The Empress Dowager's body is worth a fortune, so no matter how careful we are, it is never too much. Although she has gotten much better now, she is definitely not as healthy as before. She basically needs someone to support her when she gets up. So we directly assigned two female doctors from the Imperial Hospital to take care of her personally. The imperial physician would also come to the palace to check on her every day, and Xiaocao would also go to the palace to check on her every now and then. We all hoped that the Empress Dowager could recover better.
-After the empress dowager regained consciousness, she felt very regretful. She was already old, but she was still willful. Not only did she suffer, but she also implicated a lot of people. Other things were fine, but she pleaded with her son in a weak mood, and finally got the original few personal maids back. Emperor Xuanren did not mean to offend his own mother, but he gave two aunts in addition. He was the kind of person who would never indulge the empress dowager's willfulness, so the empress dowager silently accepted it.
When Xiaocao entered the palace again, Emperor Xuanren looked for her.
Xiaocao has always been a little lacking in emotional intelligence, but her IQ has always been top-notch. Moreover, as long as she is willing to think about something and connects more related content, she can basically get the answer, and it is the same now.
I understood Emperor Xuanren's intention and had no other thoughts except that I felt that the situation in the northern border was serious.
"It's still a little bit away from the condition before the injury, but still better than most people. Unless you stay up all night for several days and overuse your legs, there won't be any hindrance." Xiaocao said truthfully.
In fact, it is normal for a general to have injuries. Compared with those who are suffering from hidden injuries, Mu Bei's current condition is nothing. Those people can still lead troops to fight, let alone Mu Bei.
Emperor Xuanren understood what was going on, and he summoned Mu Bei the next day without hiding his intentions.
The mission of the Mu family is to guard the northern border. Mu Bei has always been loyal to the emperor and the country. He originally had some doubts as to whether his military power would be taken back because of his injury. Now it seems that Emperor Xuanren is indeed not the kind of emperor who would abandon his troops after they have served their purpose.
Northern Xinjiang might need him, so Mu Bei would naturally have no choice but to do it. Moreover, Mu Bei knew very well that this battle was crucial in order to ensure the stability of Northern Xinjiang for decades or even hundreds of years. Perhaps after this battle, Northern Xinjiang would no longer need the Mu family. But, wasn't that what the Mu family wanted? If they really got what they wanted, what would happen if they retired from the army and returned to the countryside
After leaving the government office, Mu Bei returned to the Prince of Dingbei's Mansion and told the old empress dowager about the matter.
The old concubine was silent for a moment, then nodded, "I will find a matchmaker to talk to the Fang family about this matter."
As Mu Bei was the only child of the Mu family, the old concubine had been hoping that he could get married and have children as soon as possible, so as to expand and continue the Mu family's bloodline. Now the emperor had asked him to get married early, and she should have been happy. However, when she thought of this reason, she couldn't cheer up.
The old concubine had been as brave as a man throughout her life. Not only did she know how much the Mu family had sacrificed for the Qi Dynasty, she herself had also sacrificed a lot, having experienced the loss of her father, husband, and son, and almost losing her only grandson. Although she was in a high position, it was also very sad. Could it be said that she had no regrets in her heart? That was impossible. It was just that she knew very well that the mission of the Mu family—even if this mission was imposed by the Mu family themselves—was also the mission of many people in the northern border. Therefore, no matter how sad and miserable she was, she would not stop the sons of the Mu family from going to the battlefield.
Mu Bei remained silent. How should he put it? He could understand his grandmother's thoughts. However, there was probably a feeling that the purpose of marrying a wife was to have children, which made Mu Bei inexplicably develop some resistance in his heart. His original wife Guangsi, although not in love with him, was also in tune with him. They worked together for their common aspirations, and it was natural for them to have children. But it was different now. Sometimes he even had the unrighteous idea of simply cutting off the Mu family's incense. However, it was just a thought after all, and he still had reason.
It would be great if the Mu family's mission could be accomplished here. Although Mu Bei, like his father and grandfather, believed that the Mu family's sons should stand in the Northern Frontier, for the ancestors of the Mu family, for the common people of the Northern Frontier, and for the land of Qi Dynasty, he still hoped that his descendants could have a stable life in his heart.
Maybe this time it can really be resolved.
After calming down, the old concubine said, "The wedding date has been moved up. Although there are reasons for it, Miss Fang has been wronged. The betrothal gift should be a little bit more generous. As long as the Fang family is not too much, we will help them if we can."
"As for the betrothal gifts, please let me take care of it. As for the rest, I know."
The Mu family is wealthy, so a few more betrothal gifts would only be a drop in the bucket.
This Miss Fang's father was the Shaoqing of Taifu Temple, a fourth-rank official, and she had an uncle who was a councilor in the local provincial government. Her family background was neither high nor low. Mu Bei, who had someone he loved, chose a wife purely for personal gain. Taifu Temple was in charge of the government of horse herding and was under the Ministry of War, so it was indeed linked to Mu Bei, a military general. The Fang family had needs in this regard, so it was natural for Mu Bei to facilitate their relationship within a certain range.
The old concubine found a matchmaker to go to the Fang family and vaguely explained the reason for getting married early.
To put it bluntly, Mu Bei might go to the battlefield soon, so he hopes he can get married before that. It would be even better if he could leave behind a bloodline, and Mu Bei would feel more at ease. After all, if something unexpected happens... Of course, it would be better if he could get through it safely.
The Fang family originally went for the wealth and connections of the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion. There were many people who wanted to marry into the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion and whose family status was higher than the Fang family. Many people felt that the Fang family was lucky to be chosen. Under the current circumstances, the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion wanted to complete the marriage in advance, so naturally they had no choice but to agree.
So things were settled quickly, just half a month later.
This matter quickly spread in the imperial city. Many people did not know the reason and thought that the old concubine was in trouble, so she got married in advance just in case. Of course, many officials quickly understood what was going on and sighed that the Mu family was indeed in the emperor's heart and was deeply trusted by the emperor.
However, only a handful of high-ranking officials knew about the all-out war with Liuqi. Although the people below had some guesses, they just thought it was no different from usual. They secretly felt that although the Pingjin Marquis's Mansion was not bad, it was still inferior to the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion. The Dingbei Prince was so good that he was ready to replace the Pingjin Marquis back without waiting for the normal rotation of guards. Tsk...
Of course, there were also people with keen senses who noticed something was wrong. Even if they trusted King Dingbei more, King Dingbei's original wedding date was only a few months later, so there seemed to be no need to rush. Therefore, it was very likely that the Northern Frontier...
Both the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion and the Fang family were actively preparing for the wedding. In fact, almost all the necessary preparations had been made. The only slightly troublesome thing was probably the wedding dress. After all, the wedding was originally scheduled for April, and now it was early November, with one spring and one winter. The original dress could not be used at all. The Dingbei County Prince's Mansion wanted to send an embroiderer to help, but the embroiderer from the Palace's Internal Affairs Department went directly to the Fang family. Naturally, the Fang family did not have the face to do so, but it was all because of Mu Bei. The Fang family was flattered and overjoyed.
—This can be considered as compensation given by Emperor Xuanren to Mu Bei.
Mu Bei went to the Fang family in person to propose marriage. Although the betrothal gift was not as generous as what Wei Tingyu had prepared before, it was still more than 99% of the families. Mu Bei's attitude was also respectful, which could be said to have given the Fang family enough face.
However, as a fourth-rank official with a son-in-law who was a super-rank prince, his attitude was quite good. Lord Fang, the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household Department, was beaming with joy. Many people who had originally not taken him seriously took the initiative to come forward and talk to him, complimenting him. Even Lord Fang's direct superior became more amiable and even hinted that he was old and it was time for him to retire and return home.
Lord Fang had always been ambitious, and now he became even more active. He felt that when his boss retired, the position of Minister of the Imperial Household would be his for sure. However, there is a saying that goes "Excessive joy leads to sorrow". Lord Fang originally wanted to go out for a drink with his colleagues after leaving the government office, and show off a little, but he was called back by his family, and the news he received was like a bolt from the blue...
The girl from the Fang family, the fiancée of Prince Dingbei, ran away the day after the engagement was made at the Prince Dingbei's mansion. She escaped from the marriage!
Lord Fang's eyes went dark and he almost fainted. "This evil girl, this evil girl—"
Mrs. Fang cried so much that her eyes were almost swollen like walnuts.
The Fang family was in a mess, but they dared not make it public. They just hoped to find the person and smooth things over.
"Find him, find him immediately, and bring him back!" Lord Fang was so eager to kill someone at this moment.
Mu Bei gave the Fang family enough face. Moreover, even the emperor had inquired about this marriage. The official wedding date was in a few days. If the bride-to-be ran away at this time, not only would it anger the Dingbei Prince's Mansion, the emperor would probably punish them directly. They had originally been in great glory, but in a blink of an eye, they might fall into the mud. Not only could Lord Fang not accept it, but no one in the Fang family could accept it.
"Mom, what happened to my little sister? Why would she do such a thing?"
Miss Fang's biological brother, who was not good at studying, used his connections to fill a not-so-small vacancy in the Jiucheng Military Department. Originally, after getting engaged to the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion, he had already made a three-level jump, and now it is a foregone conclusion. After that, at least before the fourth rank, he should be promoted quite quickly. Having tasted the sweetness, he was originally just average to his own sister, but now he has made a 180-degree turn and sent her all kinds of delicious and fun things. Now that his younger sister has done this, he is furious.
After Lord Fang calmed down at first, he finally calmed down and started to ask what was going on.
"Blame me, it's all my fault..." Mrs. Fang blamed herself very much, and then explained the whole process in a disjointed manner.
It turned out that before Miss Fang got engaged to Mu Bei, she had also been engaged in a marriage proposal. The partner was Mrs. Fang's nephew from her maternal side. It was a typical cousin marriage. But the court happened to promulgate a new law prohibiting marriage between collateral relatives within four generations. The marriage was about to be completed, but naturally it fell through when the law came out. Who would have thought that the cousins were actually deeply in love with each other.
That is a legal provision, and it is not the same as other things. Later, the old dowager of the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion wanted to find a granddaughter-in-law. Because the requirements for family background were not so high, the Fang family also became interested. Although they felt that there was little hope, they still tried to use their connections to get together.
I originally thought that the old concubine would find someone a little older so that the marriage could be earlier. After all, the Prince of Dingbei was not young anymore and the Prince of Dingbei's Mansion had no descendants. But those who were more suitable in age basically canceled their engagements due to heart rhythm, and there were always some troubles involved, especially emotional entanglements. After all, the separation between men and women was not so strict after the engagement. The old concubine simply found someone who had never been engaged and was a little younger so that she could wait patiently for another year or two. In the end, she didn't expect that she would be picked up by the Fang family.
Mrs. Fang knew what her daughter was thinking. After all, Miss Fang cried a lot after the marriage fell through. It was a foregone conclusion that the marriage would not happen. And for the Fang family, the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion was a great marriage that would make their ancestors' graves smoke with joy. Mrs. Fang tried her best to persuade her daughter to ignore the past events and that when she married into the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion, she would be the Princess of the County and many people would envy her.
Miss Fang was originally a very lively girl, but after getting engaged to Mu Bei, she became increasingly quiet. In the past year or so, in the first few months, she had proposed to break off the engagement with Prince Dingbei several times, but was suppressed by her mother. However, one time her father and brother found out about it, and they turned against her, scolded her severely, and made her kneel in the ancestral hall. After that, Miss Fang seemed to no longer resist, and studied hard what she was told to do. Originally, this was all good, after all, marrying into a prince's mansion was not like marrying into other families, and the mistress of the house needed to be able to support herself.
Who would have thought that although she seemed to have learned her lesson, and that was only to let her family members relax their vigilance, she was actually still in contact with her cousin in private. People have a rebellious mentality, and being forcibly separated made them look more like a pair of star-crossed lovebirds. The two had long planned to elope, leave home, and go outside. No one knew they were cousins, and no one stopped them from being together.
We had almost finished planning, but who knew the wedding date would be brought forward.
Miss Fang decided to go all out and used the excuse of burning incense to fulfill a vow. She was going out in a few days and it was not suitable to go out at this time, but Mrs. Fang could not resist her daughter's pleading and agreed. After she agreed, her daughter ran away.
When Mrs. Fang heard the news, she fainted on the spot. This happened on the second day after Prince Dingbei proposed marriage. Such a slap in the face was going to harm the entire Fang family!