Chapter 97 - 96: The Eldest Miss Who Married as a Substitute 12

Chapter 97: Chapter 96: The Eldest Miss Who Married as a Substitute 12

"Have someone return the things we owe Father Emperor, Mother Empress, and our brothers and sisters tonight. Then, have the steward get some suitable gifts from Zixi to send along with them."

What else could Ji Xiaosong do? This was the father of her future children. It was fine if he was a little poor; she had money.

Besides, the people of the Royal Family were truly devoted to the common folk, which was why they had become so poor.

To her, wealth was just a worldly possession. The treasures in her space were innumerable; she didn’t care about such a small amount.

Chu Qingyun’s eyes lit up when he heard Ji Xiaosong say this, but then they dimmed again.

"Song, wouldn’t this be inappropriate? After all, this is all your dowry. It’s unheard of for a husband’s family to spend the wife’s dowry."

Ji Xiaosong rolled her eyes. "You’re concerned about face now? Why weren’t you so concerned about face back when you were wearing clothes covered in patches? Since we’re already married, and you know as well as I do that there’s no precedent for divorce in the Royal Family. As for me, I no longer have my paternal family, so isn’t the Eastern Palace my home now? Since it’s my own home, what’s wrong with contributing a little? I’m doing this of my own free will."

"Song, I..."

"Alright, no need for any more mushy words. You just need to protect me for my entire life. When we have children in the future, just protect me and them so we can live well."

"Rest assured, Song. I swear right here and now that I will definitely protect you and our children!"

"Mm, I believe you. Next, I need to change the greeting gifts for the Emperor and Empress. What I prepared before were things that were valuable but not easy to exchange for money. Now I need to think of a way to give them silver in a roundabout way."

After the two had lunch, Ji Xiaosong personally selected the gifts: a Pure Gold Ruyi and ten bolts of Soft Light Brocade.

Chu Qingyun stared at the Pure Gold Ruyi in the box, his eyes as wide as saucers.

He picked it up and weighed it in his hand; it was indeed as heavy as a rock.

"Good heavens, Song! This golden ruyi must be enough to support a hundred-thousand-man army for half a year, right?"

Ji Xiaosong resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Gold is easy to melt down and recast. I thought if I gave it to Father Emperor, he could melt it down to use for military expenses or for the people’s livelihood." Seeing Chu Qingyun’s shocked expression, Ji Xiaosong smiled lightly. "Don’t be so surprised. Our family has plenty of gold reserves. This little bit is nothing."

Chu Qingyun knew his Crown Princess Consort was wealthy, but he never imagined she was so rich she could spend money without batting an eye.

He quickly walked up behind Ji Xiaosong, placed his hands gently on her shoulders, and began to massage them, carefully controlling his strength.

"Oh, Song..."

"Alright, alright, spare me the sweet talk. I could practically recite it by now. Father Emperor and Mother Empress must have been waiting for a while. We can’t have anything go wrong on our first day."

Ji Xiaosong sighed to herself. ’It seems the country truly is destitute. The dignified Crown Prince of a nation, reduced to fawning over me like this just to secure more funds for the country, all because of my generosity.’

Zixi had already arranged for their departure. Of course, the carriage they were taking was also one Ji Xiaosong had prepared.

Chu Qingyun only had one carriage. It looked glamorous on the outside, but the interior was all patched up.

Last night, Zixi had worked through the night to hang the Eastern Palace’s insignia on Ji Xiaosong’s carriage and refurbish it so it could be used today.

The two arrived at the Imperial Palace, and the carriage drove directly to the entrance of Yongning Palace.

A nanny waiting at the entrance saw from a distance that the Crown Prince was able to get out of the carriage steadily on his own, without anyone’s support. He then gently extended a hand to help the Crown Princess Consort out as well.

The scene was so shocking that the nanny’s eyes instantly turned red. Tears streamed down her face, and she was so overcome with emotion that she completely forgot to go inside and announce this top-priority matter.

"Nanny Gui, what are you doing standing here? Hurry up and announce us."

The Crown Prince’s voice finally brought Nanny Gui back to her senses. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and as if waking from a dream, she said repeatedly, "This old servant deserves death. This old servant will go and announce you now."

With that, she hurried off, taking small, quick steps toward the inner hall of the palace.

When she reached the entrance to the hall, Nanny Gui composed herself, took a deep breath, and announced in a loud voice, "Your Majesty, Empress, the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess Consort have arrived."

The hall fell silent for a moment, followed by the Emperor’s steady voice: "Have them enter."

Nanny Gui stepped aside, waiting respectfully.

Chu Qingyun and Ji Xiaosong were seen walking into the hall hand in hand, their steps steady and their demeanor dignified.

"Qingyun, you can stand!"

The Empress shot to her feet, her face filled with disbelief.

"Yes, Father Emperor, Mother Empress. It is all thanks to Song. If I hadn’t married her, I wouldn’t have suddenly been able to get up and walk."

As Chu Qingyun spoke, he squeezed Ji Xiaosong’s hand tightly, his eyes filled with deep affection and gratitude.

The Empress’s eyes reddened. She excitedly hurried down the steps, grabbed Ji Xiaosong’s hand, and looked her up and down, murmuring, "Good child. Heaven has truly blessed us by giving us such a wonderful daughter-in-law."

With that, the Empress pulled Ji Xiaosong into a hug, her voice trembling slightly.

Although the Emperor tried to maintain his majestic air, the joy in his eyes was hard to conceal.

He walked forward, patted Chu Qingyun’s shoulder, and said with relief, "Qingyun, since you can walk now, what about your poison...?"

He knew the possibility was minuscule, but what if?

"Replying to Father Emperor, the poison in Qingyun’s body will take another month to be cleansed."

Ji Xiaosong took the initiative to mention it. She blinked. ’How many times have I explained this now?’ she wondered.

"One month, one month... So you’re saying Qingyun’s poison can be cured?"

The Emperor’s voice was trembling. Heaven knew how much effort he had put into raising a Crown Prince. From the moment of his birth to the point where he could stand on his own, it was the result of countless hours of painstaking effort!

As long as the Crown Prince wasn’t dead, he would not give up.

He never expected that heaven would truly give the Crown Prince an opportunity for a new life.

"Yes, Father Emperor."

Ji Xiaosong’s expression didn’t change. To her, these were all trivial matters.

"Crown Princess Consort, you must be rewarded!"

The Emperor threw up his hand, feeling immensely satisfied after saying those words.

The Empress shot him a glance. ’A reward? What can you possibly reward her with?’

’She’s already the Crown Princess Consort. Is she lacking in status?’

’If it’s wealth, does he have any money?’

’Don’t I, the Empress, know exactly how poor the Royal Family is?’

"Your Majesty, what will you reward Song with?"

The Empress tugged at the corner of the Emperor’s sleeve and asked softly.

Hearing this, the Emperor gave an awkward twitch of his lips.

He could reward a subject with power or other favors, but the Crown Princess Consort was already his daughter-in-law, the future Empress. There was no power to bestow.

"Crown Princess Consort, what do you want?"

The Emperor thought he was quite clever. He might as well pass the ball to Ji Xiaosong’s court.

"Father Emperor, your daughter-in-law wants a breakup letter with the Ji family."