. From the corners of his mouth to the tips of his eyebrows, he was filled with joy.
"Achen, what are you looking at?" The emperor was about to look over when his thoughts were interrupted by a gentle and crisp voice.
"Master Qin."
Zhao Yuanrou was standing in front of him. She was tall and graceful, and her bright clothes made her look radiant and beautiful.
The emperor recognized Zhao Yuanrou at once. The sword dance that day had dazzled his eyes and left a deep impression on him.
When she was dancing with sword, Zhao Yuanrou was heroic and valiant, but now, she is bright and beautiful.
He said with an admiring look: "It turns out to be Miss Zhao."
Zhao Yuanrou smiled and said openly, "I came here specifically to see Master Qin."
The emperor narrowed his eyes, glanced at Qin Wei, and a hint of displeasure appeared in his eyes.
He had been in a bad mood for the past few days, so his younger brother Qin Wei suggested that he go out for a walk, saying that Jin Jiawan would stage a new play today, and the actress who sang the role of Hua Dan was truly stunning, so he went out. Chu Yuanchen and Prince Yelu Qi of Beiyan were there, so he called them out together, wanting Yelu Qi to have a good look at the splendor of the Great Rong Dynasty.
Now it seems that it was Qin Wei who leaked his whereabouts to Zhao Yuanrou!
Qin Wei is not a child anymore, but he does things without any sense of propriety. If he were not his younger brother, he would definitely be punished with a serious crime.
Qin Wei noticed the emperor's displeasure, but he didn't show any panic. He knew his limits and only told Rou'er. How could Rou'er be an outsider?
"Sit down."
The emperor asked Zhao Yuanrou to sit down.
Zhao Yuanrou's gaze fell on Chu Yuanchen for a moment, and she recognized his identity, with a hint of surprise in her eyes.
She had never thought that the prince of Zhenbei would be so...beautiful. Unfortunately, the Zhenbei Palace was destined to perish.
Chu Yuanchen's attention was not on her at all. He was smiling and hooking his finger in the direction of the second floor.
"Master Qin." Zhao Yuanrou calmed down and said directly, "I came here specially to ask for a favor. I would like you to cancel my engagement with Yongning Marquis's son Zhou Jingxun."
As soon as these words were spoken, Qin Wei immediately looked at Zhao Yuanrou with joy.
Zhao Yuanrou had previously asked him if he could find a way to let her meet the emperor. Qin Wei also knew about what had happened in the capital recently. He knew that she had suffered a lot of injustice and even blamed Zhou Jingxun for not treating her well. Knowing that she wanted to see her brother, he agreed without thinking.
I didn't expect that Zhao Yuanrou came to ask the emperor to cancel the engagement. So, I still have hope? !
The more Qin Wei thought about it, the more excited he became. He looked at Zhao Yuanrou with tender eyes and thought: Rouer has finally seen through Zhou Jingxun and is willing to give him a chance.
"Cancel the engagement?" The emperor looked at her, his eyes showing no emotion. "Your marriage was arranged by the Madam..."
The emperor would never go against the empress dowager's wishes on such a small matter.
Zhao Yuanrou also knew that it would not be easy for her to cancel the engagement, but she had had enough of the Yongning Marquisate.
She once thought that Zhou Jingxun, despite his young age, had already held a high position in the imperial army, but he was not arrogant because of his noble birth. He was obedient to her and took good care of her.
He didn't expect that now, just after the engagement, Zhou Jingxun would allow the wife of Marquis Yongning to humiliate him like this.
It would have been fine to let the nanny teach her the rules, but for Zhou Jingxun, she was willing to learn. That was not enough, they also openly and secretly disliked her for being of low birth and not worthy of the Yongning Marquis' Mansion.
She just fought back. The wives of Marquis Yongning were now all over the capital offering him concubines, and he did not refuse.
Zhao Yuanrou felt a little uncomfortable, but she held it back.
The Yongning Marquisate was just relying on the fact that this marriage was arranged by the Queen Mother and that I had no way of resisting, so they trampled me into the mud.
Since they were so sure that she couldn't turn the tables, she would just turn the tables in front of them!
Zhao Yuanrou said sternly, "Master Qin, I know that my engagement was arranged by the Madam. She had good intentions and wanted to help us, but I can only let her down."
“It is said: This love should last forever. If you are heartless, I will give up.”[1]
The emperor was slightly surprised and slowly turned his jade finger, "If you are heartless, I will give up." This sentence is quite interesting.
Thinking of the sword dance and the "killing one person every ten steps" that day, and seeing her now, sitting in front of him without fear, bright and determined, and able to say such sonorous and decisive words, she was so different from the women he had met before.
No wonder the emperor's brother is so deeply involved in it
"Since the engagement was made by the Madam, it cannot be cancelled."
The emperor said calmly that although Miss Zhao was beautiful and special enough, this was not enough to go against the empress dowager's wishes for her.
"Ayan."
Chu Yuanchen's joyful voice interrupted them.
Sheng Xiyan walked over with a smile: "Master Qin."
The emperor's first reaction was to wonder if Chu Yuanchen had also revealed his whereabouts, but he immediately realized that this was impossible.
At that time, Chu Yuanchen and Yelu Qi were both in Yu's study, and he had only called them over temporarily.
Meeting Sheng Xiyan here is really... such a coincidence.
If Zhao Yuanrou is a little special, Sheng Xiyan is...
It’s just so special!
Especially, he never knew there could be a woman who was so bold and willful. He got a headache when he saw her. He couldn't hit or scold her, so he could only swallow his blood. She was exactly like Chu Yuanchen. He didn't know what the Queen Mother meant by marriage!
"Master Qin."
Sheng Xiyan bowed with a smile and said, "I came here with someone to watch a play, and I happened to see you guys were here, so I came over."
She didn't dare to let Cheng Chuyu come with her, so she asked her to go to the private room first. The emperor liked beautiful women, and Cheng Chuyu was accidentally favored by the emperor in the previous life. If the Cheng family's wife hadn't passed away suddenly, she would have had to enter the palace.
"Cousin Yan."
Zhao Yuanrou greeted her and sat down again.
Chu Yuanchen diligently asked someone to bring a chair for Sheng Xiyan, and she sat next to him. He also brought her a handful of melon seeds and used a small silver hammer to peel walnuts for her. Even though he didn't say a word, his meaning was very clear: just watch the show.
Of course, drama does not refer to the play on stage.
But the play in front of us.
Zhao Yuanrou calmed herself down and told herself that it didn't matter whether Sheng Xiyan was there or not.
It’s better if Sheng Xiyan is here.
She wanted to let her know that she didn't have to be with Zhou Jingxun. Sheng Xiyan refused to believe her that day, always thinking that she was trying to snatch Zhou Jingxun away.
Zhao Yuanrou glanced at her, and then said in front of her: "Master Qin, please cancel the engagement for me.
The emperor frowned. He had made his point very clearly. Zhao Yuanrou was too tactless.
"Brother." Qin Wei hurriedly tried to say something nice to Zhao Yuanrou, but Zhao Yuanrou didn't back down. She pinched her sleeve pocket and said angrily, "Master Qin, I have something special here. You should take a look."
The emperor raised his eyebrows, but was not too curious. He was the emperor and owned the universe. How could there be anything special that he had not seen?
Zhao Yuanrou took out a piece of paper from her sleeve pocket and handed it over with both hands.
She said, "This is Wangshan."