The Queen could hardly suppress her astonishment when she heard this, and her brightly painted hands grasped the armrests of the carved gold chair.
The emperor's attitude was a little off... He had never been interested in women, and among all the concubines in the palace, he only favored Concubine Shu! If he really had that intention, wouldn't she be shooting herself in the foot? The queen forced a smile: "I think so too, and therefore I think she is a suitable match for the Third Prince. The Third Prince only has a wet nurse and palace maids to serve him, so it's time for someone to help him manage his affairs."
"In my opinion..." The emperor seemed not to have heard what the queen said. He paused and looked at Yining with a meaningful look.
The emperor's words clearly show that he has feelings for Yining!
He could understand the Empress wanting to arrange a marriage for the Third Prince, but wouldn't it be absurd to want her to be accepted into the palace? Wei Ling no longer cared about deceiving the Emperor and immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Empress wants to arrange a marriage for Yi Ning, and I am deeply grateful. However, Yi Ning has been engaged since childhood, and a token of trust has already been exchanged. If I were to break off the marriage, it would be a betrayal... I simply dare not be such a treacherous person!"
Yi Ning understood that Wei Ling wanted to protect her, but she was still moved by the thought that her father was lying. In order to protect her, Wei Ling was even willing to take the blame for deceiving the emperor!
She called him in a low voice: "Father..."
Wei Ling, with his military achievements to his name, showed no apparent displeasure at interrupting the Emperor. He slowly ascended the steps and returned to the throne. "My dear minister, are you deceiving me? We've just spoken of the matter of granted marriage, and your daughter already has a marriage arranged since childhood?"
"There really is such a marriage." Wei Ling, relying on his military achievements, began to make up a story, "My daughter and he have been in love since childhood..."
Yining lowered her head in agreement, thinking, "Dad, you're talking nonsense so smoothly. The more you talk, the more mistakes you're going to make!" But it was difficult for her to speak at this time, and she was as nervous as a string.
"Yes, there is such a marriage."
Suddenly someone spoke.
He put down his teacup and glanced at Yi Ning. He stood up and bowed to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I have adopted Yi Ning as my adopted daughter. I know everything about her life as an adopted daughter."
If someone else came in and interrupted at this time, the emperor would naturally be displeased.
But this person is Lu Jiaxue, who controls a large number of frontier troops and is a close official of the imperial court. Even he respects Lu Jiaxue.
"Of course I have no doubts about what Lord Lu said." The emperor said as he raised his wine glass. But seeing Yi Ning lowering her head, looking so happy, he couldn't help but smile, "That's such a pity..."
The Empress, sitting beside him, was already sweating profusely. She could tell she was panicking at the Emperor's pity. Her rash matchmaking had nearly gotten her into trouble. If Lu Jiaxue hadn't intervened, the matter might not have been resolved.
No matter how the palace banquet goes on, no matter how delicious the food is, it will be tasteless.
After the palace banquet ended, they returned to the Duke of Ying's mansion in a carriage. Without even changing out of court attire, Wei Ling and Old Madam Wei went into the inner chambers to discuss matters. Yi Ning sat on the large kang by the window in the west side room, still apprehensive. She ate a few candied dates from an open six-compartment storage box, barely able to hear the voices inside.
In the inner room, Old Lady Wei leaned against the pillow, holding the old sandalwood Buddhist beads in her hand. After all, as someone who had experienced many ups and downs in life, it was rare for the old lady to be calm at this time.
"I think we need to find a marriage for Yining right away. You know how stubborn the Emperor is. He tolerated the eldest prince for years before seizing the throne. When the late Emperor was dissatisfied with his poor riding and archery skills, he practiced hard for years and finally won first place in a hunting competition. It's clear he's a man who won't give up until he achieves his goal." Wei Ling said in a deep voice, "Besides, I've already said that Yining should be engaged since she was young. It's time for Yining to settle her marriage now, or even get married directly... to prevent future troubles."
Old Madam Wei sighed. "You make it sound so easy! Marriage requires careful consideration, a match of horoscopes, and an engagement letter. If a marriage is hastily arranged, do you know what the man's character is like?"
"There's no other way now." Wei Ling sat on the armchair and showed some decisiveness on the battlefield. "Then I won't care about whether they get married or not. I will just find a man. Assume that he and Yining are married. Yining will live in the Duke of Yingguo's mansion and the Duke of Yingguo will support her for the rest of her life. With her brother here, he will support her in the future. If she meets someone she likes again, we can just divorce her directly——"
Mrs. Wei felt that her son had been on the battlefield for too long and was acting in a desperate way: "What are you talking about? You're not talking about separation or marriage."
Wei Ling waved his hand, his brow furrowed. "If she marries someone I don't know well, I think it's better for her to marry someone I can control. That way, I won't bully her in the future."
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