dtnovels Chapter 391
Chapter 391
Even Xu Heming turned to look at Li Zhiwei when he heard her words.When did he ever want her to be a concubine?
He had always regarded her as his future Princess Consort.
"Your Majesty, is there some misunderstanding regarding this matter?" the Empress asked, looking at Zhu Jingchen.
After all, when the Emperor informed her of the Prince of An's wedding date, he never mentioned that the bride would be Li Zhiwei.
Zhu Jingchen finally understood at this moment why Xu Heming wanted to wash his hands of his duties.
It turned out he thought he had been granted a marriage, but to someone else as his wife.
"What a mess. I simply forgot to have someone inform you!" Speaking of this, Zhu Jingchen actually felt a bit embarrassed.
He had already instructed the Ministry of Rites to handle the Prince of An's wedding, yet he had forgotten to notify the main parties involved.
Now Li Zhiwei misunderstood that the Prince of An was marrying someone else, and the Prince of An misunderstood that he was being forced to marry another woman.
"The sixth day of next month is the auspicious day for your wedding. I have already ordered the Ministry of Rites to make the arrangements," Zhu Jingchen quickly explained.
"Your Majesty, you wouldn't be deceiving this humble subject, would you?" Xu Heming's expression of utter disbelief nearly made Zhu Jingchen pass out from anger.
Was he that kind of person?
Li Zhiwei also looked at Zhu Jingchen in confusion. Could an imperial marriage really be handled so carelessly?
"Brother-in-law Emperor, so the sixth of next month is the big day when the Prince of An will marry Sister Li, right?" Cheng Qingli asked again, afraid they might still misunderstand.
"Yes, later I will have Eunuch Li personally go to the Liang Estate to issue the imperial edict announcing the wedding date!" Zhu Jingchen thought to himself that he had been feeling like he was forgetting something lately, and it turned out to be this.
He then glared at Eunuch Liu, who was standing to the side, thinking to himself, why didn't this old thing remind him?
Upon receiving Zhu Jingchen's glare, Eunuch Liu knew that the Emperor was blaming him for not reminding him to notify the Prince of An and Lord Li.
Eunuch Liu felt a bit wronged in his heart, but he dared not speak up. Someone had to take the blame, and it certainly couldn't be the Emperor, so the scapegoat had to be him.
"It is all this old slave's fault for being useless and forgetting such an important matter. I beg the Prince of An and Miss Li for forgiveness!" Eunuch Liu quickly said to Xu Heming and Li Zhiwei.
"Could it be that my beloved subject Xu thought I was making him marry someone else, and that's why he wanted to quit?" Zhu Jingchen finally realized why Xu Heming had been acting up.
He really only had himself to blame for this.
"Your Majesty, since you have arranged the wedding date for this subject, I should go and start preparing right now!" Xu Heming thought about his wedding; he absolutely could not let Li Zhiwei be wronged.
"The Ministry of Rites will handle this matter properly. Rest assured, Miss Li will not be wronged in the slightest. Just focus on the tasks I have assigned you!" Zhu Jingchen had no intention of letting Xu Heming slack off; there were so many things waiting for him to do.
Who asked him to be so capable? Capable people simply had to do more work.
"Your Majesty, isn't the sixth of next month a bit too rushed? My father hasn't prepared anything yet!" Li Zhiwei thought for a moment and asked carefully. After all, her father was still unaware of this matter, and who knew how much he would scold Xu Heming when she returned?
Her father would definitely think that Xu Heming had begged the Emperor to set such a hasty wedding date.
"The envoys from the Qinling Kingdom could arrive at any time. If your wedding isn't held soon, and the Qinling Kingdom sends a princess for a marriage alliance who happens to set her sights on the Prince of An, it would be difficult for me to refuse!" Zhu Jingchen said deliberately.
In truth, he was just making up an excuse for himself.
But little did he know, the Qinling Kingdom really had sent a princess over for a marriage alliance.
And that princess would indeed fall for the Prince of An at first sight.
Hearing this, Xu Heming swallowed the words of refusal he was about to say.
The Qinling Kingdom's envoys could arrive at any moment.
If the Qinling princess insisted on marrying him, the Emperor might truly find it hard to make a decision.
After all, given the current situation, they couldn't conquer the Qinling Kingdom anytime soon.
They would definitely have to engage in some diplomatic maneuvering with their envoys.
If he was still unmarried by then, and the Qinling princess refused to marry anyone but him...
Even if he had a fiancee, the princess probably wouldn't care. After all, having a fiancee meant they weren't married yet.
An engagement could always be broken off if they weren't married.
Or she might force Li Zhiwei to be a concubine while she took the position of Princess Consort.
At this thought, Xu Heming frowned deeply.
He had no desire to see such a thing happen.
Li Zhiwei was also stunned upon hearing this.
"Sister Li, if that's the case, you should marry the Prince of An sooner rather than later. Marrying early will save you a lot of trouble! Otherwise, what if that princess really comes and steals the Prince of An away?" Cheng Qingli said anxiously from the side.
Hearing this, Li Zhiwei didn't know what to say for a moment and could only look at Xu Heming beside her.
"This humble subject thanks Your Majesty for your profound grace!" Xu Heming directly expressed his gratitude.
However, as he thanked the Emperor, he also gently tugged at Li Zhiwei.
"This subject's daughter thanks Your Majesty!" Li Zhiwei quickly followed suit and bowed in gratitude.
"Prince of An, I know you are anxious about the wedding, but rest assured, I have already tasked the Ministry of Rites with the arrangements. You still need to prioritize the matters I have assigned you, just in case the Qinling Kingdom decides to invade at any moment!" Zhu Jingchen looked at Xu Heming with a solemn expression.
"Yes!" Xu Heming didn't threaten to quit this time.
After all, this concerned the safety of all the people in the Lannuo Kingdom; he could not afford to slack off.
As for marrying Li Zhiwei, he would have to go back and discuss it with his mother later. He absolutely could not slight Li Zhiwei.
Li Zhiwei felt a bit dazed from beginning to end.
She had originally come to question the wedding date, or the matter of the Prince of An marrying someone else. How did it end up with her thanking the Emperor for his grace?
Remembering that her father did not approve of her marrying Xu Heming, she wondered how her father would criticize Xu Heming once she returned home.
"Your Majesty, since this matter has been clarified, I will take Miss Li and Qingli and take our leave!" The Empress could see that Zhu Jingchen seemed to have more to say to Xu Heming, so she tactfully led the girls away.
"You may step down first. Later, I will have Eunuch Liu send over the rewards for Miss Li and Qingli!" The rewards Zhu Jingchen spoke of were for when Cheng Qingli had won that estate last time.
Back then, it was because Cheng Qingli listened to Li Zhiwei's persuasion that she quickly handed the estate over to him. Both of them had contributed to this matter, so it was only right that both were rewarded.
"Thank you for the rewards, Your Majesty!"
The two exchanged a glance and quickly offered their thanks, though neither knew what these rewards were for.
Could it be because they had bluntly questioned the Emperor about the wedding date today?
"Alright, let's head back first!" The Empress noticed their confusion.
However, it wasn't appropriate for her to explain in front of the Emperor, so she quickly led the two back to Kunning Palace.
"Look at you! I really thought you had some serious reason to threaten to quit, but it turns out it was all for a woman!" As soon as the Empress led the others out of the imperial study, Zhu Jingchen looked at Xu Heming with a face full of disdain and said!