Chapter 24: A Guilty Conscience
Zhao Xiaofei was distressed. He had never considered marrying the princess, and this completely disrupted his plans. As a son-in-law, he was generally not allowed to leave the capital. Of course, during the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Qi Zanyuan had fled to Nanjing. He could follow suit then! But it seemed this guy hadn't fled yet!
Yesterday, officials from the Ministry of Rites came and told me I still need to learn etiquette. Damn! This is too much trouble! I'm just a poor loser, and I think marrying Jiang Xiaomei wouldn't require such a fuss; it could be done in one day. No, go talk to Chongzhen and keep things simple. Aren't you short on cash? Just say, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, we can't waste taxpayers' money like this. Let's keep things simple, okay?
With this in mind, he went to look for Li Sihong. She had lost a lot of weight in the past two days. The wife he had been promised was gone, and he was reduced to a concubine. Who wouldn't be depressed? He could only lament his fate.
Seeing Zhao Xiaofei come in, Li Sihong stood up and asked, "Sir, what brings you here?"
Zhao Xiaofei took Li Sihong's hand and said, "I heard that after becoming a consort, he will have to write a letter of thanks to the emperor. My calligraphy is too bad, so I need your help."
"Sir, you said I should write it!" Li Sihong felt uncomfortable, but she still had to write it for Zhao Xiaofei.
"You can decide on the wording, but I want to express this idea. Do you think it's okay? I know the Ming Dynasty treasury doesn't have much money. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, I hope that the wedding with the princess will be simple. In short, we should cut expenses and save money." Zhao Xiaofei said.
Li Sihong looked at Zhao Xiaofei, feeling both amused and helpless, and put down her pen. She said, "How could a princess marry like this? If you really said that, how would the court save its reputation? Even the emperor might not be able to make the final decision on such a matter."
"Is face more important, or the imperial treasury? Don't they know?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"This... I can't explain it clearly. Then what did South Australia do?" Li Sihong asked.
"If you have money, of course you have to have a grand wedding. If you don't have money, the couple can just get a marriage certificate and treat relatives and friends to a meal! It won't take even half a day!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
Li Sihong shook her head and said, "This matter must not be mentioned! If you bring it up, the court will lose face and it will also hurt the princess's heart."
"Oh! You don't know! Even after the princess gets married, it is impossible for her to live with me. She has to live in the Tenth Prince's Palace. If you want to meet her, you have to ask the palace maids and eunuchs in charge for permission. How can she compare with us? I'm not afraid that the princess will be sad! In the end, it's you and I who will spend the rest of our lives." Zhao Xiaofei said.
After hearing this, Li Sihong's depression subsided a lot, but she still had to persuade him, "No! Royal etiquette cannot be abolished because of this matter. You still have to go through all the procedures step by step. Take my advice, don't cause any trouble!"
"Oh my! Really! What about our wedding?" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"How can we have a wedding? We won't be able to bear the consequences if the court finds out!" Li Sihong said with a sweet yet somewhat panicked heart.
"I don't plan to let anyone know, so let's do it at home. Let Xiao Si's family be witnesses for us, okay? Aren't we going to the palace to express our gratitude the day after tomorrow? I'm going to Gongji County to get some things. I'm also going to make you a princess dress of my Nan'ao Kingdom. Just wait for me at home!" After saying that, Zhao Xiaofei kissed Li Sihong on the cheek when she wasn't paying attention and ran out.
Li Sihong covered her eyes, her face and neck flushed red. As soon as Zhao Xiaofei left the house, he shouted, "Xiao Si! Prepare the car! Go back to Gongji County!"
Xiao Si drove the car and accompanied Zhao Xiaofei back to the crossing point in Gongji County. He still asked Xiao Si to wait at the gate of his courtyard and did not let anyone in.
Traveling back to the present, Zhao Xiaofei opened his phone. It was filled with missed calls and WeChat messages. The messages were mostly from his eldest brother and Xiaomei. His eldest brother asked him in a WeChat message, "When will he be back?" "Mom misses you."
Xiaomei asked where I was, whether I had eaten, and whether I should come back as soon as I was done.
The text message on the last day made Zhao Xiaofei most excited. It was from Rongbaotang, announcing another 400 million yuan in revenue. Their auction totaled over 600 million yuan, and after deducting taxes and service fees, he still had 400 million yuan left. Adding to the 100 million yuan he had previously earned, he was now a complete winner.
He drove to the agency. He wanted to know if he had bought the house he cared about the most. When he entered, the manager greeted him. Zhao Xiaofei asked, "How's the house I asked you to buy last time? When can it be completed?"
The store manager smiled and said, "Mr. Zhao! We've reached an agreement. 23.8 million is enough. This includes all fees! When do you think you can transfer the money?"
"Now! Swipe the card!" Zhao Xiaofei took out his bank card in a very domineering manner.
The store manager took the card and asked Zhao Xiaofei to go to the finance office, enter the password and sign.
Zhao Xiaofei asked, "I don't have any other requests! It would be best if they move out tomorrow! I want to be able to move in the day after tomorrow!"
"Sure! We'll find a way to move out of their house!" said the store manager.
"Okay! That's it! I'll wait for your call tomorrow!" Zhao Xiaofei said and left.
Zhao Xiaofei parked his car at the entrance of the bridal shop. He wanted to buy the most expensive wedding dress for Li Sihong, and it couldn't be too revealing. As soon as he entered the shop, he fell in love with the red dress in the window. The receptionist asked, "Sir, is there anything I can help you with? We have many styles to choose from."
"This one in the window! How much is it?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"I'm sorry, sir! We don't sell this! It's hand-sewn and we only rent it. You need to make an appointment if you want to use it."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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