Originally, Pei Duqin didn't pay much attention to marriage. He felt that his parents' orders and the matchmaker's words were acceptable, as long as his future wife was law-abiding enough.
But today when he heard that Mrs. Pei wanted him to get married, he was upset for no reason, and a cold face appeared in his mind...
"Qin'er? Are you listening to me? What do you think about this marriage?"
Pei Duqin suddenly came back to his senses. He was shocked to realize that when he mentioned marriage, the first thing that came to his mind was Yan Mingzhu's face!
What's wrong with him? How could he think of Yan Mingzhu? I'm afraid he's crazy!
Yes, Mo Zheng must have been mad. He only felt guilty towards Yan Mingzhu. He felt guilty for ignoring her before and for doing some not-so-good things. Apart from that, there was nothing else!
"Mother, my child has no plans to get married recently. This matter is not urgent."
Mrs. Pei sighed deeply: "Qin'er, it's not that mother is impatient, it's just that our Pei family has been in trouble one after another recently, and your father was even demoted to Tongzhou. I'm afraid he won't be able to return to Beijing in a short time.
Coupled with the Jizhou gold mine incident, although Your Majesty did not punish the Crown Prince severely, he was confined to the East Palace, and his attitude was even colder than before. Even the Queen Mother has not seen Your Majesty for more than half a month. Our Pei family
The situation is dire!"
Pei Duqin comforted her calmly: "Don't be anxious, mother. After all, His Highness the Crown Prince is His Majesty's first son, and many senior officials in the court are devoted to His Highness the Crown Prince. As long as His Highness works diligently, His Majesty will not really neglect him."
His Highness’s.”
"But for Concubine Zhuang's birthday banquet, the standards arranged by the Ministry of Rites are almost as high as those of the Mother of a Country. If it hadn't been for His Majesty's approval, how dare those people from the Ministry of Rites arrange it in such a grand manner?
Those people in the court who were both snakes and rats, smelled the signs, and rushed to flatter Zhuang Concubine. Now that King Dingbei is in his twenties, Zhuang Concubine will definitely take the opportunity at this birthday banquet.
Choose a princess for him,
If he marries those marquises and dukes, Qi Jue's party will become more powerful, and His Majesty is also older. If there is any accident, Qi Jue has millions of troops in northern Xinjiang and wants to rebel and usurp the throne.
Isn’t it just a matter of his words?”
After saying that, Mrs. Pei held Pei Duqin's hand and persuaded her earnestly: "Qin'er, mother doesn't want to force you to do something you don't want to do, but now the situation of the Pei family is not as good as before.
We and the Queen are both prosperous and devastated. Only by trying to win over the important veterans in the court can we stabilize the crown prince's position as the crown prince. The Lin family is a powerful family with deep roots in the imperial capital.
If you can successfully marry Lin Huihui, then the entire Lin family will definitely be assisted by the prince. With the Lin family taking the lead, those nobles who have good relations with the Lin family will definitely join the prince's team in order to stabilize the current situation. Do you understand?
?”
Pei Duqin naturally understood better than anyone else. He knew from the time he was sensible that as the only legitimate son of the Pei family, his future marriage would only be a political bargaining chip.
Seeing that Pei Duqin didn't speak, Mrs. Pei added one more thing: "What's more important is that there was news from the palace earlier that Qi Jue has been very close to Zuo Xiang Mingtai recently, and Mingyu, the third daughter of the Ming family, is already ten years old."
Six,
Mingtai pampered her like a treasure, and the Ming family had the first female general in history, Mingzhu, and the left prime minister of the Ming Dynasty was deeply trusted by his majesty. If Qi Jue married Mingyu, then the ministers headed by the Ming family would
, will inevitably fall to Qi Jue, and the prince's situation will be even more difficult!"
After hearing Mrs. Pei say that Qi Jue might marry Mingyu, Pei Duqin's mind flashed back to Qi Jue's special treatment of Yan Mingzhu on the street.
Although he felt depressed after reading it, he was very sure of one thing, "Mom, you are worrying too much. King Dingbei will not marry Mingyu."
"Whether Qi Jue will marry Mingyu or not, the palace has its own concerns about this matter. Qin'er, the most important thing for you right now is to get married to the Lin family. I went to the palace yesterday to see the empress, and this is what the empress wanted.
My mother has found out in the past few days that Lin Huihui goes out to Ruyi Zhai every day. It is the Lin family's shop. The child is a capable person. She is in charge of the Lin family's middle child. Apart from her status as the Lin family's legitimate daughter, she
I am also extremely capable, and if I can get married, I will definitely be your good wife in the future."
After saying that, Mrs. Pei patted the back of Pei Duqin's hand and said with sincerity: "Qin'er, everything my mother has done is for your own good and for the good of our entire Pei family. The prosperity of the Pei family depends entirely on you."
On my body!"
"It's the mother, the son understands."
Even though Pei Duqin is extremely reluctant in his heart, there are some things that he must fulfill his responsibilities for the sake of family honor, such as family marriage.
Mrs. Pei then smiled and said, "Good boy, I won't disturb your rest. You go to bed earlier."
After sending Mrs. Pei away, Pei Duqin could not sleep again.
"Sir, it's getting late, do you want to take a rest?"
Pei Duqin looked up at the moon and raised his hand to signal: "Go down and have a rest."
Maolin had just been punished, so he naturally did not dare to ask any more questions. Seeing that Pei Duqin was in a low mood, he only dared to bow his head and retreat.
Pei Duqin was upset and couldn't sleep, and he couldn't read the book, so he picked up a wolf hair and started drawing casually on the rice paper.
When it was time to put away the pen, Pei Duqin was shocked when he saw the portrait drawn on the paper. The wolf hair fell from his hand and fell on the paper, spreading out a circle of ink.
On the rice paper, what seems to be a beautiful and refined face is drawn. This is...Yan Mingzhu!
However, the portrait on the paper lacked charm. Pei Duqin stared at it for a long time, and then he remembered that it was the eyes!
Yan Mingzhu had a pair of clear and beautiful eyes that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts at a glance. He had never seen those eyes on another person.
Even though he had read a lot of poems and books, when he faced her eyes, he just felt that he was short of words. Even if he racked his brain, he could not think of suitable words to describe her.
Pei Duqin crumpled the rice paper into a ball, changed it to another one and continued painting.
But no matter how I draw, I can't draw the three-point charm of those eyes.
He crumpled it into a ball and drew it again, over and over again. Until dawn, he still didn't draw a satisfactory eye.
What is wrong and why can't I draw it?
He just wants to draw a portrait of her, why is it always wrong?
And when the lights in Pei Mansion were all night long, Yan Mingzhu was sitting leisurely on the carved carriage.
Seeing some snacks, she took one to try.
Seeing Qi Jue coming up, she said with a smile: "His Highness is a master at swearing without using a single curse word. He is worthy of learning from us."
"In front of seniors, I don't dare to show off."
The carriage was very big, but Qi Jue sat down next to Yan Mingzhu very naturally.
Yan Mingzhu blinked innocently and looked around, "Senior? Where did you come from, senior?"
"You say one word, and I don't dare to refute even a single sentence. Aren't you just a senior?"
Qi Jue teased, raising his hand to gently wipe the broken heart left at the corner of her mouth.