"… Your Majesty, this is what happened. Look at our An Rou, her eyes are swollen from crying, and Pei Che is simply ungrateful. Your Majesty, please help An Rou vent her anger."
Emperor Liang Ping was sitting in the palace reading a book, but he heard a young eunuch come to report that Concubine Xian and An Rou wanted to see him. He ordered the young eunuch to bring them in, but unexpectedly, Concubine Xian brought An Rou and complained to him as soon as she came in.
"Wait, you mean, An Rou secretly left the palace these days to look for Pei Che, but he didn't want to marry her, so she came back crying? This is ridiculous! Concubine Xian, I let you be the head of the palace. If you can't do it well, you might as well give this palace to someone else." Emperor Liang Ping was very angry. Could it be that the daughter of the royal family couldn't get married? She actually ran to someone else's house.
Although he also knew that since the late emperor's decree, the princesses had fewer choices. Especially those heirs of aristocratic families, they all avoided him as much as possible. After all, compared with the title of Princess Shang, everyone could tell which was more important.
But, there are still many good men. How can a princess sneak out of the palace to find a husband on her own
Concubine Xian only wanted to quickly promote the marriage between the two, but forgot her role in it. After hearing what Emperor Liang Ping said, she was frightened and her face turned pale. She lowered her head guiltily to avoid being discovered by Emperor Liang Ping.
"Father, please stop scolding my virtuous mother. It was me who ran away secretly, and my virtuous mother didn't know about it." An Rou's eyes were red, and she guiltily admitted her mistake to Emperor Liang Ping. If she hadn't run away secretly, none of this would have happened.
Emperor Liang Ping sighed in frustration, but he was ultimately defeated by her pitiful appearance. He called her to his side, patted her head, and said, "My son, don't worry. Your father will definitely choose a satisfactory consort for you, who will definitely be better than Pei Che!"
Seeing that Princess Anrou still lowered her head, he added: "Don't worry, father will vent your anger. When his family's petition for a title is submitted, father will definitely withhold it for a few months and teach him a lesson for being blind! By the way, which Pei family is he from?" In the mind of Emperor Liang Ping, unless the princess was the heir who was to inherit the title, no one else had any reason to refuse a princess.
"Your Majesty," Concubine Xian seized the opportunity and spoke aggrievedly, "Pei Che is from the Duke Zhong's Mansion, but he is not an adopted son. The current Duke Zhong is clearly his second uncle."
"The Duke of Zhongguo's Mansion?" Emperor Liang Ping paused, his expression becoming subtle. "He is from the Duke of Zhongguo's Mansion, the son of Pei Shijie?"
There were quite a few families with the surname Pei in Liangjing. When Emperor Liang Ping first heard this name, he didn't connect him with the Duke Zhongguo's Mansion at all.
"Yes, he is the son of the late master. The current heir of the Pei family is Pei Shiyuan, and his wife is my half-sister. They have two sons and one daughter. How could Pei Che inherit the title?"
"I see." The corners of Emperor Liang Ping's mouth rose, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "An Rou, don't worry. Since he is not an heir, father will definitely give him to you as a consort."
An Rou didn't know why he changed his mind. Hearing him say that, she felt a little uneasy. Pei Che's attitude towards her was very obvious. Did she really want to marry him for revenge
Emperor Liang Ping did not notice her expression. At this moment, his mind was completely focused on the name Pei Shijie. The former prince was famous and handsome. People of similar age had been compared to him by their elders. Even the late emperor valued his talent very much. He not only often mentioned him in front of them, but also wanted to marry the princess to him.
Unfortunately, Pei Shijie fell in love with Feng Anxue at first sight and vowed to marry her. The grand occasion of the marriage of a talented man and a beautiful woman is still talked about by the people of Liangjing today.
No one knew that the Third Prince at that time, now Emperor Ping of Liang, was also obsessed with this talented woman who was famous in the capital. However, he already had a princess at that time, and the daughter of the Feng family would never be allowed to become the concubine of someone else, even if he was a prince.
In addition, Pei Shijie later became friends with the fourth prince at that time. The fourth prince was his opponent. If the Duke Zhongguo Mansion represented by Pei Shijie and his in-laws, the Feng family, came out to support him, it would be hard to say who would take the supreme position.
Fortunately, God opened his eyes. Eight years ago, Pei Shijie suddenly died outside. Once this great threat was eliminated, the power of the fourth brother collapsed immediately, and he naturally ascended to the throne.
Now, Pei Che has provoked An Rou, and he is determined to make Pei Che be controlled by the royal family for the rest of his life, so that Pei Shijie will not be able to rest in peace even in his grave.
"Announce, Pei Che from the Duke Zhong's Mansion is coming to the palace to meet you!"
Early in the morning, a eunuch came to the Duke Zhong's mansion to announce the imperial edict. When they had prepared everything and knelt down to listen to the imperial edict, they only heard these words.
Pei Shiyuan and Li Yijia didn't get enough rest yesterday, so the old lady called them into the room and scolded them harshly. The two dared to be angry but didn't dare to say anything. Although they were the masters of the Pei family, they still stood there and let her scold them. Now that the imperial edict came, the two looked at each other and couldn't help but show some joy. They knew that since the virtuous concubine had set her mind on something, it would not be so easy to give up.
Pei Che stood up to receive the order. Although he didn't know why the emperor suddenly summoned him to the palace, he could guess a little. He had planned to apologize to Jiang Miao today, but it seemed that he couldn't go.
The carriage was waiting outside. Pei Che followed the eunuch who announced the imperial decree into the palace, but he was left outside the imperial study and was not summoned for a long time. Pei Che knew that the emperor was trying to intimidate him, so he just stood outside and waited, not daring to show any impatience.
After standing there for about half an hour, a young eunuch finally came out and led him in.
"I, Pei Che, pay my respects to His Majesty. Long live the Emperor!" Pei Che saluted meticulously with a standard posture that was impeccable.
"You are Pei Che. You are indeed a good-looking man. No wonder the emperor favors you so much. Get up." Emperor Liang Ping looked at Pei Che, but his words were full of sarcasm. It must be said that men from the royal family are indeed mediocre in appearance.
"I bow to thank you for your grace." Pei Che stood up neither humbly nor arrogantly, and did not respond to Emperor Liang Ping's comments on his appearance.
"Do you know why I summoned you to the palace today?"
"Then I will say it clearly," Emperor Liang Ping paused deliberately, "I want you to be An Rou's consort, are you willing?"
"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty and Princess, but I am humble and unworthy, and I am afraid I cannot bear the responsibility." Pei Che declined.
"Why do you have to belittle yourself? Since the princess likes you, it means you must have some good points. Or do you look down on Princess Anrou?" Emperor Liang Ping's tone became dangerous, and he stared at Pei Che with an unfriendly look.
"I dare not, but I already have someone in my heart. This is really unfair to the princess. I believe that the emperor will be able to find a good and devoted husband for the princess." Pei Che didn't understand why the emperor insisted on forcing him. Didn't he care about the princess's future happiness
"I heard from the princess that the person you like is a hawker selling steamed buns?" Emperor Liang Ping smiled, thinking that this excuse was extremely poor.
"That's right. He is kind and honest, hardworking and willing to work. I think he is a good person." The words had already been spoken, and there was naturally no room for maneuver. Pei Che could only bite the bullet and continue making up stories.
Seeing that he was still stubborn, Emperor Liang Ping did not get angry. He just raised his hand and asked someone to present two pre-prepared imperial edicts: "In this case, I have two imperial edicts here. One is to grant a marriage between you and Princess Anrou, and the other is to grant a marriage between you and that peddler. Which one do you plan to choose?" He had expected that this kid would not give in easily.
Pei Che was outwitted by him and fell into a dilemma, and suddenly fell silent.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, Emperor Liang Ping was immediately very happy. He thought it would be good to torture him for a while longer, so he didn't continue to force him. Instead, he said kindly: "I think you may not be able to make a decision for a while. Let me give you a day. Go back and think about it carefully. At this time tomorrow, you come to the palace and tell me your choice."
Pei Che cupped his hands and spoke with difficulty: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I will take my leave."
“Che’er, is the emperor summoning you into the palace this time to punish you for the princess’s matter?” Grandmother Pei’s heart skipped a beat when she saw her grandson coming back in a daze. All sorts of tortures suddenly emerged in her mind.
"Grandmother, the emperor did not punish me." Pei Che shook his head. Before Grandmother Pei could feel relieved, he continued, "The emperor only gave me two choices. One, let me marry the princess."
"That won't work!" Grandmother Pei objected immediately. "If there hadn't been the late emperor's decree, it would have been fine. But you're going to inherit the title of Duke in the future, so how can you marry a princess? What other choice did he give you?"
Pei Che paused and said, "Please forgive me, grandma. Yesterday, in a desperate situation, I told the princess that I would rather be with a man than marry her. When the emperor knew about this, he issued an imperial decree, requiring me to marry that man. This is the second option."
"What? This is simply too much! He is clearly forcing you to marry the princess! It's all because of those two beasts. Come, call the second son and his wife over. I want them to go to the palace in person to explain everything and ask the emperor to revoke his decision!" Grandmother Pei was furious and immediately sent someone to call Pei Shiyuan and Li Yijia.
The two of them were still a little confused when they came over. After they heard clearly, Li Yijia immediately shouted, "Mother, no, the emperor has already issued an order, how can he easily take it back? In my opinion, why not let Che'er marry the princess? The princess is precious and is a perfect match for Che'er. Isn't this a happy thing for everyone?"
"Shut up, you vicious woman!" Grandmother Pei glared at her fiercely, "What do you mean everyone is happy? Why don't you let Pei Min marry the princess?"
Li Yijia said awkwardly: "Isn't it that the princess doesn't like Min'er?"
"Then how did the princess fall in love with Che'er? You vicious woman, in order to frame Che'er, you even used your own daughter. If you hadn't aroused the princess's interest, how could she suddenly come to find Che'er?" Grandmother Pei confirmed this matter after asking Pei Ya Shi. Only that time, when Pei Che went to the eldest princess's backyard, was it possible for the princess to see him. In previous palace banquets, men and women were always separated.
Li Yijia didn't expect that their plan was guessed by the old lady, and she was speechless for a moment.
Pei Shiyuan said: "Mother, now that things have come to this, the best way is to let Cheer marry the princess. If he disobeys the order, he will surely anger the emperor, and then disaster will come, and the whole family will suffer. As for the position of the crown prince, I promise that after Cheer and the princess give birth to a child, I will return the position of the crown prince to that child."
Such shameless words made Grandmother Pei tremble with anger. Pei Che also took a deep breath, looked at his second uncle whom he once trusted with complicated eyes, stepped forward to support Grandmother and help her calm down.
After catching her breath, Grandmother Pei looked at the two people below with smug looks and sneered, "You can resist this decree, but have you forgotten that there is still a red-lettered iron certificate in the mansion?"
Pei Shiyuan's face changed color: "Mother, no! This red book and iron certificate was obtained by our ancestors when they accompanied Taizu to conquer the world. All crimes except treason can be pardoned for future generations. How can it be used for this!" This thing is a life-saving talisman and must be passed down to benefit future generations.
(End of this chapter)