The most dissolute couple in the capital

Kunning Palace is more magnificent than Cining Palace, and its interior furnishings are elegant and luxurious, yet not ostentatious.

Empress Wei was reviewing the daily documents of the six palaces when she saw Cui Qingyi arrive. She put down her pen and smiled as she invited her to sit down.

The Empress came from the Wei clan of Jingzhao. Although not one of the five most prestigious clans, she was a descendant of meritorious officials, and her grandfather was a founding military general. She was straightforward and generous, managed the six palaces with great efficiency, and was deeply in love with the current emperor. Her only regret was that she could not give birth to a son of her own.

When the Empress heard the purpose of Cui Qingyi's visit, she smiled warmly.

"What's so difficult about that? I'll report back to His Majesty later and have two honest and shrewd stewards from the Imperial Household Department assigned to Prince Liang's residence." The Empress looked at Cui Qingyi and smiled. "However, Qingyi, now that I've helped you out of your immediate predicament, shouldn't you also help me share some of my burdens?"

It smells like cattle and horses!

Cui Qingyi's heart tightened, but her expression remained gentle: "Your Majesty, you flatter me. If there is anything I need you to do, I will gladly die for you."

The Empress smiled warmly: "You're exaggerating. It's mainly about Zhao'er's marriage to the Emperor. His Majesty and I have flipped through dozens of picture albums and were completely overwhelmed by the choices. You are the wife of the Emperor's wife, and you're about the same age as Zhao'er. Why don't you offer some advice and help us with this?"

Cui Qingyi couldn't help but sigh deeply in her heart.

In this dynasty, the title of "imperial son-in-law" was an extremely delicate one.

This dates back to the beginning of the dynasty. Emperor Taizu rose from humble beginnings to establish his empire after many twists and turns. His children were mostly capable warriors, especially the eldest princess who was the most outstanding.

She not only protected half of the country for Emperor Taizu, but also made outstanding contributions in several key battles.

Despite strong opposition, Emperor Taizu wanted to make an exception and bestow upon him the title of king.

This move caused a huge uproar in the court. The ministers strongly advised against it, arguing that "women should not be granted the title of king." When they saw that they could not dissuade the princess, they raised an even more pointed question: Princesses will eventually marry and have children. If they are granted the title of king, wouldn't it mean that the Li family's royal title and fiefdom will fall into the hands of someone from another family in the future?

Unexpectedly, Princess Zhenguo waved her hand and said that since it was inappropriate to hand over the throne to someone of a different surname, then her child would take her surname.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Taizu clapped his hands and laughed heartily, immediately approving the decision.

From then on, an imperial edict established this as the foundation of the nation: all the children of princesses of this dynasty shall take their mother's surname and be recorded in the imperial genealogy.

This raises the second question: for scions of noble families who value the continuation of their bloodline more than their own lives, marrying a princess is equivalent to "marrying into the family," a disgrace that would sever their family line.

Therefore, most of the husbands of the princesses in the early days of the royal family came from humble backgrounds.

Fortunately, the emperor's son-in-law is not prohibited from serving as an official in this dynasty.

Decades later, the astute aristocratic families came up with a new idea: the eldest son of the legitimate wife should inherit the family business and continue the clan's lineage, and should never marry into the family; but those sons who were talented but born out of wedlock, since they would eventually separate from the family and live independently anyway, it was better to send them to marry a princess rather than make them start out with difficulty.

A son born out of wedlock who marries a princess can gain a natural shield in court by virtue of his status as a member of the royal family, and can also use the princess's resources to secure a good future. Even if the children born to the bride do not take the bride's surname, it does not prevent them from supporting the family that raised them.

Over time, making this "choice" between the legitimate son and the illegitimate son became an unspoken consensus among the major aristocratic families.

Now it's time to choose a husband for the eldest princess, and all the men recommended by each family are gentle and handsome.

Fortunately, although Cui Qingyi couldn't fathom the Empress's thoughts, she still had the lessons from her past life to learn:

"I'm not familiar with these scions of noble families, and I can't really understand them just by looking at the catalogs," Cui Qingyi said with a gentle, harmless smile. "The autumn hunt is next month. Instead of looking at these cold family name cards, why not invite all the talented young men on the list to the hunting grounds? On the real battlefield, their riding and archery skills, their adaptability, and even their interpersonal skills will be on full display. Wouldn't it be a hundred times better for the princess to observe from the shadows than looking at those dry catalogs?"

The Empress's eyes lit up: "Great idea! How can we discern true character from pictures in this deep palace? You're so clever!"

As she spoke, the Empress picked up a gold-embossed booklet from the table and handed it to Cui Qingyi: "This is the preliminary list that His Majesty and I have drafted. Take a look at it. If there are any people with extremely bad reputations in the capital, just cross them out. It will save Zhao'er's eyes from getting dirty."

Cui Qingyi accepted the list with both hands.

She had planned to just flip through the list and offer a few flattering words to get by, but when her gaze swept across the list, her eyes were unexpectedly fixed on the last page.

Four words were clearly written on it:

—Zheng Wenhan of the Zheng family of Xingyang.

This person was not on the list of candidates for the imperial son-in-law in his previous life.

In the blink of an eye, Cui Qingyi understood. At the flower-viewing banquet in her previous life, Madam Zheng took a liking to her at first sight. With her eldest son marrying the daughter of the Cui family of Qinghe, the Zheng family of Xingyang naturally no longer needed to bother trying to curry favor with the royal family. Instead, they had to deliberately keep their distance to avoid being accused of being opportunistic or trying to climb the social ladder.

But things are different now.

Without Cui Qingyi as a stepping stone, the Zheng family set their sights higher and farther.

Sending a concubine's youngest son to marry a princess would grant him a ticket to the imperial family.

The legacy of a century-old family lies in this incredibly precise and almost outrageous pursuit of profit and avoidance of harm. The eldest son upholds the reputation of the upright officials, while the illegitimate sons are responsible for climbing the social ladder and currying favor with the powerful. The family walks on two legs, making its progress both fast and steady.

She turned the page, closed the register, and smiled at the Empress, saying, "I will take a closer look when I get back, and then make a list to present to my sister-in-law."

The Empress nodded in satisfaction: "No rush, it can be prepared before the autumn hunt."

He then called out to the outside, and a woman in her thirties with dignified features and a composed demeanor walked in.

"This is Lady Guan," the Empress said to Cui Qingyi, pointing to the woman. "I know you just cleaned out a group of unruly servants and are short-handed right now. Lady Guan has always been useful to me; she's excellent at disciplining servants and managing accounts. I'm lending her to you today. But let me make this clear: I can't lend her to you indefinitely. Once you've trained your managers, you must return her to me unharmed."

"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty!" Cui Qingyi agreed readily, her face full of gratitude.

As for whether or not it will be repaid, and when it will be repaid, who knows?

The Empress was also worried that sending out female officials might be suspected of planting people, so she specifically added the word "borrowing".

But Cui Qingyi was only thinking about getting something for free.