The rumors circulating in the capital about Yuwen Minke's infatuation with Prince Yan did not subside; on the contrary, they intensified. Yuwen Minke even visited Prince Yan's residence, though she was not even allowed to enter.
But she persisted, going to see him several more times. Finally, on the third visit, she was caught off guard and given a cold shoulder, leaving her looking quite disheveled.
Mo Yan, with his wooden face, stood at the gate of the Prince Yan's mansion holding a wooden basin and slowly spoke, "Our Prince has said that the Prince Yan's mansion will only have one Princess Consort, and that is Princess Changning. If anyone dares to disrespect Princess Changning or harasses the Prince Yan's mansion again, their fate will be like this basin."
After speaking, the wooden basin in Mo Yan's hand broke in two and fell to the ground. Then Mo Yan turned around, went into the mansion, and closed the gate, leaving Yuwen Minke, soaking wet, standing there in a sorry state.
"ah…"
"Princess, let's go back first."
The maidservant following Yuwen Minke spoke timidly, noting that a crowd of onlookers had gathered, and the girls looked rather disheveled. Why was the princess so eager to get involved? She, a mere maidservant, felt ashamed to even lift her head…
Yuwen Minke glared at the onlookers outside the mansion before angrily declaring, "Let's go, this princess is going to the palace to pay her respects!"
However, Bai Chuxiao ignored what happened at the Prince of Yan's residence. Instead, she tidied herself up and went to the palace to see Emperor Wenxuan, hoping to get rid of this hot potato as soon as possible.
"This humble woman greets Your Majesty."
Emperor Wenxuan was writing something and didn't look up when he heard her movement. He simply said softly, "Get up."
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, "Your Majesty, regarding the candidates for the marriage alliance, I have compiled a list of a few, and I request Your Majesty's decision."
Jinzhong took the list and bowed to present it to Emperor Wenxuan.
"You're not being honest, girl," Emperor Wenxuan said casually after just one glance.
"I have done my utmost in everything Your Majesty has instructed me to do."
Emperor Wenxuan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why would a girl from the Yu family be here?"
Bai Chuxiao blinked, looking completely innocent. "Your Majesty, most of the noble ladies in the capital are already married. The Yu family is a prestigious family, and the fourth young lady of the Yu family is certainly qualified."
She would never admit that she was settling a personal score. Although the Yu family had no real grudge against her, Yu Fengyang was still a friend, wasn't he? She didn't have any enemies in the capital; those with whom she had some conflicts were all married. So, she'd leave this opportunity for fame to the Fourth Miss Yu.
When the list was leaked, Miss Yu made a huge scene, crying and screaming, terrified she'd been chosen. She even went so far as to beg Yu Fengyang for help, and even the Yu family head and matriarch became more polite to him. But Yu Fengyang completely ignored them. However, he was still quite touched by Bai Chuxiao's actions of playing tricks on them for his sake.
"Since I have entrusted this to you, the final choice naturally rests with you," Emperor Wenxuan said with great interest.
Bai Chuxiao sighed helplessly, inwardly rolling her eyes, but outwardly she remained calm and composed. "Your Majesty, I think this Miss Yu is quite nice."
Emperor Wenxuan looked at her with a half-smile, "Are you sure?"
Hearing this rhetorical question, Bai Chuxiao cursed inwardly, "If you want to marry off your daughter, just say so! How dare you make me play the villain? This is outrageous!" However, on the surface, she could only play along with His Majesty's act and slowly opened her mouth.
"However, the Crown Prince of Beiyan is the legitimate son of the emperor, and naturally, the Second Princess, who is also a legitimate daughter, is more worthy of him. For the sake of diplomatic relations between the two countries and to demonstrate the sincerity of our Great Xia, I believe the Second Princess will certainly not refuse."
Emperor Wenxuan's lips curled into a smile. "Good! The Prefect of Changning is indeed reliable and has not disappointed me. As for Feng Le, you will handle that. Understand?"
"Yes," Bai Chuxiao lowered her head and replied softly. You big dummy!
"etc"
Bai Chuxiao, who was about to leave, stopped in her tracks, feeling that nothing good could come of it.
As expected, Emperor Wenxuan said with a half-smile, "Just now, the Northern Yan side requested an audience with me, saying they were willing to marry Princess Minke to the Prince of Yan to strengthen the alliance between the two countries. Yuwen Minke is the daughter of Yuwen Yankun, so her status is acceptable. I don't think it's unacceptable. What do you think?"
Bai Chuxiao's eyes turned slightly cold. "This humble woman has already set a wedding date with the Prince of Yan."
Emperor Wenxuan raised an eyebrow. "Your marriage to the Seventh Prince will naturally remain unchanged. However, Yuwen Minke has shown her sincerity, willing to respect you above all others. She can even be a concubine. But I don't want to get involved in such a trivial matter, so I'll leave it to the Empress. You two can discuss it yourselves."
"Yes," Bai Chuxiao replied indifferently and withdrew, a cold smile creeping across her face. The emperor was indeed the emperor; his manipulation of people's hearts was masterful. A few words from him could set these people off to fight.
On one hand, he wants the Prince of Yan to support the Crown Prince, and on the other hand, he wants to create discord between her and the Empress. What exactly is His Majesty the Emperor trying to do? Is he afraid that the Prince of Yan and the Crown Prince will really join forces to overthrow his empire, or is he enjoying the thrill of watching everyone being manipulated by him from behind the scenes?
However, his words just now made his stance clear: he didn't care whether Yuwen Minke married or not, but the final outcome would depend on her own efforts.
Carrying Emperor Wenxuan's decree, she traveled all the way to Zhaofeng Palace. This was, in fact, the first time she had ever come here voluntarily.
Zhaofeng Palace was quite lively today, with the Second Princess, Yuwen Minke, the Crown Princess, the Princess of Xiang, the Princess of Qi, Consort Xian, Consort Wei, and Consort Jing all present.
Bai Chuxiao's lips curled into a smile. It was good that everyone was here. She strode in and first bowed to everyone.
"Princess, what is this?" Consort Wei asked first, seeing her holding the imperial edict.
"The choice of the bride for the marriage alliance has been decided. Please accept the imperial decree, Second Princess."
Bai Chuxiao said calmly, not wanting to waste words, and she didn't care what Empress Li and the Second Princess thought.
Chu Fengle reluctantly came out to receive the imperial decree. There were many people present, and she couldn't afford to lose her temper in front of so many, so she stormed out of the main hall.
Consort Wei raised a slight brow with her phoenix eyes. "Oh, what's wrong with the Second Princess?"
Empress Li, displeased, ignored her words. The matter was already settled; she couldn't very well say in front of everyone that she didn't want the Second Princess to marry into the family, thus losing face. However, the resentment naturally shifted to Bai Chuxiao.
So he spoke casually, "Princess Changning, please have a seat. Speaking of which, the Prince of Yan's residence is about to have some joyous occasion."
Bai Chuxiao smiled slightly, appearing ready to listen attentively.
"Princess Minke is about to marry Prince Yan. You two are both princesses, so you must get along well in the future," Empress Li said with a dignified smile.
Princess Qi, Zhang Miaoke, naturally wouldn't miss the chance to see Bai Chuxiao make a fool of herself, and couldn't help but speak up sarcastically, "What Your Majesty the Empress says is true, but these two are both princesses, so how should we distinguish their seniority?"
Yuwen Minke looked somewhat smug. Although she had suffered a setback with the Prince of Yan, she hadn't expected so many people in the palace to support her. Now it seemed she might even have a chance to become the Prince of Yan's principal wife.
"I am a bit older, so please call me 'elder sister' from now on, Princess Changning."
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