Chapter 59: Imperial Decree: What should I do to give her a sense of security? ...
At noon, the young emperor sat at his desk and rubbed his brows.
The eunuch beside him handed over a cup of tea and couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty, are you really interested in that Song family lady?"
The emperor took the teacup and chuckled, "This girl is truly beyond my expectations."
But he shook his head. "There are countless beauties in the world, but I wouldn't covet your wife. I just want to see where Jiang Qing, my favorite, draws the line."
He sighed suddenly, his lips curled up in a slightly unsympathetic manner. "Today was the first time he disobeyed me. If there's a first time, there's bound to be a second time."
The eunuch was shocked and said hurriedly, "He has received an important task from His Majesty, yet he still has the heart to disobey. This Jiang Shaoqing is really a bit ungrateful."
"Isn't this wonderful?" The emperor tapped his fingertips on his teacup. "It's easier to control something if you have something you care about. He's the best sword in my hand. He's talented, knows when to advance and when to retreat, and he must not lose control."
"At first, I truly believed the rumors, thinking he had his heart set on the daughter of the Sheng family. Taking her into the palace might have been a solution. But who could have known he would quietly cut off her ear, demonstrating his utter heartlessness. Later, I thought, if he didn't already have a weakness, I'd create one for him."
The emperor sneered, "I didn't expect that the person he really cared about was this much-maligned first wife. He never brought her out, and kept her so well hidden that she almost fooled me."
"Bang!"
The emperor put down his teacup, and the bottom of the cup made a dissatisfied sound when it hit the table.
The eunuch said with a look of glare: "Why not take this girl into the palace? Then Jiang Shaoqing will be completely obedient from now on and will never dare to have any second thoughts."
The emperor frowned and glanced at him. "The Sheng family's daughter was on the selection list, so it's only natural to admit her into the palace. Now rashly summoning the Song family's daughter into the palace would clearly tell Jiang Qing that I'm on guard against him. Now is not the right time for us, the emperor and his subjects, to fall out."
"Your Majesty is right."
"Go, and convey my will."
"yes."
*
When she returned to the teahouse at noon, Song Baoyuan took out two bottles of spare wine from the cabinet, poured them out and sniffed them carefully.
Her nose clearly wasn't malfunctioning. Could it be that she was too nervous about entering the palace, affecting her judgment?
Just as I was doubting myself, there was a knock on the door.
"It's time to eat!"
Gao Luoshu brought the food, and each dish was covered with a plate, which looked mysterious.
"Where are Qiaoyin and Qiaoyue?" Song Baoyuan asked in surprise.
"Of course they're eating too!" Gao Luoshu laid out the food one by one, "I'm free."
He was very interested and said, "Open it and take a look."
Song Baoyuan felt strange, but she still did as he said and opened the plates one by one.
So you see eggs arranged into smiling faces, yam paste piled up like kitten paws, and shrimps huddled together...
Song Baoyuan laughed, "You did it?"
"Look, you're smiling!" Gao Luoshu held his face, with only her in his eyes. "Don't be unhappy if you're smiling."
Song Baoyuan was stunned and said subconsciously: "I'm not unhappy."
"I'm not Chengcheng or Suisui, so please be honest." Gao Luoshu said in a relaxed tone, "You locked yourself in your room as soon as you came back. Of course I know you are unhappy."
"I..." Song Baoyuan looked at the wine bottle on the table, "I just don't know what went wrong."
Gao Luoshu took a quick glance and put the bottle away. "Oh! Don't think about it. It's just a good thing you didn't get chosen. In my opinion, you only live once, so there's no need to make yourself so hard. You should live a relaxed and comfortable life, doing whatever makes you happy every day, instead of worrying about this and that!"
He said with interest, "How about going to the riverside to enjoy the scenery, or sailing on the lake and waiting for the sunset? Just think of it as relaxing."
"But……"
"There's no need to worry about so many buts!" Gao Luoshu interrupted her, "Life should be colorful. There's no need to think so much. Let's go!"
As he spoke, he set off.
Before Song Baoyuan could respond, Xu Pingsheng hurried to the door and said, "Madam Song, someone came to say that they are from the palace and are looking for you."
From the palace? Song Baoyuan quickly stood up.
She first glanced at the railing and recognized that it was the eunuch beside His Majesty, and ran downstairs even more anxiously.
He bowed and said, "Eunuch."
The father-in-law looked at her with a smile, "Madam Song, please accept the order."
"Your Majesty has issued an imperial decree ordering the Song family, assisted by Liu Feng, a doctor from the Ministry of Revenue, to complete all matters concerning the establishment of the winery."
In the carriage opposite the teahouse, Jiang Keyu watched all this happen quietly.
Liu'an asked worriedly, "My dear, are you really going to let the young lady go? Who in the officialdom is easy to deal with? You, my dear, suffered so much back then, let alone the young lady, who is still a girl."
"Go and persuade her." Jiang Keyu said unhappily, "What's the point if I don't want to?"
Liu'an pouted and said, "It's all because my husband can't give me a sense of security, which is why I have to go through so much trouble."
As soon as I finished speaking, I felt a chill on my back.
He turned back stiffly and found that the curtain had been lifted. His husband was looking at him with a frown.
"Then tell me, what exactly should I do to make her feel safe?" Jiang Keyu didn't understand. "Is it that I don't give her what she wants? Or is it that I don't meet her demands?"
"What's important is the emotion, my dear!"
Liu'an clapped his hands anxiously. Without a wife, how could he have a good life with a husband who only cared about his work?
"Think about it yourself. When you and the young lady were still husband and wife, she did everything very well and devoted herself to you silently, but didn't you feel that she loved you?"
Liu'an blurted out everything without realizing it. "If just satisfying the other person's verbal demands was enough, would you have been struck by lightning when the lady admitted that she liked you?"
He pointed at the opposite side with a look of dismay, "Look at that Mr. Gao, how good he is at coaxing people!"
Jiang Keyu looked over in surprise.
Ayuan in the teahouse was holding the imperial edict and smiling sweetly, which made him dazed.
Gao Luoshu, who was beside Ayuan, clapped his hands and said something with a bright smile, which made Ayuan smile even more.
"Is it necessary for him to get so close?" Jiang Keyu slandered in a low voice, wrinkling the car curtain with an expressionless face.
He had clearly requested the imperial edict, so why was she smiling so happily at another man?
Two hours ago, in the main hall.
"Since your humble sister did not make a mistake in her judgment, why did Your Majesty still choose Boss Gu?"
The emperor said seriously, "I don't deny her ability, but this is not something she can accomplish alone. The project is huge, there are many things that need to be coordinated, and even more people need to be dealt with. As for the latter alone, as a woman, the officials in the Ministry of Revenue will feel reluctant to cooperate, and the people below will not obey her."
“This is a solvable problem.”
"Isn't the time it takes to solve a problem a cost? If it were Boss Gu, we wouldn't have these problems. Jiang Qing has always been sensible and would understand my considerations."
The emperor said coldly: "Today's action is purely to give Liu An an explanation."
"But my sister is indeed a capable person. Your Majesty, can't you trust her just once?"
"Jiang Qing," the emperor said, growing increasingly impatient. "If this woman weren't your relative, if you were faced with a serious decision that could impact the political landscape, ask yourself: would you, at this moment, risk the wrath of the world and choose a woman you don't even know as your vanguard?"
No, Jiang Keyu thought at that time.
But she happened to be his relative.
"Then please, Your Majesty, trust me once. If your sister is unable to satisfy Your Majesty within the time limit, I will take all the blame on her behalf!"
In the teahouse, Song Baoyuan handed a bag of silver to her father-in-law and said, "Thank you for your hard work in coming here."
The eunuch smiled warmly and put the silver into his sleeve. "This is the first time that a woman has been promoted. Madam Song, please do not let His Majesty down."
"nature."
"One more thing, Doctor Liu has a strange temper. Madam Song, please be mentally prepared."
"Thank you for the reminder, sir."
Song Baoyuan had a feeling she had never felt before, like excitement, a little nervousness, and a little unexpected surprise.
Many things didn't seem as difficult as she had imagined.
Across from her, Jiang Keyu sulked as she lowered the curtain and said, "Let's go."
"Where are you going?"
"Go back to the Dali Temple first, then go to Changfu."
*
In the quiet courtyard, Chang Yunbai sat on a rattan chair, looking up at the sky.
His eyes were dull, he looked much thinner, and a thick blanket covered his legs.
"Uncle Chang!"
The tender voice of a child called out sweetly.
Chang Yunbai was pulled back to his thoughts. He looked at Jiang Keyu who was approaching with his daughter in his arms, and forced a smile. "The Sui Sui is here."
Jiang Suisui broke free from her father's arms, holding a box, and ran to Chang Yunbai, "Uncle Chang, this is for you. Daddy said you are sick, and eating this will make you get better faster."
"Thank you, Suisui."
When the box was opened, it turned out to be a box of candy.
Chang Yunbai smiled bitterly. He actually thought it was a panacea.
"Sui Sui is so good." He touched the child's head lovingly.
Jiang Keyu sat down beside him without any hesitation, "Why, the Lu family won't even let you take care of the child?"
Chang Yunbai snorted coldly, "She did something so ruthless, how could she allow her child to get close to me?"
Not long after, Zhou Heyue brought tea and said, "Jiang Shaoqing, enjoy your meal."
"Sister Heyue!" Jiang Suisui shouted excitedly, "I miss the cakes you made so much!"
Zhou Heyue squatted down and said with a smile: "Then why don't you go to the kitchen with your sister and let's go make some cakes?"
Jiang Suisui looked at his father expectantly.
"Go ahead." Jiang Keyu nodded.
"Yeah!"
Jiang Suisui happily followed Zhou Heyue away. Jiang Keyu looked at their backs and asked, "What's going on now?"
Chang Yunbai frowned and said, "Mother only allowed her to stay with me as a slave."
"So what do you think?"
"Me?" Chang Yunbai looked at his legs and sneered self-deprecatingly. "Not to mention that she's disliked by our mother, even I'm disliked by my brother. What can I think and do?"
Jiang Keyu frowned, "Cheer up."
After a long moment, he sighed imperceptibly, "As for the child's matter, I'll go to the Lu family for you when I find a chance. Don't stay at home all the time feeling sorry for yourself. It's better to go out and take a look."
"What are you looking at? Do you want others to laugh at me?"
Hearing him say this, Jiang Keyu felt her anger rising, but she had to understand his current state.
Chang Yunbai knew how annoying he was, and even he was a little annoyed with himself. "I know you mean well. You're the first and only person to visit me in such a long time, but I really just want to be alone."
"Not really."
Jiang Keyu remained calm and said, "I came to see your brother from the Ministry of Revenue and stopped by to see you on the way."
Chang Yunbai: "..."
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