Even Wen Renyang could sense that when Xiaocao said this, it was apparently a compliment, but in fact it was not the case at all. She had a really bad impression of the most talented woman in the imperial city. Logically, the two should have never had any direct contact, so where such a bad impression came from was somewhat puzzling.
Is it just because Hua Bochen likes Li Ruoshui? Probably not.
"Xuan'er has had contact with Miss Li before?" Han couldn't help but make such a guess.
"No, I know what you're thinking. I just don't like it."
"We haven't even met each other yet, so how can we talk about whether we like each other or not? Xuan'er, this is not like your personality."
Xiao Cao raised her lips and said, "There are tens of thousands of people in the world, but there is always that one person that I don't like from the bottom of my heart, even without any contact. That Miss Li is probably such a person to me."
"Okay, if you don't like it, then you don't like it. No one likes everyone, and not everyone can be liked by everyone." Han's words made the final decision, and he didn't ask any more questions, even though he felt that it was not that simple.
The reason why Xiaocao thought that this idea might be proposed by Li Ruoshui was just because she happened to know the "Feast of a Thousand Old Men". Since the Banquet of a Thousand Old Men had nothing to do with women, there were naturally no old women. Now that it was for the Queen Mother, it became a "Feast of a Thousand Old Men and Thousand Old Women", which was not surprising. Of course, this was not necessarily proposed by Li Ruoshui. It was possible that someone else in the Li family suddenly had such an idea. However, Li Ruoshui was able to steal other people's things and pretend to be a talented woman. She was not a person who did not seek fame. Therefore, if it was really proposed by her, outsiders would always know about it.
Just wait and see, one day you will know if it is her, and you won’t even have to ask specifically.
Among their family, there are more than one people who like Li Ruoshui's poems. However, liking poems does not mean that they like her as a person. Of course, they will not argue with Xiaocao just because she doesn't like him, and ask her to like him. They are not crazy fans, so they just say a few words about it and let it go.
On April 15th, the Ming family sent dowry to Prince Cheng's mansion. Not many people knew that the bride had been replaced, and most people still just thought that Ming Zeyue was marrying Prince Cheng. The previous commotion had become a joke. Ming Zeyue and Zhen Muyao had similar status in the upper circle, and their wedding days were only a few days apart, so they were inevitably compared. In terms of husband, Jian Shu was definitely not as good as Prince Cheng, and Zhen Muyao lost in this respect. Then of course it was the dowry, and Ming Zeyue should not be able to compare with Zhen Muyao. Although the Ming family's financial resources exceeded that of the Zhen family, that was the public wealth of the Ming family, and Madam Ming could not compare with Madam Zhen, so the subsidy for Ming Zeyue was not that much.
Therefore, Ming Zeyue's dowry should be relatively "humble" compared to Zhen Muyao's. The ones that are shown on the surface are okay, it's just so-so, it's just the farm, shops and houses, which are probably only half of Zhen Muyao's. In fact, if this is from the Ming family's private fortune, it is actually very generous. After all, she is marrying a prince, so it can't be considered ordinary.
The furniture is still made of two kinds of wood, two sets, but compared to Zhen Muyao's one set of golden nanmu and one set of red sandalwood, now there is only one set of black rosewood and one set of red rosewood. The difference is really huge.
Then, when the prince got married, there would definitely be a reward as the father. However, this reward would only be given to Prince Cheng and his wife after they married, not to Miss Ming before they got married. So the dowry only included the reward from Concubine Xian and the gift from Prince Heng. Compared to Zhen Muyao, who received the reward from the emperor and the queen mother, it was far inferior.
Although the box was not like Zhen Muyao's, where the lid was just a decoration, it was tightly closed. Ordinary onlookers had no idea what was going on. However, some experienced people estimated that there might not be many things in the box. After all, the person carrying the things looked very relaxed.
When the dowry was actually displayed at Prince Cheng's mansion, people were shocked. The number of loads was still 128, but the things inside were not just shabby compared to Zhen Muyao's, but really shabby. It seemed that many things were just cobbled together, and many looked to be inferior goods, which was quite embarrassing. What was even more incredible was that some boxes were filled with things but looked like they were empty. They were so loose that it would be better if they were not filled at all.
Prince Cheng had just opened his own palace, and this palace would not be presided over by his own parents. Except for him, although not all the others were servants, those who were not servants could not be considered masters. Therefore, the people who arranged his wedding included people from the Ministry of Rites, the chief historian of the palace and others, and the rest were royal relatives. Looking at such a shabby dowry, none of them dared to look at Prince Cheng's face.
In fact, some of them had seen Zhen Muyao's dowry. They had expected that even if it was not as good as Zhen Muyao's, it should not be too bad. However, now it was not even as good as that of an ordinary girl from the Ming family. Although the dowry represented the face of a married woman, the status of the married woman was also very important. When marrying some people, you had to add to it, and when marrying some people, you had to reduce it. Now that such a thing had happened, it was like a slap in the face of King Cheng.
Prince Cheng had this marriage because he surrendered to Prince Heng, so, did Prince Heng know about this? Did he know, or did he even want to remind Prince Cheng of his identity? How could Prince Heng be so stupid, so he probably didn't know. In this way, it was even more interesting, the Ming family was slapping Prince Heng and Concubine Xian in the face.
Would the Ming family do such a thing? Definitely not, so something must have happened.
Prince Cheng looked at the dowry list in his hand, then at the things in front of him, his face was so dark that ink could drip out, and he tore the dowry list into pieces in a few seconds, "Ming family, you are really good, really good." Then he turned around and walked away. He was so angry that even if he changed the bride, he might not welcome the bride or hold a wedding ceremony.
The person in charge of delivering the dowry was also extremely anxious at this moment, and hurriedly followed, "Your Highness, Your Highness, something has happened in the meantime, the items on the dowry list will definitely be delivered later, there will only be more..."
"Shut up. The dowry is for me? Do I want such a small thing?" It would have been fine if he hadn't said it, but after saying it, King Cheng felt that the Ming family was not only slapping him in the face, but also trampling on his dignity.
If there is a problem, can we send it back? Can we make up for it by sending it back and adding some things
Who did the Ming family think he was? Could he be sent away so easily
"Go back and tell the Minister of War that if you don't want your granddaughter, please ask him to carry all the things back home."
The person in charge of delivering the dowry felt dizzy and dark before his eyes. He looked at Prince Cheng walking away, thought for a moment, turned around quickly, hurriedly left Prince Cheng's mansion, and rushed back to the Ming family.
The Minister of War, Lord Ming, has already left the office. When the person in charge came in, there were people kneeling on the ground in front of the Minister of Justice. Among them was Ming Zhixin, who was going to get married tomorrow. In the middle was Ming Zeyue.
The Minister of War had a gloomy face. He went to the Ministry of War early this morning. The commander of the Northern Frontier had been replaced, and the person had already gone there. However, there were still many things to deal with afterwards. He had been very busy recently. His family was marrying off their granddaughter, and even if she was marrying a prince, he didn't need to take care of it. But when he returned home, before he could even catch his breath, they told him that such a big mess had occurred.
—All the antique calligraphy and paintings were smashed or burned, the cloth and leather were cut into pieces, dirty things were thrown into the medicinal materials, and all the jewelry was smashed.
All these things were done by Ming Zeyue who was imprisoned in the small Buddhist temple. He didn't know that his granddaughter would be so ruthless that she would not even care about the entire Ming family. Moreover, with so many people in the family, she could actually do such a big thing? And when he came back, he was even pulled out of the small Buddhist temple. Was he trying to tell him that his granddaughter was extremely capable, or that the Ming family was a bunch of good-for-nothings
The Minister of War slammed the teacup in his hand with a bang, causing everyone in the room to tremble three times.
In the middle, Ming Zeyue was kneeling straight, biting her tongue and saying that it had nothing to do with her if she died. She was not afraid at all. But now she couldn't help shaking a little, with fear in her eyes. But she still gritted her teeth with a bit of stubbornness.
“Master…” The person in charge of delivering the dowry didn’t want to speak at this moment, but Prince Cheng was delayed and the consequences would be disastrous, so he had no choice but to speak.
The Minister of War's tiger eyes swept over with deep anger, making people's calves tremble uncontrollably. "Speak."
The person in charge quickly repeated King Cheng's words.
This matter naturally cannot be left alone, otherwise there may be big troubles later. If it is just Prince Cheng, there is nothing to be afraid of, and if he is offended, then he is offended. However, Prince Cheng is the emperor's son. The emperor does not care about his son's marriage, but it does not mean that he will remain indifferent if it damages the reputation of the royal family. When he asks for punishment, how many people can bear it
The Minister of War quickly stood up and said, "Prepare the carriage and go to Prince Heng's mansion." It would not be enough for him to go alone to see Prince Cheng. Prince Heng must come with him. Prince Heng didn't know about this matter yet. If Prince Cheng got into trouble with him, then...
When the Minister of War arrived at Prince Heng's mansion, Prince Heng had already received the news and was furious. Therefore, when he met the Minister of War, his own grandfather, he was no longer as close and respectful as before.
However, now is not the time to get angry. Simply getting angry will not solve the problem.
He took a deep breath and asked, "Grandfather, what is going on?"
The Minister of War explained the general situation.
Prince Heng laughed sarcastically with a dark face, "Are so many people in the Ming family dead? Ming Zeyueshen did such a thing without anyone knowing? Grandfather wants to fool me too?"
"Your Majesty, after I returned home, I haven't had time to find out the truth. But shouldn't I appease Prince Cheng first before worrying about other things? After all, if the emperor is alarmed..."
If he alarmed his father, he would be in big trouble. Prince Heng understood.
"Someone, ask Concubine Kou to prepare a generous gift immediately." It seems that this time, a large sum of money will have to be shed.
Princess Heng is also a generous person. Ever since Concubine Kou came into the palace and showed different abilities, she taught her all the interpersonal relationships in Prince Heng's mansion. All she had to do was to give her the gift list for her to review in advance.
The real good things in Prince Heng's mansion are actually in Concubine Kou's private vault. This is agreed by Prince Heng and tacitly agreed by Concubine Heng. Therefore, if a real "generous gift" is to be prepared, only Concubine Kou can do it. Can outsiders think of this
To be honest, many treasures were earned by Concubine Kou. She naturally felt distressed when she took them out one by one. However, she also knew that these things nominally belonged to her, but in reality, she was just like an employee. Her boss was a hands-off boss, and all the things she worked hard for still belonged to her boss. Without Prince Heng, she would not be able to do many things. She was afraid that her stall would be snatched away or demolished before she could even get it set up. She told herself over and over again that these things were not hers, so she would not feel so bad.
Prince Heng and the Minister of War went to Prince Cheng's residence, but Prince Cheng did not put on airs and refused to see them.
However, there was no respect at all when treating King Heng at this moment, and the greetings were very perfunctory.
Prince Heng thought about his ninth brother's attitude towards him in the past, and he secretly hated the Ming family, especially Ming Zeyue. He was deeply annoyed. It had nothing to do with him, but he was asked to clean up the mess and be servile and smile to those who came to him for help. But what could he do? He could neither break up with the Ming family nor let his brother report the incident to his father.
She did not tell King Cheng the specific details. After all, she did not understand them clearly. Using this as an excuse would seem insincere. She only apologized and promised that the dowry would be his to use after it was replenished, and that she would also give him an additional sum of money in private.
It was obvious that Prince Cheng had no family background, but these things could not calm his anger. Then, Prince Heng had to grit his teeth and find him another virtuous concubine who would not disappoint Prince Cheng. He also promised several official positions to the concubines and maids who were about to enter the palace and had been pre-selected by Prince Cheng.
It must be said that this really made Prince Cheng excited. It's not that he didn't have ambitions, but his situation forced him to put them aside. Now, Prince Heng handed some things to him. Although it was not much, there was still a long way to go in the future, and it was unknown who would win.
Although accepting it would let King Heng know his intentions, but what could he do? Could he break up with him now? In the future? With their father's support, none of the brothers dared to do anything too extreme. What was there to be afraid of
So, Prince Heng tried his best to persuade Prince Cheng, who finally nodded in agreement reluctantly after he put on enough airs.