The emperor hadn't considered Ye Jingyu before because he thought she was too young.

However, after being reminded by Ye Jingyan, he belatedly realized that Ye Jingyu was already fourteen years old, an age when she could start talking about marriage.

He felt that Ye Jingyu was too young for two reasons: first, Ye Jingshu and Ye Jingyan were not yet married; and second, Ye Jingyu didn't have much of a presence.

Once the emperor realized that Ye Jingyu was of marriageable age, he felt a headache coming on, because Ye Jingyu had three princes and two princesses ahead of her!

Even though he was a bit picky, but—

Why do princes and princesses worry about getting married?

They clearly used to—

Oh, they used to have no say in their marriages. It was all decided by the late emperor. Whoever the late emperor told them to marry, they could only marry that person. They couldn't have any objections, nor did they dare to have any objections.

But when it came to him—

There was originally no father-son affection in the imperial family. He enjoyed the affection, so he could only compromise again and again.

"Could it be that Jingyu likes Gu Beichen?" Ye Jingshu asked Ye Jingyan.

She understood Ye Jingyan. Although she was timid and afraid of trouble, she would never do something as selfish as pushing trouble onto others.

Unless, Ye Jingyu likes Gu Beichen.

“Jingyu likes intelligent and knowledgeable people,” Ye Jingyan said.

This is a brilliant answer, because Gu Beichen is probably the smartest and most knowledgeable young man in Dayuan right now!

"Why don't we call her over and ask her too?" Ye Jingchen suggested.

He's always been a bit oblivious when it comes to matters of the heart, so he didn't notice these things.

The emperor felt utterly exhausted; he hadn't even begun to read the memorials he was reviewing that day!

So, Zhang Gonggong, who had just returned from Wenhua Hall and was still catching his breath, had to go and invite the Third Princess again.

The one who suffered the most today was undoubtedly Zhang Shunde, the eunuch!

Then, Ye Jingyu came with her other siblings because today was the day for the customary greetings.

After dinner, the emperor kept Ye Jingyu behind.

This is the first time in so many years; in the past, it was almost always Ye Jingchen who was left behind.

The reason the emperor chose to ask Ye Jingyu alone at the end was that he didn't want Ye Jingyu to be disturbed by Ye Jingchen; he wanted to know Ye Jingyu's true thoughts.

"Father wants Gu Sanyuan to be my son-in-law? But I'm still too young..."

Ye Jingyu was surprised; how could such a good thing happen to her?

But she's only fourteen now. Her brother said it would be best for her to get married after she turns eighteen, so as not to harm her health.

"It's just a matter of settling things with the Gu family first; we won't get married so soon. We'll have to wait at least two more years," the emperor said.

If she waits another two years, she will only be sixteen, while Gu Beichen will already be twenty.

I wonder if he'd be willing to wait another two years?

The young man, who achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, was exceptionally talented, came from an extraordinary family, was handsome, and was well-known. There could be no better match for him.

If it weren't for her elder sister's refusal, she probably wouldn't have gotten a chance.

But if she's willing, is Gu Beichen willing?

She had been secretly observing her brother's four companions. Apart from the young master of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, the other three could be considered good matches.

Among them, the Marquis of Zhongyong's family has only one son for three generations, the inner quarters are the cleanest, and the relationships are the simplest. Although Yun Shu is fat, she is not ugly at all, and she has an excellent personality. If she marries down, she will probably live a very good life.

Wu Zemin is the eldest grandson of the Minister of Rites. He is naturally excellent in every way. At a young age, he is the head of a prefecture. He will definitely become the emperor's right-hand man in the future. The only drawback is that Consort Xian is also from the Minister of Rites. This may cause some trouble in the future, but I think the emperor should be able to keep her in check.

As for Gu Beichen—

Originally, she wouldn't have considered the sons of the four great families, but Gu Beichen himself was too outstanding. If she married Gu Beichen, their children would certainly be excellent as well. For this reason, she was willing to wade into the Gu family's troubled waters.

"Your subject trusts the judgment of Father and Your Majesty, and I am willing to marry Gu Sanyuan. However, marriage is a matter between two people, and I hope to consult his opinion," Ye Jingyu said to the Emperor.

The emperor was initially pleased, but when he heard Ye Jingyu say she wanted to consult Gu Beichen, his face immediately fell.

"You are a princess, of noble birth. It is his honor that you have taken a liking to him. How could he dare not marry you?"

“Of course he wouldn’t dare, but if he doesn’t like me, even if we were to force ourselves to be together, we wouldn’t be happy after marriage. Your Majesty loves your daughter dearly, and you wouldn’t want to see me unhappy after marriage, would you?” Ye Jingyu said calmly to the Emperor.

Ye Jingyu's calm and composed demeanor impressed the emperor, who then granted her request.

However, after Gu Beichen achieved the highest honors in the imperial examinations, he no longer needed to study at the Wenhua Hall. If Ye Jingyu wanted to consult him, she would have to go outside the palace to see him.

The emperor originally suggested that Ye Jingchen ask Gu Beichen, but Ye Jingyu said she wanted to ask him herself.

So, the next day, Ye Jingchen invited Gu Beichen to dinner at Zuixianlou under the pretext of celebrating Gu Beichen's success in passing the imperial examinations three times.

Everyone except the three youngest attended the banquet.

We've known each other for so many years and are very familiar with one another, so the meal was a pleasant one.

After the meal, on their way back to the palace, Ye Jingyu invited Gu Beichen to ride in a carriage alone.

What the two of them said was unknown to outsiders, but the next day the emperor sent a secret decree to the Gu family, and the marriage between Ye Jingyu and Gu Beichen was settled, but the wedding would take place two years later.

Not long after, the imperial edict appointing Gu Beichen as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy was issued, following the most orthodox path of promotion for civil officials.

Very few people knew that Ye Jingyu was engaged to Gu Beichen. At Ye Jingyu's request, the emperor didn't even tell Consort Liang.

Not long after that, Ye Jingyu proposed to the Imperial Concubine that he wanted to leave the palace to study abroad and visit his maternal grandparents' family in Yongzhou.

Yongzhou is thousands of miles away from the capital. Ji Wushuang has not seen her family since entering the palace. So, although she was very worried about Ye Jingyu's safety, she finally agreed.

The old lady and the lady of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion originally did not want Yunshu to go out to study. After all, she was the only son of three generations, and if something happened to her, the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion would be extinct.

It was only after Ye Jingchen personally visited them and guaranteed that Yun Shu would not encounter any accidents that the two women finally relented.

However, after learning that Ye Jingyu was also going on the study tour, Consort Liang made a scene at Yingyue Palace, crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide, refusing to agree no matter what.

She said she had already arranged a marriage for Ye Jingyu. They would get married after Ye Jingyu turned fifteen and had her coming-of-age ceremony. Therefore, Ye Jingyu had to wait in the palace to prepare her dowry.

The marriage arranged for Ye Jingyu by Consort Liang was with her own nephew, a notorious playboy in the capital.

After Consort Liang revealed this matter, within half an hour, all the information about that dissolute playboy was on the emperor's desk.