Cold-faced Empress

Taking advantage of the bustling activity at the foot of the mountain before the autumn hunt began, Fu Siying selected the Jiang family, a moderately powerful clan, from the list given to her by Madam Fu, as a counterattack.

She was too famous lately and, to avoid trouble, she wore a veil and accompanied her mother.

The first place we went to was the Jiang family's house.

When Madam Jiang saw the Prime Minister's wife, she guessed that the Prime Minister's wife must have come for the marriage of the second Miss Fu, Fu Yunzhi, and immediately beamed with joy. She also hurriedly summoned her eldest son.

Madam Jiang warmly welcomed the uninvited guest: "Greetings, Madam Prime Minister. Look, this is my good-for-nothing eldest son. I hope you will forgive my poor son."

Madam Jiang's attitude was extremely kind, and she looked at Li as if she were looking at a savior... Of course, Fu Siying thought that this look was as if they were being treated like fools.

She raised her hand and took off her veil.

Upon seeing her, Madam Jiang, who was about to praise her son, suddenly choked up and looked embarrassed: "So it's Miss Fu... Why is Miss Fu here too?"

Fu Siying glanced at the haggard-looking young master Jiang and said calmly, "Naturally, I came to see for myself because my second aunt had told me that your young master is a handsome man. And indeed, he is quite the distinguished gentleman. But I don't understand why, at nearly thirty years old, young master Jiang is still unmarried?"

Madam Jiang chuckled twice: "Well, it's just that he couldn't find anyone he liked after picking and choosing. It's quite a coincidence, really. At the Qixi Festival banquet, my son fell in love with your sister at first sight. I was even thinking of asking the Prime Minister's wife what she thought, but who would have thought that Madam Fu would play matchmaker first. Hehehe, it's clear that the two children are destined for each other."

"I see." Fu Siying nodded slowly.

Ha, she doesn't believe a single word that Mrs. Jiang said!

Very few people know that the eldest son of the Jiang family has homosexual tendencies, and he is a ruthless one at that, with male prostitutes dying in his bed almost every month.

Young Master Jiang has remained unmarried for a long time because he fears his future wife will cause trouble once she learns the truth. However, the Jiang family is unwilling to marry a girl from a modest family whom they can control, which is why Young Master Jiang has been dragging his feet until now.

Fu Siying smiled and said, "In that case, that would be perfect. Although this time we wanted to ask your son and my sister to enter into a fake marriage, if the two of you are compatible, it would be perfectly acceptable for the marriage to become real."

Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang was stunned, and even the usually indifferent young master Jiang looked at Fu Siying with surprise.

"A fake marriage? What fake marriage?"

"Huh? My second aunt didn't tell you?" Fu Siying asked in confusion, her face showing a hint of reproach. "How could my second aunt not tell you something so important? If she lost her head, who could bear the responsibility?"

Losing your head? Madam Jiang was completely bewildered, her heart filled with fear: "What do you mean, losing your head?"

Fu Siying looked annoyed, and after pretending to think it over for a while, she explained, "I heard that the Emperor intends to select concubines. My younger sister is just the right age. My mother and I are reluctant to let my sister enter the palace, so we plan to find her a marriage for the time being and arrange a fake marriage so that she can avoid being selected."

Amidst Madam Jiang's astonishment, Fu Siying sighed deeply: "This is, after all, a crime of deceiving the emperor, and you should know the consequences if it's discovered. My mother and I thought Second Aunt had told you clearly, which is why we rushed here to discuss it, but how could this be..."

Li also chimed in with her confusion: "She forgot?"

"How could you forget something so important?" Fu Siying asked, puzzled.

Suddenly, she looked extremely surprised and suspicious. Ignoring the fact that she was in front of Madam Jiang, she hurriedly asked her mother, Madam Li, "Mother, when I asked you to bring me to the Jiang family just now, why did you say that Second Aunt wouldn't let us come?"

"Because your second aunt repeatedly emphasized that we should not come looking for Madam Jiang. After all, it is a fake marriage, which concerns our lives and property. It is better for our family to act as a middleman and relay messages, so that if something unexpected happens in the future, we can explain it as a misunderstanding in the message relay."

Upon hearing this, Fu Siying's expression changed drastically: "They won't let us see Madam Jiang, and they're just letting her relay messages between the two sides. Doesn't that mean whatever she says is law? Mother, I think Second Aunt is lying to both sides and has ulterior motives!"

The prime minister's family, who wanted a fake marriage, was forced to arrange a real marriage, while the Jiang family, who wanted a real marriage, were branded as guilty of deceiving the emperor.