The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 463: Overjoyed
Chapter 463 Overjoyed
After hearing what Dong Qingping said, the emperor gritted his teeth and the warm smile on his face disappeared. Although his son was cowardly and incompetent… he must not be looked down upon by a minister!
The emperor’s voice was filled with obvious anger: “Dong Qing, are you dissatisfied with my son?”
Dong Qingping pretended to be panic-stricken and kowtowed quickly: “I dare not deceive you, Your Majesty. Everything I said is true! I hope Your Majesty will understand!”
The emperor felt deeply humiliated and was dissatisfied.
Seeing the emperor’s frown, the prince pretended to be puzzled and said, “Father, this Prince Liang… before, the one he sent to Princess Zhenguo was a love letter, and now the one he sent to Miss Dong is a personal item. Is this another one-sided affair? We must find out!”
Dong Qingping’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the prince’s words, and he kowtowed hurriedly, saying, “Your Majesty, if the King of Liang likes my daughter, it is a blessing that my daughter has cultivated for many lifetimes! The King of Liang can ask the matchmaker to come to his house. I am so happy to have the son of the emperor as my son-in-law! Please, Your Majesty, persuade the King of Liang not to do this. I have one legitimate daughter, two illegitimate daughters and three daughters. If Ting Zhen’s reputation is damaged, what will my other daughters say about her in the future? Parents in the world are pitiful. I hope Your Majesty can pity my three daughters and don’t let His Royal Highness the King of Liang use my daughter’s personal ornaments to propose marriage! I will wait for His Royal Highness the King of Liang to send the matchmaker to my house, and I will definitely handle this engagement properly.”
Dong Qingping spoke sincerely and realistically, and used the caring nature of a common father to impress the emperor. Although the emperor felt much more relieved, he could not help but doubt Prince Liang.
Dong Qingping had already said this, the emperor couldn’t just ask Dong Tingzhen to come and confront him.
The emperor was somewhat embarrassed.
He was obviously his son, so why not just be open and honest? Why did he have to use such vulgar means as stuffing love letters into a woman’s mouth or taking someone else’s personal belongings to ask her for favors?
“Go ahead!” said the emperor.
Dong Qingping kowtowed respectfully and left the hall.
“What is this Prince Liang doing?” The emperor was furious. “Is he acting like a prince?! Is he my son?!”
The prince was smart and went forward to bring the teacup to the emperor. He calmed the emperor down first and said, “I think it’s possible that Lord Dong didn’t know that his daughter and Prince Liang had secretly got married. But Lord Dong is right. If Prince Liang used the personal ornaments of the Dong family’s daughter to propose marriage, the other girls in the Dong family would have no chance of living.”
The emperor took the teacup and listened to the prince say, “But what the King of Liang did was indeed inappropriate. He is a prince and has reached the age of twenty. Could it be that your father does not care about his marriage? Would he force him to marry someone he does not want to marry? If he comes to your father to talk to him seriously, would your father not grant him a marriage? Would your father forcibly break up the couple? He had to take someone’s personal belongings to your father, which ruined the girl’s reputation. If you really love Miss Dong, you should not make Miss Dong unable to live a normal life and force her to marry no one else but him!”
The emperor frowned and looked displeased.
“Fortunately, Lord Dong is the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, not a provincial governor with military power. Otherwise… my son would have doubted the purpose of Prince Liang in marrying the daughter of the Dong family at the cost of ruining her reputation!” The prince’s voice was tinged with laughter, as if he was joking.
The emperor paused while drinking tea.
Dong Qingping does not have military power, but… Dong Qingyue does!
Dong Qingyue and Dong Qingping have always had a very good relationship as brothers. It is said that Dong Qingyue has no legitimate daughter, so he treats his brother Dong Qingping’s legitimate daughter as his own daughter.
The prince looked at the emperor’s thoughtful expression and knew that he had probably touched the emperor’s heart.
Ever since the Second Prince raised an army to force the emperor to abdicate and rebel, the Emperor feared the Prince’s association with important officials who held military power. He was afraid of experiencing the Second Prince’s rebellion again. Even his legitimate son, Prince Xin, had never dared to do so in all these years.
The emperor put down the teacup in his hand, but…was it just a coincidence that King Liang was incompetent and cowardly?
The emperor inexplicably thought of the dream of the white tiger again, and of the terrifying and murderous rage in Prince Liang’s eyes when he asked Tong Ji to shut up.
The prince saw that the emperor was deep in thought and did not disturb him. He stood quietly by and did the delicate work of massaging the emperor’s shoulders, which was a job that only servants could do.
The emperor’s fingers gently stroked the embroidery on the pillow. Prince Liang offered him the elixir… hoping that he would be strong and healthy. Could it be that he was worried that once he died… the throne would naturally be inherited by the crown prince, and he would have no chance.
The emperor turned around and looked at the prince who was conscientiously massaging his shoulders.
The prince looked up and saw the emperor looking at him. He asked anxiously, “Did I press too hard?”
The emperor also thought of how Shi Panshan had pleaded for Prince Liang in front of him after returning from Yanwo, and praised Prince Liang for handling all matters properly during the disaster relief in Yanwo. The final unrest was caused by the troublemakers who had gone too far.
The emperor leaned back in the dragon throne, asked the prince to step down, and sat there alone to think carefully.
The crown prince was appointed by the emperor himself. The crown prince was filial and very afraid of the emperor, so he would definitely not force the emperor to abdicate and rebel. The emperor was confident of this, so he had no intention of appointing another crown prince or supporting another prince to protect and check the crown prince.
Regardless of which country it is, the fight for the throne has always been bloody since ancient times. The root cause… is that the emperor is wary of the crown prince, which allows people to take advantage of the situation.
Therefore, when choosing a princess for Prince Liang, you have to think carefully. It can’t be too high… nor too low.
“Gao Demao!” the emperor called out.
Gao Demao immediately stepped forward in small steps: “Your Majesty, I am here!”
“You go in person and quietly tell King Liang that the Dong and Bai families are in-laws. King Liang had previously attempted to frame King Zhenguo for treason, so Dong Qingping disagreed with this marriage. Tell him not to ruin Miss Dong’s reputation and give Miss Dong’s safety lock to you. Find a time to quietly send it back to Dong Qingping!” The emperor tapped his fingers lightly on the table. “This matter is settled! I will definitely find him a good marriage!”
“Yes! I’ll do it right away!”
Just as Gao Demao was about to leave, the emperor called him back: “I seem to remember that the retired imperial tutor Tan Song has two granddaughters. Are they the children of the imperial tutor’s eldest son’s previous wife?”
Gao Demao immediately understood and said hurriedly, “That’s right! Later, the eldest daughter-in-law of the imperial tutor died of dystocia when giving birth. The current wife is the second wife, and the imperial tutor is very lucky. Within a few years of entering the family, the second wife, Li, gave birth to two grandsons for the imperial tutor!”
“Are the two granddaughters of the imperial tutor married?” asked the emperor.
“The eldest granddaughter got married last year, but the second Miss Tan hasn’t found her husband yet. If the imperial tutor knew that his granddaughter would marry Prince Liang as his concubine, he would definitely be happy!” Gao Demao said with a smile.
Third update! I’ll continue to roll around here and ask for monthly tickets…