Lu Lin insisted on entering the palace to "thank the Emperor", and Lu Mingyu couldn't stop him, so she had to say: "When my father sees the Emperor, please don't mention the dowry."
Lu Lin nodded: "Don't worry, I won't mention a word."
Lu Lin did what he said and went to the palace to see Emperor Yongjia, never mentioning the amount of the dowry, but only opened his mouth to thank him.
Emperor Yongjia smiled and helped Lu Lin up: "I am very happy to bestow a marriage between your daughter and my son. The daughter you raised meticulously will be my daughter-in-law in the future. I should thank you for giving birth to a good daughter. "
Lu Lin immediately smiled and said, "I have to thank the Emperor for giving me your legitimate son as my son-in-law. With such a good son-in-law, I can wake up laughing even in my sleep."
The monarch and his ministers met and smiled, not to mention how harmonious and amicable.
At this moment, Eunuch Liu came to report respectfully: "Report to the Emperor, the Marquis of Guangping, and the Marquis of Puyang are asking to see you."
They all came to the palace to thank him.
Understandably, the Marquis of Puyang took advantage of the situation, but what was to be seen was whether the proud Marquis of Guangping can bear today's humiliation. The marriage proposals sent by the three princes, and the gifts they gave to the Meng family, the Marquis of Guangping got the least.
Lu Lin's eyes flashed, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
After a while, the Marquis of Guangping and the Marquis of Puyang entered the Wenhua Hall together.
The Marquis of Puyang had a flushed face, and his eyes flashed with contentment. He rushed forward in three steps and took two steps. He smiled and cupped his hands.
The Marquis of Puyang was beaming with joy, and Emperor Yongjia also felt relieved. He smiled and patted Marquis Puyang on the shoulder: "Girl Yu is the one who I watched grow up, and she matches the appearance of Ah Xian very well. I am also very satisfied with this marriage."
Puyang Marquis grinned and glanced at Xingyang Prince and Guangping Marquis intentionally or unintentionally.
After being suppressed for several years, he could only rank third among the generals, and the Marquis of Puyang was always unconvinced. Today, he finally turned over completely and raised his eyebrows.
Lu Lin remained calm.
The anger in Guangpinghou's heart was surging.
Three royal princes' betrothal gifts were sent together, with the legitimate prince having more attendants, while the princes born of concubines had fewer attendants, which was understandable. But why was the Zhao family given an extra round of gifts?
After all this back and forth, it's the Meng family that ends up the most disadvantaged!
The Royal Family can't bully people like this!
The Marquis of Guangping suppressed the anger in his heart and stepped forward to thank the Emperor.
Emperor Yongjia also smiled and helped the Marquis of Guangping up, and he had to praise the daughter of the Meng family.
After getting up, the Marquis of Guangping said: "I have one more thing, I want to discuss with the Emperor. The Fourth Prince is younger, let's say it will take a year or two to get married. The Second Prince and the Third Prince are both sixteen this year, and they will soon be married. But I respectfully ask the Emperor not to set the wedding date on the same day."
Emperor Yongjia was stunned for a moment and subconsciously responded: "The two brothers getting married on the same day, it is lively and festive. Why don't you want to?"
Lu Lin gave the Marquis Guangping a thumbs up in his heart.
Sure enough, the Marquis Guangping explained sincerely: "This is what this minister thinks. The Second Prince is a legitimate son, and the etiquette of his getting married should be higher than the Third prince."
"However, when I marry my daughter, I also hope that my daughter will have a happy and lively marriage. I don't want her to be compared and pointed at on this happiest day of her life. This minister also has a piece of loving heart as a father. I request the Emperor to please fulfill this request."
Lu Lin took the opportunity to agree: "The Marquis of Guangping is right. The minister also thinks that marrying a daughter is a great event, and it is not suitable to be compared with others or to be laughed at. It is better not to choose the same date as the wedding date."
Emperor Yongjia: "..."
No one mentioned the dowry, but every sentence was referring to something else.
Even with Emperor Yongjia's deep scheming and thick-skinned nature, he still felt a burning sensation on his face.
Regarding this matter handled by Empress Dowager Zhao, even this filial son felt a bit ashamed to face his future in-laws.
The Marquis of Puyang was not a fool either, as soon as he heard the words, he knew something was wrong. Immediately smiled and said: "Xingyang King, Guangping Marquis, please listen to me. The wedding of the princes is the happiest event in the palace. When the wedding date is set, how to arrange the wedding, the Ministry of Rites has regulations. The Queen Mother and the Empress in the harem must also have ideas. The Emperor must discuss with the Queen mother before making a decision."
He just opened his mouth and pressed them with Queen Mother Zhao.
Marquis Guangping had always looked down on Marquis Puyang's sycophantic behavior towards Empress Dowager. So he replied without a smile: "What the Marquis of Puyang said is not unreasonable. The Second Prince is the legitimate son, and the Empress is the most concerned. The Empress Dowager cherishes the Fourth Prince, and will never treat the Fourth Prince badly. As for the Third Prince, the Emperor must have some pity."
Emperor Yongjia coughed: "That's natural. They are all my sons, and I treat them equally, and there is no difference between them."
Lu Lin glanced at Emperor Yongjia: "The emperor's love for the princes is just like any other father in the world. Whether legitimate or concubine-born, all of them are his own sons."
Emperor Yongjia: "..."
Fine!
He might as well just shut up!
…
King Xingyang and the rest left the palace and returned to the mansion after thanking the Emperor.
Emperor Yongjia was no longer in the mood to read the memorial, so he lifted his foot and went to the Jiaofang Hall first, accusing Empress Qiao with an unhappy face: "...How did you prepare the gifts for the marriage proposal? They were of varying quality, causing our future in-laws to feel dissatisfied and come to the palace together. It made me lose face!"
Empress Qiao was also full of anger, not only did not apologize, but sneered: "I also want to ask the Emperor, chénqiè's (1) son is the legitimate son, and the proportion of the Prince's dowry should be higher than the Imperial Princes who are concubine born. Is it wrong? If they are all equal, then I want to ask Your Majesty, what did you rely on when you inherited the Li family's legacy back then?"
Emperor Yongjia was stabbed in the lung, and his temples twitched in anger.
Over the years, Empress Qiao had always been a virtuous and generous wife, willing to endure Concubine Meng and Concubine Qin. Even if she looked down on Su Zhaorong, she only said a few harsh words, and she did not treat her harshly.
Emperor Yongjia was partial to the eldest prince, and the Empress did not say much.
Never thought that for the marriage of the Second Prince today, the Empress was so tough and rude.
Emperor Yongjia glared at each other: "Qiao shi, how dare you talk to me like this!"
Empress Qiao straightened her waist and looked at Emperor Yongjia: "The Emperor knows whether chénqiè is right or not. In this matter, chénqiè is not at fault from the beginning to the end. Whoever is wrong, the emperor should go and see them. The Emperor came to the Jiaofang Palace to get angry and blamed chénqiè for no reason. Please forgive but chénqiè is not convinced."
"You..." Emperor Yongjia was furious: "You scoundrel! How dare you speak ill of the Empress Dowager! You are unfilial!"
Empress Qiao had a cold expression on her face: 'I don't know what more I need to do to be considered filial. I don't know to what extent the Empress Mother wants to favor her own family. I also don't know what exactly the Emperor wants me to do to be satisfied. The Emperor should be clear and straightforward so that I won't be foolish and unaware of my mistakes.'
Emperor Yongjia's nose was crooked.
Husband and wife for many years, Empress Qiao was always virtuous and tolerant.
This was the first time they had engaged in such a sharp exchange of words.
1. This is the way the wife/consort/concubine of an Emperor refers to themselves.
T/N Woo hoo, all hail the Empress. She is perhaps the most wronged female character in the novel so far. It is time to attack this whole scum family.