Having figured this out, Emperor Pingjia, Zhu Xian, was naturally in a good mood and became even less wary of his adopted son.

As for summoning Minister Li to the palace today, it is because the selection banquet for the imperial concubine held by the Consort in the plum garden last time did not achieve good results, and we intend to try again.

After paying his respects to Emperor Pingjia, Li Qingchen then greeted the Crown Prince. However, because the Crown Prince had intended to punish Wei Chengxiu last time, but Li Qingchen's gold medal had thwarted his plans, the Crown Prince was somewhat angry upon seeing him again, and his expression was cold.

Li Qingchen noticed this and, without any intention of flattery, returned the same cold and distant attitude. Then, Li Qingchen's gaze shifted to Sun Xingjian, who was standing parallel to him, and found him to be an unfamiliar face.

But Li Qingchen knew that ever since he entered, this person's eyes had never left him, and the person's gaze was so complex that it was difficult to tell whether he was a friend or foe.

However, since their eyes had met, Li Qingchen nodded to Sun Xingjian out of courtesy, and Sun Xingjian naturally returned the gesture with a cupped hand.

In Sun Xingjian's eyes, this young Prince Qiaochuan was tall and handsome, with an extraordinary bearing that rivaled even the Crown Prince's, and far surpassed his appearance. However, the cold and imposing aura surrounding him made him seem somewhat unapproachable. Why would such a seemingly cold and aloof person help the Wei family?

At this moment, Emperor Pingjia spoke up: "My minister, I have summoned you here because I would like to ask for your opinion on something."

"What does Father mean?"

"You are only one year younger than the Crown Prince, and you have reached the age of twenty this year, which is the time for you to get married. I have always been concerned about your marriage. Last time, the Imperial Concubine set up a plum blossom banquet to arrange the selection of a consort for you, but unfortunately, something unexpected happened and it did not go as planned."

Emperor Pingjia smiled and said, "However, the Autumn Festival is just a month away. I plan to have the Imperial Concubine organize another event, summoning all the eligible young ladies of noble birth in Shengjing to the palace for you and the Crown Prince to choose their consorts. With a hundred flowers in bloom, I don't believe you'll fail to select one this time!"

Emperor Pingjia was full of confidence, but Li Qingchen's answer greatly surprised him: "Father, there is no need to go to such lengths."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Pingjia's face immediately fell, thinking that Li Qingchen had offended him and was not going to participate.

However, Li Qingchen then explained, "Actually, I had already made my choice when I was in the plum garden last time."

Emperor Pingjia was greatly surprised and hurriedly asked, "Which family's daughter did you choose?"

Even Crown Prince Zhu Haogan was intrigued. Recalling the noble ladies who entered the palace that day, he thought that three of them were the most outstanding in terms of background and appearance.

First, there's Consort Gui's niece, Wen Chan, but she's now Consort Wen, so that's impossible. Then there's Princess Yun'an, daughter of Prince Jing, but when the Emperor tried to match them up, Li Qingchen explicitly refused.

The last one is Sheng Yun. Surely Li Qingchen wouldn't have his eye on A-Yun?!

At first glance, Zhu Haogan thought it was impossible, but then he remembered that A-Yun had come to him begging for help to save the Wei family, which he had refused, and then Li Qingchen had saved the Wei family. Could it be that A-Yun had also gone to him for help?

Zhu Haogan's heart clenched suddenly, and his fists clenched unconsciously in his wide sleeves.

"Your Majesty, I admire the daughter of the Wei family, Wei Shuwan." Li Qingchen spoke the last three words with great clarity, emphasizing each one.

Slightly surprised, Zhu Haogan felt relieved, as long as it wasn't A-Yun. However, he finally understood why Li Qingchen had used the gold medal to save the Wei family. It turned out that he had taken a fancy to the Wei family's young lady and was willing to use the gold medal to save her life to please her.

Zhu Hao scoffed inwardly, a hint of disdain flashing across his face at this man so deeply bound by his affections for his children. He realized he had been unfairly elevating Li Qingchen to such a dangerous position.

Sun Xingjian's shock was written all over his face. Military generals usually didn't have much cunning or scheming, and he had never even considered this possibility before. Being far away on the border, he had naturally heard a lot about the past deeds of this young Prince Qiaochuan.

While Wei Zheng was in Wu Commandery, he heard stories of how only the Prince of Xiaoqiaochuan survived the crossing of a hundred men through the desert. Sun Xingjian heard even more of these stories while he was at the border.

That's why he was so surprised when he saw Xiao Qiaochuan Wang Junyi's appearance earlier. Over the years, he had almost imagined this person as a bloodthirsty monster with three heads, six arms, a blue face, and fangs.

Even though he was handsome and didn't look like a monster, he had actually experienced those terrible things. How could his sweet and lovely niece marry such a man?

What if he suddenly becomes unleashed his beastly nature one day?!

Despite his inner turmoil, Sun Xingjian knew he had no right to interrupt, so he could only suppress his thoughts and grit his teeth.

Hearing this, Emperor Pingjia was completely dispelled of his doubts. He could tell that Li Qingchen's words came from the heart, and there were also traces of his kindness towards the young lady of the Wei family.

He first saved the young lady of the Wei family at the plum blossom banquet, but he also saved Princess Yun'an at the same time, leading Emperor Pingjia to believe that Li Qingchen wanted to curry favor with the Prince Jing's family. It turned out that he was saving the young lady of the Wei family, and Princess Yun'an was just a side effect.

Later, he willingly offered his "get out of jail free" token to save the Wei family from dire straits. At the time, he even talked about the life-saving grace, clearly showing that he had already fallen deeply in love with her!

These were only the events that occurred within the palace and were known to Emperor Pingjia; their interactions outside the palace must have been even more frequent.

Although the Wei family had just been released from prison, Emperor Pingjia knew best whether they had been wronged. Therefore, in his eyes, this was not a stain on their reputation.

Emperor Pingjia nodded and laughed heartily: "Very good, very good. No matter whose daughter she is, since you have taken a liking to her, I will make proper arrangements for this matter for you. You are my adopted son, and your marriage to the Crown Prince's consort should be conducted according to the regulations for princes. I hereby order the Ministry of Rites to begin preparations for this matter!"

Li Qingchen showed no courtesy in the face of this honor, immediately knelt down to express his gratitude, saying, "Your subject kowtows to thank Your Majesty!"

...

After the Prince of Qiaochuan and the Marquis of Pingyang County both withdrew, Crown Prince Zhu Haogan, who had remained silent for a long time, finally couldn't hold back any longer and said bluntly, "Father, you heard it all. Li Qingchen saved Wei Zheng because he had taken a fancy to his daughter. For his own selfish reasons, he didn't hesitate to disobey Father!"

Zhu Hao had done plenty of slanderous things lately; the reason Emperor Pingjia decided to hold Wei Zheng accountable was also due to Zhu Hao's slander. However, this time, Emperor Pingjia failed to heed Zhu Hao's words of slander.

"Whether it was for his own selfish reasons or not, Li Qingchen's willingness to use the pardon on someone else has cut off the Qiaochuan Prince's Mansion's escape route! Moreover, the Wei family girl he is going to marry is of ordinary background and does not have a powerful maternal clan to rely on, which is enough to prove his loyalty."

After a pause, Emperor Pingjia said with a hint of disappointment, "I know you like to compare yourself to your ministers in everything, but he has already done so much, what else do you have to worry about? As the crown prince, you should be magnanimous and consider the big picture, not petty like a woman!"