As soon as Lin Feilu heard this rumour, she knew that Noble Consort Ruan was most likely the person behind the act. Although the first two incidents were coincidences, she thought that the latter two were definitely artificial. However, the ancient times were full of superstitious people who believed in good fortune. Deliberately spread by those who had a heart to scheme, anything fake had the potential to become real.
In the struggle between the two factions over the years, the Ruan family did not gain any practical benefits. Instead, they allowed the Prime Minister’s faction to take the opportunity to grow, and it now achieved a tied standing with the Crown Prince. Starting from this marriage and shaking the people’s hearts was indeed a good way to achieve equilibrium.
Seeing that the Empress was very haggard towards this matter, and Noble Consort Ruan finally felt relief with the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess reducing their appearances. She explained to the Ruan family’s in-law, who came to the palace to bring a letter for greeting purposes, “Go back and tell father that the Jiangnan Water Conservancy must be obtained for Ting Er. If we do this, our achievements and our popularity will be greatly increased.”
Lin Ting started to go into court last year to discuss politics, but he had not achieved much. The Jiangnan Water Conservancy had been planned for a long time by Emperor Lin, so all the factions wanted to control it.
The Ruan family’s in-law responded and added, “In the past, Liu Yinping was responsible for the water conservancy in Jiangnan. I wanted to use his momentum and experience this time, but who would have expected such a thing to happen,”
Noble Consort Ruan sneered, “Mei is really a useless thing. She can’t do anything at all, so it might be a good thing that she had died. At any rate, don’t worry about her father.”
The two chatted for a while and when the Ruan family’s in-law was going to leave, he said, “After spring, the marriage of His Highness King Qi(2) should also be settled. The Prime Minister means that the conditions of the Marquis of Wu’an can be agreed to first.”
(T/N: Also explained, but when the Princes establish their own residence, they will be given a new name. The concept is that since they’re moving, they shouldn’t be only known as the ‘son of the Emperor’ and should have their own identity. The name given, King Qi is the new form of addressing Prince Lin Ting)
Noble Consort Ruan nodded, “I have a good idea.”
The Marquis of Wu’an, Wei Honglang, was named a Marquis for his military merit and loyalty. He was in charge of the capital patrol and the sixteen guards. However, the Xi family’s guards were stationed on the frontier all year round and rarely returned to the capital. Hence, the Marquis of Wu’an had more authority regarding the garrison in the capital.
He had a daughter named Wei Luochun, who was regarded as the jewel in his palm. Noble Consort Ruan fancied this woman to be Lin Ting’s wife. However, the Marquis of Wu’an was not a fool. He knew what the Ruan family desired and made two requests. First, until the Crown Prince was completely overthrown, he would not use any military forces to help them. Second, after getting married, Lin Ting must first write a letter of reconciliation. If something happens to the Ruan family, Wei Luochun must pack up immediately and not be implicated.
These two requests made Noble Consort Ruan very angry, so she did not agree to their marriage. But now, the whole court couldn’t find a more suitable force to win over than the Marquis of Wu’an. Since Prime Minister Ruan said so, Noble Consort Ruan couldn’t drag it any longer and planned to mention this to Emperor Lin after a while.
However, to avoid Emperor Lin’s suspicion, this matter could not be mentioned directly but should be based on the love of the two children.
Therefore, Noble Consort Ruan had already sent a letter to Lin Ting, asking him to attend the Snow Poetry Banquet to be held next month. The Marquis of Wu’an would arrange for Wei Luochun to meet him by chance.