Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Rewarding the Crown Princess Consort
The oral decree was finished, and an eunuch swept a horsetail whisk: "A pair of treasure vases, a pair of Jingtai Blue Vases…"
The eunuchs and palace maids who followed carried various rewards, proceeding in order to present them before Leng Yu Yan.
On the trays were brocade boxes of various sizes, some simply covered with red silk, their shapes indicating they were ingots. Items like vases and others for ornamental enjoyment were openly displayed.
Mrs. Feng and Lai Hao's eyes nearly popped out!
The sum of these rewards was far beyond ten thousand taels of silver!
After the rewards were announced, the eunuch smiled and said, "Crown Princess Consort, all these are tokens of the Emperor's and the various Princesses' affection."
Then he pointed to a three-tiered makeup box and ordered a palace maid to open it.
In an instant, the glittering and resplendent jewels and jewelry inside the makeup box shone brilliantly before everyone's eyes.
"These were selected together by the various Princesses and the Ninth Princess, and I hope the Crown Princess Consort likes them."
Seeing the uncontrollable sour expression on Lai Manting's face, Leng Yu Yan said with a smile, "How can I, I, accept so many gifts?"
"As the Crown Princess Consort, your status is honorable, and you deserve them." The eunuch took out a list of gifts and presented it to Leng Yu Yan with both hands, "Please accept this!"
Leng Yu Yan accepted it with both hands and politely nodded, "Thank you, Eunuche Ye!"
Seeing her not the least bit arrogant, Eunuch Ye's smile grew even warmer.
Originally, he did not have a high regard for this ugly daughter of the Leng Family.
The Emperor almost had his wise reputation destroyed because of the fake divine doctor. If not for her exposing the divine doctor's fake beard and restoring the Emperor's dignity, the Emperor might have been ridiculed by all the Tiansheng citizens.
Now, having proclaimed the rewards as tokens of the Emperor's and the various Princesses' affection, she modestly referred to herself as I and accepted the gift list, showing great respect to him, an eunuch.
In an instant, Eunuch Ye felt that aside from her unattractiveness, her behavior and deportment were measured and appropriate, actually fitting the poise and steadiness required of a Crown Princess Consort of a country.
With that thought, he turned and raised his hand slightly to Leng Zongfa, "Marquis, might I borrow a moment of your time?"
Leng Zongfa nodded; this eunuch was the personal eunuch Eunuch Ye by the Emperor's side, a man whose status could not be taken lightly.
He respectfully made a gesture of invitation, "Please, Eunuch Ye!"
The two walked to the gallery outside the hall.
Eunuch Ye smiled and looked at Leng Zongfa for a while, until Leng Zongfa couldn't help but say, "Eunuch Ye, if you have something to say, please speak!"
"The Emperor asked me to tell the Marquis, the Marquis has raised a fine daughter!"
Leng Zongfa didn't realize at once which daughter the Emperor was referring to.
Eunuch Ye, seeing his confusion, clarified directly, "The Emperor was speaking of Miss Lai Wu."
For the first time, Leng Zongfa felt a sense of pride from his unattractive daughter.
"Far from it!" Leng Zongfa waved his hands and then bowed in the direction of the Imperial Palace, "It is all thanks to the vast grace of the Emperor. As a citizen of Tiancheng, it's only right to discern the true from the false, to discard the sham and preserve the genuine. My daughter was merely fulfilling her duty."
Eunuch Ye's face brimmed with a smiling expression, yet in his heart he muttered, the fake divine doctor was brought by your son after all. Saying it so righteously, as if by doing so, you could overlook your son's guilt.
What a thick-skinned man indeed!
Meanwhile, back in the hall.
Lai Manting looked at the beautiful jewelry in the makeup box, feeling both envious and jealous. If she had agreed to the arranged marriage with the Crown Prince, all these items would have been hers.
And what about Leng Yu Yan?
Although it was said that the Crown Prince was blind and sickly, these rewards were truly too tempting!
Especially those dazzling hairpins, picked out by the Princess and the Ninth Princess from the palace, were indeed extraordinary. These were designs unseen in the marketplace, and their materials were of the finest quality.
If she wore these pieces of jewelry on her head, not only would she gain the reputation of a talented woman, but the title of the world's most beautiful woman would come easily to her.
Her heart churned like tumultuous waves, and for a moment, she didn't know what to feel.
As if possessed, Lai Manting spoke up, "Fifth Sister, can you really wear so many hairpins and ornaments?"
Such an ugly face paired with such exquisite hairpins would be a complete waste.
Leng Yu Yan smiled sweetly, "I'm quite vulgar, even if I don't wear them on my head, I'll be happy just opening my makeup box to look at them every day."
Lai Manting, worried that Leng Yu Yan's foolish brain wouldn't catch her insinuation, shamelessly said, "It would be a pity to just look at them – why not let me wear some for you? It would also show the Emperor's boundless grace."
Upon hearing this, Leng Yu Yan mentally laughed madly while maintaining a faint smile on her face, "Thank you, Third Sister, but I'm rather fastidious. If you were to wear them, then I wouldn't like them anymore–what should be done about that?"
"Then just give them to me. If Fifth Sister feels at a loss, I could pay you in silver," Lai Manting said with a charming smile.
In front of so many people, would she really dare to ask for money?
"Third Sister, you're mistaken," Leng Yu Yan quickly leaned close to Lai Manting and whispered, "Do you feel these were originally yours since you were the one to be bestowed to the Crown Prince initially?"
"You!" Lai Manting couldn't believe this wretched girl could see through her thoughts.
"Your thoughts are written all over your face," Leng Yu Yan said with a light laugh, stepping away from her.
Lai Manting's smile gradually stiffened, and her eyes instantly reddened with anger, "Fifth Sister, you've misunderstood me. I was thinking that with your looks and these fine items, you would become a laughing stock to the whole world. It would be better for me to display them for you. Your accusations truly chill the heart!"
Her voice sounded pitifully weak, fully displaying her vulnerability.
"Oh, is Third Sister really so kindhearted?" Leng Yu Yan raised an eyebrow, her tone steady.
Even with a veil on, when she was not smiling, the people around could feel the icy aura emanating from her.
"Fifth Sister, you really have misunderstood me," Lai Manting protested, her eyes growing redder.
She looked as if she were about to cry.
Leng Yu Yan's gaze swept lightly over Lai Manting, then chuckled, "If the betrothal were to be switched back right now, these rewards would not be yours either, Third Sister!"
Lai Manting shuddered instantly.
Could the betrothal really be switched back?
For a moment, she felt all the surrounding gazes fixated on her, as if they were about to strip away her modesty and expose her true thoughts.
Lai Manting shuddered, "Fifth Sister, don't joke. The imperial decree for the betrothal has been issued, how could it be changed?"
Leng Yu Yan's beautiful eyes narrowed, and she smiled innocuously, "Before the betrothal, our father and mother changed the chosen one to me, I think it could be changed back as well."
Lai Manting's back broke into a cold sweat, and her complexion turned pale; her lips trembled, "I..."
Of course, she didn't want that!
Seeing his own flesh and blood, his younger sister, so embarrassed, Lai Hao made his own calculations and took the opportunity to speak, "Fifth Sister, do you remember what Second Brother said at Qingyu Residence just now?"
He roughly calculated that if all the rewards could be his, he could recover his losses from the fake divine doctor and even make a profit.
If he hadn't found that old man, how could Leng Yu Yan have had the opportunity to expose the fake divine doctor?
Therefore, he felt entitled to these rewards.
With these thoughts, his gaze at the rewards became increasingly greedy, as if they were truly his.
How could Leng Yu Yan forget? He couldn't become the Ninth Princess's Prince Consort and had pushed the responsibility onto her. Now, she was crystal clear about what he was calculating in his heart.
Was he thinking she would simply hand over all this wealth to him?