Tang Baozhu was extremely anxious because she had heard a legend that a wealthy family's daughter was so ugly that she couldn't get married. So, when no one was looking, she kidnapped the top scholar.
If the top scholar had been powerful and influential, there might have been no problem. But the top scholar that year came from a poor family and had no way to resist, forcing him to get married.
Because if he didn't marry her, he might be completely suppressed by his father-in-law's family. He thought about how he had studied hard for so many years in order to make something of himself. If he didn't marry his father-in-law's daughter, he would have to go back to the hard life he used to live. So he had no choice but to give in.
After hearing about it, Tang Baozhu took it to heart. She sent five people to the palace gate, but worried that there would be too many people trying to force a marriage, so she urged Xiao Qiangzi to send more people over quickly.
In ordinary families, beautiful daughters don't have to worry about getting married. Only wealthy merchant families, who lack powerful backers, would want a son-in-law with literary talent. This way, they would have both a powerful backer and a son-in-law, killing two birds with one stone.
Then there were those girls from families who were ugly and had a bad reputation, because the sons of good families would no longer marry them. They had no choice but to seize the top three scholars when they were not paying attention at the end of the parade.
As for which one to capture, that depended on luck, because things were so chaotic back then, so we caught whoever we could.
Without saying a word, Xiao Qiangzi led his men to chase after his older brother. Li Jun was also worried, but he was also concerned about his wife and two daughters. He didn't dare to leave, in case something happened.
"I'll go back first. I'll take my two daughters with me. Li Jun, you must bring Xiao Ping'an back safely."
"Don't worry, I'll bring more people with me. But there are too many people right now, so I'll send you all back first and then find people from home to go over. Anyway, the parade isn't over yet, there's still a long way to go, so we still have time."
Even though he was worried about his son, Li Jun didn't forget his two daughters and wife.
Without wasting any time, the group left the restaurant and headed home.
Tang Baozhu was in a hurry to get home and felt that the journey was too long. For the first time, she felt that the capital city was too big and not very nice.
After returning home, she urged Li Jun to take people there quickly. At this moment, she regretted not arranging a marriage for her son sooner. If they had been engaged, even if he was taken away by another family, it wouldn't count, since he was her fiancé.
Tang Baozhu decided to arrange marriages for her eldest and second sons immediately. She figured that after today, starting tomorrow, matchmakers would begin to come knocking on her door.
Besides his two sons, he also had two beloved daughters. Thinking of this, he couldn't calm down. He quickly went to the storeroom to check the dowries he had prepared for his two daughters and the betrothal gifts he had prepared for his sons.
Let's take stock and see what's missing. Now she's getting anxious and wants to finish quickly.
At this moment, inside the palace, the emperor arrived at the palace of his favorite concubine, Consort Zhang. The emperor's most beloved concubine was Consort Zhang, and he also doted on her daughter as she grew up. Fortunately, Consort Zhang did not give birth to a son, otherwise she would have been eliminated by the empress long ago.
"Why has the Emperor come?"
Consort Zhang asked curiously, "The emperor usually comes more often at night when he is sleeping. He is usually a very diligent emperor, busy with state affairs all day long."
It's said that the emperor favored Consort Zhang the most, which just means he slept with her a few more times. But whenever the emperor visited her a few more times, the atmosphere in the palace changed, which was proof of the emperor's favor.
Of course, for the emperor, national affairs were the top priority, making him a diligent ruler.
“Our Rui’er has grown up, and I am preparing to bestow a marriage upon her. This year’s third-ranked scholar is quite talented and handsome, and he is a good match for our princess. Originally, with his talent, he could have been the top scholar, but seeing his appearance, I think he looks better as the third-ranked scholar. I have also investigated his family situation. It is a very harmonious family, and his parents-in-law are easy to get along with. Although our princess has her own princess residence, she still needs to have contact with her husband’s family. Now that we have met such a good match, I want to keep him for Rui’er.”
This generation of princesses has a pretty good life; they don't have to go through the usual political marriages, they can just be married off to whomever they like.
Consort Zhang thought of her beloved daughter, who was her only daughter, and of course she hoped that she could marry well. Since the emperor had already agreed, it must be a good match.
Suddenly, I remembered the annual custom of parading through the streets on horseback. "I wonder if the Emperor has arranged for someone to protect the third-ranked scholar? So that his chosen son-in-law doesn't get snatched away by someone else."
The Emperor laughed heartily, “My beloved concubine and I are thinking the same thing. When I first saw Li Tanhua and decided to marry the princess to him, I thought of this. I had already instructed the officials around me to protect Tanhua. I don’t want my chosen consort to be snatched away by someone else.”
Judging from the Emperor's expression, Consort Zhang knew that the third-ranked scholar was probably quite good, otherwise the Emperor wouldn't appreciate him so much. However, she didn't know if her precious princess would agree, so she hesitated for a moment and tentatively asked.
"Your Majesty, I wonder if our princess would be interested? Perhaps we could find an opportunity to let Rui'er take a peek? If she is interested, then we would like Your Majesty to grant us a marriage."
The Emperor didn't care about Consort Zhang's probing at all. He knew she was thinking of his daughter. He also thought that Rui'er was someone he had watched grow up, so why would she disagree? He was worried that his princess wouldn't like her and would live a miserable life.
"The Qionglin Banquet is in three days. Just let Ruier sneak a peek. With Ruier's fondness for pretty things, she'll definitely be impressed."
When Consort Zhang heard the Emperor mention her daughter's minor flaws, she felt a little uneasy. Neither she nor the Emperor were the type to care about looks, so she couldn't understand why their daughter was someone who was so particular about appearances.
Even the palace maids serving them had to be beautiful, and even the eunuchs couldn't be ugly; they had to be handsome.
Fortunately, she only liked to look at it and didn't do anything excessive, otherwise it would have really given her a terrible headache.
"On behalf of Ruier, I thank Your Majesty. If Ruier knew that Your Majesty was thinking of her so much, she would be very moved."
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