“…”
“…”
“…”
Not only the Queen and Yuan Zhitong, but everyone else was dumbfounded. Some people couldn't help but secretly pinch their thighs to see if they were dreaming.
“……” The queen sat there motionless, stunned.
She thought that even if the emperor didn't marry Anle, he would choose a princess born out of wedlock or a noble lady from the royal family, and would never agree to such an absurd thing, not to mention that it was proposed by the empress dowager, so how could the emperor follow the empress dowager's wishes? ! But she didn't expect that the emperor actually agreed...
Yuan Zhitong, who was kneeling on the ground listening to the order, was stunned for a moment, and then subconsciously shouted: "I... won't go."
Her slender body trembled like a delicate flower in the wind and rain, and her whole body was shaky, as if she would fall down at any time.
Eunuch Ni closed the imperial edict, his drooping eyelids showing a hint of laziness and sternness.
"Miss Yuan, do you want to disobey the order?" Eunuch Ni asked coldly.
If Yuan Zhitong did not accept the order, then she would just be Miss Yuan, not Princess Anxing.
"..." Yuan Zhitong felt as if she had been stabbed by Eunuch Ni. Her eyes were red and misty with tears in them.
Queen Mother Yin stroked her sleeves leisurely and said in a dignified manner, "I have been saying it before. It is a good idea to have Zhitong marry in place of the emperor. Your Majesty and I are really on the same page. If Zhitong marries, it will surely become a good story and contribute to the peace between the two countries."
"The Queen has good taste, unlike Ai's family, whose eyes are blurry as they age."
Queen Mother Yin was obviously not much older than the Queen, but she kept saying that old people’s eyesight would become blurry, which was extremely ironic.
The female members of the family also came to their senses a little and looked at each other. No one had expected that so many twists and turns would happen at the Third Princess's coming-of-age ceremony. In the next few days, there would be one more topic of conversation in the capital.
Yuan Zhitong neither dared to disobey the order nor did she want to accept it. At this moment, she finally reacted and knelt down towards Empress Dowager Yin, not caring about her manners or clothes.
"Cousin Aunt!" Yuan Zhitong's eyelashes trembled, and crystal tears slid down the corners of her eyes. Her pretty face was pale and miserable, with a thin layer of tears on her cheeks, which made people feel pity. "Please help me, I don't want to marry to Hao Kingdom."
Her voice was choked and mournful, as if she would faint at any moment.
She raised her hand to pull Empress Dowager Yin, but the Empress Dowager was not someone she could touch easily. Nanny He stepped forward and stood in front of her like a wall, preventing Yuan Zhitong from getting close to Empress Dowager Yin.
Eunuch Ni stood there holding the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand.
Anle blinked, then blinked again, stretched out her hand to pinch Chu Qianchen's sleeve, and asked bluntly: "Aunt Jiuhuang, do I not have to get married?"
Her voice was clear and tender, like a silver bell or a yellow oriole, and was particularly loud in the silent flower hall at this moment, but it seemed like another fierce stabbing at Yuan Zhitong.
Chu Qianchen nodded and adjusted the slightly crooked gold necklace on Anle's chest.
"That's great!" Anle clapped his hands again with joy, smiling so hard that his teeth were showing and his eyes were not visible. He was so happy that he almost lost his mind. "Grandmother, you are so kind!"
As she spoke, the red plum blossoms on the hairpin crown swayed slightly as she tilted her head, and the petals trembled slightly.
"Be good." Queen Mother Yin gave Anle a tolerant smile. She also helped Anle by the way, which was considered killing two birds with one stone.
Queen Mother Yin's eyes turned slightly, Quan Neng ignored Yuan Zhitong, stood up leisurely, and said lightly: "I am tired, Qianchen, you accompany me back."
Chu Qianchen stood up and took Empress Dowager Yin's arm, smiling and saying, "Mother, didn't I just pick a few plum branches? I'll go put them in a vase for you."
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walked out of the flower hall, talking and laughing, with complicated glances from behind cast on their backs.
Most people actually still can’t figure out how things have developed to this point, and feel that there are too many things in the whole thing that don’t make sense.
Only the Princess Li, the Princess Rui and several other princesses as well as Princess Jingle seemed to be thinking about something. Thinking about the poor acting skills of Nanny Shan in the warm pavilion just now, they vaguely grasped the context of the whole thing.
The Queen clearly intended to use the Second Prince to plot against Chu Qianchen, but unexpectedly, she ended up losing more than she gained.
Does the Queen really think that the Queen Mother is easy to please?! Ridiculous!
Princess Li curled her lips in amusement, drank her tea calmly, and was still thinking about this matter.
Judging from the current outcome, it is obvious that the emperor and the empress are no longer of the same mind and are wary of each other.
If the emperor is wary of the queen, it means he is wary of the prince.
Thinking about the Crown Prince who is still being left out by the Emperor, Princess Li feels complicated and is thinking about having a good talk with her old man about this matter when she returns home today.
Yuan Zhitong was still kneeling on the ground, his whole body seemed to be pulled out of the bones, and he collapsed. From behind came the weird and lukewarm voice of Eunuch Ni, which blew on Yuan Zhitong's ears like the breath of an evil spirit.
"Miss Yuan, do you want to disobey the order?"
Eunuch Ni spoke almost word by word.
Yuan Zhitong suddenly felt that the air around him became thinner, as if an invisible hand was strangling his throat.
Does she have any other choice?!
There was only a curtain between the inside and outside of the flower hall, but the atmosphere was completely different.
Queen Mother Yin and Chu Qianchen had already walked out of the flower hall and were heading towards Shouning Palace against the cold wind. Both of them had warm sleeves warmers in their sleeves and were not aware of the cold at all.
"Anle, with her personality, it's not suitable for her to marry far away." Queen Mother Yin looked at a crabapple tree in front of her with all its flowers and leaves fallen, and sighed with emotion, "If she had married the former eldest prince of Hao Kingdom, Wuhejialou, it would be fine, but now..."
Even though the Queen Mother had never seen the current Crown Prince Uhetuna of Hao Kingdom, she could still conclude that he was not a good match.
"Your Majesty is right." Chu Qianchen nodded obediently, acting as if she was respecting the Queen Mother.
Originally, in the plan of the prince and Wuhejialou, the third princess did not need to marry into the Hao Kingdom.
"Anle is a good child." Queen Mother Yin sighed, and recalled a past event with a sigh, and then she told Chu Qianchen about it.
Since the death of the previous emperor, the empress dowager moved to Shouning Palace. The empress used the excuse that the empress dowager was in poor health and seldom went to Shouning Palace to pay her respects. She also stopped Anle from going. However, Anle would occasionally go to see the empress dowager secretly. Once two years ago, when the empress dowager was admiring the lotus by the pond, Anle suddenly ran over and scolded the empress dowager, saying that she should not get too close to the pond, as it would be bad if she fell into the water.
"...When the little girl scolds people, she is quite fierce."
Queen Mother Yin thought about this incident and found it funny, with the corners of her lips curled up.
"I also think Anle is very well-behaved and cute." Chu Qianchen was also smiling, with a smile between his eyebrows, blooming like a delicate flower.
The Queen Mother and the Prince are indeed mother and son. They look very much alike. If you give me a peach, I will repay you with a jade.
When Queen Mother Yin heard her "very well-behaved and lovely" daughter-in-law speak seriously like this about others, she burst out laughing.
Her laughter echoed in the air with the wind, and Nanny He and others couldn't help but smile. Everyone felt that the world in front of them was open.
Winter is not over yet and the cold wind is howling, but they all have a feeling that spring is not far away.
At this time, the queen who was in the flower hall felt that this winter might not be too long, and a chill rose from the soles of her feet.
The queen was completely dumbfounded, her mind was blank. She didn't even care when Yuan Zhitong would receive the imperial edict or when Eunuch Ni would leave. She was absent-minded.
Until the play "Xiang Fei Fan" outside was finished, the whole flower hall was silent, except for Anle who clapped his hands at the stage from time to time. The sound was very cheerful, with laughter and cheers.
The other female members of the family would turn their eyes to the distraught queen and Yuan Zhitong from time to time. Yuan Zhitong in particular seemed like a completely different person. She had lost all her spirit and seemed like just a soulless shell.
When the play was about to end, a young eunuch came to ask the queen, "Queen, shall we have the feast? The emperor just sent someone to say that he has invited the Prince of Andaman to come."
When they heard the name Prince of Andaman, everyone was surprised and their eyes couldn't help but look at Yuan Zhitong. Yuan Zhitong then came to her senses, her pretty face turned paler and she looked panicked.
The queen stood up, and the others followed suit.
Today's banquet will be held in the Liufang Water Pavilion next to the flower hall. The water pavilion and the flower hall are connected by a corridor, making it very convenient for everyone to get there.
Everyone went to Liufang Water Pavilion chatting and laughing. Chu Qianchen also came, but Queen Mother Yin did not.
The female members of the family sat down according to their status. Because the emperor would be coming, the banquet was not started yet. Everyone drank tea quietly and waited. Not long after, the emperor arrived with the Prince of Andaman and two other envoys from the Hao Kingdom.
Also accompanying them were the Crown Prince Gu Nanjin, the Second Prince Gu Nanzhao, the Third Prince Gu Nanzhen, as well as a group of eunuchs, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, etc. The team was huge.
As soon as Gu Nanzhao entered the water pavilion, his eyes couldn't help but look at Chu Qianchen, who was sitting next to Prince Li's wife, with a trace of tenderness and pain.
He couldn't let her get involved anymore.
What happened in the warm pavilion an hour ago flashed back to his mind like a fleeting thought, and seemed to be stabbing his heart again and again like a sharp blade.
Gu Nanzhao forced himself to look away again; it was so difficult, as if he had used up all his strength, leaving only pain and nostalgia in his eyes and heart.
He walked forward with the emperor absentmindedly, sat down in his seat absentmindedly, and drank the tasteless wine absentmindedly.
No one paid attention to Gu Nanzhao. Most people's eyes were looking between the Emperor and Prince Andaman. Prince Andaman was still furious, his face was as gloomy as water, and there was undisguised anger in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows.
The emperor sat on the main seat with a smile on his face, completely different from the furious look he had shown in Baohe Hall before.
He smiled and motioned for everyone to excuse themselves, then looked at Prince Andaman with a calm gaze and said loudly: "Prince, I have just thought about it carefully. The marriage between the two countries is a major event, and it should be decided as soon as possible."
Andaman and the two envoys from the Hao Kingdom who were accompanying him were stunned by the emperor's unexpected words, and no one reacted for a moment.
Andaman frowned his thick black eyebrows and thought: This Emperor of Da Qi does whatever he wants and changes his orders every day. Is he mentally ill? !
The Minister of Rites had already written the marriage certificate in advance and presented it to Andaman.
This marriage certificate was written in Qi language and Hao language respectively. Andaman directly read Hao language's version, his eyes fixed on "Princess Anxing", and his brows furrowed even more tightly.
Who is Princess Anxing? Isn't the one that their prince is going to marry the third princess, Anle? Others need to give face to the emperor, but Prince Andaman doesn't. He shoots his eyes at the emperor like a knife and directly asks, "Your Majesty, the Emperor of Daqi, who is this Anxing?"
There was a hint of gnashing of teeth in his words.
Compared to Andaman's excitement, the emperor remained calm and smiling, saying, "Princess Anxing is my adopted daughter. Please sign the marriage certificate, Prince."
Yuan Zhitong's body trembled violently, and a strong despair spread throughout her body, as if to swallow her whole.
She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Andaman, like a prisoner waiting for the final verdict, with only one thought in her mind: Will the King of Andaman agree? !
Crown Prince Gu Nanjin was also shocked.
He didn't know that the emperor had canonized Yuan Zhitong as Princess Anxing, and he didn't know that the emperor had temporarily changed the candidate for the marriage.
Although Gu Nanjin also felt that it was inappropriate for Anle to marry Nanhao now with her personality, after all, Wuhejialou was a man with the world in his mind, and the current royal family of Hao Kingdom was no different from a tiger's den and a wolf's lair.
However, the emperor suddenly changed his mind after agreeing, which simply showed that he did not take the diplomacy between the two countries seriously.
Gu Nanjin pursed his lips, wanting to say something but hesitant. In the end, he said nothing. He also knew that if he spoke up to stop it now, he would definitely end up in trouble. Not only would he be disliked by the emperor, but he would also make the emperor think that he was colluding with the Hao people.
Gu Nanjin tightly grasped a porcelain cup in his hand, almost crushing it, and glanced at Andaman out of the corner of his eye.
Andaman's face changed suddenly, as if dyed in ink, and his eyes cut across the emperor's face like knives.
This is too much!
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
The Emperor of Daqi was really bullying Dahao too much. First he wanted to cancel the engagement for no reason, but when that failed, now he wanted to change the marriage! Moreover, he changed the candidate for marriage from a legitimate princess to a so-called adopted daughter!
The adopted daughter is just a fake princess. Does the Emperor of Da Qi think he doesn't know? The so-called adopted daughters of the emperor have always been used to marry foreign nations and to fool those barbaric and small countries!
Does the Emperor of Daqi think that Dahao is just one of those barbaric and small countries? ! This is absurd, absolutely absurd! Andaman could no longer bear it, and the anger in his heart grew stronger and stronger. He raised a trembling finger and pointed at the emperor, scolding: "Your Majesty has changed the candidate for marriage for no reason. It seems that you really want to regret the engagement!!"
He spoke slowly, word by word, with a poisonous, cold sneer across his face.
"When did I regret the engagement?!" The emperor did not think that he regretted it. "At the beginning, I only said that I would marry the princess to your country's crown prince, but I did not say that the marriage could not be to an adopted daughter?"
"The one I want to marry is the emperor's third daughter, and An Xing happens to be the third child."
Yuan Zhitong is one year older than the third princess. If she must be counted in the ranking of the princesses, she is indeed the third.
The emperor was quite pleased with himself, with the corners of his lips raised, thinking that he was right.
His words were like adding fuel to the fire, and the anger in Andaman's heart exploded and turned into hatred.
He was personally sent as an envoy to Da Qi, naturally he came with great expectations, but he was actually teased by the emperor of Da Qi! Now thinking back on his experience in Da Qi over the past two months, Andaman felt that he was just like an actor on the stage being played around by others.
In particular, not only did he fail to kill Wuhejialou, but he also killed a secret agent in Da Qi and several of his confidants, resulting in heavy losses.
Andaman regretted that he had volunteered to go on a diplomatic mission to Da Qi.
When Emperor Hao Wuhedu Luo first ascended the throne, in order to secure his throne, he proposed a marriage with Da Qi, hoping to frighten the party of the previous emperor and intimidate the two vassal kings who had not yet surrendered. At that time, the ministers were divided into two factions. One faction opposed the marriage with Da Qi and brought up Wuhejialou's argument; the other faction strongly supported the marriage, and he was one of them.
It was not until now that Andaman realized that the Emperor of Da Qi was an extremely despicable person. He was two-faced, changed his orders every day, and had none of the bearing of an emperor.
People like the Emperor of Da Qi are not worthy of their Dahao's cooperation at all. People like him may tear up the alliance at any time and bite you back.
Andaman's face turned pale and blue, and his heart was surging.
The emperor looked down at Andaman and said slowly, "Does your country still want to sign the marriage certificate?"
The emperor smiled coldly and acted as if he didn't care. He felt that he had the upper hand and had slapped the other party in the face, which made him even more proud.
The King of Andaman endured it again and again, but he could not endure it any longer.
He was too lazy to even say anything more to the emperor and just wanted to walk away like before.
No marriage, no marriage.
His most important mission this time when he came to Hao Kingdom was to find the whereabouts of Wuhejialou and determine whether he was alive or dead. He has already completed this mission.
As for the marriage between the two countries, it was not necessary, but he still had the power to interrupt it.
Andaman rudely threw the marriage certificate in his hand onto the table, then stood up with one hand on the table.
The marriage certificate knocked over the wine glasses, wine jugs and other items on the table, and some dried fruits on the fruit bowl rolled down and scattered all over the place, making the floor a mess in an instant.
Everyone else around seemed to be dumb and said nothing.
Andaman was furious and turned to leave, but he felt his sleeves tightened. He turned around and met Lange's deep eyes behind him.
Lange moved his mouth and silently said a word in Hao language: bow.
Andaman understood Lange's lip language and his pupils shrank.
The image of the new bow emerged in his mind, and then all his rage and hatred were extinguished. He quickly calmed down and thought about the current situation.
Yes, one of the purposes of his trip to Qi was to discuss a marriage, but now, the value of a marriage between the two countries is far less than the bow provided by Chu Qianhuang.
After seeing the power of the bow in Bize Garden that day, he asked people to inquire all over the capital, but no shop said that anyone had ever made such a bow. Later, he thought about whether Chu Qianhuang had disassembled the bow and made it by parts, so he asked people to inquire again, but still got no results.
They had already searched all the bow-making shops in the capital, and even visited several nearby towns, but found nothing.
If this were in Dahao, Andaman could easily allocate more manpower to expand the area. He didn't believe that he would not be able to find any clues, but they happened to be in the capital of Daqi.
The matter has reached a deadlock.
The only person who knew how to make that new type of bow was Chu Qianhuang.
Given the character of the Emperor of Da Qi, even if he now agreed to let the Third Princess marry Da Hao, the value of the Third Princess would have been greatly reduced. It can be said that Chu Qianhuang's value is far higher than that of the Third Princess.
Andaman stood there stiffly.
Most of the Qi people present thought that Andaman would walk away in anger like he did before in Baohedian, but unexpectedly, Andaman seemed to have suddenly changed his mind and did not leave.
Many women in the family were secretly shocked. What happened today was so bizarre that even a play script might not dare to write it that way.
Andaman clenched his fists and then unclenched them, his thoughts racing, his eyes flashing with chaotic and complex light, which finally condensed into a point.
"Your Majesty," Andaman asked again after a long silence, "What about the concubines that came with the dowry?"
When these words were spoken, everyone in the Water Pavilion was surprised, including Crown Prince Gu Nanjin.
From Andaman's words, it seems like he is going to compromise?!
Everyone was completely confused and had no idea what was going on. Yuan Zhitong's heart had been up and down for several times. At this moment, he felt a black screen in front of his eyes and his body shook.
In the emperor's view, this meant that the Hao people had surrendered to him.
For a moment, the emperor felt extremely happy, thinking that he had won a great victory in the game between the two countries, and that he had defeated ten opponents with his own strength.
The emperor tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were about to curl up, and said calmly with a confident look, "When the 'Princess' gets married, she will naturally have concubines."
The emperor didn't take them seriously as they were just two concubines.
Andaman pointed to the marriage certificate that he had thrown on the table and said in a voice loud enough for everyone present to hear: "The name of the concubine must be written on the marriage certificate, in case His Majesty suddenly becomes reluctant in a few days."
He curled his lips in a sneer, unable to conceal the sarcasm in his words.
When their eyes met, sparks flew, and an open and covert confrontation was going on. Both sides had their own thoughts, intentions, and calculations.
Andaman did not mention Chu Qianhuang's name, but even if he didn't mention it, the emperor knew that he did it for Chu Qianhuang.
Although the emperor was very uncomfortable with their insistence on taking Chu Qianhuang as a concubine, she was just a concubine after all, and Gu Jue was only worthy of this little bargaining chip, while any "adopted daughter" he randomly appointed could become Nan Hao's crown princess.
A subtle pleasure arose in the emperor's heart. He was the emperor and Gu Jue was just a prince who would always be suppressed by him.
Thinking that he had completely destroyed the Queen Mother's "plan" today and sent the candidate that the Queen Mother liked to Nanhao, the emperor felt even better. In comparison, Chu Qianhuang's slight unhappiness was really insignificant.
The emperor thought about it for a moment and agreed immediately: "Okay, I'll follow the prince's opinion."
Andaman sat back down, and the two of them reached an agreement.
In fact, everyone was still full of questions. Some people even began to wonder if the emperor had found some weakness of the Nanhao people, which was why he suddenly changed the candidate for the marriage so strongly, and the Nanhao people actually accepted it.
There are obviously some unknown secrets hidden in this. Some of the female relatives can't wait to leave the palace and return home to talk to their masters.
In this strange atmosphere, the Left Vice Minister of Rites re-drafted a new marriage certificate as quickly as possible, wrote the two candidates for the originally agreed-upon concubines into the certificate, and then handed it to the emperor for review.
There were two copies of the marriage certificate. Only after the emperor nodded his approval did the Left Vice Minister of Rites feel at ease to hand over the other copy to Andaman.
Andaman read it carefully twice, as if he was afraid that there was some trap in the marriage letter, and he was very cautious. In the eyes of the emperor, his caution became a provocation.
You are really judging others by your own standards! The emperor gritted his teeth secretly.
Although the emperor and Andaman did not say bad things to each other, there was always a tense feeling between them, as if the two sides would draw their swords at each other if they disagreed. This atmosphere inevitably affected other people around them, and most of the female relatives felt that they were not breathing smoothly.
After Andaman confirmed the marriage certificate, he and the emperor affixed their respective seals in the presence of everyone.
The bride's journey to Nanhao is thousands of miles, and the journey will take nearly a month or even longer, so the wedding date will be chosen by the Hao Kingdom. The emperor and Andaman have only set the date for Yuan Zhitong's wedding.
During the entire process, Andaman did not even ask who the emperor's adopted daughter, Princess Anxing, was.
Yuan Zhitong, who was sitting next to the third princess, was completely confused.
She seemed to have lost all color, sitting there with a blank expression, and her whole body was gray.
It's the end of the month. Have you voted for your monthly ticket? It will expire.
(End of this chapter)