179: Forced Marriage

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Su Xinyi has always remembered the corpse of the female body in Xiaoyu Qingchi, especially since the deceased was Zhang Huiming, which puzzled her even more.

After all, the current King Rong is not the ruthless King Rong in his previous life. He is still somewhat naive and honest now, and he should not kill Zhang Huiming.

But how do people die?

Why did you die in Xiaoyuqing Pond?

It is very strange that the prince came forward to investigate this matter. Logically speaking, the queen should be in charge of matters in the harem. Why would your majesty let the prince come forward again?

Nothing was wrong, but Su Xinyi could only stay in Yangde Palace obediently and try not to get involved with this matter.

She had an intuition that His Highness the Crown Prince would not want her to be involved in this case. At most, she would be an innocent passerby, or an unlucky person targeted by Ambassador Zhang.

After a polo match, Su Xinyi's popularity soared. The ladies in Yangde Palace were particularly enthusiastic when they saw her. Except for those who deliberately targeted her, her little life was very comfortable, which was better than she expected. Much more comfortable.

"What are you going to do today?"

"I don't know. There is no news from Yuan Hui Palace."

"It would be nice to go to the polo field and play."

"In your dreams."

Everyone was chatting together. Su Xinyi got a headache when she heard the word polo field. She must not go there.

Just as they were talking, they saw Shu Siyang and the others walking in. They were all dressed in long peony red skirts, with cloaks of the same color on top. They were as gorgeous as peonies.

After Shu Siyang entered the palace, he looked around at everyone, and finally his eyes fell on Su Xinyi. However, Su Xinyi turned his head to talk to Zhu Chanyi and did not see her at all.

Shu Siyang snorted and went directly to the upper seat to sit down. Seeing that the opposite side was empty, he asked, "Miss Pei is not here?"

Someone next to me said: "Miss Pei went to Shaoyang Courtyard to meet the Crown Prince."

As soon as this voice came out, everyone in the hall fell silent, and even Su Xinyi turned his head.

No wonder Pei Nianwei dressed up beautifully this morning, ate breakfast in a hurry and left. It turned out that she was going to Shaoyang Courtyard.

Su Xinyi frowned slightly, and then thought about whether Pei Nianwei going to Shaoyang Courtyard had anything to do with her. They were cousins, and their relationship was much closer than hers.

"Oh, Miss Pei is really thoughtful." Shu Siyang said in a neutral tone.

How is this easy to say?

Zhu Chanyi and others didn't talk to each other, and kept to themselves, chatting wordlessly with the people around them.

But Li Qingyi looked at Shu Siyang and said with a smile, "Miss Shu, Miss Pei is the direct cousin of His Highness the Crown Prince. Isn't it normal for a cousin to meet her cousin?"

Shu Siyang raised his eyes and looked at Li Qingyi and sneered and said: "Since you are entering the palace to stand for election, you should naturally abide by the rules. If everyone does this to Miss Pei, wouldn't it mean that you have broken the rules?"

"Since Miss Shu said so, just tell Miss Pei when she comes back." Li Qingyi retorted with a smile.

No matter what, the Pei family is the first empress's natal family. As the successor's natal family, the Shu family is shorter than the Pei family. Moreover, the current prince is the son of Queen Pei. Even if Queen Shu desperately wants to make King Rong the prince, isn't it because she has not yet taken the throne?

As long as King Rong is not the prince, the Shu family will have to show courtesy to the Pei family.

If it were outside, the step-mother would have to perform the concubine ceremony in front of the head wife's memorial tablet in the ancestral hall.

The two were tit-for-tat, and everyone was used to it these days. They were not as nervous as when they first met. At most, they listened with open ears, but did not get involved in other things.

At this time, Peiyu came in, gave everyone a blessing, and then said with a smile: "Today, the Queen is busy with the affairs of the harem, so she specially asked the slaves to send a message to all the girls. The Queen said that all the girls should embroider their own embroidery. A piece of handkerchief, wait until tomorrow when the slave comes to collect it.”

Everyone was not too surprised. It was normal for the queen to compete with female celebrities. Naturally, they all responded with a smile. Someone asked whether the pattern embroidered on the jade handkerchief was up to her.

Peiyu answered them one by one, and then left with a smile after everyone had no questions.

Su Xinyi looked at Peiyu's expression, and he was more respectful than before. So the queen couldn't get away today, is it because the matter of the female body of Xiaoyu Qingchi has not been found out?

"Xin Yi, what do you want to embroider?" Wang Yingyao came over and asked.

Jiang Ruolan also came over and said after hearing this: "Anything is fine, you don't need to pursue luxury and complexity, just be generous and simple."

Jiang Ruolan said this because she was afraid that Su Xinyi had never done this in the countryside. Although country people could embroider a little, how could they compare with ladies taught by top embroiderers.

That's why I said this because I didn't want Su Xinyi to feel pressured.

Su Xinyi nodded solemnly when he heard this, "I also think that anything can be embroidered, as long as you put your heart into it."

The three of them went back chatting and laughing. The maid had already prepared some needlework and other things.

Before Pei Nianwei came back, Jiang Ruolan simply brought her sewing frame and came over to keep Su Xinyi company.

"It's impossible to stay in that room. You don't know that Shu Siyang and Li Qingyi are really fighting each other all the time. It's really embarrassing for me to be in the middle. I might as well hide away and be quiet." Jiang Ruolan said in a particularly painful way. .

Wang Yingyao said: "Then don't go back, just stay here. It's okay for Miss Pei to come back. She usually doesn't say a word when the curtain is drawn."

Jiang Ruolan nodded, "Then I'll stay a little longer and go back after dinner."

The three of them took out their needles and threads while talking. Su Xinyi clamped the embroidery cloth on the bamboo support, thinking about what to embroider that would be simple and time-saving.

After much deliberation, I decided to embroider a clump of bamboo. His Royal Highness is as noble as a lush forest of bamboo. Bamboo is really simple, beautiful and time-saving.

She picked a green silk thread and split it, then twisted a thin thread and inserted it into an embroidery needle. She held the needle and started embroidering slowly.

Jiang Ruolan was surprised and said: "Xin Yi, you are very skilled in this action, and the threads are also very thin. How many threads have you split on this one?"

Su Xinyi said casually: "Not many, maybe twenty."

A top embroiderer can split thirty or forty threads with one thread. Although Su Xinyi is not particularly serious about splitting threads, she feels that splitting into more than twenty threads is enough.

She wasn't here to show off her embroidery skills.

Jiang Ruolan took a breath, "More than twenty? Isn't that much? If I didn't know you were telling the truth, I would have thought you were showing off."

Su Xinyi raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Ruolan, and asked suspiciously: "Is this more? If your embroiderer is cut like this, then she is unqualified."

"You also said that she was the embroidery lady!" Jiang Ruolan said angrily, "This is unreasonable. You can even use a spear, but you can still pick up an embroidery needle. Just pick up an embroidery needle. That's it. Your It’s really infuriating that people can split the thread so well.”

Su Xinyi:......

Can this be considered great?

In the previous life, the people around her could casually chop more than thirty sticks. They said that splitting like this was barely qualified, but her twenty-odd sticks were not considered qualified. Is this considered good in Jiang Ruolan's eyes?

Seeing Su Xinyi in a daze with a puzzled look on her face, Wang Yingyao said with a smile: "Ruo Lan is right. Although we people learn skills from embroiderers, we don't really need to make embroidery work as a livelihood in the future. , and there are girls who specialize in splitting the thread at home, and you have to do it yourself, so ordinary people may not be able to split the thread well. "

Only then did Su Xinyi realize. He originally wanted to hide his clumsiness, but he didn't expect that he still had the upper hand. He was helpless.

What the hell is this!

Su Xinyi made up his mind to adjust it, so when he embroidered bamboo, he deliberately used only half of his skill. It could be seen that what he was embroidering was bamboo, and it had some charm, but if you look closely, it was not very good.

In comparison, although Wang Yingyao and Jiang Ruolan did not cut the thread well, their embroidery was much more delicate. At first glance, they were more delicate and beautiful than Su Xinyi's.

Su Xinyi's embroidery work is so simple. It's finished before nightfall. There's no need to light up the lamp and boil wax to work overtime. It's great.

Wang Yingyao grimaced, "If I had known better, I would have embroidered plum blossoms in the snow. It's easy and fast."

The three of them all laughed. After Su Xinyi finished, she got up to move around. Only then did she realize that the curtain on Pei Nianwei's side had fallen down at some point, and she didn't notice that everyone was back.

Su Xinyi didn't pay attention to Pei Nianwei. She left the palace and stood under the eaves of the corridor. The golden crow fell in the west and the sunset filled the sky. The whole sky was covered with a layer of gorgeous red. The wind at night also became a little warmer. Spring is really is coming.

The prince of Shaoyang Courtyard was reviewing the files, and Yang Jin was replying next to him, "After your majesty knew the cause of Zhang Huiming's death, he scolded His Royal Highness Prince Rong severely. However, the matter involved the queen, so your majesty did not say anything. Maybe this matter will go away like this."

Without even raising his head, the prince could hear the dissatisfaction and anger in Yang Jin's words. He said calmly: "Tell Hu Siyi what the queen has said several times against the head of Yong'an County."

"Hu Siyi is just an old cunning guy. Even if I tell him, I'm afraid he may not speak before His Majesty." Yang Jin said helplessly. Hu Siyi is only loyal to Your Majesty and no one can bribe him.

No one dared to bribe him easily.

"Just let people go." Yan Junchu lowered his eyes and said, his long eyelashes covering his dark and deep eyes, suppressing all his thoughts.

Yang Jin knew that His Highness had made up his mind and turned around.

Yan Junchu stood up under the tree, and the dim light of the sunset fell on him, making his handsome and extraordinary face even more noble and unparalleled. After a long while, he chuckled and sat back at the table to review the files, as if he was not the one who was in a bad mood just now.

The dossier in his hand was what Su Xinyi had been waiting for for a long time from the Yulin Guard, but this dossier was much thicker than an ordinary letter.

After Yan Junchu read it, he picked up his pen and wrote a short paragraph on the paper, then rolled it up and reached out to the eunuch Huang Zhuo, "Send this note quietly to the Lord of Yong'an County."

Huang Zhuo hurriedly took the note and stuffed it into his armhole, bent down and replied: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will definitely do it."

Huang Zhuo has been with the prince for many years and has always stayed in the Shaoyang Courtyard to serve him. He was very surprised why his highness wanted to secretly send a message to the Lord of Yong'an County. However, this was not something he should know. He quietly went to Yangde Palace and found his usual acquaintance. The good palace servant made an excuse, saying that the Duke of Qi's palace had sent something to Yong'an County Lord, and he happened to come back from outside the palace to bring it to him, and asked for his convenience.

Huang Zhuo's presence in the harem was very low, and he usually stayed in the Shaoyang Courtyard and did not go out. The man in the Yangde Palace was his fellow countryman. The two had a good relationship in private, so they helped spread the word.

Su Xinyi was a little surprised after receiving the letter. When she saw Huang Zhuo, she couldn't help but be stunned.

She knew him as the chamberlain who used to follow His Royal Highness.

Huang Zhuo was holding a bag of covering things in his hand. When he saw Yong'an County Lord coming out, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him. Naturally, he still used the same rhetoric as before and handed the bag to Su Xinyi.

When Su Xinyi thanked him and took the bundle, a note was suddenly stuffed into her palm. When she looked up, Huang Zhuo had already turned around and left.

She put the note away calmly and went back with the bundle.

It was not uncommon for family members outside to bring things in. Shu Siyang had received two such gifts in the past two days, so no one cared too much about her carrying the bundle. At most, they asked a question. When they knew it was sent by the Duke of Qi's Mansion, they were not curious.

After Su Xinyi went back, Jiang Ruolan and Wang Yingyao were still busy threading needles. She sat down on the edge of the bed without disturbing them and pretended to open the bundle. She saw that it was filled with food, which was really substantial. The key point was that the food was not from the palace, but was specially bought from an old brand outside.

The people around His Royal Highness the Crown Prince were really thoughtful. They were afraid that people would find out the flaws.

The aroma of the food attracted the attention of Wang Yingyao and Jiang Ruolan, so Su Xinyi simply asked them to eat some together, and explained that it was sent by their family. The two did not refuse, and smiled and went to wash their hands, then sat down and picked up the small snacks the size of the mouth of the wine glass and ate them bit by bit.

"Speaking of this food, it is really a time-honored brand that can have such a taste." Jiang Ruolan ate a butterfly cake and was so satisfied, "The butterfly cakes in their family usually have to line up to buy them, Xinyi, your family really loves you very much."

Su Xinyi smiled and agreed, and ate one herself. The texture was crispy and soft, and it was seven points sweet, and it didn't make people feel sick. Su Xixian and Su Jingmo would ask people to line up to buy this butterfly cake every half a month, and they would bring her a portion every time, sometimes butterfly cakes, sometimes orchid cakes, in short, they would buy them in a different way every time.

Thinking of this, Su Xinyi suddenly realized that in just a few days, she actually missed the people in the Duke of Qi's Mansion.

After eating snacks, it was time to rest. Jiang Ruolan stood up and said goodbye. Her embroidery was still a little short, and she would finish it after washing up in the evening.

Wang Yingyao was also finishing hers. After eating and washing her hands, she continued to sit there embroidering. Su Xinyi took the opportunity to let the curtain down in the name of sleeping.

After lying down, she took out the note that Huang Zhuo had stuffed in her. When she looked at it under the light, she couldn't stop smiling!

The prince told her that the caravan had entered the customs and the people were back. He didn't say much about the rest, but it was good that the people were back, it was good that the people were back.

Su Xinyi had been worried about this matter for more than a month, and this stone finally fell.

His Royal Highness the Prince was indeed a trustworthy person. He passed the news to her when he got it, and even if it was not very convenient, he still found a way to let her know.

His Royal Highness the Prince is really a good person.

Su Xinyi slept very well this time, and she felt refreshed and energetic when she woke up the next day.

This morning, she soaked the note in the water while washing her hands and it turned into a mess. When she changed the basin of water, the thing disappeared without a trace.

After breakfast, everyone gathered in the main hall again. Su Xinyi saw that the ladies had different expressions and thought that many people might not be able to do the embroidery well.

Peiyu arrived soon, collected everyone's embroidery, and assigned another task, copying scriptures.

Su Xinyi: ...

What is the queen going to do?

Tempering their tempers?

Copying books is better than embroidery. Su Xinyi thought this was okay, but when she saw that the scripture in Peiyu's hand was as high as a finger, she couldn't laugh anymore.

The queen must be taking revenge. Such a thick book, she copied it in one day, it's cruel enough!

At this time, the queen was scolding her son, Prince Rong, in Yuanhui Palace. She was almost vomiting blood after scolding her son.

Prince Rong also felt wronged. He looked at his mother and asked, "Why do you set up obstacles for Su Xinyi? She didn't provoke you, why do you always make trouble for her?"

"Why didn't she provoke you? Look at what she did to your aunt and cousin. Is this what ordinary people would do?" The queen was so angry that she was panting and her face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Prince Rong was even more puzzled. "Mother, you must have heard your aunt's distortion of right and wrong. It's obvious that they are targeting Su Xinyi. Besides, it's her business that the cousin of the Yan family likes Shang Junyan. Do you think she is sick and insists on thinking that Su Xinyi also likes Shang Junyan? Even a blind man can see that Su Xinyi really hates Shang Junyan."

"What do you know? Some women are quite good at seducing people. Su Xinyi's actions are clearly intended to attract Shang Junyan's attention." The queen was even more angry when she said this, "You can say that this matter has nothing to do with her. If it has nothing to do with her, why doesn't Shang Junyan agree to the marriage between the two families?"

Prince Rong felt that there was really a lot of talk between him and his mother. No, he said with a dark face: "If there is a woman chasing me and insists on marrying me, would you be willing?"

"Of course not!"

"Isn't that right?"

Queen:...

Prince Rong looked at his mother and felt that she looked a little scary. He immediately slowed down his tone and said: "You are just worrying about nothing. Shang Junyan obviously doesn't like Qiong Si, but he is forcing them to get married. It will be Qiong Si who will suffer in the future. What's the point of forcing a man to marry her if he doesn't like her? Anyway, if there is a woman who insists on marrying me like this, if I am forced to marry her, I will only hate her more."

The queen took a deep breath. This son is hopeless. Can she give birth to another child and teach him again?

"Besides, Su Xinyi is so wronged in this matter. It is obviously Shang Junyan's own fault. You are making trouble for Su Xinyi. Isn't that unreasonable? Besides, how are you going to explain to your father about Zhang Huiming's matter this time?"

Prince Rong was worried. If he told the truth, he was afraid that the mother and son would meet in prison.

The queen glanced at her son and said, "Looking at your little potential, you are just a female envoy, and you have not really caused any trouble. Your father will not pursue it. If he insists on pursuing it, he will at most scold you. You will suffer. That’s it.”

King Rong:......

He is the unluckiest person in relationships!

The Queen's words came true. The Emperor would not really disgrace the Queen for a female envoy, but he was rude to his son. He scolded him severely, put him in solitary confinement, gave him a grounding, and even detained him. His salary for half a year.

King Rong really wants to cry but has no tears. Is this a disaster from heaven?

Hu Siyi stood aside without daring to breathe, pretending to be a fool. Looking at the sad face of His Highness Prince Rong, he felt a little guilty.

But when he thought that the queen kicked out her own son to take the blame, it was no big deal if he just helped spread the word.

Your Majesty valued Fourth Master Su very much back then. Now that the Empress is targeting Fourth Master Su's daughter, he has to report it to the Emperor since he knows about it. It is the Emperor's business to deal with it, but he does not report the knowledge. If one day His Majesty finds out, he It's hard to say whether the head on this item is his or not.

King Rong left with a sad look on his face. The emperor looked at his back and became even more angry. He said to Hu Siyi: "Look at him like this, he is simply... rotten wood that cannot be carved!"

Hu Siyi was already feeling guilty. After hearing the emperor's words, he couldn't help but say a kind word for King Rong, "Your Majesty, please calm down. His Highness King Rong also had good intentions at the time, but he didn't expect that things would develop like this. Besides, Zhang Huiming himself I knew I had made a big mistake, and even if I didn’t settle it myself, I wouldn’t be able to spare her until the incident came to light.”

The emperor sat in front of the royal table with a sullen face. He looked at Hu Siyi for a while and asked again: "Why is the queen targeting Su Xinyi?"

Hu Siyi's heart froze, this was not easy to say, his mind was spinning rapidly, and he composed himself before speaking, "Your Majesty, I don't dare to speak nonsense. However, Yong'an County Lord had just returned to Beijing not long ago, when he trapped Ma Rude in the south of the city, Yong'an The county magistrate set up an ambush, and His Royal Highness Prince Rong was there at the time. I heard that the county magistrate even saved Prince Rong's life. Later, the Empress sent someone to the Duke of Qi's Mansion to reward Yong'an County Magistrate, but it seemed that what she said was not very appropriate. "

The emperor naturally knew about Su Xinyi's rescue of King Rong, but he was not very clear about the details. After listening to Hu Siyi's words, he said, "Tell me carefully."

Hu Siyi told what he knew. Then he hesitated and recounted the conflict between Princess Runyi and County Princess Yongan about the Shang Crown Prince.

The emperor's face was filled with ups and downs. Hu Siyi did not dare to guess the holy intention and stood silently with his head lowered.

After a while, His Majesty asked: "Is it true that the Guangping County Prince's Palace forced Shang Junyan to marry?"

Hu Siyi didn't dare to talk nonsense and immediately said: "I don't know this slave very well, but there was indeed news that two families were discussing marriage."

As for whether it was a forced marriage or a normal marriage, His Majesty should send someone to investigate.

The emperor turned to look out the window. It was dark at dusk. Someone in the palace lit the palace lanterns and hung them high. The palace lanterns stretched out, lighting up the stars in the night.

"Go down." The emperor waved his hand.

"Yes, I resign." Hu Siyi hurriedly bent down and walked out of the palace. His forehead was covered with sweat, and his back felt cold. It was not easy for him to serve in front of the emperor.

The Prince of Guangping County has always been arrogant when relying on the Queen to do things. This time His Majesty used the word forced marriage, which shows that he is dissatisfied with it, but he doesn't know how His Majesty will deal with it.

Hu Siyi kept his mouth shut. No matter how he dealt with it, the words would not come out of his mouth.