Statement: The Empress is pure and has high aspirations, she is a beauty connoisseur, and is pure in both spirit and body. She has no male consorts and will not take any in the future!
...
Inside the Marquis Manor, flowers bloomed splendidly, and Xia Chen revealed a brilliant smile.
Xia Chen didn't care about anything else; he just wanted to get out early. Only by getting out could he build his own foundation.
Although the Marquis Manor was good, he was not the master of his own house; he could only borrow its strength, not entrust everything to it.
Xia Chen was extremely clear about this point: the Marquis Manor belonged to everyone, not just him.
His interests did not represent the interests of the Marquis Manor.
But for now, he could use the resources and prestige of the Marquis Manor to secure a good official position.
If there was a shortcut, why climb from the bottom?
Xia Chen was never one to suffer hardship unnecessarily.
As Xia Chen followed Xia Qian to the Merit Hall to meet the clan elders, receive merits, and engrave the true meaning of the Shouyang Demon-Piercing Blade, east of the Imperial Palace, a grand but slightly understated mansion stood beside Central Avenue.
Its vermilion-lacquered gate stood majestically, copper nails gleamed with the faint light of ages, and the stone lions on either side were awe-inspiring.
Princess Yaoguang's!
This was the Second Imperial Princess's residence. The Second Imperial Princess was now in the prime of her youth.
However, even before the New Year, she had requested free access to and from the palace, and just after the Spring Festival this year, she voluntarily requested to move out of the palace. Such an action was naturally against protocol.
According to the ritual system, even if a Princess came of age, she should continue to live in the palace, and only after marrying her consort could she move from the palace to her Princess Manor.
No one knew what this Second Imperial Princess had said to the Emperor that made him grant his permission.
But soon, the ministers knew that this Princess had been granted marriage to the son of Lord Antong.
At this moment, in the front hall of the Princess Manor!
Three women and two men sat quietly below, but everyone's gaze involuntarily fell on the Dragon-patterned Imperial Edict casually placed to the side.
Seated in the principal position was a woman with skin like congealed cream, eyebrows like distant mountains, and eyes like twinkling stars, revealing deep tranquility.
Her nose was delicate and refined, and her raven-black hair flowed like a waterfall, appearing even softer and shinier against her magnificent robes. Her features were exquisite and breathtakingly beautiful.
She merely sat there, and everyone else, regardless of gender, paled in comparison.
And that Imperial Edict was placed beside her hand.
The Second Imperial Princess, titled Princess Yaoguang!
"Princess, that Xia Chen is extremely transparent in the Zhendong Marquis Manor and is clearly not valued. You are of noble birth; how can that Xia Chen be worthy of you?"
Below, a woman spoke with some indignation, breaking the silence.
"Then what is the solution?"
The Second Imperial Princess's eyes were calm, showing no joy or sorrow.
The young woman in the emerald-yellow dress was momentarily speechless, having nothing to say. Indeed, His Majesty had granted the marriage, and it had already been announced to the world; there was no solution to this matter.
"How about sending someone to assassinate that Xia Chen? I heard he is not favored in the Marquis Manor. Lord Antong has been away on the Eastern Wilderness Battlefield for 14 years, with only one letter every three years. Clearly, he doesn't care much for this eldest legitimate son."
A man on the left side below spoke in a deep voice.
"Nonsense! How can such a despicable method as assassination be used so casually? If it could be effective and solve everything once and for all, then so be it. But whether the assassination fails or succeeds, it will be a big trouble, impossible to resolve!"
The young man at the top left shook his head and reprimanded him.
He was from the Imperial College, named Huo Qiming. Although he was a scholar, he was not pedantic. If assassination could truly solve the problem, then fine, but whether the assassination succeeded or failed, it would lead to great disaster.
Xia Chen might just be a disabled body, not valued by Lord Antong and the Marquis Manor, but he was still a legitimate son of the Marquis Manor. Moreover, this marriage was granted by His Majesty, with the purpose of winning over the Marquis Manor and showing imperial grace.
It didn't matter who the Second Imperial Princess married, as long as the other party was a direct descendant of the Marquis Manor.
Therefore, even if Xia Chen died, the Second Imperial Princess would most likely still be married off.
Xu Jun felt anger in his eyes when he heard Huo Qiming refute his words, but seeing the Princess present, he forcibly suppressed it.
Yaoguang listened quietly to the two speak without interrupting, but deep in her eyes, she was somewhat disappointed in Xu Jun.
Both Xu Jun and Huo Qiming were advisors she had recruited from the Imperial College this month. Now it seemed Huo Qiming was clearly more intelligent than Xu Jun.
Assassination was not impossible to use, but using it on a legitimate son of the Marquis Manor was too childish.
If everything in the world were to be solved by killing, wouldn't the world have long since fallen into chaos?
Although the Zhendong Marquis Manor was not the highest-ranking among the military nobles, it produced many talented generals. Zhendong Marquis Xia Chutian was hailed as the Great Wu Military God of the previous generation.
Thirty-six years ago, Great Wu and Great Feng fought the Huaiyang Battle, which lasted for three years.
Ultimately, Xia Chutian, as the commander, led 200,000 troops to defeat Great Feng's famous general Xiao Yue, pushing into Great Feng's territory, sweeping all before him, and finally reaching within 30 li of Great Feng's capital.
If it weren't for Great Qing in the west and the demons of the Eastern Wilderness taking the opportunity to approach Great Wu's borders, that battle, even if it couldn't completely destroy Great Feng, could have taken half of Great Feng's territory.
In this battle, Zhendong Marquis's name shook the world. It was also after this battle that Zhendong Marquis voluntarily relinquished his military power and began to seclude himself, focusing on cultivating martial arts.
Because of this action, Emperor Wen trusted the Zhendong Marquis Manor greatly and bestowed endless rewards.
The Second Imperial Princess understood very well that Zhendong Marquis's voluntary retreat had saved him from her imperial father's suspicion and also given the second generation of the Xia family a chance to rise.
The two brothers, Xia Qian and Xia Yuan, began to distinguish themselves in the military, achieving illustrious military exploits and becoming leading figures among the military noble offspring.
Twenty-one years ago, Xia Qian, the eldest, who inherited one of the other two Marquis titles in the clan, Anwu Marquis, shone brightly in a battle against the Southern Barbarians.
Afterwards, he also learned from his father, biding his time, voluntarily surrendering his military power, and returning to the capital to manage the Marquis Manor. Although he had not appeared in public for many years, who in the world could underestimate him?
Xia Yuan, the second eldest, who inherited the clan's Lord Antong title, was appointed commander of the Eastern Wilderness Battlefield fourteen years ago in a time of crisis.
For the first 13 years, he maintained a steady approach, achieving no major successes but also making no mistakes, which kept the eastern frontier as stable as Mount Tai.
The ministers were both delighted and relieved. Although Xia Yuan's ability to stabilize the eastern war situation was a great achievement, compared to his father and elder brother, he was finally not so much of a Prodigy.
But who knew that a month ago, Xia Yuan, after thirteen years of lying low and luring the enemy, suddenly erupted and single-handedly slaughtered a third-rank Great Demon, shocking the court and the public.
One family with three commanders—how could this not shock the world and make the imperial family wary?
But with the current chaos in the world, Great Wu was not dominant. Facing the Marquis Manor, they must not suppress them, but rather win them over.
Under such circumstances, how could assassination be used against a legitimate son of the Marquis Manor?
"That Xia Chen is merely a disabled body, not worth worrying about. It's just a marriage. Since this matter has been decided, there's no need to say more. The Zhendong Marquis Manor is loyal to the Emperor and patriotic, making great contributions to the country. It's a good thing that I can help my Imperial Father share his worries!"
The Second Imperial Princess smiled, and the entire hall instantly brightened, but her gaze remained extremely calm.
She harbored a great ambition in her heart that she had never spoken of. The reason for her peculiar behavior, refusing to be confined within the deep palace walls like other Imperial Princesses, was for this ambition.
Who says women in the world cannot be emperors? She, Yaoguang, insists on being the first in history!