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◎The royal family.◎
Emperor Xingwu issued the decree to grant marriage to the second prince before the Dragon Boat Festival. Since they were relatives and his mother had just passed away, there was no banquet for the ministers in the palace for the Dragon Boat Festival this year. Only a simple family dinner was arranged.
Prince Yong's family of three, Prince Yongkang's family of four, and the second prince Qin Bing, who was granted marriage at the age of seventeen, all entered the palace.
It was still early in the afternoon, so the whole family went to the Imperial Garden to enjoy the scenery.
Qin Bing had had enough of his aunt and elder sister's teasing. He dragged Qin Ren and Qing Yang to the other side of the pavilion and grumbled, "Father is always messing around with couples. Meng Yao is so mean. Whoever marries her will be in trouble."
Qin Ren was a little confused: "You don't like Miss Meng? Before she came to the palace, didn't you two get along well?"
Qin Bing: "Then we often quarrel too."
Qingyang glanced at his aunt and elder sister in the distance and asked, "Second brother was upset when the emperor granted the marriage. Or was it because Aunt Wang and the others laughed at you just now that you were upset?"
Qin Bing was stunned.
Qin Ren saw this and understood what was happening. He reminded his brother, "That's what's wrong, second brother. If you're upset that Aunt Wang and the others are laughing at you, you should have told them directly. How could you take your anger out on Father and Miss Meng?"
Qin Bing couldn't refute it, and refused to admit he was wrong. He reached out and poked Qin Ren's head: "You know shit, and you're actually trying to teach me!"
Qin Ren, who was hurt by the poke, quickly changed his sitting position.
Qingyang glared at his second brother: "Third brother obviously means well. If you bully me again, we will go back. You stay here by yourself."
Qin Bing coaxed his sister: "I was just joking with him."
Qingyang: "Then tell me, do you like Meng Yao or not?"
Qin Bing touched his nose and hummed softly, "It's okay. As long as she doesn't treat me badly, I don't mind marrying her."
He had never thought about getting married, but his father suddenly granted the marriage. Meng Yao was an acquaintance and was pretty, so Qin Bing didn't really resist much.
Qingyang: "Since Second Brother doesn't object to marrying Meng Yao, then she is your wife-to-be. How can Second Brother speak ill of his own wife? If this gets to Meng Yao's ears, she will be so heartbroken. Her mother just passed away. Second Brother should treat her well."
The image of Meng Yao sobbing in mourning clothes popped up in Qin Bing's mind. It was really distressing.
"Alright, alright, I'll never say anything bad about her again, and no one else is allowed to say anything bad either. I'll beat anyone who dares to say anything bad!"
Qingyang: “…”
After whispering, the three siblings returned to their elders.
Prince Yong sat below Emperor Xingwu. The two brothers chatted about things outside and never interrupted the banter of the women and children.
Princess Yong glanced at Qin Ren, who had rosy lips and white teeth, and said with a smile, "The Crown Prince and the Second Prince are both engaged, and their wives are also top-notch noble ladies in the capital. I wonder which noble lady our Third Prince will marry in the future."
Concubine Li stole a glance at Emperor Xingwu. She had finally realized that the Emperor was too overbearing! With Empress Chunxiao gone, the Emperor had taken sole charge of the marriages of Yongkang's siblings. The Imperial Concubine was alive and well, dignified and virtuous, yet the Emperor hadn't even discussed this with her in advance. So, she certainly wouldn't have any say in the future marriages of the third son and his daughter.
Emperor Xingwu glanced at the third brother and said nonchalantly, "How old is he? We'll talk about it later. But Qin Liang is twenty years old this year. Have you chosen anyone?"
Prince Yong, who was drinking tea, choked, put down his tea bowl, and looked at his brother in disbelief: "The emperor actually asked me this. I was waiting for the emperor to help Liang Ge'er find a good marriage. I think my marriage was arranged by the emperor. The emperor must be more accurate than me in judging people in this regard."
Princess Yong glared at her husband lightly.
Emperor Xingwu laughed and said, "The imperial concubines live in the inner palace and don't know the noble ladies outside well enough. You are different. I thought you had already settled down."
Princess Yong said respectfully, "Some matchmakers have come to propose marriage, but we can't make up our minds. We've urged the prince several times to ask you to help choose, but he always forgets."
Emperor Xingwu became interested: "Which families are they?"
Princess Yong gestured to her husband to speak, but Prince Yong said impatiently: "How can I remember this? Tell me."
Princess Yong then listed several families, all of whom were daughters of middle-ranking officials.
Emperor Xingwu frowned, "Brother Liang is a man of both civil and military talents, and he's my nephew. Isn't there any noble official who would like to have him as a son-in-law?"
Prince Yong said awkwardly, "Yes, there are, but the princess and I are from humble backgrounds and haven't learned the rules of a wealthy family. The emperor just complained that I was too rude. If he really married a lady from a prestigious family, her words and actions would surpass ours. Wouldn't we be laughed at by our daughter-in-law? It would be better to marry someone more ordinary so we can show off our status as her parents-in-law."
Emperor Xingwu: "... You are so stupid. Brother Liang is so royal and noble that he can marry anyone. Unfortunately, the girl from the Yuan family and Zhenzhen from the Zuo Xiang family are both too young. I haven't seen any girls who are completely suitable. Then let's choose Zhu Jinsi's daughter. The Zhu family is a scholarly family in the capital. Zhu Jinsi is very elegant, so his daughter should be of similar appearance."
Zhu Jinsi is currently a fifth-rank doctor in the Ministry of Rites, and is also one of the potential relatives mentioned by Princess Yong.
Princess Yong quickly exchanged glances with her husband, and then called on Crown Prince Qin Liang to thank Emperor Xingwu together.
After the family dinner, Yongkang went to Chongyuan Palace with his younger brother, the Crown Prince, and dismissed his attendants to talk in private.
Yongkang was very happy: "Qin Liang has been competing with you openly and secretly for these years, as if he is more powerful than you. Father praises him, and now he has just arranged a marriage for him. It shows that Father still values you more."
Qin Hong didn't care who Qin Liang married, and he wasn't interested in the topic of his sister.
Yongkang: "You, you just don't care about anything. Qin Liang is indeed not worth our attention. But my second brother, father actually let him marry Weiyuan Hou! Don't look at Weiyuan Hou as a marquis. His title and military exploits are not as good as those of Cheng Guogong. But he is in his prime, while Cheng Guogong is old. Although your father-in-law Lu Zhang also followed father and others to conquer the world, his contributions are not obvious..."
Qin Hong finally opened his eyelids and whispered, "Sister, what are you thinking? Father granted this marriage to my second brother because he hoped that Marquis Weiyuan would remain loyal to our family. My second brother is still young and has never intended to compete with me. Don't think too much about it."
Yongkang: "Before, he was young, so he didn't think about competing with you. Now he is seventeen years old. As a prince, he only receives three thousand taels of salary a year. Look at you, the eldest brother of the crown prince, who receives ten thousand taels. This difference in money alone is enough to make him feel unfair, not to mention the temptation of inheriting the throne."
"Let me tell you, there are so many cases of sibling rivalry in ordinary families. When they are young, they just play around and are close enough to wear the same pants. But when they grow up, get married and have their own families, their hearts drift apart. They only care about how much their parents give them. Who cares about whether they are brothers or not?"
"Father and Uncle Wang are a perfect example. One sits high on the throne, while the other kneels down to pay respect every day. Uncle Wang respects Father because he's more capable than him. But my second brother wasn't afraid of you when he was little, so how can he possibly obey you in the future? He already has a grandfather who was the Left Prime Minister, yet Father arranged for him to have a father-in-law who leads an army. I really don't know what he was thinking."
Qin Hong, whose rebuttal was met with a long string of words from his sister, said: "..."
Yongkang glanced at his brother, who just hung his head and said nothing, then walked over and patted his shoulder: "Whether we are in-laws or not is ultimately an external force. It still depends on your own hard work. You are already the crown prince. As long as you stand up in front of the emperor and let him see your good qualities, the position will definitely be yours."
Qin Hong looked at his sister's cuffs embroidered with gold edges and nodded.
Yongkang: "Also, since you're involved in government affairs, you have to slowly cultivate a group of loyal ministers. You can have them share your worries when you encounter difficulties, and let them share your responsibilities when things go wrong. Isn't there a vacancy for a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue? A while ago, a head of the Ministry of Revenue named Fang came to me..."
Qin Hong raised his head in shock: "Did Big Sister accept a bribe from the other party?"
Yongkang slapped his brother on the head. "Bribery? That's a terrible idea. Lord Fang is truly talented and knowledgeable. Seeing that other officials are trying to get things done, he was afraid of missing out on opportunities by not fighting for them, so he came to me and asked me to recommend him to you."
Qin Hong took a few steps away from his sister, his brow furrowed in worry. "What's the point of recommending me? The transfer of officials is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel. I'm just a clerk in the Ministry of Personnel and have no real power."
Yongkang: "You have no real power, but the Minister of Personnel does. If you, the crown prince, greet him, will he not give you face?"
Qin Hong was about to object, but Yongkang said sternly, "I've already accepted his gift. If you don't help me, I'll lose my credibility and lose face. Who am I doing this for? It's because you're so timid and always make Father angry. If you had half the courage of your second brother and made Father think highly of you, why would I bother to find help for you? It's a waste of time and effort, and I won't get any benefit from you!"
After saying that, Yongkang lay on the table and started crying.
Qin Hong wanted to comfort his sister, but he couldn't get over it. He hesitated for a while, but finally walked over and said with difficulty: "Okay, I promise you this time, but you also have to promise me that you will never do this again. If you do it too many times and our father finds out, we will both be scolded."
Yongkang pretended to wipe his eyes with a handkerchief and said softly, "Don't worry, sister knows what's going on and won't force anyone on you."
.
Qingyang returned to Xianfu Palace with his mother.
Concubine Li personally wiped her daughter's face and hands. Looking at her daughter's gradually growing beautiful face, she was worried: "What kind of prince consort will our Lin'er get when she grows up?"
The third son has it easy. No matter which noble family he marries, he will not be bullied by the princess. But his daughter is different. No matter how noble her status is, she is not as strong as the prince consort. If she meets someone who dares to fight with the princess, even if the emperor supports her afterwards, she will suffer the hardships she shouldn't have suffered!
The little princess avoided her mother's sight guiltily. She became more sensible as she grew older. Qingyang was worried that if she told her mother today that she liked Zhang Su, her mother and father would expel Zhang Su from the palace tomorrow because they would suspect that he seduced her.
"Mother, does Uncle Wang have a concubine?" Qingyang changed the subject.
Concubine Li: "...Yes, why are you asking this suddenly?"
Qingyang: "Father has five of us children, and Uncle Wang only has one. When we got together today, the difference was particularly obvious, and that's when I thought of it."
Concubine Li's expression changed slightly, and she said vaguely, "They are all concubines of low status, not qualified to bear children for your uncle."
Qingyang didn't understand: "Adults sleeping together can have children, what qualifications do they need?"
Concubine Li: "...If the prince doesn't want them to have children, he can feed them medicine that will prevent them from having children."
Princess Yong is the younger sister of Duke Dingguo Deng Chong. Given the close relationship between Deng Chong and the Emperor, even Prince Yong has to give her some respect!
【Author’s words】
Yongkang is a bit confused, but he's not a villain.
100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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