In the General’s Manor, a stone had finally fallen from Madam Lin’s heart. She specially sent someone to the newly opened shop on the street to buy a roast duck to celebrate with an extra dish.
The top scholar had been bestowed upon the Princess in marriage—no need to worry anymore that Ah Hao might suddenly have a change of heart.
Truly, thank heavens!
Lin Chan, however, was somewhat worried about her younger sister. In private, she asked Lin Hao, “Second Sister, you—”
“Is Elder Sister asking about Scholar Yang?” Seeing Lin Chan’s hesitant expression, Lin Hao guessed what she wanted to ask and said with a smile, “He and I are practically strangers. Elder Sister, please do not overthink it.”
Lin Chan breathed a sigh of relief. “That is good. I was afraid you had taken the Lantern Festival matter to heart.”
The bright moon overhead, lights like daylight—just imagining such a scene, she could hardly guarantee her heart would remain unmoved. It was wonderful that her younger sister had not been swayed, sparing her heartache over the top scholar and Princess forming a good match.
Lin Hao returned to her chambers and instructed Baozhu, “Do not store that glass lantern in the chest anymore. Lock it directly in the storeroom.”
“Yes.” Baozhu was efficient, immediately carrying the chest and heading toward the storeroom with quick steps.
In the blink of an eye, it was already February. The news that replaced the top scholar being bestowed upon the Princess was the announcement of selecting a Crown Princess.
Selecting a Crown Princess was a major affair. Unlike the previous occasion when the Chrysanthemum Banquet was used as a pretext to select a consort for Prince Wei, the noble ladies who entered the candidate list honestly came to the palace and went through round after round of selection. Ultimately, three remained for the Crown Prince to choose from.
Upon seeing the three ladies, the Crown Prince frowned.
He did not know if it was an illusion, but these three ladies had a completely different style from the candidate noble ladies when he had selected his first Crown Princess years ago.
At a glance, one had a large round face, another had a large round face, and yet another had a large round face!
Was Father making pancakes?
The Crown Prince grumbled inwardly, stubbornly delaying his selection.
Emperor Tai’an was very dissatisfied with the Crown Prince’s pickiness. “These three noble ladies are perfectly suitable for you in terms of background and temperament. Is there not even one you like?”
The Crown Prince felt rather aggrieved. “Father, taking a wife is a lifelong matter. Besides background and temperament, should we not consider other things?”
“What other things?” Emperor Tai’an was somewhat irritated. “Are you speaking of appearance? Have you not heard the saying ‘marry a wife for virtue’? Moreover, this is the Crown Princess. What could be more important than virtue?”
The Crown Prince still would not give up. “Father, can we not have both?”
Emperor Tai’an was somewhat disappointed by the Crown Prince’s inability to grasp priorities, his tone becoming stern. “The horoscopes of these three noble ladies all match yours extremely well, and they have the features of bearing sons. You still have not a trace of offspring. At present, heirs are the most important matter. As for beauty, as Crown Prince, would you lack for it?”
“Your son understands.” The Crown Prince lowered his head, yet felt unconvinced in his heart.
He was already Crown Prince—could he not marry someone both virtuous and beautiful?
He could not help but think of Lin Hao.
In terms of beauty, currently the one who most caught his eye was Second Miss Lin. Unfortunately, with her elder sister betrothed to Fourth Brother, when it came to selecting his consort, she did not even have the qualification to enter the preliminary selection list.
The imperial family had no precedent of two princes marrying sisters from one family.
Thinking about it was truly vexing. He, the dignified Crown Prince, could not have the woman he most wanted. No, forget the one he most wanted—he could not even marry one who was pleasing to the eye.
The Crown Prince simply made a random mark on the roster, selecting the Crown Princess.
After all, they all had pancake faces. What was the difference?
The selected family was overjoyed, and Emperor Tai’an also felt satisfied.
The Crown Prince had at least listened to advice. The noble lady he had chosen was the one he most favored.
Seeing Emperor Tai’an in a good mood, the Crown Prince took the opportunity to say, “Father, now that it is warming up outside, your son has been in the palace feeling quite stifled. I would like to go out for a walk.”
Since the assassination attempt, the Crown Prince had not left the palace in quite some time.
Emperor Tai’an pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.
The Crown Prince’s left hand still had not recovered. If he remained confined in the palace, prolonged melancholy might warp his temperament.
With this, the Crown Prince’s confinement was lifted.
He changed into ordinary clothes and left the palace, wandering east and west until he wandered near the General’s Manor.
Perhaps because the weather had warmed, the two stone lions in front of the General’s Manor seemed less cold and forbidding. People constantly came and went through the side gate.
The more the Crown Prince looked, the more peculiar it seemed. He asked Wang Gui, the eunuch serving close by, “Why is the General’s Manor so lively?”
Wang Gui was somewhat more experienced than the Crown Prince. He said hesitantly, “That woman who just came out looks like a matchmaker.”
“A matchmaker?” The Crown Prince’s brows knitted. “Go ask what is happening.”
Wang Gui caught up and called out to the woman. “Auntie, were you arranging a match at the General’s Manor?”
The woman scrutinized Wang Gui suspiciously.
Wang Gui was dressed as a servant, but the woman could see his clothing material was of the finest quality. The woman immediately became wary.
Could this be a competitor coming to spy on the enemy?
“I do not know you either—” Before the woman could finish speaking, a silver ingot fell into her palm.
Her pupils immediately constricted.
This ingot of silver was worth several of her trips.
The woman immediately showed a smiling face. “Yes, I went to arrange a match, but as for which young master’s family I went for, that cannot be disclosed.”
Afraid Wang Gui would take the silver back, the woman hastily added, “Actually, asking which families came to arrange matches is useless.”
“Why?”
“Because there are too many coming to arrange matches! These past days, they have nearly worn down the threshold of the General’s Manor.”
Wang Gui was somewhat shocked. “Is Second Miss Lin this popular?”
The woman chuckled. “Of course! Second Miss Lin is a heavenly beauty. Who would not want to marry her as a wife?”
Of course, she could not speak such blunt truths as wanting to become in-laws with a prince.
Wang Gui finished gathering information and returned to report.
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince felt even more depressed.
Look at that! These families knew to find beautiful wives for their sons, yet Father was so unreasonable.
The Crown Prince’s resentment toward the Emperor frightened Wang Gui somewhat. He carefully tried to console him. “Your Highness, you are different from them. You will have to shoulder so much more in the future.”
“The future is still far off.” The Crown Prince sneered.
Father was still in his prime. Heaven knew when he, the Crown Prince, would finally come into his own. By that time, Second Miss Lin’s daughter might already be of marriageable age.
The more the Crown Prince thought about it, the more unwilling he became. A sinister expression appeared on his face. “Wang Gui, think of a solution for me.”
Sweat broke out on Wang Gui’s forehead. “Your Highness, First Miss Lin is the Prince’s betrothed. Second Miss Lin cannot possibly enter the palace to serve you.”
“What if First Miss Lin were no longer the Prince’s betrothed?” The Crown Prince had a flash of inspiration and blurted out this sentence.
Wang Gui was stunned.
The Crown Prince clapped Wang Gui’s shoulder heavily. “Wang Gui, I value you most highly. You surely have a solution, do you not?”
Seeing Wang Gui’s silence, the Crown Prince’s face darkened. “That time you arranged the heroic rescue, it did not satisfy me at all.”
Wang Gui’s heart tightened, and he dared not hesitate any longer. “Your Highness may rest assured, this servant will think of a solution. Only—”
“Only what?”
“Even if First Miss Lin cannot become Prince Wei’s consort, this servant observes that the General’s Manor is not willing to have Second Miss Lin enter the palace as a concubine.”
The Crown Prince was confident about this. “Times change. When the time comes, I will beseech Father, and Father will speak on it.”
They had already aggrieved him by making him marry a pancake face—surely this small request would be satisfied.
While the Crown Prince was scheming again, Lin Hao and Lin Chan received an invitation from the young lady, asking them to go out for a spring outing.