Chapter 4 The Prince's Background
Xiao Yan's biological father is someone else.
He was born to the late Emperor Yongshun Xiao Wei and Consort Wei, while Empress Zhuangxian Xu was the empress of the late emperor.
Emperor Yongshun Xiao Wei is the eldest son of Emperor Wen, and the current Emperor Chengming Xiao Ke is the third son of Emperor Wen. They are brothers from the same mother, and their biological mother is Concubine Jiang, now Empress Dowager Jiang.
Although Xiao Wei was the eldest son of a concubine, Emperor Wen's wife Empress Yuan had no children, so he was made the crown prince since he was young. He succeeded to the throne at the age of eighteen, but died suddenly at the age of twenty-two.
He left behind two princes, the eldest son had just turned one year old and the second son had just been born.
At that time, the Daliang Dynasty was in a precarious situation. From outside, the Oirat tribe invaded from the south and approached the capital. From within, there were insect plagues for years and the Yellow River broke its banks and flooded, devastating every life.
There was no sign of Emperor Yongshun's death. He neither appointed a crown prince nor left a will. There was no minister in the court to entrust his affairs after his death.
The country is in a state of uncertainty due to the young ruler, and the court urgently needs a mature monarch who can shoulder heavy responsibilities and stabilize the people's hearts.
Queen Mother Jiang originally wanted to support her eldest grandson Xiao Yan, who had just turned one year old, to ascend the throne, so that she could rule the country from behind the scenes.
However, once her grandson ascends the throne, she will be promoted to Grand Empress Dowager, and Empress Xu and Concubine Wei will also be promoted to Empress Dowager.
What's more, Empress Xu came from the top noble family of Duke of Wei, and her followers were spread across the court and the country. Empress Dowager Jiang knew that she could not compete with her.
After careful consideration, Queen Mother Jiang finally issued an imperial decree to the world, appointing her own son, Prince of Jin Xiao Ke, as the new emperor.
In this way, the previous emperor's concubines would not need to be promoted, Empress Xu and Concubine Wei would not become empress dowager or concubine dowager, and Empress Dowager Jiang would be able to sit firmly on the throne of empress dowager and remain the only elder who could restrain the emperor.
Perhaps feeling guilty, she forced Xiao Ke to make her brother's eldest son Xiao Yan the crown prince, in order to inherit the throne from both clans, rather than adopting one.
Xiao Ke knew the cause of his brother's death and chose to acquiesce to this arrangement.
For more than ten years, he treated the prince as his own son and raised him carefully.
He personally taught the prince literacy, writing, riding, archery and the six arts.
Before he got married and ascended the throne at the age of ten, Xiao Qing had been raised in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Having lived with the emperor day and night, he had already regarded his father as his own father.
Even though he learned the truth later, he had no impression of his father who passed away when he was just one year old, and he still recognized Xiao Ke as his father from the bottom of his heart.
Just as Xiao Yan was silent and pondering, the emperor held a black piece in his hand and casually placed it somewhere on the chessboard.
His movements seemed casual, but they implied a commanding and awe-inspiring aura.
"Zi'an, you lose." The emperor's tone was calm, without any emotion.
Xiao Yan was slightly startled. On the chessboard, the black pieces surrounded the white pieces like an iron barrel, just like their master, exuding unquestionable majesty and murderous aura.
He lost again, and could never beat his father. Xiao Yan was filled with frustration.
The emperor patted his shoulder, his dark eyes were deep and unfathomable: "You are too impatient. When you are impatient, you lose your strategy and give your opponent an opportunity to take advantage."
Xiao Yan bowed and saluted, and said with deep admiration: "Thank you, father, for your teachings."
"Since you haven't found a suitable candidate for the Crown Princess, I have my eyes on someone." The emperor spoke in a casual tone, with a smile on his face. He casually placed the roster on the chessboard and tapped the last few lines of words with his index finger.
Xiao Yan lowered his eyes and looked, a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes.
**
Half a month passed in a flash.
The seven beauties who were named in the preliminary selection will enter the palace in advance to learn etiquette, waiting for the Crown Prince to personally choose the Crown Princess in the re-election.
Yang Manyan was flattered when he learned the identities of the other six registered beauties.
Mother Xue Shulan has been smiling happily for more than half a month, and she is even secretly planning to facilitate the marriage between her nephew Xu Huaiying and her daughter.
Although Xu Huaiying was the second son of the Duke of Wei and a concubine's son, he was also a legitimate young master of the Duke's mansion. A small family like the Yang family would not even have the opportunity to marry into a wealthy family.
Now that his daughter has been chosen by the Queen Mother, maybe the Duke will agree to it?
The more Xue Shulan thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and she couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Yang Jingzhen, who was only thirteen years old and just missed the draft, was happy for her elder sister but also slightly jealous when she saw her elder sister being named.
If I were one year older and met the age requirement to run for election, would I also be able to be registered?
Father Yang Qianxing was on duty and had not returned yet, so the mother and her two daughters chatted for a while. When they thought it was about time, they picked up their bags and walked out of Lingyun Courtyard.
Two carriages had stopped outside the Duke of Wei's mansion. They stood inside the door, waiting for Xu Miaohua, the daughter of the mansion who was also named.
While waiting, Yang Jingzhen quietly stuffed a few pieces of silver into her eldest sister's hand: "This is all my private money. If you don't spend it all in the palace, remember to bring it back and return it to me."
She had just seen the banknote her mother gave to her sister, and she thought that the family was in financial difficulty and the amount of the banknote must be small, so she took out her savings that she had accumulated for a long time.
Yang Manyan smiled and touched her sister's head, saying softly, "Okay, I will definitely bring back every penny."
Half a minute later, Crown Prince Xu Chengzong personally sent his sister Xu Miaohua out.
Xu Miaohua was wearing a magenta jacket and skirt with a gold-woven pattern and a set of red gold and kingfisher feather headpiece. She looked extremely luxurious, but she was in low spirits.
Especially when he saw Yang Manyan, his expression became even colder.
Since learning that Yang Manyan was also on the list, Xu Miaohua and her mother Guo speculated that it must be because Empress Dowager Jiang kept this girl from a small family on the list for the sake of the Duke of Wei's Mansion.
When I think about it this way, I always feel like I'm being taken advantage of for no reason, and I feel uncomfortable all over.
Xu Chengzong standing aside had a gloomy expression and his thin lips were tightly pursed.
He also agreed with his mother and sister's speculation, but in this case, his mother would be even less likely to agree to him marrying Yang.
Xu Chengzong's eyes flickered. If she was willing to be a concubine, things might turn around...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
