freenovelworld Chapter 867 This is a slap in the face!
Chapter 867 This is a slap in the face!
After Madam Sun left with her daughter, the smile on Princess Ming's face gradually faded.
"Anuan, tell me the truth. Did you summon me here today just so I could have a proper meeting with this Miss Sun?"
"Second sister-in-law, do you think I have nothing better to do right now?"
Seeing Mu Xin Nuan's wry smile, Princess Ming immediately chuckled, "So this is the Empress Dowager's intention? But it's fallen on you, a pregnant woman? When did the Empress Dowager become so lazy?"
"Second sister-in-law, the Empress Dowager is worried that you will not be happy. Besides, Sun Ruoxiang was also arranged for Duanmu Chen by the Empress Dowager. The Empress Dowager really does not want to face the Sun family. Of course, if this matter is successful, the final decree will still have to be issued by the Empress Dowager."
"Ah Nuan, what does the Crown Prince mean?"
“Aze and Young Master Sun have a good relationship, and if nothing unexpected happens, he will officially enter the court this year.”
Princess Ming understood.
The Sun family is bound to be highly valued by the Crown Prince's family.
The Crown Prince was unwilling to take any more concubines. Although the Emperor and Empress were not wary of the Sun family, they were not willing to be too lenient with them. Therefore, they considered betrothing Sun Ruomei to her son.
At the very least, he is the heir apparent of a prince, which gives the Sun family honor without allowing them to become too independent.
“Anuan, I don’t consider you an outsider. There’s nothing wrong with this marriage. It’s just that these past few days, the Duchess of Dingguo has been making frequent overtures to the Prince’s Mansion. You know, after all, their statuses are different.”
"Yes, Second Sister-in-law is absolutely right. Although the Duke of Dingguo's mansion is not as powerful as it used to be, it is still a family with a century-old heritage. But have you ever thought that if you really have a relative like Madam Lu by marriage, won't your life be quite lively from now on?"
These words really made Princess Ming think about it carefully.
A woman like Madam Lu, to put it nicely, is straightforward; to put it bluntly, she's somewhat naive, short-sighted, and uncouth.
If it weren't for the Dowager Lady and Madam He supporting the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, I'm afraid not many noble ladies would be willing to associate with her.
Of course, there were plenty of people willing to curry favor with her.
But in a truly noble family, who would be willing to lower themselves to associate with such a person?
Mu Xin Nuan was also aware that Madam Lu was different from Rong Yue.
Rongyue was just an ordinary female official beside her, unlike this Madam Lu, who always thought about how she had saved the Empress's life and therefore acted this way and that.
Little did they know that there is more than one saying in this world: "to repay kindness is to be grateful." There is another saying: "To be indebted to someone for a long time is to turn them into an enemy."
Although the Empress did not do anything to her, over the years, this Lady Lu has taken advantage of this incident to make a big show of herself in public.
The Empress probably disliked this Lady Lu a long time ago.
Then think back to when this Lady Lu took her daughter to first curry favor with the Prince An's mansion, then tried to climb up to the Eastern Palace, and later, seeing that the Crown Prince had blocked her way, she set her sights on the Prince Ming's mansion.
Just thinking about it made Princess Ming feel a tightness in her chest.
Do they think the royal family of Dayong is their backyard? They can just pick and choose whatever they want?
With this understanding, Princess Ming naturally didn't have a very good impression of the daughters of the Duke of Dingguo's family.
"Second sister-in-law, the former daughter of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion married into the Prince Su's mansion. Strictly speaking, that one is the proper daughter of the Duke. Moreover, her mother, Madam He, also comes from a prestigious family, so her upbringing and manners are naturally excellent."
The implication is that although Lu Xiaoxiao and Lu Xiaorou are also daughters of the Duke's mansion, their mothers come from a very low social class. If they were to marry into the family, wouldn't that lower the status of the entire Ming Prince's mansion by a level?
To be honest, Princess Ming's impression of Sun Ruomei was not bad.
With Princess Ming's approval, Mu Xin Nuan was naturally much relieved.
Two days later, news came from the Ming Prince's residence that the Ming Prince was also very optimistic about the marriage.
Originally, things didn't have to be so complicated. As long as the Empress issued an edict, everyone would have to obey!
Perhaps it was because of her age, but the Empress always felt that it was better to ask the younger generation for their opinions on some matters.
That's why Mu Xin Nuan was put in charge of handling this matter.
Thus, the matter was accomplished, and Mu Xin Nuan finally delivered good news to the Empress.
The next day, the Empress's decree of marriage was issued.
Sun Ruomei was bestowed the title of Princess Consort upon Duanmu Xing, the heir of the Ming Prince's Mansion, and the Imperial Observatory selected an auspicious day for their marriage.
At the same time, an imperial decree was also issued.
Lu Xiaoxiao from the Duke of Dingguo's mansion was bestowed the title of concubine to Duanmu Xing, the heir apparent of the Ming Prince, and entered the family the following year.
Having two concubines, one on the front and one on the side, was perfectly normal, after all, he was the heir of a prince.
The problem is that Lu Xiaoxiao, who has a higher status, is only a concubine, while the Sun family is just a scholarly family and her father is only a minister. Yet Sun Ruomei has been given the title of principal wife.
Moreover, the Empress's decree clearly stated that the concubine could only enter the household the following year, but whether it would be the following spring or the following winter was unknown.
Actually, the Empress's thoughts were quite simple!
Lady Lu, haven't you always wanted your daughter to marry into the royal family as a concubine?
Since that's the case, I'll grant your wish.
This will also prevent you from constantly coming to the palace to bother me, always wanting me to bestow some kind of marriage upon you.
More importantly, once such an imperial decree is issued, anyone with a modicum of common sense will know what kind of attitude the Empress has towards the Duke of Dingguo's mansion.
If Lu Xiaoxiao were to become a concubine, and the daughters of other dukes or nobles were to become the principal wives, then that would be fine.
Unfortunately, the one who landed on Lu Xiaoxiao's head was the daughter of an ordinary minister. Her family had no title to inherit, making this a deliberate slap in the face to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion!
After all, Lu Xiaoxiao hadn't had any bad news before, so the only thing everyone could think of was whether Madam Lu had offended the Empress.
Upon receiving the imperial decree, Madam Lu was immediately stunned and ordered, "Someone, prepare the carriage! I need to go to the palace to see the Empress. How could our Xiaoxiao be made a concubine? This eunuch who delivered the decree must have made a mistake!"
The Duke of Dingguo flew into a rage and slapped her across the face. "I told you long ago to behave yourself! You never listened. Now look what you've got! Weren't you always eager to become someone's concubine? Now that the imperial decree has been issued, what else do you have to ask for?"
The slap he gave Madam Lu seemed to wake her up quite a bit.
With teary eyes, she looked at the Duke of Dingguo, "My lord, you? You actually hit me?"