I brought five birds to eat and drink with my girlfriends in ancient times

Chapter 154: Promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Rites

"Changping, Changping, my precious princess, what's wrong with you?"

The old emperor's voice arrived before he did.

Fortunately, Princess Changping was rescued in time and was fine. She just drank a lot of lake water and her stomach was bloated and painful. When she regained consciousness, she saw the man who carried her up.

He was even more handsome when viewed up close. The temptation emanating from the mature man made Princess Changping intoxicated. She had long forgotten where she was or who her parents were. This man was all in her eyes, heart, and mind.

Princess Changping clung to Cheng Rui like an octopus and refused to let go. The princess was quite heavy, and Cheng Rui expended a lot of energy jumping into the water to save her, making it difficult for him to move ashore. After all, she was a princess, so he did not dare to scold her, and he could not pull her off, so he had to force himself to move his legs back to the shore.

As soon as they reached the shore, they collapsed on the ground due to exhaustion. The old emperor happened to arrive and saw this scene. He saw a man lying on his precious daughter.

He was so angry that his face turned green. He ordered the guards to pull away the lecher who was taking advantage of his daughter. But no matter how the guards pulled, Princess Changping refused to let go and even clung to him more tightly.

The old emperor now understood the reason. The princess was too shameful. How could she hold on to a man so tightly in broad daylight and in public?

"Changping, Changping, please let go."

"Father, I won't let go. I like him and I want to marry him."

"Nonsense, you can talk about getting married another day. How can you force others in public? There are many men. If you want to get married, your father will choose for you."

"Father, Father, then I will only choose him and marry him."

"Bastard! Let go! Get up!" The old emperor was furious, and Princess Changping let go obediently.

Cheng Rui was able to breathe slowly because he was almost strangled to death by the princess.

"My Lord, Princess, I have to make an emergency decision. I am sorry for offending you. I already have a wife and children, so I cannot marry you."

"What, you've got a wife? And you have children?" Princess Changping screamed.

"Who are you? Why are you in the palace?"

"Your Majesty, I am Cheng Rui, the newly appointed Minister of Guangshan Temple. I came here today to thank Your Majesty for his grace. I didn't expect to see the princess fall into the water, so..."

"So it's you! You saved the princess today, what reward do you want?"

"Your Majesty, I dare not. Saving the princess is what I should do. I dare not take credit for it. Even if she was not a princess, but just a maid, I would still save her. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."

"Good! You are indeed a good subject of mine. That Guang? Temple Minister is a third-rank official. You don't have to go there since you haven't really taken up the post yet. I will appoint you as the third-rank Taichang Temple Minister, and you will take up the post in a few days."

"Your Majesty! This, this, I…"

"Sir Cheng, the emperor is so kind to you. Why don't you express your gratitude quickly?" the eunuch next to him reminded him in time.

"Yes, yes. Your Majesty, I, Cheng Rui, thank you for your grace. Long live the emperor! I also thank this eunuch."

"Well, you go back first! The official seal of the inauguration will be sent to your residence tomorrow."

.........

Cheng Rui's feet were still light when he walked out of the palace. He just came to the palace to express gratitude, but he didn't expect that he would be promoted to a higher rank, bringing him one level closer to Zeng Zhongkai, a second-rank official.

He will definitely strive to be promoted to the highest official rank, so that those who looked down on him in the past will have to look up to him and crawl at his feet, only then will they be forgiven for the humiliation they suffered in the past.

When I got back to the house, my wife had not yet returned. It was outrageous. As the mistress of the house, she did not come home at night and did not stay at home. I didn't know where she had gone.

"Did the lady say when she would be back?"

"Sir, Madam didn't say. In fact, Madam has never lived here."

"What? Where did she live? The Shangshu Mansion?"

"I don't know. Madam never said that."

“What a mess!” Cheng Rui slammed the table, scaring the servant so much that he fell to his knees and trembled on the ground.

"You, go check where the lady has gone and where she lives."

"Yes, slave, go right away."

.........

Royal Palace

"Father, I want to marry Cheng Rui."

"Ridiculous! He already has a wife. Do you want to marry him and become his concubine?"

"How can I, a princess, be a concubine? Of course I am the wife. Isn't it enough for his original wife to be reduced to a concubine?"

"His wife is not an ordinary woman, but the daughter of the former Minister of Personnel and the sister of the current Minister of Justice. Father cannot forcibly break up someone else's marriage."

"I don't want it. I want to be his wife, even his co-wife. Just grant me the marriage and make me his co-wife. You don't have to divorce him, and you don't make her a concubine. Father won't be embarrassed. Besides, it's normal for a man to have three or four wives and concubines. No one will accuse me of bullying her."

"But, Changping, this is too unfair to you."

"No, I've had it checked out. Cheng Rui was born in a poor family. He only has an old mother who passed away a few years ago. He has no father, no mother, no brothers or sisters. If I marry him, I won't have to serve those old ghosts, and there won't be any uncles, sisters-in-law or other housewives.

Not only is he handsome and well-educated, he also rose to a higher position through his own ability. He does not need my support. Father, he is simply a son-in-law tailor-made for me."

"Is he so good? It's true that girls can't be kept when they grow up."

"Father, he will be my consort in the future. He will be your man. He has no foundation, so he can only serve you."

"Hmm! What Changping said makes sense. Father, please consider it and I will give you an answer in two days."

"Father...don't think about it, can't you just issue an imperial decree?"

"Although Father is the Emperor, he cannot force you to marry. He also needs to ask Cheng Rui's opinion. If he is obedient, Father will naturally tolerate him. If he disobeys, Father will demote him and throw him into a bitter cold land."

"Father, you can't touch him."

"You haven't even married him yet, but you care about him so much. Do you still have me as your father? I have my own plans. Go back to the Princess's Mansion!"

"Father!"

"Princess, you'd better go back quickly! The emperor promised you this for a reason. Don't make him angry. If he gets angry and doesn't agree to let you marry him, then you will lose more than you gain."

The eunuch whispered to comfort Princess Changping, but Princess Changping was afraid that the emperor would really take back his order, so she obediently returned to the princess residence and waited for news.

The next day, Cheng Rui received the appointment letter, official seal, official uniform, etc. sent by the emperor.

Touching the official uniform and appointment letter, Cheng Rui felt it was as unreal as a dream. He picked up the official seal and looked at it from left to right, unable to bear to put it down.

Just by pulling a princess out of the water, he was promoted to a higher rank. Although it was not a promotion based on seniority, which made him feel a little uncomfortable, it was also due to his ability and luck.

It seems that God has been kind to him. He finally made it and was remembered by the emperor. From now on, he may become the emperor's favorite and serve the emperor directly.

"Sir Cheng, the emperor has ordered you to bring your wife to the palace to meet the emperor."