The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 672 - 634: One Main Wife, Two Concubines (Part 1)

Chapter 672: Chapter 634: One Main Wife, Two Concubines (Part 1)

After keeping everyone in suspense, Emperor Guangxi solemnly said, "Chief Minister Yang has been devoted to the court tirelessly and his character needs no further statement. The granddaughter he raised must be a gentle, obedient, and virtuous girl. I am inclined to grant a marriage for your second young lady. What does Chief Minister Yang think?"

At these words, everyone was taken aback.

The Second Miss Yang, Yang Xueru, is the biological granddaughter of Chief Minister Yang.

With such a status, it is indeed elevated, but Chief Minister Yang is related to the mother’s family of the Princess Consort Duan, and she has given birth to the Second Prince. Since ancient times, within the imperial family, there are no fathers and sons, let alone brothers.

Even though the Second Prince is still young, everyone knows that one day the two brothers will inevitably stand against each other.

So whom Chief Minister Yang truly supports is tacitly understood by all.

And now, Emperor Guangxi actually wishes to betroth Chief Minister Yang’s granddaughter to the Crown Prince?

The implications within are profound!

Zhao Xi was also slightly taken aback.

The matter of Chief Minister Yang secretly finding someone to deal with Song Wei, he only learned a few days ago. At that time, he mentioned it to Emperor Guangxi, planning to marry a Yang Family’s Daughter.

Song Wei, being both his cousin-in-law and a great supporter in his elevation to the Eastern Palace, would, with a marriage to a Yang Family’s Daughter, mean that, regardless of Chief Minister Yang’s anger towards Song Wei, he would not dare to act rashly in the future.

However, at that time, Emperor Guangxi refused.

Zhao Xi thought his father would make alternative arrangements for his main wife, but unexpectedly, he still ended up listening to his suggestion and chose a Yang Family’s Daughter.

Upon hearing this, Empress Qi frowned slightly.

Chief Minister Yang is the maternal uncle of the Princess Consort Duan, so why would the Emperor choose such a main wife for Xixi?

She wanted to object, but since Emperor Guangxi had already spoken, voicing her opposition in front of officials and noblewomen would be a public affront to the Emperor.

After considering, Empress Qi swallowed her words, though her heart was filled with worry.

The Chief Palace Maid, Jingzhe, noticed Empress Qi’s expression and whispered, "Your Majesty, the Emperor must have deliberated carefully before making this decision. Please don’t worry too much."

Empress Qi pressed her lips together.

How could she not worry?

Since the Crown Prince’s conferral, Chief Minister Yang hasn’t done anything, yet everyone knows he favors the Second Prince. As long as Emperor Guangxi is alive, and should the Crown Prince not ascend, the Second Prince has an opportunity to unseat the Crown Prince.

Though he is now just a young boy who can only toddle about, his backing is formidable, with Chief Minister Yang externally and Emperor Guangxi’s favoritism internally.

Empress Qi even suspected that Emperor Guangxi’s selection of such a main wife for the Crown Prince might be an attempt to have the Yang Family infiltrate and dismantle the Crown Prince, thereby facilitating the ascension of that woman’s son.

With her thoughts, Empress Qi was almost enraged enough to crush the wine cup in her hand.

Was everyone bullying Xixi for having no influential maternal family, bullying her family for having no one?

Amongst the officials’ seats, Chief Minister Yang’s complexion turned even darker.

A daughter of the Yang Family was intended to be married out to build power for the Second Prince. Despite all calculations, he had not anticipated Emperor Guangxi pulling such a move.

Once Ruru becomes the Crown Princess Consort, the Yang Family will inevitably have to turn to support the Crown Prince. What about the Second Prince then?

The more he thought about it, Chief Minister Yang felt he had been schemed against.

Seated not far, Song Wei saw this and chuckled, "Is Mr. Yang overwhelmed with excitement? Why not express gratitude?"

Chief Minister Yang turned to glare at Song Wei, struggling for a long time before getting up and stepping forward to kneel, "This old minister..."

He intended to say Ruru was already promised in marriage, but before he could voice it, Emperor Guangxi laughed heartily, "Chief Minister Yang is indeed straightforward. So let it be decided that the Crown Princess Consort is selected. When the Crown Prince turns eighteen, I will let the Astronomical Bureau select an auspicious date for the grand marriage of this perfect couple."

Chief Minister Yang was agitated enough to twitch his beard, but dared not glare, and with a trembling voice said, "This old minister thanks for the immense grace."

Emperor Guangxi smiled contentedly and allowed him to rise, then turned to Empress Qi, "The concubines were personally selected by the Empress, tell us which two you’ve chosen."

In Great Chu, the main and secondary wives of all princes must be inscribed on the Royal Jade Scroll, so the concubines also require careful selection, only with approval from the Emperor and Empress.

As for the concubines below and the ladies, they can be chosen by the princes themselves.

Hearing Emperor Guangxi’s voice, Empress Qi restrained her emotions and looked towards the noblewomen’s seats.

Two concubines have been selected.

The first is from her maternal family, named Qi Xuan.

After Empress Qi’s investiture, her maternal family rose to prominence along with her, being ennobled as marquis.

Though without real power, the position of the Imperial Father-in-law Mansion is not low, especially since Qi Xuan is a legitimate daughter.

The other concubine is the daughter of the Crown Prince’s Tutor, named Dong Han.

From these two choices, it’s not hard to see the Empress has personal motives.

Firstly, her family has no achievements in the court, so she can only arrange people into the Eastern Palace to consolidate her position.

Secondly, Zhao Xi’s success today owes much to the Crown Prince’s Tutor, so Empress Qi choosing the Tutor’s daughter is both an expression of gratitude and an effort to win him over, hoping he’ll assist the Crown Prince without distractions in the future.

Emperor Guangxi, however, didn’t have any particular thoughts on this matter. Empress Qi had a fiery temper, so the fact she didn’t quarrel with him over the choice of main wife was already commendable.

After Empress Qi mentioned the names Qi Xuan and Dong Han, she looked at Emperor Guangxi, "I wonder if the Emperor has any objections to the choices for concubine?"

Being mere concubines, not main wives, Emperor Guangxi naturally didn’t mind much and waved his hand, "Since it’s about choosing concubines for my son, how could the Empress’s judgment be lacking?"

These words implied agreement.

Empress Qi felt somewhat relieved upon hearing them.

The three ladies who were chosen were present, and after Empress Qi finished speaking, they all stepped forward to kneel and express their gratitude.

Chief Minister Yang looked painfully at his treasured granddaughter, feeling as if the cabbage he’d grown for over a decade had been snatched away by a pig.

Zhao Xi, who snatched away the Chief Minister’s cabbage, glanced at Yang’s darkened old face, a smile flickered in his eyes but quickly vanished.

Even though marrying a Yang Family’s daughter was initially to get Song Wei out of trouble, Zhao Xi did consider it carefully before making the decision.

With Chief Minister Yang being the biggest supporter of the Second Prince, if they didn’t find a way to dismantle their power, it would become a major threat once the Second Prince grew up.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xi turned his gaze to Zhao Nuo sitting beside Princess Consort Duan.

This child, having such strong support at such a young age, was far luckier than himself.

The three ladies were blushing as they knelt, while Empress Qi was giving a speech. She didn’t say anything excessive, just telling them to go home and cultivate themselves, learn etiquette and training for young women, so they could serve the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace in the future.

All three responded in unison.

Empress Qi waved her hand, "Go and enjoy the banquet; it’s cold, and soon the food will be chilled."

With that, the three slowly stood up and returned to their seats along the same path.

Seeing the radiant looks on their faces, the ladies who were not selected cast complex glances.

Lin Xiaoyue whispered to Wen Wan, "The Emperor has quite a good eye; that Second Miss Yang, I think she’s quite pretty."

Wen Wan chuckled, knowing that the Emperor made the Yang Family’s daughter the Crown Princess not because of her looks.

However, matters of the court were not for women to interfere with, so Wen Wan swallowed her thoughts and agreed with Lin Xiaoyue, "Indeed, Second Miss Yang is very beautiful."

"It’s a pity," Lin Xiaoyue said, "in front of the Crown Prince, even the prettiest girl would lose her shine."

The words are true; the Crown Prince’s radiant appearance probably only Suzhou’s famous Yun Liulang could compare.

As for the ladies, Wen Wan had yet to see anyone who stood beside the Crown Prince without being overshadowed.

On Song Yuanbao’s side, realizing Ye Ling wasn’t among the three chosen, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Ye Rong saw this and softly scoffed, "Stop dreaming. Even if she doesn’t marry the Crown Prince, my sister will never marry you."

Song Yuanbao laughed, "Parents’ orders and matchmakers’ words. Whether she marries me or not, it’s not for you to decide."

Ye Rong drank his wine in silence. After a while, he asked Song Yuanbao, "Marchioness Zhenxi came, why didn’t your aunt come?"

Song Yuanbao didn’t often interact with the aunt from the Xu Family, so he had no idea why she didn’t come. Frowning, he said, "Isn’t Aunt Jia your senior? If you don’t know, how would I know?"

"Forget I asked." Ye Rong downed another cup of wine, as if feeling suffocated by the many people at the banquet, and got up to take a walk.

The grand banquet continued until the afternoon; during the time, the singing and dancing changed several times, and the food on the tables had gone cold.

After the banquet ended, Chief Minister Yang and his wife took their granddaughter Yang Xueru onto the carriage.

Chief Minister Yang kept a stern face, while Prime Minister’s Wife Cui, noticing his bad mood, tried to comfort him, "It’s decided. Just let it be, husband."

Yang Xueru said, "Granddaughter was surprised to be chosen by the Emperor. But now, the Imperial command cannot be defied. Grandfather’s thoughts are useless now, only careful handling will do; otherwise, if people see our family is unwilling, who knows what they’ll say in front of the Emperor."

Though expressing such thoughts, Yang Xueru couldn’t help but feel elated inside.

She always prided herself on her noble origins and exceptional beauty, looking down on ordinary officials’ sons, yet she admired the Crown Prince deeply. However, the Yang Family was a supporter of the Second Prince, so she and the Crown Prince are destined not to be together, unexpectedly receiving a surprise when the Emperor directly chose her as the Crown Princess Consort.

Just thinking of the Crown Prince’s incredibly handsome visage made Yang Xueru wish for the time to rush to two years later, so she could marry him in glory with a phoenix crown and layered silks.