Chapter 408 - 313: Regret
At first, the ceremonial chanting and the gifts were quite normal. The most exquisite among them was the three-foot amber coral tree sent by Miaoyan.
This thing, if it exceeds two feet, is extremely rare. A three-foot one is priceless. Gu Lan guessed that when Rong Miaoyan’s grandmother celebrated her birthday, she might not have sent something this precious.
As if Rong Miaoyan guessed Gu Lan’s thoughts, she rolled her eyes beside him and said in a low voice, "Of course, for the Empress Dowager’s birthday, I only wish her to live a thousand years."
Who can really live a thousand years? This blessing sounded extremely perfunctory.
Miaoyan delivered it with an unchanged expression. After all, she was a princess and she was rich. As long as it made Gu Lan’s grandmother happy, that was enough.
The reason Miaoyan became so wealthy started with the seizure of the Su Family’s assets.
As the granddaughter of the former old Prime Minister and one of the chief officials in the investigation of the Su Family, Rong Miaoyan... calmly diverted part of the Su Family’s assets into the national treasury during the investigation, while she unhesitatingly stored another part into her personal vault. At the time, she didn’t even know why she did it; after all, no one despises having too much money.
Su Shoucheng angrily rebuked her for embezzling her family’s assets, calling her heartless and venomous.
Rong Miaoyan said she was also a member of the Su Family, so how could taking her own family’s things be called embezzlement? It was custody.
The officials who knew she "stored" many of the Su Family’s items turned a blind eye. Song Zhi and Zhang Fengcai conscientiously reported the matter to Rong Jing, but Rong Jing said, as relatives, if she took it, she took it. Ning An was just a little girl and he didn’t pay attention to the matter.
What could others say about it? She was a princess, so what if she embezzled a little money...
However, no one knew exactly how much "little money" was accumulated by the Su Family over a century.
The ceremonial chanting continued, but when it was Rong Yunhao’s turn, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
Gu Lan’s expression twitched as he looked at Rong Yunhao, who was smiling brightly beside him.
The child, having lost weight, foolishly gifted a set of tableware to his grandmother. Of course, the Old Madam was still overjoyed, treating Rong Yunhao like a chubby half-grandson of hers, and rewarded him with a plate of almond cookies on the spot.
Later, the ceremonial chanter received the gift list presented by the Zhou Family, which he read aloud for a full three minutes.
Well...it was just several thousand taels of gold and silver and dozens of boxes of jewelry, though not as extravagant as Madam Zhou’s dowry.
At this point, everyone heard a slight pause in the chanting, followed by a loud proclamation:
"A gift from His Majesty: ten hogsheads of top-grade South Sea pearls, a pair of jade, ten bolts of the Four Happiness Ruyi Immortal Crane Shu Brocade... Wishing the Old Madam perfection in all things and longevity like the evergreen pines and cranes."
"I thank Your Majesty on behalf of the minister’s wife." Because it was an imperial bestowal, Old Madam Gu, dressed in a vermilion green feathered dress, was supported by Madam Zhou as she walked out of the Marquis Mansion’s main hall, set aside her cane, and prepared to kneel to receive her reward.
"The Emperor arrives, Princess Consort Yi arrives—"
Zhang Fengcai’s familiar voice rang out. After his shout, Rong Jing and Princess Consort Yi slowly entered from the Marquis Mansion’s entrance.
Princess Consort Yi was previously Concubine Yi. Taking advantage of the fact that she was Mrs. Wang’s biological sister, she was the only concubine in Rong Jing’s harem who had connections with the Dingyuan Marquis Mansion. She had just been promoted to princess consort a few days ago.
On such a day, Rong Jing bringing Princess Consort Yi along was a way to show the Emperor’s favor towards her and the Imperial Family’s regard for the Marquis Mansion.
As for why he didn’t bring the Empress...
Oh right, Dayan actually still had an Empress.
Su Zhixue was not implicated by the Su Family because she had already broken ties with them by the time she married. Rong Jing, considering Rong Miaoyan’s influence, plus being unable to find a suitable replacement for a while, allowed her to remain on the Empress’s throne.
Today, Rong Jing wore a light purple robe resembling ink and smoke, outlined with pale golden threads, making him appear even more enchantingly noble under the sunlight.
With simple ink-black hair and a jade crown, his long and indifferent peach blossom eyes carried a seductive smile, making him look nothing like a stern and cold Emperor but more like a delicate and bright aristocratic young master.
Beside him, Princess Consort Yi was lavishly dressed, accompanying the Emperor. Her figure was full, her complexion fair, and she slyly winked at Mrs. Wang inside the hall.
Rong Miaoyan glanced at Princess Consort Yi and then at Rong Jing, a trace of coldness flashing in her eyes, her slender jade hand involuntarily clenched into a fist.
After the Empress Dowager passed away, although her mother was unwilling, she took control of the imperial harem’s power and became an Empress with actual authority.
But on such an occasion, the Emperor would rather bring a concubine along to show the Marquis Mansion’s importance than bring her mother to show respect to the Marquis Mansion!