Chapter 2

After discussing with Mr. Zhang about tomorrow's requirements, Eunuch Lian Gui suddenly said, "I wonder what kind of tea you have, Your Majesty? It does not look like the tribute tea from the palace? It tastes good, not bad."

    Yan Shi smiled and said, "The tribute tea of previous years has already been consumed and this year's tribute tea has not yet come. This tea is just a coarse tea from the outside, I hope you won't mind."

    "What are you talking about, Your Majesty," Eunuch Lian Gui took another sip of tea and placed the cup on the table, "I just thought this tea tasted good and asked about it casually."

    "If you like it, the King will give you some." With that, he ordered his subordinates to prepare the tea, and to prepare Lord Zhang's share as well.

    The tea was quickly presented, and although Eunuch Lian Gui said he didn't want it, the movement in his hands didn't have the slightest intention of not wanting it. On the contrary, Lord Zhang really did not want it, but Banquet Shi slipped the wrapped tea leaves into his hand.

    It was time for him to take a stroll with his hands in the garden, looking at the bright moon in the sky.

    The servants were busy preparing for his wedding tomorrow, but it did not seem to have anything to do with him, the real protagonist.

    After tomorrow, what will happen in this royal residence?

    No, nothing will change. The whole palace will remain as it is now, and even if there are more people, nothing will change.

    As he had said to Jiang Jingyue during the day, he was not at the mercy of anyone.

    He knew more or less about the Duke of Kangle's sons and daughters. The eldest son, Hua Ling, who will be married off tomorrow, has just turned eighteen this year. The second son, Hua Xu, is sixteen, and the third son, Hua Wei, is only eight years old. The eldest Miss Hua Luyao is fourteen.

    There is nothing to say about Eldest Miss Hua Luyao and the younger Third Prince Hua Wei, but let's talk about Eldest Prince Hua Ling and Second Prince Hua Xu. These two are typical noble sons, and the two brothers are not young, as the average noble son would have done something by this age, and it would not be a problem to get a scholarship. If they fail to pass the exam, they will be able to use their family's power to become a minor official somewhere to hone their skills. If not, they would have made friends and laid a solid foundation for their future career.

    But the two brothers seem to have no ambition, Hua Xu is better, will go out and have some fun, but Hua Ling is like the young lady in the house, the door does not leave the door, it seems that no one has seen him except the people in the house.

    Incidentally, Yang, the current head of the Duke of Kangle's household, was the Duke's stepmother, and Hua Ling was not born in her womb.

    As for Yang's treatment of Hua Ling, I cannot say that it was good, but I cannot say that it was bad either. After all, his status as the eldest son was there, and he would have to inherit the title of Duke of Kangle in the future. If Yang and her son want to live comfortably in the future, they must not go too far now.

    The Duke of Kangle was a member of King Zhaoge's inner circle, and he had already sent someone to investigate the situation in his house before he left the palace. He had followed Hua Ling and Hua Xu for almost half a year, but he had found nothing.

    If this was not their true nature, then it must be said that the Hua family was unpredictable and scary.

    But no matter what, he will not touch anyone from the Hua family, so he will leave this Nuan Yang Pavilion to the future princess alone!

    It was still early in the morning, and Yan Shi had already finished freshening up. When a prince gets married, he should go to see the emperor and the empress. It was already late when Yan Shi came out of the palace.

    He hurried with the officials of the Ministry of Rites to the residence of the Duke of Kangle, and arrived there without missing the time.

    The bridal party had already entered through the gate, passed through the pavilions and pavilions, and arrived outside the main hall. Standing at the closed gate, Yan Shi shouted, "Yan Shi welcomes the bride by order!"

    According to the rules, the Duke of Hongle and his wife had to sit in the main hall to receive their son's farewell. When the people inside heard this shout, they would respond and then open the door to allow Hua Ling to come out from inside.

    However, after the shout, there was no response from inside.

    Jiang Qingyue frowned at Yangshi, was this a threat from Lord Kangle? How dare he do this in front of the officials?

    At that moment, she heard a cacophony of voices inside, and there seemed to be faint cries coming from inside.

    Even Yan Shi gave Jiang Qingyue a puzzled look, was it because the Grand Duke did not want to marry me? Or is she putting on a show?

    Then Yangshi raised his voice and shouted, "Yangshi welcomes the bride by order!

    A few breaths later, the sound of crying came again, followed by the sound of footsteps coming towards the door, and then the door opened.

    "Your Majesty, please." The man opened the door and then bowed and stood to one side.

    The Duke of Kangle, Hua Qiancheng, and his wife, Yang, were sitting on the main table with anxious faces, and in front of them was a person wearing a wedding dress and a veiled head.

    It was from this man that the cries heard earlier came.

    "What's going on?" In the blink of an eye, Yan Shi had already walked up behind Hua Ling.

    When Hua Qiancheng saw the man enter, his face had a somewhat ugly expression, as if he had been holding back his compliments for a long time: "Wang, Your Majesty."

    He was about to stand up from his chair when Yan Shi said, "There is no need to be polite, please take a seat."

    "Mother ... wants my mother ...," a voice with a crying tone came from below, and when Yan Shi looked down, he saw his concubine's spine twitching and her head moving, as if he was wiping his tears. The head was moving, as if she was wiping tears from his eyes.

    Although Hua Ling was a married man, he did not need to wear a red head cover because he was a man, but he ...

    Now is not the time to explore this, when he heard that he was crying, he looked at Hua Qiancheng: "This is ..."

    "Mother ... they have lost my mother's tablet." Hua Ling huffed and puffed, the voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for those present to hear clearly.

    The people who followed Banquet Shi in were many officials of the Ministry of Rites and attendants of the palace, and when they heard this, they inevitably whispered a few words.

    Even though he was the head of the Kang Guo Gong House, Hua Ling's mother was the original spouse. According to the rules, a stepmother must first pay respect to the original wife's tablet and call her sister. But now the Duke of Kangle has lost the tablet of the original spouse, and it has been revealed in front of so many people, which is more than just a loss of face.

    Even though he was the eldest son of the Duke of Kangle's family, he was not supposed to do so, even if he had a lot of grievances in his heart.

    To do so would not only be harmful to the Duke of Kang's House, but would also be of little benefit to himself. Not to mention what others would think, the people of the Kangoku family would certainly hold a grudge against him because of this matter. Even if he is the eldest son, so what? Now that he has married out, he is no longer in control of how the world changes in this house. So why did he say that just now? What was his purpose? The corners of his mouth ticked upwards.

    Seeing that the Kang Le Mansion would soon become a laughing stock in the eyes of others, Yang looked anxious: "I clearly ordered someone to bring out my sister's tablet yesterday, how could it have disappeared? Someone, go and look for it, you must find it!"

    "Mother, ... Your son is getting married today, but I can't say goodbye to you!" The more Hua Ling cried, the louder his voice became, perhaps because he was crying so hard, he even burped, "How can your son marry in peace! Mother ah ..."

    "Quickly, send someone to look for it again." Hua Qiancheng was so anxious that he was sweating, and pushed the servant beside him, "You go and look for her too!"

    He looked at the man kneeling in front of him and wondered if he should say something to comfort him, as so many people were watching. He was just about to speak when he heard a rush of running sounds coming from outside and a maid hurried in with a tablet in both hands: "Looking for ... a ... tablet... ...tablet ... found ..." because she was so excited that she didn't even call it master, but no one cared about that now.

    After hurriedly completing the ceremony of bidding farewell to his parents, he was finally able to leave. Banquet Shi extended a hand towards Hua Ling, who hesitated for a moment, but still put her hand on that hand.

    With a firm gesture, he tried to pull him up from the ground, but Hua Ling did not get up because he had been kneeling for a long time. After saying sorry, he stretched out his hands and lifted him up from the ground.

    Hua Ling let out a cry of surprise, but did not struggle, he put his hands on Yan Shi's neck, not knowing that his face was already smiling under the cover.

    The courtesan followed behind him, singing and drinking, while Yan Shi carried Hua Ling out of the house and put him into the palanquin.

    After the tedious ceremony, Hua Ling waited in the Nuan Yang Pavilion, while Yan Shi went to entertain the guests.

    After the ceremony, Hua Ling waited in the Nuan Yang Pavilion while Yan Shi went to entertain the guests.

    The audience knew very well what kind of status the king had in front of the emperor, so it was not long before half of them left.

    Those who didn't leave were of two kinds, the first being those like Lord Zhang of the Ministry of Rites who were upright and uncompromising, and the second being those sent to spy on him.

    Only when the hare had risen in the east and Yan Shi had walked through the doors of Nuan Yang Pavilion under the watchful eyes of some people did those outside disperse completely.

    As he walked, Yan Shi smiled coldly, "So what if you watch me enter the bridal chamber? Can you still hold me in the bridal chamber?