Winter came in the blink of an eye and the New Year was approaching. While taking care of New Year affairs, Ning Yuxi was embarrassed by something.
Two days ago, the emperor told her that Nian Chengzhao was already fifteen years old, and then said something obscurely.
Ning Yuxi listened for a long time before she understood that she was asked to find two sex educators for Cheng Zhao, that is, palace maids who taught him about human affairs.
She knew that boys usually became smart in that area when they were thirteen or fourteen years old. In ancient times, families would arrange for several concubines to teach young men about interpersonal matters at this age.
Although she was somewhat unable to accept it, she had to adapt to the local customs, and since the emperor had spoken, Ning Yuxi had no choice but to pick two women with clean backgrounds from the Imperial Household Department.
She was afraid of becoming the evil mother-in-law who forced the sale, so she specifically asked the two girls what they thought. As a result, they happily agreed without hesitation.
Come to think of it, being able to marry a prince, even as a concubine, is a great honor for them.
The person was sent there this afternoon, but was returned when Cheng Zhao came back in the evening.
Ning Yuxi coughed lightly and asked, "If you don't like it, will mother give you two more?"
Cheng Zhao's ears flushed, and he suppressed his shame, "Mother, I have no intention of doing this now."
"Are you really not interested in this?" Ning Yuxi was afraid that her son was too young and shy to be embarrassed, so she asked again.
Cheng Zhao thought his mother was teasing him, and his face turned red. "Mother, I really didn't mean it."
Well, Ning Yuxi respected the children's opinions, gave each of the two girls fifty taels of silver, and sent them home.
Although the two girls were innocent, everyone in the palace knew that they were going to serve the Third Prince, but it didn't work out. If they were sent back to the Imperial Household Department, they would probably be talked about.
It was her fault for not asking Cheng Zhao's opinion in advance.
…
After the New Year, Cheng Yao insisted on going to the military camp for training. This child, like Shu Xuan, has been active since childhood and is very fond of martial arts. He has made some achievements in martial arts training with Master Wu in the Shangshufang over the years.
On the other hand, Shu Yun hasn't been so active in the past year and has become much more dignified and steady.
But the military camp is different from the palace. Ning Yuxi knew that her son liked martial arts and dreamed of becoming a general to defend his country, but she and the emperor wanted to wait two more years before letting him go.
After all, he will only be thirteen years old in October this year. Learning martial arts is not as easy as learning literature, and he is still young and we are afraid that he will hurt himself.
Cheng Yao still wanted to go. In order to dissuade him from doing so, Ning Yuxi asked Ning Chen to take him to the military camp to let him see the hardships of the soldiers.
He went and saw it, but he still had to leave after seeing it.
Ning Yuxi had no choice but to leave the matter to the emperor and let the bad guy do it.
The final result is that you can go, but only after your birthday.
"Your Majesty, even your dignity as an old father is not enough. It has only been delayed for ten months." Ning Yuxi joked while feeding the emperor medicine.
Hearing this, the wrinkles between the emperor's brows faded a little. "That's better than you. You can't even delay for a day."
Ning Yuxi had nothing to refute. There was nothing she could do. She couldn't refuse someone who was acting coquettishly towards her.
Every time Shu Xuan got into trouble, she would act coquettishly towards her and she couldn't get angry even if she wanted to, but she was also afraid that she wouldn't learn her lesson, so she always forced herself to put on a stern face, and after a long time, her facial muscles were almost twitching.
"Yes, yes, the emperor is the most powerful."
Gu Qilan laughed and didn't respond. He had originally thought of letting Cheng Yao go to the military camp for training in two years, but...his body might not be able to hold out until then...
After drinking the medicine, Gu Qilan suddenly said, "In a few months, Chenghui will be a father. I want to arrange a marriage for Chengzhao. What do you think?"
Ning Yuxi put down the medicine bowl and said, "I guess the emperor has a favorite candidate?"
"She is the granddaughter of Lord Fu, known for her talent, and a perfect match for Cheng Zhao."
Ning Yuxi was a little surprised. Both Lord Fu and Duke Yu had been loyal ministers who had assisted the emperor in ascending the throne. Needless to say, their status was high. The emperor wanted to marry Lord Fu's granddaughter to Cheng Zhao, which meant that he had high hopes for Cheng Zhao.
However, Lord Fu is a man of integrity and has never used his marriage to curry favor with the emperor. If the emperor wants to arrange for Lord Fu's granddaughter to marry Cheng Zhao, it will probably not be easy.
Ning Yuxi expressed her concerns.
The emperor said, "You don't have to worry about that. Lord Fu is a man who loves talent and has always admired Cheng Zhao. I'm sure he won't refuse."
Ning Yuxi nodded. If that was the case, then it was indeed possible. However, Cheng Zhao was still young, and it was heard that Lord Fu’s granddaughter was only twelve years old this year. Why was the emperor in such a hurry to get her engaged? It would be fine to wait for two years.
She thinks that the most important thing for this lifelong event is that the child must be attracted to the other person. Otherwise, it would be too torturous to spend a lifetime with someone who is not attractive to the child and has no feelings for the child.
"Cheng Zhao is still young, and Miss Fu isn't much older either. Why not wait a couple of years and let them get to know each other first? If they're a good match, it won't be too late to decide after two years."
Seeing that the emperor didn't say anything, Ning Yuxi continued, "Your Majesty, you mean well, but if the two children can't get along, won't they become a couple with grudges? They are meant to be together for life, and it would be too painful for them to suffer every day."
Gu Qilan frowned, "Marry a virtuous wife. Lord Fu's granddaughter has a good character, how can we not get along with each other?" For the descendants of the royal family, the wife only needs to be dignified and virtuous. If they don't like her, they can take a concubine.
Ning Yuxi knew that it was impossible to argue with him, an emperor in feudal society, so she simply kept silent.
Gu Qilan saw her evasiveness and asked, "You don't agree with this?"
"It's not that I disagree, I just think we should ask the child for his own opinion."
As soon as Ning Yuxi said this, she realized something was wrong. In ancient times, such matters were determined by parents' orders and matchmaker's words.
As expected, after hearing her words, Gu Qilan frowned and said, "Marriage has always been a matter of parents' orders and matchmakers' words since ancient times. How can we let children interfere?"
After saying that, Gu Qilan looked at Ning Yuxi and said, "This is for Cheng Zhao's own good, so don't worry about it."
Ning Yuxi knew that the emperor had probably chosen Cheng Zhao as the heir, and this marriage between Cheng Zhao and Fu Ge Lao's family would also provide Cheng Zhao with an extra layer of protection.
Never mind, it might not be as bad as she thought. Maybe Cheng Zhao is a good match for the granddaughter of Lord Fu. After all, they both have similar interests, love poetry and books, and have outstanding literary talent.
At the previous royal banquet, she had seen the young lady of the Fu family from afar. She was very outstanding in appearance and very dignified and polite.
Three days later, the emperor issued an edict granting Cheng Zhao a marriage contract with Fu Xuanzhu, the granddaughter of Lord Fu, and the marriage would be held on an auspicious day when Miss Fu reached the age of 15.
Cheng Zhao had no complaints about this. He was still young and was fully focused on government affairs and had no mood to think about anything else.
The matter came to an end, but after this incident, various undercurrents began to surge in the court.
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