Huangxiu

Chapter 63 Meaning
When Chu Zhiyuan went to the Ministry of Rites to report for duty, Gao Lingfeng hurriedly followed him and clasped his fists, saying, "Sir, the doctor wants to see you."

Chu Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows.

The doctor of the Zongwu Division was the Prince of Jing'an.

The current emperor has few brothers, and the father of this Prince Jing'an is the emperor's biological brother, born of the same mother.

Unfortunately, when Prince Cheng was young, he was accidentally killed in an ambush by the Mongol cavalry while he was training and making contributions in the army.

At that time, Prince Jing'an had just been born.

The Prince of Jing'an behaves in a low-key manner. Although he is a doctor, he seems to be invisible and seems to be just wasting his time.

The various departments of the Ministry of Rites were not gathered together, each had its own courtyard.

The courtyard where Chu Zhiyuan lived was adjacent to the courtyard where the doctor lived. He had only met Prince Jing'an once when he first took office, and had hardly met him at other times. It seemed as if he never came to the yamen all day long.

As a Yuanwailang, Chu Zhiyuan had to report for duty every day. Langzhong was already the highest official in the Zongwu Division, and no one cared whether he reported for duty or not.

-

"Hello, Master Doctor."

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists and saluted.

Sitting behind the desk was a middle-aged man with a monkey-like face. He was small and thin, with a black and shiny moustache, which made his small eyes look bright and sharp.

He is Chu Jinglu, Prince of Jing'an.

Among the royal kings, there are not many with such appearance.

"Okay, you're not a stranger, don't be polite." Jing'an County Prince Chu Jinglu waved his hand: "I asked you to come here because I have something to tell you."

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Is it about welcoming the Dazhen envoys?"

He did not relax because Prince Jing'an was not an outsider.

The Prince of Jing'an is indeed not an outsider. He is of close blood and, like Chu Mingxuan, is also his uncle.

But since we are in the lobby of the Ministry of Rites, we naturally have to follow public opinion and get along with each other as superiors and subordinates.

It’s not too late to call you uncle after you leave the Ministry of Rites.

"You can go along to greet them this time."

"Yes."

"Let's go and join in the fun. Anyway, there's no harm in taking a look at Dazhen's envoys first."

"Yes."

"The key is Cheng Tianfeng."

"Your Excellency knows?"

"Well, do you know why the emperor attaches so much importance to your competition with Cheng Tianfeng?"

"It's not just about our Dajing's reputation?" Chu Zhiyuan pondered and said, "Is there any other reason?"

If it was just a matter of Dajing's face, Chu Jinglu would not ask this question. Obviously, other factors were involved.

"We, Dajing and Dazhen, must turn enemies into allies to jointly fight against Daemong. Both sides must show sincerity."

"Is it a marriage?"

"good."

"Who's marrying whom?"

"That depends on your performance in this competition. If you win, we will marry the princess of Dazhen. If you lose, we will marry the princess to us."

“…Isn’t this too much of a joke?”

No wonder the emperor was so generous and agreed to everything she asked for. It turned out that it was about whether to marry Princess Dazhen or Princess Dajing.

No one wants to marry a princess because they will always be inferior to her.

But using this method is a bit too frivolous, like a joke, which is really unexpected.

Chu Jinglu said: "After all, we want an alliance. Being too serious will only hurt the harmony. This kind of joking is just right."

"...Yes." Chu Zhiyuan seemed to agree reluctantly.

Turning a serious matter into something playful is indeed a clever method, it all depends on the angle from which you look at it.

"So don't take it lightly, take it seriously, and don't hide it."

"……Yes."

This is because they are afraid of hiding their own incompetence and strength, thus being restricted and leading to defeat, and losing the big picture for the small.

It was obvious that Chu Jinglu didn't think of this himself, he was just passing on the message.

“…But if you really can’t win, you have to try your best, otherwise…” Chu Jinglu shook his head.

"Sir, if we lose, which princess will you marry?" Chu Zhiyuan asked.

He understood the hidden meaning in Chu Jinglu's words.

If he failed, everyone in the court would blame him for the disgrace, including the emperor and the princess's mother.

The best way to eliminate this resentment is to use the strategy of self-torture, to try one's best and even end up getting seriously injured.

"It's hard to say which princess to marry."

"Um--?"

"It's better for both sides to agree, we can't just do it one way or the other."

"I don't think there's a princess of the right age in Dajing?"

Princesses of marriageable age have all been married or engaged. The princesses of Dajing are still very popular, and there is no restriction on their husbands becoming officials. Moreover, the princesses of Dajing are very well educated and rarely act arrogantly.

Therefore, many princesses had marriage proposals as soon as they were born, and were often engaged at the age of twelve or thirteen.

I can't cancel the original engagement just because I want to marry Dazhen.

Chu Jinglu said: "A princess, a county lady, or the daughter of a duke or marquis may not be a bad choice. If the other party likes her, you can just grant her the status of a princess."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded slowly.

Just think about it, and you will know that no one would be willing to marry their daughter to Dazhen, because once they leave, they will never come back and will never see each other again in their lifetime.

The emperor was unwilling, and almost no one in the palaces of princes, dukes, earls, or marquises was willing to do so.

So my task is very heavy, I can only win and not lose.

"If Cheng Tianfeng wins this time, he will probably be the one to pick the girl." Chu Jinglu frowned, "It depends on which girl he likes."

"Cheng Tianfeng is just the prince," Chu Zhiyuan frowned, "Isn't it a marriage between princes?"

Marriages are usually arranged between emperors. Since the emperors on both sides are too old and have long passed the age of taking concubines, it is not a bad idea to let the princes marry the princesses of the other side.

If he were the prince, the status would be too far behind and the effect would be too different.

"The most outstanding prince of Dazhen, even if he cannot become the emperor, he is still very important in the royal family."

The three major countries of Dazhen, Dajing and Dameng had the same way of selecting emperors. One had to become a grand master first before being eligible to inherit the throne.

Without becoming a grandmaster, one cannot wield the Emperor's Sword.

Only when one has both talent and opportunity can one become a grandmaster, and if one has both, then he is blessed with good fortune, and it is natural for him to become an emperor.

If the emperor possesses the powerful force like the Emperor's Sword, his throne will be as stable as a rock. Therefore, he will not be afraid of his brothers and uncles, but will need their assistance.

As an assistant, the stronger the ability, the better.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned: "Sir, if I win, who will marry Dazhen's daughter?"

"It should be you." Chu Jinglu smiled: "I'm afraid Dazhen won't agree to it if it's someone else."

"..." Chu Zhiyuan's brows were tightly knitted.

He never expected this answer, and he never thought about it.

I always felt that this kind of thing would never happen to me and was too far away from me.

He is the crown prince, and moreover, the crown prince of Prince Qing. The one who has the greatest hope of becoming the grandmaster and succeeding to the throne is King Ying.

My father, Prince Qing, did not practice martial arts and had been in the royal palace for thirty years. He must have been disliked by the emperor. It was difficult for me to gain the emperor's favor.

Marry a virtuous princess or a county lady?
I have to quickly ask my mother to go to the Duke Anguo’s mansion to propose marriage.

It is better to marry Xiao Ruoling than to marry Dazhen's woman.

The emperor is engaged to Xiao Ruoling, who is from the Duke's Mansion. He can't just break them up abruptly, right?
Even if he really marries a virgin woman, there must be a first-come, first-served order. Xiao Ruoling comes first and is the main concubine, able to control the concubines.

As for Xiao Ruoling's martial arts skills, it is not so important at this time.

At least she is not a descendant of an evil sect, otherwise she would not be able to hide from the Emperor's Sword.

The Emperor's Sword can ward off evil, and the evil sect's inheritance cannot be concealed.

Every year, the Duke, his wife and their children would go to the palace to meet the Emperor and attend the palace night banquet.

It’s better to get engaged to Xiao Ruoling as soon as possible.

It's hard.

After all, for the daughter of a powerful man like the Duke of Anguo, the engagement and marriage procedures are extremely cautious and cumbersome. Even if he likes me, it would be difficult for him to allow such haste.

It would be best if we could hide it from the emperor.

Unfortunately this is almost impossible.

Therefore, the marriage with Xiao Ruoling is in jeopardy.

Chu Jinglu smiled and said, "When the time comes, you can also go to Dazhen like Cheng Tianfeng and choose the ones you like and the ones you like."

"..."

"Haha..." Chu Jinglu looked at his bitter face and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Chu Zhiyuan sighed, "Sir, this is not funny at all."

Chu Jinglu laughed and said, "Such a wonderful thing, why are you so sad?"

Chu Zhiyuan said: "Wouldn't it be troublesome to marry a chaste woman?"

"It doesn't matter if she's from Dazhen or Dajing. Once they're in the inner house, they're all your women," Chu Jinglu shook his head and said, "You think too much."

Chu Zhiyuan neither refuted nor agreed, which was a silent rebuttal.

"Don't worry, the court won't be wary of you just because your woman is a Dazhen." Chu Jinglu said, "Otherwise, those generals would have been removed long ago."

Chu Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows, showing an interested expression.

It seems that many generals married foreign women?

It is easy to guess that these generals must have captured women from the enemy country during the war and took them into their tents because of their beauty.

Chu Jinglu waved his hand: "Okay, anyway, you better know what's going on."

"Thank you, sir." Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists solemnly, then took his leave.

Then he turned around and went back to Prince Qing's Mansion.

(End of this chapter)