Chapter 127 Appearances of All Living Beings

It was already daybreak, with the dawn light shining through the windows.

Mrs. Wang sat cross-legged on the couch, counting her rosary beads in her hands and reciting Buddhist scriptures silently.

Zhou Ruijia stood in front of the couch. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was tired. It was obvious that she had not slept all night.

Zhou Ruijia couldn’t help but say: “Madam.”

Mrs. Wang still had her eyes slightly closed and was counting her beads.

Zhou Ruijia fell to her knees and cried, “Madam, it’s been a whole night.”

Mrs. Wang still had her eyes closed, and her fingers were rubbing the beads vigorously one by one.

Suddenly, there was a burst of rapid footsteps.

Then, Jin Chuan’er rushed in like a gust of wind, panting: “The master is back.”

Mrs. Wang suddenly opened her eyes and asked, “Didn’t the master go to the government office?”

Jin Chuan’er took a breath and continued, “It is said that he met the Prime Minister on the way and is now in the East Palace.”

Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Zhou were both shocked.

Just then, another burst of hurried running sounds was heard.

A maid came in hurriedly and reported to Mrs. Wang, “Madam, Zhou Rui is back.”

Mrs. Wang: “Oh? Where is he now?”

Mother-in-law: “Waiting outside the courtyard gate.”

Mrs. Wang: “Bring him in.”

The old woman responded and retreated.

Mrs. Wang heaved a sigh of relief, and then said to Jin Chuan’er, “Go to the yard and watch. If someone comes, just say hello.”

Jin Chuan’er: “Yes.” She answered and turned and walked out.

After a while, Jin Chuan’er’s voice came from the courtyard: “Uncle Zhou is here.”

There was the sound of footsteps, and then Zhou Rui’s voice came from outside: “Madam.”

Mrs. Wang: “What’s going on?”

There was silence outside for a moment, and then Zhou Rui’s voice was heard again: “To answer Madam, I was taken to the Northern Pacification Office’s duty room, and later met the Prime Minister. I followed Madam’s instructions and told him everything. I have been staying in the Northern Pacification Office’s duty room, and was only released half an hour ago.”

At this point, he became a little excited, “Congratulations to the Madam, the Emperor has ordered that our eldest daughter be promoted to the title of Virtuous Consort!”

Mrs. Wang stood up suddenly from the couch and asked loudly, “Really?”

Zhou Rui: “The Prime Minister told me personally.”

“Good! Good! Good!” Mrs. Wang’s voice trembled.

Zhou Ruijia was also very excited: “Congratulations to the madam!” She knelt down and kowtowed.

“Okay.” Mrs. Wang sat down again, “Stand up and talk.” She then asked Zhou Rui, “When will the imperial edict be issued?”

Zhou Rui hesitated and replied, “Well, the internal minister said that we should wait until the storm has passed before we can promote her to the title of our eldest daughter.”

Madam Wang was startled: “What kind of popularity?”

Zhou Rui: “I didn’t dare to ask.”

Mrs. Wang’s face darkened and she was about to get angry.

Zhou Rui continued, “I guess it might be related to Grandma Xiaorong.”

Seeing that Mrs. Wang looked unhappy, Zhou Ruijia asked hurriedly, “What’s going on?”

Zhou Rui understood immediately and quickly replied: “The emperor has issued an edict to confer the title of Rong’an County Lady to Xiaorong’s grandmother.”

“What?!” Zhou Ruijia exclaimed.

Mrs. Wang was so shocked that she trembled all over, and stood up again. The rosary in her hand fell to the ground, and the Buddhist beads were scattered all over the floor.

“Mrs.”

Zhou Ruijia supported her and helped her sit down.

Mrs. Wang was stunned and opened her mouth for a long time before she spoke: “What on earth is going on? The East Palace is fine, Qin Shi is also fine, and she was given the title of county lady.”

Zhou Rui didn’t dare to respond.

Zhou Rui’s wife picked up the tea bowl on the couch, “Madam, have a sip of hot tea. No matter what, our eldest daughter’s promotion to Consort De is a foregone conclusion. This is a great joy!” Zhou Rui continued, “Yes, yes! This is a great joy! When our eldest daughter gives birth to a prince, our family will be a true royal family. The little prince will at least be a prince. If he has the support of my uncle, he will definitely be made a prince.”

“Prince, Prince”

Mrs. Wang slowly came back to her senses, a little light appeared in her eyes, and then she said, “Yes, write a letter to Uncle Baoyu and tell him about this great event.”

Before he finished speaking, Jin Chuan’er’s voice came from the courtyard again: “Master Bao is here.”

Mrs. Wang: “You can go down.”

“Yes.” Zhou Rui replied.

Zhou Ruijia hurriedly picked up the Buddhist beads that had fallen on the ground.

There was a sound of footsteps, and Jia Baoyu came in excitedly. He greeted Mrs. Wang and said excitedly, “Madam, the daughter-in-law of Rongge from the East Palace is actually the bloodline of the royal family that was lost outside.”

Mrs. Wang pulled him to sit down and asked, “What’s going on?”

Jia Baoyu: “I don’t know either. The person who brought the good news from the East Palace said that Rong’s daughter-in-law was canonized as the Princess of Rong’an County.”

Zhou Ruijia pretended to be surprised: “Oh, this is a great happy event!”

Mrs. Wang smiled, nodded and said nothing.

Jia Baoyu: “The old lady asked me to invite Madam over.”

Mrs. Wang: “What’s the matter?”

Jia Baoyu replied, “Madam, please come over to discuss this matter. Starting tomorrow, our family will hold a three-day banquet, and Ningrong Street will also hold a three-day buffet. This is the palace’s intention.”

Mrs. Wang nodded and said, “You go and tell the old lady first. I’ll change my clothes and come over.”

Jia Baoyu: “Yes.” He replied, bowed to Mrs. Wang, and then left.

Zhou Ruijia smiled and said, “When the imperial edict for our eldest daughter’s promotion comes down, we will also set up a three-day buffet on Ningrong Street to make it lively!”

Mrs. Wang’s face darkened. She actually compared her Yuanchun with an illegitimate daughter with a disgraceful background!
This is the study room of Prince Beijing’s Mansion.

Shui Rong also sat in front of the desk with a gloomy face.

The sudden change not only disrupted his plans, but also gave him an extra enemy!
Of course, he did not take Jia Zhen, a dandy boy who only knew how to eat, drink, gamble and have sex, seriously, but he was still worried that Jia Zhen would jump out and disgust him at some critical moment.

The only way now is to make up for the loss and offer compensation on the occasion of celebration to shut Jia Zhen up.

The door creaked open, and Yang Qilong walked in, handing Shui Rong a gift list filled with words, “Young Master, everything is ready.”

Shui Rong waved his hand: “Go ahead, try to bear it.”

Yang Qilong: “Yes.” He answered and walked out.

Shui Rong looked at Yang Qilong’s disappearing back and sighed deeply, “I hope everything goes well.”

Ningrong Street was decorated with red and green, and was crowded with guests.

The news spread quickly and congratulations came in an endless stream.

So many years have passed, but there are still many people who remember what happened back then. Coupled with the palace’s instigation, Qin Keqing’s identity is no longer a secret.

Some people admired the Jia family, some people envied the Jia family, but more people laughed at them. After all, Qin Keqing was an illegitimate daughter with a disgraceful background. Letting such a person be the future consort of the Jia family was a bit of a disgrace to the family.

However, no matter what they thought in their hearts, they had to send congratulatory gifts to Ningguo Mansion at this time. No one would offend the emperor over this matter.

After blocking Jia Zhen and his son, Li Hu walked out of the gate.

This is a formal banquet, and people of different status should be invited separately.

On the 16th, the emperor’s relatives, princes, princesses, princesses, and several old friends, dukes and marquises, and officials with imperial titles were invited. On the 17th, the cabinet ministers, officials of the six ministries and nine departments, military generals, and officials with imperial titles were invited. On the 18th, relatives and guests from near and far were invited.

Therefore, Li Hu had to attend a two-day banquet.

Li Hu took the reins handed to him by Wang Daniu, mounted the horse, and rode towards the street.

When they reached the big archway of “Ningrong Street”, Li Hu pulled the reins and saw more than ten riders escorting a carriage full of large boxes coming towards them.

He is the housekeeper of Prince Beijing’s Mansion!

Li Hu smiled, there was going to be a good show to watch.

Suddenly remembering Lin Daiyu’s words, Li Hu squeezed his legs together and spurred his horse to gallop south.

Don’t get involved in this mess, go home and have dinner with Sister Lin.

(End of this chapter)