Noble Lady

"Why would Prince Cheng suddenly want to become a monk?"

"I heard that Princess Cheng wanted to arrange a matchmaking for the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince refused because he thought the girl was too ugly, so he went to the main hall of Qinglong Temple and knelt there for a long time."

"Really? Although Prince Cheng is a bit of a dandy, he's still pretty good-looking. It would be strange if he'd be happy if Princess Cheng found him an ugly one."

"Of course not. Who wouldn't want to marry a pretty girl? He's already the prince of a royal family, but he can't find a pretty girl. He must be unhappy."

The common people inevitably believed everything they heard and started to talk about it.

So, in this first month of the year, the news that Prince Cheng was going to become a monk spread like wildfire.

The Queen Mother also ordered Princess Cheng not to interfere with Prince Cheng's marriage, and personally arranged a Lantern Festival banquet for him.

However, that is all a story for later.

On the second day of the New Year, Situ Zhen sneaked into the Wu'an Marquis Mansion again at night.

This time Xue Chenyu had already had a shocking experience. There were several maids and old women guarding the yard, and it was very lively.

There were servants patrolling outside.

Situ Zhen: “…” I was careless.

This was something he couldn't do again, so he rubbed his nose and walked away dejectedly.

On the third day of the Chinese New Year, he came quietly with gifts.

He secretly met with Marquis Xue and Madam Xue and formally expressed his intention to marry Xue Chenyu.

Marquis Xue and Madam Xue looked at each other and said nothing.

"...Madam, you don't want to agree?" Situ Zhen looked at Marquis Xue's expression, then turned to Madam Xue.

Madam Xue sighed upon hearing this, "The prince has misunderstood what I meant."

"As the saying goes, your first marriage is decided by your parents, but your second marriage is decided by yourself. Our Yu'er has already been married once, but she met the wrong man and divorced and returned home. Whether she marries in the future or not, it's not our place to interfere."

After a pause, looking at Situ Zhen's sincere eyes, Madam Xue said solemnly, "Yu'er can marry if she wants to. If she is willing to marry again, we will still prepare a generous dowry for her as before."

"If she doesn't want to get married, we have the ability to support her for the rest of her life. When we get older and older, she still has a younger brother who can support her."

Although Mrs. Xue did not refuse openly, her words made it very clear: whether to marry or not is entirely up to Xue Chenyu herself.

Of course, Mrs. Xue is not someone who would just make people back off.

She is an excellent businessman, and she is even better at making people give up when they encounter difficulties, and then letting them see hope and move forward courageously.

"But there's no need to worry too much, Prince. If you are sincere, my daughter will definitely see it."

Situ Zhen paused, "But I don't know what it means to be sincere."

Madam Xue did not answer but asked, "Sir, you know the difference in status between you and my Yu'er. If you want to marry her, the obstacles you have to overcome are more difficult than Mount Tai and the Yellow River."

In this era, imperial power is everything.

The emperor's words could decide life or death, and there was no way to resist.

Situ Zhen thought for a moment before saying, "I understand Xiao Chenyu's concerns. She's afraid that if I ask to marry her, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager will refuse to agree. She's even more afraid that they'll make things difficult for the people in Wu'an Marquis's mansion."

"But Madam, I will marry her in this life." Situ Zhen did not use any oaths, nor did he make any promises. "I have already made a mistake once, and I will never make the same mistake again."

Upon hearing this, Madam Xue exchanged glances with Marquis Xue.

The latter: "...Madam, why not see the sincerity of the prince before making a decision?"

He didn't dare to take charge of his daughter's marriage.

The main reason is that he is afraid of being beaten out by his wife and children.

Madam Xue stroked the handkerchief in her hand and said slowly, "I've already made a decision for Yu'er before. This time, I will respect her opinion no matter what. It depends on her own heart."

This means not to help, but also not to be a hindrance.

Marquis Xue secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If his wife wanted to stop it, there were plenty of ways to do it.

The fact that she was willing to say this was already a huge honor for the prince.

At this time, Marquis Xue felt very conflicted. On the one hand, he was reluctant to part with his daughter who had just returned home after divorce; on the other hand, he felt that the prince was really sincere to Yu'er.

Just chop him in half.

After a long conversation on the third night of the Lunar New Year, the news that Prince Cheng had been kneeling in Qinglong Temple and was devout to Buddhism spread like wildfire in Shengjing.

Men, women, young and old, big and small can all chat with each other on the streets.

There was even a rumor that Prince Cheng was the reincarnation of Buddha.

Gradually, many people said that Prince Cheng had often accompanied the Queen Mother to the Qinglong Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. It must have been at that time that he was enlightened and discovered the truth of his reincarnation, so he was determined to become a Buddhist.

Because of this incident, the Queen Mother almost called the abbot of Qinglong Temple into the palace to give him a lecture.

Of course, he was stopped by His Majesty.

His Majesty's original words were: "The abbot of Qinglong Temple is a person from outside the world. Even if there are some legends in the streets, what does it have to do with a monk like him?"

"It has nothing to do with him. Then why did he let Dafu eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures every day in Qinglong Temple? If he continues like this, my eldest grandson will become a monk." The Queen Mother was furious.

Your Majesty is the Queen Mother’s biological son, and so is Prince Cheng.

Therefore, it is true that Situ Zhen is the empress dowager’s eldest grandson.

Seeing that persuasion was unsuccessful, His Majesty tactfully reminded the Empress Dowager, "Dafu is young and hasn't suffered much hardship since childhood. Perhaps he was stimulated by something during this trip south."

The Queen Mother rolled her eyes at him in disdain: "That's all your fault. Why did you send that child south to do such a hard job? You couldn't bear to let your own son go, but you were willing to let your nephew go?"

There is nothing wrong with what he said. The prince did not go, but the prince of Prince Cheng's mansion went.

Therefore, His Majesty did not dare to refute, and after a pause, he said, "Please forgive me, Mother. It is indeed because I am anxious to train this child that I have entrusted you with such an important task. I will consider this carefully in the future."

"But isn't your judgment always the best, mother? Dafu is still unmarried, so he doesn't know the good things of the mundane world."

"Pick him a gentle, considerate and understanding wife, and let him know the benefits of Jieyuhua. Then he will naturally stop going to the Buddhist temple."

The Queen Mother glanced at him and said, "I think you are the one who knows the benefits of Jieyuhua the best in the world."

His Majesty still did not dare to refute, and could only hesitantly agree, "Yes, it is all thanks to the Queen Mother's good choice. Now the harem is peaceful and harmonious."

The Queen Mother naturally knew that his words were a compliment, but His Majesty reminded her that Dafu was already in his early twenties and still hadn't married. If someone didn't know, they would think that the royal family couldn't afford to find a grandson's wife.

"The Lantern Festival lasts for several days, so let's choose that day."

after that.

Almost all the noble ladies of marriageable age in Shengjing received invitations from the palace.

However, the Queen Mother miscalculated.

On the day of the Lantern Festival banquet, Situ Zhen changed his usual attire of wearing gold and silver and went in a green dress.

He looked unruly and uninhibited, lacking at all the dignity that a prince or grandson of an emperor should have.

Moreover, he looked unshaven, thin, and pale. If he just shaved his head, he would look exactly like a monk in the temple.

The Queen Mother was almost sick from anger.

His Majesty was also very angry and said on the spot: "Since you are so anxious to see through life and death, then go and see the suffering of the world again."

Then, Prince Cheng, who had returned to Beijing half a month ago, was sent to the northern border.

Of course, he gave him the title of Marquis Xue, who had accompanied Situ Zhen to Lingnan.

On the same day, the imperial edict conferring the title of Princess of Anping on Xue Chenyu was also issued.