Chapter 67: Fierce Outburst
First up is Princess Changle, full of expectations for the imperial decree of her arranged marriage.
This explosive mess shattered all her dreams and hopes into pieces.
She looked incredulously at the Emperor and Empress sitting on the throne, as if she never knew them.
Weren’t they supposed to help her?
Weren’t they supposed to grant marriage on the spot?
Weren’t they supposed to finally marry off this old maid?
Why is there nothing?
The decree she longed for has absolutely nothing to do with her.
Her years of admiration, dreams, and waiting, all vanished into thin air at this very moment.
She wanted to cry, yet couldn’t even shed a tear, just stood there dumbfounded, letting her tears fall silently.
Next is Prince Xiaoyao, Zhao Zun. No, now he should be King of Cangzhou.
This decree left him dizzy and seeing stars.
He wished the Emperor would grant a marriage between him and Han Lei, thinking that with the decree, he’d have a legitimate reason to keep Han Lei by his side until old age.
But the Emperor offered a buy-one-get-one deal, grant marriage and a Vassal King title, also ordered him to take family to Cangzhou after the New Year’s sixth day, forbidding entry to the Capital without permission.
Vassal King mainly refers to members of the royal family being bestowed as Prince or Commandery Prince.
They have a blood relationship with the Emperor and usually are granted a certain territory and governance power. Their economic source mainly comes from court stipends and food estate income.
And he, just a title-bearing foreign king, has no blood ties with the Emperor, why is the Emperor suddenly giving him territory?
He just returned to the Capital from Cangzhou, now asked to return to Cangzhou.
Why so urgent, what does the Emperor mean?
Is he trying to expel their family from the Capital? Then what about his and Han Lei’s planned wedding on the second day of February?
Another person affected by this decree is Han Lei, left bewildered and charred.
She burst out with a stifled laugh, trying to hold it back, she bit her lips tightly, laughter swallowed, even making her nose bubbling.
In Huaxia’s history books, she has seen numerous eccentric emperors.
For example, Emperor Han Ling, Liu Hong, liked bustling markets and business. Liu Hong recreated street scenes in the harem, where palace maids and concubines posed as various vendors calling out, while others acted as customers, singers, monkey trainers, etc.
And Liu Hong himself dressed as a merchant, pretending to sell goods, strolling through the artificial market, or drinking and having fun in taverns, arguing and fighting with shopkeepers and patrons, having a great time.
She also knew the Bodhisattva Emperor, Emperor Liang Wu, Xia Yan. He was a cute and devout emperor.
To show his respect to Buddha, Emperor Liang Wu, while on the throne, became a monk four times at Tongtai Temple, now Jiming Temple by Nanjing Xuanwu Lake.
Every time he asked court ministers to spend heavily to ransom him, and once ransomed, he would do it over and over again, donating ransom fees totaling billions of silver taels.
There is also the skillful Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Youxiao, who loved woodworking; and Song Huizong Zhao Ji, who enjoyed playing soccer, known as Cuju.
Han Lei even knew about the homosexual emperor in history, but never saw an emperor as bizarrely refreshing as Emperor Jing. He doesn’t even know basic concepts like the Emperor’s words being final.
Just two months ago, Emperor Jing decreed Zhao Zun as Prince Xiaoyao, now decreeing him as King of Cangzhou.
What is this? Can even decrees change overnight? Is this Emperor acting too amateurish?
However, although shocked and charred, the taste is still quite delightful.
Besides the decree’s unreliable back-and-forth changes by the Emperor, the content aligns perfectly with Han Lei’s intentions.
It’s known that a Vassal King is a ruler who is enfeoffed by the Son of Heaven to govern a certain region.
If Zhao Zun becomes the Vassal King of Cangzhou, they will be far from imperial power, in Cangzhou, as a modern person, she won’t have to kneel to everyone. That’s the first advantage.
The second is taking family to the vassal area.
If Zhao Zun’s whole family moves out of the imperial city, rid of this layer of restraints, Zhao Zun is like a fierce tiger returning to the mountains, a hidden dragon entering the sea. She can live freely without being cautious under imperial power, and can build her own business empire in Cangzhou.
Cangzhou is indeed poor and harsh, but now that she’s here, the system gave her a mineral map, whether mountains or waters, she can transform them into valuable resources. She’ll assist Zhao Zun in making Cangzhou their ideal homeland.
Isn’t this a case of someone giving you a pillow when you’re sleepy? No wonder Han Lei suppressed her laughter, laughed so hard her nose bubbled.
After Prime Minister Wei finished reading the decree, for a moment, everyone involved harbored their thoughts.
Emperor Jing sat in his high seat, it’s hard to discern Zhao Zun’s emotions, whether he’s happy, angry, or worried. He merely calmly accepted the decree, then knelt to express gratitude.
With official matters done, the annual banquet bell tolled, Emperor Jing announced the end of the banquet. The crowd at the banquet expressed their thanks for the Emperor’s grace and turned to go home one by one.
Stepping out of Food Official Hall, the cold wind carrying swirling snow ushered in the new year.
Princess Changle followed from afar behind Han Lei and Zhao Zun, seeing Zhao Zun lift his cloak to pull Han Lei inside, the two, unconcerned with propriety between genders, walked forward intimately, hugging each other.
Princess Changle felt like she was in an ice cellar, her heart steeped in jealousy colder than this frigid night.
"Get lost! You vile wench."
Princess Changle cursed fiercely, shoved aside the maid holding an umbrella to shield her from snow, and ran headlong into the wind and snow, frightening the trailing maids to hurry in pursuit.
"Princess, Princess. Where are you going? Slow down."
Zhao Zun feared Han Lei would catch a chill, so he pulled Han Lei into his thick cloak. But to Princess Changle, it seemed they were intentionally flaunting their affection before her.
She didn’t want to see their public display of affection; she wanted to quickly leave the imperial palace and ride the carriage home.
As she approached the palace gate, a figure suddenly jumped out from the darkness and grabbed Princess Changle’s sleeve from behind.
"Please halt, Princess, and walk with me for a talk."
Princess Changle stopped, turned to look, it was Prime Minister Wei’s son, Wei Chengchao.
"Walk where? Talk what talk? Get lost. Can’t you see this Princess is in a bad mood?"
Princess Changle shook off his hand, venting her anger fiercely.
Despite being rebuffed by Princess Changle, Wei Chengchao remained unfazed, continuing to smile cheekily.
"Princess, don’t be angry. Isn’t this all about a man?"
Hearing Wei Chengchao’s insight, Princess Changle looked shocked, "How did you know?"
Besides the Emperor and Empress, she hadn’t told anyone, was her behavior really that obvious?
"Ha ha! I saw it all."
Wei Chengchao looked around, seeing that others were hurrying home under their umbrellas, not noticing them.
He pulled Princess Changle into a darker spot and, with a smirk, lowered his voice saying, "You want Prince Xiaoyao Zhao Zun, and this Young Lord wants that vile girl, how about... we collaborate?"
"Collaborate?"
Upon hearing this, Princess Changle raised a brow, as if a beam of light shot through her numbed cold heart.