Chapter 108 Discussion
After the death of the late crown prince, the capital city underwent earth-shaking changes. First, a group of imperial doctors died, and then several groups of officials were dismissed. It was not a happy event. It seemed that a layer of dark cloud shrouded the court of Southern Qi, making the emperor and his ministers feel heavy-hearted.
As if to dispel the haze in the court, the Emperor of Southern Qi recently issued two edicts, both of which were considered great events.
The first thing was the ceremony of the Crown Prince's succession to the throne. The Imperial Astronomical Observatory had chosen an auspicious date, which would be one month later. The second was the wedding date of his beloved Ninth Princess, which was scheduled one month after the succession ceremony.
The royal family had two major events in succession, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites were highly alert and worked around the clock, fearing that something might go wrong and anger the Emperor of Southern Qi. Therefore, they did not dare to slack off and were determined to ensure perfection.
Yuan Yi has been walking in the court recently. Although he still looks childish, he has become more steady and decent, and has the style of his father. He has won praise from many old ministers. Even the Emperor of Southern Qi sighed in the court: "It's time for the Crown Prince to choose a concubine."
While he still has some energy left, he should first decide on a princess consort, watch the crown prince complete his lifelong event with his own eyes, and also help him gain some political support.
In the court, a minister advised: "Your Majesty, not only does the Crown Prince need to choose a concubine, but several princes have also reached the age of marriage." Shouldn't you pay attention to your bachelor sons?
Only one person can be chosen to be the heir to the throne, but there should be no favoritism when starting a family. From the second prince onwards, none of the princes have gotten married yet, so it would not be justified to choose the crown prince first.
The Emperor of Southern Qi seemed to be in a good mood that day. After being reminded by court officials, he remembered his unmarried sons and announced in court that he would take this opportunity to solve the marriage problems of the princes.
After the court session ended, the ministers went out of the palace in groups of two or three. When they mentioned that the Emperor of Southern Qi was going to select concubines for the princes and the crown prince, they all started to talk about it and began to look for girls of the right age in their families or clans.
After finishing his work, the Emperor of Southern Qi went directly to the palace of Imperial Consort Wan, where he saw her busy selecting jewelry and treasures. The treasures stored in the storeroom were carried in by the palace servants and placed everywhere. The floor, couch, and table were filled with them. She was holding her daughter's hand and asking her to choose: "These are all gifts from your father over the years. They are all treasures from various places. You can pick the ones you like, and I will give them to you as a dowry to the princess's mansion."
The Crown Prince of Nanyue has obtained the consent of the Emperor of Southern Qi to stay in the capital to study for two years and will not return to Nanyue for the time being. However, the King of Nanyue is anxious to go back, fearing that something unexpected will happen if the marriage is delayed too long, so he wants to witness his son's wedding in person before leaving Beijing.
The Ninth Princess's Mansion was under intensive construction. Officials from the Ministry of Works dared not be careless, for fear that there would be something that did not suit Yuan Shu's wishes. A thick stack of drawings were delivered, and there were even three drawings of the corner of the garden for the Ninth Princess to choose from. But Yuan Shu was not interested. After crying and making a fuss, she found that she could not refuse this marriage. She ran to Prince Zhao and insulted him, hoping that he would back down. But the other party seemed not to understand her harsh and rude words, and tried his best to please her.
"It's up to you, mother. I don't care."
Concubine Wan knew that she couldn't go against her will, and the fact that the Emperor had appointed a grandson as the Crown Prince really stimulated her, making her feel that "all the years of honor and favor were actually false." She originally thought that her son would be able to inherit the throne, and had suppressed the Empress in the harem for many years, but she didn't expect that after the son died, her grandson would still be favored. She was discouraged, but could not show any clues in front of the Emperor. She could only cheer up and arrange her daughter's marriage, hoping that she would have a smooth life after marriage.
"How can you be so careless, kid? When you first get married, Prince Zhao will stay in the capital for two years, but after two years he will return to Nanyue. All the things your mother picked for you will be taken back to Nanyue in the future. How can you be so careless?"
"South Vietnam, South Vietnam, South Vietnam! I see you can't wait for me to get out of here!" The Ninth Princess yelled irritably. Suddenly, she heard a palace servant remind her, "Princess, his Majesty is here." She looked up hastily and met the frowning brows of the Emperor of Southern Qi. She knelt down in fright.
"My daughter pays respect to my father."
The Emperor of Southern Qi stood at the entrance of the palace for a while, listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter. He didn't know what he was thinking about, but his expression became more and more gloomy.
Imperial Concubine Wan hurried forward to greet the emperor, and entered the palace hand in hand with the emperor, then sent the Ninth Princess away: "You should go outside for a walk, so that I won't be upset by you."
The Ninth Princess retreated quickly. She was a little confused as to why she no longer dared to act like a spoiled child in front of the Emperor after the Crown Prince passed away. She felt as if she had distanced herself from her father invisibly.
The Southern Qi Emperor walked around the hall casually and asked in a gentle voice, "Why are they all displayed?"
Imperial Concubine Wan smiled softly and said, "I have been favored by your majesty for many years. The children are growing up. Shu'er is about to get married, so I will take out my own money to choose some for Shu'er."
"It's time to prepare, not only for Shu'er, but also for the second one."
"Lang'er?" Imperial Concubine Wan didn't know what happened in the court yet: "Didn't Lang'er break off the engagement with the girl from the Tang family?"
Emperor of Southern Qi: "You can't just give up one family and never marry a concubine again, right? I have already ordered the selection of concubines for several adult princes and the crown prince, and my beloved concubine should also keep an eye out for suitable candidates for the second prince's principal and concubines."
Concubine Wan's eyes flickered - was this putting the decision-making power in her hands?
The Ninth Princess came out of the Palace of Concubine Wan and wandered around the palace out of boredom. Unexpectedly, she met Tang Ying, who had just come out of the Queen's Palace. When she saw her figure from afar, jealousy appeared in her eyes.
She immediately stopped Tang Ying at the corner and said in a bad tone: "Hey, who is this?"
Tang Ying had no intention of arguing with her: "Meet the Ninth Princess."
Ever since Yuan Shu found out that Fu Chen was in love with Tang Ying, there has not been a single day that she didn't hate her.
She looked at Tang Ying provocatively: "So, Master Tang still has eyes for me?" She raised her chin: "Why don't we walk around the palace together?"
Tang Ying: "I still have official business to attend to, so I'm afraid I can't walk with the Ninth Princess."
Yuan Shu rarely ran into her. She had just been upset while choosing her dowry in the Palace of Concubine Wan. When she thought about marrying Zhao Ji and having to follow him far away from her hometown in the future, she felt very uncomfortable and wanted to vent her anger on Tang Ying.
"If Manager Tang doesn't accompany me for a walk, I will yell at you."
Tang Ying's eyes lit up with a smile: "Are you yelling that I have improper thoughts about the princess?"
Yuan Shu: "You you..."
Tang Ying's eyes swept over her like a hooligan, and deliberately lingered on her chest for a moment: "Actually, it's not impossible. The princess is a beautiful and noble woman, rather than falling into the hands of Zhao Ji, it would be better..." She took two steps forward, looked down at Yuan Shu, reached out and touched Yuan Shu's face, and whistled frivolously.
"You——" Yuan Shu was stunned. She was a little flustered and took two steps back involuntarily.
She was a head shorter than Tang Ying. Even though she was a princess with noble status, she was still far behind Tang Ying in terms of aura and height. Moreover, she had too much of the air of a shameless street scoundrel and did not act like a woman at all.
Tang Ying regretfully withdrew her hand, and spoke softly with a hint of smile: "It seems that the princess is not very willing to walk with me in the palace. Otherwise, I can discuss with you the 108 ways for couples to get along. The husband has 18 confidantes outside, and how the wife can get rid of loneliness... Speaking of which, I have many secrets to teach you."
She spoke as if she were an expert.
Princess Yuan Shu stepped back several steps and glared at Tang Ying as if she saw something dirty: "You are shameless!" How could she be a woman at all?
She really didn't understand why Fu Chen would fall for such a woman?
"Thank you for the compliment, Princess." Tang Ying took two steps forward, as if she could stretch out her hand to hold Princess Yuan Shu in her arms, and whispered in her ear: "What's that? Princess, when you have free time in the future, you can ask me out for a drink and fun. Speaking of which, there are some good places in the capital full of handsome young men. Do you want to go with us?" She blinked at Princess Yuan Shu in an impolite manner.
"Is Fu Chen blind?!"
Princess Yuan Shu was so angry that her nose was about to be crooked. She had heard that Prince Zhao was a playboy and amorous. Even if he was handsome, it was useless because he had no restraint when it came to women, which made her ashamed. She didn't expect that Tang Ying was even more shameless than Prince Zhao.
Lord Fu hadn't even started talking before the Ninth Princess finished speaking when a tall and imposing figure walked out from the corner. It was Commander Fu.
The Ninth Princess was filled with grief, staring at the expressionless Fu Chen. She felt all kinds of grievances rising to her heart. In addition, Tang Ying had touched upon her secrets. Before they even got married, she could already foresee her future married life, which would involve many beautiful women and no peace for her.
Seeing Fu Chen coming over, she stared at him without saying a word, and suddenly burst into tears, her eyes full of accusations: "...It's all you!"
Fu Chen turned a blind eye to the Ninth Princess's grief and tears, and greeted her coldly: "Greetings, Ninth Princess." He stretched out his hand and pulled Tang Ying behind him: "Master Tang has always been accustomed to talking nonsense without meaning it. The Ninth Princess does not need to take it to heart. If she has offended the princess in any way, I apologize to the princess!"
It was a protective posture.
Tang Ying was dumbfounded.
The Ninth Princess' tears flowed like a waterfall. She raised her hand and wiped them twice, but she couldn't stop the surging tears. She was embarrassed and unwilling, and also disappointed with her future married life. She pointed at Fu Chen and asked her previous question again: "Are you blind? Such a woman! Such a woman!"
It's really eye-opening.
Fu Chen's attitude was very cold: "Princess Jiu, please don't worry about Fu's affairs!"
The ninth princess turned her head, wiped her tears and walked away, feeling extremely resentful.
Tang Ying poked her head out from behind Fu Chen and gloated: "Master Fu, you actually dared to make the princess cry."
Fu Chen sighed as if he was facing an ignorant and naughty child: "Didn't you make her cry?" He seemed to be interested: "But since the Ninth Princess doesn't want to discuss it with you, I am willing to discuss with you the 108 ways for couples to get along. What do you think, Tang Zhang?"
Tang Ying taught him seriously: "Master Fu, it is wrong to eavesdrop on others."
Fu Chen: "Isn't that what the Cavalry Prohibition Department does?"
Tang Ying: “…” Sir, what you said makes a lot of sense.
