After Rong Sui had taken full advantage, he finally reluctantly let go of Shi Ning'an.
Shi Ning'an was fuming. She felt that she had walked straight into the tiger's den of her own accord, and got up to leave.
Rong Sui quickly grabbed her, poured her a cup of tea, and then said, "Wei Hongmiao is afraid that Shi Qingmei might die, so he has to marry her early and keep an eye on her."
Shi Ning'an stopped and asked, "Afraid that she might die?"
Rong Sui nodded. "At this critical moment, if Shi Qingmei were to die, the rumors would become true. Wei Hongmiao's foundation is not stable enough to bear such consequences."
Shi Ning'an frowned and asked, "So, Shi Qingmei wants to die, but Wei Hongmiao won't let her?"
This didn't seem right. Wei Hongmiao was Shi Qingmei's last resort. Since Wei Hongmiao was willing to marry her, why would she still want to die? In the previous life, Shi Ning'an had seen with her own eyes how much Wei Hongmiao cherished Shi Qingmei.
Rong Sui sneered. "A while ago, taking advantage of the momentum of the prince of Northern Qi, the emperor was almost about to return the marquis's seal and register to the Wei family. Now, it's probably difficult."
Shi Ning'an's heart tightened suddenly. In the previous life, Wei Hongmiao had only become the Marquis of Huaiyang with the help of the Rong family. Calculating the time, in this life, it happened even earlier.
She seriously thought about the current situation in the court. That's right. Although she hadn't understood much in the previous life, many things had indeed happened earlier. For example, in the previous life, the downfall of the First Prince's faction had occurred seven years later, and it was also at that time that the Third Prince had started to show his strength.
In the previous life, in the struggle between the First Prince and the Crown Prince, although the Crown Prince had emerged victorious, after years of competition between the two factions, the Crown Prince had suffered heavy losses while dealing a blow to the enemy. In the end, it was the Third Prince, the oriole hiding in the back, who had reaped the benefits.
Seeing his little wife frowning and then relaxing her brows, Rong Sui couldn't help but feel tempted again. He moved closer to her, and his hands became a bit unruly.
Shi Ning'an quickly pushed him away and pouted unhappily. "If you're like this, I won't come to see you in the future."
Only then did Rong Sui stop. Looking at Shi Ning'an with a wronged expression, he said, "Ning'an, you'll be leaving in a while..."
Shi Ning'an snorted. A blush crept onto her face. She felt that she shouldn't have saved him last time. Before that, when they met in private, they would only kiss. But now, he always wanted to touch her. It was really annoying.
But was she really annoyed?
Rong Sui didn't dare to act rashly anymore. He just hugged her tightly, as if he could never kiss her enough.
In the interval, Shi Ning'an quickly asked again, "What about the He family? Is there anything wrong with them?"
Rong Sui paused for a moment. He was not very satisfied with his beloved wife's lack of concentration. In the end, he could only hug her tighter. "What could be wrong?"
Shi Ning'an shook her head. "I don't know. It's just that the sudden appearance of the He family makes me feel uneasy."
Rong Sui comforted her. "Don't worry. The He family didn't just appear out of nowhere."
Shi Ning'an understood. It turned out that the He family's arrival in the capital was an arrangement of the Crown Prince's faction. Then she felt relieved.
Before the imperial consort selection, there was also the imperial examination this year. It was said that this year's number one scholar was a young man who had just reached the age of twenty. As a young number one scholar, he was naturally full of vigor and vitality. Even during the parade, he attracted extra attention.
Shi Ning'an and a few of her little sisters were sitting in a private room on the third floor of a teahouse, drinking tea. The window of this private room happened to overlook the magnificent parade of the top three candidates in this year's imperial examination on horseback.
Compared to the second and third place candidates, who were in their forties or fifties, this young number one scholar was naturally the focus of everyone's discussion.
Several noble ladies were also chattering away.
"I heard that this Lu Wenyao is from the younger generation of the Lu family in the Northeast."
"The Lu family in the Northeast is quite well - known. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now that the younger generation is so promising, achieving the title of number one scholar at just the age of twenty, it's really a cause for celebration."
There was also a noble lady blushing and whispering, "I heard that this Number One Scholar Lu is not only well - known for his talent but also extremely good - looking. I wonder if he's already engaged?"
Another noble lady laughed. "What, have you taken a fancy to him? With your family background, even if he's already engaged, as long as you're willing, won't he quickly break off the engagement and marry you?"
These were just casual jokes between two young ladies in the boudoir, but Shi Ning'an felt a heavy weight in her heart. This scene was so similar to what had happened to her mother back then. Most likely, her mother had also sat in this teahouse, listening to people talk about how talented and handsome the new number one scholar was.
How glorious it had been back then, and how lamentable it was now. Years had passed, everything had changed, and her mother was no longer in this world.
Shi Ning'an didn't pay much attention to Lu Wenyao's affairs.
A few days later, during the grand selection, it was indeed He Mengzhen who was chosen as the Crown Princess. The Third Prince's consort was the legitimate daughter of an ordinary noble family and was not very outstanding. However, there was another person who greatly surprised Shi Ning'an.
The Third Prince had chosen a concubine, Zhao Yuanyuan, the legitimate daughter of the third branch of the Zhao family. She was precisely the younger cousin of Concubine Zhao.
It was said that it was Concubine Zhao herself who had asked the emperor to bestow this marriage.
Shi Ning'an was a bit puzzled. After the palace banquet, she had thought that Concubine Zhao was part of the Crown Prince's faction. But if that was really the case, why had Zhao Yuanyuan married the Third Prince as a concubine?
Rong Sui wasn't very worried. He said, "It's just that they had some interactions when their interests were aligned."
Shi Ning'an asked in confusion, "So, does this mean that the Zhao family has now defected to the Third Prince?"
She raised her head, with a hint of displeasure in her words. "You all... why don't you take some action?"
Rong Sui still had that calm expression on his face. "His Highness the Crown Prince believes that one should do one's best and leave the rest to fate. The world should put the well - being of the common people first. Political intrigue should only be used as a last resort and there's no need to use it everywhere."
Shi Ning'an was fuming. "What do you mean there's no need? When the Third Prince's power becomes great in the future, you'll realize what's truly important. As the old saying goes, one must pacify the interior before dealing with external threats. The same principle applies to the power struggle in the court. If you can't gather forces, when the enemy attacks, you'll be completely defenseless."
Rong Sui reached out and stroked Shi Ning'an's head. "Ning'an, you just need to wait patiently to become my wife. You don't need to worry about these things."
In a blink of an eye, it was Tang Chuyao's wedding day. The Rong family was divided into two groups. Rong Feichi led the men of the family to the Tang family, while the Princess Zhaoming led the female relatives to the princess mansion.
Shi Ning'an had long embroidered a screen. Her embroidery skills were outstanding. Zheng Chi had specifically requested an embroidery of the Goddess of Childbirth.
At that time, Shi Ning'an had scraped the tip of her nose and said that she was being shameless.
However, Zheng Chi just shook her head. "You don't understand. My mother is a princess, but she only has me as her daughter. Although my father has never said anything, every time we go back to the Zheng family during festivals, I can always hear snide remarks. They don't dare to say anything in front of my mother, but my father and I have endured so many looks of disdain. My mother has only one wish, which is that I won't end up like her. I must have many children and enjoy good fortune in this life."
Shi Ning'an understood the princess's good intentions and had put all her energy into embroidering this screen.
Apart from Shi Ning'an, the daughters of other families also came one after another to present wedding gifts. With so many people around, Shi Ning'an went out for a stroll in the courtyard.
She happened to meet Wei Xia. This time, Wei Xia didn't cover her face. She had applied a thick layer of powder on her neck. If you didn't look carefully, you couldn't see the mark on it.
When Wei Xia saw Shi Ning'an, she wasn't as impulsive as before. She just rolled her eyes and then went to present her wedding gift.
Ying Tao whispered, "Hey, this Miss Wei has become radiant in just half a month. It seems as if she has some happy event."
Soon, Shi Ning'an found out what the happy event was.
Miss Shao came out after presenting her wedding gift. Seeing Shi Ning'an sitting in the corridor, she came over to chat with her. When talking about recent events, she said that the emperor had bestowed titles on the First Prince and the Third Prince and allowed them to move out of the palace and establish their own mansions. The First Prince's marriage had also been arranged. He was going to marry the legitimate daughter of the Qi family.
Shi Ning'an was stunned. The Qi family was the maternal family of Concubine De. Concubine De and Concubine Dong had colluded with each other, and so had the Qi family and the Dong family. After the Dong family had lost power, the Qi family had also declined.
Now, the emperor was marrying the daughter of the Qi family to the First Prince. When the Crown Prince ascended the throne in the future, where would the First Prince's future be? And the daughter of the Qi family would probably be confined to the prince's mansion for the rest of her life. It was really pitiful.
Miss Shao added, "And the daughter of Concubine De, Princess Mingzhu, her marriage has also been arranged. She's going to marry into Northern Qi for the sake of peace. Her husband will be that Prince Yu of Northern Qi."
Just from Princess Mingzhu's title, one could tell how much she had been favored. She had once been regarded as a precious treasure. But now, she was going to be sent to Northern Qi to become the chief consort of the Northern Qi prince.
Shi Ning'an's eyes sparkled. She felt that there was something she hadn't thought of in this.
Before she could think it through, Miss Shao nudged her. "Have you seen Wei Xia?"
Shi Ning'an nodded. "I saw her going in to present her wedding gift when I came out just now. Tsk, Zheng Chi doesn't like her. She'll be an eyesore today."
Miss Shao laughed. "You're overthinking. Today is a joyous occasion. No matter how stupid Wei Xia is, she won't dare to cause trouble in the princess mansion."
Shi Ning'an agreed with this. If it were her own wedding, Wei Xia might still make a big scene regardless of the reputation of the Wei family.
"I think she looks much better. Besides Wei Hongmiao's wedding, could there be other happy events in the Wei family that have made her so happy?"
Miss Shao burst out laughing and tapped Shi Ning'an on the forehead. "Now that you're engaged, are you turning a deaf ear to what's going on outside? You don't even know this. Now, Wei Xia is really in the limelight. It's said that the Lu family has reached an agreement with the Wei family. That new number one scholar, Lu Wenyao, is going to be Wei Xia's fiancé."
Shi Ning'an frowned tightly. "You mean, Wei Xia is going to marry Lu Wenyao?"
Miss Shao nodded. "That's right. The Wei family is on the rise now. Although Wei Hongmiao's marriage is not entirely satisfactory, it's the result of mutual affection. But Wei Xia is really lucky. So many young ladies in the capital are extremely jealous of her."
Shi Ning'an lowered her head. Her mind was in a complete mess. The imperial merchant Zhao family and the new number one scholar's Lu family had both defected to the Third Prince's camp. The Third Prince was moving too fast. This didn't seem reasonable.
No, Concubine De only had one daughter. How could she be willing to let her daughter marry into Northern Qi for the sake of peace? Unless it was the joint intention of the First Prince and the Third Prince.
So, the First Prince was not willing to hand everything over to the Crown Prince. He had also seen the Third Prince's ambition and simply handed over all his remaining forces to the Third Prince?
Shi Ning'an's heart trembled a little. If she thought about it this way, it was quite possible. After all, after the Crown Prince ascended the throne, even if the First Prince survived, he would never be in a glorious position. But if the Third Prince promised him great benefits, since the First Prince had no chance of ascending the throne anyway, it was normal for him to support the Third Prince.