The hall fell into silence for a moment.
Everyone looked at each other in surprise and confusion.
Ever since the emperor issued the imperial decree granting the marriage, Chu Qianchen's reactions have surprised them time and time again.
If it were these people present, they would do anything for the prince without hesitation, even if it meant being taken hostage or sacrificing their lives.
But Chu Qianchen is different.
She was just an unrelated girl in the boudoir, but she could stand on the side of Prince Chen's Mansion, and proceed from the interests of the prince in everything, without caring about her own gains and losses. She was so calm and rational that these big men admired her, but at the same time made them feel a little reluctant and embarrassed.
The hall was silent for a moment. Su Mubai fanned himself leisurely with his folding fan and said, "The Ministry of Internal Affairs will go to the Marquis' Mansion to propose marriage tomorrow, right?"
Giving an engagement is a major commitment, and it also means that the man and woman will formally sign the marriage certificate.
The pigeon letter from Qin Yao said that the prince would probably not be able to return to the Nanyang military camp for a few days, so there was definitely no time to wait for the prince to make a decision.
Cheng Linhua responded casually with a "yes", looking solemn as he slowly stroked his beard.
He knew that the prince would not like Chu Qianchen's decision.
They knew best what kind of person the prince was. The prince knew that he would not live long, so he had been arranging a retreat for the Northern Army and the people in Prince Chen's Palace since last year. Given the prince's personality, he would not want to marry at this time...
"Let's just get ready first." Su Mubai made the decision for Cheng Linhua with a smile. His nonchalant look made him look like a smiling fox.
His implication was very clear, the Prince Chen's Mansion recognized this marriage.
The others looked at each other again in silence.
Ever since the emperor granted the marriage, they have been thinking about this marriage for some time.
If they were honest with themselves, they had no objection to Chu Qianchen. She should be a very suitable princess for the Prince Chen's Palace.
Yunzhan also took a peanut from the plate played by Xue Feng, "I think Miss Chu Er should also be willing to marry our prince."
"..." Xue Feng rolled his eyes at him. He had to endure several contemptuous looks from Chu Qianchen to get these peanuts.
Cheng Hualin was still a little hesitant, but after listening to Yun Zhan's words, that hesitation disappeared.
Yes, their prince is quite good and is definitely a good son-in-law.
When the princess heals the prince, she will give birth to a little prince in a few years...
Cheng Hualin had already imagined a beautiful future in his mind, but before he knew it, his soul flew away.
Yunzhan and Xue Fengyan exchanged glances.
Among all the people present, the two of them were the ones who had the most contact with Chu Qianchen, and they could roughly tell that the way Chu Qianchen looked at the prince was more of admiration and worship.
She attached great importance to the prince, and even loved the prince so much that she even took care of the empress dowager.
Chu Qianchen had done so much for the prince, and they saw it all, and gradually they felt that Su Mubai's proposal was not a bad idea...
Cheng Linhua made up his mind and nodded, "Okay, let's get ready first."
When the prince returns to the camp, if he refuses the marriage, at most all the preparations will be in vain; but if the prince agrees, at least the wedding will not be too lonely.
Most people here still respected Su Mubai and Cheng Linhua, and everyone else nodded after hearing this. Anyway, they thought this marriage was not bad.
Su Mubai curled his lips and said with a smile: "I'll have to trouble Brother Cheng to take care of it for the prince."
Cheng Linhua was very excited and said things like "No, no," and "It's what I should do."
He almost thought that he would never have the chance to prepare a wedding for the prince in his lifetime.
There are so many things to do next. I haven't prepared for the wedding yet. I need to paint the house, decorate the new house, and send out invitations...
Thinking of this, Cheng Linhua couldn't sit still anymore.
The atmosphere in the hall relaxed.
Now that they had made the decision, they no longer thought about it and started talking about what kind of gift they should prepare for the prince's wedding.
Everyone was talking animatedly, and everyone was in high spirits.
Su Mubai fanned himself calmly, a gleam of light flashing in his eyes.
In fact, it is not impossible to resolve the current deadlock.
The emperor has always been suspicious, and this has been taken to the extreme when it comes to the prince. Any slight disturbance in the Prince Chen's Mansion will lead to the emperor's excessive speculation.
All the emperor needs to do is to be more welcoming to Chu Qianchen and be more proactive about this marriage. Given the emperor's character, he will certainly become suspicious and wonder if this marriage is a plot by the prince against him.
In this way, the emperor would naturally resolve the deadlock himself.
However, Su Mubai did not do so.
In his opinion, there was nothing wrong with this marriage.
The prince's injuries were already very serious. Before he met Chu Qianchen, they had invited many famous doctors in the north to treat the prince, and most of them said that the prince could only hold on until next year at most.
However, since Chu Qianchen appeared, the prince's injuries have been under control.
After all, this is an old illness that threatens his life. It would definitely be best if the prince could always have a miracle doctor by his side.
Under the current circumstances, even if Chu Qianchen can come to see the doctor from time to time, the woman always has to get married. With Chu Qianchen's status as the daughter of the Marquis's mansion, it is impossible for her to marry a peddler. After she gets married, can she still come and go freely and come to the palace at will? But if she marries the prince, it will be different.
This is his selfish desire.
But everything still depends on the prince's intention, so he did not stop Tang Yuchu from going to the northwest to find the prince and Qin Yao...
The smile on Su Mubai's lips deepened a little, and even his eyes narrowed slightly.
Xue Fengyan took Su Mubai's foxy smile into his eyes and felt a chill in his heart. The hair on his arms stood up and he thought to himself: I don't know what this heartless fox is planning.
Su Mubai was very sensitive to something, and he looked at Xue Fengyan with a smile, and told the servant, "Prepare a jar of Zhuangyuanhong and a few side dishes for Captain Xue."
Xue Fengyan's eyes lit up. He had been following Chu Qianchen these days and hadn't had a drink for several days.
His drunkenness flared up and he immediately put the thought just now out of his mind. He just threw the jar into the air and thought: Anyway, everything Su Mubai planned was for the good of the prince.
Su Mubai couldn't help laughing when he saw Xue Fengyan, who was almost drooling.
There is a type of person who is born with very sharp intuition, just like wild beasts in the mountains.
Xue Fengyan is probably the best among them. He followed the prince based on his intuition and survived the battlefield based on his intuition...
This time, even Xue Fengyan's intuition seemed to agree that this marriage would be successful.
Su Mubai's mood became better again.
In fact, he was only 70% to 80% sure about this matter.
The purpose of the prince and Qin Yao's trip to the northwest was not only to clear Qin Yao's grievances, but also to control the northwest in one fell swoop, thereby connecting the northwest with the north to expand the advantages of the Prince Chen's Mansion.
According to his original plan, even if Tang Yuchu found the prince, the prince would not be able to abandon the northwest affairs and return to the capital immediately. Even if the prince's pigeon letter failed, he still had a lot of room for maneuver in the capital, and it might not be impossible to make this marriage happen.
What he didn't expect was that Tang Yuchu didn't find the prince.
In the past, he never believed in God's will, but now he has a vague feeling that this is God's will.
Su Mubai put down the folding fan in his hand, picked up the teacup and blew gently, and casually reminded: "Brother Cheng, even if you want to prepare for the wedding, don't make it too grand, just stop when it's enough."
The three books and six ceremonies were handled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Rites, and there was no need for Prince Chen's Mansion to intervene. He was reminding Cheng Linhua not to interfere with the Ministry of Internal Affairs' betrothal tomorrow, so as not to make things worse.
Cheng Linhua was still thinking about some matters that needed to be arranged, and Su Mubai's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.
"I understand." He quickly calmed down, nodded, and immediately decided to put the sending of invitations and preparation of betrothal gifts on hold.
Forced by the situation, we can only temporarily let the future princess suffer.
As the two were talking, the aroma of wine filled the air and the servant served Zhuangyuanhong.
Yun Zhan and others were also tempted by the tempting aroma of wine and asked for some wine. When it was Xue Fengyan's turn, there was only one glass left.
He had just taken a sip when he saw Su Mubai drink a sip of tea and then look at him again.
"Xue Fengyan, you should stay in the Marquis' Mansion. If possible, ask the second Miss Chu if she has any objection to this arrangement?" Su Mubai smiled gently, but what he was thinking in his heart was, if Chu Qianchen disagreed or wanted to stop the wedding before the wedding, should he appeal to her emotions or play the victim?
Judging from what Yun Zhan and Xue Feng said, there should be a great chance that they can convince Chu Qianchen as long as they bring up the prince.
Xue Fengyan was reluctant to part with the wine in his hand, so he drank it all in one gulp. Then he wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve and left.
Before the sun set, Xue Fengyan returned to the Marquis' Mansion without anyone noticing.
After he imitated two bird calls, Amber understood and called Chu Qianchen to the study again.
The sky outside was dim and lights were on in the yard and the small study.
Xue Fengyan, who was still missing his Zhuangyuanhong, was a little absent-minded and told Su Mubai what he meant.
The result was that he was met with Chu Qianchen's contemptuous look again.
The look in his eyes still said the same thing: I knew you were useless.
Xue Fengyan: "..."
He regretted it. If he had known earlier, he should have let Yunzhan take over this job. Wouldn’t it be nice for him to drink his Zhuangyuanhong in the palace?
However, since they are here, shouldn’t I say a few words in their defense so as not to embarrass the prince?
There was a small problem with the dress to be worn for the grand ceremony tomorrow, so Shen asked the sewing room to have it altered immediately. The sewing room did not dare to be careless and worked all night to finally fix it.
Xue Fengyan was eager to leave quickly. He casually leaned his big hand on the window sill and flew out like a roc spreading its wings, almost fleeing in panic.
Chu Qianchen looked at his back, shook his head, and walked out through the curtain.
After she went out, she tried the altered clothes again. Even Gu Zhiyan ran over to watch her change clothes with great interest and applauded her.
That night, Gu Zhiyan slept in the wing room of Wanyan Courtyard. It was Chu Qianchen who lit calming incense for Gu Zhiyan and personally coaxed her to sleep.
That night, Gu Zhiyan did not wake up all night and slept until dawn.
Even the wet nurse had a rare good sleep, which surprised her a lot.
Ever since their county princess suffered from amnesia, she always had to keep the lights on all night when she slept, and she was often awakened once or twice by nightmares in the middle of the night. It was rare for her to sleep through the night like this.
Chu Qianchen and Gu Zhiyan had breakfast in the main courtyard, and Chu Yunmu also had breakfast with them. Today was Chu Qianchen's big day, so Shen showed extra favor and allowed Chu Yunmu not to go to the clan school.
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
Before the time came, Chu Yunmu couldn't hold back and kept ordering the maid to go to the front to see if the person who came to propose marriage had arrived.
The maid ran back and forth several times, and on the third trip she finally brought good news: "Here they are, the betrothal agent from the Ministry of Internal Affairs has arrived, and he has arrived at Songhe Street."
Chu Yunmu hurriedly called Gu Zhiyan to go out and watch the fun. Shen laughed and followed Chu Qianchen out.
Before they reached the ceremonial gate, they heard the crackling sound of firecrackers coming from the direction of the gate, which was very lively.
The loud sound of firecrackers not only attracted people from the Marquis's Mansion, but also attracted passers-by on the street and neighbors around to come and watch the fun.
The betrothal gifts were delivered by the Prince of Li and Minister Liu of the Ministry of Rites, who brought a total of 124 boxes. The heavy boxes were piled up at the ceremonial gate, and the Chu family opened the lids of the boxes one by one for people to see.
The onlookers outside the mansion stretched their necks curiously and looked inside.
A young eunuch was reading out the long gift list in a drawling tone. It included antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jewelry, jade, medicinal herbs, spices, furs, and so on. In addition, there were shops, farms, houses, and ten thousand taels of silver in cash.
In addition, the emperor made an exception and added another 20% to the prince's share, showing that he was worried about his younger brother.
Some people watching outside could also hear it clearly, their eyes lit up with surprise and they talked a lot.
"Is this the Imperial Household Department coming to propose marriage to His Royal Highness Prince Chen? I just counted them, and there are a full 120 loads of betrothal gifts!"
"The emperor is so kind to His Royal Highness Prince Chen."
"Yes, yes. I think this generous betrothal gift is probably even more than the prince's share."
"I just saw a piece of Shoushan stone carved inside that's as big as... that!"
"That box is silver, right? I've never seen so much silver in my life!"
“…”
Hearing the noise outside, Prince Li and Minister Liu exchanged glances.
The emperor took so much trouble just to let the world see that he attached great importance to Prince Chen's marriage and would not treat Prince Chen unfairly.
Shen felt uncomfortable and her lips were tightly pursed into a straight line.
Although the betrothal ceremony was grand, the three letters and six ceremonies until the fourth ceremony were all handled by the Imperial Household Department and the Ministry of Rites, and the Prince Chen's Palace had no involvement from beginning to end.
Thinking back to the fact that the palace's chief historian had previously made a scene in the Golden Palace over this marriage, Shen felt as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest, making her feel suffocated and uncomfortable.
Regardless of Prince Chen's current condition, the behavior of Prince Chen's Mansion definitely represents Prince Chen's attitude.
If this goes on, will the people from Prince Chen's Mansion not show up at the wedding? Then, will Chu Qianchen still have a good life after marrying into the palace? ! Shen Shi sensed this, and the other people in the Marquis' Mansion, such as the Madam Tai, naturally also felt it, and their expressions were different.
Some people frowned in displeasure, thinking that this marriage was a lose-lose situation; some people gloated over the misfortune; some people were worried; and some people took their anger out on Chu Qianchen, casting disgusted glances at her from time to time.
No matter how upset Shen felt, she remained calm and treated the guests appropriately, welcoming Prince Li and his entourage to the main hall of the outer courtyard.
Next, both parties have to set a wedding date and sign a marriage certificate.
As Shen walked, she thought to herself: I should add more gold and silver shops and other more substantial things to Chen Jie'er's dowry. The Prince of Chen was not a violent person. If Chen Jie'er married into the King's family, she would be treated coldly at most. If she had more money, her life would not be too bad in the future.
A group of people marched towards the main hall, while some servants stayed at the ceremonial gate to check the betrothal gifts with the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Chu Qianhuang slowed down and fell behind, looking at Shen's elegant back for a while, and then at Chu Qianchen.
Chu Qianchen was wearing a purple dress embroidered with butterflies and peonies. The purple material was very flattering and made her skin look as white and smooth as pearls.
She walked slowly in front, her dress rippled like water as she walked, her steps were graceful and light.
A gentle breeze blew by, and flowers fell from the sky. The fragrance of flowers mixed with a hint of gunpowder from firecrackers filled the air.
The strange smell lingered in Chu Qianhuang's nose, so strong and so dull that it made it difficult for her to breathe and she felt like she couldn't breathe.
Although the sun was shining brightly at the moment, she felt as if she was walking under a heavy cloud.
Why?!
Why is it that no matter how low Chu Qianchen falls, she can still have some glory and enjoy some honor.
Even if Prince Chen was going to die soon, Chu Qianchen was still a princess, and her rank was higher than that of her third aunt, the princess of a county.
Not like myself...
Whenever Chu Qianhuang thought of the scenes in his dream, he felt as if his heart was stabbed again and again. His hands hidden in his sleeves clenched into fists, getting tighter and tighter.
She walked slower and slower, her eyes as deep as an ancient well.
She knew very well that once the truth was revealed, she would be left with nothing.
Those who once flattered her now despised her; her close friends who once had a good relationship with her distanced themselves from her; even the marriage that was about to be arranged was cancelled...
She absolutely did not want to take the path in her dreams.
Since her family couldn't help her, she would find a way out for herself! While thinking, Chu Qianhuang followed everyone into the main hall.
In the center of the hall, there was a large red sandalwood desk with a dragon pattern carved on it. On both sides were rows of red sandalwood armchairs. People sat down one after another according to their social status.
This huge hall suddenly became crowded.
The Prince of Li just wanted to finish his task as soon as possible and leave, so he took out two marriage certificates with gold-painted phoenixes. An old maid from the Imperial Household Department took them over, spread out the two marriage certificates that had been written in advance and placed them side by side on the table.
Then, the old nanny read the contents of the marriage certificate slowly and calmly: "Today, the wedding ceremony is completed and the marriage is concluded..."
The format of marriage certificates is generally similar. Most of them contain similar blessings such as "live together till old age", "a perfect moon and a beautiful sky", "a perfect home for the family", etc., followed by the name of the man and woman, in the order of man on the left and woman on the right, as well as their birth dates, three generations of ancestors, etc.
The old nanny had memorized the marriage certificate by heart, and while she was reading it, she glanced secretly towards Chu Qianchen and Lan Ruo behind her.
Lan Ruo, who had been keeping her head down and looking obedient, seemed to sense something. She raised her head towards the old lady and nodded slightly.
As if to say, everything is fine.
The old nanny withdrew her gaze with satisfaction and felt relieved: Very good, it seems that Lan Ruo has trained Chu Qianchen well, and I can go back and report to the Queen.
As long as they can help the Queen to control Chu Qianchen, and Chu Qianchen secretly passes on information from Prince Chen's Mansion in the future, the Emperor will definitely remember the Queen's contribution.
They are all the Queen's people. The more noble the Queen is, the better life they can live.
After the old nanny finished reading the marriage certificate, she stepped aside and gave the seat in front of the table to Shen.
Marriage is a serious matter, which is decided by parents and matchmaker.
Although Chu Qianchen was one of the protagonists of the marriage certificate, she had no right to intervene here. The marriage certificate was confirmed and stamped by the Shen family.
Afterwards, the two copies were taken away by the Prince of Li and sent to the Prince of Chen's Palace, while the other copy remained in the Chu family and was kept by Shen.
This is the end of today's ceremony.
The Prince of Li and Minister Liu and their entourage left in a grand procession, and the steward of the Marquis's Mansion hurried to help see them off.
The other people from the various rooms in the Marquis' Mansion also dispersed one after another. No one even ran to congratulate Chu Qianchen, as if they were eager to "avoid him as much as possible."
Chu Qianchen didn't mind this, and neither did Shen.
Shen was looking at the marriage certificate in her hand, still thinking about the two gifts that would follow.
After "Na Zheng", the next step is "asking for a date" of the six rituals. Although this marriage is granted by the emperor's imperial decree, the specific date of the wedding will still be calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory, and the most suitable auspicious day will be chosen as the wedding date within a few days before or after.
Time is running out.
Shen handed the red and gold-painted marriage certificate in her hand to Chu Qianchen, "Sister Chen, you can keep this marriage certificate yourself."
Chu Qianchen took it and originally wanted to pass it to Amber, but when her eyes fell on the two names written on the marriage certificate, she was stunned.
Gu Jue.
Chu Qianchen.
Her name was written side by side with his in italics.
Bang! Bang! Her heartbeat inexplicably quickened a few times, and she felt a burning sensation at the tip of her ear.
It was strange. It was obvious that this marriage was just a sudden whim of the dog emperor. Others might regard the emperor's edict as a god, but to her, she had overthrown the emperor in her previous life, so what was the big deal about a mere edict?
(End of this chapter)