The news of the marriage between Mr. Zhou and Miss Zhao caused quite a stir in the capital, but before people had time to discuss the matter, news came out that the emperor had arranged a marriage for the crown prince.
And the lucky person who had the honor of becoming the future queen of the Great Zhou Dynasty was the Princess Jinping who had just been found not long ago.
As soon as the news came out, it shocked the court and the public, overwhelmed the news of the marriage between the Zhou and Zhao families, and became the most sensational event in the capital.
Although it caused a sensation, the incident did not cause any ripples in the court, because the prince was the only son of the emperor. No matter which daughter he married as the prince consort, it would not affect his succession to the throne. The marriage with the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion was just icing on the cake for him, not a timely help.
Fortunately, the emperor has only one son. If it were the era of seven dragons competing for the throne in the previous dynasty, the situation in the court would probably have changed.
For a time, both high-ranking officials and ordinary people were talking about this powerful marriage, and Princess Jinping became the most envied object of the noble ladies in the capital.
I don’t know if it was because of the inspiration from Princess Jinping and Miss Zhao Si, but the mistresses and young ladies of each mansion seemed to have suddenly awakened. Fearing that the remaining good men would be preempted by others, they began to take action and launched an unprecedentedly exciting competition to grab sons-in-law.
Because of her high success rate in matchmaking, Mrs. Wang suddenly became the most sought-after figure in the circle of noble ladies. Many ladies came to visit her every day, and the threshold of her house was almost broken down.
The young men of various families in the capital were not immune either. Their blind dates were scheduled until the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month. They were forced by their mothers to go on blind dates all day long, leaving them less time to go out and play.
Among them, there are only two exceptions, one is Zhao Jingyu and the other is Cheng Zhiye. Even though they are fighting so hard to be the son-in-law, no one is interested in them.
This is not to say that there are no girls who like the two men. There are girls who like them all over the city. However, the mothers of the girls think that the two men are too unreliable. Not only can they not give their daughter a happy life, but they will definitely have romantic debts in the future.
Especially Zhao Jingyu. Once his father dies, he will be kicked out of the house, and whoever follows him will be unlucky.
Seeing that no one was interested in her precious grandson, the old lady became extremely anxious. She asked people everywhere to find a marriage for him and almost forced Marquis Dingyuan to use his power to snatch one for him.
How could Marquis Dingyuan dare to make his decision? He could only advise his mother: "There are so many beauties in his courtyard that they can hardly accommodate them all. Why do you worry about him?"
The old lady said, "Those with unknown origins, do they have a family background worth showing off? It's ok to be a concubine, but definitely not a principal wife. The one who can be my grandson's daughter-in-law must be a lady from an official family of the second rank or above."
Dingyuan Hou: “…”
Zhao Jingyu had no time to care about his grandmother's anxiety. Song Jingxing's marriage with Jinping County Master made him feel unprecedentedly uneasy.
As early as the hunting trip in the Western Hills, Song Jingxing had shown a keen interest in Xiu'er, but he had to give up because of her humble status and the Queen Mother's emphasis on family background.
Once the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion announces that Xiu'er is the real Princess Jinping, not to mention whether the Queen will be angry with the Duke's Mansion, Song Jingxing himself will definitely propose that Xiu'er replace the current Su Jinping, and if the Queen does not want to break off relations with the Duke's Mansion, she will definitely support the replacement.
Therefore, Zhao Jingyu, who was still looking forward to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion coming to recognize his daughter a few days ago, is now in deep contradiction and entanglement.
If Xiu'er doesn't return to the Duke's Mansion, he will not be able to ask the Emperor to grant him a marriage. If Xiu'er returns to the Duke's Mansion, she will most likely be intercepted by Song Jingxing. In short, whether she returns or not, it will be disadvantageous to him.
What should I do
Do I have to seize the position of crown prince first before I can get the girl I love
Zhao Jingyu's eyes gradually narrowed, covering up the jumping light inside.
"Prepare the car, I want to go to the Minister's Mansion!" He stood up suddenly and ordered loudly.
Winter afternoons are the best time to drink wine and listen to music in a room with a heated floor heater. Cheng Zhiye was almost sleepy when a servant came to report that the second young master Zhao had arrived.
Cheng Zhiye's mood was disturbed and he felt quite resentful. Just as he said "no see you", Zhao Jingyu barged in.
"Mr. Cheng, you have become so powerful that you even dare not see me?" Zhao Jingyu stepped forward and kicked the man off the chaise longue.
Cheng Zhiye quickly got up, patted his butt and laughed, "I was just kidding. I won't see anyone else, but I won't see you!"
Zhao Jingyu snorted coldly, "Stop talking nonsense and make arrangements. I want to meet the gentleman tonight."
Cheng Zhiye was stunned and asked casually, "Why do you suddenly want to see the gentleman? Is there something urgent?"
Zhao Jingyu didn't reply to him. Instead, he frowned slightly and glanced at him. There was a murderous look between his brows for no reason.
Cheng Zhiye's heart trembled, knowing that he had said too much, and he quickly lowered his head and explained carefully: "I don't want to ask about your affairs, but if you ask the reason, I must have something to say."
"Just say I miss him." Zhao Jingyu said with a softened expression.
"Okay." Cheng Zhiye no longer dared to act playful. He responded respectfully and asked Zhao Jingyu to go back and wait for his news.
After seeing Zhao Jingyu off, he let out a long sigh, raised his hand to wipe his forehead, and found that his palm was covered with sweat.
The look Zhao Jingyu gave him just now was exactly like the look His Majesty would have when he was about to get angry, and it frightened him so much that his heart almost stopped beating.
No wonder my father often said that serving the king is like serving a tiger. The most important thing is to strike a good balance and keep a good distance, because you never know when the tiger will be unhappy.
After a while, Cheng Zhiye dressed neatly and hurried to the Ministry of War to find his father, Minister Cheng. He asked Minister Cheng to bring him into the Qinzheng Hall disguised as an attendant on the pretext of reporting on the war in the northern border.
When Song Wanji heard that Zhao Jingyu wanted to see him, he put down the memorial he was reviewing, rubbed his brows and asked, "Hasn't he always been reluctant to see me? Why did he take the initiative to see me today? What happened?"
Cheng Zhiye knelt on the ground and replied: "The second young master said he missed the emperor."
"Miss me? He will miss me?" Song Wanji laughed twice, "Why don't I believe it?"
"..." Cheng Zhiye thought, I don't believe it either, but your son won't tell me the truth!
Seeing his son in a dilemma, Minister Cheng Lin hurriedly added, "It must be because the New Year is coming to an end and the Second Young Master is missing his family, or else..."
"What is it?" Song Wanji asked.
"Is it because several of the young masters that the Second Young Master is familiar with have recently got engaged, and the Second Young Master is getting anxious too?" Cheng Lin said hesitantly.
Song Wanji laughed and shook his head when he heard this: "He? Will he be anxious about this? I see he is very happy all day long. Well, no matter why, tell him to meet at the old place tonight!"
"Yes!" Cheng Lin bowed and accepted the imperial order, then left with his son.
…
Now that the fourth young lady's marriage had been arranged, Xie Nanjia had fulfilled his promise to her. He could finally breathe a sigh of relief and concentrate on handling his own affairs.
Zhao Lanya has been behaving very irritably these past few days. Every time she went to Yixinyuan to pay her respects, she looked at Zhao Lanzhi with eyes as sharp as a knife, as if she wanted to skin Zhao Lanzhi alive.
Xie Nanjia was worried that she would harm Zhao Lanzhi, so she asked the fourth aunt to discuss with Qin. Since the fourth young lady was already engaged, it would not be appropriate for her to go to school anymore. She should stay at home and make her wedding dress in preparation for her marriage.
Qin had no reason to refuse, so she told Zhao Lanzhi not to go to school anymore.
So in the following time, the Fourth Aunt stayed with the Fourth Miss every day, inseparable from her, under the pretext of helping her make her wedding dress, to prevent anyone from harming her.
The Fourth Aunt was a skilled person who had been trained in the inner palace. With her protecting her, Xie Nanjia had nothing to worry about. After she had freed her hands, the first thing she did was to go to Lvliu to discuss the next action plan.
She had been busy with Zhao Lanzhi's affairs these days and had no time to meet Lvliu. After she went there, she found out that Lvliu was actually sick.
The little maid opened the curtain and invited her in. She brought a stool for her to sit down in front of the green willow bed. She poured tea and said, "Auntie has been feeling sleepy these past few days. She falls asleep after eating. She was too lazy to deal with the prince when he came. I don't know what's wrong with her."
Xie Nanjia was startled, and hurriedly pried open Lvliu's eyes to take a look, asking, "How many days has this been going on? Besides being sleepy, why didn't you tell me?"
The little girl thought for a while and said, "I can't remember how many days it has been. At first I just felt sleepy occasionally, but it has only become more serious recently. I reported it to the Crown Prince's wife and wanted to find a doctor, but the Crown Prince's wife said that everyone is like this in winter, they feel sleepy when they have nothing to do, and it's not like I have any pain or itching, so why should I find a doctor?"
Xie Nanjia's heart sank as she listened. She regretted being so careless and neglecting to take care of Lvliu. She had clearly reminded Lvliu to be careful of Qin's aunt and nephew, so how could she not have thought that since Qin could poison Hualou and the fourth young lady and the fourth concubine, she could also poison Lvliu
Looking at Lvliu's condition, it is obvious that she has been deeply poisoned. But Hu Qianshan has gone to southern Xinjiang again. What should we do
Looking at Lvliu who was still in a coma, Xie Nanjia was in a state of confusion. After thinking over and over again, the only option now was to go directly to Qin to ask for the antidote.
It's better this way. This face will be torn sooner or later anyway. For Lu Liu, it doesn't matter if it's a day earlier or later!
(End of this chapter)