Chapter 288 A Surprising Choice for the Expectant Princess

This was also a coincidence. Since Empress Jiang tried carrot and stick approaches to get that pill from Qiu Yelan in Mount Dizi, Qiu Yelan had never seen her again.

Empress Jiang was annoyed and thought Qiu Yelan didn’t know how to behave, so Empress Jiang never called her again.

But now Madame Zhuang Junior came personally, “I heard the Palace is looking for wives for the Princes. Zhuang Man is just the right age. You know her. Even though she is a bit short-tempered, her look and her bearing are all great among the young ladies. We are a family so I’ll cut to the chase. I’ve heard that Prince of Lu is kind and gentle. I bet he can tolerate her little temper!”

Because not so long ago, Prince of Qi was nearly forced to kill himself, she then guaranteed, “Zhuang Man knows what she should and shouldn’t do. She also wants to find a tolerant husband to live a comfortable life!”

She was the sister of Jiang Yashuang and his sister-in-law. Now that she asked, even though Qiu Yelan suspected that if she went to ask the Empress, Zhuang Man might just get knocked out directly. Qiu Yelan had to agree to ask. She couldn’t tell Madame Zhuang Junior, “You are the daughter-in-law of the first branch and are distant by the Empress, so you don’t dare to ask the Empress yourself. But I have talked back to the Empress and shown her a long face!”

The next morning she went into the Palace. Empress Jiang didn’t put a long face but told her calmly, “The day before yesterday, Madame s.h.i.+ came. She came for her maiden cousin and said she was also kind and nice. You guys are making this difficult for me!”

Qiu Yelan didn’t know whether Madame s.h.i.+ came or not and didn’t know whether what the Empress said was true or not. But since she said so, Qiu Yelan could only stand up and apologize.

When she came back with nothing, Madame Zhuang Junior was already waiting in her residence.

Hearing Qiu Yelan say that this couldn’t work, Madame Zhuang Junior felt sorry about it and she naturally asked why. When she heard that Madame s.h.i.+ went earlier and recommended her maiden cousin, Madame Zhuang Junior thought Zhuang Man wouldn’t be chosen either. After all, Madame s.h.i.+’s son just died. People would naturally pity her.

However, out of everyone’s surprise, the wife of Prince of Lu was not Madame s.h.i.+ Junior!

It was Tao Yibin!

“I guess Madame sent someone to talk to Her Majesty.” Hearing this news, Madame s.h.i.+ was disappointed, “After all, she is Her Majesty’s relative. Even though the Tao Family is declining these years, as long as Madame is still alive, they will get all the good!”

Before she entered the Palace, she thought the Empress would surely grant her ask.

The s.h.i.+ Family had been in the government for four generations. Even though they didn’t have a high-ranking official, they did have some level four and five officials. Her cousin was a legitimate daughter with a good look and personality. Even though she would marry a Prince who was destined to be in the background, she was still a possible match.

Besides, Jiang Jingzhui just died. Everyone in the Jiang Family had been extra careful with her these days.

Empress Jiang was kind to her then but she didn’t say for sure. According to her tone, Madame s.h.i.+ thought she agreed. Now it turned out it wasn’t her cousin. She didn’t dare to say anything to blame the Empress, but she couldn’t help having some feelings inside.

The servants persuaded her, “There are three Princes who are marrying this time! Prince of Lu is marrying a young lady from the Tao Family, but there still are Prince of Cai and Prince of Wei! Prince of Cai’s mother is a maid of n.o.ble Consort Gu. Maybe Her Majesty couldn’t decide for her. But Prince of Wei’s mother is a maid who has always been serving Her Majesty!”

Madame s.h.i.+ agreed. The s.h.i.+ Family wanted the glory of having a Princess. They didn’t care whom their daughter married. It didn’t have to be Prince of Lu. The only reason why they aimed for Prince of Lu was that he was the eldest and the best-looking.

“Princess of Wei is also fine!” Madame s.h.i.+ was in a better mood, “Prince of Wei’s mother, Zhaoyi Miao, has a higher rank than Prince of Lu and Prince of Cai’s mothers! Even though Prince of Wei is younger than Prince of Lu and Prince of Cai, he is more prestigious than both of them!”

However, she was. .h.i.t again a couple of days later!

First of all, because of Empress Dowager Gu’s interference, Princess of Cai was decided to marry Duan Qun’s niece, Duan Wenji.

Then finally, the new Princess of Wei was the niece of the new Chief Minister Lian Jianhai, w.a.n.g Qingqian!

“How is that happening?!” Madame s.h.i.+ couldn’t sit still after hearing this news. She immediately sent someone to ask around, “Not Princess of Cai, fine. Now Princess of Wei is Madame w.a.n.g who no one has heard of? Chief Minister is lower level five and he just took this position! If the niece is from his father’s side, it’s fine. It’s from his mother’s side?! They only mentioned this Madame w.a.n.g’s uncle not her father. I guess her father is not even an official. How can someone like this marry into the royal family?!”

After asking around, she suspected Qiu Yelan, “I’ve never heard of this w.a.n.g Qingqian. I wonder how aunt learned about her. Turns out it was Qiu Yelan!!! w.a.n.g Qingqian is the daughter of a Juren from Lanxi! And that Juren died before they announced it! The fourth branch is impressive! They managed to give someone like her to a Prince!!!”

The servant said carefully, “I’ve asked around in Beijue Hall. They said when the nineteenth madame came that day, she did mention the choice of Princess of Lu to Her Majesty, but she mentioned Miss Zhuang.”

Qiu Yelan was acquainted with Nijin. Madame s.h.i.+ who had married into the Jiang Family way earlier than her also had her own eyes around the Empress.

But at the moment, she didn’t believe what this person said, “Who is Princess of Lu now? Is it Zhuang Man?!”

The servant didn’t know what to say.

“If we talk about age, I’m her sister-in-law! If seniority, I married into this family ten years earlier than her!” Madame s.h.i.+ got more furious when thinking about it more, “I’ve never offended her. Yet she humiliated me like this!”

If Madame s.h.i.+ recommended her cousin to the Empress after Qiu Yelan, it would be fine. Yet Qiu Yelan went into the Palace after her. How could Madame s.h.i.+ not suspect that Qiu Yelan took her cousin’s chance, relying on her husband as he was favored by the Empress?

She was not happy because her son died. Now thinking about this matter, Madame s.h.i.+ was angry and hated Qiu Yelan. She fell ill on that day!

However, Qiu Yelan didn’t know this. When she heard Madame s.h.i.+ was ill, she naturally went to visit.

Madame s.h.i.+ was angry just by looking at her. But she also couldn’t debate about such a matter. She could only go around and be sarcastic, “I heard your cousin is the Princess of Wei now? What a surprise! I’ve never heard you have such a cousin. I guess she is really a perfect person. Otherwise, how can aunt choose her? How come you hide her and never let us meet her?”

When the choice of Princess came out, Madame s.h.i.+ fell ill. Qiu Yelan didn’t think her illness was tied to this choice.

She just thought Madame s.h.i.+ went into the Palace to ask the Empress to make her cousin Princess of Lu. Now Princess of Lu was Tao Yibin, so Madame s.h.i.+ should hate the Tao Family and there was nothing to do with her.

Yet she didn’t think in Madame s.h.i.+’s logic, she was the one to blame. So she didn’t think twice about what Madame s.h.i.+ said, “I’m surprised about it, too! My cousin is from my grandmother’s maiden family. She used to study with me and Sheng s.h.i.+shui in Madam Shao’s school. She is very cute. My uncle is looking for a marriage for her. Yet we never thought we’d be so lucky!”

Madame s.h.i.+ saw Qiu Yelan in a good mood. Of course, she was. Her cousin married high unexpectedly. Her husband was of a n.o.ble-born yet didn’t have a temper. It was said that Zhaoyi Miao pushed this marriage. As w.a.n.g Qingqian’s elder cousin, she was naturally happy.

But in Madame s.h.i.+’s eyes, she was clearly showing off. Therefore, when Qiu Yelan left, she gritted her teeth, punching the bed and swearing, “There’s no way I’ll let your cousin marry Prince of Wei! Not over my dead body!”

Madame s.h.i.+ was actually not the only one who suspected that Qiu Yelan said she was recommending Zhuang Man but went into the Palace to sell her cousin, w.a.n.g Qingqian. For example, the Zhuang Family.

After all, Madame Zhuang Junior went to see Qiu Yelan in person, yet in the end, Zhuang Man didn’t get to marry any Prince. This w.a.n.g Qingqian whom no one had heard of became the Princess of Wei!

Luckily, after hearing the news, Jiang Yashuang went to his uncle’s home and explained it, “Yelan didn’t know this before. She was surprised when she heard it too!”

If he only said that, the Zhuang Family might say they believed him but actually didn’t.

So Jiang Yashuang directly told them the main point, “It’s not strange if you think about it. This time, Zhaoyi Miao begged my aunt for the choice of Princess of Wei. It’s really because of the Jiang Family’s scandal. What happened with Prince of Qi really scared Zhaoyi Miao!”

Zhuang Mo was clever. After hearing that, he immediately understood, “Zhuang Man is known for being quite perky. With what happened to Prince of Qi before, no wonder Zhaoyi Miao didn’t dare to choose her. The s.h.i.+ Family’s girl is said to be nice and kind, yet she is a young lady raised by a prestigious household after all. She is also the cousin of Marquess Qin’s eldest legitimate grandson’s wife. If she’s only pretending to be kind, then it will hurt Prince of Wei. Miss w.a.n.g is the best choice!”

His wife Madame Ai didn’t quite understand it. She asked anxiously, “I know why Zhuang Man and Miss s.h.i.+ didn’t get chosen. But why Miss w.a.n.g is the best? We’ve never heard of this person before.” There were tons of nieces of level five officials in Jing City. There were also many who were relatives of the Jiang Family. Why w.a.n.g Qingqian?

“You are…” Hearing that, Zhuang Mo was speechless. He shook his head and said, “Just think about it. Miss w.a.n.g is an only child with no siblings. Her father was made Juren after he died. With this background, any normal people will be on their tiptoes every day. Let alone a Prince. Most importantly, her father died early. She grew up with her mother in her maiden family. Even if Lian Jianhai felt sorry for them and saw her as his own child, she still lived in someone else’s home! With this experience, how will she have any temper? Will Zhaoyi Miao still worry that Prince of Wei will be bullied by his wife?”

He then said, “Besides, who’s Miss w.a.n.g’s cousin? Qiu Yelan! Miss w.a.n.g is of low born, but she can use Qiu Yelan’s power! There’s no outsider here, so I can say this honestly. From the point of the Jiang Family, Miss s.h.i.+ is the cousin of Marquess Qin’s eldest legitimate son’s wife. This is higher than Qiu Yelan’s status. But in front of Her Majesty, how can Jiang Yaqing compare to Jiang Yashuang? And Jiang Yashuang is known for loving his wife. Zhaoyi Miao asked Miss w.a.n.g to be the wife of Prince of Wei. Besides the fact that she is of low born, but actually, she didn’t take any fewer advantages!”

Madame Ai finally understood. She was angry with Jiang Qiyun, “It’s all her…” Before she could finish the sentence, she saw Jiang Yashuang was still here, so she stopped because of him. She just sighed and said disappointedly, “Since Zhuang Man is not lucky enough to be a Princess, we’ll find her someone else then!”

When the Zhuang Family and the s.h.i.+ Family were so disappointed, the Lian Family was torn by this surprise. When the Lian Family had a Minister, which was the most prestigious time for them, they never had anyone who married into the royal family. Old Princess Lian only married a Prince who had a different surname from the Emperor.

w.a.n.g Qingqian now had such a good chance. Even though she was not from the Lian Family, they did watch her grow up and she was more emotionally inclined to the Lian Family than the w.a.n.g Family. The Lian Family was genuinely happy for her.

But aside from that, they had a very realistic problem: the dowry!