Because of Zhao Jingyu's disruption, Song Jingxing spent most of the day in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion but failed to see Xie Nanjia, and finally returned in frustration.
Princess Jinping was released just a few days ago, and was locked up in the Buddhist temple again for peeping at the prince.
This time, even the old lady was a little disappointed with her, and she personally increased the confinement time to half a month.
Xie Nanjia was very satisfied with the result. Although she was not afraid of fighting wits and courage with the villain, she was particularly annoyed by the villain jumping around under her nose every day and wasting her time and energy. If she had that free time, she would like to spend more time with her parents and son!
Furthermore, if Princess Jinping is under house arrest, her accomplices will be isolated and helpless, making it much easier to deal with them.
In the past, Song Jingxing could barely convince himself to accept an imposter in order to consolidate his position. However, after seeing Princess Jinping make such a fool of herself in the Duke's Mansion, he felt as if he had swallowed a fly and was indescribably disgusted.
He is the only crown prince of the Great Zhou, a child of destiny. Why should he compromise and not marry the legitimate princess who is as beautiful as a flower and extremely intelligent, but insist on marrying a fake one
The Queen Mother insisted that she didn't want the people to laugh at him, but if a fake entered the palace and made a fool of himself because of his lack of education and knowledge, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing
Which is better, a joke for a moment or a joke for a lifetime
Therefore, as soon as he returned to the palace in the afternoon, he immediately went to Kunning Palace to meet Queen Meng, explained in detail what had happened in the Duke's Mansion that day, and asked his mother to reconsider his candidate for Crown Princess.
Queen Meng was already dissatisfied with Princess Jinping's behavior of showing up in the streets and creating chaos. After listening to her son's story, she began to doubt whether her decision was wrong.
Before, she had thought of forming an alliance with the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion in order to gain another ally for the Crown Prince. Even if she married the imposter, the worst that could happen was that once the Crown Prince had firmly established his hold on the throne, he would find a fault with her and banish her to the cold palace.
But if the fake county princess's character is really so lacking, as the prince is worried, she might cause a bigger scandal before she is banished to the cold palace, making the Eastern Palace a laughing stock for the whole world.
"I was inconsiderate before. Since the fake one is so useless, we can't just marry her with our eyes closed." Queen Meng said, "I will go to the Duke's Mansion in person tomorrow and ask him to swap the real and fake county ladies no matter what."
"If I had known this, when mother summoned the Duke's wife for the first time, she should have asked them to tell the truth to the world directly, so as to avoid repeatedly arousing public suspicion." Song Jingxing said, feeling a little emotional when thinking about the time wasted due to his mother's inconsiderateness.
"Are you complaining about me?" Queen Meng said unhappily, "I don't think I did anything wrong. Even now, if it's not absolutely necessary, I still don't want you to marry that Xiu'er. You are obsessed with her, and she is so cunning. I'm afraid you are no match for her."
"How could that be? I'm not a fool. If I can't even deal with a woman, all the military strategies I've learned over the years would be in vain." Song Jingxing said.
"Don't be so confident. Even a hero cannot resist the temptation of beautiful women. Throughout history, how many emperors and generals have been defeated by beauties? Haven't they learned any military strategies?" Queen Meng said.
"But there are also many virtuous queens." Song Jingxing said.
Queen Meng sneered: "You think that girl can become a virtuous queen. It's a good thing that she didn't take your throne."
Song Jingxing: “…”
"Okay, that's all for later. No matter what, let's win her over first. Even if you can't deal with her, there's still mother!" said Queen Meng.
"But, didn't father forbid you to cause trouble for the Duke's Mansion?" Song Jingxing said.
"There are so many things he doesn't allow me to do. If I had listened to him, I would have been dead long ago as the queen." Queen Meng said, "Don't you understand yet? The reason why he is forcing us not to take the legitimate county lady is definitely because of Zhao Jingyu. Maybe Zhao Jingyu asked him to help protect the Duke of Guo's Mansion."
Song Jingxing gritted his teeth in hatred whenever he was involved in anything related to Zhao Jingyu. He bowed and said, "In this case, I hope my mother will act quickly and don't let Zhao Jingyu get there first."
Queen Meng had also heard the rumors about Zhao Jingyu and Madam Sheng giving each other silk brocade and mutton-fat jade, so she nodded and said, "Tomorrow is the fifth day of the lunar year, and there are many taboos. The sixth day is your sister's birthday, and the seventh day is the Human Day Festival, so there will be a big banquet for all the ministers, so the earliest date will be the eighth day. I will go there early on the eighth day."
The Queen's trip was no small matter. The itinerary on the eighth day of the first lunar month had to be notified to all places three days in advance to arrange travel arrangements. This kind of thing could not be kept secret, especially since Su Jincheng was still serving in the palace. Therefore, he received the news on the fifth day of the first lunar month, and when he returned from the palace in the evening, he informed his parents as soon as possible.
Sheng Qingyun suddenly felt like she was facing a great enemy, and hurriedly pulled her husband to discuss countermeasures with her parents-in-law.
Although the purpose of the Queen's visit was not revealed, she was not stupid and could guess the other party's intention with just a casual guess.
Princess Jinping first caused a riot in the street when General Wu'an returned to the capital, and then made a fool of herself in front of the Crown Prince. Naturally, the Queen Mother would not sit idly by. This time she most likely wanted to cancel the engagement or ask for a replacement.
"The Empress Dowager has always been dissatisfied with the matter of our real and fake county lady. She chose to go with the flow out of concern for the royal family's reputation. Now that Jinping has been in trouble one after another, it is understandable that she wants to replace her. If she proposes, what else can we do but agree?" The old lady still insisted on her usual stance that if the king wants his subjects to die, they must die, and they must not go against the royal family no matter what.
Sheng Qingyun also always disagreed with the old lady's ideas. She said that firstly, Xiu'er was unwilling to enter the palace, and secondly, Jinping had come to this point. If the prince broke off the engagement and ruined her reputation, which family would marry her in the future
The old lady said, "The emperor's order is more important than heaven, and no one can be happy or unhappy about it. As for Jinping, she brought this upon herself, and cannot blame others."
"But this will mean ruining the future of both children at the same time." The old Duke loved his granddaughter and was dissatisfied with his wife's words.
"Future?" The old lady sneered, "A girl's future is closely related to her family. If the queen is angered, the entire Su family will have a worrying future, not to mention them."
"So, mother means that they should sacrifice themselves for the family?" Sheng Qingyun said, "If so, I strongly disagree."
"I don't agree either." Su Xian agreed, "I am a duke, and if my daughter can't decide her own marriage, what's the point of being a duke?"
"I don't agree either. With a mother-in-law like the queen, our Xiu'er won't be happy if she marries her." The old Duke said, "If we can't even guarantee her happiness, we might as well not have brought her back in the first place."
"..." The old lady saw that the three people disagreed with her opinion, and she slammed the table in anger, "Okay, okay, you have guts, you all have guts, but don't forget that if the queen wants to kill the Duke's Mansion, it will be easier than crushing an ant. If that day really comes, don't regret it."
"Grandmother, you are too self-deprecating. The Queen is not as powerful as you think." The curtain at the door sounded and Xie Nanjia walked in from outside.
"Why are you here?" Sheng Qingyun asked, waving for her to sit next to him.
Xie Nanjia was not in a hurry to sit down, but went to pay his respects to the old duke and his wife first.
When the old Duke saw her, his face immediately turned into a flower with a smile, and he said cheerfully: "Xiu'er is here, don't be afraid, with grandfather here, he won't let you marry someone you don't like."
The old lady couldn't bear to see him doting on her granddaughter so unrealistically, so she snorted coldly, "It's better to be self-deprecating than to be self-important. I want to see if you can protect her for the rest of her life!"
Xie Nanjia smiled and said, "Grandma, please don't be angry. Listen to me for a moment. There is a reason why I don't want to marry the prince. Grandma thinks that obeying the queen's will can keep our family safe. In fact, if I really marry the prince, it will most likely be the beginning of misfortune for our family."
"Don't talk nonsense!" The old lady's face suddenly changed, and she scolded in a deep voice, "You child, you are getting more and more arrogant. You are so smart that you make irresponsible remarks about the royal family. You cursed your own family for misfortune in the New Year. If I had known you were like this, I shouldn't have brought you back in the first place!"
"Mother..." Sheng Qingyun couldn't bear to hear this and was about to argue with the old lady. Xie Nan waved her hands and signaled her with her eyes to be quiet. She knelt on the ground and said, "Grandma is the elder. It's her right to scold her grandson. Please calm down first and listen to my reasoning before scolding me."
"Go ahead!" The old lady also knew that what she said just now was a bit excessive, so she softened her expression and said.
Xie Nanjia looked around and said a few words in a voice that only a few of them could hear clearly.
After hearing this, the four people's faces changed drastically, and everyone's eyes revealed extremely shocked fear and doubt.
"This is impossible!" said the old Duke.
"Absolutely impossible!" Su Xian agreed.
"You must be talking nonsense!" the old lady scolded.
"I don't believe it either." Sheng Qingyun made an exception and did not defend his daughter.
Xie Nanjia remained calm: "In fact, it's not that you don't believe it, it's that you don't dare to believe it."
“…” The four elders fell silent.
After a long while, Su Xian said faintly: "Maybe it's true."
"Then what should we do?" Sheng Qingyun asked.
There was another silence.
This time even the old lady was silent.
After a while, the old minister said, "Just follow Xiu'er's advice and marry into the Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion!"
"But Zhao Jingyu is a bastard..." Sheng Qingyun said weakly.
"At this point, let's not worry about it. Stability is the most important thing." Su Xian said, "If our two families are married, it will be beneficial to both Dingyuan Marquis Mansion and our mansion. Together with the General's Mansion, the three families will be able to counter any risks that may occur in the future."
Sheng Qingyun stopped talking, but still seemed somewhat unhappy.
Xie Nanjia advised her softly, "Mother, there is no need to worry about Zhao Jingyu's status as a bastard. The population of Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion is not very complicated. The prince has no opinions. The old lady and the marquis both favor Zhao Jingyu. Hualou and Lvliu hold the housekeeping power. In time, both of them will be promoted. The little prince is my nephew. He will definitely treat me well when he grows up. When the young ladies are married in the future and the old lady passes away, the mansion will be completely ours. What does it matter whether he is a bastard or not?"
After hearing her analysis, the old lady's eyes lit up: "If that's the case, it's really a good marriage. It's better than marrying into another family with a bunch of mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law who are scheming against each other all day long."
Xie Nanjia couldn't help but smile: "Grandma, you won't let me enter the palace?"
The old lady laughed dryly twice: "Grandmother is not an old witch who wants to push her granddaughter into the fire pit. According to the situation you described, it is better for her to find a stable family to marry."
"I know that grandma loves me." Xie Nanjia said, and then looked at Sheng Qingluan, "Mother, grandma has figured it out, haven't you figured it out yet?"
Sheng Qingyun sighed: "There is nothing that mother cannot understand. Mother just wants you to be well and live the best life."
"Thank you, mother. Please rest assured, I will be happy." Xie Nanjia walked over and gave her a big hug.
Sheng Qingyun's eyes were slightly red, and he patted her back: "In this case, I will ask Madam Wang to propose marriage for you tomorrow."
"Hmm..." Xie Nanjia blinked, thought for a moment and said, "Although I was the one who took the initiative to marry, we still need to be reserved. Send a message to Zhao Jingyu and ask him to ask a matchmaker to propose marriage!"
"..." Sheng Qingyun was amused by her and tapped her forehead and said, "Girl, you have been thinking about getting married all day long, and now you are talking about being reserved."
"..." Xie Nanjia smiled without saying anything. She just didn't want Zhao Jingyu to get too proud of himself.
After the matter was settled, the young Duke and his wife took Xie Nanjia with them and left, returning to Qionghua Courtyard. Xie Nanjia said that time was pressing, and just in case, it would be better to send someone to inform Zhao Jingyu now, asking him to quickly discuss finding a matchmaker with Marquis Dingyuan. It would be best if they could discuss it tonight, and have the matchmaker come to propose marriage early tomorrow morning.
Sheng Qingyun said: "You just said you wanted to be reserved, but you couldn't even wait for one night. You went to deliver the letter in the middle of the night. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"
"I'm not afraid of being laughed at, but I'm afraid of more nightmares." Xie Nanjia said, "What if the Queen changes her schedule to tomorrow? Or if we don't notify her today and Zhao Jingyu and Dingyuan Hou go to visit relatives tomorrow? What if Madam Wang is not convenient? All these need to be taken into consideration."
"Alright, alright, no matter what, you are in a hurry to marry that guy named Zhao." Sheng Qingyun said helplessly, "I don't know what has possessed him. I will send someone to inform him right now, so that you won't cry if you can't get married."
Xie Nanjia laughed out loud.
Seeing that she laughed too heartily, Su Xian kindly reminded her: "Girls should laugh more elegantly, otherwise their husbands will dislike it."
Xie Nanjia's wish was about to be fulfilled. She couldn't suppress her joy and laughed even louder. "How dare Zhao Jingyu despise me? He promised mother eighteen kowtows in order to marry me. Mother can count them when the time comes. I won't forgive him if he misses even one."
Su Xian: “…”
Sheng Qingyun: “…”
The secret guard received Sheng Qingyun's order and rushed to Dingyuan Marquis' Mansion overnight to pass on the message. When Zhao Jingyu received the letter, he was overwhelmed by the sudden happiness. He stood there in a daze for a whole cup of tea, and then as if suddenly awakened from a dream, he got up and ran to the front yard.
"Dad, Dad, Dad..." He shouted all the way into the front yard and came to Dingyuan Hou's study. He almost broke into the room, strode to the table, and snatched Dingyuan Hou's book. "Dad, don't read it. I have good news for you."
Dingyuan Hou was almost frightened to death by him. He patted his chest and gasped, "Son, can you control yourself? You scared your father to death. No matter how good the news is, you can't hear it."
Zhao Jingyu laughed foolishly: "No, Dad, I'm too happy. I've been very restrained by not flying."
"..." Marquis Dingyuan shook his head, picked up the tea and took a sip, "Tell me, let me hear how good the news is."
"I'm going to get married." Zhao Jingyu said, his eyes shining brighter than the stars in the sky.
Dingyuan Hou choked on half a mouthful of tea in his throat, almost choking to death, his face flushed red, "What are you going to do?"
"Get married!" Zhao Jingyu patted his back considerately to calm him down, and repeated solemnly, "I, your son, am getting married."
"Ah, cough, cough, cough..." Marquis Dingyuan coughed again, "Are you sleep-deprived? Are you dreaming about getting married in the middle of the night?"
Poor child, it's all his father's fault for having too high expectations. He hasn't arranged a marriage for him even at this age. Look, the child has become so anxious that he has gone crazy.
Zhao Jingyu grinned like a silly boy: "Dad, I'm not dreaming, it's Madam Sheng, Madam Sheng promised to let Xiu'er marry me."
"Is this true?" Marquis Dingyuan couldn't believe his ears. "When did you agree to this?"
"Just now, someone was sent to tell me to go find Madam Wang now and ask her to propose marriage tomorrow." Zhao Jingyu said, blinking her bright eyes.
Dingyuan Hou: “…”
How anxious was Madam Sheng to marry off her daughter that she couldn't even wait for one night
"It's too late now, let's talk about it tomorrow!" said Dingyuan Hou.
"No, the longer the night, the more trouble there is. What if Madam Wang is not at home tomorrow? We have to tell her in advance." Zhao Jingyu pulled his arm and pulled him up. "Let's go. I have asked Wei Jun to prepare a carriage and gifts. You come with me."
Dingyuan Hou: “…”
Are my mother-in-law’s words so effective
If I had known that you would listen to your mother-in-law so much, I should have found you a mother-in-law when you were eight years old.
"But, for such a big matter, should we inform your father and hear his opinion first?" Marquis Dingyuan asked in a low voice.
"What do you need to inform me? You are my father. Let's go." Zhao Jingyu pulled him out. When he passed by the coat rack, he took down his coat and put it on him himself, tying the belt. He said, "It's cold outside. Don't let my father get cold."
A soft spot in Marquis Dingyuan's heart was hit hard, his nose felt sore, tears filled his eyes, and he was pulled out of the door by him.
The carriage drove towards Minister Wang's residence in the dark night.
Fortunately, it was New Year's Day and people went to bed late. Mrs. Wang had not yet gone to bed. When she heard that Marquis Dingyuan and his son were coming to visit, she was very surprised. She hurried out with Minister Wang to greet them and welcomed them into Minister Wang's study.
At this time, it is convenient to talk in the study.
The two parties sat down and tea was served. Minister Wang asked anxiously, "My Lord, why did you come to visit me so late at night? What happened?"
"..." Marquis Dingyuan smiled awkwardly, "It's nothing serious. My son has fallen in love with Miss Xiu'er from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. I would like to ask Madam Wang to go to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to propose marriage tomorrow morning."
Minister Wang and his wife: “…”
How anxious were they that both father and son ran out in the dark on the fifth night of the Lunar New Year to find a matchmaker
Seeing the stunned expressions of the couple, Marquis Dingyuan felt even more embarrassed. He laughed dryly and said, "It's all my boy's fault. He has been spoiled since he was young. He is always quick to make decisions. He suddenly got crazy and thought of this late at night. He was afraid that Madam would have other plans tomorrow, so he forced me to come in advance to tell Madam. If I refused to come, he would go to the old lady to complain. There is really nothing we can do about him. Fortunately, we are all family. Madam has watched him grow up since he was young, and knows his temper. Please bear with him."
"Hehehe..." Zhao Jingyu lost no time in laughing foolishly, "Madam, please bear with me."
Mrs. Wang had been a matchmaker for half her life, but this was the first time she had seen such an anxious couple. She was so amused by the father and son that she clapped her hands and said, "This is so hilarious! I never thought that our romantic and unrestrained Second Young Master would be so anxious to get married. If the girls out there knew about this, they would cry so hard that their quilts would get wet!"
Zhao Jingyu knew that she was teasing him, so he said seriously, "I was young and ignorant before. From now on, I will only take one scoop from the vast sea. Madam, please do your best to help my nephew get married. I will be grateful to you."
"Hahahaha..." Mrs. Wang laughed even more happily after hearing that. "Okay, okay, there's a saying that a prodigal son who returns is worth more than gold. Since the Second Young Master has spoken, I'll take care of it. I'll go to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion early tomorrow morning. Just relax and wait to be the bridegroom!"
She agreed, and both the father and son breathed a sigh of relief. They sat and talked about family matters for a while, then got up and said goodbye.
Minister Wang and his wife saw them off to the door, and then turned back after watching the carriage leave. Minister Wang asked his wife, "We haven't even started yet, why are you so confident? What if the Duke's Mansion disagrees? Where will you put your face?"
Mrs. Wang rolled her eyes at her husband and said, "You are the only one who doesn't pay attention to what's going on outside. The other person's fate has already been written, okay?"
"It's been written? When did it happen? How come I don't know about it?" Minister Wang looked confused.
Mrs. Wang was too lazy to pay attention to him and rummaged through her boxes and cupboards to find clothes to wear tomorrow.
On the way back in the carriage, Zhao Jingyu told the truth to Marquis Dingyuan. The reason why he was so anxious to settle the matter was because the Queen Mother would visit the Duke's Mansion on the eighth day of the first lunar month, and Princess Jinping had made two big mistakes in succession. Xiu'er was worried that the Queen Mother would ask her to replace Princess Jinping, so she was so anxious for him to settle the marriage before the Queen Mother came.
Dingyuan Hou suddenly realized what was going on and said angrily, "I was wondering why you had to go find a matchmaker in the middle of the night. So it was for this. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Zhao Jingyu said, "I'm afraid you'll let the cat out of the bag in front of Madam Wang. If Madam Wang knew that you were ruining the Empress's business, she wouldn't dare to do it even if she had a hundred guts."
"You kid, you actually suspected that your father was not keeping his mouth shut. Am I that kind of person? If I can't keep the secret, how could you live in peace and get married?" Marquis Dingyuan slapped him.
Zhao Jingyu leaned on his shoulder and said leisurely: "Dad, thank you for all these years. I will respect you in the future."
"Huh..." Marquis Dingyuan took a deep breath, put his arm around his shoulder and patted him, whispering in his ear, "Dad doesn't want you to be filial to him. Dad wants to help you get to a high position!"
"…" Zhao Jingyu was silent for a moment, and whispered, "I, suddenly don't want that position anymore. Why don't you talk to the master and ask him to give me a fiefdom, and I can take Xiu'er with me to be a real idle prince, which is also beautiful."
"No, absolutely not!" Dingyuan Hou suddenly became stern, helped him up, grabbed his shoulders and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Do you know how much hope the teacher has placed on you? Do you know why so many teachers have taught you for ten years? How can you lose your fighting spirit for a woman before you even start? If this is the case, then you don't want to marry this daughter-in-law. I will turn around and go back to the Minister's Mansion now and tell Madam Wang not to go tomorrow."
"No, no, no, I just said it casually, why did you take it seriously?" Zhao Jingyu quickly hugged him, leaned on him and said nice things, "Marrying a wife is a big deal, you can't break up a couple just because of a joke. I'm obedient, isn't it okay for me to be obedient?"
"Is this something you can joke about?" Dingyuan Hou said seriously, "Remember, this is only once, it won't happen again!"
"I've got it." Zhao Jingyu nodded obediently, and after thinking for a while, he said again, "Do I have to marry so many wives in the future?"
(End of this chapter)