Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

Upon hearing this, Li Er surprisingly did not get angry.

He chuckled and said, "Boy, I may not pursue this matter, but you'd better figure out how to silence these whispers."

"Um?"

Li Yu glanced around at the assembled officials who were drinking and chatting happily, and then realized that these people were all shrewd and calculating.

only……

"Your Majesty, you've already bestowed upon me the title of Prince, who would dare to come and question me now?" Li Yu said.

"Hehe!" Li Er smiled without saying a word.

Somewhat bewildered by Li Er's laughter, Li Yu was about to ask what was wrong when Li Er suddenly asked, "By the way, boy, I seem to remember your imperial grandfather issuing you a decree of marriage, saying that I should choose a suitable match for you?"

Upon hearing Li Er suddenly bring this up, Li Yu was startled and stood up straight. He then bowed and said with an embarrassed smile, "Uncle, I am only twelve years old. Why are you in such a hurry to arrange this for me?"

"No!" Li Er refused sternly, "Your Zhao Prince's Mansion is small, with only you as a child. As the saying goes, 'Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no offspring.' Even if you want to be that unfilial son, your father and I cannot be unfilial to the Emperor."

"Kid..."

Seeing that Li Yu wanted to say more, Li Er raised his hand to interrupt him: "It's settled then, no more words!"

After a pause, seeing that Li Yu dared not resist any longer, he continued, "I have heard that the Wu family's second wife has two daughters, only one year apart in age. However, they are still young. If you can wait, you can propose marriage in ten years and bring the two daughters into the royal palace, thus winning the heart of a beauty."

After saying this, Li Er looked at Li Yu with a loving smile, "How about it? Don't blame me, your uncle, for not taking care of you!"

Upon hearing that it was Wu Shihuo's exceptional daughter, Li Yu shook his head vigorously, thinking to himself, "You should keep her for yourself..."

"Hmm? What? You look down on the Wu family because they started as merchants?"

Seeing Li Yu's face full of rejection, Li Er immediately changed his expression and scolded, "No matter what, Wu Shihuo is now a Duke. Isn't he a good match for you?"

"Young man, I'm not exaggerating, but if you want to marry a woman from a powerful family, even if I agree, those ministers will jump out to oppose it. If someone were to die by crashing into a pillar in the main hall, how am I supposed to handle the situation?"

"Uncle, you misunderstand. I don't want to marry a noblewoman. Our palace is too small and can't withstand the trouble..." Li Yu quickly explained.

"Then why are you being so picky?" Li Er glared at Li Yu.

Li Yu scratched his head and said, "To be honest, I really can't stand Wu Shihuo's shameless behavior. If we become father-in-law and son-in-law, who knows what kind of trouble might arise..."

"Besides, you're asking me to marry two at once, I can't bear it, I can't bear it..."

Upon hearing this, Li Er pretended to be angry and was about to slap Li Yu, but seeing that Li Yu was far away, he ultimately did not do so.

He sighed and waved his hand: "Never mind, I looked around for you last night. Besides this Wu family girl, there is another suitable candidate. Although it is indeed a bit of a stretch for that family to match the royal family, the good thing is that their daughter is about your age, so she is a good choice for now."

"Who is it?" Li Yu asked curiously, since there were only a few girls in Chang'an who were around his age.

"The daughter of the Suzhou prefect is quite beautiful, and the prefect's official rank is not low. She is a well-bred young lady. How dare you have a problem with that?"

After saying that, Li Er glared at Li Yu with annoyance.

Li Yu had no time to care about Li Er's expression; after hearing his words, he felt his soul tremble.

To make his father marry the daughter of the prefect of his own fiefdom? For a vassal state to collude with a local official was a grave taboo for the emperor. Li Er wasn't worried; he was terrified of being beheaded!

Thinking of this, he tentatively asked, "Uncle, have you forgotten? My fiefdom is currently located there. If I were to marry the local governor, wouldn't that...?"

"You think highly of yourself." Li Er chuckled. "Rest assured, when you reach the age to be enfeoffed, I will transfer Wenren Si'an to a position in the capital."

"..."

.........

Back at his residence, Li Yu was unable to fall asleep for a long time.

Wenren Si'an? How come he remembered that Wenren Si'an's father was the Prefect of Changzhou, so why is he now the Prefect of Suzhou?

Furthermore, if I were to marry his sister, what would I be called Wenren An? Brother-in-law? Wouldn't I become his brother-in-law?

Li Yu could already foresee how furious Wenren An would be upon learning of this.

No way! This is too damn awkward! But I can't bring myself to refuse Li Er again, unless I'm tired of living...

Thinking about this, he tossed and turned for a long time. Seeing that he really couldn't fall asleep, he got up, put on his outer robe, and pushed open the door to leave the room.

The moon is very round tonight, so round that Li Yu feels as if he can see the mountains above it.

Just as he was about to sit down and carefully observe whether there was anyone upstairs, he heard a series of hurried footsteps.

Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw a young girl, dressed neatly. Upon seeing Li Yu, she looked as if she had seen a ghost and hurriedly tried to leave.

"Green clothes?" Li Yu was surprised, not expecting that there would be someone unable to sleep at this hour.

"Young...Young Master..."

The woman in green froze the moment Li Yu spoke, and after a long while, she slowly turned around and walked over timidly.

"It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?" Li Yu asked with a strange look.

"Reporting to...Young Master, you were in the palace during the day, and Green Robe had nothing to do, so she slept for a long time, which is why she has some trouble sleeping tonight."

The woman in green answered cautiously, which puzzled Li Yu.

He squinted and walked up to the woman in green, hooking her chin with one hand and lifting her head.

"You've been bullied? That's outrageous! Doesn't anyone know you're one of my people?"

Under the moonlight, Li Yu stared at the green-clad woman's swollen eyes and immediately flew into a rage.

Seeing that Li Yu was about to question Lai Fu, Green Robe hurriedly explained, "Young Master, no one is bullying Green Robe!"

"Um?"

Li Yu paused, scratched his head, and asked in surprise, "Then why are you crying?"

"Reporting to...Young Master, Green Robe overheard Master and Madam talking, saying that His Majesty has already arranged a marriage for you, so she was heartbroken and..."

At this point, the woman in green's voice became barely audible, but Li Yu still heard it clearly.

He was shocked and wondered if the woman in green liked him.

Seeing Li Yu's wide-eyed surprise, the woman in green became anxious again: "Young Master, you've misunderstood! I wouldn't dare covet you!"

She said somewhat shyly, "I heard from Hong Gu that after the young masters of wealthy families outside get married, their wives serve them and they no longer need maids. I'm afraid you'll kick me out..."

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again, glistening in the moonlight…

.........