When Li Zongmin heard Qin Chuan propose that his beloved daughter be sent to marry Qin Chuan, Li Zongmin felt as if an unnamed fire had instantly ignited in his chest, and he was so angry that his lungs almost exploded!
However, being a seasoned and composed man, he forced himself to remain calm and said without changing his expression, "Grand Preceptor, you are mistaken. The Prince of Loulan is the Crown Prince, how could my daughter be worthy of him!"
At this point, Li Zongmin's supporters immediately chimed in, suggesting again that Princess Xiao Shan be sent for a marriage alliance next year.
The Empress hesitated mainly because Xiao Shan was young, and the Prince of Jingbei had only passed away a few days earlier. Having just experienced the pain of losing her father, marrying her off to Loulan would be incredibly cruel to her!
Realizing this, the Empress had no choice but to adjourn the court session, saying that the matter would be discussed another day.
...
After the court session ended, Qin Chuan went straight to the Imperial Study to see the Empress.
He was stopped by the eunuchs at the entrance to the Imperial Study.
When the Empress heard the commotion in her study, she ordered the eunuchs to let him in.
"The young princess cannot go on a marriage alliance."
Qin Chuan spoke frankly to the Empress.
The Empress frowned and put her hand to her forehead: "If we don't let Xiao Shan go for the marriage alliance, should we let Xiao Yue go? They are both my sisters, and I am reluctant to let them go, but we have to choose one of them to go for the marriage alliance."
Qin Chuan asked the Empress, "Did the letter from the Loulan prince specify who should be sent for the marriage alliance?"
The Empress bit her lip and said, "This... of course not, and he wouldn't dare. However, according to the rules passed down from our ancestors, the Prince of Loulan is the crown prince, and a princess or county princess who is worthy of his status must be chosen no matter what."
Qin Chuan had a sudden inspiration and came up with a solution. He said to the Empress, "Since the Prince of Loulan has not specified who he wants to marry, why not just find any royal woman from the royal family and bestow upon her the title of princess? Wouldn't that be a suitable match? Why must we choose between the young princess and Princess Xiao Yue?"
Historically, Li Shimin did just that. When Songtsen Gampo of Tibet wanted to make peace with the Tang Dynasty through marriage, Li Shimin was reluctant to send his own daughter, Princess Gaoyang, to the marriage. So he bestowed the title of Princess Wencheng upon Li Daozong's daughter and sent Princess Wencheng to Tibet to marry Songtsen Gampo.
The same story applies to Wang Zhaojun's marriage to the Xiongnu Chanyu. Emperor Yuan of Han originally intended to find any ordinary palace maid who was decent-looking to marry her. However, Wang Zhaojun offended the painter, and by a twist of fate, Emperor Yuan of Han married the beautiful and dignified Wang Zhaojun to the Xiongnu Chanyu. Afterwards, Emperor Yuan of Han regretted it deeply.
Qin Chuan understood perfectly well that since ancient times, no normal emperor had ever truly respected foreign barbarians. If it weren't for the military threat, who would be willing to marry Han princesses and beauties to these barbarians?
The current situation is similar. If we don't make peace with Loulan through marriage, and instead let Loulan make peace with the Xiongnu, it will not be good news for Daqian.
Upon hearing Qin Chuan's suggestion, the Empress stood up abruptly, her phoenix eyes lighting up: "That's right! You're so clever, how come I didn't think of that!"
The Empress looked very happy, as if a weight had been lifted from her heart, and she breathed a huge sigh of relief.
She walked up to Qin Chuan. Because she was wearing a silk casual dress, her full breasts were almost visible beneath the thin silk, and her long legs, which were faintly visible, made people's blood boil. Her elegant and beautiful body exuded an alluring aura from head to toe...
Smelling the faint fragrance so close at hand, and seeing the alluring expanse of white before him, Qin Chuan was finding it hard to control himself...
If it weren't for the abundance of eunuchs and palace maids here, he really would have been tempted to press her down on the dragon throne and teach her all 360 techniques.
Seemingly sensing Qin Chuan's lewd gaze, the Empress frowned slightly, took a half-step back, and blushed, a faint blush appearing on her face...
She instructed the eunuchs, "Prepare the carriage; we're going to the Imperial Clan Court..."
Upon hearing that the Empress was going to the Imperial Clan Court, Qin Chuan regained his composure, bowed, and took his leave.
The Empress suddenly tugged at his sleeve, blinked her phoenix eyes, and said, "Qin Chuan, come with me. Stay and dine with me tonight..."
It's mealtime again...
Qin Chuan was speechless. He'd rather go home and practice shooting with his wife than have a meal with you.
Sharpen your gun, practice your shooting, charge in and out, fight until you're in a blazing heat – how exhilarating!
He intended to politely decline the Empress's request and take his leave.
Who would have thought that the Empress would simply snort and have the eunuch stop him?
The Empress's phoenix eyes burned as she stared at Qin Chuan: "Did I say you could leave? I asked you to dine with me, why are you always avoiding me? If you dare to leave today, I'll break your legs!"
"Then I won't leave." Qin Chuan stood there, stunned, and said helplessly.
"That's more like it!"
The Empress snorted coldly, had a palace maid drape her dragon robe over her, glanced at Qin Chuan, and said, "Come, accompany me to the Imperial Clan Court. What are you standing there for?"
"oh."
Qin Chuan lowered his head and followed silently.
Throughout the journey, Qin Chuan acted like a wronged little wife, while the Empress, seeing his expression, pursed her lips and couldn't help but secretly laugh.
Upon arriving at the Imperial Clan Court, they met the Clan Chief, who was in charge of the Imperial Clan Court.
Unexpectedly, Zong Ling was actually the Empress's uncle.
When this generational ranking was revealed, Qin Chuan was almost startled.
This must be the most senior person in the entire royal family, right?
The Imperial Uncle was kind and benevolent. After learning the Empress's purpose, he took out a thick imperial family genealogy and searched through it for a while before finally finding several suitable relatives.
Among them, the great-great-granddaughters of the Prince of Lanling, the Prince of Dongting, and the Prince of Nanchang are the most suitable, all between the ages of fifteen and twenty.
The empress had the eunuchs record everything, and the next day at court, she brought out these royal relatives and women who were no longer princesses for the ministers to discuss.
The ministers had all agreed that Princess Xiao Shan should go for the marriage alliance, but they never expected the Empress to pull this stunt, sending a member of the royal family in her place and even bestowing upon her the title of princess...
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