The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

One morning a few days later, spring rain mixed with fine and dense coolness fell.

The eldest and second masters had already gone to the yamen, and the eldest and fifth young masters also went to school early.

The eldest master also hired a great scholar to stay at home for the eldest son, who could answer his questions and resolve his doubts while he was studying hard in the evening.

When the morning hour came, everyone gathered in Rongde Hall to pay their respects. Old Madam Shen was in a good mood today, so she invited everyone to have breakfast together.

Water chestnut cake, steamed buns, shrimp dumplings, custard cakes, red bean lava buns...a large table was filled with all kinds of breakfast.

The first wife, Mrs. Wang, and the third wife, Mrs. Tang, symbolically served the old lady the food and then sat down to eat.

He didn't talk while eating or sleeping, and the only sound in the hall was the occasional clatter of cutlery.

After the meal, Manager Li came to report that an imperial decree had arrived.

The old lady was also confused, so she led everyone to the outer courtyard in a hurry and opened the middle door. The angel in the palace opened the imperial edict and read it in a hoarse voice.

"The Empress Shufei decrees that Shen Jing, the third young lady of Ning'an Marquis's Mansion, who is gracious, generous, kind, honest, and of outstanding character and appearance, is now granted marriage to Qiao Zi'an, the third young master of Wu'an Marquis's Mansion. An auspicious date will be chosen for the wedding. This is decreed."

The one who announced the decree was the eunuch Xing Gonggong in the palace of Concubine Shu. He was very polite to everyone in the Ning'an Marquis's Mansion. After reading it, he asked, "Who is the third young lady? Please accept the decree and thank me."

Everyone then turned their attention to Shen Jing.

Today, Shen Jing was wearing a goose yellow silk dress embroidered with dark green chrysanthemum patterns and a jade hairpin on her head. She looked up at Eunuch Xing with a bright gaze and said nothing.

Seeing that Shen Jing didn't move, Wang pulled her over and took the imperial decree for her.

She signaled with her eyes to Nanny Wang to take Eunuch Xing downstairs to have some tea.

Eunuch Xing pinched the purse given by Nanny Wang in his sleeve, smiled with satisfaction, and said goodbye.

Shen Jing suddenly collapsed to the ground.

The third young master of the Wu'an Marquis's family was known to everyone in Kyoto. He was as smart as a three-year-old child, ugly in appearance, and especially cruel when he went mad.

Last year, she even beat to death her personal maid. How could such a person be worthy of being married?

The Third Madam, Mrs. Tang, always had the attitude of not getting involved. The Fifth Miss, Shen Chan, couldn't bear it and just as she was about to step forward, she was pulled away by the Third Madam by her sleeve.

The old lady looked at Shen Jing lying on the ground and sighed.

Although she is still in charge of the family, Wang has been increasingly disregarding her since the eldest maid became the Concubine Shu.

She knew that Wang was afraid of Aunt Lan and the eldest young master, but she didn't want to think about how the Ning'an Marquisate would gain a good reputation if the news of her concubine's daughter marrying a well-known idiot got out.

The several children born to her, Wang, were also criticized behind their backs.

It seems that she doesn't understand the principle that when one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers, all suffer.

Shen Baozhao recalled that in her previous life, Shen Jing had indeed married the idiot from the Wu'an Earl's Mansion, and lived like a widow.

Aunt Lan begged the master and the old lady, but it was useless. The imperial decree had been issued. There were few people in the world who could disobey it.

She felt some sympathy for Shen Jing, so she stepped forward, helped her up, and sent her back to Jinghaozhai.

After Eunuch Xing left, the news of the imperial edict had already spread throughout the Marquis's mansion.

When Bao Zhao sent Shen Jing back to Jinghaozhai, Aunt Lan was already waiting at the door.

Shen Jing is a concubine's daughter, and the specifications of the courtyard where she lives cannot be compared with that of Shen Yan.

But because the eldest master favored it, he got a nice courtyard, which was comparable to Baozhao's Zhaoming Garden.

Various flowers are planted inside, and when spring comes, the flowers bloom, which is very beautiful.

But at this moment, no one was in the mood to appreciate the scenery in the courtyard.

As soon as Shen Jing saw Aunt Lan, she burst into tears and shouted, "Aunt, what should I do?"

Aunt Lan was also very anxious at this time. She was just a concubine who won some favor from the master because of her appearance.

It is possible to do such things as whispering in Wang's ear to make things difficult for her and to seek benefits for her own children.

But it is probably impossible for the master to disobey the queen's order for her.

Seeing her daughter crying like a tearful baby, Aunt Lan felt heartbroken.

When Baozhao saw that the person had been sent, he said goodbye to Aunt Lan. After Aunt Lan thanked Baozhao, she closed the door of Jinghaozhai.

When the master was leaving the yamen, he heard his fellow officials congratulating him and asking for a glass of wedding wine. Only then did he learn the news.

He did not even sit in the sedan chair. Instead, he hurriedly untied the horse from the Ministry of Rites' stable and headed straight for the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion.

When he arrived at the gate, he dismounted easily, threw the whip to the gatekeeper, and rushed into Yuqing Garden like the wind.

Wang was resting on the chaise longue, leaning against a rose-shaped pillow. When she heard the little maid announce that the master had arrived, she wanted to get up.

Unexpectedly, the master came in quickly and slapped Wang on the head when he saw her, cursing, "Bitch."

Wang's face immediately became red and swollen, with a slap mark appearing on it, and tears immediately flowed out.

The master wanted to take action again, but was stopped by Nanny Wang who was standing beside him.

Although he was a scholar, he was also good at riding and archery. He immediately pushed Nanny Wang to the ground and kicked her.

When Wang saw that Nanny Wang had fainted, she went forward and started fighting with the eldest master.

The master did not expect Wang to dare to fight with him, and his face was scratched with several bloody marks.

This made him even more violent, and he started punching and kicking Wang. The maids and servants all came forward to hold him back.

As early as when the master kicked Nanny Wang, a smart maid ran to Rongde Hall to report the news.

So after the master calmed down, the old lady also arrived at Yuqing Garden.

The old lady looked at the mess in the room and was so angry that she fainted. Fortunately, the maid Yinqiao was smart and patted her back in time to relieve her pain, so she didn't faint.

"You two, come here." The old lady took them to Rongde Hall. When the old marquis heard what happened today, he also came to Rongde Hall.

The master and the mistress both knelt on the ground, neither of them was willing to give in to the other.

The old marquis stared at Wang with a sharp gaze and asked, "Did the second girl ask for the imperial decree from the Concubine Shu?"

Wang Shi remained silent, but the old marquis did not seem to want her to answer, so he continued, "Ask around in Kyoto, is there any family that loves their daughters and is willing to marry their good children to the third young master of the Qiao family?

Even if the child was born out of wedlock, the mother would not dare to act like this. Anyone who cares about the prosperity of the family would not dare to act like this. "

"How dare you ask for the Queen's order in order to prevent future troubles. Tomorrow, the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion will be the laughing stock of Kyoto."

"Do you think this is just San Ya's problem? If your own daughter behaves like this, think about how Qinghe Cui, who is engaged to Er Lang, will view our marriage?"

When Shen Jiemin was mentioned, Wang suddenly raised her head, with a look of regret on her face.

"That's right. Wasn't it because you fell in love with the daughter of Qinghe Cui that you forced the queen to issue an imperial decree?" the old marquis said sarcastically.

Wang looked at the old marquis with a pleading look on her face: "Father, what should we do now? Should we ask the queen to withdraw the imperial decree?"

"Fool, the imperial decree has been issued. If it can be easily revoked, who will take the queen's words seriously in the future?"

"You are trying to steal a chicken but end up losing the rice." The master said angrily.

The old marquis sighed, "Well, there is no other way for now. The third girl will have to get married.

But the dowry must not be too small. Your Majesty is now in the emperor's favor, and no more rumors in the Marquis' Mansion will make people laugh."

The old marquis thought of Shen Yan's wedding with the rooster. Yesterday in the restaurant, he met an official who was not on good terms with him and asked him if he wanted to eat chicken for lunch.

"Boss, please take three days off. Heal the wound on your face first."

The master gave Wang a fierce look and nodded.