My younger sister insisted on marrying me and made me the Marquis' wife.

Chapter 654: Proposal for Marriage
The Empress Dowager was quite annoyed, but she could only swallow her anger.

Empress Lin then quickly stated, "I have always liked Baozhu. She is straightforward and doesn't have many tricks up her sleeve. She is also very skilled in martial arts. She is the only daughter in the Marquis of Dingbei's household, so it is no exaggeration to love her dearly."

I only wanted to treat her well, how could I say such vicious things? I don't know which foolish person is gossiping behind my back.

"Madam, you must comfort Baozhu when you return. Don't let the child harbor resentment. I will summon Baozhu to the palace again later to properly counsel her."

Madam Gu said, "Thank you, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty the Empress, for speaking up for Baozhu. When I return, I will definitely teach her well not to listen to those vicious words, and let her practice martial arts and study hard so that she can serve the Great Xing."

"Excellent!" the Emperor said. "If all my ministers could educate their children like Madam Gu, my Great Xing Dynasty could last for thousands of years."

Everyone present quickly flattered him, saying, "The fact that His Majesty can value a minister like the Marquis of Dingbei and the Marquis of Dingbei's residence shows that he is destined to be a wise ruler."

Flattery will never fail you, and the emperor was delighted by it.

Madam You was so angry she was about to vomit blood. She gripped the handkerchief tightly in her hand and glared fiercely at the Gu family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Seeing the enemy triumphant only makes one's own situation seem even more miserable.

Qin Yuan leaned close to Madam Gu's ear and chuckled, "Mother is really amazing. I was just worried about Baozhu."

Madam Gu smiled and said, "You're such a good child, you know how to make me happy."

Qin Yuan said, "Not at all, old ginger is spicier. I still have a lot to learn from my mother's skills."

Madam Gu was even happier.

Seeing the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law laughing happily, Madam You felt even more aggrieved and could only drink the wine in her cup to relieve her frustration.

Song Wenyu seized an opportunity to sit down and explained to Qin Yuan, "I don't know why I mentioned Baozhu's name. I don't understand at all."

Qin Yuan said, "There's probably something we don't know about here, but it's all in the past. Why didn't Miss Song come up and showcase her talent?"

Song Wenyu laughed and said, "My family doesn't allow girls to learn singing and dancing. Even sword dancing is just something I do with Baozhu. Baozhu isn't here, so what can I show off?"

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "My family is the same."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

After everyone had displayed their talents, the Empress Dowager issued an imperial decree, appointing the eldest daughter of Vice Minister Niu of the Ministry of Rites as the Crown Prince's principal wife, and the third daughters of Song Wenyu and Marquis Wuding as secondary wives.

Song Wenyu stood there dumbfounded. She was pushed forward and tremblingly accepted the imperial edict. As she hurriedly retreated, her resentful gaze swept over the face of Prince Qi, who was raising his cup to sip, before she finally lowered her head in despair.

Falling flowers are intentional and flowing water is ruthless.

Once she became the Crown Prince's concubine, she could no longer be with the Prince of Qi.

Qin Yuan remembered that in her previous life, it was also this Minister Niu's daughter who became the Crown Prince's principal wife. Not long after, Minister Niu rose to prominence, first moving from the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of Revenue, and then entering the Grand Secretariat, replacing Minister Pan as the Grand Secretary.

As for whether Song Wenyu entered the Eastern Palace, she couldn't quite remember.

In her previous life, she and Lin Ziqi had been stationed in the capital for many years before returning to Beijing. By then, the political landscape had changed, and the Song family seemed to have been excluded from Lin Ziqi's camp.

Qin Yuan picked up her wine cup and took a sip. Now she was completely relieved. The Crown Prince had completely given up on the idea of ​​letting Gu Baozhu enter the Eastern Palace.

The Crown Princess is still the same Miss Niu from her previous life.

This Miss Niu was the one who demanded that the entire palace in the Crown Prince's residence be covered in pepper paste, which drove the already soaring price of pepper to an outrageous level.

This is why many officials bribed Chief Minister Niu with pepper.

In his previous life, when the chief minister Niu's house was raided, a mountain of pepper was found in the warehouse. It weighed eight hundred shi (a unit of dry measure), enough to feed all the people in the capital for a hundred years. In terms of money, it could build a Gu family army.

Someone once wrote a poem mocking him, saying, "Eight hundred bushels of pepper, a thousand years of lingering stench." Thinking of this, Qin Yuan took another sip.

The period after the festival is the perfect time to order people to stockpile pepper; if we delay any longer, a maritime ban will have to be imposed.

The King of Qi should have already collected quite a bit; it's time for her to take her share.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager excused herself from the banquet, feigning fatigue. Empress Lin and the Ninth Princess helped the Empress Dowager back to the palace, while the Emperor continued to chat and laugh with his close ministers on his throne.

Princess Fuyun came over, greeted Madam Gu, then took the wine pot from Qin Yuan's hand, poured herself a cup, and said, "It's a pity that I can only meet Young Master Nantang with a veil on tonight."

Qin Yuan smiled and said, "Young Master Nantang is not good-looking, thin, and not very tall... Princess, you should not have too high expectations. As the saying goes, hearing about him is worse than seeing him in person."

Princess Fuyun said solemnly, "I simply admire talent."

Qin Yuan touched the tip of her nose somewhat awkwardly and laughed, "That's because I'm being vulgar."

Princess Fuyun laughed and said, "Don't try to fool me. I've heard that you are exceptionally talented, but you always keep your talents hidden. It's a pity that your sister-in-law and husband are both big mouths. They always have to show off whenever they get the chance, as if they're afraid that people won't know how good you are."

Qin Yuan smiled sheepishly.

Princess Fuyun added, "I should thank you even more."

"Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for helping my brother make the incense and for helping me make the ointment."

Princess Fuyun's almond-shaped eyes were clear and bright, and she looked at Qin Yuan with frankness and sincerity, able to see right through her heart.

Qin Yuan laughed.

This is a child just like Gu Baozhu.

Qin Yuan lowered her voice and said, "When you go to see Young Master Nantang, ask Manager Leng of Ranxiangju for more gifts, and just say that I told you to."

Princess Fuyun exclaimed happily, "That's wonderful! I was just worried because I'm not good at solving riddles."

Qin Yuan laughed and said, "Are you trying to fool me? With Zhang Hanlin by my side, how could we be stopped by a mere riddle? I'm only being so sensible because I'm worried that Zhang Hanlin will guess all the riddles at the entire lantern festival in order to please the princess."

Princess Fuyun said dejectedly, "I haven't seen him since I injured my face."

"What?" Qin Yuan asked in surprise, "The princess is injured, why doesn't he come to visit her?"

Princess Fuyun hurriedly explained, "Since I was injured, I have stayed at home every day. He came to see me a few times, but I did not allow him to enter. I... I was really afraid of frightening him. It's not that he doesn't want to come to see me. Even today, he has duties to attend to and cannot come. He sent word through someone."

Qin Yuan chuckled to herself.

Princess Fuyun has fallen for her.

Only someone who cares about the other person would be so concerned about their own appearance.

Empress Lin really did arrange a good marriage.

After Princess Fuyun left, Qin Yuan took Yang'er and Hehua to the restroom to change clothes. When Prince Jin saw her leave the seat, he also left the main hall.

Having observed everything, King Qi secretly gestured to his attendant, who hurriedly followed behind.

Turning his gaze away from the commotion of men and women in the hall, a faint hint of mockery flashed in King Qi's dark eyes.

Tu Shan Wang, standing to the side, raised his wine cup and gestured, "How about we toast His Highness the Crown Prince together? Now that the Crown Princess and the concubine have been chosen, His Highness can finally breathe a sigh of relief."