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Chapter 442

But for the imperial family at the pinnacle of power, this "rushing for joy" is no longer just a simple "rushing for joy." Only the most foolish people would fail to probe the deeper meaning.

The great families even use marriages to expand their power. The prince\'s selection of an imperial consort is equally meaningful, a powerful and formidable in-law family not only brings assistance, but can even become the key to plotting for the imperial throne.

The officials on the entire court, whether they are making suggestions or listening to suggestions, all know that rushing for joy is an excuse. What they want to see is which heir the imperial family actually favors.

As for Cháng Yuán, what he wants to know is whether the imperial family is really ill or faking illness, going with the flow or helping things along.

"No one wants their position to be coveted. If he is really ill he will refute it, if he is faking illness he will agree."

Soon, news came from the Qiánqīng Palace.

The imperial family said that Crown Prince Cháng Yuán was already eighteen years old, and it was time for him to take a wife. It was decided to select a formal consort for the Crown Prince and the second and fourth princes, and also select a husband for the third princess in half a month.

The entire Fēngjīng city was stirred up over this. Countless families with eligible unmarried daughters began to have ideas.

Avoiding, catering, speculating, hesitating.

The only place with wailing was the Western Three Colleges, "Your Highness, why are you the only one left out? Why doesn\'t the imperial family select a consort for the fifth prince?"

Perhaps it was because he wasn\'t yet fifteen years old.

Or perhaps, to weaken the influence of the heir.

Regardless of which, Cháng Yuán breathed a sigh of relief. He didn\'t want to take a consort, nor did he want to get tangled up in the endless infighting of the great families.

However, when the news was passed back to the courtyard in the second enclosure, his sister clicked her tongue in regret, "I thought fifth brother could get a wife out of this, who would have thought with all that fuss, he didn\'t get a share."

Xù Mò beside her laughed, "Not taking a wife isn\'t a bad thing. The imperial family is wary of the great families yet relies on them. A powerful in-law family can certainly provide assistance, but in the future may also become a new restraint."

The great families are a double-edged sword, able to send a prince into the clouds, but also able to drag a prince down to hell.

It all depends on how the prince himself thinks.

"Then will the few princes choosing consorts think the same way, and choose mediocre in-law families?" Jiāng Shēng was startled, and suddenly thought of the improper match of the Liào family.

To avoid marrying a low status wife due to her powerful family, they hid from the emperor\'s wariness, but couldn\'t avoid disputes in the rear court.

Perhaps there was no right or wrong, no positive or negative in this matter.

Any choice could be wrong, any choice could be right.

For now, the great families were still the most powerful support, whether it was the prince who had ambitions for the throne, or the prince who was biding his time, or even Cháng Yuán who was watching the tigers fight despite Jiang and Dou families behind him.

It was not surprising that the princes would go all out when selecting consorts.

The first to make a move was the Crown Prince. He was the most likely heir, with Imperial Concubine Jù and the Fāng family behind him. Almost all the young ladies in the city were his for the picking.

Since he could pick any, of course he would pick the family with the least connections, the most difficult to pull in, and the greatest power.

In Fēngjīng, there were four top families, respectively the Jiāng, Dòu, Fāng, and Sūn families, with only one elder statesman from the Sūn family remaining at court.

The Fāng family was already colluding with the Crown Prince, and the Sūn family had almost withdrawn from court, so the most suitable to draw in were the Jiāng and Dòu families.

The Jiāng family had Jiāng Shēng, as well as grudges with Fāng Yu?n and Xù Mò, so entanglements were unlikely. But Imperial Concubine Jù coveted General Jiāng\'s military power, and had Jiāng Chéngyù on her list of candidates.

The Dòu family was not bad either. Although Dòu Wēi had not entered the inner court, as head of the Ministry of Personnel he controlled appointments and promotions. The Dòu family daughter was also of more suitable age, so she too was on the candidate list.

The rest depended on which young lady the Crown Prince could win the favor of.

But not long after, this son of the Imperial Concubine was refused when he invited Jiāng Chéngyù to admire flowers, and rejected when he invited the Dòu family daughter to watch snow, until his face was blackened.

When the news reached the manor, Jiāng Shēng burst out laughing, but also felt somewhat uneasy afterwards, "Imperial Concubine Jù is so powerful, she wouldn\'t force Chéngyù and the Dòu young lady to marry, right?"

That lively little pepper, and the clever Dòu family daughter, shouldn\'t marry the Crown Prince and throw away half their lives in the deep palace.

"Don\'t worry, the Crown Prince doesn\'t dare force them. He was just trying to win them over." Xù Mò put away his chess pieces, "He can\'t afford to offend either the Jiāng or Dòu families."

Compared to the Crown Prince whose actions were blunt and undisguised, the other two princes were more interesting.

The Second Prince, who did not have a prominent birth mother, had a steady and unhurried personality, a contrast to the Crown Prince\'s impatience. He did not immediately cozy up to top families, and did not bother sizing up first-rate families either. He just went about his official business, travelling between the government offices and the Second Prince\'s manor each day.

The Fourth Prince was a romantic, directly going to the entrance of the Yáo family manor and declaring he would give Miss Yáo happiness, even arrogantly swearing to never take a concubine.

He had been pursuing Yáo Sīqīng for a while, sending gifts to the Yáo residence multiple times before being tactfully declined. Going directly to their door this time angered the Yáo family head to the point he couldn\'t eat dinner.

"Is the Fourth Prince trying to take in both the Yáo and Jiāng families by marrying Sister Sīqīng, or does he genuinely like Sister Sīqīng?" Jiāng Shēng started worrying again, "He wouldn\'t be taking advantage of Sister Sīqīng, would he?"

Xù Mò ruffled his little sister\'s head and reassured her, "The Yáo family won\'t agree."

As Jiāng Shēng said, the Yáo and Jiāng families were evenly matched top allies, and the Yáo family had always looked up to the Jiāng family for guidance.

From a familial perspective, Old Lady Jiāng was the Yáo family head\'s aunt, and had known her two nephews since childhood, so it was unlikely she would readily abandon those ties.

From an interest perspective, the prince was not necessarily going to become emperor, but the Jiāng family\'s military merits could allow both families to stand steady at court.

As long as the Yáo family head was clear-headed, he would refuse. It was just a matter of how to refuse.

Normally, he could swiftly betroth his son or daughter, and not even a prince could interfere in a subject\'s family affairs.

But doing so was equal to offending the Fourth Prince, and the new in-laws would also earn his resentment.

So after thinking it over, the Yáo family unexpectedly put out news that with no male heir, their only daughter Yáo Sīqīng would remain at home to find a husband.

After all, an honorable Fourth Prince could not be a son-in-law to a great family.

Even if he was willing, his mother Consort Chǔ would slap him until he was unwilling.

With this, the matter of selecting consorts quieted down.

Apart from the Crown Prince making a ruckus everywhere, it seemed none of the others had found a satisfactory great family, much less revealed any coveting of the imperial throne.

"Could Your Highness\'s scheme have failed? If this cannot provoke the hidden prince, could it be he intends to make his move only after the passing of the emperor?" The guard couldn\'t help but quietly grumble.

To this, Cháng Yuán merely quirked up the corners of his lips, his tone casual, "Don\'t rush."