After the replacement marriage, I was forced to fight at home

"Mom, what does the Hong family mean? Why invite everyone? They know what Meng Qi is doing."

Meng Juan unhappily pulled a piece of leather from the dowry that Liu had bought for her.

"Be careful, these two pieces of leather were obtained with great difficulty by your elder brother. They are kept for you as a treasure. When you return to the Hong family, you will be able to show off whatever you do."

Meng Juan put down the leather, "Mom, last time I asked you, you didn't tell me, is it really okay for Dad to settle the Hong family for me? When we came here, didn't Dad say that he wanted to rely on King Xiang Cheng?"

"That's out in the open. Everyone knows that the Huainan Marquisate sent their daughter to Prince Cheng. Isn't that out in the open?"

"Then will Prince Cheng be happy if I get engaged to Master Hong San? Will he not embarrass Daddy?"

"Don't worry, your father has already prepared it." Liu put the leather away, glanced outside the door and whispered,

"I didn't tell you before because I didn't want you to worry about these things too early. Your father wrote to me a few days ago and asked me to tell you some things. After all, the Hong family is sensitive. If you marry into the family without knowing anything, you will suffer."

Liu took her daughter's hand and sat on the kang. "You can see that your father has made two preparations. Your engagement with Master Hong San is your father's token of allegiance. Of course, your father had arranged it before this. When Xia Tianli had this idea, Master Hong Er came back once."

"Ah? I don't even know when you came back."

Master Hong is Meng Hai's most capable aide.

"I'm here to take care of your business. We have to do everything in advance so that we can implement the next step openly. Second Master Hong contacted the Hong family and not only obtained the Hong family's trust, but also came up with a good way to kill two birds with one stone, which is to help Princess Shen."

Meng Juan nodded. She had heard from her mother about Hongzhe helping Mr. Zhou San.

"It seems that the Prince Shen's Mansion is also leaning towards Prince Jing? So, Daddy doesn't allow Meng Qi to marry into the Zhou family?"

"Not really. It's hard to say right now. We can only say that the princess and Mr. Zhou San are on the side of Prince Jing. As for what the prince is thinking now, we don't know. In fact, if the princess didn't want to fight for the position of the crown prince for her own son, her family really wouldn't bother to vote for any prince. As long as they stay honest, no matter who gets that position, there will be no changes in the Prince Shen's Mansion."

That’s right, the problem is that the palace has not yet appointed a crown prince, and Hu wants to use external forces to achieve her wish.

"How did Daddy explain it to Prince Cheng? I mean, my marriage with Master Hong San?"

"I don't know the details, but it's nothing more than telling King Cheng that he wants to use you to dispel King Jing's concerns, so as to gain King Jing's trust and create a situation that others can't understand. This will help him get more information about King Jing. After all, there are only these two people who may compete for that position. King Cheng is also impulsive. Your father said that when you talk to him, words that seem irrational to others will make perfect sense to him."

"My father is so smart. Both princes trust him so much."

"That's right. Your father said that while he was keeping Prince Cheng hanging, he would appeal to Prince Jing, making Prince Cheng think that he was getting close to Prince Jing to gather information for him. He would also make Prince Jing think that he was getting Prince Cheng to work for him. Therefore, neither of us had any doubts about your father's approach, which gave us more options." Liu did not agree with her husband's decision at first. She always felt that the risk was too great. In her opinion, it was better to stick to one person.

But what Meng Hai said was also right, the two were evenly matched, and there was no sign of a change now. We could only make two preparations, but fortunately, these two preparations could be deployed at any time. Even if we made the wrong choice of King Jing and let our daughter marry the wrong man, it would not be easy to marry a better man again after the matter was settled and she was brought back home.

But if there was no such token of allegiance, given King Jing's cautious nature, it would be impossible for him to get close to him.

Another reason for doing this is Prince Zhenbei. Until now, Meng Hai has not figured out who he supports, or whether he is really neutral as everyone thinks and supports the emperor.

"Okay, you just need to know what I said today. Don't worry, your father won't harm you. He has planned everything for your future. Just prepare for your marriage. After the New Year and the beginning of spring, your father will come back. By then, your dowry will definitely be more than Meng Wan's."

"Hmph, her? Just a maid. But I didn't expect Meng Qi to be so calm about this matter. I wanted to make some sarcastic remarks to her so that she would lose her composure again and not be able to get married." Meng Juan said disdainfully.

"That's right. I think Meng Wan is definitely not a simple person. Ever since Wang Shi recognized her, it has become increasingly difficult for us to get involved in their first house, especially Shanzhi Hall. We could originally use the conflict between Jiang Shi and her to create some trouble, but now it seems that it is not easy."

"Mother, you also said that the first wife is full of idiots. When father's wish comes true, they still don't let you have the final say. Even if Meng Wan marries to the palace, can she have a good life with Zhou Erye's character? Not to mention the princess and Zhou Sanye, the third lady alone is enough to make her suffer."

Liu thought about Zhou Yingning's appearance and nodded with a smile.

------

This was the first time that Su Qing, as the second daughter of the Meng family, attended a banquet hosted by the Beijing noble circle.

As the future daughter-in-law of the Hong family, Meng Juan shyly let Mrs. Hong hold her hand and look her up and down, with a look of extreme satisfaction.

Those who tried to curry favor with the Hong family also praised Meng Juan to the highest level.

Liu sat next to Mrs. Hong, looking very happy.

"The fourth young lady is here." Second young lady Hong enthusiastically pulled Meng Qi's hand, "I was worried that you wouldn't come."

"Why shouldn't I come? This is my elder sister's future husband's home, I have to come and take a look. Next time when I visit someone, I should remember which way the door should face." Meng Qi tried hard to force a smile, but because her face was tense, the smile was uglier than crying.

However, these words were said beautifully. Su Qing nodded secretly, thinking that it was worth it that he had spent so much time talking yesterday.

In fact, Wang Shi didn't want Meng Qi to come. First, she was afraid that she would attract too much attention from others and be too embarrassed. Second, she was afraid that if she met Hong Zhe, Meng Qi would do something reckless again. If that happened, Wang Shi didn't dare to think about the consequences.

But the Hong family was particularly strange this time. In the past, there was only one invitation from the Huainan Marquis Mansion, inviting so-and-so to attend a certain banquet, but this time, each family sent it separately.

Song heard Wang say that Meng Qi was not feeling well and would not go, but before she could say anything, Liu stepped forward with a smile and said, "They are sisters together, so they should all go and hang out. That is the home of Sister Juan's future husband. It would be bad if people would say that your sister never went there. It is known that Sister Qi did not want to go, but they may think that they are sisters not getting along and Sister Juan does not welcome her."

Su Qing looked at Liu's half-smile and thought she was so shameless. You haven't even entered the house yet, so what's the point of talking about being welcome or not? Besides, if she wants all the sisters to go to the Hong family, wouldn't it be more legitimate to wait for you to marry in and then send the invitation?

Seeing that Song still hadn't expressed her opinion, Meng Juan stepped forward and said, "Grandmother, if it was normal, it wouldn't be a big deal, but this time Miss Hong is getting married, and Princess Jing will also go. Who knows if Prince Jing will go?"

When Song heard this, she recalled the day when she and Meng Changfeng discussed Meng Juan's marriage.

In fact, both of them knew that since the Hong family had sent official matchmakers to propose marriage, Meng Hai and Liu would definitely agree. Asking them was just a formality. The old couple could not decide on Meng Juan's marriage.

But Meng Changfeng never expected that Meng Hai asked him to send the person to Prince Cheng's Mansion, while at the same time forming an alliance with Prince Jing's brother-in-law. This was a risk.

Liu was called over immediately, but she was prepared. She told Meng Changfeng that she had just received a pigeon letter from Meng Hai. She had already discussed this matter with King Cheng in advance. King Cheng was very careful about his biggest enemy, King Jing. However, King Jing's mansion was surrounded by him like an iron barrel, and important news could not be obtained at all. Meng Hai wanted to start with Princess Jing. The best way was to have his own people in the inner house. It would be more convenient to get news with people inside.

It is said that when Prince Cheng heard that Meng Hai was going to arrange his daughter to work as a spy in the Hong family, he was really moved and praised Meng Hai for his loyalty. Therefore, Prince Cheng was not unhappy about Meng Hai marrying his daughter to the Hong family, and he also asked Princess Cheng to give Meng Juan a thick gift.

"What about King Jing? How did the Third Brother deal with it? King Jing is not King Cheng, he is not easy to deal with."

"Don't worry, father. When Third Master sent Meng Zhi to Prince Cheng's Palace last time, he complained to the Chief of Prince Jing's Palace accidentally, saying that there was no other way and our family was forced to send people there. Have you forgotten that in order to avoid suspicion from others, several families also sent their daughters there? It's just that their positions were not as prominent as ours."

Meng Changfeng nodded, then glanced at Liu meaningfully, "Is the third brother still planning the same thing as two years ago?"

"Yes, we dare not change what has been decided at will." Liu said respectfully.

"That's good. Tell the third brother that no matter how powerful he is, his surname is Meng. If the Huainan Marquisate is not doing well, how can he stay out of it?"

As long as he doesn't play both sides, it will be fine. If Meng Hai wants to play both sides, it will be a fatal matter.

"Yes, Third Master always remembers that his last name is Meng. Everything he does is for the future glory and honor of the Huainan Marquisate. He even gave up Juan'er to reassure Prince Cheng. Father should never doubt him."

Meng Changfeng stared at Liu for a long time and said, "In that case, we should accept the marriage proposal from the Hong family. However, after all, Third Master Hong had a misunderstanding with Fourth Girl before, and we must not let this incident cause any rift between the sisters. I still say that they all have the surname Meng, and they all prosper together and suffer together. Throughout history, I have never seen anyone who can go far without the family."

Liu felt Meng Changfeng staring at her coldly, "Yes, my daughter-in-law will remember this."

Seeing Liu's seemingly respectful but actually disdainful look, Song became angry and hinted that Hongzhe had handled the Meng Qi incident inappropriately.

Liu rarely said anything and just listened, which made Song feel like she was punching cotton with her fist, and Meng Changfeng frowned and looked at her unhappily.