In a short while, Emperor Rongcheng put down his pen, and a freshly issued imperial edict was completed.
"Very well, I will now personally bestow a marriage upon Minister Luo's eldest son, Luo Ziqian, and Marquis Yong'an's eldest daughter, Gu Jingchun."
As Emperor Rongcheng spoke, he personally handed the imperial edict to Luo Kejin and patted Luo Kejin on the shoulder.
At this moment, in Emperor Rongcheng's eyes, Luo Kejin had sacrificed his son's future happiness to solve his immediate crisis.
He has already decided that on the day of Luo Kejin's son's wedding, he will reward him handsomely and give him a generous gift.
Shou Kang Palace.
Shen Qianlan chatted with the ladies of noble families in the main hall for a long time. Seeing that it was almost time, she rose to bow to the Empress Dowager and asked for instructions:
"Your Majesty, today is your birthday banquet. We should have stayed by your side the whole time, but I haven't seen my two daughters for a long time and I'm a little worried. I'd like to go out and check on them."
"After all, this is my daughter's first time entering the palace. She may not be familiar with the rules. It would be bad if she offended a noble person because of this. I hope Your Majesty will grant her permission."
Chu Qianlan spoke with neither arrogance nor servility, and the Empress Dowager stood up upon hearing this.
"I've been sitting here long enough. It's rare to see so many new faces today. Why don't I come along and take a look? What do you all think?"
After the Empress Dowager stood up, the ladies from prominent families also stood up and echoed her.
"Yes, the weather is so nice today, and the Shou Kang Palace has such beautiful flowers, so we should definitely go and admire them."
One of the ladies chimed in.
"I've heard that all these flowers in the courtyard were specially found by His Highness the Crown Prince for the Empress Dowager, just to celebrate her birthday. We are only able to feast our eyes on them today thanks to the Empress Dowager!"
The Empress Dowager had never liked such flattery, especially the fake smiles of the ladies from aristocratic families.
However, she was quite pleased with the praise given to her beloved grandson.
Upon hearing this, he immediately burst into laughter.
"This guy, all he knows is how to use these fancy things to fool this old woman."
"Unfortunately, I'm too old to appreciate these flowers anymore."
"This prince is probably just using my birthday banquet as an excuse to present flowers to these beautiful women."
Everyone present laughed when the Empress Dowager said this.
After all, everyone knows that the Empress Dowager intends to choose a Crown Princess for the Crown Prince.
The Empress Dowager's words clearly indicated this matter, and also made it clear that the Crown Prince was aware of it.
This means that everyone present is highly likely to be chosen by the Crown Prince.
Upon hearing this, Chu Qianlan immediately chimed in, "Oh dear, speaking of which, we haven't seen His Highness the Crown Prince yet today."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Empress Dowager glanced at her, her face expressionless, but her eyes filled with coldness.
How could she not know what Chu Qianlan was thinking?
She used to look down on Gu Yunjin, and now that she knows she's not the biological daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an, she looks down on her even less.
The daughter who grew up in the countryside is quite nice, though.
It's just a pity that she was already married and had a child, otherwise, she could...
That's enough!
The Empress Dowager sighed softly.
"His Highness the Crown Prince has important business to attend to today, so he will probably be back late. Let's not worry about him and just enjoy ourselves."
With that, the Empress Dowager led her entourage out.
As soon as Chu Qianlan stepped into the courtyard, she looked around for Gu Yunjin and Gu Jingchun of Gujingchen.
Just then, someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.
"The Third Prince has arrived."
Everyone quickly looked over.
At that moment, a huge man, as big as a ball, slowly walked over in the corridor.
He walked very slowly, stopping to rest every few steps.
Perhaps because he was too fat, the flesh on his face sagged, which also caused the corners of his mouth to droop, giving him a fierce look at first glance.
Moreover, the Third Prince has a bad temper and is very violent; he can easily lose his temper if you are not careful.
Therefore, the noble ladies in the courtyard bowed their heads in greeting or quietly hid in inconspicuous places.
Just as the Third Prince Shen Xunwen reached the end of the corridor, he saw a woman.
The woman was beautiful and lay half-reclined on the ground, her hair cascading down the corridor like a waterfall.
Shen Xunwen frowned slightly, and was about to order someone to throw her down when his gaze suddenly fell on a certain spot on her chest.
There hung a small dog pendant there, with brown, curly fur and a goofy head, just like the dog he used to have.
At this moment, Gu Yunjin slowly opened her eyes.
She moved her aching neck, somewhat surprised to find herself lying there, only to be met with a fleshy face.
Her gaze paused for a moment, and she could vaguely make out a pair of narrowed eyes on that face.
But those eyes were now filled with surprise.
"Little Grey, is that you? Little Grey? I know it's you. Did you miss me and come back to find me?"
Shen Xunwen stepped forward and put his arm around Gu Yunjin's shoulder, exclaiming happily.
Gu Yunjin was completely startled. She tried to dodge but couldn't. Moreover, her arm was being pinched painfully, and she instinctively wanted to scream!
"ah--"
A scream drew the attention of everyone present.
This made it clear to everyone that the Third Prince was holding a woman in his arms.
And the corners of his mouth, which had been drooping, curved upwards.
He held the person in his arms and saw the Empress Dowager watching him from afar. He immediately smiled and said, "Grandmother, Grandmother, Awen has found Little Gray."
"Little Grey is back!"
"Little Grey has come back to me."
As Shen Xunwen spoke, he quickly walked through the corridor, wanting to reach the Empress Dowager and share the good news with her.
Chu Qianlan, who was standing behind the Empress Dowager, only heard a scream and saw Shen Xunwen holding a woman, but she did not see the woman's figure or appearance.
But when he mentioned Little Grey, I felt relieved.
She found out about this by accident.
She once saved a palace maid in the palace. This maid had been serving the Third Prince and knew everything about him.
Therefore, when Chu Qianlan asked about someone who could make the Third Prince recognize her, she immediately thought of the little dog that the Third Prince used to keep.
Little Grey.
Chu Qianlan breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that the plan had succeeded.
Since it would take the Third Prince some time to get over from the corridor, Chu Qianlan smiled and asked, "What, Little Grey?"
"How come I saw a woman?"
"I wonder which family's daughter is so fortunate to have caught the Third Prince's eye."
Madam Situ had always disapproved of Chu Qianlan's behavior, and now she couldn't help but speak up.
"Madam Chu, what you're saying is strange. Now everyone in Tiandu knows that your daughter is going to marry the Third Prince. Why didn't you say anything about how lucky she was back then?"
Now that she's witnessed this, Madam Chu seems pleased. Does she think she can escape this marriage?
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