Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 588 - 586

Chapter 588: 586

The discussions on the international marriage were less than smooth.

It should have been a grand affair for two friendly neighboring nations to have a conjugal union, as a sign of respect for the other country.

However, the Emperor felt that their union, afterall, was not a glorious affair. Using the upcoming weddings of two princes and a princess as his excuses, he insisted that the date of the Third Prince’s wedding should remain the same as previously planned, which was the day he was supposed to marry Li Mingfang.

Zhuge Meiyu was originally unwilling to comply. To her, marrying on the same day initially destined for Third Prince’s and Li Mingfang’s union was a harbinger of misfortune and bewitched!

However, the Emperor stated that if the wedding were not to happen on that day, then the order of the princes’ weddings should instead be adjusted according to their legitimacies, favoring those born of his legal wives.

Accordingly, the Third Prince’s marriage would take place only after all the children of the Emperor’s legal wives were wedded. Only then would the Imperial Observatory select a suitable date for his wedding.

Upon hearing these words, Zhuge Meiyu was dumbfounded!

The youngest prince born of the Emperor’s legal wives was the Seventh Prince, who was now only seven years old! How could she possibly wait that long! By the time he gets married, she probably would not have had a chance to get married herself!

Moreover, organizing the princes’ weddings based on their legitimacy? A concubine’s child was never allowed to inherit a family’s business! Wasn’t this implying that the Third Prince would never stand a chance at the throne? There was no way Zhuge Meiyu could agree to such a disadvantageous condition. Therefore, she decided to keep quiet, but she was understandably upset.

When Zhuge Meiyu returned to the inn, she angrily swept everything off the table!

Zhuge Meiyu’s maid knelt on the ground in terror. "Princess, please calm down!"

"Birou, did you leak the news about me and the Third Prince!" Zhuge Meiyu angrily asked the maid who had gone to fetch the contraceptive broth for her.

They had managed to keep the matter a secret, so well that not even her closest elder brother knew about it. Had someone exposed it, the others would never have discovered!

Moreover, Birou was the only outsider who knew about her and the third prince.

Upon hearing Zhuge Meiyu’s question, Birou hurriedly knelt down: "Princess, you are wronged! I wouldn’t dare to do such a thing even if you gave me the courage of ten men!"

"If it wasn’t you, then how could the people from the Sixth Prince’s side have known?!" Zhuge Meiyu stared at Birou’s eyes like a venomous snake sizing up its prey.

She would definitely not let anyone who dared to betray her get off easy!

Today, she could hear people on the streets everywhere hurling accusations at her, calling her unchaste and flirtatious!

They even said she entertained countless men in the Eastern Jin Dynasty! The hats of cuckolded husband piled one on top of another on the head of the Third Prince, which made her absolutely livid!

Fortunately, those people hadn’t seen her face. Otherwise, she would never dare to show herself in public again!

Birou hesitated before she finally said: "I ran into the Countess Rui’an that day when I went to fetch the medicine. But I was wearing a face veil at the time, she shouldn’t have recognized me!"

After hearing Birou’s explanation and having her recount the events of that day, Zhuge Meiyu was certain that Xiao’er had recognized Birou!

That pharmacy was said to be owned by Xiao’er’s family; it would have been easy for her to find out what medicine Birou was getting!

What a clever Countess Rui’an! As if it wasn’t enough for her to lose so much money in Yunshi County, she now manages to have her labeled as a promiscuous woman!

She ruined the wedding she had been longing for!

She won’t let her off easy!

Before she leaves for the Eastern Jin Dynasty, she must pay her back with a grand gift!

She will make her a woman who can be had by anyone!

She will ruin her engagement and ensure she never lifts her head in pride again!

...

The weather was getting hotter, and Mrs. Liu’s belly was growing bigger. In less than a month, Mrs. Liu would be giving birth. At the same time, Shangguan Wanru was preparing to be married off to Nangong Country.

A slow journey from Minze Country to Nangong Country would take nearly two months, so her wedding procession naturally couldn’t rush the journey.

Prince An didn’t want his daughter to endure the hardship of a long journey, so he had her set off early.

The day before Shangguan Wanru’s wedding, a grand banquet was held at Prince An’s residence.

The Emperor, Empress, and Empress Dowager sent gift after gift into the Prince’s residence that they nearly blinded everyone with their brilliance!

Early in the morning, Xiao’er and Fu Ranhui came over to accompany Shangguan Wanru and help her with her makeup.

The makeup Xiao’er brought was, naturally, what she had promised before.

Xiao’er thought that she might never see Shangguan Wanru again in this lifetime, so she put extraordinary care and thought into the makeup she prepared.

Xiao’er gifted Shangguan Wanru a "wedding photo" painting, and also a "wedding photo album".

The "wedding photo album" depicted Shangguan Wanru wearing all kinds of wedding dresses and gowns.

And each scene was different, there were scenes of her riding a bicycle in the wilderness, on the beach, in the palace, amidst the flowers, in a courtyard, by a lake, ...

Each page of the "wedding photo album" was vividly drawn; Shangguan Wanru’s expression in each painting was unique, yet well-known and familiar to everyone.

The Shangguan Wanru in the entire album was brimming with bliss and joyful satisfaction.

The Shangguan Wanru in the entire album was brimming with bliss and joyful satisfaction.

This allowed everyone present to witness Rui’an County’s most refined and masterful painting skills once again. Many ladies looked on Shangguan Wanru with envious eyes, how they wished they also had such an album!

However, they didn’t dare to ask as they weren’t very familiar with Rui’an County.

Many ladies used to think that painting was just a pastime for improving one’s mind, and didn’t believe that painting could have any function. They never thought that a painting could move people and touch their hearts like this!

Zhuge Meiyu looked at Shangguan Wanru’s blissful expression, then thought about the contemptuous glances she had just received from the others. She felt a sense of imbalance in her heart.

Seeing the admiration Rui’an County received from everyone else, she felt even more furious. Wait and see! They will soon look down on you, just like they looked down on me!

Shangguan Wanru was overwhelmed with joy when she saw a painting of herself in a white wedding dress and Gong Zixuan in a black suit.

And when she turned the pages of the "photo album", she was so moved that she began to cry.

Such vivid expressions and realistic statues, creating such a big album, must have taken so much time and thought.

Moreover, Rui’an county must have paid her so much attention to know her every move and expression so well to capture it in a painting!

She had never been to the places painted in the scenes, but they looked so real that she began to question if she had forgotten visiting them!

Even the mother of Prince An, upon seeing this photo album, had tears in her eyes. Rui’an County knew her daughter even better than she did.

She finally understood what it means to be content with knowing one person in one’s life, and to regard this world with the same feelings!

Shangguan Wanru couldn’t help but hug Xiao’er: "Rui’an County, you must have done this on purpose to make me cry! What should I do, I don’t want to get married anymore, I can’t bear to leave you!"

Xiao’er, who was almost suffocated by the hug, responded in herself: "No! She’s wrong, isn’t she!? She’ll never paint anymore!"

Ruan Weizhen, seeing the makeup Xiao’er gifted Shangguan Wanru, didn’t feel jealous. She knew Xiao’er was sorrowful because Princess Wanru was leaving to marry into a foreign land, never to see her family again, that’s why she prepared such generously.

But just because she didn’t feel jealous, didn’t mean others would not cause trouble over this!

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