The playboy county magistrate

The emperor rubbed his temples in exasperation.

"This can't be rushed. Li Xuanzhi will be leaving the capital for Pingzhou soon. Although Pingzhou is much better than before, it's still far inferior to the capital. You've never suffered any hardship in your life. If you really get together with Li Xuanzhi, it's hard to say when you'll be able to return to the capital with him."

"Furthermore, Li Xuanzhi brought a particularly beautiful and quick-witted girl with him on this trip back to the capital. You've been domineering since childhood; can you tolerate a man having multiple wives and concubines?"

He had seen princesses keep male concubines, but he had never seen a princess bring concubines into the palace one after another in front of her.

But a man of great talent like Li Xuanzhi cannot be confined by the women in the inner quarters.

He will definitely have many concubines, and even his principal wife is just a steward to keep the household in order.

If it were any unmarried princess today, he would be willing to bestow her upon Li Xuanzhi as a reward and a sign of respect.

But the emperor really couldn't bear to part with Changning.

"What? Leaving again so soon? No way, I haven't even met him yet!"

Princess Changning turned to run away, but was stopped by her elder brother, the emperor, who was behind her.

"By the time you leave the palace, I'm afraid you won't even see Li Xuanzhi's carriage leaving the capital anymore. How about your elder brother finds you a suitable one later, someone like Li Xuanzhi?"

Princess Changning snorted coldly, crossed her arms, and stomped her feet angrily on the spot.

"No! I want to go to Pingzhou too! If Li Xuanzhi is really my type, I'll stay in his ancestral graveyard even if it kills me!"

"Nonsense!" The emperor's face flushed red with anger, his voice trembling as he spoke. "A princess of a nation, what kind of nonsense is this! A perfectly healthy person, wanting to linger in someone else's ancestral graveyard, is that even acceptable?"

"I can't control you anymore. I'll go see the Empress Dowager myself right now and have her personally teach you!"

Although the Empress Dowager doesn't seem to be involved in affairs, when she really gets angry, even the current emperor is terrified.

Princess Changning immediately became obedient.

It's one thing for the Empress Dowager to spoil someone, but it's another thing if she really wants to discipline them.

"Hehe, brother, don't be angry. I just wanted to lighten your burden a bit."

The emperor was also helpless.

If Li Xuanzhi weren't so capable, he would be happy to let Princess Changning get to know Li Xuanzhi.

However, the laws of the Dayong Dynasty stipulated that the husbands of princesses were not allowed to hold important positions in the court.

After all, during the reign of the previous emperor, the Great Yong Dynasty was almost usurped by the eldest princess and her husband.

Even if the emperor knew that his sister had no such intentions, the court officials didn't care.

To give Li Xuanzhi some peace and quiet, and to allow him to better utilize his abilities and help him govern the Dayong Dynasty, he would never agree to Princess Changning's request.

The emperor even felt that as long as Li Xuanzhi didn't marry a princess, he could grant him a marriage without batting an eye, even if Li Xuanzhi took a fancy to one of his favorite concubines.

Such a capable young minister is most vulnerable to the pain of romantic love.

But after Princess Changning caused such a scene in the palace, he finally understood.

Men, after all, need some ways to regulate their mood and relieve stress.

"Changning, go and pay your respects to the Empress Dowager. It's been so long since you've been to the palace; she must miss you dearly."

After Princess Changning left with a pout and low spirits, the Emperor walked up to the Empress, reached out and held her hand affectionately.

"There is one thing I really need Zitong's help with."

The Empress smiled and said, "We've been husband and wife for so many years. Just say what you need; there's no need to use the word 'beg'."

Before she became the Crown Princess, the Empress and the Emperor were childhood sweethearts and had a good relationship.

After the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the imperial harem inevitably held a selection of new concubines. Although there were quite a few concubines in the harem, none of them dared to act arrogantly in front of the Empress just because they were favored.

The concubines in the harem all knew that the emperor only took them as concubines to balance the relationships in the court.

They were all very obedient, and even felt that the Empress's words were more powerful than the Emperor's edict.

The emperor smiled, pulled the empress to sit down, and then said:

"Li Xuanzhi is a promising talent; he will surely become a prominent minister whose name will be remembered in history. You know many fine women; you can choose a few for Li Xuanzhi. In a while, I will send someone to secretly escort them to Pingzhou to cultivate a relationship with Li Xuanzhi. Let him choose his favorite, and she will be formally married to him as his principal wife. The rest can be his concubines."

The Empress was also surprised that the Emperor valued Li Xuanzhi to such an extent.

Thinking of this, the empress reached out her finger and gently poked the emperor's waist.

"Your Majesty, my younger sister will be of marriageable age next year. Li Xuanzhi is not far from her age, so they are a good match."

There are very few people who have gained such approval from the emperor. Now that such a young and promising individual has finally appeared, wouldn't everyone rush to get him into their fold?

Besides, her son would be the next emperor. Her uncle-in-law would be easier to win over than other court officials.

Most importantly, the Empress's father was the head of the Hanlin Academy, and her grandfather was the head of the most prestigious Baima Academy in the Yong Dynasty.

While the interests of powerful and influential families were affected, their family, whose mission and foundation lay in educating scholars, were not significantly impacted.

On the contrary, Li Xuanzhi's actions gave more children from poor families the opportunity to study, which in turn won him the favor of the Empress's maternal family.

Now that the Empress has received confirmation from the Emperor that Li Xuanzhi will have a bright future, she naturally doesn't want to miss out.

The emperor smiled and nodded slightly. "Very well. Very few of the sons of those self-proclaimed noble families enter officialdom through the imperial examinations based on their own merits, and military generals are mostly roughnecks who don't know their own limits. Someone as quick-witted as Li Xuanzhi will definitely have more in common with you. But you need to go back and talk to your father-in-law and mother-in-law about this. After all, Li Xuanzhi is going back to Pingzhou now, and he may not be able to return for several years."

It must be tough for such a young girl to travel all alone to such a far place, to suffer grievances and have no one to confide in.

The Empress smiled and shook her head slightly.

"You don't need to worry about that. There's nothing urgent to deal with in the harem today. I'll leave the palace in a bit."

The emperor smiled and nodded, then instructed the chief eunuch to fetch some of the elderly couple's favorite snacks from the imperial kitchen and send them over to the empress to take back with her.

Li Xuanzhi didn't go out either, knowing that Zhang Shi was reluctant to part with him. But he was also worried about leaving Gu Pan'er alone at the Imperial City Guard.

After all, this was the first time Gu Pan'er had come to an unfamiliar place alone without her family.

So, Li Xuanzhi waved to Tang Zheng.