bookcurios Chapter 261 You Marry the Si Family Girl
Chapter 261 You Marry the Si Family Girl
"This concerns the future of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Ren'er. I will do my best."
The emperor had been feeling very depressed these past few days and wanted an outlet for his frustrations, but after searching the harem, he couldn't think of a single person he liked. He wanted to go for a walk around the harem, but the thought of the women who hadn't been favored for a long time and the way they fawned over him made him even more unhappy.
He felt that those women were attracted by his identity and none of them were innocent.
I used to think Concubine Xin was pretty good, but maybe he favored the Third Prince too much, so Concubine Xin always wanted to surpass the Imperial Concubine.
He can give them status, but they cannot fight for it.
The emperor looked at the imperial concubine, thinking that since the queen left, the imperial concubine had been in charge of the harem, which was not bad.
Of course, he knew that the imperial concubine had her own little thoughts, but he didn't like the second brother, and it seemed that the imperial concubine had no intention of competing with others.
After all, he is his own son. No matter what happens in the future, he will not refuse to give the second son dignity.
It would be great if everyone could be as docile as the imperial concubine.
The emperor said gently, "You have served me hard over the years."
The imperial concubine was overjoyed and softened her voice: "Your Majesty, this is what I should do. How can it be hard? As long as I work hard and can help Your Majesty relieve a little of your worries, it will be a blessing for me."
The emperor reached out and took the concubine's hand: "I really was not wrong about you."
But the imperial concubine is old after all, and even if she takes good care of herself, she is not as pretty as a young and pretty girl.
She knew she couldn't keep the emperor, and she was too lazy to try to keep him. She just said, "However, regarding Xiaoxuan's matter, I still have some ideas."
"Oh? You said."
The Imperial Concubine said, "A while ago, the wife of the Crown Prince of the Duke of Feng's Mansion came to the palace. I spoke to her for a few words and saw that she looked very worried. She was worried about the Fourth Young Master of the Feng Family. I felt embarrassed, so I followed the Crown Prince's wife's words and said a few words, saying that the Fourth Young Master was relying on the Emperor's favor and was really naughty."
When mentioning Feng Zizhou, the emperor didn't show much expression: "Well, Zizhou has been naughty since he was a child."
"Although the Crown Prince and Ren'er are certainly not as naughty as the Fourth Young Master, I am thinking that since you promised the Fourth Young Master, he has to agree to the marriage himself..."
The emperor understood: "You think that since Zizhou has such a special honor, you want to grant the Crown Prince and the Second Prince the same grace?"
The Imperial Concubine quickly knelt and said, "Your Majesty, I'm not asking for mercy. The royal family is different from other nobles. Not to mention His Majesty, even my son Ren'er will leave the palace and establish his own residence in two years. His wife will be the princess, so how can he choose arbitrarily? My intention is to let the Crown Prince and Ren'er choose first. If there is a girl they like and who is very suitable, that would be the best."
The emperor seemed to be thinking about something.
When he arranged a marriage for Zizhou, he didn't expect it to cause such a big uproar. It would be a lie to say he wasn't angry.
Ayun is a princess after all. Zizhou's escape from marriage is a slap in the face of the royal family and also a slap in his face.
But the Feng family gave them enough face. The days when the Feng father and son knelt in front of the imperial city dispelled King Crane's anger and gave him an opportunity to be a kind monarch to the younger generation.
That's okay.
As for his own son, Ren'er is a little dull and there is no need to worry about him, but the crown prince is a bit rebellious and probably has some complaints about his father.
The emperor held a string of beads in his hand, stroking them bit by bit, and his eyes gradually became gloomy.
The older the prince is, the harder it is to control him.
He said, "Then it's up to you. Ask them first, but don't let them do whatever they want."
The imperial concubine expressed her gratitude: "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. I will be very careful and cautious."
After returning, the imperial concubine ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to compile a list of suitable noble ladies in Kyoto and send it to the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace so that the Crown Prince could choose first.
She called her son over and said, "It took some effort for me to get your father to agree that you can choose the girl you like first."
The Second Prince's eyes lit up: "Really?"
He was very happy. He had already had his eyes on several girls. It would be great if he could marry one of them as his main concubine or concubine.
He has endured for so many years and has been ignored by his father for so many years, but he is not really stupid. He is waiting for the opportunity.
The imperial concubine said, "Mother, I heard that the eldest daughter of the Si family is of good character and very capable. When she was living among the common people, she managed everything inside and outside the house very well. Now that she has returned to the capital, she is in charge of the household affairs of the Marquis's Mansion. If you marry her as your principal wife, the palace will definitely..."
"Mother, do you know what you are saying?" The second prince looked at the imperial concubine in disbelief.
The imperial concubine waved her hand and continued, "However, mother still prefers the third daughter of the Si family. She is deeply loved by the empress dowager and has been granted the title of county lady, which makes her even more noble. I heard that she is also a very capable person. Mother has visited the empress dowager's palace several times. She is diligent and filial. When her mother was ill, she served her at all times and dared not make any mistakes. Moreover, she is born beautiful..."
The second prince could no longer bear it and interrupted the imperial concubine.
"Mother, don't you understand the Si family's situation? The girls of the Si family grew up in the countryside. Even if they learn the rules now, how can they compare to the girls in Kyoto? Besides, the Si family has no real power at all."
"Mother, if we ignore power, the girl from the Gui family is the one with true integrity and is known for her virtuous character. If he marries a girl from the Gui family, his son will be able to earn the title of a virtuous king in the future."
"As for power, my son thinks the daughter of the Zuo family is the most suitable. However, the Zuo family is the prince's maternal uncle. The daughter of the Zuo family will probably marry into the Eastern Palace and will not be interested in my son. My son wants to do his best to increase his bargaining chips."
"As for the beauty you mentioned, mother, what does beauty mean to my son when he marries his wife? Besides, aren't there other families with beautiful and noble women? The legitimate daughter of Lord Hu, the Left Prime Minister, is a first-class beauty!"
The second prince took a deep breath.
"Which of these girls is not as good as the daughter of the Si family? Not to mention them, even the daughters of other noble families are more suitable than the daughter of the Si family. They can also increase a lot of bargaining chips for my son!"
The imperial concubine patted her son's hand and said, "Ren'er, you don't understand. If your father were old, he would have chosen a wife from a family that would be more helpful to him. But your father is in his prime. You don't have the support of the court officials, nor your father's favor. If you stand out too much, you will only hurt yourself."
The second prince fell silent.
The imperial concubine continued, "Just because those noble ladies are willing to marry you doesn't mean their families can become your bargaining chip. Your bargaining chip now is your father! Your father likes the Si family. Look, Concubine Xin has already taken action. The only young master of the Si family has become your third brother's study partner!"
When the Second Prince mentioned the Third Prince's study companion, his eyes darkened and he said disdainfully, "The Third Prince's study companion will either go along with the corrupt officials or be killed sooner or later."
"You are so stupid! Others are insignificant. It's fine if the third brother is killed, but the young master of the Si family is different. Concubine Xin will definitely restrain your third brother. We missed the opportunity, and the county lady doesn't want to be my daughter. So why not let her be my daughter-in-law?"