Even the Fourth Prince was almost caught off guard. By the time he reacted, the Prince of Zhi had already stood up.
“Father, although my tenth brother is about the same age as the princess of the Prince’s family, my ninth brother is not yet married. It would be inappropriate to arrange a marriage for my tenth brother directly, bypassing my ninth brother.”
Prince Zhi stood up and spoke with great righteousness.
However, everyone quickly realized why Prince Zhi had stepped forward.
The Tenth Prince was of noble birth; his mother was the late Imperial Noble Consort Wenxi, of the Niohuru clan, and the daughter of Grand Tutor, Duke Guoyi, Ebilun.
He was the most prestigious among all the princes, second only to the Crown Prince.
If the daughter of a Mongolian prince were betrothed to the Tenth Prince, then the Tenth Prince's primary wife would be a Mongolian princess, and the Tenth Prince would be out of the running for the throne.
This was something that Prince Zhi would definitely welcome. So why did he stand up and say this now? Naturally, he wanted to overcome the opposition and point out the points that everyone would disagree with.
His Majesty sat at the head of the table, leaning back against something, and simply smiled when he heard what Prince Zhi said.
“That’s easy. I remember there was a Dong E clan member in this year’s selection. Her father, Qi Xi, did a good job as a commander. Before he left, Consort Yi mentioned him to me. Ninth Prince is not young anymore. Today, I will take the lead and arrange his marriage.”
The Ninth Prince, who was far away, was completely unaware that he had gained a primary consort.
At this moment, the Ninth Prince was still on his way from the capital to the imperial palace. He did not know when or where his father and his entourage would stop, so he could only go to the Rehe Imperial Palace first.
However, now that His Majesty has said this, the marriage between the Tenth Prince and the Mongolian princess is a foregone conclusion.
The Fourth Prince remained silent throughout, but he kept an eye on the Tenth Prince, who was sitting slightly behind him, as the Prince of Zhi tried to get up after the Prince finished speaking.
The distance was quite far, so the Fourth Prince couldn't see the Tenth Prince's expression, but he could see the Tenth Prince's clenched fist.
But soon, the Tenth Prince was pulled back by his trusted confidants.
In the end, the Tenth Prince sat back down.
The Fourth Prince pondered for a moment. He remembered that the servant had been chosen for the Tenth Prince by Consort Wenxi when she was still alive.
When the Tenth Prince was chosen, the servant was already quite old. Now, that servant is even older than Su Peisheng, who serves the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Master remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
He was actually wondering what his father was doing.
To put it bluntly, the Tenth Prince is still young. Although he has been getting closer to the Eighth Prince recently, even the Fourth Prince is a little confused by what the Emperor has done.
However, the marriage of the Tenth Prince had already been arranged.
The youngest daughter of Prince Urjingala, of the Abaga Borjigit clan.
However, the wedding date has not yet been set, and it should take another year or two, since this wedding is the grand wedding of the tenth prince of the Qing Dynasty, who is of high status, and a princess of the Borjigit clan of Mongolia.
Furthermore, the wedding of the Ninth Prince and his wife, Lady Dong'e, also required a grand ceremony, which naturally took a lot of effort.
The Emperor, seated at the head of the table, watched as the Tenth Prince bowed in gratitude. He then lightly raised his hand and pointed at the Tenth Prince, who was kneeling in the distance, offering his thanks.
"My tenth prince is of noble birth and of extraordinary character. He is a worthy heir and a treasure of the Imperial Noble Consort Wenxi. Today, I hereby bestow upon my tenth prince, Yinzhen, the title of Prince Dun."
Someone's wine glass slipped and fell with a soft sound.
Prince Dun, a prince?
Currently, among the princes, apart from the eldest prince, Zhijunwang, who has accumulated numerous military achievements, the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh princes are only Beile, and the eighth prince is only Beizi.
This prince is extremely valuable.
The Tenth Prince stood up, attended the ceremony, and bowed to express his gratitude.
"Your son thanks Your Majesty for the reward." He spoke each word slowly and deliberately.
In a daze, Fourth Master suddenly understood something.
Dun, the tenth prince, should now be called the tenth master. The character Dun has many meanings.
The Tenth Prince has recently become honest and kind, but none of the Mongol tribes, such as the Khorchin, Dzungar, and Khoshut, are well-behaved.
The character "敦" was applied to the various Mongol tribes.
The Qing Dynasty was using a prince of extraordinary and noble status to appease and warn the various Mongol tribes.
If the Fourth Prince remembers correctly, that Prince Urjingala was the most fiery-tempered among the Borjigit clan, and had always been a proponent of war.
Didn't you see that Prince Urjingala hadn't said a word the whole time?
This is the biggest warning.
Why not sacrifice a prince to bring about a short-term, or even long-term, peace between the Qing Dynasty and Mongolia?
Moreover, no matter how noble the Tenth Prince's status was, Consort Wenxi was no longer alive, not to mention Ebilun, one of the four regents of that time.
Although the Niohuru clan still produced many capable ministers, the saying "a new emperor, a new court" is something even a child understands.
However, the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince were completely innocent.
But being born into the heavenly family, how can anyone be innocent?
When the banquet ended, His Majesty finally announced that he would bestow the title of Beile upon the Ninth Prince.
With the Ninth Prince absent, everyone's gaze, intentionally or unintentionally, fell upon the Eighth Prince.
Of the princes who now hold titles, the Eighth Prince's title is the lowest.
Eighth Prince, having seen his share of storms, was still able to maintain a smile, even cupping his hands in greeting and saying that he would give Ninth Brother a proper congratulation when they returned to the capital.
He was also clever; knowing that the Tenth Master was in a bad mood, he didn't mention him.
However, the Tenth Prince was no longer at the table at this moment.
Also absent from the banquet was the prince from the Borjigit clan.
His Majesty was the first to leave the table. He had also drunk quite a bit of wine tonight. When Liang Jiugong brought out the hangover tea, His Majesty waved his hand.
“Urjingala dotes on his youngest daughter the most. Does this mean I am using the emperor to command the princes?”
Only when there was no one else around could His Majesty make such a joke, but his eyes were cloudy and unfocused, showing no sign of joking at all.
Liang Jiugong didn't look up, still holding the bowl of warm hangover tea: "Your Majesty is wise, everything is for the sake of the Qing Dynasty."
The Emperor chuckled, "It is I who have wronged Yinzhen. This child lost his mother at a young age and has never been close to me—"
Now that His Majesty has bestowed this marriage upon us, I'm afraid it will be—
Liang Jiugong still didn't raise his eyes: "Your Majesty, rest assured, Prince Dun will understand your good intentions."
His Majesty's gaze was deep, and his already somewhat rough fingers finally lifted up the cup of hangover tea.
"How is things in the capital?"
The Emperor clearly did not want to get too entangled in the matter of the Tenth Prince, or rather, he did not want anyone to know what he was thinking, not even his trusted confidant Liang Jiugong.
"The Crown Prince has recently fallen ill."
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