Chapter 481 Beneficial and Harmless

"Since the Fifth Prince has had too much to drink, I naturally cannot hold it against him. However, this marriage alliance was chosen by Chu Xia herself. If Your Majesty's Emperor is unwilling, then this marriage alliance will be considered as if I never mentioned it."

As the Crown Prince of Wei, he naturally had the pride he deserved. Moreover, in front of so many officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty, if the Crown Prince of Wei remained silent, he would be looked down upon.

"The marriage alliance between the Great Zhou and the Wei Kingdom was originally intended to ensure the prosperity of both countries for a hundred years. If it is ruined by the Fifth Prince's drunken ramblings, wouldn't that be a loss?"

Yun Yichen had been watching the drama unfold for quite some time, and seeing the Crown Prince of Wei acting so presumptuously, he finally uttered these words to ease the tension.

“Minister Yun is right. A marriage alliance between the two countries is what everyone wants. Since Princess Chuxia has personally chosen the wise king, I am naturally happy to facilitate this marriage.”

As the emperor of a country, such a concession was a great honor for Wei. Looking back at the Wei envoys who were following him, and seeing their approving expressions, the Crown Prince of Wei then took the opportunity to bow to the emperor.

"In that case, we shall leave it to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Zhou to decide."

"Haha, Your Highness, you are too kind. Speaking of which, my ninth brother is not young anymore, and it has been my oversight that he has remained unmarried for so many years. It is truly a pity that your princess does not mind. Today, I will bestow a marriage upon your princess and the wise king."

The emperor, not wanting to cause any further trouble, immediately finalized the matter. He didn't care what his two sons and his younger brother thought.

Seeing that the emperor had agreed, the Wei officials naturally expressed their gratitude to him once again. The emperor nodded in satisfaction, then looked at the Crown Prince of Wei and asked, "Does Your Highness have a preferred candidate?"

This candidate naturally refers to the daughter of the Wei Kingdom who is to be married. The current princess is still young and not yet of marriageable age. The person whom the Crown Prince of Wei wants to marry in order to establish a marriage alliance between the two countries must be granted the title of princess in advance.

"Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Zhou has gone to great lengths. It should be decided in the next few days. I will inform Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Zhou as soon as possible."

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the Crown Prince of Wei unconsciously glanced at Yun Yichen's face after saying those words.

His action went unnoticed by the emperor and others, but Yun Yichen clearly sensed it, though he pretended not to notice.

"Yichen, do you think His Majesty will neglect the Fifth Prince because of what happened today?"

As Gu Renjie left the main hall after the morning court session, he looked at Lu Youming, who was surrounded, and couldn't help but ask about Yun Yichen.

"There are only two princes who can inherit the throne now. In order to secure his position, what do you think he will do?"

Yun Yichen did not give Gu Renjie a direct answer, but Gu Renjie had already gleaned the answer from his words.

Now that the two sons are fighting, the fifth prince is clearly in a superior position. By using this incident to elevate the third prince, the power between the two sons can be balanced. This would naturally be beneficial and harmless to the emperor.

"The imperial family is the most ruthless; this saying is absolutely true."

As Gu Renjie spoke, the two exchanged a glance, and neither of them continued the conversation on the topic.

In the north courtyard of the Marquis's mansion, Yu Fei carried a basin of ice into the room from outside. After placing the ice next to Gu Shuyan, she looked at the scorching sun outside and said, "Miss, the weather is getting hotter and hotter. Perhaps you shouldn't go to the tea garden tomorrow!"

“How can that be? We didn’t go last year, and if we don’t go this year, people will think I’m a timid girl from the Gu family. Besides, the Crown Prince and Princess of Wei will be attending this year’s tea garden party, so we definitely have to go.”

As Gu Shuyan answered, she trimmed the short pine tree on the desk, her earnest demeanor adding to her tranquility.

"But Miss knows perfectly well that tomorrow's garden party is not simple!"

Yu Fei hesitated, looking at Gu Shuyan's indifferent expression, and for a moment she didn't know how to advise her.

From the moment the Crown Prince of Wei arrived in Da Zhou, he paid extra attention to the Marquis's residence and even personally visited it. Although Yu Fei did not know what their plans were, she was certain that the people of Wei had no good intentions.

"What we want is something extraordinary. What's the point if it's the same as before? We'll just have to be more careful and deal with whatever comes our way."

As Gu Shuyan spoke, she looked up and smiled at Yu Fei. Deep down, she didn't want to participate in the garden party either, but if she didn't go, wouldn't the Wei Kingdom's performance be impossible?

Therefore, in order to fulfill Wei's good intentions, she had no choice but to reluctantly go through with it.

"Miss, Sister Mingyu and Brother Xu have arrived."

As soon as she finished speaking, Pearl led Mingyu and Xu Feng in.

The two had been busy preparing for their wedding for quite some time, and they wouldn't have had time to come over today if Gu Shuyan hadn't asked Pearl to find them.

"Let them in!"

Gu Shuyan nodded, put down the scissors in her hand, and handed the dwarf pine tree to Yu Fei. Yu Fei knew that Gu Shuyan had something to say to Xu Feng and Ming Yu, so she and Pearl withdrew.

"Your subordinate (this servant) greets Miss." The two women bowed deeply to Gu Shuyan as soon as they entered the room.

Seeing this, Gu Shuyan quickly stepped forward to help Mingyu up. "Sister Mingyu, there's no need for this. Although you haven't been with me for long, I've already considered you a sister in my heart. So you must never use such a grand gesture again."

“Miss is the mistress and Mingyu is the servant. What virtue or ability do I have to deserve such favor from Miss?”

Since coming to Gu Shuyan's side, Mingyu has naturally felt Gu Shuyan's kindness towards her. At first, she thought Gu Shuyan was just tolerant, but after getting to know Gu Shuyan better, she realized that Gu Shuyan's kindness towards her seemed to have been like this from the very beginning.

Mingyu couldn't understand the reason, so she could only serve Gu Shuyan even more diligently. As for calling Gu Shuyan her sister, she would never dare to do so.

Seeing Mingyu's frightened expression, Gu Shuyan didn't say much, but patted her hand and said, "Alright, you two sit down first, I have something to entrust to you two."

The three of them talked until dark, and apart from the three people present, no one knew what they had discussed in the room that day.

At the General's Mansion, after Ji Wenjin returned and told Lu Hexuan about the marriage bestowed by the Emperor in the main hall that day, a pig-like scream came directly from Ji's eldest son's room.

"No, I will go to my elder brother, the Emperor, to cancel this marriage with Wei."

Lu Hexuan slammed his hand on the table, angrily about to storm out. He had been staying in the General's Mansion every day these past few days just to avoid that damned Princess Wei, but now the Emperor had directly bestowed a marriage upon him. What was the point of all his hiding all this time?