Chapter 97 Marriage Alliance
Upon hearing about the marriage alliance, Lü Jiaying tensed up, sat up straight, leaned forward slightly, and said earnestly, "The princess of the Celestial Dynasty will marry for a political alliance. A suitable girl will be selected from the imperial family, given the title of Heshuo Princess, and married to her."
Although she said this, her long eyebrows remained furrowed. Her intuition told her that the Emperor's arrival at Yongshou Palace after court was definitely not that simple.
Yinzhen frowned and looked at her—"If that were the case, I wouldn't have come here at this time. The problem is that the Dzungars are asking to marry a princess of their own blood this time."
Upon hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but gasp. Meizhuang was the first to speak out angrily, "The Dzungars originally belonged to the Qing Dynasty. They were just a frontier tribe. The Qing Dynasty was already giving them a great deal of face by marrying a princess to them. They are really pushing their luck!"
Consort Jing's tone was also quite gentle—"I remember that only the late Emperor married his own daughter, Princess Lanqi, to the Dzungar Khanate."
"It is precisely because of this precedent that I cannot refuse." Yinzhen's tone was tinged with a sigh, and his worried gaze slowly turned to the Imperial Noble Consort beside him.
Lu Jiaying Feng became increasingly nervous as she listened, thinking of her daughter who was barely eight years old (by Chinese reckoning). Suddenly, she met the Emperor's gaze and almost stood up in her haste. "Your Majesty..."
Before she could speak, the Emperor pressed her back down to sit, patting her hand reassuringly. She tried to calm her wildly beating heart, hoping to glean the answer she sought from the Emperor's impassive face.
However, Yinzhen's gaze did not linger on her for long before slowly shifting to Consort Cao, who was sitting at the back.
Consort Cao pressed her lips tightly together, almost sweating with anxiety despite the winter heat. "Your Majesty, Wenyi is too young. How can she be sent on a marriage alliance?"
Nian Shilan had been gazing intently at the Emperor, having not seen his face for so long. She paid no attention to the murmurs of others, only understanding a little from Consort Cao's urgent voice right beside her ear.
"A marriage alliance? No, Your Majesty, please reconsider! Wenyi is only three years old, and she is frail and sickly..."
For the past few months, she has avoided speaking during her morning and evening greetings, often arriving late, leaving early, or being absent. Lü Jiayingfeng didn't pay much attention to her. Today, however, she spoke the longest speech she had given in front of everyone in recent days.
There's no other reason than that Wenyi is simply too adorable. For the past two months, she hadn't been to the place and hadn't seen her mother, so she cried and fussed every day, which was quite annoying. But after that, the Emperor never summoned her, and she was demoted to the rank of Noble Lady. Her attendants, Songzhi and Zhou Ninghai, had both been executed. In the empty Yikun Palace, she could only keep company with this little Wenyi.
Gradually, Wenyi became familiar with the Empress she saw every day, and stopped crying. Now, when Nian Shilan silently sheds tears by candlelight, she can even reach out her soft little hand to wipe away the tears of the person in front of her.
She hadn't seen the Emperor's face for months, and Yinzhen had also refrained from visiting her for just as long. Upon seeing her today, he was indeed quite thin. Seeing the genuine anxiety on her face, he felt somewhat relieved. The cold treatment she had received these past few days had taught her to cultivate some self-control.
He pretended to be troubled and raised his hand to pinch his brow. "If Wenyi is of age, I won't have to worry about this."
To Cao Qinmo, the implication was that once Wenyi reached adulthood, she would inevitably have to go through the path of a marriage alliance.
"If this matter is not resolved properly, it may lead to war again. The national treasury is in dire need of funds." Yinzhen continued to exert pressure. Cao Qinmo looked at the threatening look that Nian Shilan was giving her, urging her to think of a solution quickly. She felt like her head was about to explode.
Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she hurriedly spoke up—"The Dzungars only said they were seeking to marry your own princess, but she may not be Your Majesty's biological daughter!"
Tears welled in her eyes from her anxiety, and Yinzhen finally heard the answer he wanted to hear, asking, "What do you mean?"
"The late Emperor's youngest daughter, I remember her name was Princess Chaogui, but I don't know..." She sniffed, caught her breath, and blurted it all out, looking at the Emperor with pleading eyes.
Yinzhen frowned, seemingly reluctant—"Chao Gui is indeed the right age and is not yet engaged, but she is, after all, my youngest sister."
Lu Jiaying finally understood the whole charade. The Emperor had probably made up his mind on the way here, but he was worried about his reputation. He brought it up himself and then asked the concubines to say it. He then declined a few times to make it seem like he was a loving and benevolent brother.
Having understood this principle, Princess Chaogui knew she would get married sooner or later. She gritted her teeth, forced a smile, and took the Emperor's hand—"Your Majesty, you toil day and night for the country, even sacrificing your own life. Let's prepare a generous dowry for Princess Chaogui so that she won't have to worry about it even when she leaves home. That would be doing our best."
She spoke these words with great distress, for even the slightest possibility that her daughter might be in such a situation caused her heart to ache as if stabbed with needles. However, Yinzhen found them quite agreeable, and seeing that she had considered her refusal enough, he nodded in agreement.
"Yes, then let's settle on this matter and leave it to... Consort Jing to prepare." He glanced around, deliberately not asking Lü Jiaying to take charge of the matter, perhaps because he had already noticed the difficulty and reluctance on her face.
Just as Consort Jing was about to get up and agree, she heard Zhen Huan speak from across the table: "It's simple to say that this matter is simple, since the Imperial Household Department is overseeing everything. But it's also difficult, as there can't be the slightest mistake. I was thinking... Sister Cao is the most meticulous, so why don't we ask Sister Cao to assist Consort Jing?"
Cao Qinmo nervously clutched her handkerchief as she stood up, quickly declining, "This concubine truly does not understand these matters and fears I may disappoint my sister's kind intentions."
Consort Wan was willing to lower herself to make him smile with a butterfly, which pleased Yinzhen for a long time. At this time, it was the time when "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and he was happy to go along with her for something harmless. He was about to agree when the Imperial Noble Consort beside him couldn't sit still and spoke up to stop her. "What does Consort Cao know? She has also organized several banquets. Consort Wan is being too frivolous."
This was the first time she had publicly embarrassed Zhen Huan. It wasn't for any other reason than that she also had a daughter, and the same heart aches for children. The Dzungar barbarian land was not a good place. The thought of her daughter, raised in the palace with all her wealth and privilege, being married off to a distant land and never seeing her again was heartbreaking.
Zhen Huan thought she could use the marriage alliance to give Consort Cao a good warning. After all, as long as Consort Cao, Nian Shilan's henchman, wasn't eliminated, Nian Shilan wouldn't completely fall. But she forgot one thing: the Imperial Noble Consort also had a beloved Princess Gulun.
"I am not..."
She wanted to argue, but then the Emperor stepped forward and said, "Fine, let it be as I say, Consort Jing will be in charge of this matter." After saying that, he stood up, turned back to Lü Jiaying and said, "I will come for lunch later." Then he walked out of Yongshou Palace.
Lü Jiaying understood what she was thinking. She silently observed everyone in the room for a moment, then dismissed them without saying anything.
When Hongzhao came out of the study, he saw that in just half a day, all the items for the wedding banquet were being prepared in full swing. He recalled that in the play, not long after Princess Chaogui married into the Dzungar Khanate, Khan Yingge died. The princess followed the Dzungar custom and married a new tribal chief, but she could not become a queen and could only become a concubine.
In this era, it would be no exaggeration to say that it was tragic. A princess of unparalleled nobility was reduced to such a place, with no control over her own destiny. He composed himself and stepped into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
"It's a bit late today, did you ask the master to stay?" Yinzhen held the memorial, and had been glancing at the clock on the wall for half an hour. He smiled when he saw the man return.
“My son learns quickly, so the teacher won’t keep me here. My son just saw the Imperial Household Department busily carrying a bunch of red things and took a look.” As he spoke, he stepped inside, bowed, and walked to the stove to warm his hands comfortably.
Yinzhen put down the memorial, stood up, and walked to the stove. He gently brushed away the snowflakes that had accumulated on Hongzhao's clothes and head, covering his small hands with his large hands and rubbing them.
"Then can you tell what it is?"
During their casual conversation, Yinzhen asked a question, and Hongzhao, without looking up, earnestly warmed himself by the fire and replied, "I understand everything, but seeing how hurried the Imperial Household Department is, I wonder when the wedding date will be set?"
At this point, Yinzhen sighed softly, "The date was set a bit too soon. We'll have to be quicker to prepare in ten days."
Hearing this, Hongzhao raised his head, his still chubby little face looking at his father, and said directly, "Father, your son has some ideas."
Yinzhen raised an eyebrow and looked at his son, whose face was serious. "You can talk to your father about anything. Tell your father what you are thinking."
Hongzhao shook his head, looking like an old scholar—"The Dzungars' request is an overreach. We are the Celestial Empire, and they have no right to pick and choose when they propose a marriage alliance. We are just conserving our strength, not afraid of them. They insist on sending their legitimate princess and have to set off within ten days, which makes us seem passive at every turn."
Seeing that his father's eyes had deepened, clearly indicating that he had taken his words to heart, he continued, "We have already arranged for the legitimate princess to marry, and the scale of the marriage will naturally be higher than that of the royal princess. Ten days is too hasty, and the Dzungars have shown no sincerity whatsoever. We should make them wait a little longer."
Finally, he added, "This is my humble opinion. If Father thinks I am wrong, please feel free to criticize me."
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