Chapter 645 Li Sanqi Meets the Emperor
Wen Jue was taken aback, then fell into deep thought. After a long while, he solemnly nodded and replied, "Alright!"
He is not the Marquis of Yongchang, and he cannot represent the Marquis of Yongchang's household. However, if he wanted to, he could sideline the Marquis of Yongchang.
Although Wen Qi was the Marquis of Yongchang, he was not the patriarch of the Wen clan.
In fact, the low profile of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion over the years has made Wen Qi, the Marquis of Yongchang, relatively unknown.
On the contrary, his sudden rise to prominence earned him great praise from the Wen clan.
Therefore, if he strives for it, he might be able to covet the position of patriarch of the Wen clan.
After leaving the Yongchang Marquis's residence and boarding the princess's carriage, Wenxiu asked with concern, "Your Highness, aren't you worried that Commander Wen has ulterior motives?"
“He had no dealings with you before, so his sudden pledge of allegiance to you today feels too abrupt.”
Li Sanqi smiled, a deeper meaning hidden in his eyes, "Didn't he say he was in love with Yuanyuan?"
Wen Xiu's lips twitched, and she hesitated before asking, "Does Your Highness really believe Commander Wen's words?"
Li Sanqi scoffed, "What does it matter whether you believe it or not? What I need is the support of the Marquis of Yongchang's mansion."
"But if Commander Wen doesn't truly love Miss Qiao, wouldn't that be harming her?"
Wenxiu said worriedly, "Wouldn't this affect the relationship between His Highness and the Old Madam?"
Li Sanqi shook his head helplessly, "Your brain only works when it comes to money; otherwise, you're like you've never been able to process anything."
Wenxiu smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
She wasn't exactly a bright girl. Her ultimate goal was simply to sit back and count her money.
So it's a good thing that money is coming in now; anyone who tries to coax her into spending money is a bad person.
In short, when it comes to money, it's all about taking in and not giving out!
Seeing this, Li Sanqi had no choice but to patiently explain: "Given the current situation, the relationship between the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion and the Qiao Mansion, and my maternal grandmother's scheming against Qiao Ning, the old lady would never agree to Yuanyao marrying my uncle."
“My uncle naturally knows these things too.”
"The reason he still proposed marriage in public was simply to give himself an excuse to get closer to her."
"So, whether he truly likes Yuanyao or not is not important. What is important is whether he truly wants to help me rise to power, as he claims."
Wen Xiu frowned and asked worriedly, "How can we confirm this?"
Li Sanqi slightly curled the corners of his lips, revealing a meaningful smile, "Why does this matter need confirmation? Just make sure he has no choice but to follow me."
Wen Xiu was puzzled, but deeply agreed, so she nodded very seriously: "Your Highness is right."
The princess's carriage sped all the way to the Honglu Hall, only to be told that Crown Prince Xia had attended a banquet and had not returned.
Having no other choice, Li Sanqi had to go to the palace first to report on today's flower banquet.
***
Meanwhile, in the imperial study, Emperor Xiaozhao was listening to a report on the events at the flower banquet.
"You bastard! I thought he was a filial, polite, kind, and humble person, but he turns out to be a brainless idiot!"
Emperor Xiaozhao was so angry that he threw down the memorial on his desk.
Liu Xin hurriedly stepped forward to pick up the memorial, glanced at the open document, and discovered that its contents were actually a petition to the emperor to establish a crown prince.
He only glanced at it briefly, not daring to look at it for long, and quickly picked up the commemorative document, closed it, and put it back on the imperial desk.
Since his illness last year, His Majesty's health has been deteriorating, and he has become increasingly prone to anger.
Liu Xin put the memorial down and silently returned to his original position.
"Little Xinzi, tell me, did I do something wrong?" Emperor Xiaozhao slumped back on the dragon throne, pinching his brow, and said hesitantly, "Should I have been more lenient with the Crown Prince back then?"
Liu Xin's heart skipped a beat. Did His Majesty think that the Prince of Chu was not up to the task and suddenly think of the Crown Prince as a good option?
Liu Xin's heart was pounding, but he remained calm on the surface. He quickly walked behind Emperor Xiaozhao and skillfully began to massage his temples.
"The eldest is useless, the second died young, the third is mediocre, indecisive, and narrow-minded. Let's not even mention the fourth. And the fifth is like this..."
"I suddenly realized that I could not find a single son among my sons who would be a suitable successor."
Liu Xin hesitated for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty, you also have Princess Huaiyang."
"Hmm?" Emperor Xiaozhao frowned, then suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Liu Xin.
Liu Xin was startled, but he forced himself to remain calm and explained, "What this old servant means is that the princess is filial, so when His Majesty is unhappy, he should think of Princess Huaiyang. That will make him feel better."
Emperor Xiaozhao closed his eyes again.
Liu Xin breathed a slight sigh of relief and continued, "His Majesty is only fifty years old. As long as he is in a good mood, he will naturally live to be a hundred. His Majesty has plenty of time to slowly cultivate several young princes, so why worry about the lack of successors for the Great Yan Empire?"
Emperor Xiaozhao's lips curled up slightly. "You're right. I'm in my prime. Even if the current ones aren't up to par, I can train the next few. If all else fails, I can have a few more."
"Your Majesty is wise."
Just then, a young eunuch came in to report that Princess Huaiyang had arrived.
"Speak of the devil and he appears," Liu Xin said with a smile. "His Majesty was just mentioning Princess Huaiyang, and coincidentally, she has arrived."
Emperor Xiaozhao dismissed Liu Xin and instructed the eunuch, "Let him in."
"Yes," the young eunuch replied.
Soon, Li Sanqi strode in.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty." Li Sanqi knelt on the ground and gave Emperor Xiaozhao a deep bow. Before Emperor Xiaozhao could tell her to rise, she began to plead guilty, saying, "Your subject has failed in her duties and has let Your Majesty down. I have ruined today's flower banquet, and I have come to apologize to Your Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
He then prostrated himself on the ground and refused to get up.
Emperor Xiaozhao's good mood instantly soured. "Ha, are you trying to exonerate the Prince of Chu and the Marquis of Yongchang's family?"
It was clearly the King of Chu and the Marquis of Yongchang who ruined the flower banquet!
The people from the Yongchang Marquis's residence deliberately stirred up trouble, and the King of Chu publicly broke off the engagement. In the end, Wen Jue also got involved.
From beginning to end, Li Sanqi was not involved in anything.
But she didn't mention a word about the mistakes of the King of Chu and the Marquis of Yongchang's family, and instead wanted to take all the blame on herself!
"Your subject dares not. Your Majesty appointed me as the host of today's flower banquet. If anything goes wrong, I should naturally bear the responsibility."
Li Sanqi spoke very sincerely, "It was my oversight and lack of timely precautions that led to the oversight and ruin of the flower banquet."
"I beg Father Emperor to punish me."
This daughter is quite responsible.
Emperor Xiaozhao's anger subsided somewhat, and he waved his hand, "Get up."
"Thank you, Father Emperor." Li Sanqi breathed a sigh of relief with an exaggerated expression and stood up with a grin.
Emperor Xiaozhao was amused by her expression and scolded her irritably, "Didn't you just ask me to punish you? I thought you weren't afraid at all."
Li Sanqi smiled sheepishly before saying nervously, "Your Majesty, I am not afraid of being punished. I am only afraid that Your Majesty will be disappointed in me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com