The people in the capital were very angry about Murong Jie's marriage.
Because he was originally engaged to Xia Zian, and now he got married even though Xia Zian's body hasn't been found yet.
However, Murong Jie was also a hero in suppressing the zombie disease, so everyone couldn't bear to blame him. Some people even took the initiative to defend him, saying that he was helpless. After all, the Empress Dowager had granted him the marriage, so how could he disobey
The people's attention was diverted. The fact that the Empress Dowager, who had been declared dead, came back alive was something that everyone found extremely strange.
However, some elderly people said that anything that happened to Queen Mother Long was not weird. No matter how bizarre the thing was, as long as it was related to her, it was logical and reasonable.
Anyway, according to various rumors, Murong Jie is going to get married.
Murong Zhuangzhuang and Chen Liuliu were the ones who felt most indignant for Zi'an, but what could they do
Liu Liu complained to Chen Taijun, "Grandma, you said before that you wanted my brothers to protect Zi'an, but Zi'an didn't come back, and my brothers don't know where he went. What happened?"
Chen Taijun smiled and said, "Silly girl, you have to be patient to achieve great things. Maybe in the end, everything will go as you wish?"
"Unless Zi'an comes back, how can I achieve my wish? I don't believe it."
"Maybe come back?"
Liu Liu exclaimed, "Grandma, do you know something but you don't want to tell me?"
Lady Chen smiled but said nothing.
Liu Liu looked at her, and whenever she showed this expression, it meant that there was something fishy going on.
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On the wedding day, the capital was bustling with activity.
Because, early in the morning, an imperial decree was posted, announcing to the world that in conjunction with the Regent's wedding, all farmers would be exempted from taxes for half a year, and merchants would have their taxes reduced for half a year.
If there are benefits, people's hearts can be stabilized. The people's demands are very simple, which is nothing more than you give me money, or you don't take my money.
The Empress Dowager's move calmed down all kinds of voices. It can be seen that silver is a very useful thing, especially when it is not your own money.
The imperial decree states that all the gentlemen should bring generous gifts to congratulate. What is the definition of generous gifts? There is no definition, but if you want to bring a chicken or a jar of wine, it would be too inconsiderate.
It's clearly a slap in the face of the Empress Dowager.
Some officials didn't know, so they went to ask the Old Lady. After all, the Old Lady was a female general promoted by the Grand Empress Dowager, and she should know the Grand Empress Dowager's temperament.
The old lady Jun Man said: "As for your gift, I can't say anything, I am sending silver."
"silver?"
The old lady nodded, "Yes, silver is the most practical. As far as I know, the Empress Dowager is a very pragmatic person, and she doesn't like fancy gifts."
"In the past, gifts were always given in the form of silver. How much is appropriate?"
The old lady's eyes showed a cunning light, "If it's appropriate, any amount is appropriate. One penny is appropriate, one tael of silver is appropriate, one hundred taels is appropriate, and one thousand taels is even more appropriate."
"Understood, understood." The officials left one after another.
In addition to entertaining officials, he also entertained the wealthy people in Beijing.
The so-called wealthy people, of course, are not just those who open a store in Beijing. Only big families like the Hu family and the Liang family were invited.
Hu Huanxi set an example by sending 12,000 taels of silver to the Regent's Palace and was treated as a guest of honor.
As a result, fifteen thousand or twenty thousand people followed suit, hoping to become the guest of honor at the Regent's Palace.
Officials naturally did not dare to give too much. The old lady said that if it was more than one thousand taels of silver, there would be suspicion of corruption. After all, one thousand taels of silver was already a lot.
However, those who were affected were mostly those officials who had their own agenda. The truly incorruptible ones actually went with a chicken. Well, a generous gift, right? An extra basket of eggs.
Xiao Tuo got angry and refused to go to the wedding banquet, but Xiao Xiao dragged him over and scolded him as they went, "If others don't go, you should go too. Don't you know that the prince is helpless? Why are you also throwing a tantrum?"
Xiao Tuo said aggrievedly: "He should marry Xia Zian. Although I don't like Xia Zian very much, there is really no one else worthy of being the regent princess except her."
"You don't even know who the other person is, yet you dare to say this?" Xiao Xiao snorted.
"No one is worthy of her, except her." Xiao Tuo thought about it and was very unwilling. "Why would the Empress Dowager do this? What's the benefit of forcing the prince to get married? There are so many things going on in the capital now. Xia Huaijun has not been sentenced yet, and only an old lady died in the Prime Minister's Mansion. Are you going to give up?"
This zombie disease directed by the Prime Minister's Mansion has killed so many people. Xia Zian has also gone to sell salted duck eggs. Instead of handling the problem properly, the Prime Minister's Mansion asked the prince to get married. I don't know what that means.
"It's not that we won't deal with it. Aren't we dealing with it now? Is this the only crime Xia Huaijun committed?" Xiao Xiao said unhappily.
Xiao Tuo's expression improved a little, "Did you catch up with Chen Linglong? She took away the money from the prime minister's mansion. That was all Zi'an's. When Zi'an comes back, how are we going to explain to her?"
Xiao Xiao stopped and frowned at him, "Xiao Tuo, you are not young anymore, don't be so naive. Xia Zian will not come back, and you should not talk about Xia Zian in front of the prince. Everyone will be in a bad mood today, so just make do with it."
Xiao Tuo stopped talking, but he felt very depressed. He was looking forward to Xia Zian's return, no matter whether the chance of her survival was zero or high, but no one had found her body.
Well, it might be eaten by a big fish.
Officials from the Imperial Household and the Ministry of Rites have been running around very busy these past few days, receiving guests, accepting gifts, keeping records, and arranging matters. People from the Hu family arrived early, the tables and chairs for the banquet were arranged in advance, and big red lanterns were hung high, except for the noble concubine's side.
According to etiquette, colorful lanterns should also be hung in the courtyard of the noble concubine, after all, she is marrying a daughter-in-law.
However, the noble concubine told the people from the Ministry of Rites that someone had just died here and it was not time to hang red lanterns, so she drove the people from the Ministry of Rites out.
As a last resort, the people in charge of internal affairs had to post a piece of red paper on the big tree outside Qingning Pavilion as a token of good fortune.
Murong Jie was held down by the palace eunuch, and he put on makeup and changed his clothes. Everyone felt relieved to see the icy man who was originally dressed in black and looked gloomy turn into a red red envelope. It turned out that the prince was really handsome, and the red color and the icy face went well together.
The chief eunuch's voice was hoarse from shouting. He went in and out like a top, directing the guard of honor to the door to receive the guests.
The auspicious time is noon, and it is almost noon now. It was agreed before that the bride would arrive at noon, so the chief steward of the inner court was extremely nervous.
The strange thing about this wedding was that all the guests had solemn expressions instead of festive faces. Besides the bride, everyone was also waiting for the Empress Dowager.
Will she come
Of course, not so many people want her to come. After all, this old ancestor is very powerful. If he is unhappy, he will scold anyone he sees. Moreover, most of the people present are not so clean. They are afraid of being caught and scolded, and then they will have a bad life in the future.
Amidst all the chaos, a burst of firecrackers was heard outside the gate of the Prince Regent's Palace, and then the honor guard played "Phoenix Seeking the Phoenix".
The bride is here!
(End of this chapter)