Lin Daoqing forced back his tears, bowed to the prince consort and the princess, and left the room with heavy steps.
Just as he reached the door, he suddenly heard Prince Consort Liu say to the princess, "Chuanhu has always been loyal to me and has done his best to manage my brothels and casinos. Now that his wife is gone, I'm thinking that Xiaoxue, a palace maid in our princess's residence, would be a good choice. Why don't we bestow her upon Chuanhu as his wife? What does Your Highness think?"
Upon hearing this, the princess immediately beamed with joy and readily agreed, saying, "What a wonderful idea! Although Xiaoxue is a palace maid, she is clever and obedient. Marrying General Ren would be a perfect match for her."
When the prince consort saw that the princess had agreed to give the palace maid to his subordinate as a wife, he finally calmed down.
He frowned and said, "Your Highness, you are of noble status. How could you appoint such an incompetent person as your chief bodyguard? What kind of safety can he protect you from?"
The princess smiled gently and said, "I only took him in because of the Prince of Song. I will not use him anymore and will replace him with another head guard."
The princess smiled and asked, "My lord, how about you make Ren Chuanhu my chief bodyguard?"
“That won’t do.” The prince consort smiled and shook his head, indicating his refusal. He paused for a moment, then explained, “Your Highness, don’t be fooled by Ren Chuanhu’s tall and strong appearance. He’s not actually very good at martial arts. However, he has a special talent: he can drink a lot. He’s also very good at managing those shops and can run the business very well.”
The princess listened to the prince consort's words and nodded thoughtfully, as if she understood what he meant.
Seeing this, the prince consort smiled and suggested, "Your Highness, I think you could consider asking the Ministry of War for a skilled guard to serve as the head of the guards."
The princess smiled and agreed, "That's what I was thinking too. I plan to choose one from the Imperial Guard." After saying that, she asked her husband curiously, "By the way, I wonder how skilled Ren Chuanhu's elder brother is?" The princess knew that Ren Chuanhe served in the Imperial Guard, but was just a soldier.
The prince consort raised the corner of his mouth in a disdainful smile, waved his hand, and said, "He's just a good-for-nothing." His tone was full of contempt, showing complete disdain for Ren Chuanhu's elder brother. "What skills could a green frog possibly have to protect Your Highness?"
Upon hearing the prince consort's words, the princess burst into laughter, her clear and cheerful laughter echoing throughout the room.
...
Lin Daoqing walked slowly down the long, dark corridor, each step feeling exceptionally heavy. The words that had come from the main hall echoed in his ears, and his heart was filled with endless regret and self-reproach.
If he could turn back time, he vowed he would never make such a decision again. But reality is cruel, and he cannot change what has already happened.
Lin Daoqing never expected that his daughter's former fiancé, the illegitimate son of the Ren family, would be so highly regarded by the imperial son-in-law. This made him realize that he might have lost all his future and hope.
He lowered his head and staggered towards the city gate, his mood as gloomy and oppressive as the low-hanging sky. Just then, he caught sight of his elder brother, Lin Daoyan, standing straight at the city gate, motionless like a statue.
Their eyes met, and they stared at each other for a moment, but neither of them showed any expression, as if the other were a complete stranger. This cold stare only intensified Lin Daoqing's frustration.
Finally, dragging his body, which felt as if it were weighed down by a thousand pounds, he walked towards the edge of the city. Every step felt like walking on a knife's edge, causing him excruciating pain.
On this day, Ren Chuanhu received a marriage decree from the princess and was to marry Xiaoxue, the palace maid he admired.
When the news reached Ren's family, everyone immediately sprang into action, knowing that this was a major event that had to be handled with great fanfare.
The next day, they invited an official matchmaker to formally propose marriage to Xiaoxue's family.
The official media held up a list of betrothal gifts, which detailed various gold, silver, jewelry, and fine silks, demonstrating the importance the Ren family attached to this marriage.
Since the Ren family inexplicably lost their valuables, they have not had enough funds to pay such a generous betrothal gift.
General Ren had no choice but to borrow a thousand taels of silver from relatives and friends to ensure that he could pay the betrothal gifts. After all, the Ren family was a general's mansion, and the illegitimate son was a trusted bodyguard of the imperial son-in-law; the betrothal gifts could not be withheld.
Madam Ren grumbled discontentedly, "In the past few years, the silver that the illegitimate son has handed over to the public treasury has not even amounted to a thousand taels. Now, a thousand taels of silver are needed for his wedding. Raising an illegitimate son is a losing proposition."
The old women listened and lowered their heads in silence, each having their own opinions.
For a family, raising a son born out of wedlock is a losing proposition for the wife, but a profitable proposition for the husband and the whole family.
In the Ren family, for example, the son born out of wedlock was more capable than the eldest son born out of wedlock.
Although Madam Ren was reluctant to pay this betrothal gift, she reluctantly gave it because she thought that her son would live separately after getting married and all the family property would belong to him.
Everything was being prepared in full swing, and after discussion, an auspicious day was chosen—October 18th.
Before that, the Ren family had an important matter to attend to: each household had to arrange the marriages of their children according to their age order.
Ren Chuanhu was the second son, and his elder brother was still unmarried. Therefore, the Ren family decided to first arrange a marriage for their eldest son by marrying Lin Yajun, the eldest daughter of the Lin family.
In this way, the eldest and second sons of the Ren family were able to get married smoothly, and the family line was able to continue.
After the Ren family selected an auspicious day, Ren Guiwang called his eldest son, Ren Chuanhe, to his side and solemnly said to him, "On the eighth day of the ninth month, you will take the matchmaker and betrothal gifts to the Lin family to set the wedding date. On the eighteenth day of the ninth month, you will bring your bride back. On the eighteenth of the following month, it will be your younger brother's turn to get married."
Although Ren Chuanhe was somewhat unwilling, he could only helplessly reply to his father's order: "Yes, Father."
After Lin Jinghui's death, Ren Chuanhe took all of her dowry maids into his service. When these maids learned that their master was going to marry Lin Yajun, they all spoke ill of Lin Yajun to Ren Chuanhe.
"Sir, do you know how skilled Miss Lin is? She acts like a man!"
"Sir, Miss Lin has a terrible temper. She not only beats and scolds the servants at home, but she even dares to talk back to the old lady!"
"Miss Lin is extremely jealous. If she marries into the family, she definitely won't allow you to take a concubine, sir. Then we servants will be in big trouble; we might even be sold to a brothel. Waaah..."
The maids chattered incessantly in Ren Chuanhe's ear, making him fear and resent Lin Yajun. He couldn't help but think to himself: Lin Yajun is so formidable, I'm afraid I'm no match for her.
The words of the maids who accompanied him in the dowry led Ren Chuanhe to refuse to marry Lin Yajun and to consider annulling the engagement.
He tried to tell his father, "I don't want to marry Miss Lin again through a marriage arrangement; I want to break off the engagement." His father berated him, "You dare to break off the engagement? I'll break your legs! You're going to marry her whether you like it or not!"
"Yes, Father, I will follow your arrangements." Ren Chuanhe could only agree to his father's request with resentment. He went to the Lin residence on the eighth day of the ninth month to deliver the betrothal gifts and set the wedding date.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com