Chapter 546 Intending to Arrange a Marriage
These past few days, the ministers have been living in constant fear, lest they make a mistake and be demoted.
For some reason, Emperor Jingwen was in a bad mood and found fault with everyone. He was so angry that he even wanted to kick a passing dog. Many ministers were summoned to the palace by Emperor Jingwen for the most trivial matters and were scolded. Some were scolded, while others were demoted or had their salaries reduced.
Those who were demoted were officials from the faction of Lord Xiao, the second prince's maternal uncle. They had just entered the Ministry of Personnel when they offended the emperor and were demoted to remote and impoverished areas, never to see a chance to rise again.
Apart from Gu Jingxi and Lord Yu, none of the civil and military officials knew why the Emperor was in a bad mood.
Lord Yu was anxious about this for several days, but when he met the Emperor, the Emperor's attitude towards him was the same as always, and he did not make things difficult for him, so he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Jingxi remained calm. The way the princes fought was none of his business, and he didn't get involved in these matters. The case of Crown Prince Huizhao had been resolved, and he had also closed one case. As for how the Emperor would deal with the Second Prince, he estimated that the answer would only be known after the Anguo envoy left.
After finishing his shift and returning home, Gu Jingxi looked at his wife and young son with great satisfaction. With a smile on his lips, he walked towards them and said gently, "Ayao, I'm back."
Hearing the voice, Meng Jinyao looked up at him and saw his tall figure approaching step by step. She smiled and said, "Husband, you've come back just in time. I was looking at chess scores and studying endgames today. There's one endgame that I can't solve. Come and take a look."
As she spoke, she stood up, stepped forward, and pulled the person to a table with a chessboard set up on the side. Pointing to the chessboard set up according to the endgame, she turned her head and said to Gu Jingxi, "This is the endgame. Husband, take a look and see how to solve it."
Gu Jingxi glanced at it and saw that it was an unfamiliar chess puzzle that he had never seen before. He sat down at the table and pulled her to sit down with him. They looked at the crisscrossing chessboard and began to study it together.
Seeing this, the wet nurse knew that the Marquis and his wife wouldn't have time to pay attention to the young prince for the time being, so she silently took the young prince and left. The other maids also tacitly left, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Gu Jingxi studied the game for a long time before finally solving it. He then asked, "Where did you see this in, Ayao? It's quite interesting. It took me quite a while to solve it. Are there any other endgame puzzles?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao raised her eyes, her gaze unconsciously carrying a hint of resentment. They both only had one brain, so how could there be such a big difference?
Gu Jingxi was stunned: "Ayao, why are you looking at me like that?"
Meng Jinyao asked in a low voice, "Does my husband know that I stared at the chessboard for more than half an hour, but I really couldn't think of a solution. In the end, I lost patience and gave up?"
Gu Jingxi, understanding the implied meaning, quickly replied, "I've studied these things with Mo Bai a lot before, so I have experience and that's why it's easy for me to crack them."
Although Meng Jinyao was quite discouraged, the thought that this intelligent person was her husband made her happy again, and she smiled again: "It's good that you are smart. You will definitely be able to educate Wanwan well in the future. Under your education, Wanwan will definitely be successful."
Gu Jingxi disagreed. He used to think that an excellent teacher could teach a good student, until he taught A Yao to paint and play the piano. He taught diligently, and A Yao learned diligently, but he just couldn't teach A Yao. So he changed his mind. He was afraid that A Yao would have too high expectations of his teaching ability, lest Wanwan, that brat, turn out to be useless and he would suffer as a result. So he said, "An excellent teacher can't necessarily teach an excellent student."
Meng Jinyao thought his words made sense and nodded gently, but the next moment she felt something was wrong and frowned as she asked, "Does my husband mean that our Wanwan is stupid and can't be taught?"
“Ayao, that’s not what I meant.” Gu Jingxi quickly shook his head, then tried to make amends, “My own child still needs to be taught by others. My father used to patiently teach me to read, but I was a troublesome person and made him furious. I was more well-behaved in front of the teachers at the academy.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao somewhat agreed: "That's true. Most students are afraid of their teachers. Sometimes what parents teach may not be effective, but what the teacher teaches is effective. Of course, the most important thing is for parents to teach by example and raise their children's character well."
Gu Jingxi didn't want to talk about his son for the time being, so he changed the subject: "Ayao, the envoy from Anguo is coming soon. There will be a banquet in the palace. As a noblewoman with an imperial title, you also need to attend the banquet."
Meng Jinyao was taken aback. She had been granted the title of Lady of the Imperial Family last year, but she had never been to the palace. During the New Year, the Emperor and Empress were so grief-stricken by the loss of their beloved son that they did not hold a palace banquet. Now, she was suddenly told that she had to attend a banquet in the palace. She was a little nervous. There was a big difference between attending a banquet in the palace and attending a banquet in the residence of other princes and ministers.
Gu Jingxi said gently, "Her Majesty the Empress is very kind, and Mother will also be going to the palace with her. Ayao, there's no need to be nervous. However, you should ask Mother about the palace rules when you have time, so as to avoid any mistakes."
Meng Jinyao agreed, "Alright, I'll ask my mother tomorrow." Then, she asked curiously, "Husband, why did Anguo suddenly send an envoy to our Zhao Kingdom?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "I heard some rumors yesterday that there seems to be an intention to arrange a marriage alliance."
Meng Jinyao nodded and said, "I heard that the third prince and the seventh princess of Anguo have come. I wonder if the third prince is marrying a noble lady of the royal family of this dynasty, or if the seventh princess is marrying a member of the royal family of this dynasty."
Gu Jingxi was not particularly concerned about this issue and said gently, "Then it depends on His Majesty's will. Although Anguo is a vassal state, the two countries have fought wars in the past. Anguo has always wanted to break away from Zhao. The current King of Anguo is relatively well-behaved. Anguo is willing to form a marriage alliance to consolidate the good relations between the two countries. His Majesty will not refuse for the sake of good relations between the two countries."
Meng Jinyao nodded again and did not ask the question again.
However, there is only one princess of marriageable age in the current dynasty, namely the third princess born to Consort Tao. The third princess is favored by the emperor, and the emperor is probably reluctant to let her marry far away. If the third prince were to marry a girl from the royal family of Zhao, the emperor would probably choose a princess from the royal clan to marry into Anguo in place of the third princess. After all, there has been such a precedent in the past. If the emperor is reluctant to let his daughter marry far away, he will choose from the clan.
However, if the Seventh Princess of Anguo were to marry into the family, there would be two eligible princes, namely the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince. Since princes don't marry out, the Emperor could simply choose any prince who wouldn't inherit the throne to marry the Seventh Princess of Anguo, which would save a lot of trouble.
Seeing that she was resting her chin on her hand, seemingly deep in thought, Gu Jingxi smiled and asked, "Ayao, what are you thinking about?"
Meng Jinyao sighed, "I was thinking that even people as noble as royalty are not in control of their own marriages; most of them are political marriages."
Gu Jingxi said, "Since you enjoy the privileges, you must bear the responsibilities that come with them when necessary. Whether you are a member of the royal family or a young man or woman from a noble family, it is the same. Marriage is the most direct means of consolidating the interests of your family."
He paused for a moment, then reached out and took Meng Jinyao's hand, continuing, "However, such a thing will not happen in our family. If Wanwan falls in love with any girl in the future, as long as she comes from a respectable family, is generous and proper, and has a kind heart, it doesn't matter if she comes from a low social class."
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