After hearing Su Wan'er's words, blushes quickly crept onto both of their faces.
"No, actually, we..." The younger sister of the Su family opened her mouth to say something.
But before she could finish, the eldest son of the prime minister's mansion interrupted her. "We humbly ask Your Majesty the Emperor and Your Majesty the Empress to bless us."
The blush on the younger sister of the Su family deepened.
Su Wan'er turned to look at Si Junlin. As the one with the highest status here, naturally, it was up to him to make the decision on this important matter.
Si Junlin gave a light cough to calm his nerves, and then said seriously, "Since you two are in love, I shall take it upon myself to bestow a marriage on you two."
"Fang Xi, draft the imperial edict," Si Junlin said, turning to Fang Xi.
"By the mandate of heaven, the edict of the emperor. There is a talented young lady from the Su family, Su Ye'er, who is fourteen years old. She is both virtuous and talented, kind and gentle. She is in love with Zhang Shunyuan, the legitimate son of Prime Minister Zhang Qingtian. Therefore, I bestow her in marriage to Zhang Shunyuan. They shall get married on a chosen day," Si Junlin said.
Fang Xi quickly wrote it down. After the edict was finalized, copies were sent to the Su family and the prime minister's mansion respectively.
When Prime Minister Zhang received the imperial edict, his hands trembled with anger. But now that the deed was done, it was too late to stop it.
Prime Minister Zhang had no choice but to order his servants to start preparing for his son's wedding.
In contrast to Prime Minister Zhang's anger, the Su family remained quite calm. Firstly, the family tradition of the Su family was more open - minded than that of other families of the same era. As long as their children liked someone, regardless of the family background, they would offer their support.
Secondly, the Su family never defied imperial edicts. As long as an edict was issued, they would mostly abide by it. This was the so - called loyalty to the emperor and love for the country.
In fact, the family that was truly the most angry about this marriage bestowal was not the prime minister's mansion, but the Hua family.
The head of the Hua family and his wife had finally come up with a turning point, but it was just so easily eliminated. Can you imagine how angry they were? They even bore a grudge against the Su family.
Su Wan'er took this into consideration and asked Si Junlin to send people to secretly protect the younger sister of the Su family.
Just as Su Wan'er had predicted, after Su Ye'er returned home, she would be attacked whenever she went out.
Whether it was beggars causing trouble or something else, if it weren't for the secret guards that Su Wan'er had sent in advance to protect her, Su Ye'er might really have died several times.
After all, a dead person has no right to get married.
"That emperor..." The Hua family was already short on money. The killers who had almost put Su Ye'er in danger several times were among the top - ranked ones on the killer list. The Hua family had spent a lot of money to hire them.
Now that they had paid these killers, their funds were even more in short supply.
Hua Xixi, who had escaped the arranged marriage, sent the latest news of the Hua family to Su Wan'er and Si Junlin, indicating that they could press on with their attack.
"What do you plan to do?" Si Junlin asked Su Wan'er.
Su Wan'er thought for a while before telling Si Junlin her idea. "I've decided... not to act according to what she said for the time being."
"Why?" Si Junlin pressed on.
Su Wan'er shook her head. "No particular reason. I just think that even a cornered dog will jump over a wall. We've already pressured the Hua family quite a bit. If we continue, I'm afraid the Hua family will fight back."
"But you'll have to carry it through in the end, won't you?" Si Junlin said. Things had come to this point. If Su Wan'er showed mercy, he would have to step in himself.
Su Wan'er nodded. Si Junlin's words made sense. It was like an arrow already on the bowstring. Even if she wanted to stop, it was too late. Moreover, she never intended to give up in the first place.
If she gave up now, it wouldn't just be a matter of being soft - hearted and failing to bring down the Hua family.
The Hua family's hatred for the Su family, for the families that hadn't helped them, and for the families that had suppressed them would make them launch a fierce revenge once they regained their strength.
Su Wan'er didn't want her family to be wiped out because of her momentary soft - heartedness.
The Hua family was well - known for their vengeful nature.
"I'm just taking a break to better plan and completely crush the Hua family," Su Wan'er said.
"It's good that you know what you're doing," Si Junlin nodded. As long as Su Wan'er didn't show mercy and want to let the Hua family off, other things would be easy to handle.
Just like this, during the period when the younger sister of the Su family was getting married into the prime minister's mansion, the Hua family had a relatively peaceful time.
Hua Xixi wrote many letters urging Su Wan'er, but Su Wan'er always replied with the four words "Be patient."
But was Su Wan'er really doing nothing? No. Su Wan'er had already ordered the Supreme Court to thoroughly investigate the Hua family's embezzlement.
After the Hua family had a period of quiet and was about to take revenge on those families, on the day before the younger sister of the Su family's wedding, the soldiers surrounded the front and back doors of the Hua family. After a thorough search, all their property was dug out.
This time, even the Hua family's accomplices couldn't help them.
If they chose to help the Hua family, what if they were implicated in the thorough investigation? But if they didn't help, once the Hua family was in trouble, wouldn't they become the target of the Hua family's revenge?
Moreover, because of the sudden incident, even the maid who cleaned the toilets in the Hua family was taken to the palace.
With both human and material evidence, the Hua family was unable to defend themselves.
Finally, it was decreed that the men of the Hua family would be sent to do hard labor, while the women would be sent to be maids or become official prostitutes in brothels.
The largest imperial merchant in this dynasty finally announced its complete downfall on the day of the younger sister of the Su family's wedding.
People couldn't help but sigh, but most of them were happy.
Because with the downfall of the Hua family, there would be more property and shops left for others.
Many merchants almost fought each other to get the Hua family's territory.
Su Wan'er quickly formulated a policy, which was the term "auction" she had heard from a passer - by.
After a simple explanation of what an "auction" was, she started to post imperial announcements.
"Due to the downfall of the Hua family, there are now vast tracts of fertile land and prosperous shops. The highest bidder will win. Those who are interested and capable are invited to participate in the auction on the main street of the imperial city ten days later."
Suddenly, there was a great stir. The news of the auction spread from person to person. In just ten days, it had become well - known. People came in droves from the capital and other cities.
Finally, the day of the auction arrived. There was a scene of empty streets in the capital.
All the people gathered on the main street. Most of them were just there for the fun, while those who were truly capable of participating in the auction squeezed into the inner circle.