Chapter 390: Granted Marriage
Concubine Shu looked at Emperor Chengde in astonishment, her intestines almost tied up in anger. He changed his words so quickly. What is your position, Your Majesty?
Today, except for the third prince and the third princess who were under house arrest, and the second princess who was recuperating from a miscarriage and did not enter the palace, the rest of the princes and princesses were all sitting at the table.
Chu Chengli held the wine glass, his fingers tightened involuntarily, his dark eyes glanced at Chu Jinyan inadvertently, and he suppressed the jealousy bubbling in his heart.
Oh……
Could the Emperor be more partial?
Chu Jinyan just mentioned it, and his father immediately agreed.
Concubine Yi happily stood up to express her gratitude: "I, on behalf of the Third Prince, thank the Emperor for his grace. Long live the Emperor."
Emperor Chengde raised his hand and said, "No need to be polite. I will go to Chen's house tomorrow to announce the decree and ask the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory to prepare for the marriage proposal."
Then he turned to Queen Song and said, "The wedding date of the seventh son and the second daughter of the Su family is approaching. Please take care of it for him."
The marriage between the Seventh Prince and Su Yunwan was arranged long ago. His biological mother died of illness a few years ago, so there was no concubine in the harem who would be truly devoted to him.
Queen Song bowed and said, "As his legal mother, I will do my best to handle this matter. Your Majesty, rest assured."
Even if the emperor didn't care, she would never let the Seventh Prince suffer.
The Seventh Prince bowed to Queen Song with gratitude and said, "Thank you, mother. It's been a great help."
After the palace banquet, Concubine Shu and Chu Chengli walked side by side, with the palace servants following behind them from a distance.
"Have you seen it?" Concubine Shu looked straight ahead and said something without any context. The palace smoke swayed under the corridor, illuminating Concubine Shu's cold gaze.
Chu Chengli's face was tense, and he nodded gently: "The third and the eighth have joined forces."
If not for this, Chu Jinyan would not have spoken for Chu Qingyun and allowed him to marry Chen Ruijin so smoothly.
"I really underestimated the queen. Although the Chen family and the Song family are distantly related, they are still related. Chen Ruijin married the third brother, and the Chen family has been on the third brother's side since then. It is impossible that Chu Jinyan helped the third brother to fight for the position of crown prince."
In other words, Queen Song did not try to play both sides, but decided to support the eighth prince.
Could it be that the Song family, which has always maintained neutrality, could no longer resist getting involved in the turmoil of the fight for the throne?
He has the emperor's favor, the queen's support, and he is the legitimate son. It's really a tricky situation.
The more Concubine Shu thought about it, the angrier she felt.
"My father hid it so well. Who would have thought that Queen Yao's son was still alive." If he had known that such a threat existed, he would have put an end to this scourge long ago, and he would not have been brought back to the capital by his father to oppose him.
Concubine Shu gritted her teeth in hatred.
"Chu Jinyan's favor from your father is just a shortcut. He really thinks it is so easy to become the crown prince. As long as the ministers in the court disagree, the emperor will not dare to make him the crown prince." Because of this, Chu Jinyan is still just a prince.
If it was really that easy to appoint a crown prince, the emperor would have done so when he returned to Beijing.
Chu Chengli nodded in agreement: "With the support of the Liu family, my power in the capital cannot be underestimated. Chu Jinyan is still far from being able to compete with me."
That's true.
But no matter how much power one has, it cannot compare to the favor of the emperor father.
That is the most critical factor that influences the establishment of a crown prince.
Precisely because he didn't have it, he had to pay greater hardship and cost than Chu Jinyan.
"You have always been close to the fifth brother, but he is the adopted son of Concubine Xian, and he may not be willing to fall behind you. Instead of worrying about the fifth brother, you might as well win over the seventh brother." Concubine Shu said.
Chu Chengli looked down on the Seventh Prince a little: "Seventh brother's maternal family is mediocre, and he himself is mediocre. It would be a waste of energy for me to win him over."
Concubine Shu turned her head, looked at her son with gentle eyes, and said: "It doesn't matter if he can't be helped, as long as the Su family can use him."
The Su family...
Chu Chengli frowned.
Compared to the Chen family, the Su family seems very ordinary.
"I understand, mother." Chu Chengli replied.
After all, he is the Minister of Works, and being able to recruit him for his own purposes would be a great help to him.
Arriving at the Jingyun Gate, the junction of the harem and the front court, Chu Chengli stopped and said, "It's getting late, mother, please go to bed early. I'll take my leave."
Concubine Shu nodded: "Go ahead."
Chu Chengli bowed to Concubine Shu and then strode away.
The next day, Hu Qian went to Chen's house with the imperial edict from Emperor Chengde granting marriage. Hanlin Chen led the entire mansion to kneel in the front yard to receive the edict. Duan Fang's face was solemn, but he didn't know that he was already complaining in his heart.
What a little bastard who kidnapped my own daughter.
"I thank the emperor for his grace. Long live the emperor." Chen Hanlin kowtowed to express his gratitude.
Hu Qian smiled and helped Chen Hanlin up: "Congratulations, Mr. Chen."
Chen Hanlin smiled and nodded: "Congratulations, Eunuch Hu, you are tired, please sit in the hall for a while."
"No, I have to go back to the palace to serve the emperor. The emperor has ordered the Ministry of Rites to make preparations, and he will come to formally propose marriage once the Imperial Observatory has calculated an auspicious day." Hu Qian said.
"Your Majesty's grace is so great that I am eternally grateful." Chen Hanlin said with a moved look on his face.
Madam Chen winked at the housekeeper, who immediately walked up to Hu Qian with a smile and calmly stuffed a heavy purse into his sleeve: "Eunuch Hu, this servant will take you there."
Hu Qian put away his purse as if nothing had happened, and said to Chen Hanlin, "Master Chen, please stay. I will take my leave."
After all the palace servants had left, Chen Hanlin turned around and looked at Chen Ruijin with a sad face: "Alas..." The cabbages that were grown with great difficulty were eaten by pigs.
This was an outrageous statement, so Chen Hanlin only dared to say it in his heart.
Chen Ruijin secretly stuck out her tongue and silently hid behind her mother.
Madam Chen was so angry at her appearance that she laughed: "Now you know you are guilty, but where is the courage you had when you went to negotiate with the Third Prince?"
"Mom, I'm being filial. I can't bear to see Dad get mad at me."
"You still know that your father is angry. Go back to your yard." Mrs. Chen said unhappily.
After hearing this, Chen Ruijin hurriedly took her fifth illegitimate sister away.
These past few days, her father had seen that both she and her elder brother were at odds with each other. Now that the imperial edict had come, she could feel more clearly the lingering aura of resentment about her own father.
Chen Shuyang touched his nose and said, "Dad, Mom, I'm going to the Hanlin Academy."
Then he ran away too.
Mrs. Chen waved to her second son.
After the children left, she walked towards Chen Hanlin with a smile: "Master, it's been a few days, and you still haven't accepted it?"
"Madam, the son-in-law in my mind is a man of great talent, knowledge, and gentle manners." He is definitely not the kind of playboy who is like the third prince. Madam Chen looked at him speechlessly: "Are you choosing a son-in-law, or are you choosing the top scholar?"
"It makes no difference." His future son-in-law must be the top scholar in the imperial examination.
“…”
Madam Chen couldn't bear to hurt his heart: "Master, if there really is a top scholar, it won't be your turn to choose. Don't dream. The Third Prince likes Jin'er, which shows that he has good taste. Besides, don't you know what kind of character your daughter is?"
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