"Chongxi" is a folk belief practice that aims to have a patient with a chronic illness marry someone else, using the "happy event" to "crush" away bad luck in the hope of curing the disease.
Similarly, children can also bring good fortune to their parents through marriage.
However, when applied to royalty at the pinnacle of power, this "marriage to bring good fortune" is no longer a simple act of bringing good luck; only the most foolish person could fail to grasp its deeper meaning.
Even powerful families use marriage alliances to expand their influence, and the selection of a concubine by a prince is equally significant. A strong and powerful bride family can not only provide assistance but may even become the key to seizing the throne.
All the officials, high and low, in the court, whether they were the ones who proposed it or those who listened to it, knew that the marriage to ward off bad luck was just a cover-up. What they really wanted to know was which crown prince the emperor had chosen.
What Changyan wanted to know was whether the imperial family was genuinely ill or feigning illness, whether they were going with the flow or fueling the fire.
"No one wants their position to be coveted. If he's really sick, he'll definitely object; if he's faking illness, he'll agree."
Soon, news spread from the Qianqing Palace.
The Emperor decreed that the eldest prince, now eighteen, should indeed be married, and set a date in half a month for choosing a principal wife for the eldest, second, and fourth princes, as well as for choosing a husband for the third princess.
The entire capital of Fengjing was in an uproar, and countless prominent families with daughters of marriageable age began to have their eyes on the matter.
Avoiding, pandering, speculating, hesitant.
Only from the West Third Palace came wails, "Your Highness, why were you the only one left out? Why didn't the Imperial Family choose a consort for the Fifth Prince?"
It's probably because he's not yet fifteen years old.
Alternatively, it could weaken the influence of those who belong to the legitimate family.
Regardless of the outcome, Changyan breathed a sigh of relief. He did not want to take a concubine, nor did he want to get involved in the endless murky waters of aristocratic families.
However, when the news reached the second courtyard, his sister clicked her tongue in regret, "I thought Fifth Brother would finally get a wife, but after all this fuss, he still didn't get one."
Xu Mo chuckled beside him, “Not marrying is not necessarily a bad thing. The imperial family is wary of and relies on the powerful families. A strong in-law family can certainly provide assistance, but it may also create new constraints in the future.”
Aristocratic families are a double-edged sword; they can elevate princes to great heights, or drag them down to the depths of hell.
It depends on what the person thinks.
"Would the princes who are choosing a consort also think the same way and choose a mediocre family as their brides?" Jiang Sheng was slightly taken aback, suddenly thinking of the Liao family, who were not a good match for her.
To avoid the emperor's wrath, he married a woman from a humble background, thus escaping the emperor's fear, but he could not escape the turmoil within the inner court.
Perhaps there is no right or wrong, no positive or negative, in this kind of thing.
Either option could be wrong, and either option could be right.
As things stand, powerful families remain the strongest supporters. Whether it's a prince with ambitions for the throne, a prince who's playing dumb to outmaneuver others, or even a prince who's just sitting back and watching the power struggle unfold, the Jiang and Dou families are behind it all.
It's no wonder that the princes would go to great lengths to choose their consorts.
The first to make a move was the eldest prince, who was the most popular candidate for crown prince. Backed by Consort Ju and the Fang family, he could choose almost any young lady in the city.
Since we've already made our choices, we'll definitely choose the family with the least connection, the hardest to win over, and the most powerful.
In Fengjing, there are four top aristocratic families: the Jiang family, the Dou family, the Fang family, and the Sun family, which are almost indifferent to worldly affairs, with only an elderly prime minister remaining in the court.
The Fang family and the eldest prince had long been secretly colluding, and the Sun family had almost faded out of the court. The Jiang and Dou families were the most suitable to be won over.
With Jiang Sheng in the Jiang family and the feud between Fang Yuan and Xu Mo over cheating, there shouldn't be any entanglement. However, Consort Ju was really envious of the military power in General Jiang's hands, so she included Jiang Chengyu in the shortlist.
The Dou family is also a good choice. Although Dou Weiming did not enter the cabinet, the Minister of Personnel is the head of the six ministers and controls the promotion of officials in the court. The Dou family's daughter is also at a more suitable age for coming of age and is also a candidate.
The rest is up to the eldest prince to win the heart of which girl.
Not long after, the son of the imperial concubine invited Jiang Chengyu to admire the flowers but was rejected, and then invited the daughter of the Dou family to watch the snow but was pushed away, leaving him humiliated and disgraced.
When the news reached the courtyard, Jiang Sheng chuckled, but also felt a little scared. "With Consort Ju being so powerful, she might force Cheng Yu and Sister Dou to marry someone, wouldn't she?"
Such a lively and clever girl, and the intelligent and insightful daughter of the Dou family, should not have married the eldest prince and wasted half her life in the deep palace.
"Don't worry, the Crown Prince is just trying to win him over; he wouldn't dare to force anything." Xu Mo put away the chess pieces. "He can't afford to offend either the Jiang family or the Dou family."
Compared to this prince's straightforward and undisguised actions, the behavior of the other two princes was more interesting.
The second prince, whose birth mother was unknown, had a calm and slow personality, which contrasted with the first prince's eagerness. He neither immediately sought to curry favor with top-tier families nor considered first-rate families, nor even second-rate families. He simply carried out his official duties in a daze, shuttling between the government office and the second prince's residence every day.
The fourth prince was so devoted that he went directly to the Yao family's door, declaring that he would bring happiness to Miss Yao and even making the bold statement that he would never take a concubine.
He had liked Yao Siqing for a long time, and had sent gifts to the Yao family several times before the new year, but was politely refused. Now he took the initiative to visit, which made the head of the Yao family so angry that he couldn't eat dinner.
“The Yao family and the Jiang family are related by marriage. Does the Fourth Prince want to take both families under his wing by marrying Sister Siqing, or does he genuinely like Sister Siqing?” Jiang Sheng began to worry again. “Could he be using Sister Siqing?”
Xu Mo gently patted his younger sister's head and comforted her, "The Yao family won't agree."
As Jiang Sheng said, the Yao and Jiang families are progressing side by side and are excellent in-laws. Moreover, the Yao family has always followed the Jiang family's lead and listened to and agreed with them.
From a kinship perspective, Madam Jiang is the Yao family head's aunt, and she also has a childhood bond with her two cousins, which she cannot easily sever.
From a perspective of interests, a prince may not necessarily become an emperor, but the military achievements of the Jiang family can ensure that both families remain firmly in the court.
If the Yao family head is clear-headed enough, he will refuse; it's just a matter of how he refuses.
Under normal circumstances, children can be quickly betrothed, and no matter how old a prince is, he cannot take over the affairs of a subject's family.
But this would be tantamount to offending the fourth prince, and the new husband would also be resented.
So after much deliberation, the Yao family surprisingly announced that, citing the lack of a male heir, they would keep their only daughter, Yao Siqing, in the mansion to find a husband.
As the fourth prince, he couldn't possibly become a son-in-law of a powerful family.
Even if he were willing, his mother, the Crown Princess, would slap him until he refused.
At this point, the matter of selecting a concubine fell silent.
Apart from the eldest prince, who was flying around aimlessly, it seemed that none of the others had found a suitable family, nor did they show the slightest covetousness for the throne.
"Could it be that His Highness's plan has failed? If even this can't force out the prince hiding behind the scenes, does he intend to wait until the imperial family is gone before making his move?" The guard couldn't help but mutter to himself.
Chang Yan merely curled the corners of his lips, his tone nonchalant, "Don't rush."
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