Do you know: I am Qi Heng

Upon hearing this, Qi Heng knew that Empress Cao had already told Princess Pingning that it was he who had taken the initiative to propose to marry Minglan.

After considering what happened today, he finally understood.

Whether Empress Cao and the Emperor wanted to grant him his wish or were pleased to see him marry a woman from a lowly family, they were willing to bestow a marriage upon him.

However, Minglan's status is too low, and if a marriage is directly arranged, it will cause dissatisfaction among Princess Pingning.

But if Princess Pingning were to explain this first, she would certainly not agree.

Therefore, they first confirmed the matter before informing Princess Pingning that it was something she had requested.

They assumed that Princess Pingning knew about it, which is why they agreed.

Because Minglan came from a very humble background, Empress Cao adopted her as her goddaughter before bestowing a marriage upon her.

In this way, Princess Pingning would not harbor any resentment towards Empress Cao and the Emperor.

After all, it was Qi Heng who took the initiative to ask for it, and Empress Cao even went so far as to adopt Minglan as her goddaughter to save face for the Qi family.

Not only was it the most benevolent and righteous thing to do, but it was also a great favor. How could Princess Pingning still have any resentment?

After understanding all this, Qi Heng said, "Mother, please calm down. I had my reasons for doing this!"

Princess Pingning didn't speak, just stared at him with a cold face.

Qi Heng pursed his lips and said, "Mother, although this was my own request, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager couldn't possibly not know about it."

Have you ever considered why the Emperor and the Empress Dowager, knowing full well what was going on, would still agree willingly, even going to such great lengths?

Princess Pingning looked thoughtful upon hearing this, but her face remained cold.

"The fact that the Emperor and the Empress have gone to such lengths shows that they themselves also want their son to marry a woman from a humble background. Otherwise, they would have simply told Mother directly. Why would they help their son?"

Qi Heng said in a low voice, "I have said before that I am not suitable to marry into a family of equal social standing, and it is not suitable to marry into a family of slightly lower social standing than the Qi family."

The Emperor and the Empress Dowager's actions demonstrate this point, but it's a good thing for our family.

"Good news?"

Princess Pingning sneered, "Your wish has been fulfilled, of course it's a good thing! I knew the Sheng family had no good intentions. What family would let their daughters study with men from other families all the time!"

"Mother, I swear to our ancestors that I had no romantic relationship with the sixth daughter of the Sheng family when I was studying there," Qi Heng said earnestly.

"If you weren't captivated by her, why would you want to marry a concubine's daughter? If you hadn't begged the Emperor, even if he didn't want you to marry into a family of equal social standing, he wouldn't have granted you a marriage to a concubine's daughter!"

"Mother, if I am destined to marry a woman from a lowly family, I will be laughed at either way, and it will not help the Qi family or my son. Why can't I marry someone I like?"

"Oh!"

Princess Pingning sneered, "Didn't you just say you had no affair with her? Now you admit you like her?"

"I had no romantic relationship with her before. The reason I chose her is because I don't want to be completely unfamiliar with the person I will share my bed with in the future."

"Although the Sixth Miss is a concubine's daughter, I know her somewhat, and that's why I want to marry her," Qi Heng said.

Princess Pingning didn't believe it at all, and said coldly, "Don't think that just because the emperor has decreed this marriage and I can't object, you can have your way!"

"Mother, let's not discuss this before our ancestors. I said it was a good thing before because the Emperor went to such great lengths, which shows he wants to use me. More precisely, the Emperor wants me to become His Highness's close advisor!"

Qi Heng said, "Your Highness is already close to me, and when I grow up, you will trust me even more. The Qi family is small, and if I marry a woman from a humble background without her family's support, Your Majesty can feel at ease."

Although Princess Pingning was not politically savvy, she naturally understood what Qi Heng meant by speaking so clearly.

The thought that Qi Heng would be highly valued in the future, and that he would even rise to the highest position after Zhao Shou ascended the throne, had greatly diminished her anger.

"Mother, I beg you to set aside your prejudices about social status and give Sixth Miss a few years before she enters the family. If you are still dissatisfied with her within three years, I am willing to divorce her and marry someone else!" Qi Heng said.

Princess Pingning gave him a deep look upon hearing this, then turned and walked away.

Qi Heng heard the footsteps fade away, stood up, and smiled slightly.

He was just trying to appease Princess Pingning. The marriage was bestowed by the Emperor; how could he possibly divorce her?

Regardless of the reason, his divorce is tantamount to the government making a mistake.

Princess Pingning knew this, but she also knew that there was no room for change in this marriage.

When Empress Cao brought up this matter today, she did not first reward Zhang Guifen and the others, but instead sent them away before mentioning it.

Instead, he said it directly to their faces.

Otherwise, Princess Pingning really wouldn't be able to resist refusing.

She didn't refuse then, so how could she refuse now?

…………

When Madam Wang learned that Empress Cao had not only recognized Minglan as her goddaughter but had also arranged for her to marry Qi Heng, her mind was in turmoil.

After finally dealing with some officials' wives who came to offer their congratulations, she bid farewell to Madam Wu and returned to the city with Sanlan and Sheng Changbai.

"Sixth Sister, didn't you see Mo Lan's face at that time? It was just like her name, pitch black."

Inside the carriage, Rulan chuckled and said, "I saw her clenching her hands so tightly, her nails were probably digging into her flesh!"

Seeing that Rulan was only happy and showed no displeasure whatsoever, Minglan hesitated and asked, "Fifth Sister isn't angry?"

"Why am I angry?"

Rulan was taken aback, but quickly recovered and waved her hand, saying, "Hey, I don't like the young master anyway, I was just trying to annoy Molan!"

"Does Fifth Sister really dislike the Young Master?"

Minglan was somewhat surprised. Although she knew that Rulan was always competing with Molan, Qi Heng was so outstanding in every way, yet Rulan didn't seem to care about him at all.

Even if it started out of spite towards Mo Lan, wouldn't some goodwill eventually develop over time?

"Actually, I didn't know that before."

Ru Lan smiled and said, "But when I first heard the news, I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. That's when I realized that I went to talk to the young master every day just to spite Mo Lan, not because I liked him!"

The young master is good, but he's too good; he seems almost unreal.

Seeing that Rulan truly held no grudge, Minglan breathed a sigh of relief and teased, "Then what kind does Fifth Sister like?"

"I don't know either!"

Rulan thought for a moment, then said somewhat shyly, "If I could choose, I would prefer someone who can make me happy."

"That would be hard to find. How many men would be willing to make a woman happy?" Minglan shook her head.

Men do go to brothels, but that's only for the women there.

After all, they only talk about romance and nature.

The relationship between Sheng Hong and Lin Xiaoniang is quite similar to this kind of interaction.

"I was just saying!"

Rulan looked at Minglan and asked, "And you? Do you like the young master?"

Upon hearing this, Minglan said self-deprecatingly, "Whether I like it or not, I have no choice!"

Deep down, Qi Heng is excellent in every way, so it's impossible for him not to be tempted.

But rationally speaking, she didn't actually want to marry Qi Heng.