Chapter 162 Dragon
Not long after the hunting ended, before Ming Huashang could even write an invitation to Su Xingzhi, an imperial decree came from the palace granting her a marriage.
Everyone in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, including Ming Huashang himself, was startled.
After the eunuch left, Ming Huashang looked at the imperial edict in his hand, which was stamped with the seals of the Ministry of Rites. Then he thought about the unfinished essay lying on his desk, and couldn't help muttering to himself, "Is this the reason why I can't pass the imperial examination?"
Salted Fish was still dragging his feet, but the King of Rolls had already handled the imperial edict process. Li Huazhang's ability to act was too frightening.
Meanwhile, Wang Ming Yuji, another hidden character, had already taken out the calendar and started to pick out an auspicious date. She saw Ming Huashang standing there blankly, and said in disgust, "What are you doing? Come and check the date. August 17, October 2, and November 21 are all good days for marriage. What do you think?"
Ming Huashang didn't know how they had come to the stage of choosing a date after just being arranged to marry. Ming Yuji looked as if she would be married the next moment. Ming Huashang walked to the couch and sat down. After hesitating for a moment, she said, "It's not urgent yet. I want to spend a few more days with you and father."
Ming Yuji didn't even look up and said, "It doesn't matter. Marriage is such a big thing, so we should set a date early so that other things can be arranged."
Ming Huashang was silent for a while, then smiled and held Ming Yuji's hand, saying, "Let's wait until next year. I want to get married on a sunny day with the fragrance of flowers. This year's auspicious dates are all in autumn and winter, which is too cold."
Duke Zhenguo agreed deeply with this and immediately said, "Shangshang is right. There is no need to rush this matter."
Ming Yuji was stunned and looked up at Ming Huashang. Ming Huashang was still smiling, with a clear and gentle look. Ming Yuji seemed to understand something, closed the calendar silently, and said, "Okay."
The wedding should be filled with joy and hope, not like now, with undercurrents, storms and waves, and it is hard to say when a coup will happen. If the coup succeeds, they will have enough time to prepare for the wedding. If the coup fails, their family will be together and they can hold the wedding in the afterlife.
Duke Zhenguo looked at this scene and was suddenly filled with emotion.
Today's sunshine inexplicably reminded him of the summer of the 32nd year of the Yonghui reign. That year, just like now, the weather got hot very early, and the whole summer was bright and sunny. No one would have expected that a tragedy of a mother-son dispute would overthrow the Tang Dynasty with lightning speed.
Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang said nothing, but Duke Zhenguo could feel that this summer was just like that year, with thunderclouds moving above the clear sky.
The difference is that last time they were clueless and just hoped that the diva would change her mind, but this time, their children chose to take the initiative.
If, back then, he had not taken into account the fact that this was the prince's family affair and had chosen to remain silent on the dispute between the queen and the prince, but had instead taken the initiative to persuade the prince to get rid of the queen, would the outcome have been different?
However, Duke Zhenguo will never know the answer. Fate is like a snake with its head and tail tied together. He would not have had such an inconsiderate thought back then. If he could have said such a ruthless word, he would not have become the confidant of Prince Zhang Huai, and would not have been entrusted with the care of his son by the prince before his death.
It seemed as if everything was destined. Was it God's will that Prince Zhang Huai would die?
The Duke of Zhen was lost in thought, and was suddenly awakened by a burst of attacks. He subconsciously caught himself and found that the roses outside the window had fallen. He was slightly startled and heard the chirping of birds outside the house. His two daughters were sitting in the sun, arguing about what to eat for lunch today.
Ming Huashang turned around and asked, "Father, Sophora japonica leaf cold noodles and Shepherd's purse cold noodles, which one do you want to eat?"
Zhenguo Gongren thought for a while and said, "I think eating pork cold noodles is better."
"No." Ming Yuji flatly rejected it. "Pork is greasy to begin with, and it's even harder to digest when mixed with noodles. How can it be used as a dietary therapy? Then let's eat Sophora japonica leaves cold noodles."
The Duke of Zhenguo was not convinced: "What's so great about a bowl of cold noodles? When I was young, I could eat half a lamb in one meal."
Ming Yuji heard this and immediately said, "Then we have to eat more plain food now. Tell the kitchen to make Sophora japonica leaf cold noodles. Remember to pick one-inch long green Sophora japonica leaves, mash them into juice and mix them with flour. When kneading the dough, make sure it is neither too soft nor too hard, so that the noodles will be strong when rolled out. Also, cut the noodles into long thin strips, boil them in water and quickly boil them. After picking them up, cool them with cold spring water, not ice cubes."
Ming Yuji handed the menu to the maid and explained in detail what to do. Ming Huashang added a few requests from time to time, as if this meal was the most important thing in the world and every detail had to be carefully crafted. Listening to these requests, the Duke of Zhenguo felt a headache for the cooks.
But he knew that his opinions were never important in front of his daughters, so he shut up. He threw the fallen flower out of his palm and watched it fall into the soil. Next year, it would turn into fertilizer, sprout, bloom, and wither again, repeating the same cycle over and over again. However, in the invisible place, the roots would grow, the stems would become thicker, and the ladies sitting in front of the window watching the flowers would grow up day by day.
Fate may be predetermined, but his children have unlimited possibilities.
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Li Huazhang came out of the Ministry of Rites and walked towards the Qintianjian. The imperial edict for marriage was not just for the emperor's approval. After the empress agreed, it had to go through several departments such as the Secretariat, the Ministry of Rites, etc. All officials in each department signed and stamped the imperial edict before it could really take effect.
This is a long project. Even for the most favored princes and princesses, it often takes several months to complete all the procedures.
Unfortunately, he could not stamp the documents for the officials, so Li Huazhang wrote to the Ministry of Rites every day to inquire about the progress and went to the homes of the absent officials to ask why they did not go to the government office. As a result, the people in the Ministry of Rites became nervous when they heard the words "Prince Yong". Under Li Huazhang's constant urging, the Ministry of Rites, which was always understaffed, only took five days to stamp all the documents.
After the imperial decree of marriage was issued, the next step was to ask for a date. Of course, the woman had to be consulted on this matter, so Li Huazhang immediately wrote a letter to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. In the Ming family's reply, most of the dates were within the next year. Li Huazhang understood the elegant intentions and set the wedding date as far as possible.
Perhaps it was his suggestion that the auspicious days calculated by Qintianjian were very close. Today, he was going to Qintianjian to let them take another share.
On the way, he met an acquaintance. Han Jie was stunned for a moment, then immediately smiled and bowed to Li Huazhang: "I have met Prince Yong. I wish Prince Yong a happy wedding."
Han Jie was nominally a fifth-rank official in the Taichang Temple, with no real power or benefits, and was a minor official that no one paid attention to. Few people knew that it was this mediocre and unremarkable person who controlled the life and death of all the officials in the court.
Now in the imperial city, officials kept passing by them. Han Jie, who was only a fifth-rank official, should have saluted Li Huazhang. But Li Huazhang knew the identities of the two men and naturally would not accept Han Jie's salute. He avoided Han Jie's movements, calmly returned a half-salute, and said, "Thank you."
Han Jie perfectly played the role of a lowly official who met the popular prince by chance. He was enthusiastic and flattering, and asked: "I heard that Princess Yong was your adopted sister. The two of you were childhood sweethearts. Congratulations. When does Prince Yong plan to get married?"
"I don't deserve it. She wants to spend more time with her family. There's no rush for the wedding. I'm going to Qintianjian to calculate the date now."
"I see. Prince Yong is willing to do such a small thing himself. It seems that Prince Yong is really looking forward to this marriage."
Li Huazhang smiled slightly, did not deny it, and said, "It's safer to do it yourself."
Han Jie chuckled and bowed again: "Then I won't delay Prince Yong. I may not be able to attend Prince Yong's wedding, so I wish Prince Yong and Princess Yong a happy marriage and a long life together in advance."
Li Huazhang didn't know how much sincerity was in Han Jie's words. He was his most admired senior and also his most dangerous enemy. But at this moment, he looked into the eyes of his former teacher and said seriously, "Thank you. She and I will."
Han Jie smiled at Li Huazhang, and neither of them said anything more. Like strangers who met on the street, they just stopped talking, brushed past each other, and walked in their respective directions. They walked away from each other for a long distance, and neither of them looked back.
After Prince Yong got engaged, his workaholic schedule became even more frantic. He reopened many old cases, shuttled between various departments of the court, and at the same time went to the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion whenever he had time, personally demonstrating what a model son-in-law is.
People in Chang'an sighed at the good fortune of the Duke of Zhenguo, and gradually got used to the high intensity of the Prince of Yong's show of affection. No one in Chang'an, including Han Jie, cared about the excessive contact between Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang.
The noble ladies were already accustomed to the fact that whenever the two sisters from the Ming family went out, Prince Yong would always accompany them. There was even an unwritten rule in the social circle - if one wanted to invite Prince Yong, one had to invite Ming Huashang first.
Many people sighed that it was true that the barking dog did not bite, and the sisters of the Ming family were not easy to deal with. Especially Ming Huashang, who seemed to be silent and did not make a name for herself, but in fact she had already trained a husband for herself early. It was not that the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion raised a child for Prince Zhang Huai, but that Prince Zhang Huai gave birth to a son for the Ming family.
After Ming Yuji had a tantrum in front of everyone during the spring hunt, his reputation as someone who was not easy to mess with spread. The world is so strange. The more you want to fit in with a group and get along well with them, the more people around you will make things difficult for you; once you have a falling out with them and ignore them, those people will become respectful and polite to you, and even more friendly than before.
It is probably human nature to bully the weak and fear the strong. When you become a tough guy who is not easy to mess with, the people around you will be kind and tactful.
Amid the gossips of the Chang'an social circles, the second year of the Shengli calendar passed. On New Year's Day, the empress saw a blue dragon in her dream, so she changed the era name to Shenlong.
Not long after the reign title was changed, on the 22nd day of the first lunar month, the snow had not yet melted and the lanterns from the Lantern Festival had not yet been taken down, when a burst of swift and powerful footsteps shattered the quiet winter night in Chang'an.
The guards at Xuanwu Gate were patrolling as usual, but were suddenly caught off guard and knocked down from behind. Ren Yao quickly knocked out the patrolling soldiers, ordered them to cover their mouths, tie them up, and drag them to a corner. After making sure everything was handled properly, she quickly walked to the city wall and blew a whistle.
The high-pitched and melodious sound of an owl pierced through the cold and hard city walls. Jiang Ling could tell that the lookout had fallen into Ren Yao's control and that the city gates could be opened.
Jiang Ling waved to his men and said solemnly: "Open the city gates, welcome the prince, and clear the emperor's side!"