If not abolished

Chapter 120 People Under the Lemon Trees

"Your Highness, His Majesty asks you to come in." When Wang Jinghong saw the ministers who were discussing the matter coming out, he immediately went in to inform Zhu Zhanji.

When Zhu Di heard that Zhu Zhanji was coming, he thought he was anxious to get the imperial edict and was about to laugh at his impatience.

Zhu Zhanji was distracted for a moment and didn't even react when someone came out. It was only when Wang Jinghong called him that he came back to his senses.

"Well, oh well, Grandpa Emperor has finished the meeting." Zhu Zhanji walked inside.

"Yes, His Majesty, please let Your Highness in." Wang Jinghong said again.

"Your Majesty." After entering, Zhu Zhanji saluted Zhu Di.

Zhu Di looked at his grandson and smiled, "Did you hear from the imperial concubine about the wedding? You are not in a hurry to come here to get the imperial edict? I will write it now. I was discussing matters with ministers just now and didn't have time. It's a good thing that you are here. Come and grind ink for me." Zhu Di asked him to come over.

Zhu Zhanji didn't know whether he should step forward or not, so he had to say: "Grandpa Emperor, you misunderstood. I am not here to get the imperial edict. I came here to say that you don't have to write this imperial edict because..."

"Why don't you write anymore? What happened again? Isn't there going to be any problem this time? Did you have a fight with Shanxiang? You, a grown man, will not let such a little girl do that to you. I have taught you so many times that you should favor the person you like. Look at me and your grandmother, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. You can't learn from such good examples. You are really a hopeless case. What can I say about you? Alas." When Zhu Di heard what he said, he immediately thought that his marriage was over again, and he scolded Zhu Zhanji before he could finish speaking.

Zhu Di now looked at Zhu Zhanji with an expression of disappointment.

Zhu Zhanji didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Grandpa Emperor, can you please listen to what your grandson has to say first?"

"You've lost your wife, what else do you have to say?" Zhu Di put down his pen when he saw his grandson looked speechless. "Tell me, what's going on?" Zhu Di sat down and listened to Zhu Zhanji.

"Can't the Emperor Grandfather hope for the best for his grandson? How come he thinks, like Grandmother Wang, that his grandson and Shanxiang had a quarrel before he even finished listening?" Zhu Zhanji was speechless. Why did the two of them react so unexpectedly in the same way?

"Okay, if you want me not to misunderstand you, hurry up and speak, hurry up, stop dilly-dallying." Zhu Di complained.

"Grandfather Emperor, you don't need to write another imperial edict. You gave it to your grandson a few years ago." Zhu Zhanji said in one breath.

"Here I give it to you. I...Oh, I remember it now. Okay, just use that." Zhu Di also remembered it, and still blamed Zhu Zhanji in his heart for not telling the truth soon.

"Your Highness, here are the things you asked for." Wu Cheng was arranged by Zhu Zhanji to go back to Qingyun Palace to get the imperial edict. He finally made it in time and did not delay anything.

Zhu Zhanji took it, walked forward, handed it to Zhu Di, then stood aside and ground ink for Zhu Di. Zhu Di opened the imperial edict and wrote down Hu Shanxiang's name.

"Your marriage has been settled, and the Imperial Concubine and I are relieved."

"It's my grandson's fault that I have made Grandpa Huang and Grandma Wang worry for so many years."

"Well, you can't say that. Good things take time."

When the marriage of Zhu Zhanji and Hu Shanxiang was announced, the whole capital was shocked.

For common people, it is naturally the inspiration for storytelling after dinner.

But for some people, it is very sour, such as Miss Sun who has been eliminated, oh, no, now she should be called Concubine Sun.

Inside the Han Palace

"What did you say? His Majesty has issued an edict to arrange the marriage of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?" Sun Ruoji said excitedly, pulling the person who was answering.

"To reply to the Concubine, the palace has just announced the decree."

"Who is it? Who is the woman who is going to marry His Highness?" She wanted to see who she lost to, and who was so lucky to get the person she couldn't get.

"She is the third daughter of Lord Hu, the commander of the Imperial Guard, and the younger sister of Minister Hu. I heard that the two older brothers of the future Crown Prince's wife are also serving in the Crown Prince's Youth Army."

"Why have I never heard of such a person? His family is so powerful, why didn't he enter the palace for the selection?" Sun Ruoji asked puzzledly. What she was thinking was, given the current situation, it was obvious that the Hu family had used some tricks to help their daughter become a successful person. If that was the case, why had she never heard of this Miss Hu San?

"To answer your question, Concubine, it is fate. The Hu family is also from Shandong. And you..."

"What fate? Who wants to be associated with her like this? Can you speak?" Hearing this, Sun Ruoji got angry before the other person finished speaking. What a coincidence, the Hu family is actually from Shandong. Did His Royal Highness still not let her go, and finally found someone from the same place as her? Thinking of this, Sun Ruoji suddenly wanted to know where in Shandong the Hu family was from, and then asked, "Where in Shandong is the Hu family from?"

The servant was confused after being told this. Seeing that Sun Ruoji wanted to know about the Hu family again, she didn't know how to respond. She glanced at Sun Ruoji's personal maid, who nodded to her. Then she said, "Madam Concubine, the Hu family is from Jining, Shandong. Miss Hu was not in the capital before, but was in her hometown. I heard that it was by chance that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince met her when he went to Qufu to pay homage to the Confucius Temple."

"Qufu is seventy or eighty miles away from Jining? How could they meet by chance? Besides, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went to pay homage to the Confucius Temple, so how could he meet a girl by chance? Either the Hu family deliberately arranged it in order to let their daughter marry a rich and powerful man, or this Miss Hu San is not a decent person. Humph." Sun Ruoji had used all these tricks in the past. From the beginning, her family deliberately met the wife of the Earl of Pengcheng, to later she designed to enter the palace, so she thought that other people were the same, otherwise how could an ordinary girl meet such a great nobleman.

"My Lady Concubine, please be careful with your words. You are talking about the future Crown Prince's Consort. If other people get to know about this, it will implicate everyone in the palace." The personal maid was a member of the Han Palace after Sun Ruoji got married. After she got married, the Princess of Han heard some of her affairs and replaced some of the maids that came with her as a dowry. Later, because she was pregnant, the Princess of Han directly replaced her current personal maid with her own young and inexperienced personal maid. Her main purpose was to watch Sun Ruoji and make sure she didn't do anything out of line.

"I... understand." Sun Ruoji was still wary of the person arranged by her mother-in-law.

"If Your Majesty wants to know something else, please continue. If you are tired, please take a rest. You are still pregnant." Afraid that she would be tired, he put a pillow for her to lean on.

"I'm not tired. Besides, the doctor also said that I can't just lie down and rest all the time. I need to talk to someone to adjust my mood." Sun Ruoji picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea.

When Sun Ruoji was just pregnant, her temperament suddenly changed. The doctor said it was a normal phenomenon in the early stages of pregnancy and asked her to talk to someone more. So later on, the servants would collect everything that happened in the capital and tell her about it every day to relieve her boredom. It turned out that this trick really worked. Today, the biggest news in the entire capital is the marriage between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Miss Hu.

"Where were we just talking about?" Sun Ruoji was interrupted and couldn't remember what they were talking about.

"Replying to the Concubine, it is said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Miss Hu met in Jining."

"Well, it's been three years since the Crown Prince went to Jining. They have known each other for a long time, so why did they wait until now to get married?" Sun Ruoji is slow to react to her pregnancy, and she is only now realizing that the timing is not right. Maybe it was transmitted in error.

"What the Concubine said is true. I also found it strange at first. After asking, I found out that it was because the old lady of the Hu family suddenly passed away at that time. Miss Hu observed mourning for three years, and it has been delayed until now."

"Hmph, she's just being hypocritical. Her grandchildren only need to observe mourning for one year, but she insists on observing mourning for three years. Is she trying to gain a good reputation on purpose?" Sun Ruoji mocked again.

"My Lady Concubine, you..."

"I know what you are going to say. I didn't say anything. I was just guessing. If this word gets out, it will be spread by you few who are standing and listening." Sun Ruoji interrupted the personal maid before she finished speaking.

The personal maid had no choice but to shut up and say nothing.

"Your Highness' guess is correct. When the people of Jining heard about this, they really praised Miss Hu for her filial piety. Miss Hu is indeed a famous virtuous woman in Jining."

"A famous virtuous woman..." When Sun Ruoji heard these two words, she couldn't help but fall into endless memories. Thinking back to the past, she, Sun Ruoji, was also a famous virtuous woman. Everyone in the city praised her and knew her.

With the momentum of her fame, she was chosen by the wife of the Marquis of Pengcheng to be trained. She originally thought that she would be favored by the Crown Princess and enter the palace smoothly. Unexpectedly, there were many twists and turns and setbacks. During that time, she was looked down upon by the Marquis of Pengcheng. If she had not refused to give up later, she would have been regarded as an abandoned child.

Later, after many twists and turns, she finally met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and got the opportunity to enter the palace. Unexpectedly, entering the palace did not mean she could rest easy. She still doesn't understand why she ended up marrying Zhu Zhanqi. She always feels that it was arranged, but is there any evidence?

"Mrs. Concubine, Mrs. Concubine..."

"Hmm." Sun Ruoji was in a trance for a long time, which scared the people serving on the side and made them scream for a long time.

"Are you tired, Concubine? Otherwise, just stop listening today. Go eat something and take a rest. I'll listen to you next time."

"Okay, I'll go and rest for a while." Sun Ruoji no longer had the desire to listen any further. If she continued, she would probably feel even worse. After all, originally all of this should have belonged to her, but now it belonged to another woman. If she wasn't already a married woman and was about to become a mother, she would definitely be so angry that she would want to fight for it.

"Why is Concubine so strange today? She usually looks quite gentle, but why is she so angry after hearing about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

"You have only been here for two years, so you don't know. Our concubine was once the sweetheart of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"There is such a thing. How come she has become the concubine of His Highness Qi?"

"That's a long story."

The servants who knew more about it explained to those who didn't know much about the love and hatred between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the current Concubine.