jdhmnovel Chapter 732 Scheme Fails
Chapter 732 Scheme Fails
Just when Master Ouyang was about to give up, the butler finally rushed back, almost losing one of his shoes in the process.
As they approached the hall, the butler stopped to catch his breath, tidied himself up a bit, and then lifted the curtain to go inside.
When Mr. and Mrs. Ouyang saw their housekeeper return, a hint of surprise flashed in their eyes.
The Fifth Prince noticed this as well, and immediately frowned, staring at the steward with displeasure, wanting to see what extraordinary decree the steward could bring back.
He believed that the Empress Dowager would not be so concerned about the marriages of her children, after all, she had been in the palace for many years and had not been particularly close to her family.
The steward didn't keep everyone waiting long; as soon as he entered, he took out the Empress Dowager's edict.
A loud shout rang out: "The Empress Dowager's decree has arrived!"
Everyone, including the Fifth Prince, knelt down to receive the imperial decree.
The butler cleared his throat and read aloud: "The Ouyang family and the Lin family are old friends. The second young lady of the Ouyang family is gentle and virtuous, and the young master of the Lin family is handsome and dashing. The two are a match made in heaven. Therefore, the second young lady of the Ouyang family and the young master of the Lin family are granted a marriage. An auspicious day will be chosen for their wedding. This is the imperial decree!"
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince's face instantly turned ashen.
Lin family? Which Lin family?
What kind of imperial edict is this?! Who bestows a marriage without naming names?!
There are countless people with the surname Lin in the capital, let alone throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. The Empress Dowager clearly didn't have a suitable candidate and was just making someone up randomly!
How could the Empress Dowager of a nation treat this so childishly?!
The Fifth Prince never expected that the Empress Dowager would actually issue such an edict.
The Ouyang couple secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as they were also unsure which Lin family was mentioned in the imperial edict.
However, since the Empress Dowager has issued an imperial decree, she must know about it herself; we can just ask her about it later.
The Ouyang couple were quite carefree, believing that the Empress Dowager's choice would not be wrong, especially since the main purpose of this imperial edict was to keep the Fifth Prince away.
Now that our goal has been achieved, we can discuss the other details later.
"The Ouyang family kowtows in gratitude to the Empress Dowager for bestowing this marriage upon them!"
Master Ouyang and his wife kowtowed sincerely. In response to the imperial decree, the Fifth Prince, as a grandson, was also required to kowtow.
She was already furious, and she was about to achieve her goal, but she never expected that her grandmother would actually go to such lengths for her maternal family.
At this moment, the veins on my temples were throbbing, and I felt like they could burst at any moment.
Seeing the Ouyang couple's suppressed joy and relieved expression of surviving a disaster made him even angrier!
After suppressing his anger and finishing his kowtow, the Fifth Prince stood up and said coldly, "Hmph, the Lin family? I wonder which Lin family in the capital they are!"
"I, the prince, want to see how the Ouyang family finds this so-called perfect match."
After that, he rolled his sleeves and left.
Song Jinyang followed him out of the hall, looked at the betrothal gifts he had personally arranged, and instructed the people to carry them back exactly as they had been brought in.
After all, the Fifth Prince's household isn't exactly wealthy, is it? Let's save where we can.
Take the usable items home and use them; for the unusable ones, you can sell them for cash while they're still brand new.
It has to be said, Song Jinyang knows how to manage his money well.
Although the Fifth Prince knew he was broke, he wouldn't order his men to take the things back for the sake of his reputation. However, for Song Jinyang, who was acting as a staff member, doing so was not a matter of reputation.
The Fifth Prince isn't blind; how could he not know that the things had been taken back?
Song Jinyang, the advisor, did something that was inconvenient for him to do, which was exactly what he wanted.
However, the atmosphere in the Fifth Prince's residence had already reached freezing point, and even the sparrows passing by dared not chirp loudly, for fear of harming innocent bystanders.
In stark contrast, the Ouyang family was in high spirits, and the Ouyang couple even rewarded their steward with a considerable amount of silver.
After all, the housekeeper deserves the most credit this time; he almost wore his shoes off while running, and he returned just in time.
Of course, the person we should thank the most is our aunt, the Empress Dowager.
Even when he went to express his gratitude, he had to take Ouyang Yan with him. However, his daughter was unaware of the arranged marriage, so he had to inform her about it before going to the palace to express his gratitude.
"Lin family? Which Lin family?"
"This... Her Majesty the Empress Dowager didn't mention it in the imperial edict. Perhaps she forgot because of the time crunch?"
"How could you forget such an important matter as an arranged marriage? Father, Mother, are you making fun of your daughter?!"
Ouyang Yan's starry eyes widened in disbelief.
She wasn't doubting the authenticity of the imperial edict, after all, it was obtained from the palace under those circumstances.
Although she didn't know which family the Lin family belonged to, she had no desire to become the Fifth Prince's consort.
She wasn't incapable of distinguishing right from wrong; she appreciated the Empress Dowager's timely help.
But this imperial edict... is indeed a bit far-fetched. Did my great-aunt not think it through and just make up a name for a young master surnamed Lin?
That makes things easier. There's still a possibility that the engagement can be canceled. This imperial decree is just a temporary measure to dissuade the Fifth Prince.