When the emperor's decree came down, everyone in the capital was stunned.
The Emperor has arranged a marriage for His Royal Highness the King of England. Which family is it for? The fourth young lady from Minister Qu's mansion who has no talent, no looks, and has eye problems? The young lady whose marriage was rejected by the Yongning Marquis's mansion
In the previous case at the Qu Mansion, the person killed by Yu was the biological mother of the fourth Miss Qu
This... Could it be that the message was sent incorrectly
Many noble families involuntarily sent people to the Qu Mansion to inquire about the news. Why didn’t they go to the Prince of Ying’s Palace? Do they dare
The King of England had a bad reputation. Who would dare to bump into him without knowing anything? Besides, would the King of England be satisfied? If not, would he go to the palace to make trouble
After inquiring about the news, they finally got confirmed news. It was true. The emperor really gave Miss Qu Si a marriage. And the one she chose was the King of England
The first thing that came to everyone's mind was what happened to the emperor? Was he angry with the King of England or something? How could he agree to marry such a woman to the King of England
Some well-informed people had already vaguely noticed this matter before, but they couldn't understand why she was only a concubine before? How did she become the main concubine
Those who were not well-informed were completely guessing, and some speculated that the emperor had granted such a marriage because the King of England had angered the emperor before.
Didn’t it say that the King of England had just received a reward from the Emperor and even had his title promoted? Could it be that it was a promotion in name only and a demotion in reality
The Qu family was also confused. After receiving the imperial edict, Qu Zhizhen sat in the study room almost in a daze. She was the principal wife, actually the principal wife, how was this possible
But the fact is there, she is the queen, the Queen of England!
Unlike the youngest daughter who was just a concubine, this was the real wife of the King of England. This was something Qu Zhizhen could never have imagined before. His first thought was: What happened to the King of England
The second idea was that the King of England was unwilling to get married, and had previously agreed to let his daughter enter the palace, and then he randomly found someone to fill the position of the queen.
The ministers in the court all knew that the emperor had been worrying about the King of England's marriage, and yet he had not given in.
So it was because the King of England agreed to let his daughter be a concubine, and the Emperor felt that since the King of England had agreed, and he couldn't find another woman to make the King of England agree, he directly promoted his daughter to the position of principal wife
Thinking of this, Qu Zhizhen breathed a sigh of relief, and then was overjoyed. The father of a concubine and the father of a principal wife are of course different. That is the essential difference between a wife and a concubine.
Even though the King of England may not intend to acknowledge him as his father-in-law, in the eyes of others, he is the King of England's father-in-law.
"Second Master, the Madam invites you over." Just as he was rejoicing, a servant came in to report.
Qu Zhizhen stood up and walked inside. Such a thing made not only his mother but also himself feel agitated for a moment.
"Second brother, wasn't she said to be a concubine?" Sure enough, the lady asked anxiously when she saw Qu Zhizhen for the first time.
Qu Zhizhen waved his hand to let the others go, sat down on a chair beside him, and said proudly: "Mother, maybe the King of England didn't continue to give in, and the Emperor is also anxious."
Since there is no other woman to be the principal wife, the concubine can be directly promoted to the principal wife
The lady had some doubts about this statement, always feeling that things shouldn't be like this, but now thinking about it, this was indeed a good thing.
No matter whose concubine she is, she is still a concubine!
Now I can be the
Princess, that is a great joyous event.
"Although our family had prepared a dowry before, it is much less now." After the great joy, Mrs. Qu had new worries.
The dowry prepared before was indeed quite a lot. All the dowry left by Xiao Yue was brought back. Although there were some shortcomings, the palace had already made up for some of it, and then added a lot more. But even with all the additions, the dowry of the Queen of Prince Ying still felt a little less.
The lady also thought that the King of England might not be very reliable towards his granddaughter. No wonder he came to see her on purpose that day. If Ying girl did not look as good as he wanted, and there was no decree today, what would she do with her granddaughter then
The lady felt troubled just thinking about it, and she thought that the dowry should be better. Only when a woman gets married and has a dowry can she be courageous. Although this is still a weak position against the King of England, it is better than being weak!
This is what the lady thought, so she specially asked someone to invite her son over.
"Add some of the things that Yu prepared for the third girl a long time ago." Qu Zhizhen thought for a while and said in a deep voice.
"But... but didn't you say before that it would be sent to Prince Jing's Mansion?" Madam Qu said hesitantly.
"This is a different time. As for Yan girl... we have to send some gifts, but she is just a concubine, so she gets less. Others don't know about it. As for Ying girl, we have to focus on it first. We have to make His Royal Highness the King of England satisfied." Qu Zhizhen sighed, thinking of Pei Yuanjun's character, and felt that he was still smarter.
At least for the sake of face, her daughter's dowry should not be less, and it should even be worthy of the status of the Princess of England.
"Mother, there is no rush for this matter. The process of the ceremony will take at least a year or so. The Crown Prince had already gone through the ceremony long ago, and the Ministry of Rites also had a number of appointments. He has only gone through a few ceremonies at this time. The King of England's marriage was only announced now, so it is natural that it will be slower than the Crown Prince's."
Seeing his mother worried, Qu Zhizhen said again.
The lady nodded after hearing this and also thought this gift was worth it: "Then I'll buy some more for Ying girl. I can't let Ying girl suffer a loss."
The old lady thought that she could take out some of the things in her private storehouse so that her little granddaughter could marry in style.
After the mother and son discussed some details, they each went about their business.
"What, the King of England's legal wife?" At Duke Qi's Mansion, Madam Qi was stunned when she heard the message from outside. She had guessed about Qu Moying's marriage before, and the so-called matchmaking would never be a good one. Unexpectedly, the Emperor issued an edict not long after.
She subconsciously looked at the old Duke.
The old Duke was also shocked. He didn't know about this matter either and lowered his head in astonishment. He was actually not optimistic about marrying King Pei Yuanjun of England.
Even if he was wronged at that time, given Pei Yuanjun's character, no one in the Qu family would dare to stand up for Qu Moying.
Wasn’t there a rumor before that the Princess of England would be the daughter of that general who assisted the country
"Duke, look?" The lady waved her hand, and the maids and old women went down one by one.
"Marry the King of England..." The old Duke sighed helplessly and once again felt powerless. This was no longer something he could interfere with just because he wanted to.
"Does the Duke also feel that it is inappropriate to marry the King of England?" the lady asked in a low voice.
"The Emperor's order has been issued and cannot be changed." The old Duke said calmly.
He glanced at his old wife and sighed.
"I know..." The lady was a little irritated and uneasy, "When I invited the fourth young lady from the Qu Mansion to come here, she was not close to our family..."
"She knows nothing, so why does she want to be close to our family?" the old Duke said dissatisfiedly.
“But… but she… she…” the lady wanted to say, but felt she had no idea where to start. After all, she did not really admit to the matter at that time.
"Okay, let's leave it at that! It's her good fortune that she has found a good home." The old Duke sighed heavily, "It's all my fault. When I am in the grave, I will personally express my apologies to her."
“Duke… you… you were confused at that time!” The lady’s eyes became red again, and she said hatefully.
Although the two people did not say it explicitly, how could they not understand the meaning? It's just that each of them has their own sufferings, so for a while everyone spoke very implicitly.
"It's too late to say anything now. I regret it so much!" The old Duke's eyes were slightly sore and he sighed heavily, as if he had aged a lot in an instant. He leaned back listlessly, staring blankly at the air with a bitter smile.
"Duke, don't be too sad. It can always be remedied." After all, they have been an old couple for many years. The lady sighed and comforted him.
"Prepare an extra dowry, no less than Jingyu's." The old Duke closed his eyes and said slowly.
“This… How can this be possible, Jingyu is our granddaughter, she… she…” Although the lady objected, she couldn’t say any more after this.
Who is she? She is his own granddaughter, and Liu Jingyu has little to do with her.
Thinking of this, the lady could not help but murmured, "What an injustice! What an injustice!"
"Find a name and prepare more dowry. Otherwise, it's all my fault. The child is innocent. I harmed her and both of them." The old Duke felt extremely guilty.
"But what will people think of Jingyu? She is going to marry into the Eastern Palace and become the future Crown Princess. Regardless of her status or her relationship with the Duke of Qi's Mansion, her dowry should not be less than that of the Qu family!" Although the lady felt sorry for Qu Moying, she still raised an objection.
"Just prepare more for her. We... owed her. Jingyu and her mother also owed them." The old Duke said very clearly without any hesitation. If possible, he wanted to clear the name of the mother and daughter.
If he had not replaced the person back then, if he had not done nothing back then, if he had not gone to the palace to ask for a marriage, or if things would have been completely different, he had made one mistake after another and was filled with guilt.
Even if she is my biological daughter, I cannot repay my kindness with her life.
"What if someone finds out something? Jingyu's current status doesn't allow for any negligence. If something happens to us, her position as the Crown Princess might not be so stable."
"It's already this time, and you're still considering these things. Think about who you're being worthy of? Jingyu and her daughter... If Jingyu and her daughter hadn't taken their positions, how could they have the opportunities in front of them, and how could they have become the Crown Princess? Do you still have to consider them now?"
The old Duke suddenly became furious, slammed the table, stood up, and roared, then turned around and strode away...