In order not to make his sister sad, Mu Jingrui finally agreed to marry her to Xiao Yujue.
Only then did the emperor realize that Mu Jingrui had always been Xiao Yujue's man.
He didn't expect that Mu Jingrui's city was so deep that even he was deceived. He had thought about rectifying Mu Jingrui immediately, but when he calmed down and thought about it, now was definitely not the time.
Because he needed Mu Jingrui to check and balance Yiyong Houfu and Shangguan Yue.
In order to show the importance and praise to Mu Jingrui, the emperor specially ordered Mu Jingyan to become Xiao Yujue's concubine instead of his concubine, and rewarded him with many gold and silver jewelry as a dowry.
Xiao Yujue also gave Mu Jingrui enough face. He, who had always been low-key, held a banquet for the courtiers in order to marry Mu Jingyan.
In order to prepare for his sister's wedding, Mu Jingrui was so busy every day that his feet never touched the ground. Whenever it was quiet at night, his heart would feel a dull pain.
Many times he couldn't help but want to visit Shangguan Wan Ning, but...
"Sir, a letter has been sent from the palace, summoning you to come into the palace." The butler knocked on the door and came in to report.
Mu Jingrui put down the book in his hand and frowned slightly. "I just came back from the imperial study in the afternoon, and the emperor wants to summon me again? Is there something urgent?"
"No, it was the Queen Mother who summoned you to the palace."
Mu Jingrui's thoughts paused and he suddenly became alert.
He and the Queen Mother have never had any interaction, so why do you want to see him all of a sudden?
After suppressing his doubts, Mu Jingrui changed his clothes and went to Cining Palace. Under the guidance of the eunuch, he went to the Imperial Garden.
From a distance, Mu Jingrui saw Xiao Yujue standing in front of the Queen Mother.
I couldn't hear clearly what they were talking about, but Xiao Yujue's face didn't look good.
"I see the Queen Mother."
"Get even." The Queen Mother looked at Mu Jingrui, who was slender and tall, and nodded with a smile. "Sure enough, a hero comes from a young age. During these days in the Ai family, people often mentioned that the newly appointed Minister of War was young.
Youwei. When I saw him today, he certainly lived up to his reputation."
"Thank you, Queen Mother." Mu Jingrui looked at Xiao Yujue out of the corner of his eye and saw that Xiao Yujue's brows were furrowed and she didn't even think about communicating with him.
"Mr. Mu is so outstanding, so he must have a very good family tradition. The young lady of the Mu family must also be dignified, beautiful, virtuous and generous. No wonder the prince falls in love with her."
Mu Jingrui felt that the Queen Mother's many words of praise for their brothers and sisters were just foreshadowing.
He didn't answer, just stood there quietly.
"The Ai family knows that the wedding day of the prince and Miss Mu will be in three days. The Ai family is very happy for the prince. In fact, the Ai family has paid so little care to the prince over the years that the people who serve the prince come and go.
There are only three or five of them."
"The Ai family is thinking that taking advantage of the opportunity of the prince to marry his concubine, they might as well make the wedding more grand and lively."
Mu Jingrui was a little surprised.
Marrying a concubine is actually taking a concubine.
No matter how grand it is... I'm afraid it will be overstepped. When the time comes, the conversation will fall into the hands of someone with intentions, which will not be a good thing for Xiao Yujue or him.
"I am deeply grateful for the Queen Mother's love. However, I am afraid that my sister cannot bear it."
After hearing this, the Queen Mother smiled even more.
"Mr. Mu, what the Ai family means is that they want to find a concubine for the prince and organize the wedding together."
Mu Jingrui was startled, and then he understood why Xiao Yujue's face was so ugly.
"The prince is not young yet, but he has no heirs. This is not a good thing. It's all because there are too few people in his room. The Ai family has a grandniece who is sixteen this year. I dare not talk about music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
She is proficient in everything and knows a few words. How about letting her be a companion for Mr. Mu's sister?"
Mu Jingrui lowered his head and said nothing, his mind spinning rapidly.
In fact, the Queen Mother didn't need to ask his opinion on this kind of matter. They had to obey the decree even if they were unwilling to do so.
But if you do this, you will be wronging your sister too much.
If they enter the house together, the girl from the Queen Mother's family must have a higher status than her sister. On the wedding night, there is only one groom.
Mu Jingrui's heart felt inexplicably filled with anger.
The royal family was clearly using their power to bully others, and they were obviously asking for his opinion, but in fact they were just giving notice.
"My grandson appreciates the Queen Mother's kindness, but..." Xiao Yujue raised her hands and said, "If this happens, my grandson will probably let down the two girls at the same time. I hope the Queen Mother can take back her life."
The Queen Mother's face darkened, and the cup in her hand was placed heavily back on the stone table.
"Take back your fate? Does the prince mean to let the grand-niece of the Ai family withdraw, or to cancel the engagement with Mr. Mu's sister?"
Only then did Mu Jingrui understand the other meaning of the Queen Mother summoning him.
The Queen Mother and Xiao Yujue have never been very close. No matter how difficult Xiao Yujue's life has been these years, the Queen Mother just looks on with a cold eye.
Now that I want to betroth my grandniece to him, I just want to bet an extra chip.
However, she probably guessed that Xiao Yujue might refuse, so she wanted him to persuade Xiao Yujue to accept it.
After all, this is the time to show Mu Jingrui's generosity.
He persuaded, Xiao Yujue accepted, and everyone was happy.
Mu Jingrui sneered secretly in his heart, but he was not the kind of person who allowed himself to be manipulated and manipulated.
Therefore, no matter what kind of eyes the Queen Mother looked at him, he just stood aside quietly and said nothing.
He would never wrong his sister just to please the Queen Mother.
"Your Majesty, my grandson and Miss Mu have experienced life and death together, and they are in love with each other. My grandson promised her that he will take good care of her and love her. If he marries someone else on the wedding day, I am afraid it will break her heart.
Please fulfill it, Queen Mother."
The Queen Mother did not expect Xiao Yujue to be so disrespectful to her. She took the initiative to marry his grandniece to him as a concubine, but he actually refused.
There is no reason for this.
"You have to think clearly. If you miss this opportunity, I'm afraid..."
The Queen Mother betrothed her grandniece to Xiao Yujue, with a clear intention that she would stand by his side on the road to becoming the legitimate heir in the future.
"My grandson has thought very clearly and begs the Queen Mother to take back her life."
"Humph!" The Queen Mother was so angry that she was shaking all over. With a wave of her sleeves, she swept the snacks and tea on the stone table to the ground, and walked away angrily.
There was silence all around.
Xiao Yujue let out a long sigh and turned to look at Mu Jingrui, with a look of helplessness on his face.
"Your Highness, actually...have you ever thought that you gave up a good opportunity to expand your power?"
"Why haven't I thought about it? However, I don't regret it. In the past, no matter what I did, it was to survive in the cracks. I sacrificed everything. But now... I can't wrong the person I love most."
Xiao Yujue looked up at the sky and sighed: "If I can't even protect Xiao Yan, even if I get the country, what can I do?"