Feng Yuzhen sat upright with a smile on his face, looking elegant and calm. Although Crown Prince Xieyue mentioned the marriage all of a sudden, he did not feel too shocked because of his self-restraint. He thought the same way as everyone else: his current condition was the best as the position of his legal consort was vacant. The others couldn’t compete with him at all.
He did not believe that the unruly and arrogant-looking Princess Caifeng would be willing to be a concubine.
Originally, he did not like Princess Caifeng. After a few days of observation, Feng Yuzhen did not take her seriously. Although she was good-looking, she had a bad temper; besides, her behavior always made people feel that she was too indulgent. A girl who had not married yet was actually in touch with several men. Although it was in the name of choosing a husband, it was too casual for a princess.
If such a big thing had not happened to Consort Yu, Feng Yuzhen would not have been willing to come to the front stage.
Previously, because of Wang Yueyue’s incident, he slowly retreated to behind the scenes and was no longer at the front stage to openly enhance his strength. He acted as if he really had no other thoughts about the throne. In fact, this was his and the Empress Dowager’s plan. Only when he slowly retreated to behind the scenes, would he not attract the attention of the Emperor and other princes.
There were some things that could be carried out secretly. The child in Consort Yu’s belly was the last trump card for him to win. Before the trump card was revealed, he must keep a low profile. He must not fight with the Emperor and attract his attention. He was not the Emperor’s son; the Emperor would not do anything to his sons even if they did some unusual movements; and as long as they did not do something against human relations, the Emperor would forgive them.
He was different. He was the Emperor’s nephew, a powerful nephew. People always thought that if his father was still alive, he would be the legitimate Crown Prince. With such a person, how could the Emperor not be afraid? As long as he showed something unusual, the Emperor would not let him go lightly.
Therefore, he was waiting. When the Emperor’s sons fought at outrance and all suffered lose, he would take the little prince who had just been born to stand out. Then he could control the prince and command the Emperor. In the palace, Consort Yu and the Empress Dowager could help him, and outside the palace, he had his own powers. It was really not a big deal for him to take charge of the court affairs. He was not going to change the dynasty. The officials would naturally turn to their new master.
He would first be the Emperor’s Regent, and when the time came, he would be the Emperor!
As for whether Consort Yu could give birth to a son or not, it was not a big deal. Even if she gave birth to a daughter, he could get people to swap the girl for a boy.
Consort Yu’s incident had happened so suddenly that the Empress Dowager had not been prepared for it at all. Furthermore, the Emperor, the Empress, and the other consorts were all present that day. When the incident suddenly happened, the imperial physician who had been feeling Consort Yu’s pulse had not come. The Empress Dowager’s palace was still a little far away from Consort Yu, so she had come too late.
Given all the factors, it completely disrupted the steps of King Ning’s side!
And because of this, Feng Yuzhen had to change his strategies!
He needed stronger support, such as the support from the Southern Barbarian Lands. Therefore, although this princess was not his type, he had to find a way to marry her as his wife so as to maintain friendly contact and cooperation with the Southern Barbarian Lands.
Some time ago, something bad happened to Wang Yueyue, and then Grand Secretariat Wang retired. Feng Yuzhen also seemed to want to withdraw from the imperial court. As a result, the number of people on his side did not increase and there was a tendency to reduce. If he did not make himself stronger, he was afraid that few people would support him. Besides, if he married Princess Caifeng, when the Emperor wanted to deal with him in the future, he had to think about the Southern Barbarian Lands. It could benefit Feng Yuzhen in more ways than one.
That was why he had to make it!
Compared to the others, his biggest advantage was that he did not have a legal wife. The position of legal wife was vacant. Compared to marrying to the other princes who al had a legal wife, Princess Caifeng would definitely marry him. It was the same to the Southern Barbarian Lands. A co-wife was also a concubine!
How could a noble princess become a concubine? Given this simple point, it was impossible for Feng Yuxuan and the other princes to marry Princess Caifeng!
That was why Feng Yuzhen was at ease at this moment. He leaned back relaxedly, waiting for Crown Prince Xieyue to continue.
Feng Yuxuan raised his cup to his lips with his usual calm smile on his face.
Feng Yuran looked at Crown Prince Xieyue lazily, as if he was watching a good show. Mo Xuetong stood across from him and even received a wink from him. She could not help but glare at him coyly and turned her head to look away. This man was still so casual at this time. He did not care if the Emperor, who was seated high, would be angry if he saw him.
Even though Feng Yulei knew that Princess Caifeng would marry him, he suddenly had a bad feeling when he looked at the calm face of Crown Prince Xieyue. His body tensed up slightly, and there was a hint of nervousness in his eyes!
He wanted to borrow the power behind the princess. Also, he wanted to take advantage of the marriage with Princess Caifeng to unite Crown Prince Xieyue.
However, the power was not so easy to borrow. It was originally a matter of absolute certainty, but it made him feel a little uneasy now. The reason was that Crown Prince Xieyue was so calm that he seemed to have no feeling. In the meanwhile, Princess Caifeng just lowered her head slightly, as if she was shy.
After a few days of interaction, Feng Yulei had known clearly about Princess Caifeng’s character: she was not a person who could be inferior to others. How could she be obedient, as if she would follow Crown Prince Xieyue’s arrangements? Was she really willing to become his co-wife and be inferior to You Yue’e?
He moved his body, and his right hand, which was pressing against the corner of the table, was slightly sweaty!
“Your Highness, go ahead!” said Emperor Zongwen who was seated high with a smile.
Crown Prince Xieyue looked at the ministers in the hall and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile. He cupped one hand in the other before his chest and uttered slowly, “My younger sister, Caifeng, has fallen in love with King Yan and wants to marry him. Please grant her wish, Your Majesty.”
“King Yan? It’s King Yan!”
“How could it be King Yan? King Yan’s wife is the legitimate daughter of Duke Mingguo. Does he want her to be degraded?”
“No. Then she will be a co-wife?” …
All of a sudden, there were whispers in the hall. Several ministers looked at Crown Prince Xieyue in astonishment, almost thinking that they had misheard him. They whispered to each other and discussed!
How could they not choose King Ning but choose King Yan who had a wife? What did the Southern Barbarian Lands want?
It should be noted that the position of a legal wife not only represented her status, but also the status of the Southern Barbarian Kingdom. Why did the princess want to be a co-wife instead of a legal wife? Was there any business between them? Or was there some other reason? As for the love that Crown Prince Xieyue mentioned, they chose to forgot it.
How could they really fall in love with each other? He was just saying it. The marriage was between the two countries, and personal situations could just be ignored.
Feng Yuzhen sat up straight and looked at the calm and composed Crown Prince Xieyue standing in the hall in disbelief. He could hardly believe what he had heard!
What? Princess Caifeng wanted to marry Feng Yulei? What was going on? Even though he did not have any love for Princess Caifeng, he was confident that he would be able to get the help from the Southern Barbarian Lands. However, it had been stolen in another way. How could he not be angry? He held his wine cup tightly with a sinister coldness in his eyes. “Feng Yulei, it must be Feng Yulei. If he has not done something secretly, how could Princess Caifeng be willing to marry him to be his co-wife?
Feng Yulei was also very anxious. He sat straight and tightened his body. Because he was nervous and his attention was focused on the hall, he did not notice that Feng Yuzhen was looking at him coldly.
“It’s naturally the best that Princess Caifeng is willing to marry Old Three. But, Old Three already has a legal wife. Well…” Emperor Zongwen seemed to be in a dilemma as he frowned and said.
It meant that Princess Caifeng was going to be regarded as a co-wife!
Sitting by the side, Princess Caifeng did not speak, but a flash of anger flashed across her eyes. She glanced at You Yue’e with disdain. A co-wife? She would not be willing to be the co-wife. How could that woman want to stand above her? Princess Caifeng did not dare to daydream after being frightened by Feng Yuran. She knew that she might get herself into a miserable dilemma if she married into King Xuan’s Manor.
At this time, she had changed her mind and began to make plans for herself with all her heart.
Crown Prince Xieyue smiled calmly, took out a jade pendant from his sleeve, and raised it before saying, “Your Majesty, this is the betrothal gift King Yan gave to Caifeng.”
The jade pendant was a prince’s jade pendant. Each prince only had one. There was a rule in the Qin Kingdom that the prince’s jade pendant must be a betrothal gift for the prince’s wife. In other words, the girl who got a prince’s jade pendant must be the prince’s wife.
Therefore, as soon as Crown Prince Xieyue raised his hand, the people who saw it clearly immediately buzzed!
King Yan had actually given his prince’s jade pendant to Princess Caifeng. What did that mean? Almost everyone’s gaze landed on Feng Yulei and some people looked at You Yue’e who was seated on the other side.
Was he going to divorce her and marry Princess Caifeng?
When Feng Yulei saw the jade pendant clearly, his face suddenly turned pale. He looked at Crown Prince Xieyue in shock. He remembered that Crown Prince Xieyue forced him to take out a “treasureful” token that day. In order to win Crown Prince Xieyue’s trust, he took off the jade pendant without much consideration. Although he regretted it afterward, he felt that he had made it clear to Crown Prince Xieyue that he could marry Caifeng as a co-wife.
He did not expect Crown Prince Xieyue to take out the jade pendant in front of everyone. At this point, he could not get rid of it no matter how hard he tried. His face blanched and livid because of everyone’s gaze. As he turned to look at You Yue’e on the other side, he found that she almost could not sit still and that her eyes were filled with sadness and despair. He could not help but feel anxious.
He couldn’t let Princess Caifeng go, and through You Yue’e, he could get Duke Mingguo’s help, so he didn’t want to let her go either.
He stood up hurriedly and hit the corner of the table, but he ignored it. With a pale face, he wanted to defend himself loudly. Even though he wanted to get Princess Caifeng’s help, Feng Yulei still felt that it was not worth it if he would offend Duke Mingguo. No matter what, he could not do it!
“Father, I… this jade pendant is…” Speaking of this, he blushed and could not continue.
Looking sideways at the smiling face of Crown Prince Xieyue, he only felt like he was vomiting blood in his heart. Just now, he stood in a hurry and only wanted to defend himself. It was a kind of conditional reflex. At this time, when he really stood up, he found that he had nothing to say. What could he say? Could he say that he had an affair with Princess Caifeng, which was found by Xieyue, and that he had to take off the precious jade pendant as a token of promise?
Or could he say that he had accidentally barged into Princess Caifeng’s room and held the disheveled Princess Caifeng in his arms?
No matter what it was, it would damage his elegant reputation as a prince. For the first time, Feng Yulei felt that he was at a loss for words and was speechless. He had no words to defend himself. He broke out in a cold sweat on his forehead and awkwardly retreated under Xieyue’s smile.
To borrow other’s power was no easy task!
What should he do? There was only one position of Consort Yan. Offending the Southern Barbarian Lands or Mingguo Manor? Which one would be more beneficial to him? Feng Yulei’s mind was spinning rapidly, and his logic was in a mess as cold sweat dripped down his back…
