Chapter 947: Twists and Turns
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Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Wei Zi knew.
Matriarch Yu had to order someone to give more than half of the incense, medicinal tea, and other items that the Yu Residence had given in return to the heir.
The things that the Heir usually ate were gradually changed to incense and medicinal tea made by Eldest Miss Yu. After using them often, he experienced the benefits. Gradually, he was used to them.
The Matriarch had used this method to silently fill the Heir’s daily life with
Eldest Miss Yu’s bits and pieces, making her a figure that could not be ignored. Old Madam Song, who had been holding back her words for many years, revealed them as if she had spilled beans. “Yao Yao is such a good child. She’s just like her mother. She’s a bright person. She’s good-looking, and her personality isn’t as rigid and boring as ordinary young misses. At a glance, she’s lively and pure. She’s neither biased nor arrogant, and she makes people happy. If Mingzhao really takes a fancy to her, how can he not like her?”
Wei Zixin thought to herself, “The Matriarch really knows the heir well. She doesn’t take him seriously. For the sake of Princess Shaoyi, he’s even willing to risk it.’
“We’re already waiting to see what happens. How can it change again and again?!” The more Old Madam Song thought about it, the more upset she felt. She slapped her thigh in anger. “Old Madam Yu stomped her feet and left just like that. There was no explanation for Yao Yao’s marriage. I knew that there were still twists and turns in this marriage. As expected, the Imperial Court conferred another t.i.tle to Princess Yao Yao again.”
Wei Zi couldn’t help but sigh in her heart. She felt that it was a pity. Things were indeed unpredictable.
The Old Madam rambled on until her mouth was dry. She picked up the tea on the table and finished it in one gulp. “At that time, 1 was thinking that after Little Yao’er observed mourning for the Old Madam for a year, at most, I would give up my dignity and exchange letters with Old Yu while he’s still alive. 1 would personally make a trip to the Yu Residence and look for Eldest Master Yu. I would personally propose this marriage for Mingzhao to fulfill his wishes.’
She and Old Yu had originally planned this marriage. Although they did not mention it explicitly in their letters, they had still expressed their intentions. Naturally, Eldest Master Yu could not go against his mother’s wishes.
This marriage could also work.
“At that time, if the palace asks, I’ll stiffen my scalp and say that when Old
Madam Yu was still around, the two families had already exchanged tokens. The big matter of marriage emphasizes the orders of parents and matchmakers. Even if the palace has other plans for Princess Shaoyi’s marriage, we can’t ignore family ties and surpa.s.s Old Madam Yu, her grandmother!”
Yao Yao was still in mourning, so it wasn’t appropriate for her to talk about marriage.
Others couldn’t mention this, especially the Zhenguo Marquis Residence, who was a family friend. In addition, Yao Yao was still young and wasn’t in a hurry to get engaged. At the very least, she had to wait for the one-year mourning period to pa.s.s.
Unexpectedly, this delay caused another variable.
Yao Yao had also been conferred the t.i.tle of the eldest princess. With the t.i.tle of the Eldest Princess, she could be considered to have been fixed on the ancestral plate of the imperial family. It was so important. How could the Imperial Family let her marry into another family?!
The husband of the “Eldest Princess” was not called her husband. That was called the “Junma’ and it was arranged by the royal family.
As Old Madam Song spoke, she couldn’t help but wipe her tears. “Ever since we were young, our Mingzhao has only asked for me this time. However, his grandmother is useless. I wonder how upset he’ll feel when he hears this news!”
For Yao Yao, Mingzhao had even abandoned his bright future in the capital and gone to Quanzhou to suffer.
At this moment, Quanzhou had been sealed off for a few months because of the j.a.panese pirates. The family had only received a letter from Mingzhao.
The lacquer seal on the family letter was made by the family.
As soon as the family received the letter, they knew that this letter had been opened before being sent to the capital.
It was not wrong for the government to have the right to read the letters exchanged at the courier station.
However, if Quanzhou was under martial law only because of the j.a.panese pirates, it was unlikely that even letters from county magistrates would be controlled.
Even if the letters were controlled, it wasn’t to the extent that after the letter was opened, it was sealed back to its original state, as if they were afraid that others would know that this letter had been secretly opened.
The family letter only reported that he was safe and mentioned a little about his recent situation in Dehua. However, the abnormality revealed by the “lacquer seal” only meant that Song Mingzhao’s words and actions in
Quanzhou were monitored by someone.
The Zhenguo Marquis Residence was shocked.
From the information obtained by various parties, they guessed that there were variables in Quanzhou. The Jiazhou Residence was not honest, and it was probably related to Concubine Lan in the palace and the person in the south.
The family only knew that Mingzhao was still safe for the time being, so they did not dare to probe further.
The more Old Madam Song cried, the sadder she became. “What should we do…
A few days ago, after the reward from the palace was sent to Liaodong, there were rumors that the Empress had given Eldest Princess Shaoyi something from her private vault. At that time, she felt that something was amiss. Now that the matter of the seal had been exposed, what else did she not understand?!
However, the Empress had taken a fancy to Yao Yao’s current reputation as a virtuous person. She had also taken a fancy to Yao Yao’s status as the eldest child of the first wife, which matched the Fourth Prince. In addition, she had taken a fancy to the Yu Clan, which had a huge impact on the struggle for the throne behind Yao Yao. She had also taken a fancy to Yao Yao’s maternal family, the Xie Residence, which was as rich as a country.
The Empress Dowager understood this. With the addition of the seal, she stabilized the North, promoted national policy, and warned the Empress and the Fourth Prince, as well as the radicals who were involved in the struggle for the throne.
It seemed that she had already made arrangements for Eldest Princess Shaoyi’s marriage. Even if the Zhenguo Marquis Residence had ten heads, they could not push their way through!
“MV poor Minezhao…’! Old Madam Song couldn’t help but wail.
Yu Youyao did not care much about the people in the capital. The next morning, she brought Auntie Xu to the Xie Residence next door and explained some etiquette and details of what to wear.
Just as it was loam, Eunuch Li brought the emperor’s carriage to the Xie Residence with great fanfare.
The Xie Residence was a merchant’s residence, so they couldn’t invite Eunuch Li into the residence to welcome him.
Old Master Xie brought the old and young people of the residence and knelt outside the residence to welcome them.
Eunuch Li went up the steps and stood at the entrance of the Xie Residence.
Looking down from above, he read out the Empress Dowager’s commendation doc.u.ment for the Xie Residence and gave them many tributes from the palace.
After the commendation doc.u.ment was read, Eunuch Li and Old Master Xie exchanged a few pleasantries.
Old Master Xie quickly handed over the gift that he had prepared and ordered someone to send it to Eunuch Li’s carriage.
After receiving the thank-you gift, Eunuch I-fi t s smile became a little more sincere. “The Empress Dowager has awarded the Bai Residence with something else. We still have official matters to attend to, so we’ll leave first.”
Old Master Xie quickly said, “Eunuch, you’ve worked hard.”
Then, he called out Xie Xun’s name and asked him to accompany Eunuch Li.
Eunuch Li’s smile deepened as he agreed happily.
The Bai Residence was also a merchant family, but their family was not as well-mannered as the family of the Eldest Princess. They were afraid that if the Bai Residence offended Eunuch Li, Eunuch Li would not be happy.
Old Master Xie chose Xie Xun to facilitate the interaction. It couldn’t be better.
This matter was done well. Eunuch Li was proud and naturally happy to see this happen..