Noble Lady

Chapter 431 Fake Marriage

Madam Xue continued to talk to herself, but she still sighed, "The late queen was a very good person, but she couldn't live long. What a beautiful woman with a tragic fate."

Xue Chenyu pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty has been on the throne for twenty-three years. He has seven princes, and the current Crown Prince is the eldest...."

"According to what you said, His Majesty was not married before ascending the throne, and he has no children. The Crown Prince is the same age as Prince Cheng, and only a few years older than me."

"The emperor's death is a national mourning, and ordinary people are forbidden to marry for three years. So you and father got married after the national mourning period?"

As he spoke, he counted on his fingers, but something didn't seem right.

She vaguely remembered that when she was a child, someone whispered in her ear that her parents had been married for several years before they had her, but she turned out to be a loss-making child.

Mrs. Xue's face looked a little unnatural, "...No." Tears flickered in her eyes.

Xue Chenyu looked at her expression, and a hypothesis suddenly emerged in her mind, which she thought was unlikely, but the most likely one.

If A Niang and His Majesty had just parted ways on bad terms, she wouldn't still dislike him today.

Unless, he had thought of letting A Niang enter the palace!

"Your Majesty, have you ever..." When the words came to his lips, Xue Chenyu didn't know how to describe it.

She always felt that whatever she said at this time seemed wrong.

Mrs. Xue tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, met Xue Chenyu's sparkling eyes, and sighed with a smile.

"You are such a smart child. I can't fool you at all." Mrs. Xue's words sounded helpless and sad.

"I didn't want to talk about those things anymore, but since you've guessed it, I might as well tell you everything..."

Madam Xue said that he had come to see her long before Mo Ling married the Crown Princess.

He said that after his wedding, he would let her enter the Eastern Palace as a concubine, and let her sell her nascent business in the capital so that she could wait for her marriage with peace of mind.

The young Jiang Wanqing naturally refused at that time. Perhaps marrying into the Eastern Palace and becoming the prince's concubine was something that all girls from aristocratic families dreamed of, but she didn't want to.

Just because she has been free since she was a child, she would rather die than be trapped in that world from now on, like a bird in a cage.

So the two of them had a fierce quarrel and even came to blows.

Mo Ling, the current crown prince, even used the marriage certificate to make a fuss.

Jiang Wanqing was furious. "Don't say you're just a prince. Even if you became the emperor, I, Jiang Wanqing, wouldn't care!"

"I never expected anything in return when I saved you. You signed the marriage agreement voluntarily, and you never mentioned that you were a prince. Now that you've left behind everything you once knew as Mo Ling, reacknowledged your ancestry and identity, and wish to pursue your ambitions, then let that past go and return to your original path in life."

"I am just a merchant's daughter, with no family background, no talent, and no background to help Your Highness. I cannot even reach the threshold of the Eastern Palace. Please, Your Highness, spare me a life!"

"Wanqing, you know that's not what I mean. I don't care what others say. I only care about you!"

"If you're worried about being wronged, then you can rest assured. As long as you're willing to enter the Eastern Palace, I can assure you that, aside from the title of legal wife, you'll enjoy the same treatment as the Crown Princess."

Jiang Wanqing took a deep breath. "Then what did the future Crown Princess do wrong? Does she deserve to live in the shadow of others for the rest of her life?"

"And what makes you think, Your Highness, that I, the daughter of a powerless merchant, can gain a foothold in the Eastern Palace by relying on you? Just based on my background, I would be suppressed and unable to raise my head."

"Your Highness was born into a royal family, so you should know better than anyone else. Yet, you still insist on making me a caged bird?"

"How can you say that? This is the best solution I can think of! You're not satisfied with this, you're not satisfied with that, what exactly is going to satisfy you? Do you still want to be the Crown Princess?!"

Jiang Wanqing was so angry that she laughed. "Crown Princess? Do I deserve it? Miss Cui is the daughter of an aristocratic family, a noble lady who was carefully raised in a wealthy family. She is the best candidate for the Crown Princess."

"I have never dreamed of being a Crown Princess, let alone entering the Eastern Palace. Your Highness, please let me go, and let me go too."

There's no way this fight will come to any conclusion.

In the end, they still parted on bad terms.

But unlike last time, this time His Royal Highness the Crown Prince made some harsh remarks before leaving.

"In any case, you and I are already engaged, and Father is well aware of this. I can't marry you, but if I ask you to be my concubine, to repay the favor of saving me, I believe Father will agree."

"After my wedding, I will come to carry you into the Eastern Palace. This matter is not up to you."

Jiang Wanqing was stunned by his shamelessness, but also succeeded in making him laugh.

But I started crying while laughing.

Just as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince left, the Cui family's legitimate daughter, the future Crown Princess, arrived.

She even hesitated for a long time at the door. After entering, she did not put on airs, but politely bowed to Jiang Wanqing.

"Miss Cui, what are you doing?"

The future Crown Princess smiled bitterly and said, "Before I came here, I wanted to ask you for an answer, but after hearing you and His Highness arguing outside, I realized that I was narrow-minded."

"Miss Jiang, I shouldn't have judged you by my own standards. Please accept my greeting."

Jiang Wanqing knew that her conversation with Mo Ling was overheard, but she didn't care, and no one stopped her from bowing to her.

"I wonder if there's anything I can do for you, Miss Cui?"

The future Crown Princess shook her head. "It's not about what you do for me. If you really don't want to enter the Eastern Palace, you should make plans as soon as possible."

"Your Highness...is a man of his word."

After that, the two talked for a long time and came to a conclusion. If Jiang Wanqing didn't want to enter the Eastern Palace, she could only get engaged to someone else before that.

He wanted to take her into the Eastern Palace in the name of repaying a favor. If she got married, the crown prince of the current dynasty would not be able to snatch his wife away.

Although this idea is good, the difficulty lies in choosing the right person.

Marriage is a major event, and it is especially important for women. You certainly cannot just marry anyone.

But where can I find a reliable person to get engaged and married on short notice?

Xue Heyan stood up and said that he also had some responsibility in this matter and he was willing to help.

Jiang Wanqing was unwilling at first, but he gave her a reason that she couldn't refuse -

"Ordinary people wouldn't dare to offend His Royal Highness, and noble families wouldn't play along with you. My grandfather and father were both military commanders, and my family's titles were earned through military merit. In the eyes of civil officials, our status isn't much higher than that of a merchant family."

"The most important thing is that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not attack me."

The reason that the prince would not attack him successfully convinced Jiang Wanqing.

She agreed to a fake marriage with Xue Heyan.

But after thinking it over again and again, she wrote another letter to her father, explaining the whole story and her engagement with the young marquis of Wu'an Marquisate.

She didn't know how her family would react, but the next day after she sent the letter, she handed the shop over to other people, packed her bags and followed Xue Heyan to the border.

Time is too short for them to get married.

Just the engagement itself, without any elders in the capital to act as matchmakers, and even the marriage certificate alone might not be enough to stop the prince.

Therefore, Xue Heyan and Miss Cui had a common opinion that Jiang Wanqing should be taken away from them. Even if the prince wanted to make trouble, he would not be able to reach out that far.

This strategy finally worked.

The prince was so busy before his wedding that he had no time to care about Jiang Wanqing. By the time he found out that she was taken out of the capital, it was already the eve of his wedding, and it would have been impossible for him to get away by then.

The plan was almost perfect.

But there is nothing perfect in this world.

Natural disasters and man-made disasters always come unexpectedly.