Chapter 300 Bestowing a Marriage upon Prince Duan
The golden sunset enveloped the palace's many gates and towers.
Inside the Chongzheng Hall, seeing that the court officials had almost finished their discussion, Pei Siyan gestured to Eunuch Anxi to take out the memorial submitted by Prince Duan and hand it to the Second Grand Secretary Du Hao.
Du Hao frowned slightly, his eyes filled with astonishment. "Your Highness, do you intend to send Prince Duan back to his fiefdom?"
There were only seven or eight high-ranking officials present, and they were all taken aback upon hearing this.
Now, apart from the Crown Prince, only Prince Duan is a descendant of Emperor Muzong. Although his talent is not as great as the Crown Prince's, he can still inherit the throne. There are some things we must be wary of.
"Your Highness, you mustn't..."
"Besides, how can Consort Yun go back with us?"
"The nation is in dire need of capable people. Why not let Prince Duan take up a position in the court to share the burden with His Highness?" Yin Congjian suggested, his eyes flashing slightly.
"Yes, yes!" a courtier immediately echoed.
Prime Minister Meng remained expressionless and silent, offering no comment.
Pei Siyan listened to their discussion for a while before speaking slowly, "I originally wanted my fourth brother to attend the coronation ceremony before going to his post, but he rarely asks me for help. If I refuse him, it will inevitably hurt the relationship between us brothers."
"However, he is not yet engaged, and if he goes to his fiefdom like this, Father Emperor will probably worry again. Also, the marriage of the Sixth Princess should be put on the agenda. My beloved ministers, do you have any suitable candidates?"
The court officials were truly puzzled. Did the Crown Prince intend to use a marriage arrangement to bind Prince Duan to his side?
If he truly harbored ambitions to seize the throne, how could a marriage possibly hold him back?
The news that the Crown Prince intended to bestow a marriage upon Prince Duan spread like wildfire throughout the entire palace.
Of course, the news reached Prince Duan, Pei Yunche, immediately. Although he respected the Crown Prince, he found this matter difficult to accept. "Father is still alive, what does my elder brother intend to do?"
Xie Guidu waved his folding fan and sighed, "Your Highness, I once warned you that the Crown Prince is eccentric and ruthless. Once he ascends the throne, he will never let you go. Isn't Prince Rui a living example? You are concerned about brotherly affection, but will he care about you in the slightest?"
"He spread the news that he was going to arrange a marriage for you, wasn't he just trying to force a random woman on you to annoy you?"
He and Xie Guidu had been secretly seeing each other for several months.
At that time, when Prince Rui and the Crown Prince were fighting fiercely, Xie Guidu came and shamelessly said that he wanted to recognize him as his master, and that neither Prince Rui nor the Crown Prince were wise rulers of the Great Zhou.
He was the only hope of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and they said they would assist him in achieving great things...
He thought Xie Guidu had lost his mind and dared not believe his nonsense.
Pei Yunche seemed lost in thought. It wasn't that he didn't want to compete, but the Crown Prince held real power, held the position of the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and enjoyed the support of the court officials. Even if he wanted to compete, he couldn't win, so why bother with a futile sacrifice?
However, he never expected that Emperor Muzong truly favored him to inherit the throne. In this way, he would not be a traitor, but the true Son of Heaven who would restore the Great Zhou!
This time, he risked submitting the memorial because he wanted to test Pei Siyan's attitude towards him.
Pei Siyan is using his marriage as an excuse, probably just to keep him trapped in Tianning City for a long time.
Thinking of this, Pei Yunche picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "What if I had someone I liked, and asked the Crown Prince to bestow a marriage upon me?"
Xie Guidu's eyes lit up. He knew that Pei Yunche was no ordinary person. "Your Highness, it's feasible! However, you still need to carefully select the right woman."
Pei Yunche nodded, and said meaningfully, "I already have someone in mind. The Crown Prince and Crown Princess have a deep affection for each other, don't you think?"
Xie Guidu and Dou Wenyi had a past relationship and were engaged, a fact he had already investigated with his own people.
Therefore, no matter how Xie Guidu slandered Pei Siyan, he remained clear-headed and maintained an objective and rational judgment.
After all, it's a case of revenge for losing a wife, which is bound to cause people to be biased.
A flash of resentment crossed Xie Guidu's eyes, but he had to admit that Pei Siyan had truly fallen in love with her. "Yes."
"Very well, I have an idea."
Xie Guidu said no more, bowed and left first.
The next day.
Dou Wenyi was leading several palace maids to dry herbs in the Wutong Garden when a young eunuch came to report that Miss Lin Zhiyi from the residence of Imperial Censor Lin had come to visit her.
Dou Wenyi, her face beaming with joy, immediately ordered someone to invite her in.
A while ago, Lin Zhiyi left Tianning City for a long time due to the sudden passing of her maternal grandfather. She only recently returned. During this time, they often corresponded, but the two had not seen each other for almost half a year.
"...Wenyi, I never imagined you would have such good fortune!" Although Lin Zhiyi already knew that she had become the Crown Princess, she was still amazed when she saw her.
Dou Wenyi ordered tea and snacks to be served, then dismissed the palace servants, her eyes smiling, "I myself never expected this, let alone you?"
Looking back on the changes of the past year, she herself finds it unbelievable.
Lin Zhiyi felt a sense of shared honor and disgrace. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked, "Is the Crown Prince good to you?"
Dou Wenyi blushed slightly and smiled, "Well, it's alright."
Lin Zhiyi felt that she didn't seem to be lying, and was genuinely happy for her. "That's good."
Dou Wenyi asked with great interest, "By the way, you told me in your letter that you had someone you liked. What's the situation now? How does he treat you? Have you told your family?"
Lin Zhiyi blushed and said, "I came here today to discuss this matter with you. Yesterday, he personally came to my father's house to discuss proposing marriage. I don't know whether I should marry him or not."
Dou Wenyi chuckled and teased, "To win your heart, he must be quite capable. Tell me, who is he?"
"His Royal Highness Duan Wang."
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