0p0 Chapter 237 Wei Jianning's Angry
Chapter 237 Wei Jianning's Angry
Barracks
Wei Jianning was studying the latest defense map of the Northern Wei Kingdom with Yuan Tianxiong and several deputy generals when the sound of the imperial edict suddenly reached his ears. This surprised and surprised him, but he still hurriedly led everyone to receive the edict.
The one who came to deliver the imperial decree was Huang Bao, an imperial bodyguard. He was dressed in official robes and had an unusually solemn expression on his face.
Upon seeing him, Wei Jianning joked:
"Lord Huang, what imperial edict is it that you have to personally deliver it to the military camp? It's a long way from here to the capital, thank you for your trouble."
Huang Bao frowned slightly, looking at him with a mixture of helplessness and sympathy.
Those who know them all know that he and the Crown Princess have a deep relationship. The Emperor decreed that they should marry while the Crown Princess was pregnant, which he must have found hard to accept.
"Your Highness, this imperial edict is urgent and important. Otherwise, His Majesty would not have sent me to deliver it personally. You... you should prepare to receive the edict!"
After exchanging a glance, Wei Jianning and Yuan Tianxiong flicked their clothes and led everyone to kneel before Huang Bao.
He unfolded the imperial edict and slowly began to read:
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: I have heard that Zhu Fangfei, the eldest daughter of Grand Commandant Zhu, is of virtuous character and outstanding talent, a jewel of our court. Furthermore, since Crown Princess Lan Zhi is pregnant and it is inconvenient for her to serve the Crown Prince, I hereby bestow Zhu Fangfei upon Crown Prince Wei Jianning as a secondary consort, to serve the Crown Prince alongside Crown Princess Lan Zhi. Now, an auspicious day has been chosen for the grand wedding to be held with the rites due to a principal wife, to be proclaimed to the world. This decree is hereby issued!"
This imperial edict contained exactly the same content as the one Qin Shun had sent to the Crown Prince's residence.
After hearing this clearly, Wei Jianning was stunned for a moment, then stood up from the ground and asked in confusion,
"Lord Huang, are you sure you didn't deliver the wrong imperial edict?"
Huang Bao shook his head with a solemn expression.
"No, Your Highness's name is on it."
"But why did Father suddenly bestow a marriage upon me? I never said that I wanted to take a concubine."
"I was unaware of this; it was His Majesty's will."
"I will not accept this imperial edict. Please take it back, Lord Huang!"
Huang Bao looked at him and reminded him, word by word.
"Does Your Highness intend to defy the imperial decree?"
"My father arranged for a woman to enter the Crown Prince's residence without even asking my opinion, and wanted me to marry her according to the rites of a principal wife. This is utterly absurd, and I will not accept this imperial decree."
"Your Highness, before I came here, His Majesty said that if Your Highness did not accept this imperial edict, he would treat it as disobeying the imperial decree and not only would he punish you, but he would also imprison everyone in the Crown Prince's residence in the imperial prison, including the Crown Princess."
"You dare?"
Wei Jianning suddenly shouted angrily.
"I will not accept this imperial edict under any circumstances. I will go to see the Emperor now."
At this moment, he was no longer willing to call him Father Emperor. The respect he had just developed for him vanished in an instant.
He didn't go to receive the imperial edict. Instead, he quickly went to the courtyard, mounted his horse, and rode swiftly away from the military camp, heading straight for the palace.
Huang Bao glanced in the direction he left, then shoved the imperial edict into Yuan Tianxiong's arms, whispering a reminder:
"His Majesty's decree is no accident. Disobeying an imperial edict is a serious crime. If you don't want the Crown Prince to cause trouble, you should inform the Crown Princess to come to the palace and stop him as soon as possible!"
After leaving those words, Huang Bao led his men away.
After glancing at Nie Yuan and his several deputies, Yuan Tianxiong gave the following instructions:
"I'm going back to the Crown Prince's residence..."
In his haste, Nie Yuan followed up:
"I'm going back too."
Yuan Tianxiong originally wanted him to stay at the Crown Prince's residence, but thinking that having more people might provide more help, he let him go with him.
When the two of them returned to the Crown Prince's residence, weary from their journey, Lan Zhi was sitting in the main hall waiting. However, instead of Wei Jianning, she was greeted by Yuan Tianxiong and Nie Yuan.
She looked at them in surprise, and before she could ask anything, Yuan Tianxiong blurted out:
"Princess Consort, hurry and save the Crown Prince!"
"What happened to the prince?"
As she asked this question, she jumped up from her chair. Ah Qi quickly stepped forward to support her and gently reminded her...
"Master, you're pregnant again, so be gentle."
But at this moment, Lan Zhi couldn't care less about anything else; she just wanted to know what was wrong with Wei Jianning.
Nie Yuan swallowed hard and said anxiously:
"Lord Huang went to the military camp to read out the imperial decree of marriage, but His Highness refused to accept it and has now gone to the palace to argue with the Emperor."
Yuan Tianxiong handed the imperial edict to her and said worriedly:
"Lord Huang said that when His Majesty issued the decree, he said that if His Highness disobeyed the decree, he would be punished according to the law, and the entire Crown Prince's residence would also be implicated. Would you... like to go to the palace to take a look?"
Upon hearing this, Lan Zhi immediately had a bad feeling.
She had thought that Wei Jianning would come back to discuss it with her as soon as he received the imperial decree, but she didn't expect that he would still be too impulsive and reckless.
"Ah Qi, prepare the carriage, come with me to the palace."
The Emperor's decision to bestow Zhu Kui's daughter upon him was clearly a well-thought-out plan, and had been discussed with Zhu Kui.
Now that the imperial edict has been issued, it is clearly impossible to get the emperor to retract it.
She is now worried that Wei Jianning might recklessly offend the Emperor, and if the Emperor becomes angry and issues an edict to punish him, it will be too late.
Thinking of this, she lifted the sedan curtain and instructed Yuan Tianxiong outside:
"faster."
'Yes. '
After Yuan Tianxiong agreed, he raised his whip and lashed the horse's back once, after which the horse ran much faster than before.
Based on past experience, the emperor would definitely be in the imperial study reviewing memorials at this time. After arriving at the palace, Wei Jianning went straight to the imperial study without stopping.
However, when he arrived at the Imperial Study, he was told that the Emperor had been staying in the Zhenlan Garden and had not come to the Imperial Study to review memorials for three days.
Upon hearing this, he became even more furious.
These past few days, the army has been busy recruiting new soldiers, so he hasn't been able to attend court or find time to go to the palace. It's really unexpected that his father's old habit of not liking to attend court has relapsed.
It seems that this Consort Lan is indeed a femme fatale.
Now that he was here, he was going to venture into the Zhenlan Garden and see what kind of person this Consort Lan, who had captivated the Emperor, really was.
Thinking of this, he left the Imperial Study and headed straight for Zhenlan Garden.
At this moment, the Emperor was still lingering on Ling Lanhua's bed, not yet satisfied.
Ling Lanhua gently placed the sliced apple into his mouth and said softly:
"Your Majesty, won't your constant stay in Zhenlan Garden cause dissatisfaction among my elder sisters? I don't want them to see me as an enemy."
The Emperor stroked her delicate hand while shaking his head.
"No, as the ruler of a nation, any woman I favor who dares to disrespect you is disrespecting me, and I will not let them off easily."
Ling Lanhua immediately beamed with joy. She picked up a piece of apple, put it in her mouth, and then fed it to the Emperor, mouth to mouth.
The Emperor was quite pleased with this, and while chewing the apple in his mouth, he said softly:
"My beloved consort is becoming more and more considerate. I really feel that the women I've met before were all so foolish. All they could do was lie there and moan. They couldn't do anything else. My beloved consort understands me and knows me well..."