lady, please calm down

May thirteenth.

The court was dismissed at 9:00 p.m., and when Chen Chu returned to the Wende Hall where he usually handled official business, Hanlu had been waiting there for a long time.

Upon learning that it was Mao'er who wanted to discuss something, Chen Chu went to Baoci Palace without even changing into his regular clothes.

Mao'er has been in charge of the Chen family's backyard and the harem for more than 20 years. Mencius said: "A place changes one's temperament and a place changes one's body." Having been in a high position for many years, Mao'er has long cultivated a graceful and calm demeanor.

But today, Chen Chu could clearly see that the cat seemed a little anxious.

As soon as they met, Mao'er said, "Your Majesty, I seem to have messed up something."

While speaking, Mao'er slightly frowned his thin eyebrows, and his eyebrows were twisted into a small knot. This kind of distressed expression that was inadvertently revealed had not appeared on Mao's face for a long time.

Chen Chu couldn't help but chuckle, and sat down next to Mao'er, saying, "It's done, so it's done. Who in this world dares to embarrass my wife?"

Mao'er couldn't help but smile when he heard that, and then he slowly talked about what happened yesterday when the matchmaker went to the Tang family in Sanshilipu to propose marriage. The couple had of course communicated about this matter, but the details were all handled by Mao'er.

Mao'er was so anxious because she was worried that the Tang family would agree to a marriage with another family and cause trouble, so she wanted to ask Bai Lu to find someone to calm the other party's parents first, and then discuss the marriage formally after the two children graduated.

But unexpectedly, Tang's father reacted so strongly yesterday that he actually threw the betrothal gift out the door.

Afterwards, Maoer put herself in their shoes and thought carefully, she realized that she had indeed not acted appropriately. If she were the girl's parents, and the other party came to propose marriage but did not even provide such basic information as introducing his family, she would definitely feel that the other party looked down on her and was so arrogant.

So far, among the royal heirs, only the Princess of Shu has married, but she married the grandson of Cai Yuan. The two children were in love with each other and the two families were closely related, so the marriage process did not require special preparations, and it came naturally after a little communication between the two families.

However, there was no such smooth communication channel for Ji'er's marriage. Mao'er wanted to complete the process according to folk customs, but because his son's identity had not been revealed in school, he failed to be honest with his son, which backfired.

Speaking of which, this was Mao'er's first time arranging a wedding for her son as a mother, so some omissions were inevitable.

In order to make amends, Mao'er found Chen Chu today and wanted her husband to accompany her to visit him in person, both to make amends and to express sincerity.

"It was Mao'er who was impatient before," Mao'er blamed herself and analyzed, "Since the young lady from the Tang family is the Crown Princess chosen by Ji'er himself, I, as a mother, should be more sincere. If she misunderstands that the royal family looks down on her family, it will inevitably affect the relationship between the two children."

To outsiders, if the Crown Prince of Great Chu fell in love with a commoner girl and the Queen agreed, the Tang family would have been very grateful and would not dare to have any resentment.

But Mao'er was born in the common people, so she first considered the issue from the perspective of her mother-in-law. Ji'er was her son who was born after ten months of pregnancy, so she naturally hoped that her son could find a good wife. Mao'er valued some of the qualities of a good wife in the young lady of the Tang family, but they were not the factors he valued most.

What Mao'er cares most about is that the young lady of the Tang family can love her son as much as he loves Chen Chu. Naturally, he doesn't want to let the couple have any grudges in their hearts because of his inappropriate behavior.

"Your Majesty, if you have nothing to do, could you accompany me to Sanshilipu?"

After Mao'er finished speaking, he looked at Chen Chu expectantly. Chen Chu thought for a moment and said, "Wait until after noon, and I'll send someone to inform Chang Shiqing."

"Chang Shiqing?" Mao'er muttered, then he remembered that this man was the magistrate of Junyi County, and Sanshilipu, located 30 miles east of Beijing, was under the jurisdiction of Junyi County.

"Is it necessary to make such a big fuss?" The cat wanted to keep a low profile as much as possible.

Chen Chu turned his head and looked at Mao'er, smiling, "My lady, are you too concerned? We can't keep our identities secret when we go there, can we?"

"Of course. As the boy's parents, if we were to remain secretive when we visit him, it would be disrespectful to him."

"Isn't this enough?"

Chen Chu looked at Mao'er with amusement. Seeing that the latter still didn't seem to understand, he suddenly raised his hand and rubbed Mao'er's exquisite and noble dragon core bun, and said with a smile: "Are you stupid? If Chang Shiqing is not here to accompany us, when we introduce ourselves, are we going to say that I am the emperor and Mao'er is the queen? Even if we say so, who will believe it?"

"Oh!"

Cat, who was a little slow to react today, just understood what was said and then felt a weight on his head. He saw that his exquisite hair bun had fallen diagonally due to Chen Chu's rubbing. The bun looked beautiful and intricate, but it could not withstand such rubbing by an outsider!

After all, who could have thought that someone would dare to rub the Queen's head like this.

"Your Majesty~!"

The cat seemed to be both angry and coquettish. She held her shaky hair bun with one hand and gave a scolding sound.

Chen Chu, who had not seen Mao'er in such an expression for a long time, couldn't help but feel playful. After laughing, he held Mao'er's face with both hands and kissed her on the cheek with a "smack".

Then he stood up and walked towards the palace gate, saying, "I will go to Wende Palace to handle official business first. After lunch, I will go to Sanshilipu with my wife."

There were five or six maids and grandmas in the hall at this time in full view of everyone. The queen of a country first had her hair messed up and then had her fragrance stolen in public.

The cat felt shy and embarrassed. At the same time, there was a hint of sweetness in her heart that she couldn't tell anyone else.

Fortunately, Hanlu came to the rescue, "You guys go down first."

After giving the order, the other maids left the hall one after another. Hanlu supported Mao'er, who was holding up her crooked bun with one hand, and walked to the bedroom at the back.

After Maoer sat down in front of the dressing mirror, Hanlu stood behind her, helped Maoer take out the pearl hairpin and phoenix hairpin, and skillfully helped Maoer comb her long hair and put it into a bun.

Mao'er sat in front of the mirror, thinking of something, and a faint smile slowly appeared on the corner of her mouth. Hanlu, who knew Mao'er very well, smiled and said at the right time: "Your Majesty and His Majesty have been married for many years, but they are like a young couple."

"What a young couple! Now Ji'er is getting married, and I'm about to become a wicked mother-in-law."

Although he said these self-deprecating words, the smile on Mao'er's lips became more and more intense. In the end, he couldn't help but said with a little pride: "Your Majesty is the same. You are in your forties, but you are still like a child in front of me. You just love to tease me."

When listening to someone, you have to understand the key points. Hanlu understood that the key point of the queen's words was 'Your Majesty is like a child in front of me'. She smiled and replied while combing Mao'er's hair: "That's right. I have never heard of Your Majesty showing his childish side in front of other queens. But it is normal. After all, when Your Majesty was in trouble, it was the queen who saved him with spoonfuls of porridge. In Your Majesty's heart, the queen is naturally different from others."

As the saying goes, "If one is unlucky for three lifetimes, he will be relocated to a county magistrate's residence; if one is evil for three lifetimes, he will be relocated to a provincial capital's residence; if one is full of evil, he will be relocated to the capital's residence."

Chang Shiqing, the magistrate of Junyi, whose county seat was only thirty miles away from Tokyo City, belonged to the last category. Being close to the capital meant that he was faced with a situation where there were ministers everywhere and vice ministers as numerous as dogs, so he had to be careful all the time.

Secondly, the power of such a county magistrate has been restricted to the minimum, which is really frustrating.

But apart from these two shortcomings, there are also advantages. Although the magistrate of Ji County is only of the seventh rank, due to its important geographical location, those who can serve as parents here are all favored by the emperor, and it is also a manifestation of His Majesty's trust.

Just like Chang Shiqing, he not only graduated from Huaibei School, but also had served in the 1st Guards Regiment. Moreover, his father, Chang Dechang, had established a friendship with the emperor since the first Watermelon Festival more than 20 years ago. He can be said to have a good family background.

Earlier this morning, Zhao Heng, a former comrade-in-arms who is now the battalion commander in the pro-China forces, suddenly visited Chang Shiqing, giving him a fright.

Upon learning that His Majesty would personally visit Junyi County in the afternoon, Chang Shiqing felt both surprised and confused.

At the end of the afternoon, Chen Chu, riding a horse, followed by a sedan chair, and accompanied by dozens of guards in casual clothes, appeared in Junyi County.

Chang Shiqing, who was waiting outside the city, knew as soon as he saw the emperor's attire that he did not want to disturb too many people, so he asked in a low voice whether he could go into the county government office to rest.

Chen Chu said, "I have a personal matter today, so I need to trouble County Magistrate Chang."

"I don't deserve it. Your Majesty, just give your orders."

"The Queen heard that the daughter of Tang Jianqiu from Sanshilipu in your county is beautiful, intelligent, virtuous and kind, and is interested in arranging a marriage for the Crown Prince. She specially asked County Magistrate Chang to act as a matchmaker to make this happen."

The so-called "the queen heard" was naturally to cover up for the two children. Ji'er and the girl from the Tang family were in a completely free love relationship.

But now, Da Chu is in the midst of a fierce clash between new and old ideas. Young people advocate marriage autonomy, while middle-aged and elderly people still insist on "parents' words and matchmaker's orders."

In order to prevent the Tang family girl's reputation from being controversial, Mao'er took a fancy to the former and took the initiative to propose marriage, which was also a kind of protection for the child.

Chang Shiqing was shocked when he heard this.

He just happened to know who Tang Jianqiu was, and this person was from an ordinary family in the absolute sense. The news that the Crown Princess was born into a commoner family was explosive enough.

But he reacted very quickly and said immediately, "It is my honor!" The selection of the Crown Princess had no say in the matter. Besides, since His Majesty asked him to be a matchmaker, he would be the matchmaker for the future Emperor and Empress!

Just relying on this relationship, as long as you don't make big mistakes in the future, it will be a golden talisman for protection!
After a brief greeting, Chang Shiqing led the way to Sanshilipu, and did not forget to quietly arrange for people to rush there in advance.

Let’s talk about the Tang family in Sanshilipu.

Tang Jianqiu, who had been strong all his life, had never felt so defeated. Since he drove away three groups of matchmakers yesterday, his house had become bustling with activity.

It's such a small village, there are no secrets at all.

At least, everyone knew two things: the eldest son of the Tang family secretly joined the army, and the youngest daughter gave up her father's private school and instead entered a higher school.

In the past, because the Tang family's children seemed to have great potential, the villagers did not dare to talk nonsense.

But the matchmaker hired by Mr. Ma yesterday failed to get the job done. Seeing that the large reward promised by the Ma family had gone down the drain, the matchmaker was full of resentment towards the Tang family, so she became malicious and started gossiping.

Any news in the village spread very quickly. After just one day, the news that the young lady from the Tang family eloped with a wealthy man from the south of the Yangtze River spread.

".If not, why would Old Tang not agree to the Ma family's marriage?"

"That's what I thought! It turns out that the Tang family's daughter ran off with someone. No wonder Old Tang couldn't give up his daughter after not coming back for more than a year, so he naturally didn't dare to accept this marriage!"

"Oh! I've said it before, why do girls need to read so many books? You see, after reading so much, their hearts become wild! Old Tang has been teaching for half his life, but in the end his son is not around to fulfill his filial duty, and his daughter ran away with someone else. He is so embarrassed!"

There are people who are curious and those who are gloating over other people’s misfortune.

The Tang family's children were once the typical "other people's children".

His son won a second-class merit last year, and the magistrate of Junyi County personally visited him and presented him with a plaque and a reward.

His daughter is not simple either. Three years ago, there were only six people in the entire Junyi County who were admitted to the higher school, and the girl from the Tang family was the only girl among them.

It's really enviable.

At this time, we suddenly heard that the young lady of the Tang family had run away with someone. Parents who did not have such outstanding children felt a lot more balanced. You see, no matter how successful your children are, you, Old Tang, cannot enjoy any of their blessings. You also feel embarrassed about them. It is far better for us to have this stupid son by your side!

Inside the Tang family courtyard with the gates tightly closed, Tang Jianqiu sat in the yard, listening to the faint discussions outside the yard, his face livid.

He naturally didn't believe that his daughter would do such a shameful thing as eloping with someone. In fact, it was easy to prove it. Just let his daughter go home and the rumors would be self-defeating.

Can.
"Master, please let your daughter go home."

On the side, Tang’s wife wiped her tears.

"Don't even think about it! Unless I die!"

Tang Jianqiu was still stubborn. Because she went against his wishes and was admitted to a higher school, the relationship between father and daughter had been particularly tense in recent years. Tang Jianqiu failed to force his daughter to change her mind by 'cutting off financial support', so he simply refused to allow her to return home.

During the New Year's Day two years ago, the young lady from the Tang family came back once for the New Year, but was driven out by Tang Jianqiu.

To date, the young lady from the Tang family has not been home for a year and a half.

In fact, Tang Jianqiu's love for his daughter is no less than that of other fathers, but they were born in an era where new and old ideas conflict.

The fact that his daughter switched to a new school and insisted on her choice despite the financial support being cut off was just a superficial act that angered Tang Jianqiu.

The underlying reason is that after the original strict patriarchy gradually disintegrated, Tang Jianqiu was at a loss as to what to do. This old scholar now not only did not know how to face this era, but he even did not know how to get along with his children.

Just as I was feeling sad, I heard someone knocking on the courtyard door.

Tang Jianqiu, who was full of anger, stood up suddenly, opened the gate and was about to get angry, but he saw more than a dozen yamen runners carrying large and small bags outside the door, and they were all sweating profusely.

In the distance, a group of neighbors who were watching the fun saw many yamen runners suddenly coming to their door. They thought it was nothing good and stood on tiptoe to look in their direction.

After a brief moment of surprise, before Tang Jianqiu could ask any questions, the leading bailiff walked in without saying a word.

"Li San'er, take the two brothers to clean up the place quickly! Qingbao, clean up the table!"

At the command of the leader Li Yaban, all the yamen runners quickly got busy.

Tang Jianqiu opened his mouth, looking at the group of yamen runners who came into the yard and started cleaning the house without any explanation, with a confused look on his face.

But before he could ask, Li Yaban had already quickly and carefully taken out a delicate porcelain bottle from his bosom and put it into Tang's wife's hand, "Madam! This is the pre-rain Longjing tea collected by County Magistrate Chang. Quickly boil some water and make tea."

Tang's wife answered it in a panic, completely confused about what was going on, and could only look at her husband.

Tang Jianqiu finally came to his senses, and hurriedly bowed to Li Yaban, asking, "Excuse me, Yaban Li, what exactly happened?"

Old Tang just saluted normally, but Li Yaban quickly dodged and said "No way".

Tang Jianqiu became more and more confused. Although he was near the capital and had not heard of officials bullying the common people for a long time, they shouldn't be as polite as Li Yaban, right?
However, Li Yaban came up to Tang Jianqiu with a warm smile on his face and said, "Mr. Tang! You are indeed a man who can keep things secret! You can keep a calm face even when you are so happy. I admire you!"

"Overjoyed?"

"Yes! The magistrate said that this is not only a great joy for your Tang family, but also a great joy for the entire Junyi County!"

"What on earth is going on?!"

Seeing that Li Yaban was speaking incoherently and confusingly, Tang Jianqiu finally got angry.

Li Yaban looked over and saw that the other party did not look fake, so he asked uncertainly: "Mr. Tang didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"The Queen wants to choose a daughter of a noble family as her daughter-in-law."

"No marriage, no marriage."

Another marriage proposal! The annoyed Tang Jianqiu just said this when he suddenly reacted.

Tang's wife was even more shocked, her hands shaking uncontrollably. The Rain-Previous Longjing tea that Magistrate Chang treasured and was reluctant to drink fell to the ground with a thud. She didn't care about the difference between men and women anymore, she stepped forward and grabbed Li Yaban's arm and shook it, "Who do you think wants me, Wanwan, to be your daughter-in-law?"

"My Queen!"

Li Yaban looked at the broken tea can on the ground, grimacing in pain, but he did not dare to blame Tang's wife. Yesterday, she was still the old scholar's wife, but after today, she would most likely become the mother-in-law of the prince and the mother of the future queen.

"You...you are not mistaken?"

Tang Jianqiu stammered, his performance was even worse than his wife's.

"Oh! How dare I make fun of this! Lord Tang, hurry up and get ready! The Emperor and the Empress are in the back, and they will come to you two to propose marriage in person today. They will be here in a moment."

"Your Majesty, come to my house and propose marriage in person???"

Tang Jianqiu repeated this sentence with difficulty, then his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

"Oh! Lord Tang!" (End of this chapter)