"Your Majesty the Queen, on my way here, I saw that the chrysanthemums in the imperial garden are in full bloom. There's a kind of purple chrysanthemum with an auspicious color. It's quite rare. I've never seen it before. I'd like to go and have a look."
Jiang Qianyu looked gratefully at the old lady.
Cheng Simian picked up the old lady's words, "Grandma, if you're in the mood, I'll accompany you to take a look."
"I'll go too."
Everyone knew that the Crown Prince doted on his wife. Since Mianmian was going, he naturally wanted to accompany her.
The two walked out of the inner palace on either side of the old lady.
The room fell silent. Jiang Qianyu's tense shoulders relaxed a bit, but she still nervously clutched the corner of her sleeve.
"Qian'er, there's no one else here. You can speak your mind."
She was the one who had risked her life for the Crown Prince. The Queen liked her gentle and demure character, so her tone was kind.
Jiang Qianyu knelt down straight away and took out the pair of jade ruyis from her sleeve.
Holding them above her head properly, her eyes were lowered, looking somewhat ashamed.
"I'm grateful for Your Majesty the Queen's favor. I'm neither good-looking nor talented. I'm just an ordinary person without the ability to serve His Highness the Crown Prince. I've let Your Majesty the Queen down. I've come here to plead guilty. Please take back the jade ruyis. I don't deserve them."
After her words, the room fell into a quiet hush. Only the incense in the censer made a slight crackling sound.
Jiang Qianyu was extremely nervous, with pale lips.
The Queen was always kind and motherly to the world, but for her to rashly decline the Queen's kindness would really make the Queen lose face.
Even without anyone else present, it was still an offense to the Queen's dignity.
If you can't hold onto something, you have to let go. She had already made up her mind.
Jiang Qianyu, who was ready to bear the Queen's anger, didn't wait for the Queen's punishment for a long time.
"Get up. I understand your intention."
The unexpectedly kind tone left Jiang Qianyu quite confused.
Her knees still hadn't left the ground.
The Queen leaned forward, grabbed her wrist, and lifted it up.
Jiang Qianyu was flattered. She quickly got up and bowed again. "I'm so honored."
As noble as the Queen, even the Imperial Noble Consort had never been personally helped up by the Queen when paying respects.
The Queen's tone became even gentler. "How about I consider the jade ruyis as a wedding gift for you?"
"A wedding gift?"
"Look, this jar of osmanthus honey is the betrothal gift personally sent by the old lady of the Duke's Mansion for you. All the remaining days in October are good days for weddings. The Liang family can't wait to prepare the betrothal gifts and marry you as soon as possible."
A hot flush rushed to her face. Jiang Qianyu was too shy to raise her eyes, but there was an indescribable sense of relief and relaxation in her heart.
Then, a sweet and secret joy quietly emerged.
"Your father will enter the capital the day after tomorrow. I'll report to the Emperor and ask him not to take up his post immediately after meeting the Emperor. It's more important to arrange your wedding properly."
The Queen put the pair of jade ruyis back into her hands with a kind smile. "You're a good girl and deserve a good marriage. Everyone wants to enjoy the spring scenery in the Eastern Palace, but you're an elegant and noble chrysanthemum. You should embrace your own autumn frost."
Jiang Qianyu's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you, Your Majesty the Queen, for your consideration."
...
That night, she solemnly thanked the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince and Your Highness the Crown Princess have found a good marriage for me. I was so stupid that it took me so long to understand your good intentions."
She thought that her encounter with Liang Wentao during the autumn outing was just a coincidence. She also thought that it was just a coincidence that the Crown Princess included her, Liang Wentao, and Ruier in the painting.
Even sending her as an envoy to deliver the painting was only because her identity was suitable.
But how could there be so many coincidences in the world?
It was all the good intentions of kind people!
The happiest one was the Crown Prince.
Jiang Qianyu's marriage had always been a heavy stone weighing on his mind.
He couldn't simply and rudely drive her out of the Eastern Palace, nor could he accept her admiration with peace of mind.
He definitely couldn't use her as a political tool and push her to someone he didn't trust.
Fortunately, Liang Wentao was a good man who could be entrusted with her whole life.
Cheng Simian looked at Jiang Qianyu and was sincerely happy for her.
"The Eastern Palace is also your family. Your Highness, we should prepare a generous dowry for Qian'er. We can't let the Liang family think that we in the Eastern Palace are stingy."
"I've already received too many favors from you and Your Highness. How could I dare to ask for a dowry from the Eastern Palace?"
Although the Jiang family wasn't extremely wealthy, they could still prepare a decent dowry.
She was going to be Liang Wentao's second wife, so there was no need to make a big fuss.
"Qian'er, for the Liang family, it's taking a second wife, but for you, it's your first solemn marriage. Liang Wentao loves and respects you. He will definitely marry you in a grand way. You deserve the best."
You deserve the best.
Everyone told her so.
Jiang Qianyu's heart was filled with gratitude.
On the 18th of October, Jiang's father entered the capital and took up the post of Minister of Works, a third-rank official.
On the 20th of October, the Liang family sent the betrothal gifts. From the Liang family's mansion to the Jiang family's mansion, the ten-mile long street was filled with gongs and drums. By the time the first sedan of betrothal gifts entered the Jiang family's mansion, the last sedan had just left the Liang family's mansion. The common people were amazed by the spectacle.
On the 23rd of October, Jiang Qianyu got married in grand style.
The Eastern Palace sent a total of a hundred sedan chairs of dowry. Together with the sixty-eight sedan chairs from the Jiang family, the grand occasion was comparable to the Crown Princess's wedding.
In addition, Cheng Simian assigned Fang Xiao to Jiang Qianyu as her top-ranking maid.
She also gave four other maids and four servant families.
After finishing Jiang Qianyu's wedding, at the beginning of November, it was the wedding of Princess Lingyang.
On the day when Qin Feng led Qin Ziqi to send the betrothal gifts to the princess's mansion, Princess Lingyang didn't show up.
Madam Qin had gone crazy after being scared by the "ghost" of Hongrui. She rambled on all day long and was in a daze. She was no longer able to meet people.
The scene of sending the betrothal gifts was rather cold and desolate.
Princess Lingyang was willing to marry Qin Ziqi as a compromise for the greater good. The Queen couldn't bear to force her.
The Queen showed up in person, accompanied by the Crown Prince and Cheng Simian.
This was already enough to give the Qin family face.
Qin Ziqi's face was a bit cold, but he didn't dare to lose his temper in front of the three of them.
As soon as he got back, he started complaining.
"Our Rongxiang Duke's Mansion has ancestors who were founding heroes. For four generations, our family has been close to the emperor. She's just a mere princess. It's actually an honor for her to marry into our Rongxiang Duke's Mansion. For such an important event as sending the betrothal gifts, she didn't even show up! Isn't this clearly giving us a hard time?"
Qin Feng had forced a smile in front of the Queen and the Crown Prince for a long time, and his face was a bit stiff.
He was also uncomfortable in his heart, but he was much more sober than Qin Ziqi.
"The situation is different now. Princess Lingyang is inherently unruly. You should humble yourself. There mustn't be any mistakes on the wedding day."
Qin Feng's advice didn't mean much to Qin Ziqi.
What big trouble could there be?
The wedding date was set for the 5th of November.
On the 4th, he ran into Lu Siming on the street.
"Congratulations, Prince Consort Qin. Once you marry Princess Lingyang, we'll be family."
Qin Ziqi forced a smile. "Your Highness the Second Prince is really flattering me."
Put nicely, it was him marrying the princess. Put bluntly, it was him marrying into the royal family.
He would always be inferior to the princess.
In the future, even taking concubines wouldn't be up to him. He would still have to get Lingyang's consent.
It was really humiliating.
Lu Siming was extremely understanding. "I know your grievances. Lingyang has been spoiled since childhood. She's arrogant and domineering, always putting herself first. Even the outstanding Liang Yuzhou had to avoid her back then. But once she marries you, she'll be a wife. She can't be so overbearing."
He patted Qin Ziqi on the shoulder and said earnestly, "On the wedding night, you can't indulge her too much. If you can't tame this wild horse on the first night, you'll have a hard time in the future."