Chapter One Hundred: Adding Dowry

  When the third son heard that the object of his job-seeking marriage was actually Gu Qingjin, who was in trouble about how to deal with him, Ming Emperor thought carefully and agreed to this third son's request for a marriage.

  What's most important is that he wants to see if this third son's pursuit of the eldest daughter of the Gu family is truly as simple as his liking for a woman, or if there are ulterior motives, also eyeing the throne beneath him. If it's the former, then he doesn't mind using this son more in the future; but if it's the latter, Ming Emperor's eyes sink, and he wouldn't mind having one less son either.

  After all, it was his emperor's heart that was suspicious. Although he thought the third son looked better recently, he also felt that in recent years, sometimes he couldn't see what this third son was thinking at all. Moreover, from this third son, he felt a kind of inexplicable threat. When did this feeling start?

  Thinking of this, Emperor Ming rubbed his brow, could it be that the imperial family truly has no true feelings?

  "Is Your Majesty feeling unwell?" The empress dowager beside him saw Mingdi's action and asked with a frown.

  Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's question, Emperor Ming turned around and replied: "I'm fine, Mother. Don't worry... By the way, what do you think of the two legitimate daughters of the Marquis of Anji?"

  "Qiu Qingjin and Qiu Qingyao? Not bad, one is bright and beautiful, the other is clever and sensible."

  "Oh, I see what you mean, Mother. You seem to like both of the two legitimate daughters of the Anji Marquis's household. I always thought you would prefer Gu Huaiyi's daughter!" Emperor Ming said to Empress Dowager with a hint of surprise.

  "How can Your Majesty say such a thing?"

  "I heard that on the Empress Dowager's birthday, Gu Huaiyi's daughter, Gu Qingyao, presented her with a Buddhist scripture written in plum blossom script by her own hand, which the Empress Dowager liked very much..."

  The empress dowager listened to Emperor Ming's words, a benevolent smile appearing on her face: "This emperor knows it all! The emperor is right, Gu Qingyao that child has a good heart, but Gu Qingyu that child is not bad either..."

  "Oh, as I know it. The Buddhist rosary that Gu Qingjin gave to his mother should be an ordinary one!"

  "Ordinary? Not at all ordinary." He said, handing over the Buddhist beads that he often held in his hand to Ming Emperor, "This is the Buddhist beads given by Gu Qingjin back then. Your Majesty, take a look."

  Ming Emperor heard the Empress Dowager's words and took over the Buddhist beads handed over by the Empress Dowager, "Is it the divine wood of South Sea?"

  The Empress Dowager nodded at Ming Emperor and said, "I heard that the eldest daughter of Anji Marquis was somewhat unrefined, performing unimpressive talents at the banquet hosted by the noble lady. I originally had a bad impression of this child, but unexpectedly, when I saw her that day, I found her to be steady and dignified. With Gu Huaiyi's daughter, one is good at painting and the other is good at playing the zither. They complement each other perfectly!"

  The Emperor Ming heard the Empress Dowager's words, and a survey sent by the Dark Guard flashed in his mind. It seemed that shortly after the Yang Mansion banquet, the Wanbao Building in the capital had sold a batch of Qinghua porcelain at a high price, and the owner behind the Wanbao Building was likely a shop owned by the Anji Marquis's estate.

  When he first saw the message brought by An Wei, he actually had an idea, which was to let his brother, Shui Jingchen, who wanted to return to secular life, take Gu Qingjin. However, he sent people to persuade him three or four times, but his brother refused each time. The last time was at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, where he personally tried to persuade him. But his younger brother, who had become a monk as a child, still refused, saying that he would only be a monk and was willing to be a monk. That's why Long Han came later to ask for permission to grant their marriage, with his consent.

  Anji Marquis Mansion

  When Qingjin and Qingyao walked into their grandmother Madame Shen's Chaoxia Yard, the servants, maids, and young girls gathered in the yard immediately chorused to Qingyao: "We pay our respects to Fourth Miss." Only then did they turn to Qingjin beside her and say: "We pay our respects to Second Miss!"

  Noticing the little maidservants and young girls in the courtyard hurrying to pay their respects to Er Jie, Qing Yao's mouth curved into a faint smile before quickly recovering, shifting her gaze to Qing Jin beside her. With an air of righteousness, she addressed the crowd: "You should be paying your respects to Er Jie first, as she is the elder."

  Everyone in the courtyard heard Qingyao's words and was momentarily taken aback.

  "It doesn't matter, Fourth Sister is about to become the Ning Wangfei soon, and it's not wrong for everyone to pay their respects to her first." Qing Jin heard Qing Yao's words and looked at the servant in front of her with an uncertain expression, speaking calmly.

  "Second sister, everyone just now must not be intentional, you are not angry, right?" Qingyao asked cautiously.

  "What, you don't believe what I just said? Or is Fourth Sister hoping that I'll get angry?" Qing Jin's eyes sparkled as she gazed at Qing Yao.

  "No... Y'ao doesn't... Second sister, how can you say that about Y'ao? Y'ao is really afraid of second sister misunderstanding." Qingyao dodges Qingyan's gaze and opens her mouth with some grievance.

  "I didn't misunderstand, Fourth Sister is about to become the Ning Wangfei soon, so it's natural that the servants in the manor should first pay their respects and ask after her well-being." Qing Jin said matter-of-factly.

  "Second sister..." Qing Yao looked at Qing Jin's expressionless face and wanted to say something more.

  "Fourth sister, let's hurry in, don't keep grandma and everyone waiting." Qing Jin interrupted Qing Yao's words, speaking to her.

  Upon hearing Qingjin's words, Qingyao's lips moved slightly, but in the end she didn't say anything and stepped into Shen Shi's room first.

  In the room, Shen saw Qingyao and Qingjin walking in, and immediately smiled and said: "You two are here, hurry up and come sit next to Grandma."

  Qing Jin and Qing Yao heard Shen's words and sat down beside him, one on his left and the other on his right.

  The Shens glanced at their two granddaughters and couldn't help but say with a smile: "You two are Grandma's good granddaughters."

  The Shen family really did not expect that in their lifetime, they would see the Anji Marquis Manor regain its glory. The two legitimate granddaughters were both married into the imperial family. However, thinking about Qingjin as the legitimate daughter of the Anji Marquis Manor, she was actually married off to be a concubine. It felt somewhat unfair to Qingjin. If she had not agreed with her eldest daughter-in-law's plan to marry Qingjin to her eldest daughter-in-law's natal family, or if she had been more careful, Qingjin might now be the legitimate queen consort...

  Thinking of this, Shen said with some heartache: "Jin'er..."

  "What's wrong with Grandma?" Qingjin understood the guilt and heartache in Shen Shi's eyes, but pretended to be confused and asked.

  Seeing Qingjin like this, Shen Shi also came back to her senses and said to Qingjin's puzzled eyes: "Nothing, grandma is just happy, it's happy..."

  "Have a sip of tea, Grandma!" Qingyao, who was sitting on the other side of Madam Shen, handed her a cup of tea after noticing the interaction between Madam Shen and Qingjin.

  Shen looked at the tea water handed over by Qingyao, shifted his gaze to Qingyao's body, and said to Qingyao: "You little girl..."

  Qing Yao saw her grandmother, Shen Shi, shift her gaze to her and stuck out her tongue at Shen Shi, saying: "Grandmother only has eyes for Second Sister, not even talking to me." After finishing speaking, she looked pitifully at Shen Shi, like a small animal vying for favor.

  "You're almost going to be the queen of Ning, and your grandmother just said a couple of words to your second sister, yet you're still jealous!" Shen said with a smile.

  "Jade is still the Grand Princess of Ning, but she's also Grandma's granddaughter. Grandma won't let anyone not love me." Qingyao said with a pout to Shen Shi.

  "Alright, alright, you and Jiner are both grandmother's good granddaughters, how can grandmother bear not to love you." Shen Shi heard Qingyao's words and smiled at Qingjin and Qingyao.

  Then she talked with Qingjin and Qingyao about some small things that had happened to them recently.

  When she saw Wang's nanny coming in from outside and nodding at her, Shen Shi straightened up and said seriously to Qingjin and Qingyao: "It won't be long before you two get married. Your grandmother called you over today to add some dowry for you. Yao'er is engaged to the Ning King, and Jin'er is engaged to the Jing King. The marriage of you two is a great joy for our Anji Hou Mansion, it's a great honor from the emperor. You two are both marrying kings, so the dowry can't be light, or others will look down on us. Yao'er is going to be the queen, and we have some antique calligraphy and paintings left in our Anji Hou Mansion, I'll ask someone to send them to your room later. As for Jin'er, I'll directly give you the silver tickets converted from the calligraphy and paintings, plus a few more estates, I won't favor anyone, each of you will get two...

  "Grandma..." Qing Jin and Qing Yao exclaimed in unison upon hearing Shen Shi's words.

  "You two are good granddaughters, Grandma knows your mothers have prepared for you, what Grandma gives is just a little thought from Grandma, so you two don't need to refuse."

  "Thank you, Grandma!" Upon hearing this, Qing Jin and Qing Yao exchanged a glance and simultaneously expressed their gratitude to Shen Shi.

  Shen's family waved to Qingjin and Qingyao, then continued: "Yao'er, you will marry Ning Wang as his official wife. After marriage, remember to be virtuous and gentle, and take good care of the back house for Ning Wang."

  Qing Yao heard Shen's words and nodded towards her: "Thank you, Grandmother, for teaching me. I will remember it."

  Upon hearing Qing Yao's words, Shen Shi nodded in satisfaction and then turned to look at Qing Jin with a serious expression. "Jin'er, today there are only the three of us, grandmother and grandson, in this house. Grandmother knows that you are not willing to marry into the royal family as a secondary consort. Grandmother understands your grievances, but for the sake of our An Ji Hou Fu, Grandmother can only put you through this hardship. Fortunately, Grandmother has heard that it was the Third Prince who took the initiative to ask the Emperor for your hand in marriage. Since he is willing to marry you, he must have feelings for you. Although you will be a secondary consort, you will at least have a title. However, as a secondary consort, you must show respect to the primary consort, Wang Fei. She may not dare to oppress you too much, but you are too straightforward and proud. In the future, you need to learn to restrain yourself and understand that it's easy to break if one is too rigid. Do you understand?"

  Long Han Yuan took the initiative to marry her? Long Han Yuan had feelings for her? Upon hearing these two key points in Grandma Shen's words, Qing Jin couldn't help but smile sarcastically as she lowered her head. So it was actually like this?