Yu Zicheng's marriage began to proceed smoothly due to the compromise of Princess Zhenbei. The women of the Zhenbei Palace who had originally planned to interfere had no time to look for an official matchmaker before their trusted servants brought them the news that the Zhenbei Prince Yu Zicheng and the Minister of Works Chen Nianzhi were engaged.
They stared at each other in their respective courtyards with their sons, "Princess... is it because your thick thighs can't bend your thin arms?"
Based on their understanding of Princess Zhenbei, after Chen Nianzhi put forward those three conditions, her relationship with Yu Zicheng was basically no longer possible. This was one of the reasons why they all had their eyes on Chen Nianzhi.
Chen Nianzhi's three conditions were of course a huge provocation to the dignity of the Zhenbei Princess and other female relatives who were the mistress of the house. But for these women who were just concubines, it was a rare opportunity that their sons could move out of the house in disguise instead of staying in the house and being bullied by their mother and brother.
With Chen Nianzhi's status and potential, no matter who wants to marry her, his own conditions cannot be too shabby.
This is also why, in the beginning, no family asked for their illegitimate son to marry Chen Nianzhi.
But after Chen Nianzhi proposed such conditions and all the legitimate sons of prominent wealthy families backed out, Chen Nianzhi's "value" was no longer as high as before in the eyes of everyone.
As a result, those illegitimate sons of wealthy families and their respective mothers naturally became interested.
Unlike those legitimate children, in the eyes of those illegitimate sons of wealthy families, two of Chen Nianzhi's conditions are not only not restrictions for them, but are benefits.
After all, with Chen Nianzhi's current status and the abilities she has demonstrated, if she is willing to marry one of those illegitimate sons of wealthy families, the fathers, grandparents, etc. of those illegitimate sons will definitely give their illegitimate sons more property to rely on, considering the interests represented by Chen Nianzhi and the face of Yu Zizhen behind her. This is much easier than trying hard to please their fathers and grandparents themselves.
He has abundant property and wealth, and his wife has a promising future. She can bring unlimited benefits to them and their children and grandchildren. Most importantly, she can help them break away from the control of their mother and brother and breathe the free air outside.
With so many benefits, it would be strange if they were not tempted.
However, what made them depressed was that before they and their respective mothers could take action, the news of the engagement between the Prince of Zhenbei and Chen Nianzhi had quickly spread throughout the capital.
Including the concubines and illegitimate sons of the King of Zhenbei, all the concubines and illegitimate sons who wanted to give it a try had their dreams shattered by this news and were stunned on the spot.
Like the concubines of the King of Zhenbei, they couldn't understand why the Princess of Zhenbei would agree to such a marriage.
That's the Prince of Zhenbei! He's the only biological brother of their Emperor, born of the same mother.
Although their Emperor did not show any enthusiasm towards the Zhenbei Palace, her attitude towards Yu Zicheng was obviously different from that towards the Zhenbei Prince and his wife.
Apart from the grace and courtesy from the emperor that all court officials enjoyed, namely, "no need to kneel in informal occasions", the Prince of Zhenbei and his wife did not receive any other special privileges as parents in front of their majesty.
Moreover, their Majesty would never take the initiative to summon the couple into the palace. It can be seen that she really has a distant relationship with her parents.
But her attitude towards Yu Zicheng was different. She even refused to confer the title of Prince to the King of Zhenbei. The compensation she offered was not to give a title to one of her half-brothers, but to give the title directly to Yu Zicheng's second son, whose whereabouts were still unknown.
In addition, Yu Zicheng was summoned to the palace from time to time, and the relationship between the two siblings was obviously better than that between Yu Zizhen and her parents.
Why would such a popular and promising young talent be so desperate as to propose to a girl like Chen Nianzhi?
Everyone was puzzled. Some discussed it privately, while others went directly to find Princess Zhenbei and Yu Zicheng to ask them in a tactful way.
Not to mention the private discussions, as for those who came to ask in person, Princess Zhenbei and Yu Zicheng had the same answer, "Miss Chen is beautiful, virtuous, and talented. Princess Zhenbei liked her the first time she saw her."
Of course, most people don’t believe this standard answer.
Some smart people, seeing Yu Zicheng smiling every day as if he had picked up a gold mine, immediately guessed that it must be that this prince had first taken a fancy to Chen Nianzhi, and then persuaded the Princess of Zhenbei to propose to her on his behalf.
While everyone was sighing at Chen Nianzhi's good luck, they couldn't help but look forward to seeing what Yu Zizhen would do.
After all, the King of Zhenbei was one of her strong competitors before, and now his son is going to marry Chen Nianzhi, a golden child, so why should Yu Zizhen be suspicious?
Especially those families who had previously set their eyes on Yu Zicheng, a wealthy son-in-law, but finally gave up the marriage with the Zhenbei Palace because Yu Zicheng had the brains to choose an unknown merchant girl as the prince's consort. Now they are even more looking forward to any changes in Yu Zicheng and Chen Nianzhi's marriage.
Just like Princess Zhenbei’s previous thoughts, they also felt that since Yu Zicheng could change his mind once, he would definitely change his mind a second time.
As long as his marriage with Chen Nianzhi fails, their daughter will still have a chance to become Yu Zicheng's third sweetheart.
However, they waited and waited, but what they finally got was not Yu Zizhen's secret obstruction, but an imperial decree granting the marriage between Yu Zicheng and Chen Nianzhi.
Along with the imperial edict, there was also a jade ruyi given to Chen Nianzhi by Yu Zizhen, a batch of expensive fabrics and jewelry.
Chen Nianzhi had no other hobbies. In her spare time, she liked to dress herself up with beautiful dresses and jewelry from this era. Yu Zizhen's reward was just what she wanted.
As for Yu Zicheng, considering that he was as sensible as the King of Zhenbei, Yu Zizhen, while sending the imperial edict granting marriage, also did not forget to reward him with a set of armor newly produced by the Ministry of Works and a good horse recently presented by Xiliang.
The marriage between the two families was thus settled. Since Yu Zicheng and Chen Nianzhi were not young anymore, their marriage was soon officially put on the agenda.
The three letters and six ceremonies were completed quickly, and the Princess of Zhenbei chose a good day nearby, intending to have Yu Zicheng marry Chen Nianzhi as soon as possible.
Prince Zhenbei was also called back by her because of this matter. Of course, as a general guarding the border, he contacted Yu Zizhen in advance to ask for approval before returning.
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