engagement

"Serves you right!" Lou Xuan grabbed Jiang Jin's arm and carefully pulled up her sleeve, revealing a series of scars before his eyes.

"How could it be so serious?" Lou Xuan gently touched the scar on Jiang Jin's arm. "Didn't Wei Shu give you any scar-reducing ointment?"

"Your Highness, it's just a minor injury. Besides, no one will see if I lower my sleeve." Jiang Jin shook Lou Xuan's hand.

"Your Highness didn't tell me about your arranged marriage either; I only found out from Wei Shu," Jiang Jin said, leaning on Lou Xuan's shoulder, somewhat annoyed.

"I was worried you might slip up while you were with Wei Shu, but who knew he'd tell you? It seems you two get along quite well," Lou Xuan said, patting Jiang Jin on the back to comfort her.

"So-so. Wei Shu is deep-thinking and suspicious by nature. After I shielded him from an arrow and tested his medicine, he even tried to test me with a sleeping potion. Also, Wang Juesong had her daughter seduce Wei Shu, but Wei Shu turned the tables and made me confront her and her servants while he watched from outside."

Jiang Jin rambled on and on, recounting all the important events that had occurred during this period, like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.

"Ah Jin, Wei Shu has no choice but to be suspicious, just like how people in the royal family don't have a say in their own marriages." Lou Xuan smiled and tucked a stray strand of Jiang Jin's hair behind her ear.

"Chang Yi is already a choice made under the Emperor's compromise. Do you really expect me to marry one of those good-for-nothings? Wei Shu is different; he has the ability to win the Emperor's favor. As long as he remains useful, the Emperor will be more lenient." Lou Xuan watched as Jiang Jin wiped away her tears.

“I thought Your Highness would at least have more freedom than us.”

Jiang Jin hastily wiped away the tears on her face. "No matter what, His Majesty is still the one in power. I thought Your Highness could have more freedom to do as you please."

“Ah Jin, your predicament is that you have to get married, while my predicament is that my marriage will become a bargaining chip in the Dou family's power struggle. But you should be happy, at least our current predicament has been resolved.” Lou Xuan picked up a piece of jade dew and placed it in Jiang Jin's palm.

"I think you've probably guessed it. Father Emperor's decision to have Chang Yi and me come to Bianzhou together wasn't just for the sake of having more time together." Jiang Jin nodded in agreement.

“I think His Majesty feels that the Crown Prince and the Third Prince are attached to powerful families. Although His Majesty is in his prime, he is approaching the age of forty. His Majesty’s ministers will inevitably want to leave themselves a way out when they see the two heirs. Therefore, His Majesty wants to push His Highness out, regardless of the future outcome. At least now it can stabilize the hearts of the court officials. If another prince is chosen in the future, His Highness’s submission will also be a merit.”

Jiang Jin took a bite of the jade dew dumpling and briefly explained her thoughts to Lou Xuan.

"But there's one thing I don't understand. Does His Majesty want His Highness to stay in the back or to come to the front?"

"I have never been able to fathom Father's thoughts. However, the Crown Prince favors the Dou family, and the Third Prince has the Liu family as his backing. But the two of them have forgotten that Father is the one who holds the power over the entire world."

Lou Xuan sighed deeply, "Aren't the Wang family girl and the Crown Prince the best examples? The stage was ruined by an imperial decree."

"Actually, I think it's strange that His Majesty bestowed a daughter of the Wang family upon the Third Prince." Jiang Jin frowned, feeling that something was amiss, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"You mean Father Emperor doesn't seem like the type to use marriage to humiliate or warn the Crown Prince, much less the type to deliberately push the royal family towards the Third Prince?"

Lou Xuan rubbed his temples and sighed, "Actually, I think Father Emperor's plan is to make Chang Yi my consort, or even more than just my consort."

"So when the Third Prince's side had the upper hand, His Majesty had the opportunity to rightfully bestow a marriage upon His Highness. The Dou family was eager to find allies to suppress the Third Prince, so they kept petitioning for a marriage. Therefore, His Majesty went with the flow and pushed Chang Yi forward. In this way, others would only think that the aristocratic families were in a hurry and His Majesty hastily chose a subject."

Following Lou Xuan's train of thought, Jiang Jin felt a chill run down her spine.

"And even if one thinks more deeply, one can only conclude that His Majesty doesn't want the Crown Prince's faction to have marriage alliances with powerful military families; he would never consider that His Majesty's intentions lie with his subjects." A sharp glint flashed in Lou Xuan's eyes.

"Whether Father wants me to stay on the chessboard or just uses me as a shield, I must stay firmly on it so that there is a chance to change things."

Lou Xuan's eyes were full of ambition. "Ah Jin, if Wang Juesong falls, who do you think will be next?"

"I guess it's the main branch of the Wang family. If the head of the Wang family abandons Wang Juesong at any time based on his own will and assassinates Wei Shu without leaving any way out, it can only mean that he is stupid, foolish and incompetent. How long can such a head of the family lead the family?"

Jiang Jin touched the scar on his arm and smiled, "A thousand-mile dike can be breached by an ant's bite. I suppose even aristocratic families are no different."

"But I guess it won't be the Wang family. It's probably one of the smaller families that are currently dependent on the Wang and Dou families. After all, the Third Prince was just betrothed to them. Father wouldn't be that foolish."

Lou Xuan pinched Jiang Jin's cheek. "Aren't you going to ask if anything else has happened in the capital?"

"It's nothing more than which lady goes out to burn incense, or which gentleman has a romantic affair. If it were anything important, His Highness would have already sent someone to inform me." Jiang Jin was shrewd enough to joke about private matters, but she wouldn't pry into His Highness's official business.

"Your sister is engaged." Lou Xuan's words almost made Jiang Jin drop the jade dew ball she was holding, which she had just taken a bite of, onto the ground.

"Is that Third Sister Jiang Ru? Could it be that she's betrothed to a good man from a respectable family?" A Jin suddenly remembered the rumors about the Jiang family and the respectable family that A Bei had told her when she returned to her parents' home.

"Yes, but it's not the eldest son of a respectable family, it's the second son. However, I imagine you've already met him." Lou Xuan told Jiang Jin about what had happened to the Jiang family.

"We met a few times when I delivered the festival gifts, so we weren't very familiar with each other. However, Erlang is a respectable and modest gentleman, and he is also from my mother's maternal family. I think San Niang will be satisfied."

Jiang Jin thought of Jiang Ru and felt a little regretful, "It's just a pity that Third Sister's health is a bit weak in winter and summer, otherwise she could go out more often."

“Your family’s troubles aren’t over yet. Your fourth sister made a scene as soon as she heard about it, which made your mother furious and she was grounded.”

Lou Xuan found it amusing to think about what had happened at the Jiang residence. "It's like your sisters can't live without you mediating between them."

"Third Sister was sickly and weak-willed since childhood, while Fourth Sister was spoiled by her aunt and was a bit pampered. However, they only fought over clothes and jewelry, which was not a big deal. Sometimes I would take out my share to comfort them."

Because of Lou Xuan, Jiang Jin had seen all the finest clothes and jewelry, so she naturally wouldn't compete for a share of the allowance.

"However, I was somewhat surprised that the Liang family sent their second son to arrange the marriage. I thought it would be at least the third son." Lou Xuan naturally knew more about the Liang family because of Jiang Jin.

"Both the eldest son and the third son are outstanding members of respectable families. My father, to put it nicely, is a close advisor to the emperor; to put it bluntly, he is a tool for impeachment. Naturally, they would reserve the position of wife for the daughter of their superior."

Jiang Jin already knew their plans when the Liang family came, so she wasn't surprised.

"But I suppose it's because of my marriage to Wei Shu that the Liang family is so actively pushing for the marriage. Young Master Liang is a man who puts profit above all else." Jiang Jin sneered. "Anyway, everything in this world boils down to profit."

Why get angry at them?

Lou Xuan patted Jiang Jin's shoulder, picked up a jade dew ball, and stuffed it into his mouth. "My good brother still wants me to make trouble with Father Emperor and refuse to marry Chang Yi to the death. Does he really think I'm stupid?"

"It seems that His Highness the Crown Prince has been deceived by the Dou family, otherwise why would they treat him this way?"

Jiang Jin frowned, inwardly cursing the Crown Prince to the bone, but outwardly she still had to say some good things about him.

"It's just a matter of sacrificing myself, but it will solve the Dou family's urgent problem. He'll be overjoyed, so why would he be so easily deceived?" Lou Xuan looked at the jade bracelet on her wrist. "Unfortunately, I'm no longer the Lou Xuan I used to be."

"Does Your Highness have any other plans? I think if the Crown Prince is unhappy, then the Third Prince should be the happiest. We could probably use this to divert the Crown Prince's attention and prevent him from causing trouble in front of Your Highness." Jiang Jin peeled a lychee and held it to Lou Xuan's lips.

"You're the most clever one. Isn't Wang Jia Wu Niang the best pawn? The Third Prince's wife and the Crown Prince still have feelings for each other. It's enough to make both parties rack their brains."

Lou Xuan chuckled softly, "Don't worry, I will protect her, at least I won't let her face the Emperor's wrath directly."

"Even if His Highness the Crown Prince were completely incompetent, he wouldn't do something as blatant as stealing his brother's wife, would he?" Jiang Jin thought to herself, just imagining the enormous uproar this would cause in the court if it were exposed.

"Ah Jin, you don't understand men, especially not royal men. Don't worry, this matter won't be exposed now; that would be too boring." Lou Xuan swallowed the lychee and then took out a ring from his waist.

"I had someone fork a small knife hidden inside, and also a few antidote pills. Keep them safe just in case." Lou Xuan placed the ring on Jiang Jin's waist.

“I’m still quite worried about Your Highness. You’re a sitting duck in Bianzhou right now. Although Wang Juesong hasn’t made any other moves yet, what if he gets cornered and hurts Your Highness?” Jiang Jin looked at Lou Xuan with disapproval.

"You hurt me?"

Lou Xuan laughed even harder, "Isn't that the best? Father will have a ready-made excuse and won't need to use those schemes he devised in the capital. He can just send someone to kill Wang Juesong."

"How can Your Highness use your own life as an excuse!" Jiang Jin coughed a few times in his excitement.

"You should at least take care of yourself." Lou Xuan poured Jiang Jin a cup of tea. "It was just a joke, there's no reason for you to take it so seriously."

"Your Highness, we can risk our lives, but Your Highness absolutely cannot." Jiang Jin took a sip of tea to calm the agitation in his throat.