Hearing this, Xiao Zisheng was greatly shocked and blurted out instinctively, "Father, I don't want to get married yet!"
"Ridiculous!" The emperor's face darkened. He slapped the armrest of the dragon throne forcefully and said, "You even have the nerve to say you don't want to get married? You are my son, and you bear the responsibility of continuing the Xiao family's bloodline. You have no say in such a major matter as marriage!"
When the emperor got angry, all the officials below immediately knelt down. They all pleaded, "Your Majesty, please calm down and take care of your precious body!"
"Prince of Jin, please apologize to His Majesty quickly."
Xiao Zisheng defended himself hoarsely, "Father, it's not that I don't want to get married. I just have someone in my heart..."
The emperor's tone softened a bit. "I know you once had a marriage arrangement with the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion, but Su Yuanyuan is dead. When a person dies, it's all over. Maybe her body has already turned to dust. Your fate with her is over."
Hearing this name, both Su Qing and Su Huaichen, who were among the military officials, felt their hearts skip a beat. The father - son pair exchanged a look from a distance and saw shock in each other's eyes. And the Pingyang Marquis looked rather bitter.
Above, the emperor said, "Even though the Pingyang Marquis still has an eldest legitimate daughter, she has now become a concubine of the crown prince. Although she's only a concubine, she's still your sister - in - law. You'd better put away those improper thoughts as soon as possible."
Since the emperor had said this in public, there was no room for maneuver in this matter.
Xiao Zisheng couldn't help but think of Su Yuanyuan. Just as he was about to speak up, the emperor raised his voice and said:
"I intend to select a consort for the Prince of Jin. All my beloved officials who have daughters of marriageable age but unmarried can submit their daughters' birth dates and portraits to Lord Cang of the Cangjun Prince's Mansion. Lord Cang will select the candidate for the Consort of Jin based on the birth dates."
The words "of marriageable age" set the scope for the candidate of the Consort of Jin, and the task of selecting a consort for the Prince of Jin fell into Cang Xuan's hands.
It could be said that Xiao Zisheng's marriage was completely in Cang Xuan's control. Whoever Cang Xuan said he could marry, he had to marry. Even if it was a country girl, he had to accept it.
Xiao Zisheng clenched his fists tightly and looked up at Cang Xuan, who was at the head of the officials. He happened to meet Cang Xuan's gaze.
Cang Xuan gave Xiao Zisheng a faint smile. His enchanting light - glazed eyes were extremely captivating.
"I will choose a good and satisfactory marriage for Your Highness."
After the court session ended, the officials filed out of the main hall one by one. Everyone's steps were rather hasty today as they were all eager to go home and tell their wives and daughters the news that the emperor was going to select a consort for the Prince of Jin!
Since everyone was in a hurry to go home, the hasty steps of Su Qing and Su Huaichen didn't seem so out of place.
The two rushed home at their fastest speed ever.
As soon as Su Qing entered the Moyi Pavilion, he shouted, "Madam, Madam, I have something urgent to tell you!"
Madam Mo walked out of the room and gave him a glare. "Just talk. Why are you in such a hurry? Did something big happen in the palace?"
"Indeed, it's a big deal!" Su Qing's face was very serious. "Do you know that the second daughter of that old scoundrel, the Pingyang Marquis, has the exact same name as our Yuanyuan?"
Madam Mo was stunned for a moment and couldn't help laughing. "What's so big about this? I've known about it for a long time."
"You've known for a long time, Madam?" Su Qing didn't expect this. "Do you also know what the second daughter of the Pingyang Marquis has done?"
Madam Mo snorted. "How could a nice young girl take a fancy to a man old enough to be her father and be his concubine? Who knows the real truth? Before, there were people trying to inquire about Yuanyuan's name in the mansion. I've already ordered the servants not to mention Yuanyuan's real name to outsiders. So far, no one should know her real name."
"Madam is really thoughtful." Su Qing breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this. Then he said, "Madam, do you know that the second daughter of the Pingyang Marquis once had a marriage contract with the Prince of Jin? Today, Your Majesty said in court..."
Su Qing told Madam Mo the news that the emperor intended to select a consort for the Prince of Jin. Finally, he sighed and said,
"Fortunately, our Yuanyuan is not of marriageable age yet. And now she has been adopted as the emperor's god - daughter and granted the title of Princess Fubao. We'd better not get involved in the matter of selecting a consort for the Prince of Jin. However, for Yuanyuan's future, should we also consider arranging a marriage for her? Yuanyuan is not of marriageable age yet. It would be best to set the marriage contract early. In this way, after she reaches the marriageable age, we can decide when she gets married."
Madam Mo's eyes flashed. "I have my own arrangements for this."
Su Yuanyuan had no idea that in the Moyi Pavilion next door, her parents had already started to consider her marriage.
She got up even later than yesterday on purpose. When she arrived at the Mingzhu Garden, as expected, she saw her second brother practicing sword - play vigorously, and Qin Wanrong was sitting beside him watching her second brother wield the sword just like yesterday.
But this time, Qin Wanrong noticed her arrival and nodded slightly to greet her.
Su Yuanyuan smiled with her eyes bent. She walked around Su Huaibin and sat beside Qin Wanrong. Pretending to be puzzled, she asked, "Sister Wanrong, my second brother wields the sword so fast. How can you tell that there's something wrong with his sword - play?"
Qin Wanrong's eyes were still on Su Huaibin. Without suspecting anything, she replied, "Although his movements are very fast, you can tell whether it's smooth or not from the coordination of his body and footwork. After all, it's a sword - play technique he learned from wild beasts. Wild beasts will do anything to survive, but humans are different. They still have some concerns."
"Sister Wanrong is right. It's really lucky for my second brother to have a bosom friend like you, sister Wanrong." Su Yuanyuan said.
At first, Qin Wanrong didn't react. When she realized what Su Yuanyuan meant, her heart started pounding.
A bosom friend?
She didn't know martial arts at all. She was just talking nonsense. However, if this could help Su Huaibin, it was also a good thing.
Su Huaibin was indeed extremely talented in martial arts. Yesterday, Qin Wanrong pointed out that there were a few moves that were rather clumsy. After he had thought and practiced repeatedly last night, when he performed those moves today, the clumsiness was gone.
After finishing a set of sword - play, it seemed more powerful than yesterday. However, just when Su Huaibin was about to have a good conversation with Qin Wanrong, he was interrupted by Su Yuanyuan again.
"Second brother, sister Wanrong is my guest. How can you keep bothering her?"
Su Huaibin had never felt like this before. He suddenly thought that his younger sister was a bit of a nuisance.
If Su Yuanyuan knew what he was thinking, she would definitely jump up and give him a good knock.
After being unceremoniously driven away by Su Yuanyuan, Su Huaibin looked back at Qin Wanrong sitting under the eaves. He was rather reluctant to leave.
Although this Miss Qin was in poor health and seemed as if a gust of wind could blow her down, she was extremely smart and could help him find his shortcomings. He felt a sense of kindred spirit and regret for not meeting her earlier.
Well, anyway, she was going to stay in the mansion for a few days. He would come again tomorrow.