As the music played, everyone also got up to relax, greeted each other, and whispered to each other. The King also got up to change his clothes. He was walking on the pathway lined with honeysuckle flowers, and suddenly saw a goose yellow handkerchief sticking out above the flower bushes.
He curiously picked it up and took a sniff, a faint fragrance refreshing his heart and mind. Upon closer inspection, he saw a small orchid embroidered on the corner of the handkerchief, with the word "Yi" next to it. The Prince of Xian chuckled: "Whose girl lost her handkerchief carelessly? I shall go tease her!" And he tucked the handkerchief into his sleeve.
He took two more steps forward and met a young lady in a bright red dress coming towards him. She looked nervous and was searching for something. She was looking around and not paying attention, and accidentally bumped into Xianwang.
"The Prince of Xian is here to atone!" The woman recognized the Prince of Xian and quickly bowed.
The Prince of Xian smiled gently and asked, "Are you looking for something, young lady?"
"I am Zhao Jiayi, Your Highness. I lost my handkerchief just now and was searching for it when I accidentally offended you." Zhao Jiayi looked shyly at the Prince of Xian, then quickly lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly.
Prince Xian felt a move in his heart, slowly took out a piece of white handkerchief embroidered with water grass patterns from his bosom and handed it to her, saying, "Miss Zhao, take a look, is this the one you lost?"
As soon as Zhao Jiayi saw it, she guessed Xian's intention, and took it with surprise and shyness, laughing with two small dimples. She nodded and said, "It is indeed, thank you, Your Highness, for finding it for me. I am the second Miss of the Kangding Marquis's Mansion, so I should call you 'cousin'...if there is a chance, I will definitely repay Your Highness."
Miss Zhao bid farewell to Prince Xian with a three-step bow.
Prince Xian took out a yellow handkerchief from his pocket and said to himself with a smile, "Miss Zhao from the Marquis of Kangding's Mansion!" He then put the handkerchief to his nose and thought of what Concubine Ji had said.
Yesterday he entered the palace to pay respects to Concubine Ji, who informed him that at the birthday banquet, she planned to ask the emperor to betroth the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Kangding to the Prince Xian as his concubine, in order to bring the Marquis of Kangding under her control.
Today, by such a coincidence, he met the Second Miss of Kangding Marquis Mansion, who had two dimples.
When Concubine Ji saw the Prince coming back and sitting down from afar, she took advantage of the pause in the singing and dancing to say to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, among the gifts I received today, there are three that are most pleasing to me. Your Majesty must reward me well for them."
The emperor chuckled, "That is natural."
Before the consort could speak, the emperor announced the entry of Prince Duan into the hall, "Prince Duan, the Listening to Rain Pavilion you presented is highly favored by me and also greatly loved by the consort. I want to reward you generously, what kind of reward do you... want?"
The concubine resented in her heart: originally, she was going to first reward the magistrate of Yuxian and then bestow the daughter of the magistrate of Yuxian to the Prince Duan as his concubine. Then she would reward the Prince Xian and bestow the eldest daughter of the Marquis Kangding to the Prince Xian as his side concubine. And when it came to the Prince Duan, she would casually give some rewards. But now the Emperor has messed up the order!
Listening to Lord Duan kneel on one knee and bow to the ground, he said loudly, "Thank you, Father Emperor, and Graceful Empress! Gold and silver official positions, land and houses are not what I, the son, desire. If you wish to reward me, I have a request: please grant me marriage to Miss Cheng Haitang, the eldest daughter of General Cheng!"
Today, the emperor was in a tender moment with the noble concubine, and he was pleased to see his 19-year-old son, who was still alone, find his true love. Without much thought, he readily agreed, saying, "Good! It's rare that you can remember a girl's name so clearly. Since your gift today has pleased Noble Concubine Ji, I will grant your wish! Guo Kuan. Cheng Hai Tang, the eldest daughter of Cheng Yu, is gentle, virtuous, humble, and respectful. She is bestowed upon Prince Duan, Xie Rui, as his primary consort."
When Cheng Haitang heard this, although she had already guessed that Duke Yuan would make such a request, she didn't expect the Emperor to agree so readily, without even asking for an explanation. She quickly stood up from her seat and knelt beside Xie Ruinang, both of them kowtowing to thank the Emperor and Noble Consort.
The empress dowager almost spit out the old blood directly on the face of the prince.
The emperor welcomed the prince into the palace with great enthusiasm: "Prince Xian, the ruby headpiece you presented, ‘Acacia Rain,’ is also very much to my liking. Since your third brother is being granted a queen, what reward would you like?"
"Thank you, Father Emperor, and Your Highness Consort for your grace!" The Prince Xian said, and Consort Guxi nodded weakly, signaling him to speak directly.
"Your son requests the title of Marquis of Kangding... and that Miss Zhao Jiayi be appointed as his Consort." The Prince Xian did not look at Consort Guxi, but instead glanced at Miss Zhao who was sitting upright at the side table.
The Empress Dowager does not want to live anymore! Although Zhao Jiayi is also a lady from the Kangding Marquis's mansion, she is a concubine-born daughter. Although the Marquis's main wife passed away early, the Emperor specially allowed him to take concubines and treated them as equal wives, can she still be compared to the legitimate daughter Zhao Jiamin, born of Princess Yayun? Forget it! After all, she is not the biological child, it is normal for a mother and child to have different minds.
Xu Wanping and Du Yunmo standing beside him also caught a glimpse of Zhao Jiayi when they saw the King Xian insist on inviting the girl to the mansion every time at the banquet. They thought to themselves: the King Xian never changes his stubborn ways, he always insists on bringing the girl to the mansion. Next time, I won't come!
The emperor, unaware of their secret plan, just laughed heartily and said, "Very well! You are indeed lacking a side consort, as you wish. Guo Kuan, bestow upon Zhao Jiayi, the second daughter of the Marquis of Kangding, as a side consort to the Xian Prince!"
Zhao Jiayi walked quickly towards Xian Wang with a pleasant surprise, exchanged a secret smile with him, and then both knelt down to pay their respects. Sitting at the side, Xian Wang's official cousin, Miss Zhao, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't like her cousin Xian Wang, who enjoyed having multiple wives and mistresses.
As the emperor glanced at Lady Ji, he noticed she was a bit unhappy. He thought to himself, "Did I give too little reward to the son of the Xian Wang? If the birthday star is unhappy, that won't do, it needs to be compensated." The emperor gently patted the Lady's hand and whispered, "I won't shortchange your son."
After finishing, the emperor added, "Prince Xian, stay for a moment. Today is Concubine Ji's birthday. You have always been filial to your mother, so I will also bestow upon you the daughter of County Magistrate Yu Zhihuan, Yu Yanrong, to be your wife." The emperor looked at Concubine Ji with satisfaction.
Yan Rong was overjoyed, and quickly stood up, walking over to the Prince Xian. Prince Xian saw that she was beautiful, and did not resist, so the two of them happily expressed their gratitude.
Lady Ji once again felt the deep generation gap between her and the Emperor. After all, she was sixteen years older than him, she couldn't deny it...
After this night, some people vomited blood, some people laughed, some people were happy, and some people were sad!
Tonight, Duke Duan didn't jump out of the window, he openly sent Haitang back to the mansion. "Haitang, you are finally going to marry me!" Duke Duan tightly held onto Haitang's hand outside the second gate and refused to let go.
Next to Cheng Hanbai, who was scratching his head awkwardly, said: "This... the wedding hasn't taken place yet, and it's not convenient for the Cheng Family to accommodate you. Your Highness, please bear with it and leave for now!"
Duan Wang laughed heartily, released Haitang, and bowed to Cheng Hanbai: "Yes, brother-in-law, you are right! "
The crabapple tree lifted up its frost, turned its head and ran towards the second gate, and in the blink of an eye, two girls laughed and ran far away.
Prince Duan rode on his horse and thought: I need to go remind the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to quickly select a suitable date...
Lingfeng followed behind and thought: Finally, someone is going to take charge of my lifelong event...