He evaluated not only the emperor, but also the people of Nanhao.

Princess Li thought of something, frowned slightly, called the old nanny over, and asked her to go back to her parents' home immediately to report the news.

There was no need for Princess Li to say anything else, as Prince Li's son understood everything. He quickly said goodbye to his parents and planned to tell the princess about this matter so that her family could prepare.

At dusk, the cold wind became stronger and it began to snow again. The needle-like snowflakes hit the tiles on the roof, making a rustling sound until dawn the next day.

The next morning, there was light snow mixed with rain.

During the morning court session, the emperor discussed the matter with all the civil and military officials in the Golden Palace with a sullen face. It was like a stone that caused a thousand ripples, and the entire court was shaken.

For a time, there was a sense of oppression as everyone felt insecure.

In this regard, some people opposed, some agreed, and some remained silent. The morning court was very lively and noisy, but no matter how the opponents argued, no one could shake the emperor's will.

In the next few days, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Clan Affairs took the lead in sorting out the unengaged noble ladies in the capital.

It is conceivable that not everyone can be the concubine who accompanies the third princess in her dowry. The status of the concubine cannot be too low, so the Ministry of Rites selects suitable girls from royal noble families of the third rank or above; the status cannot be too high either, so most of them are concubines, aged between thirteen and eighteen years old.

This matter was so urgent that the emperor asked the Ministry of Rites to compile a list within three days. The officials in the Ministry of Rites were so busy that they wished they had three heads and six arms.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites worked for three full days, as if they had passed by the emperor's home three times without entering, and finally gave the emperor a list on the third day of the twelfth lunar month.

However, the emperor didn't care about the result of the Ministry of Rites and didn't bother to read it. He directly asked Eunuch Ni to hand over the list to the queen. The queen hurriedly summoned most of the noble ladies on the list to the palace that day and questioned them one by one.

Because this time the queen was selecting concubines for the third princess, she asked very detailed questions when choosing people. She not only looked at their background, but also their appearance, moral character, speech, and talent, etc.

The queen spent most of the day questioning and testing the candidates, and finally decided on two candidates, the sixth granddaughter of Marquis Changxing and the fourth daughter of Marquis Changping.

Both girls were gentle in temperament, generous in words and deeds, quite talented, and beautiful in appearance, but not too outstanding to steal the limelight from the third princess.

After the Queen decided on the candidates, she first handed them over to the Emperor for review. The Ministry of Rites then sent the list to the post station and handed it over to the Prince of Andaman.

This matter was originally Gu Jin's assignment. After Gu Jin resigned his title, the emperor temporarily assigned the second prince Gu Nanzhao to the Ministry of Rites to be in charge of this matter.

Gu Nanzhao took the list and went to the post house in person. Half an hour later, he came out of the post house with a gloomy face, and then hurried to the imperial study to report to the emperor: "Father, Prince Andaman has read the list, but he thinks it is inappropriate."

"The prince said they wanted to choose for themselves."

The emperor was so angry that he threw the list away and only gave Gu Nanzhao three words:

"Keep picking."

What the emperor meant was that since Andaman was not satisfied, he should continue to pick until he was satisfied.

No matter what, the emperor would never agree to let the Nanhao people choose themselves. After all, as the Emperor of the Great Qi, he still has to maintain his dignity!

This incident became another game between the Emperor and the Prince of Andaman, and the unlucky one was naturally Gu Nanzhao who was caught between the two.

To this end, Gu Nanzhao ran back and forth between the post station and the palace several times, submitting new lists to the Prince of Andaman again and again, but was rejected by the other party again and again, and it was the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The emperor was really impatient with the repeated troubles and couldn't help but miss the prince.

He, the second son, is really indecisive. If he were the prince, he would not ask for his opinion again and again for such trivial matters.

This time, the Andaman County King finally "picked" two candidates -

One is the third daughter of the Earl of Yan'an, and the other is Chu Qianhuang, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Yongding.

When the emperor saw Chu Qianhuang's name on the list, he could hardly believe his eyes and his face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

The emperor's face was as gloomy as water, and he sat there motionless. His slightly cloudy eyes stared at the list, at the three words "Chu Qianhuang" on it. His sharp eyes seemed to want to crush those three words.

“Bang!”

The emperor slammed his palms heavily on the imperial desk, veins throbbing on his forehead, and asked in a cold voice: "Gu Nanzhao, why is Chu Qianhuang's name on it?"

The emperor was so angry that he could not contain his anger and called out the man's name. His eyes were fixed on Gu Nanzhao like knives, and he could not help but wonder what role he played in the whole thing.

The emperor felt that his second son was a real disappointment to him and was far inferior to the crown prince. Yet he was the one who put him in his current position and entrusted him with important tasks.

Gu Nanzhao lowered his head, with a hint of cold sweat on his forehead, and answered respectfully: "Father, the first list submitted by the Ministry of Rites included the eldest daughter of the Chu family from the beginning."

Gu Nanzhao has been so busy with this matter these days that he hasn't had a good rest and looks a little haggard.

Eunuch Ni watched quietly from the side, and shed tears of sympathy for the Second Prince in his heart.

He naturally understood the second prince's dilemma.

At that time, the emperor asked the Ministry of Rites to mainly use concubines' daughters of appropriate age in the families of royal family and nobles, but not to completely exclude legitimate daughters.

In the Great Qi Dynasty, most girls from royal families and noble families, whether they were legitimate or illegitimate, were used for marriage arrangements.

To let a daughter who had been raised with great care become a concubine of the princess, and to marry her off to the distant Nanhao, was not a good thing for any family. There was no benefit, and most families would avoid it as much as possible.

Moreover, most of these noble ladies in the capital were engaged at the age of twelve or thirteen, and there were very few girls of marriageable age who were not engaged.

Those mansions in the court that had some connections had all gone to the Ministry of Rites in advance to contact them, which meant that those families without connections had no choice but to report the names of their daughters to the Ministry of Rites.

There were too few candidates for the Ministry of Rites to choose from, and they could not report to the emperor with less than ten names, so they could only write down the names of a few legitimate daughters.

Eunuch Ni had also read the list submitted by the Ministry of Rites on the third day of the twelfth lunar month, and he immediately saw the clue, but it was impossible for him to remind the emperor.

The emperor didn't even look at the list at the time, but gave it directly to the queen and asked her to choose the people.

Gu Nanzhao sighed deeply in his heart: Alas.

It was only after he took on this task that he found out that Chu Qianhuang's name was also on the Ministry of Rites' list. For this reason, he made a special trip to the Yongding Marquis' Mansion to remind his aunt Shen about this matter.

At that time, Shen just said that she knew.

Gu Nanzhao thought that Shen knew the situation, and since the Queen did not choose Chu Qianhuang, he let the matter go. Unexpectedly, Chu Qianhuang's name could not be removed from the list in the end.

Alas, ever since my uncle Chu Lingxiao was convicted, the Yongding Marquis' Mansion has been isolated from the court. I'm afraid the Marquis' Mansion is having a hard time now, and my aunt has run into obstacles everywhere. She is afraid of getting herself into trouble and finds it difficult to talk to me, so she hasn't been able to get any connections.

Gu Nanzhao sighed secretly, thinking that he was careless. If he had known earlier, he should have gone to the Marquis' Mansion again to take better care of him.

Gu Nanzhao raised his head and looked directly into the emperor's eyes, and explained sincerely, "Father, please calm down. I have also told Prince Andaman that Miss Chu is the eldest daughter of the Yongding Marquisate, so she is not suitable."

"But the Andaman County King insisted that Miss Chu was good."

Gu Nanzhao felt aggrieved, and even more guilty towards Shen and Chu Qianhuang, mother and daughter.

Of course, he didn't want his own cousin to marry far away to Hao Kingdom as a concubine, and he sincerely told Andaman that Chu Qianhuang was not suitable. However, no matter how much he tried to persuade her, Andaman still insisted on his own opinion.

When Gu Nanzhao spoke, his expression was extremely sincere and he did not avoid the emperor's scrutinizing gaze.

The father and son looked at each other, one superior and the other respectful.

The emperor had some understanding of the temperament of his second son. Gu Nanzhao was gentle by nature, indecisive, hesitant in doing things, and had a simple mind. The emperor could see that Gu Nanzhao was not lying and was telling the truth.

so--

It was the Prince of Andaman who insisted on having Chu Qianhuang! The emperor narrowed his eyes, and a hint of coldness flashed across his shrunken pupils. The doubts in his heart grew thicker and thicker, and finally stagnated into a ball.

Why did Andaman suddenly ask for a concubine as a dowry? Why did he have to choose Chu Qianhuang from Yongding Marquis's Mansion? Yongding Marquis's Mansion was just a declining mansion. Chu Lingxiao had been exiled. Until now, the mansion had not even decided who would inherit the title.

The imperial study fell into a dead silence. The still and stiff atmosphere continued.

Eunuch Ni stood there with his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, as motionless as a stone sculpture, not even the silver whisk in his hand moved at all.

After an unknown amount of time, the emperor finally broke the silence, and spoke word by word as if squeezed out from between his teeth: "Chu Qianhuang is Chu Lingxiao's daughter, right?"

"Yes." Gu Nanzhao answered concisely and lowered his head again.

The emperor rolled his eyes, stared at Gu Nanzhao with a burning gaze, and asked again: "Who is Princess Chen to her?"

When he heard the three words "Princess Chen", Gu Nanzhao's lowered eyes rippled slightly, and a sad and tender light flashed across them.

Gu Nanzhao tried hard to control his emotions and answered in a barely calm voice, "Sister."

The emperor opened his eyes wide, and felt as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his heart, and his limbs were cold.

I see!

The emperor felt that he had revealed the truth!

Recalling what happened before, the emperor was certain that he was right. There was indeed something fishy going on between Haoren and Gu Jue that he didn't know about.

The more the emperor thought about it, the more his chest felt stuffy, his breathing became rapid, and he stood up suddenly.

The emperor strode back and forth in the imperial study several times, his thoughts racing.

I'm afraid that what the people of Nanhao said about suspecting that Wuhejia Tower was in Prince Chen's Mansion was false and was just a cover-up. The people of Nanhao just wanted to use this to establish a relationship with Gu Jue.

Andaman told himself that his people died in Da Qi and he had to give him an explanation.

It was also because of this incident that the emperor agreed to let Andaman give concubines as a dowry to the third princess.

But now the emperor began to consider another possibility.

Maybe, those Hao people who were kidnapped from the Jinyiwei were not dead at all, and this was all a trap, and Andaman was taking the opportunity to get more benefits from himself.

Thinking of the many benefits he had promised because of this matter, the emperor felt aggrieved and had a heavy feeling in his heart.

His expression became even gloomier. He stopped in front of the window and looked out through the transparent glass window.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

The emperor suddenly opened the window, and a biting cold wind rushed in, piercing his heart and lungs through his nasal cavity.

The cold wind was howling outside and the house was completely silent.

The second prince, Gu Nanzhao, still stood there, staring at the emperor's back motionlessly.

The emperor stared blankly at the dead branches outside the window, his eyes filled with bone-chilling coldness, as cold as ice.

If his previous understanding of the relationship between Haoren and Gu Jue was just a guess, then Chu Qianhuang was now clear evidence.

The reason why Prince Andaman chose Chu Qianhuang was probably to use it as a "letter of alliance" for him to form an alliance with Gu Jue.

The emperor felt relieved.

It was not until this moment that the emperor finally understood the whole story. Emperor Hao Wuhadula sent envoys to Daqi, ostensibly under the banner of a marriage alliance between the two countries, but in fact these Hao people were fence-sitters, wavering between the two sides.

And now Hao Ren has chosen Gu Jue.

The emperor clenched his fists so tightly that his finger joints made a "click-click" sound, and a dark cloud formed on his brow.

If that's the case, why would these Hao people want to marry his princess? !

They don't want to marry him, and he doesn't want to marry his princess!

The moment he thought about the fact that he, the Emperor of the Great Qi, was being used as a gun, the Emperor's mood became even worse, and he looked towards the direction of the posthouse with a gloomy face.

At this moment, the emperor even wanted to order the Jinyiwei to put all the envoys from the Hao Kingdom into the imperial prison.

“Bang!”

A heavy blow suddenly sounded in the imperial study. The atmosphere was almost tense to the point where the whisk in Eunuch Ni's hand trembled in shock.

Gu Nanzhao looked up and saw the emperor slamming his palm heavily on the window sill.

From Gu Nanzhao's perspective, he could only see the emperor's profile bathed in the faint winter sunlight, with unfathomable anger in the corners of his eyebrows and eyes. His expression was even more fierce and cold, and his whole body exuded a sinister aura, like a demon crawling back from hell.

Gu Nanzhao's heart sank again. He could see that the emperor seemed even angrier than before.

The imperial study became quiet again; you could hear a pin drop. The rustling sound of the wind outside made the room seem even more empty.

The silence seemed endless, yet seemed to last forever.

After a long while, Gu Nanzhao coughed dryly and spoke carefully again: "Father, today the Jingjun Prince's Mansion is dividing up..."

The reason why Gu Nanzhao brought up this matter was because the emperor told him five days ago to go and take a look on the day when Prince Jing’s mansion was divided.

Originally, Gu Nanzhao's job did not include this, and he did not work in the Ministry of Clan Affairs. In the past, this was generally the job of the crown prince, but because the relationship between the emperor and the crown prince had not eased until now, the emperor gave this job to Gu Nanzhao when Prince Li came to ask for instructions.

The second prince's words suddenly brought the emperor back to his senses.

The emperor's eyes flashed and he slowly turned around. A few rays of sunlight passed across his cheeks. When he turned his back to the window, his face looked a little blurry in the backlight.

The emperor's mood was not much better. His thoughts turned to the division of Prince Jing's mansion, and his expression remained gloomy.

Until now, the emperor has been unhappy about Gu Jin's resignation from the throne, as if a thorn was buried in his heart, which pricked the emperor's heart from time to time.

He felt that Gu Jin's action was simply like telling others that he, Gu Lang, was a harsh king who could not tolerate members of the royal family, forcing him to resign his title.

The emperor's eyes moved slightly, a meaningful look appeared in his eyes, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He wanted to see what the family division would be like if Gu Jin didn't want the title.

According to the rules of the division of the royal family of the Great Qi Dynasty, the branch that inherits the title can get 70% of the property, and the remaining property is divided equally among the other sons. The legitimate son will only get a little more than the illegitimate son.

The emperor chuckled inaudibly and finally said, "Second brother, go ahead."

"Yes, Father."

Gu Nanzhao felt relieved. After bowing to the emperor, he left the imperial study.

After coming out, Gu Nanzhao stopped under the eaves with his hands behind his back, took a long breath, and raised his hand to gently rub his eyebrows.

Gu Nanzhao raised his eyes and looked towards the East Palace. He felt that his father's temper was getting worse and worse. He was always angry. His eldest brother was really having a hard time.

A young eunuch in blue who was waiting outside the house came up anxiously and saluted.

The young eunuch had been waiting impatiently, but he couldn't go in to urge him. Fortunately, the second prince finally came out.

"Your Highness, are we going to Prince Jing's Mansion next?" the young eunuch asked.

Gu Nanzhao came back to his senses, nodded, looked at the high winter sky, and walked towards the palace gate with big strides.

After leaving the palace, Gu Nanzhao went to Prince Jing's Mansion as quickly as possible.

Even if he rode at full speed, Gu Nanzhao was still an incense stick of time late when he arrived at Prince Jing's Mansion.

Anyway, Gu Nanzhao was not a necessary person, so Prince Li did not wait for him.

When Gu Nanzhao walked out of the hall, he heard the righteous voice of Prince Li coming from inside: "...As the saying goes, a big tree has many branches, and a big family has many children. As the population increases, it may damage the nature..."

Gu Nanzhao stopped under the eaves and glanced around the main hall.

The main hall was packed with people. Except for Concubine Yang from Prince Jing's Mansion and people from various branches, everyone else present today was a member of the royal family of noble status and of a high generation.

When Gu Nanzhao's gaze fell on Gu Jue's face, his eyes flickered slightly, and then his gaze fell on Chu Qianchen who was sitting next to Gu Jue.

Chu Qianchen, wearing a crabapple red jacket, was drinking tea from a pastel-colored teacup. She seemed not to pay any attention to what Prince Li said.

Chu Qianchen's thick eyelashes drooped slightly, and the way she sat drinking tea seemed particularly peaceful and graceful, like a painting of a lady by a famous artist.

Sister Chen is still so beautiful! Gu Nanzhao stared at Chu Qianchen's figure, almost infatuated.

Suddenly, Chu Qianchen turned her head to look at Gu Jue beside her. She put down the teacup and smiled at him with pursed lips. Her smile was bright. Gu Jue, who was sitting on the other side of her, handed her a handkerchief and pointed at her little finger of her right hand.

Gu Nanzhao outside the hall narrowed his eyes slightly, still looking at Chu Qianchen.

He knew very well that Chu Qianchen's smile was not directed at him...

Gu Nanzhao couldn't help but take a step forward, but heard someone in the hall shouting, "Your Highness the Second Prince."

So, other people in the hall also saw the late Second Prince, including Prince Li.

Most of the people in the room stood up and saluted Gu Nanzhao, while a small number of people, such as Prince Li and Gu Jue, who were of higher seniority, sat in their original seats calmly.

Everyone greeted Gu Nanzhao, especially Concubine Yang, the third son of the Gu family, Gu Ming and others, all of whom were delighted. They felt that Gu Nanzhao's arrival was a sign that the emperor valued their Prince Jing's Mansion.

Concubine Yang diligently sent someone to bring a grand chair to Gu Nanzhao and arranged his seat to the right of Prince Li.

Gu Nanzhao felt empty in the chest, as if his heart had been hollowed out.

He looked at Chu Qianchen again. Chu Qianchen was holding a handkerchief and slowly wiping the little finger of his right hand. His movements were gentle and careful, and there was always a warm smile on the corner of his lips.

Gu Nanzhao withdrew his gaze, sat down disappointedly, and felt distraught.

(End of this chapter)