Chapter 246: Chapter 247 - Prince of Zhao Choosing His Wife

The next day when Jinguo Grand Princess arrived at the temporary palace, Empress Su said first before she could mention this matter, “Jinguo, you’ve come just at the right moment. I want to ask for your advice!”

Without giving Jinguo Grand Princess the chance to speak, she sent her subordinates to take some portraits, “Prince of Zhao has grown up. It’s time to discuss his marriage. These days I’ve been looking for girls from several families for him, but I cannot make a choice, so I haven’t told him yet. Can you give me some advice? “

Hearing this, Jinguo Grand Princess was noncommittal. She only took these portraits and looked at them one by one. The girls in the portraits are either pretty, childish but graceful, or cherubic. The names and official positions of their fathers and brothers were written at the bottom of their portraits. In terms of appearance and family background, they were indeed the perfect candidates for the Princess Consort. Obviously, they were not picked up on a temporary basis. She softened the expression on her face and said, “The girls chosen by you are all quite outstanding. I’m not sure which one to choose. Why don’t you let Prince of Zhao make up his own mind? After all, he is the one who will live with the chosen girl in the future.”

She knew that Empress Su did it because she had guessed why she came here. Empress Su may have really planned to drag her into the mire by taking advantage of Nie Wuying. However, as long as Prince of Zhao stopped pestering Nie Wuying, Jinguo Grand Princess didn’t want to pursue the matter further. Therefore, after getting the empress’s euphemistic reassurance, she chatted with her casually and then left.

After returning to the side yard, Jinguo Grand Princess deliberately summoned her two foster daughters and said, “I heard a piece of news when I entered the palace just now. Empress Su is arranging a marriage for Prince of Zhao, and the candidate is almost settled. If you want to present gifts to him as his peers, you can prepare now.”

Pei Yourui naturally expressed nothing after hearing this. She just said, “Is it suitable for me to send a gift for such a happy event?”

She said it because she was worried that she was still in mourning for her father.

“It doesn’t matter.” Jinguo Grand Princess said to her while glancing at Nie Wuying from the corner of her eyes. The girl was stunned, and then quickly lowered her head. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly as if she was going to cry. The heart of Jinguo Grand Princess sank, but her face showed no visible sign of emotion. She only said with a smile, “You said it was a happy event, so there is no taboo.”

“I’ll discuss what to send with Yixiao!” Before the voice of Jinguo Grand Princess had died away, Nie Wuying suddenly said this quickly. Without waiting for her answer, she quickly turned around and ran out. The unexpected circumstance surprised both Jinguo Grand Princess and Pei Yourui!

Pei Yourui subconsciously looked up. Jinguo Grand Princess’s face was blushed with anger for a long time. Then she said with a forced smile, “She learned Zhezhi Dance (two people hidden in the lotus props dance together when the flowers were in bloom) from Yixiao for some time in the past, and thus they get on very well. No matter what happened, she would ask Yixiao for advice. I can do nothing with her.”

“They are congenial. As the saying goes, birds of the same kind live together.” Of course, Pei Yourui knew the inside story, but she didn’t intend to reveal it. Therefore, she responded wisely, and then took her leave.

As soon as she left, Jinguo Grand Princess ordered her maids, “Go and see where Wuying has gone.”

Nie Wuying, of course, didn’t go to find Song Yixiao. She chose a path with few people and went to a quiet place. She squatted down and buried her face in the sleeves, crying bitterly for a while. Then she sobbed for a long time before she stopped her sad voice. She was in low spirits, staring blankly, and after a while she finally planned to go back. Unexpectedly, a handkerchief was handed to her over her head, which almost scared her to the ground. She raised her eyes in amazement, only to see Jinguo Grand Princess. She did not know when she came here, and now the princess was looking at her quietly.

“Is it because you are my foster mother?” Nie Wuying was already in a stable mood, but when the princess looked at her, she suddenly felt uncomfortable. She took the handkerchief. She neither got up nor wiped her tears. Instead, she began to shed tears again. After a long time, she whispered, “If I were a commandery princess, the empress would not choose a wife for Prince of Zhao when she heard Prince of Zhao made a willow hat for me. And you would not go to the palace immediately after hearing that I wore the willow hat he made for me. Right? “

The face of Jinguo Grand Princess turned pale in a moment. She composed herself and said in a dry voice, “No. It is because that Prince of Zhao has participated in the fight for the throne. His future is uncertain. How can I let my beloved daughter take risks with him? The empress is afraid of offending me, so she hurried to choose a wife for him, “

Nie Wuying didn’t make a sound for a while after hearing this. After a long time, she stood up, and said lightly, “I see”

She wiped her face with the handkerchief that Jinguo Grand Princess gave her, and suddenly said, “Why are you in favor of Xubai who follows the Crown Prince? Aren’t you afraid that he will be dragged into the mire if the Crown Prince fails? “

“Your brother has no alternative,” Jinguo Grand Princess explained laboriously. Before she could finish her words, Nie Wuying had already turned around and left. Looking at her daughter’s back, Jinguo Grand Princess had mixed feelings in her heart and stood in the same place for a long time before she left.

When she came back to the back hall, she saw that Song Yixiao was waiting for her. She frowned slightly and said, “As for the matter of Wuying, I have a card up my sleeve. You don’t need to worry about it!”

Hearing this, Song Yixiao knew that her mother-in-law was in a bad mood because she had failed to separate the lovers. She quickly said, “Mother, I forgot to tell you something yesterday. Xubai thinks that Wuying is also at the age of marriage. Since Yourui and Helou cannot be brought together, why don’t you let Wuying have a try? “

“Xubai appreciates Helou very much, so it can be seen that he is really a good person.” Hearing this, Jinguo Grand Princess was struck slightly. After thinking for a while, she sighed helplessly, “But… I’m afraid it’s not a good chance to talk to Wuying for the time being. Let’s see later!”

Nie Wuying was resentful about the fact that Prince of Zhao needed to choose a wife, so she was really on a downer. If they told her to marry Helou Duhan, she definitely would not approve!

Just as Jian Xubai said, Helou Duhan did not lack the chance to marry a girl from a noble family. Scarcely had the two foster daughters of Jinguo Grand Princess refused him when the news that the No. 1 Scholar would be the Prince Consort spread all over!

“Princess Yushan?” After hearing the news, Song Yixiao was stunned, “Is she willing to accept the situation?”

Jian Xubai sneered, “My grandmother personally gave the order that Yushan must marry a man this year. How can the Virtuous Consort not make full efforts to look for a son-in-law? Although Helou Duhan’s family background is far less powerful than Su Zhiyong’s, they are both fair-skinned and polite, with good manners. Helou Duhan’s ranking in the imperial examination is even higher than Su Zhiyong’s. Therefore, Virtuous Consort really has cudgeled her brains when selecting a husband for Yushan!”

“Princess Yushan may not be willing to accept the painstaking efforts of the Virtuous Consort,” Song Yi couldn’t help laughing and said, “When Princess Yushan took a fancy to Su Shaoge, his ranking in the imperial examination had not been revealed. Thus, the princess was not the one who valued the ranking in the imperial examination very much. To tell you the truth, the princess losing her heart to Su Shaoge has nothing to do with his talent and family background. The only reason is that Su Shaoge has a good set of features.”

In short, Princess Yushan focused on the complexion.

She also appreciated his figure at most.

Helou Duhan can be regarded as a handsome man. However, he was only handsome in the eyes of ordinary people. Compared with Su Shaoge, he was lagged far behind. After all, Jinguo Grand Princess ever praised that among the younger generation in the imperial capital, no one can match Su Shaoge in terms of appearance except Xubai.

Hence, it was highly likely that Princess Yushan would not accept Helou Duhan.

“A good set of features?” Hearing the speech, Jian Xubai said with a frivolous tone, wearing a faint smile, “You know the attraction of Su Zhiyong very well.”

“It’s normal if other men are unhappy about this,” Song Yixiao did not know whether to cry or to laugh. She patted him on the shoulder with a moon-shaped fan and said, “Your complexion is no worse than his. Why are you jealous?”

Seeing that her husband was still looking at her and didn’t speak, she had no choice but to kiss him on the cheek and coaxed him, “You are handsome and graceful, like the highly floating clouds. What’s more, your dignified bearing is much more elegant than that of Su Shaoge. Fortunately, Princess Yushan likes gentle scholars so that she doesn’t like you. Otherwise, I will cry!”

Jian Xubai then drew back his sight and continued the previous topic as if nothing happened just now, “Yushan may not be satisfied with Helou Duhan. In fact, I’m afraid that Helou Duhan may not like Yushan either. Yushan is naive and unruly. Helou Duhan is very fond of Yourui. So, I think that if it wasn’t for Yourui who couldn’t give him a definite answer, he would rather wait for some time. Even if Yourui hasn’t spoken to him, he knows that she is dignified, quiet and reserved.”

It could be seen that Helou Duhan was in favor of virtuous and elegant girls. However, Princess Yushan, who just broke the head of her brother-in-law a few days ago, had nothing to do with virtue and elegance!

“Do you want to reveal this to the Virtuous Consort?” Song Yixiao said with hesitation, “After all, it’s a main affair of her daughter’s life. It’s okay if you don’t know. Now that we have known it, it’s unkind of us to keep it secret.”

Jian Xubai said, “I think so too. It’s just that we are not on intimate terms with the Virtuous Consort. It’s easy to enter the imperial palace, but there’s no excuse for us to find her. It’s better to send someone to talk to Miss Jiang and let her pass on a message.”

“Muting went to a manor outside the capital for recuperation a few days ago. I don’t know if she came to Cuihua Mountain this time.” Hearing this, Song Yixiao vaguely guessed that Helou Duhan had made it clear that he didn’t want to marry the princess and even asked Jian Xubai to refuse it for him. Otherwise, her husband wouldn’t take the initiative to suggest that they ask Jiang Muting for help so as to prevent the Virtuous Consort from marrying off her daughter to Helou Duhan.

Song Yixiao understood the saying that unwillingness could not produce desired results, so she didn’t mind doing them a favor. The next day she sent her servants to inquire about Jiang Muting’s whereabouts. When she learned that Jiang Muting didn’t come to Cuihua Mountain, she wrote a letter personally and dispatched some people to send it to her in the manor outside the capital.

Song Yixiao originally thought that even if Jiang Muting, the beloved niece of the Virtuous Consort, was not in Cuihua Mountain, she would always have a way to send a message to the Virtuous Consort. And the Virtuous Consort who only had one daughter naturally would not let Yushan feel wronged. If she knew that Helou Duhan had no feeling for Yushan, how would she choose him as her son-in-law?

But she didn’t expect that after Jiang Muting received the letter, she packed up her belongings within two days and came to Cuihua Mountain in person!

After she got to the mountain, she cleaned up in her villa. Without stopping, she went to find Song Yixiao directly. Song Yixiao was suspicious when she received the report from the doorkeeper. When she met Jiang Muting in person, she was surprised and said, “Muting, it’s really you?”

“What you said in your letter is not very clear. I’m not sure, so I’ll decide to find you by myself!” Jiang Muting frowned and said, “Tell me the whole story, so that I can know how to remind my aunt of this matter when I visit her.”