Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 126, Yuanchun and Tanchun

Xueyan said, "When Master got up this morning, he slapped his forehead and said, 'Oh, I forgot about Xiangling yesterday!' Then he got dressed and went to look for Xiangling."

Baoqin said: "That's the case. I think I took a short cut and missed the Marquis. I'm going back now!"

Having said that, Baoqin ran back in a hurry.

When she returned to Xiangling's courtyard, a thin layer of sweat had already appeared on her fair little face.

Baoqin walked into the yard.

The maidservant next to the courtyard reminded: "Miss Qin, the Marquis is inside!"

Baoqin waved her hand nonchalantly and said, "I know."

Seeing this, the maids and old women said no more.

Baoqin continued to walk inside, and suddenly, she heard some faint sobbing sounds.

Baoqin didn't pay much attention to it until she got closer and the sound became more obvious.

Hmm and ah, it sounded like Xiangling's crying.

Xiangling was bullied!

Baoqin suddenly became anxious and rushed into the house.

When I entered the house, I saw Xiao Qiaoyan standing outside the room, looking at the door.

The voice came from the room behind Qiao Yan.

At this moment, two crisp slaps were heard again. "Will you dare to let your imagination run wild next time?"

It was the Marquis's voice.

"I don't dare~ wuwu~ I don't dare~"

It was Xiangling's voice.

"Don't bully Xiangling!"

Baoqin shouted and rushed over.

Qiaoyan quickly reached out to stop her: "Miss Qin, you can't come in!"

But it couldn't be stopped.

Baoqin rushed in.

Soon, there was a cry of surprise.

"Xiangling, catch her. She trespassed into the forbidden area. She must be severely punished!"

Baoqin said aggrievedly: "My Lord, I don't know, please forgive me."

Fang Yong grinned and said, "It's not that easy!"

Let’s talk about the capital.

After several rounds of discussions, a consensus was finally reached on the peace talks.

All conditions are basically ready.

But there was only one thing missing, which was a candidate for marriage.

Emperor Longqing did not want his daughter to get married, so he changed the condition of the princess' marriage to that of a noble lady in exchange for the land of Huzhou in exchange for Fang Yong.

But the candidate for the noble lady is still difficult to decide.

According to Emperor Longqing, the marriage was only a temporary measure. After two years when Daxi recovered, the Huaiyin bandits would definitely be eliminated. Therefore, the family that would marry the Huaiyin bandits must be a family with little power that could not interfere in the government.

Secondly, the family of the marriage alliance cannot be too bad. If the status is too low, it will be troublesome if the Huaiyin bandits misunderstand and think that they are being humiliated.

There is no way, who made the imperial court decline now?
Emperor Longqing could only endure the humiliation.

To put it simply, you have to choose a family that looks glamorous on the outside but is empty and has no real power on the inside.

Which family is suitable?

Emperor Longqing thought of two families in turn, one of which was the Liu family of Duke Liguo.

The Duke of Liguo has had few descendants for generations and has lost power in the court for many years, so he no longer poses a threat. Moreover, he is a member of a royal family and is worthy of being called the Huaiyin thief.

But after further inquiry, he learned that the eldest daughter of Duke Liguo had already been betrothed to someone else, and because the family was not large and there was no second daughter, it was inconvenient to arrange a marriage.

Emperor Longqing thought of Duke Xiuguo again. Like Duke Liguo, Duke Xiuguo had also lost power for many years.

After hearing this, Duke Xiuguo not only did not refuse, but agreed to it immediately.

One could even say that he was overjoyed.

This is because the daughter of Duke Xiu has been waiting to be married for nearly thirty years.

In this era, this has almost become a thorn in the side of Xiu Guogong. Now that the thorn in his side can finally be removed, how can Xiu Guogong not be happy?
Emperor Longqing asked the old empress dowager to visit and if there was no problem, the matter would be finalized.

Unexpectedly, when the concubine came back, she just shook her head and said:
"Duke Xiu's daughter has been waiting to be married for so many years. Her appearance is really... bizarre."

Although things like marriages do not require high appearance for both parties, and it does not matter if they are a little ugly, it is more about the balance of power between the two parties, but no matter what, it has to be acceptable.

Duke Xiu's daughter is really...

After hearing this, Emperor Longqing was a little skeptical, so he sent painters to paint the picture.

After the painting was brought back, Emperor Longqing opened it and was so scared that he almost died.

Duke Xiuguo looks gentle and refined, so how could he give birth to such a daughter?

After Emperor Longqing recovered his breath, he paced back and forth holding the painting.

He thought, alternatively he could use the daughter of Duke Xiu as the marriage partner.

Maybe on the day of the wedding, Fang Ze was frightened to death when her veil was lifted.

That would be considered as Duke Xiuguo's contribution to the country.

But if you think about it carefully, the probability of this happening is still too small.

The greater possibility is to provoke the enemy, and it would be bad if he raised an army to attack me then.

In the end, Emperor Longqing gave up this option.

During this period, Duke Zhongguo was indeed a loyal minister serving the country and the people. He took the initiative to write a letter requesting to send his daughter to marry. Such selflessness really moved Emperor Longqing.

But Duke Zhongguo had fought many battles for the country and made many military achievements. How could he let his loyal ministers shed blood and tears?

Especially since Duke Zhongguo and the Huaiyin bandits had fought against each other and had a deep hatred for each other. If Duke Zhongguo's daughter was sent over, wouldn't it be like asking the other party to jump into a fire pit?
Emperor Longqing finally rejected this idea.

Let's choose someone else.

One day, Emperor Longqing was entering and leaving the harem and saw a female official who was dignified and beautiful, with dignified manners and a naturally noble appearance.

Emperor Longqing's eyes lit up and he asked about her family background and name. He learned that she was from Rongguo Mansion and was the daughter of Jia Zheng, a member of the Ministry of Works, and her name was Yuanchun.

Emperor Longqing was quite satisfied after hearing this.

The Jia family has two dukes, so their family background is sufficient.

At the same time, ever since the former crown prince's death in treason, the Jia family has been suppressed by the retired emperor. Until today, although it cannot be said that their situation is declining, it is almost the same.

Although he still had some power in the army, he was unable to influence the government.

Therefore, Emperor Longqing intended to let Yuanchun marry the Huaiyin bandits.

However, fearing that the Jia family would not agree easily, Emperor Longqing thought about it and decided to promote Jia Zheng to the position of Langzhong of the Ministry of Works. With such a royal favor in front of him, the Jia family could not refuse.

Soon, Jia Zheng was successfully promoted, and Emperor Longqing sent someone to inform Jia Zheng.

After hearing this, Jia Zheng dared not disagree.

By the time Mrs. Wang found out, Jia Zheng had already agreed. She was helpless and could only be heartbroken and shed tears.

I heard that the thief was born a thief. Wouldn't it be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth if my daughter married him?
When Grandmother Jia found out, she was also extremely reluctant to let Yuanchun marry a bandit far away.

Compared with Mrs. Wang, although Lady Jia's vision is higher, it is still very limited.

How could a woman in a deep courtyard know the situation outside?

Grandmother Jia could only judge the external situation based on limited information and her past experience.

Now that the Jin thieves have been eliminated, the court no longer has any major worries.

Although the Huaiyin bandits in the south have some momentum for the time being, they are just a minor problem. The imperial court still controls thousands of miles of territory, and the Huaiyin bandits only control two states. How can they resist them?

Grandmother Jia judged that this marriage was just a delaying tactic of the imperial court. When the imperial court recovered, it would definitely wipe out the rebels. By then, her granddaughter...

Moreover, if the granddaughter was sent to marry, the Jia family would have no chance in the palace.

No, absolutely not!
Fortunately, at this time only the news was passed within the palace, and no clear decree was issued.

Because the specific details of the marriage still need to be discussed with the envoys of the Huaiyin bandits, there is still room for easing the situation.

After thinking about it, Grandmother Jia quickly sent someone to invite Master Zhang from the Daolu Division.

Grandmother Jia asked Master Zhang to predict the good or bad luck of this marriage for Yuanchun.

The next day, Master Zhang calculated the fortune in public against his conscience. He calculated three times in a row and all the results were bad.

Everyone in the Jia family was shocked.

In addition, there are many rumors in the capital that Fang the thief has three heads and six arms, a green face and fangs...

(End of this chapter)