HCB Chapter 293 2 My sister has promised to thank you
Chapter 293 2 My sister has promised to thank you
Shi Mingzhu's mind raced. Her hands in her sleeves trembled slightly, whether out of fear or excitement. Her bright red lips opened and closed like a snake spitting out its tongue. At this moment, she blocked out all the sounds around her. Only her own voice echoed in her ears:
“Your Majesty, more than a decade ago, during the great war in the northwest, spies from the enemy country broke into the rear and burned our army’s food and grass. At that time, my third aunt was in the rear and chased the spies, but was captured and thrown into the river. It took more than a year for her to return to the capital.
Your Majesty must have heard of this. Later, there was a shortage of food and grass. The imperial court was far away and could not replenish food and grass in time. It could only collect them from the surrounding towns and villages. However, our dynasty had more than 100,000 soldiers and it was impossible to mobilize enough food and grass in time.
Fortunately, the merchant family Xie stepped in and transported enough food and fodder to the border, and finally our soldiers returned with a great victory!
After the war, the imperial court returned the grain and grass to the Xie family, but the contributions made by the Xie family could not be erased, so my grandfather arranged a marriage with the Xie family. Originally, it was arranged that my seventh brother would marry the second daughter of the Xie family, but the second daughter of the Xie family fell seriously ill last year and was on the verge of death. She could only twist her hair to serve the Buddha and avoid the plague god, and then she got better and saved her life.
Because the second daughter of Xie family became a nun, Xie family had to cancel the engagement, but the kindness of Xie family had to be repaid, so they secretly arranged a marriage between the second sister and the third son of Xie family.
Your Majesty, please understand. Thank you Fifth Prince for your kindness, but my second sister has already been engaged to Master Xie, so how can I be engaged to someone else?"
Promising one woman to two families is like forcing Shi Yao to die.
Zhou Shao’s eyes widened.
Shi Yao promised to thank him for being white?
Xie Jibai is a merchant with a great reputation. Even the prince has heard of him. How could the Shi family be so desperate?
What about Jiang Miao and Tang Zhan?
One of them is a scholar and the other is a warrior. Which one of them is not much stronger than Xie Jibai?
Moreover, I have never heard that Xie Jibai and Shi Yao are engaged.
Zhou Shao suppressed his doubts and retracted his shocked look. Perhaps the Shi family had secretly sent a message to Zhu Zhu, but they were avoiding him...
Zhou Shao was in a state of sadness. Would he do anything to hurt Zhuzhu? Why was there any need to avoid him?
Zhou Xu was also very shocked, but he didn't show any strange expression. He said in despair, "So, it turns out that Miss Shi has already been promised to someone else. I was too abrupt... I was one step too late after all..."
The emperor ignored his pretentious performance. After being surprised, he asked with interest: "What kind of person is Third Master Xie? He is the son of a merchant. If he caught your grandfather's eye, he must have something extraordinary."
Shi Mingzhu felt hot all over and in her head when she lied. Only after she finished lying did she feel cold all over and cold sweat wet her back.
When she heard the emperor's question, she was at a loss for words and couldn't find any good thing about Xie Jibai.
She didn't know much about Xie Jibai, the son of a lowly merchant. They were not from the same world at all.
The little knowledge I have comes entirely from gossips in Beijing.
How could she know what good points or advantages he had?
"…The third son of the Xie clan, whose name is Xie Jibai, is extremely handsome, and can be called the most handsome man in the capital. He is suave and has a handsome face. Moreover, he is a great painter! Yes, he is very good at painting, and he is best at painting people.
He often comes to the Duke's Mansion to pay respects to his grandparents, and they always praise him! He is also a warm-hearted person. He also helped with the kidnapping case in the capital this time, and helped the Fourth Prince a lot. "
The last sentence has some meaning of brothers-in-law helping each other.
The emperor nodded and smiled, "He sounds like a good kid. His family is rich, much better than Zhou Xu who can't afford a house."
Zhou Xu lowered his head and said nothing.
As expected, the emperor disliked him and even personally belittled him, saying that he was not as good as a merchant's son.
Shi Mingzhu struck while the iron was hot and said, "The Xie family has made great contributions to the court, but the old man of the Xie family is not greedy for fame and fortune, and has never asked the court for credit. I beg the emperor to give the Xie family some respect, give the Shi family some respect, and grant a marriage between my second sister and Xie Jibai!"
As long as the emperor grants her permission for the marriage, Shi Yao will never be able to get involved with Zhou Xu again.
The emperor laughed and said, "Of course I am willing to grant the marriage, but I must ask the old Duke and the old lady. As it happens, they are coming to the palace to celebrate my birthday today, so it won't be a big deal to ask them."
After that, the emperor winked at the old eunuch beside him and ordered, "Qin Shun, go and invite the old Duke Zhenguo and the old lady."
Qin Shun bowed and responded, then walked out.
Shi Mingzhu was shocked and almost fainted!
How could the emperor not believe her and ask her grandparents to verify it?
Grandparents had never planned to marry Shi Yao to the Xie family. The candidates they had chosen for their grandson-in-law were Jiang Miao and Tang Zhan.
Once they come, no matter what they say, neither the Jiang family nor the Tang family will object, but will happily accept the marriage.
And what about her?
Once her grandparents arrive, they will expose her lies and she will be charged with deceiving the king!
The crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by death!
Even if her grandparents pleaded for her, she would not have ended up well. She first offended Concubine Ning and then the emperor. She would be skinned alive if she didn't die.
Shi Mingzhu was terrified and thought in panic, what should I do? What should I do?
I at least lived for ten years in my previous life. Am I going to die so soon in this life?
She was reborn, holding a golden finger and knowing the trajectory of her past life, so why is she doing worse than in her previous life?
The emperor lowered his eyes and saw Shi Mingzhu trembling like a sieve, with cold sweat rolling down her forehead. He smiled lightly, turned around and sat back on the dragon throne.
Time passed minute by minute, and the pendulum clock in the imperial study ticked back and forth, as if the footsteps of the Black and White Impermanence were approaching.
Shi Mingzhu bit her lip and tried to admit that she had lied several times, but every time the words came to her lips, she swallowed them back.
The two men kneeling beside her were the man she loved in her previous life, whom she hated in this life and wished to trample under her feet, and the man she owed in her previous life and whom she vowed to repay in this life.
How could she bear to show her ugly side in front of them?
Shi Mingzhu felt extremely regretful. She should have guessed earlier that Concubine Ning must have been saying bad things about her. The emperor had a very bad impression of her, so how could he believe her one-sided words?
Because she hated Shi Yao and didn't want such a vicious woman to have a good life, she made up a story about her marriage to Xie Jibai.
People really can't do bad things, or they will be punished.
Her retribution came so quickly.
But, but, Shi Yao was so vicious, and caused chaos in the Shi family, making everyone alienated. How come she was favored by God and did not suffer retribution?
Shi Mingzhu gradually became discouraged.
God is unfair and favors time-traveling women.
She was a noble lady who had been trained for many years by an aristocratic family, but she still couldn't defeat an ordinary time-traveling girl.
The emperor sipped his tea and observed with interest Shi Mingzhu's pale face and shaky body.
The people in the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion are really interesting.
No wonder such a prosperous family has fallen to this point.
He had suppressed the Shi family for more than ten years but failed to do so, but he made several women in the Shi family accomplish it.
This Shi Mingzhu is like a jinx. Having been born into the house of the Fourth Master, it is likely that the Fourth Master will soon be in trouble at home - no, the Fourth Master's family is already in trouble now.
The emperor lowered his eyelids, and a hint of murderous intent flashed across his eyes.