Chapter 73: To Marry (I)
Chapter 73: To Marry (I)
Cheng Yujin and Cheng Yuanjing walked side by side. Perhaps Cheng Yuanjing deliberately did so, but their pace was very slow. It took them a long time to walked over this section of the road.
When Cheng Yujin was finally back, the news about their meeting with the Emperor at the garden had been spread among the womenfolks.
Old Madam Cheng sat inside the praying room, looking over the door. Seeing Cheng Yujin coming in, she waved her hand quickly: “Eldest girl, come here.”
“Grandmother.” Cheng Yujin took the Old Madam’s hand and sat next to her. Old Madam Cheng didn’t care about outsiders’ presence and hurriedly questioning her: “You and your second sister went to the garden to enjoy plum blossom just now and happened to meet His Majesty?”
Cheng Yujin nodded. This was something she couldn’t hide from others, so she didn’t deny it. How to wrap it out to the public was up to Cheng Yuanjing and the Emperor, and she didn’t need to consider anything.
Old Madam Cheng clutched her chest and let out a long sigh. “You actually met His Majesty. Heaven! And His Majesty even condescended himself to ask about Huo family’s marquis title!”
Old Madam Zhai hadn’t left yet. In this situation, she couldn’t possibly ask whether or not Cheng Yujin had met Zhai Yanlin on the road. She hurriedly asked: “Is this true? What else did His Majesty say?”
Cheng Yujin carefully picked up what she could say, and calmly narrated the event. After listening, both Old Madam Cheng and Old Madam Zhai showed the same expression: “So the Emperor personally talked to him. No wonder Marchioness Jingyong was directly summoned by Empress Dowager right over.”
Empress Dowager Yang summoned cheng Yumo? Cheng Yujin didn’t know about this. She asked: “Second sister went to see Her Majesty?”
“Yes.” Old Madam Cheng nodded. She looked at Cheng Yujin with obvious regret. “You, too. If only you are back earlier. I asked the second young lady to wait for you, but you were so slow on the road. Huo Xue-shi couldn’t wait, so she took the second young lady and immediately went to see Her Majesty. If you come back a bit earlier, you could also touch Huo family’s blessing and had the honor to meet Empress Dowager.”
Cheng Yujin understood. No wonder Cheng Yuanjing walked so slowly. It turned out that he was helping her to avoid meeting with Empress Dowager Yang. Cheng Yujin didn’t regret missing this opportunity. On the contrary, she felt lucky. However, why Cheng Yuanjing didn’t want her to meet Empress Dowager Yang?
Perhaps, he didn’t want Empress Dowager to see her?
Cheng Yujin thought for a while, but couldn’t guess a plausible reason. Old Madam Cheng sighed in regret. But a missed opportunity was a missed opportunity. Since Cheng Yujin didn’t have this blessing, what could Old Madam Cheng do?
At this moment, even Old Madam Zhai couldn’t help sighing: “It has been a few years since Huo family’s marquis title was personally taken care of by the Emperor. His Majesty still remembers their family, and even stopped to talk about the past when meeting Marquis Huo in the garden. It can be seen that his impression was deeply rooted in His Majesty’s heart. Huo family probably is going to soar!”
Cheng Yujin inwardly said: You are overthinking, Huo Changyuan is nothing more than a shield, and the Emperor didn’t stop because of Huo family, but because he wanted to talk to his son.
However, this was the truth known only to a few people after all. In the eyes of outsiders, after the Emperor personally had a chat with Huo family’s couple, Huo Xue-shi and Cheng Yumo were summoned by Empress Dowager. It was natural for others to think that Jingyong Marquis Manor was about to soar to the sky.
…
When Cheng Yumo and Huo Xue-shi returned from Xiangji Temple, their face was full on unsuppressed triumphant. Huo Xue-shi was proud, and Cheng Yumo was equally basked in glories.
These things did not happen in the previous life. Cheng Yumo didn’t expect that in this life, Huo Changyuan developed faster and earlier. The Emperor actually began to value Huo Changyuan before the crown prince’s return. Cheng Yumo more and more felt that her fate was truly good, and gold shone wherever she went. This showed that her husband was truly capable. No matter who the master was, he would be appreciated.
Thinking this way, Cheng Yumo no longer cared much about the possibility that Cheng Yujin might become Duchess Cai. Her Brother Changyuan had such a good life. Missing him was definitely the worst thing that happened in Cheng Yujin’s life. Anyway, the biggest benefit had fallen into her own hands, so letting Cheng Yujin be a tiring and unrewarding second wife was nothing in comparison.
Everyone at Yichun marquis Manor was both happy and sour about this. They watched Huo family suddenly flourish, and there was a lot of attention. Huo Xue-shi and Cheng Yumo were sought after everywhere. As Huo family’s direct in-laws, Cheng family became more inferior by contrast.
In fact, Yichun Marquis Manor had always been inferior to Jingyong Marquis Manor, but it was not so obvious before. Seeing relatives were becoming more prosperous while they were still stuck in the same place was not pleasant. Qingfu Junzhu was sour with jealousy. On the other hand, the usually low-key Ruan-shi became incredibly proud.
Back from Xiangji Temple, the end of the year was coming very soon. The womenfolks were busy with New Year’s preparations that they had no time to take care of other things. At the end of the twelfth month, Qingfu Junzhu and Ruan-shi once again had a conflict.
As a matter of fact, Qingfu and Ruan-shi had always been incompatible with each other. But in the past, Qingfu was strong and domineering while Ruan-shi was timid and weak. Every time a conflict occurred, Ruan-shi backed off, so the situation in Yichun Marquis Manor’s inner courtyard was not particularly intense. But this time, Ruan-shi didn’t concede. Seeing that Ruan-shi dared to fight back, Qingfu blew up, and the minor conflict became a big one.
After Qingfu Junzhu returned from Shou’an Hall, she was so angry that she threw things in the room and fiercely scolded people. Qingfu’s dowry mama saw that Qingfu was too angry to sit down. Fearing that Qingfu’s anger would be uncontrollable, the mama hurriedly persuaded: “Madam, you are a dignified Junzhu, and soon will become a Marchioness. What is a woman from a small family compared with you? She has a low background, narrow knowledge, and has never seen the world. If Madam goes head over the head with her, isn’t it just lowering yourself?”
Although the mama didn’t say clearly, the ‘she’ in her mouth was clearly Ruan-shi. Qingfu allowed the mama to help her sit on the luohan couch, still upset: “Of course I know this. But I cannot stand her triumphant face.”
The dowry mama knelt on the side. Seeing Qingfu Junzhu’s emotion slowly calmed down, she asked: “Madam, what is it that makes you so angry?”