Chapter 240
Catching a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the crown prince, who was visibly distracted below the dais, Emperor Mingxi had a sudden thought: Should he let the crown prince go take a look?
Anyway, looking at his son, his body was still here, but his soul had probably wandered off a while ago.
"Imperial Father, this isn't very appropriate, is it!"
Xie Zhiyan had just arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation and was about to dive headfirst into the vast ocean of memorials when he never expected his imperial father to suddenly suggest he go to the Junior Preceptor's estate to see what she was doing.
Although the crown prince also really wanted to cast aside the endless memorials and go out to clear his head right now, having him go to the Junior Preceptor's estate...
It always felt a bit like he was tailing and spying on her.
"Crown Prince, your marriage with the Shen family's girl has already reached the stage of requesting the wedding date, which happens to require a wild goose. Why don't you go hunt one?"
There happened to be a large river next to Fu Guang's estate where wild geese often appeared. For the crown prince to pass by her estate to hunt a goose for his wedding would be perfectly justifiable.
"Imperial Father, hasn't the Imperial Astronomy Bureau already set the wedding date for the ninth of next month?"
The crown prince's grand wedding was a major event for the entire Great Yan court. All the civil and military officials in the court would start preparing their wedding gifts six months to a year in advance.
"Although the wedding date has already been set, the procedure of going to the bride's home to request the date hasn't been done yet. The wild goose is indispensable!"
Originally, the Ministry of Rites had already prepared one, but if the crown prince personally hunted one, who could say it was wrong?
Seeing his son dawdling, Emperor Mingxi impatiently said, "Just tell me, do you want to go or not!"
As soon as he saw his imperial father's expression, the crown prince very obediently said, "I'll go. Your son will go right away."
Saying that, he cupped his hands to Emperor Mingxi and walked out of the hall. His quick little steps were so fast, it was as if a dog were chasing him from behind!
Meanwhile, Yue Fuguang, oblivious to the fact that the crown prince had been shooed over by his own parent, was still leading her large family, huffing and puffing their way up a mountain!
From a distance, this mountain didn't look very high, but once they actually started climbing, it proved somewhat strenuous for the madams and young ladies who rarely stepped out of their inner courtyards.
They had only reached halfway up the mountain, and all the masters, old and young, except for her and Yu Chongshan, were sweating profusely from exhaustion.
"Grandmother, Mother, Second Aunt, Fourth Aunt, let's rest here for a while."
These few were older after all, unlike Yu Ningxuan and her sisters, who, although tired, could still hold on if they really had to keep climbing.
The spot on the mountainside where they stopped had a small platform. A small pavilion was built on it, and judging from the timber, it should be newly constructed by the Ministry of Works.
At this moment, everyone sat in the pavilion and looked down the mountain, where they could just see the bustling construction site at the foot.
A construction team of seven or eight hundred people was quite spectacular.
It wasn't noticeable at the foot of the mountain, but once up on the mountain, looking down from a commanding height, Yue Fuguang quickly realized something was wrong.
She couldn't help but ask Yu Chongshan, who was sitting beside her drinking tea, "Grandfather, isn't the size of the estate a bit off right now? It looks like it's being built according to the sketch I drew.
But isn't it a bit too big?"
She didn't know much about building materials in ancient times, but the main gate of the manor had already begun to take shape, and its scale seemed somewhat inappropriate!
Yu Chongshan smiled mysteriously and lowered his voice, "Fuguang saw it too?"
Yue Fuguang looked at Yu Chongshan with a puzzled face. It seemed the old master had known all along. Since he knew but didn't say anything, there must be an inside story.
Seeing that although no one moved, their ears clearly perked up, he continued softly, "All the building materials and scales were personally arranged by His Majesty."
He pursed his lips toward the foot of the mountain and said, "The scale is being built according to the standards of a Prince of the First Rank, and the materials are even comparable to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace."
"This..." Except for the person involved, Yue Fuguang, and Old Madam Yu, who had seen her fair share of great storms.
The other female family members of the Yu family were all so shocked that their eyes went wide. Constrained by etiquette, they hastily used the silk handkerchiefs in their hands to cover their mouths, clutching their chests with their other hand.
Seeing everyone's expressions of shock turning into sheer dumbfoundedness, Yue Fuguang found it quite amusing, imagining that beneath their handkerchiefs, her aunts and sisters were all forming uniform, large O shapes with their mouths.
"Father, our Fuguang, Fuguang she..." Second Aunt Yu was a bit too excited to know what to say. The word Prince swirled around the tip of her tongue, but she didn't dare utter it aloud.
Fourth Aunt Yu's face was also filled with excitement, and her hands, gripping Yu Ningrong's, were sweating slightly.
Seeing her mother's excited expression, Yu Ningrong thought it looked exactly like the time she found out her father had gotten a principal sixth-rank official post.
In the end, she didn't say anything to spoil the mood.
The other sisters were also flushed red, and Yu Ningxuan's dimples deepened even more as she smiled.
After her excitement subsided, Madam Zhang still couldn't help asking Yu Chongshan, "Father, is this truly His Majesty's intention?"
Seeing that her father-in-law had clearly known this all along, did her husband know that their daughter had the prospect of becoming a Prince of the First Rank?
And a female Prince at that! Throughout history, there had been quite a few female generals, and even female marquises, but the only one fortunate enough to become a Prince was their family's Fuguang!
Looking at his eldest daughter-in-law's excited yet disbelieving expression, and then at the female family members gazing at him with eager anticipation, only his own wife remained somewhat calm.
He couldn't help but tease Old Madam Yu, "The children don't believe my words. Madam, hurry up and validate me."
Old Madam Yu lightly patted her husband's arm. "You're teasing the children again, old man."
Then she said to everyone, "Just keep it to yourselves. You must absolutely not go out and speak nonsense."
At the same time, she held Yue Fuguang's chubby little hand and said, "Besides, what is my granddaughter not worthy of being?"
She was an Immortal Lord! To be a Prince in their mortal realm was already a grievance to her.
Sure enough, just as Old Madam Yu thought this, the grand complaints of the Divine Artifact Lord echoed in her ears.
[Master, it's just a mortal Prince, is it worth them being so happy?
We don't even care for the position of Emperor, so why would we think highly of the position of a Prince?]
'Whether it's a Prince or not doesn't matter, but the courtyard at the foot of the mountain looks like it's being built quite nicely.'
[Master has forgotten, your Immortal Palace was what you call beautiful. This courtyard at the foot of the mountain isn't even as good as the place where the spirit cranes, the mounts of minor immortals, live.
Not to mention the spirit flowers that bloom for a hundred years without withering, and the spirit fruits that can prolong life when eaten. Not a single one of those could survive being planted here.]
'Little Zhu, we have to do as the locals do. Although this place isn't as good as our Immortal Palace, it has a different kind of charm.'
[If Master likes it, then Little Zhu will plant some immortal herbs in your courtyard that can survive in the mortal realm. Although they aren't as beautiful as spirit flowers, these mortal flowers and grasses are truly a bit too tacky.]
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat. How could they have forgotten? This precious golden lump was an Immortal Lord. How could a deity care for a mortal position? Even the position of a Prince couldn't compare to a minor immortal sweeping a deity's courtyard.
With the shot in the arm that the Yu family was about to produce a Prince, everyone suddenly felt filled with energy.
As they walked along the mountain path, it was as if there was wind beneath their feet.
The people following behind to protect Yue Fuguang's safety also had various thoughts in their minds, but the flush on their faces, which was no less than that of the Yu family members, showed that their inner hearts were not calm either.
Especially Yu Mochun and Yu Huaixian, these two Yu family members. The sharp glint in their eyes could almost rival the sun in the sky.
They didn't walk together with their family members, but instead followed behind with the escort guards. It could be said that the two of them had a very clear understanding of their own roles.