coobybook Chapter 108 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (12)
Chapter 108 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (12)
There were many rumors circulating privately, but fearing that it would touch upon the secrets of the palace, the matter was eventually dropped.
The Emperor took this matter very seriously and even made a special trip to the Empress Dowager's palace to ask her to pay close attention to it.
Lu Liruan has been having a very good time in the manor these past few days. Ever since her marriage to the Crown Prince was arranged, Lu Liruan feels that the people in the manor look at her like she's a giant panda.
"Father, it's not like I'm never coming back..."
"Nonsense! You better shut your mouth!" Marquis He'an scolded, his beard trembling.
It's quite a task for a marquis like him to personally devise what kind of dowry to prepare for his daughter's marriage.
Although marrying into the royal family, specifically a prince, doesn't officially require a dowry, the reality is quite different.
Most of the princes still live in the palace and do not have their own residences. This means that after marrying into the palace, they do not know when they will be able to leave the palace again.
In the palace, you can't move an inch without money. If even the ladies-in-waiting who serve the emperor have to go through this, then it goes without saying that the princes' wives have to go through this too.
The title of "Princess Consort" sounds prestigious, but with so many princes and princess consorts in the palace, anything becomes less precious when there's too much of it. This is the same principle.
To live a good life, one had to consider which prince caught the emperor's eye and was given important positions, and who had the wealth and money to spare.
The Crown Prince's loss of power is almost a foregone conclusion, and if his daughter marries into the family... sigh... Marquis He'an has to sigh three times in the middle of the night when he thinks about it.
The noise woke up Mr. Gao, who was standing nearby.
He then took the opportunity to instruct him that he must prepare well and absolutely not do it perfunctorily.
"Your Excellency's words are truly heartless. Over the years, has my Gao family ever mistreated any of your children?" Gao Shi retorted, annoyed by his nagging.
"I know that the lady is kind-hearted..."
"I have no children, and what happens to this Marquis's mansion in the future is none of my concern. I only want to live a comfortable and happy life in this world. I care about all three girls in the mansion equally."
“But what can we, as parents, do if we worry? Our daughters all have their own paths to walk.” Gao Shi turned around and comforted him as she heard him sighing.
“No girl in the Lu family has ever had a bad life. I think Li Ruan has her own ideas. You can put your mind at ease. You can worry about it when something really happens.”
Marquis He'an knew that his wife made sense, but that was just his personality. He lacked his own opinions, was easily influenced, loved to worry, and couldn't keep things to himself.
"It's better for you to live a few more years peacefully than anything else. If you're alive, the girls' lives will be more secure."
This statement convinced Marquis He'an to close his eyes and stop rambling on.
Exactly two days later, Lu Chengming, the eldest son of the Marquis of He'an, and Lu Cheng'an, the second son, returned to the mansion.
The Marquis of He'an's household has three sons. The eldest and second sons are 24 and 22 years old respectively, and they are born to the Marquis of He'an's first wife.
The eldest son passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, while the second son only passed the county-level examination and became a scholar. They then went into business together.
The second and third branches of the He'an Marquis's family looked down on them, largely because these men from respectable families were unwilling to travel with them.
Only the third young master, Lu Lijing, was still studying in the manor, having been sent by the Marquis of He'an to the renowned Jiangnan Academy.
Because of their substantial capital, all sorts of influential figures gave face to the Marquis of He'an's family. The Emperor also showed them favor. The two young masters were exceptionally gifted in business, and only the Marquis of He'an's family knew how much money they had made.
When Lu Liruan saw the mansion's tent, she felt like she was about to be crushed to death by mountains of gold and silver!
Upon returning to the capital from Jiangnan, the two men heard that their sister was to marry the Crown Prince and expressed the same concerns as their father.
None of the children in the Marquis of He'an's household were unattractive. Lu Chengming resembled the Marquis of He'an in his youth, a refined and romantic scholar. Unlike his father, however, he possessed a pair of charming and affectionate peach blossom eyes.
Lu Cheng'an, on the other hand, was tall and slender with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes; he looked more like a martial artist than a businessman.
"Why is Ruan Ruan doing this? Even if she doesn't marry a young man from the capital, she could marry a wealthy family in Jiangnan. Why..." Lu Cheng'an waved the scholar's fan in his hand, and when he sighed, his peach blossom eyes were full of affection.
Lu Cheng'an stood behind him, reached over his head, and snatched the fan away. The fresh breeze from the fan made Lu Liruan's hair flutter.
They wouldn't be staying in the capital for more than two days, until they left Lu Liruan's courtyard.
Lu Liruan stared blankly at the two hundred thousand silver notes in her hand.
The words echoed in my ears: "Ruan Ruan, spend it first..."
Should we spend it first?
I thought that a royal wedding would take at least half a year to prepare.
Lu Liruan was ready to enjoy a life of leisure in He'an Prefecture.
As a result of the emperor's decree, the wedding took place at the beginning of the following month.
Not only Lu Liruan, but also the entire court and the public were quite shocked.
Even if he wasn't the crown prince, ordinary princes in the royal family wouldn't get married in such a hasty and hasty manner.
However, the date calculated by the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs indicated that the beginning of next month would be an auspicious sign.
Thus, people in the court sensed the changing winds: after the Crown Prince's wedding, he would likely become the Third Prince!
The crown prince cannot be a disabled prince, but the emperor loves his son and is unwilling to depose him from the position of crown prince so soon.
Instead, they showed him this courtesy and allowed him to marry as a prince.
Therefore, this marriage should not be delayed for too long; it should be completed as soon as possible to put the court officials at ease.
Since the Crown Prince became disabled, some impatient or ulterior-motive ministers have tentatively offered their advice to the Emperor:
Without a crown prince, the country is insecure. I hope Your Majesty will consider a new crown prince soon.
While the Crown Prince's wedding was a grand affair in the previous dynasty, Ji Shumin's courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"It's like you're going to marry me in my place." Ji Shumin sat by the window, looking at the peach tree in the courtyard that hadn't yet budded, and sneered.
"Who will be crown prince? Who is it? Someone must be so excited they're getting boils and can't sleep at night..." Ji Shumin muttered to himself lightly.
“Your Highness, you…” A palace maid standing to one side with her hands hanging down looked at Ji Shumin’s fingers and nose, which were red from the cold, and wanted to close the window, but Ji Shumin stopped her by waving her hand.
"Did you dig a dog hole? I didn't expect my Crown Princess to be coming in to keep me company so soon." He rested his chin on his hand, his tone unreadable.
"This servant will have Xiao Xizi dig it up later," the palace maid said respectfully, without questioning her words at all.
"Okay, go ahead, you know what to do, right?"
"Yes." The palace maid curtsied and turned to leave.
The next day at court, the Crown Prince's marriage was no longer the focus of everyone's attention.
The Censor of the Censorate impeached the Second Prince Ji Shuling, accusing him of making drunken and outrageous remarks at a banquet in a restaurant, saying that after the Crown Prince was deposed, he would be the eldest prince in the court.
The meaning is self-explanatory.
Since the testimony was based on the Second Prince's words, the censor presented a list of testimonies from those who had drunk with the Second Prince that day. Each person signed and affixed their fingerprints to the list, and in order to keep it from the Second Prince, it was presented only to the Emperor.
The second prince defended himself in court, but the emperor was furious and did not listen to him. Instead, he ordered the prince to be confined to his palace to reflect on his actions.
The second prince wasn't the only one impeached...