Chapter 308 Forceful and Rushed proposal by His Excellency
You Yuecheng escorted the carriage of You Yue’e back to Mingguo Manor. You Yuecheng left the carriage hastily, throwing the bridle to his accompanying servant. Before You Yue’e alighted from the carriage, he hurried off inside the manor.
“What happened to big brother?” Coming out of the carriage, You Yue’e asked the incoming butler as her servant helped her out of the carriage.
The butler smiled and shook his head. “His Excellency seemed to be mad. What happened in the palace?”
“Perhaps that girl is annoying.” You Yue’e explained unhappily as she remembered the grumpy face of his brother ever since he chatted with Mo Xuetong a while ago on his horse.
She did not like Mo Xuetong at all as she had an inexplicable discomfort about her demeanor, in particular about the beautiful little face that seemed cold and innocent at the same time. Furthermore, her pure look and seductive eyes made her a slutty little devil.
“First Miss, don’t be mad, Princess Anping cannot be as prestigious as you! You will be the future wife of King Yan and could even be… Even though she is a princess now, we never know who she will marry. When she sees you in the future, she shall call you ‘My Lady’ too.” The servant walked behind You Yue’e. Knowing that her master was displeased at Mo Xuetong, especially due to their sitting arrangements at the party, she immediately flattered her.
Her flatter was of a high standard and You Yue’e immediately felt better. It’s accurate that Mo Xuetong’s position as a princess meant nothing if she did not marry a good man. If she was unlucky and married into the Yan Kingdom, she would die soon. As a future Empress, she had no intention of dealing with the useless girl, especially with Fifth Princess’ hatred towards her.
She said nothing much and entered the manor with the help of her servant.
You Yuecheng rushed to the study room. He had invited his uncle this morning and he should be there already. You Yuecheng’s uncle, Hua Xiangfeng, is the Duke of Hanyang and the assistant minister of the workers’ department. The two are colleagues of similar rank. His uncle had already been waiting in the study room for a while, a little anxious.
With the door opened, You Yuecheng strode hastily inside. After paying his respects, the servants sent tea to You Yucheng. He then waved his hand and the servants left, closing the door in the process.
“Uncle, I want to marry Princess Anping.” You Yuecheng went direct to the point.
Hua Xiangfeng was stunned as he frowned slightly. “Princess Anping is just a powerless princess! She will give you no benefits!”
Judging from the career of You Yuecheng, the benefits of marrying Mo Xuetong would be negligible. Fu General Manor behind her would be as powerful as Mingguo Manor and it did not matter that whichever would support him. It would be more beneficial to marry the daughter of Luo family.
Princess Royal was merely a lone woman. Even though she could influence Emperor Zongwen, her influence was not significant as it stemmed out of the Emperor’s care for his own sister. In front of the national matters, such concern would account for nothing.
“Yue’e was about to marry King Yan soon. From his perspective, he needs more power and the support of General Manor would be the upmost importance to King Yan’s plan. Furthermore, Mo Huawen was in charge of the biggest force about the capital. If we can control them…” You Yuecheng regained his composure as he analyzed meticulously.
Hearing his analysis, Hua Xiangfeng could not help but nod his head in agreement. Even though this benefit seemed outstanding, he still frowned as he thought of another matter. “What about Ping General Manor? I heard that the first miss of Ping General Manor always loved you. Furthermore, the daughter of Ding General Manor only wanted to marry you. If we marry her, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to King Yan?”
Daughter of Ding General Manor? He was referring to Ling Mingyan, an extremely arrogant and self-righteous woman. You Yuecheng was annoyed merely thinking about her face. “How dare she proclaim to only marry him at such an old age?” Once, she rushed into his house and had beaten one of his servants to death.
Such a woman was distasteful to him and he would never marry her.
“Uncle, even though Ding General Manor is powerful, they are the Empress’ family and naturally stood on the side of King Yan. A further marriage proposal will bring us no more benefits. We should maximize our benefits and garner even more alliances. I have already discussed with King Yan and we have decided that Princess Anping would be the most suitable choice. Even though Princess Royal is powerless, he could affect the Emperor’s decisions on some matters.” You Yuecheng explained.
Both of them understood the hidden meaning behind his words. Even though Princess Royal has no power in national matters, Emperor Zongwen doted on his sister. When Emperor Zongwen did choose his successor, a few good words for King Yan from Princess Royal could seal the deal for the two. Hence, Princess Royal had power in her influence.
“I agree with you. However, Princess Anping is not yet fourteen years old, and his family is still guarding filial piety for the Luo family. Is it too late to wait a year for her marriage?” Hua Xiangfeng frowned as he was hesitant, deep in thought. He was from King Yan’s Manor, and thus focused primarily on the benefits of King Yan.
No one knew when the Emperor would choose his successor, and preparations had to be done early. If this matter dragged on for a year and more, the successor might already have been chosen. No one knew what Emperor Zongwen was thinking, as the Crown Prince could be chosen tomorrow.
You Yuecheng was naturally well prepared for marriage, while it was too young for Princess Anping herself. Even though there are prior instances of early marriage in the Qin Kingdom, it did not make sense for her to do that since she was mourning for her mother’s death. Thus, Hua Xiangfeng believed that this matter would be harmful to King Yan since it would drag on.
“Don’t worry, uncle. Just propose her marriage to Mo Huawen, and I promise you that he will agree. Since she can marry one daughter half a month later, she can marry his third daughter after a few months too.” A sharp simmer flashed across You Yuecheng’s eyes. He stood up and walked to the study table, taking out a document from the drawer underneath before passing it to Hua Xiangfeng.
“Look, uncle!”
Everyone knew why Mo Huawen agreed for his daughter to marry during the year of mourning, as her mother killed Mo Huawen’s sworn wife and she refused to mourn for her. It did not matter to him when she would marry. However, it was rumored that he doted on his third daughter, the only daughter of his sworn wife. As Princess Anping now, he would not agree to a marriage proposal so easily.
It made neither logical nor emotional sense, and he pondered about the blind confidence of his nephew.
However, Hua Xiangfeng knew about his nephew’s personality and understood that he was someone who spoke with certainty. Even though he was young, he was composed and decisive, qualities that few aristocrats have. Even though he was still only a successor, he was actually in charge of handling many of the matters in Ping General Manor, proving his capabilities.
With many questions, Hua Xiangfeng opened the document given to him. He was shocked at first before fear struck him. Looking up at You Yuecheng, he asked, “Is this real?”
“Of course!” You Yuecheng did not hesitate.
“Wouldn’t marrying her send you in danger then?” Hua Xiangfeng was confused as he dropped the document he was holding as if it was something fearful. His fingers trembled involuntarily as the information struck him. He was not a coward but the incident written in the document was too bloody, with many aristocrats and officials exterminated in the affair!
“Uncle, did His Majesty ever mention King Jin’s manor all these years?” You Yuecheng asked casually.
Hua Xiangfeng thought for a while before shaking his head. The King Jin incident erupted before he even became an official, and thus he knew little about the matter. Afterward, he heard that some descendants of King Jin have escaped. The pursuit was fierce at the beginning, but it was never mentioned again since Emperor Zongwen took over. Everyone seemed to be convinced that King Jin had no descendants, and Emperor Zongwen never investigated on the matter as well.
However, King Jin Manor’s wall broke down in the process, exposing the plum garden within. The Emperor asked to remove the walls surrounding the plum garden and build a tall wall within, surrounding King Jin Manor once again, preventing anyone from entering it. Thus, the mysterious King Jin Manor had always been shrouded by a layer of suspense.
The layer of suspense had unexpectedly stayed there for 30 years!
“Not only did the Emperor never mention King Jin Manor, but he also never investigated the descendants of King Jin, even protecting King Jin’s Manor from others. I heard that he even rejected the Empress Dowager’s request to build a royal house at that location.” You Yuecheng hinted at something.
Hua Xiangfeng took in a chilly breath. He knew that the Emperor loved the Empress Dowager like his own mother. He did not know if it was merely for show or if it was really because he was close to her. Anyways, the Emperor rarely rejected the Empress Dowager. It was indeed interesting that the Emperor rejected the Empress Dowager’s request over a seemingly unimportant manor.
“Is it because His Majesty wanted to reinstate the name of descendants of King Jin?” He guessed.
Many years had passed since that matter. King Jin was the brother of the previous Emperor, the uncle of the current one. His descendants would be Emperor Zongwen’s nephew, a distant relationship from the throne and no direct relationship to Emperor Zongwen. Perhaps he could forgive King Jin’s attempt at usurping the throne.
It was indeed unusual for Emperor Zongwen to protect that manor.
“No matter what the true intention of the Emperor is, we can see that he did not want to punish the descendants of King Jin. Thus, even if her identity was discovered, the distant relationship and the lack of conflict of interest will prompt the Emperor to resolve this matter in a well-thought-out manner.” You Yuecheng was confident.
A successful emperor solved problems using not only force but also love. A distant granddaughter of King Jin would not threaten the Emperor’s throne. It would be an opportunity to show off the magnanimous nature of the Emperor, a great deal for him.
However, You Yucheng did not mention one secret to Hua Xiangfeng. Since he became a close ally of King Yan, he knew an even deeper secret to the imperial family, one that he could not even mention to his uncle.
