Qingmei and Wenhai were found soon. Qingmei was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with pretty features and a tall figure.
Wen Hai is not good-looking and looks old. He is in his early twenties but looks like he is thirty. His back is a little hunched. When he stands next to Qingmei, they seem to be about the same height.
Just looking at their appearance, they don't seem to be a good match.
Jiang Changan glanced at Chen Yi, "Qingmei."
"I'm here." Qingmei bent her knees.
"Although you are Madam Chen's maid who came with her as a dowry, once you enter the palace, you are a maid of the palace." Jiang Changning couldn't bear to see Qingmei being treated so badly by Chen Yi, so he reminded her.
Qingmei bit the corner of her lip, "Thank you, Princess."
Jiang Changning heard what she meant.
Good words cannot persuade a person who wants to die, so he asked calmly: "Mrs. Chen said that you are too old and wants to marry you to Wen Hai. Are you willing?"
Qingmei bowed her head and said, "I will obey Madam."
Jiang Changning knew that Qingmei was not happy about this marriage, but if she didn't say it, Jiang Changning would not force her to make the decision. "Wenhai, are you willing to marry Qingmei?"
"In reply to the princess, I am willing to marry you. I will treat my childhood sweetheart well in the future." Wen Hai said immediately.
Jiang Changning smiled, "Since you are in love and I am willing, let's choose a day to get married."
"Thank you, Princess." Wen Hai was delighted.
Qingmei lowered her head and said nothing.
"Fang Ju, go to the accounting office and withdraw eight taels of silver and give it to Madam Chen." Jiang Changning looked at Chen Yi, "Mrs. Chen, I'll leave this matter to you. Go down."
"Yes, Princess." Chen Yi didn't want to push this matter onto others.
After sending the three away, Jiang Changning leaned back on the pillow and said, "To achieve your goal, you will do whatever it takes. That's great."
Chen Yi only had two maids as a dowry. One has been given away, and no one knows when the other one will be given away.
"Princess, I will have someone keep a close eye on them." Xiulan said in a low voice.
"Okay." Jiang Changning was quite curious about what tricks Chen Yi would come up with to climb onto Prince Jin's bed by acting in such a roundabout way.
Of course, Prince Jin is not in the palace now, and Chen Yi has been making plans. Jiang Changning just asked people to keep an eye on her and did not obstruct her. He wanted to see how far she could go.
Just when undercurrents were surging in the Prince of Jin's Palace, the Prince of Jin arrived in Shandong.
There was a severe drought in Shandong for several days, and the whole land was filled with grief and starvation.
There was a skinny man on the side of the road, walking forward with difficulty. He didn't go far before he fell to the ground.
"Save people." King Jin ordered.
The attendant went over, turned the man over, and sniffed his breath, "Your Highness, this man is dead."
Judging from his appearance, he must have starved to death.
King Jin frowned, how could the disaster be so serious
Although various disasters have occurred in recent years, Shandong has granaries and the drought lasted only a few dozen days, so the disaster is not so serious.
It seems that this time, he will not only provide disaster relief, but also investigate corrupt officials.
"Chang Youzhong, select fifty guards and bring one hundred kilograms of food into the city." King Jin ordered.
The King of Jin distributed some food along the way to save people. Although it was a drop in the bucket, it could at least save a few lives.
Ten days later, they arrived at Jinan Prefecture. Officials of all ranks had already heard the news and went to the city gate to greet them.
The King of Jin glanced at the officials and asked them to report their names and official positions.
The prefect of Jinan said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I have prepared a welcoming banquet at the restaurant in the city."
The King of Jin followed them into the city and went to the restaurant. He looked at the table full of food and said, "The disaster is so serious, how can we be so extravagant and wasteful?"
The officials immediately apologized, and the prefect of Jinan explained, "Your Highness has been traveling a long way, so I ordered people to prepare a table of dishes. In the future, everything will be simple. I hope Your Highness will understand."
The officials responded quickly.
After the meal, the King of Jin went to the post station. Later, he summoned these officials one by one and asked them about various matters.
There had been no rain for dozens of days, and the fields were dry and dusty. Not only were there no crops, but there was not even a single weed. The birds and fish in the pond also died from the drought and heat.
Looking at the situation, we know that there will be no harvest this year.
Prince Jin was busy with disaster relief, but he did not forget to write a letter to Jiang Changning.
When Jiang Changning received the letter, he was talking to Zhou's two sisters-in-law.
The Zhou family's sisters-in-law brought a box of children's clothes that they had sewn by hand.
"I only have one baby in my belly. My two sisters-in-law made so many clothes for him. He has to change five sets of clothes a day." Jiang Changning said with a smile.
"The baby in the princess' belly is either a prince or a princess. It's not a problem to change five or fifty sets of clothes a day." Luo said seriously.
Jiang Changning thought that there were no convenient diapers in this time and space. Children had to wear diapers, and it was not easy to hold a baby who was one or two months old to pee.
The child will definitely wet his clothes, and he may have to change five sets of clothes a day.
"Thank you, sisters-in-law." Jiang Changning picked up a colorful little blouse and asked, "Is this a patchwork quilt?"
"Children wearing clothes from various families can gain blessings from various families, suffer from fewer illnesses and disasters, and grow up easily." Miao said with a smile.
"My two sisters-in-law are so thoughtful." Jiang Changning said sincerely.
"It's my duty." said the sister-in-law with a smile.
The three of them were chatting when Shu Fei came in. "Princess, Mrs. Zhuang from the Ningxia Palace has given birth. Both mother and child are safe."
Jiang Changning hooked his fingers and calculated the time, "It's not even ten months yet, how come she's already born?"
"It's about time. It's normal to give birth ten days earlier or later." Miao said with a smile.
Jiang Changning also knew that even with the instruments available today, the expected date of delivery could not be accurately determined, let alone now. "Let Xiulan prepare the gifts as usual and send them to the Ningxia Palace when the baby is born."
However, although the gifts were prepared at the Prince of Jin's Palace, the Prince of Ningxia's Palace did not hold a third-day bath banquet. It was said that the Princess of Ningxia stayed at the Song family and refused to return to the Palace to take charge of the situation.
The Ningxia Palace was not particular and allowed the illegitimate son to be born first, so it was natural that the Ningxia Princess was angry.
Soon after, news came out that the Princess of Ningxia wanted to divorce.
People outside who didn't know the inside story talked about this and sighed, "The Song family is too arrogant."
The eldest son out of wedlock was indeed the source of family chaos, but it had also reached the point of discord.
King Ningxia was actually happy to see the divorce. He could not tell Song Yirou that she did not consummate the marriage with him. It was quite good for Song Yirou to use the eldest son as an excuse to make trouble, and he secretly added fuel to the fire.
At this time, bad news came from the palace that the eldest prince suddenly fell ill and fell into a coma.
The emperor is now incapable of compassion. He has only two sons and three daughters. He cannot afford to lose any one of them.
The doctors in the Imperial Hospital were almost driven crazy by the Emperor. "Your Majesty, the eldest prince cannot swallow. This medicine cannot be fed to him."
"Think of a way. Think of a way for me. Make sure the eldest prince drinks the medicine." The emperor was furious. "If you can't save the eldest prince, you don't have to live either."
"Your Majesty, I think we should use acupuncture to wake the eldest prince up, and then feed him medicine." An imperial physician bravely suggested that we should try everything possible.
The emperor hesitated for a moment and said, "You come and give me the acupuncture."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
(End of this chapter)