"Hehe, good! Excellent! That's right, we're not refuting, we're reasoning!"
Yongchang had some doubts in his heart, but he still laughed it off.
Then, she changed the subject and asked, "Aqing, what do you think of the Prince of Ruyang's heir?"
Nanling was stunned for a moment and couldn't keep up with her mother's pace.
She replied instinctively, "Helian Qi? He's fine."
Nanling grew up in the palace and was quite familiar with princes, princesses, and imperial princes.
The Prince of Ruyang was the late emperor's cousin, and his lineage's ancestor was the same brother as the Gaozu Emperor.
When Emperor Gaozu raised his army, the first Prince of Ruyang followed him to the death, perfectly embodying the saying "brothers fight tigers together."
The brothers fought side by side to build the empire, and their bond did not weaken because of power and wealth.
When Emperor Gaozu established the Great Zhou Dynasty, he rewarded his younger brother for his contributions and enfeoffed him as the Prince of Ruyang, a first-rank prince whose title was hereditary.
The Prince of Ruyang's Mansion was undoubtedly one of the most prestigious and powerful families in the capital.
The princes of Ruyang throughout the ages were also very "sensible" and never used their merits and titles to cause trouble.
They have always been loyal only to the emperor.
The emperor also valued the Prince of Ruyang's residence highly.
Ahem, the Prince of Ruyang's mansion has military power and has always controlled 20,000 troops in the Eastern Camp.
It can be said that the troops of the Prince of Ruyang's mansion were the last guarantee for the Helian royal family.
The Prince of Ruyang did not become arrogant because of his military power, and the emperor, in turn, did not cut off his own arm.
Even the late emperor, a man of great suspicion, stripped the eight pillars of their military power but did not touch the Prince of Ruyang's residence.
The Prince of Ruyang's Mansion was able to gain the emperor's trust not only because of their loyalty and unwavering stance, but also for another important reason—
No ambition!
Being low-key enough!
He never coveted the throne, nor did he get involved in the struggle for succession among the princes.
Sometimes, the Prince of Ruyang's residence is even forgotten.
Just like Princess Yongchang, when she was choosing a husband for her daughter, she overlooked the Prince of Ruyang's mansion.
In fact, the Crown Prince of Ruyang was already quite well-off.
He was one year older than Nanling, and was both scholarly and martial, possessing both talent and good looks.
Most importantly, he was unmarried!
Of course, this doesn't mean that no one would marry the heir of the Prince of Ruyang.
He had actually been engaged once, but like Nanling, he wasn't very lucky.
With their wedding date fast approaching, his fiancée suddenly died.
The heir of the Prince of Ruyang was deeply grieved and declared that he would observe three years of mourning for his fiancée!
These days, even legitimate couples won't observe mourning if the wife dies.
Besides, she's just a fiancée?
However, the heir of the Prince of Ruyang insisted, and he truly did abstain from women and meat.
For three years, no matter how many people came to act as matchmakers, he politely declined.
Many people in the capital praised Prince Ruyang as a gentleman of ancient times who valued loyalty and propriety.
Those unmarried young ladies regarded the Prince of Ruyang as an ideal man and their dream man.
Even the parents and relatives of the Prince of Ruyang's fiancée thought this man was kind and honest.
Alas, my daughter is so unlucky; she can only miss out on such a good husband!
The fiancée's parents even proposed to continue the marriage alliance with the Prince of Ruyang's family by marrying the fiancée's younger sister to the Prince of Ruyang's heir.
Now that the mourning period is over, I heard that the two families are in talks.
Nanling was once too timid and insecure, lacking close friends and a social circle.
They know very little about what's happening outside.
However, she had heard about the deep affection of the Prince of Ruyang.
From this perspective, Helian Qi, the heir apparent of the Prince of Ruyang, has a reputation that is known to everyone.
In addition, Nanling and Helian Qi were relatives.
Nanling wanted to call Helian Qi "cousin".
To demonstrate the emperor's high regard for the Prince of Ruyang's residence, Helian Qi was brought to the palace by the late emperor when he was young, where he studied with the crown prince and other princes.
Therefore, Nanling had seen Helian Qi since she was a child and was somewhat familiar with him.
After becoming a lady-in-waiting in Nanling, she began to appear in public, and thus came into contact with a great deal of information.
She realized the importance of the Ruyang Prince's Mansion.
They also learned of Helian Qi's immense popularity.
Even though he had already lost a fiancée and wasted his life as an older single man.
However, he remained the ideal husband for the wealthy women of the capital and the object of desire for countless young women.
Therefore, Nanling said "very good" when she heard her mother mention Helian Qi.
It's not that Nanling has fallen for Helian Qi, but rather that she thinks he has a good reputation and seems to be a really good person.
Nanling simply offered his commentary from an objective, bystander's perspective.
Yongchang misunderstood; she thought her daughter was in love with Helian Qi.
Previously, Yongchang would try every means to give his daughter to Helian Jue. Firstly, Helian Jue was noble enough that even if she became his concubine, she would still be a dignified imperial consort.
Secondly, Nanling was too timid, and Yongchang simply didn't trust her to marry into another family of equal social standing.
She feared that her daughter would be controlled by her husband's family and bullied by her sisters-in-law.
Even the servants would probably outwardly comply but inwardly defy their masters and commit treason.
If a woman marries into the palace, with the Empress Dowager watching over her and the bonds of kinship, she is unlikely to have a bad life.
However, Helian Jue was too stubborn. Under the pretext of mourning, he refused to take in more concubines.
The Empress Dowager had no choice but to find another way, so she sent Nanling to serve as a lady-in-waiting to Empress Xie.
Originally, the plan was to "attack or defend as needed," but in the end, Helian Jue went off to fight.
With no one in the harem, what's the point of "attacking"?
However, by sheer luck, although Nanling failed to seduce Helian Jue, she underwent a transformation because of Empress Xie.
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