Chapter 63 The Emperor Wants to Grant a Marriage
After everyone was settled in, a lively banquet was held in the palace. The Empress and the Imperial Noble Consort still held half of the palace power, but they were still quite polite to each other.
Many children received gifts, and the Jiang family's three siblings were no exception. However, Jiang Wan received an additional set of very valuable ruby headpieces, which were given by the Imperial Concubine.
The days that followed went by smoothly. Xu managed the entire Duke's Mansion in perfect order, and Jiang Huailiang finally succeeded in finding qualified martial arts and martial arts teachers for the three Jiang Wan siblings. With someone to teach the children every day, the Jiang couple also had less worries.
But everyone knows that when nothing is going on, someone will usually create trouble.
That day, Jiang Huailiang came back from work with a sad face. Even his big beard couldn't hide his sad face when he sat at the dinner table, which made Xu and Jiang Wan frown.
After dinner, Jiang Huailiang sent his parents back to the yard, and sent his second daughter and son to the study to practice calligraphy. Then he dragged his wife and eldest daughter into the house to discuss countermeasures.
"You two are both smart, so quickly give me some advice on what to do! The Emperor wants to grant our eldest daughter a marriage!"
"What?!"
Xu was shocked.
"Didn't you say you never thought of letting the child enter the palace?"
"I haven't thought about it, but I can't stop others from thinking about it!"
Jiang Huailiang sucked his teeth in worry.
"The eldest and second princes are both of marriageable age, and the third prince will be sixteen next year. Aren't there many families who have their eyes on him?
"These past few days, quite a few people have been jumping around, urging the Emperor to select a concubine. He himself doesn't want to sell himself anymore, so he's pushing it all onto his sons."
Turning his head to look at his beautiful daughter, the old father was so angry that he almost had no idea what to do.
"Wanjie'er, your father is a noble and honorable man, and you are the eldest daughter of our Jiang family. You have a noble character and a noble status. The emperor revealed to me today that he wants to make you the Crown Princess. What do you think we should do?"
"Dad, who is this person of noble character and status you just mentioned? I don't even know him myself."
Jiang Wan curled his lips.
"If you want your daughter to be cannon fodder, then just agree to this unethical marriage. I'm used to being cheated by you anyway, so I don't care if it happens one more time or one less time."
Old Jiang rubbed his hands awkwardly.
"Look at you, girl. Isn't Dad discussing this with you? I have someone beat up that grandson of the Ji family eight times a day. Sooner or later, I will get you back. Now let's talk about the current situation. What do you two say we should do?"
Xu glanced outside cautiously, then leaned over to her husband and asked in a low voice.
"Has the position of the Eastern Palace been decided?"
"Um."
Jiang Huailiang's voice was also very low.
"Qiao Yunhai's eldest son was caught red-handed by Zhao Heran for violating military discipline. The Zhao family also gave up an ancestral mine in East Lake to the court, which secured the position of Crown Prince."
His tone sounded envious and sad.
"No wonder they say a lean camel is bigger than a horse. The Zhao family just said they had emptied their fortune, and now they've given away an iron mine for the Crown Prince. These aristocratic families are truly treacherous!"
"Of course, how could a family that has been able to pass down a name and wealth be without something in their hands? Dynasties may come and go, but aristocratic families remain forever. This has never been an empty statement."
Xu also turned to look at her eldest daughter.
"Wanjie, what do you think?"
"What can I think?"
Jiang Wan leaned back in his chair.
"Li Yuanxiu and Li Yanxiu both obviously like the eldest daughter of the Song family. Why should I get involved? Dad, don't you know what's going on here?"
Jiang Huailiang continued with a few words.
"I know.
Alas, the Emperor said he would grant the Third Prince a marriage in two days, and his wife would be Old Song's eldest daughter. But the First and Second Princes still haven't found their spouses, so he's thinking of marrying you to the First Prince and having our children become in-laws.
When he came to talk to me today, I didn't dare to refuse outright, so I said I would come back and discuss it with the child's mother."
Very good, I understood everything I should understand.
This is because the emperor wants to find someone to marry.
Jiang Wan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then decided to tell the truth.
“Mom and Dad, I’m sorry.
I can't even handle being a princess, let alone a crown princess! I'm a very independent person, and I don't plan to share a husband with anyone else in my life.
Can you find a way to reject the Emperor's marriage proposal?"
The Jiang couple looked at each other.
"Okay, Dad got it."
The next day, in the imperial study.
The emperor didn't even change his court robes, and he grabbed Jiang Huailiang and started repeating the same old tune.
"Second brother, how did you discuss with your sister-in-law yesterday? Don't worry, I'm going to keep my word. Your eldest daughter is promised to my eldest brother, and she will definitely be the Crown Princess in the future!"
"Your Majesty, I am terrified."
Old Jiang knelt down before the emperor with a thud.
"My eldest daughter has a bad temper and is easily confused from time to time. She is not cut out to be the Crown Princess. Please, Your Majesty, find a good family for the eldest prince and don't let him waste his time on this dry land of mine!"
The emperor stopped laughing.
"Second brother, do you dislike me?"
"I don't have any!"
"Then what do you mean by not wanting to marry your children to me? What do you think makes me inferior to Ji Houzi? You can even have feelings for his eldest son, so you can't even look down on my eldest son?"
"Hey, big brother, please don't talk about this. From now on, I will never reconcile with that old bastard Ji Xun!"
Jiang Huailiang gritted his teeth. The emperor's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked as if he was watching the fun.
"What's wrong? You and him used to be close, like two peas in a pod. How did this hit you so hard?"
The friendship between the civil and military ministers was so good that the emperor would not even consider eating dragon meat as a delicacy. Otherwise, how could he have considered granting marriages to these young people?
Instead of waiting for one family to collude with another, it would be better for him, as the emperor, to directly arrange a matchmaking to avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble in the future.
"Bah, I was blinded some time ago!
How could the offspring of such a pretentious and monkey-like scholar be any good? With his pointed chin, monkey cheeks, cockroach-like and rat-like appearance, he is just as wicked as his father!
Fortunately, I came to my senses later. If I had really promised my daughter to him, I would have regretted it to death in the future!"
Although Jiang Huailiang didn't explain what had happened, the emperor knew his sworn brother. Since the second brother had spoken so harshly, he would definitely not marry into the Ji family again.
Well, he's quite sensible.
The emperor patted his brother on the shoulder happily.
"I told you that you have a bad eye for people, but you refused to believe me! Old Ji is such a cunning fellow, he can fly away if he gets his hands on any fur. You used to say he was a real guy, tsk, you're using your eyeballs like you're breathing!"
Although Ji Xun was his military advisor before and is now his prime minister, it did not stop the emperor from doing this, and he and Jiang Huailiang were secretly plotting against him.
After all, other people's friendships are friendships, but they are half-brothers! How can the same be said for those with more or less distant relationships?
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