RPAGF Chapter 242 Defying the Imperial Decree Again
Chapter 242 Defying the Imperial Decree Again
The sudden sound startled Ling Jiawei, who turned around and saw Lan Zhi and Wei Jianning standing not far away, watching him.
He hurried over, shaking his head to explain.
"No...nothing."
"Brother, you're not one to keep secrets. Judging from your expression, you must be hiding something from me."
At this point, she looked at Wei Jianning.
"Husband, you go back to the manor first. I need to say a few words to my elder brother."
Wei Jianning knew that Lan Zhi was worried that there were some things Ling Jiawei couldn't say while he was here.
He nodded immediately, gave her a few words of advice, and then stepped into the Crown Prince's residence.
Lan Zhi then looked at Ling Jiawei and solemnly asked:
"Speak, what is it?"
Ling Jiawei's hands were clenched together incessantly, his palms sweating with nervousness.
"Big brother, what happened?"
"About the orchids, do you... know anything about it?"
He wasn't sure if Lan Zhi knew about this, and he didn't dare to say it directly, for fear of scaring Lan Zhi.
Lan Zhi frowned slightly and pressed for an answer:
"Orchid? What's wrong? Did you hear something?"
Ling Jiawei rubbed his hands together vigorously, gritted his teeth, and reluctantly uttered a few words.
“My father just arrived, and he said… he said that orchids are related to Consort Lan…”
Lan Zhi wasn't surprised by the news, but she didn't expect Ling Jiawei to find out so quickly.
Seeing that she didn't react, he looked up at her in surprise.
"Don't you think this is incredible? This girl has been willful since she was a child. I never thought she would dare to get married secretly, and even marry the emperor. Father and son marrying sisters. If outsiders knew this, they would laugh their heads off."
Seeing Ling Jiawei's furious expression, Lan Zhiwan chuckled softly.
"I already knew about this, but I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would be angry. I didn't expect you to find out anyway."
"You already knew?"
Ling Jiawei looked at her with disbelief.
"Since you knew all along, why didn't you stop her?"
"By the time I found out, she had already been made a concubine of the Lan family. How could I stop it?"
"But...but how are we going to handle this?"
“We are not sisters. When things get really bad, I will make our relationship public and then sever ties with her.”
"But……"
Ling Jiawei still felt that this matter was too embarrassing.
“Brother, there are many miscellaneous matters in the manor lately. We can talk about her later. You can have someone prepare Jingyi Garden so that Miss Zhu can live there after she marries in.”
Seeing that she was in a bad mood when she mentioned Miss Zhu, Ling Jiawei quickly comforted her gently.
"Lan Zhi, it's normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines, especially since your man is the Crown Prince. As long as you secure your position as the principal wife, don't think too much about it."
Lan Zhi gave a bitter smile.
"Brother, I understand. Go ahead and get busy!"
After leaving those words behind, she started walking towards the Crown Prince's residence, but her steps were somewhat heavy.
Ah Qi followed beside her and asked in a low voice.
"Master, I'm sorry you've been wronged."
Lan Zhi smiled slightly but remained silent.
She stood in the main courtyard of the Crown Prince's residence, facing the warm spring breeze, looking at the willow tree by the courtyard wall that had already sprouted branches, the small fish swimming in the pond, and the birds chirping on the branches, feeling extremely melancholy.
She knew that this idyllic life might soon come to an end.
She knew that Miss Zhu's arrival would disrupt her peaceful life, but as long as Miss Zhu didn't go too far after marrying into the family, she could turn a blind eye to whatever she did.
However, just the thought of Wei Jianning possibly sleeping in the same bed as her sent a pang of inexplicable bitterness through her heart...
The next morning.
Wei Jianning left early, carrying the two imperial edicts, and galloped straight to the palace.
Yesterday afternoon, Lin Chengda gave him an idea: either cancel the marriage with the Zhu family or regain the status of Crown Prince Regent and the Tiger Tally. He promised that the father and son would help him.
With the support of the Lin family, Wei Jianning felt more confident.
Therefore, he came to the Emperor today to annul the engagement. If the annulment is successful, everything will be fine. If it fails, he will use this marriage as leverage to reclaim the status and tiger tally that rightfully belong to him.
He can accept either staying or leaving.
Last night, the Emperor stayed overnight at Zhenlan Garden. Instead of going there to look for anyone, he sent a eunuch to inform the Emperor that he would be waiting in the Imperial Study.
With his hands behind his back, he stared at the stacks of unopened memorials on the dragon desk, his fists clenched and his teeth clenched in anger.
Father Emperor is truly incompetent. Even when he was young and infatuated with women, he never neglected state affairs. Now that he is old, why does he still like to linger in women's beds and cannot extricate himself?
He waited there for a full hour before the emperor finally arrived, yawning repeatedly.
"Ning'er, what brings you here so early in the morning, insisting that I come to the Imperial Study?"
Wei Jianning frowned, pointed directly at the imperial edict on the dragon table, and said, barely suppressing his anger:
"Regarding the imperial decree of marriage bestowed yesterday, after much deliberation, I have decided to return it. If Father insists on bestowing it, either demote me to a commoner or give me a bowl of poisoned wine. This matter was my personal doing and has nothing to do with the entire Crown Prince's residence. Please do not punish the entire Crown Prince's residence just because I do not accept the marriage decree."
The Emperor stared coldly at the two imperial edicts, his brows furrowing slightly, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table.
Seeing that the Emperor remained silent, Wei Jianning continued:
“Miss Zhu is of noble birth, yet Lord Zhu has allowed her to marry me as a concubine, which makes me very suspicious of his motives. I beg Your Majesty to investigate and withdraw this imperial decree.”
What if I don't accept it?
"Then I will commit suicide in front of my father."
As he spoke, he placed his right hand on his neck without hesitation, raised his chin slightly, and his eyes revealed a fierce and hateful look.
The Emperor coughed lightly and quickly raised his hand to stop him.
"Ning'er, there's no need to do something so extreme. Since you disagree, I'll ask Lord Zhu what he thinks later..."
He had barely finished speaking when Qin Shun's voice came through.
"Your Majesty, Lord Zhu has arrived."
The Emperor nodded slightly and raised his hand, saying:
"Speak of the devil, and he appears! Now that he's here, let's deal with this matter as well! Please invite Lord Zhu in."
In fact, the Emperor simply listened to Consort Liang's words regarding the arranged marriage and did not insist on it.
Since the crown prince threatened to kill himself, he had no reason to force his own son to his death over this matter.
When Zhu Kui entered and saw Wei Jianning, he shook his head and sighed while bowing to the Emperor with clasped hands.
"Hail, Your Majesty."
"Lord Zhu, it's just in time that you've arrived. I have something to discuss with you."
Before the Emperor could finish speaking, Zhu Kui interrupted:
"Your Majesty, I have also come to tell you something important today. Please go first."
The Emperor looked at him with great curiosity. Could it be that his daughter wanted to break off the engagement? If so, it would save a lot of trouble, and he, as the Emperor, could save face.
Thinking of this, he raised his hand and said:
"Oh? Then tell me first, what's your business?"