Chapter 465
~ IT’S BETTER TO KISS EACH OTHER ~
In the Palace, the Sixth Princess, Huaiyang, cried beside the bed, and Xi Mama on the side was full of anxiety: “Sixth Princess, the auspicious hour is about to arrive. If you don’t change your wedding dress, I’m afraid it’ll be too late. If you miss the auspicious hour, it would be extremely unlucky.”
“Unlucky? Imperial Father was heartless. He actually allowed Qingwu to marry that ugly Zhang Wan. Is there anything more ominous than this?”
Xi Mama didn’t dare to make a sound.
When Imperial Concubine Li, the Sixth Princess’s mother, walked in and saw her appearance, she could not help but sigh. “Huaiyang, why don’t you get up and change your clothes?”
“Mother, this daughter’s heart is aggrieved. Didn’t that Zhang Wan take the initiative to end the engagement? Why did Imperial Father suddenly change his mind and insist on letting Qingwu marry her together?”
Imperial Concubine Li didn’t know how to explain it clearly, “Huaiyang, Zhang Wan and Su Qingwu were already engaged to begin with, but you suddenly interfered, causing their marriage to be disrupted. Otherwise, they would have already become husband and wife.”
“Qingwu doesn’t like that Zhang Wan at all, and he’s such a handsome young man. How could she possibly be worthy of him?”
“It’s already too late to say anything now. Your father’s decree has already been passed down. If you are not willing to serve with Zhang Wan, then I’ll risk my face and beg the Emperor to destroy this marriage.”
“No!” The Six Princesses hurriedly stood up, “Mother, I want to marry Su Qingwu. I like him. Even if there’s that stumbling block, Zhang Wan, I want to marry him.”
She had no way of disobeying her Imperial Father’s decree. She could only watch as Zhang Wan sat on equal footing with her, but once they reached the Su family, it was not necessarily who would win and who would lose! With her identity and methods, she didn’t believe that she couldn’t get rid of Zhangwan, the little daughter of Great Scholar’s residence.
“Since you’ve already decided, then hurry up and change into your phoenix coronet. Don’t delay the time to worship.”
Huaiyang was unwilling, but when he thought of Su Qingwu, she forced herself to keep her spirits up. After changing her clothes and entering the bridal sedan, she was escorted by the Palace maids and guards all the way to the Su family’s residence.
On both sides of the street, the commoners discuss with each other. “As the daughter of the Emperor, shouldn’t Princess Huaiyang establish her own Princess Palace? Just like the Grand Princess?”
“The Grand Princess has an incredible status, so naturally, no one else can compare to her. Furthermore, this Sixth Princess broke their relationship and forced herself to marry into the Su family. Didn’t you hear about the big ruckus that happened a while ago?”
“I had heard of it before, but this Sixth Princess really can’t think about who they can marry. She could marry a dignified prince, but she had to break the marriage of others. I heard that the one who was betrothed to the Su family’s Eldest Young Master was Miss Zhang from the Great Scholar’s residence. On the hunting grounds, Miss Zhang had suffered severe injuries in order to protect the Sixth Princess and even ruined her appearance. How could the princess be ruthless and snatch her husband too?”
“Then who is right? However, the Emperor also seems to be angry with the princess. Not only did he not build the princess’ mansion, he even set her wedding date so hastily. Look at this scene! Where does it look like marrying a princess?”
“It’s really complicated to understand. Forget it. Let’s just take a look at the excitement. I wonder if the Su family will give porridge today?”
After Ni Yun Fang took the lead, many merchants and famous people would always treat the commoners with porridge as long as they had a happy occasion. The commoners would then profit from this, and they would have a favorable impression of Ni Yun Fang.
“I guess it’s not enough. I had heard that the Second Madam had prepared silver coins to buy grains of rice and porridge when she was in charge of the family. However, the daughter of the Su family that had been married off had returned. She had used the silver coins originally used to make porridge to buy a wedding tent. In winter, the flowers withered, and the flowers and trees were decorated with various colors of wedding tents. From a distance, the trees were piled with blossoms and brocades, which made people amazed.”
“If you want me to say that it’s better to use that silver to make porridge...”
Mu Yunyao was leaning against the window as she flipped through the books. When she heard the sound of drums coming from outside, she couldn’t help but look out the window. “It’s quite lively today.”
“The Sixth Princess had someone deliver an invitation ahead of time, Miss. She said she wanted to invite Miss to the Su family’s residence for a banquet. Are you going?”
Mu Yunyao shook her head, “There’s nothing to look at, so I won’t be joining in on the fun.”
Liu Liang appeared at the door, a letter in hand. “Mistress, a letter is coming from Jiangnan.”
Mu Yunyao sat up straight, quickly opened the letter, and checked it. After she finished reading, her brows were tightly knitted together. “Where did you get this news from?”
“It came from Bu Xian Luo in Yangzhou City. At first, two salt merchants took fancy to one of Si Cha. They accidentally leaked the information about it during the dispute. Si Cha then asked slowly about it. It took her more than two months to get some information from them.
Mu Yunyao carefully read the letter’s contents before turning her head to instruct Jin Lan at the side. “Help me prepare clothes and a carriage. I want to make a trip to Yue Wang’s residence.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Within Yue Wang’s residence, Eunuch Cheng had sighed who knows how many times. His face was creased into a ball, and his only remaining eye was dim and lifeless, “Ai, how can there be such a coincidental thing in this world? The heavens don’t even have eyes. Can’t they pity our Wang Ye?”
Yu Heng sat at the side. “Eunuch Cheng, you said that Wang Ye and Miss Mu are related by blood. Can’t the two of them....”
Eunuch Cheng turned his head and glared at him, “What nonsense are you talking about? Aren’t things still uncertain? In addition, there were many cousins who were married. So what if it was an uncle and niece? In all seriousness, their blood relationship isn’t that close. It’s better for them to be closer.”
“Even so, Your Royal Highness and Miss Mu’s statuses are different. If those imperial historians have not grasped this opportunity to participate in the performance from the beginning, Jin Wang and Ling Wang will insist on it. They definitely use this opportunity to ruin Wang Ye’s reputation....”
Before the words were finished, a guard came to report: “Eunuch Cheng, Miss Mu is here and is getting off the carriage at the door.”
Eunuch Cheng swiftly stood up and turned around to walk quickly towards the study. “Wang Ye, Miss Mu has come. Do you want to change your clothes?”
The pen held by Yue Wang paused slightly before shaking his head. “Uncle Cheng, go prepare some refreshments and also bring two charcoal pots over. Yunyao is afraid of the cold.”
“Yes.”
Mu Yunyao followed Yu Heng into the study. They walked very fast along the way, and her breathing was slightly unstable.
Seeing her like this, Yue Wang immediately made her sit down, “Yunyao, what’s the matter?”
Seeing that Yu Heng and the others had already left, Mu Yunyao took out a letter from her sleeve. “Has Your Royal Highness received any news from Bu Xian Luo?”
Yue Wang opened the letter, and after reading the contents, his eyebrows tightened, “Jiangnan salt tax…the last salt tax incident is not over yet, and now they are doing something on the salt tax, why are they so unscrupulous?”
“People die for wealth, and birds die for food. Since the Emperor ascended the throne, the salt merchants in Jiangnan have been cleaned up once every few years. However, the salt tax is obscene, and private salt’s is still prohibited. But I didn’t expect that this time the storm came so fast.”