Chapter 445: Chapter 251: Absurd Decree of Marriage Granting_3
Zhao Yao suddenly remembered that he forgot to have the gloves made. After the longevity festival ends, he would ask someone to make the gloves.
The Eighth Prince saw Zhao Yao hold up his hands and blow warm air on them, making his eyes slightly wet.
Zhao Yao then rubbed the Eighth Prince’s hands with his own small hands until they were warm before stopping.
He advised the Eighth Prince that if it gets cold during the upcoming worship, he should rub his hands together.
Zhao Yao followed the Eighth Prince to Zhonghua Palace, where the other princes had already arrived, but the Third Prince had not yet shown up. After a while, just as the ceremony was about to start, the Third Prince finally arrived, tardy.
The Third Prince looked somewhat haggard, and his complexion wasn’t good either. He claimed that he was too excited to sleep well last night, but the ministers didn’t believe a word of it.
Experienced ministers could easily tell what the Third Prince did last night.
At Mao Hour, the ceremony officially began.
The Emperor first led his sons to worship the previous Emperor, the former Empress Dowager, and their ancestors. Then, he led the entire court of civil and military officials to worship Heaven and Earth.
By the time the ceremony concluded, it was already Chen Hour.
The Emperor turned around and went to the main hall of Chengguang Hall to receive the felicitations from his sons and the civil and military officials.
First, the Crown Prince led the princes in wishing the Emperor a happy birthday.
The Crown Prince presented a stone with the character "Longevity" inscribed on it. The Crown Prince claimed that the stone naturally formed the character "Longevity," and was not carved by anyone.
Prince Dai’s gift was a Heavenly Stone, which had unexpectedly fallen from the sky during a previous suppression of chaos in Liangzhou.
The Third Prince’s gift was a longevity painting by a renowned artist from the previous dynasty.
The Fourth Prince’s gift was a longevity painting he personally painted.
The Fifth Prince’s gift was a jade longevity peach carving.
The Sixth Prince’s gift was a bow and arrow set.
The Seventh Prince’s gift was a Buddhist scripture he personally transcribed.
The Eighth Prince’s gift was also a transcription of a Buddhist scripture. Every year on the Emperor’s birthday, the Eighth Prince would personally transcribe a Buddhist scripture.
The Ninth Prince’s gift was an inkstone, naturally prepared for him by Prince Dai.
The Tenth Prince Zhao Yao seemingly gifted a statue he carved of the Emperor.
Once the princes finished giving their gifts, it was the ministers’ turn.
Because the Emperor did not like extravagance, the gifts from the ministers were very "simple." However, the gifts from the foreign envoys were very lavish, consisting of exotic treasures from their countries.
The longevity festival lasted for three whole days. Previously, the longevity festival had only lasted one day because the Emperor didn’t think it was necessary to celebrate his birthday for three days. This year, the festival lasted three days due to the tributes from foreign envoys.
During these three days, there was no curfew in the capital, and it was bustling with excitement.
After the three-day celebrations ended, the foreign envoys were also due to return to their countries. Before they departed, the Emperor bestowed upon them many rewards. However, the First Prince of Annan was unsuccessful in his proposal to marry a noblewoman from Great Zhou, as the Emperor refused his request.
Although the Emperor joked with Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu about fulfilling the wish of a noble family, it was all in jest. The words of Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu were also joking.
Marquis Xuanping and ministers supporting Prince Dai suggested to the Emperor that Prince Dai should take the princess of Annan as a consort.
Marquis An Yang opposed this proposal, stating that the Princess of Annan should marry the Third Prince as a consort because she harbored feelings for him.
Soon, the Emperor learned that the Third Prince had already consummated his marriage with the Princess of Annan, and he had no choice but to bestow the marriage, making her the Third Prince’s consort. The Princess of Annan would only be able to marry the Third Prince as a consort once he came of age next year.
Prince Dai and Marquis Xuanping did not expect the Third Prince to intervene and snatch the Princess of Annan away.
The Crown Prince and Duke Zhen’s plans also fell through.
Although the Third Prince succeeded in marrying the Princess of Annan, he incurred the Emperor’s wrath. After the foreign envoys left, the Emperor severely reprimanded the Third Prince and sent him to the Zongzheng Temple for reflection. This punishment was essentially confinement in the temple, and he was not released until the eve of the new year.
Prince Dai’s plan to marry the Princess of Annan as a consort failed, but the Emperor bestowed the title of consort to Prince Dai on a concubine’s daughter from the Wang family, Wang Siqi’s younger sister.
This marriage decree from the Emperor was like a bolt from the blue, leaving the civil and military officials dumbfounded.
The ministers were completely caught off guard by the Emperor’s decision, as the Wang family was the family of the Virtuous Concubine, the mother of the Third Prince, and yet the Emperor chose to marry the Wang family’s daughter to Prince Dai as a consort. This was simply unbelievable. In fact, the ministers felt the decree was absurd.
The Eighth Prince had anticipated such a marriage decree. He speculated that such seemingly ridiculous decrees were just the beginning of future events.
Duke Zhen quickly understood the true purpose behind the Emperor’s decree, which made him wary.
The Crown Prince was delighted to learn that the Emperor intended to cause strife between the Marquis Xuanping’s Mansion and the Marquis An Yang’s Mansion with this decree.
"Uncle, this decree from Father is brilliant. It seems Father doesn’t completely trust Prince Dai," the Crown Prince thought. Although Father favored Prince Dai, he was also wary of his growing power, so he allowed him to marry into the Wang family to use them to check Marquis Xuanping.
"The Emperor’s main goal is to restrain the Wang family," Duke Zhen sighed inwardly, realizing that the Emperor was finally making a move against the noble families in the capital.
"Restrain the Wang family—it saves us from having to intervene." Although the Third Prince currently posed no threat to the Crown Prince, the Wang family remained an obstacle. Now that Father was dealing with the Wang family, this was a welcome development.
Duke Zhen thought to himself: Once the Emperor deals with the Wang family, the Xun family, and the Yuan family, it will be the Xie family’s turn next.
While Duke Zhen worried about the Xie family’s fate, the Emperor suddenly issued an imperial decree, appointing Xie Shi as General Zhenxi to guard the northwest from the following day.
This decree was a monumental surprise for the Duke Zhen Country Mansion, as General Zhenxi commanded an army of ten thousand soldiers in the Northwest Military Camp.
However, for Prince Dai, this decree was tantamount to disaster. Of course, it was also not good news for the Third Prince and his faction.
The Eighth Prince was astonished by the Emperor’s decree, but he quickly grasped its significance.
Zhao Yao wasn’t surprised at all by the decree, as he and He Lianfang had long guessed the Emperor would do this.
The astute Duke Zhen naturally understood the true intention behind the decree, but rather than fear it, he was excited because what he lacked most was military power. Now that the Emperor had handed it to him, he was eager to use it to his advantage.
With these ten thousand soldiers, Duke Zhen believed he could thwart the Emperor’s plans.
What Duke Zhen didn’t realize was that the Emperor had deliberately made him think this way.