Chapter 450: Chapter 450 - 450 Various Families’ Reaction (5)

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Yang Wanyu was currently the Yang family’s favorite, while Yang Wanning, the eldest daughter, was effectively abandoned.

Pushing Yang Wanning to the Third Prince was equivalent to cutting off his support from the in-laws. It could also drive a wedge between the Emperor and the Third Prince.

As for the Empress Dowager’s niece, the Emperor would not marry her to any of the princes, especially the Third Prince.

Otherwise, the Empress Dowager might not always be on his side.

“A man should marry a wise wife. When Mrs. Gu was not feeling well two years ago, Yang Wanning helped her mother manage her dowry. It is said that she managed it well.”

“I see; it was easy for Madam Cui to seize power right after that.”

“That’s…” The Empress knew this was because Yang Shicheng took advantage of Mrs. Gu’s death and the snowstorm’s impact to seize the dowry forcefully, but she could not say this clearly.

Seeing this, the Emperor couldn’t be bothered to listen to her explanation anymore and asked, “What about the Fourth Prince?”

“The daughter of the Minister of Personnel, Hong Suzhi.”

“That is fine.” The Emperor hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Lord Hong was his trusted aide. With Hong Suzhi and Principal Zhou, the Fourth Prince would be closely watched.

“What about the Seventh Prince?” he asked.

“The daughter of the Grand Scholar Sun, Sun Miaoke. How about her? The Seventh Prince and the Grand Scholar Sun have a teacher-student relationship; they will be satisfied with this arrangement.

The Emperor flipped through Sun Miake’s information and found that she was a woman with many talents. Her best points were that she was strong and decisive, dealing with problems swiftly and decisively.

He shook his head. “Sun Miao can be assigned to the Third Prince. He’s not home all year round, so he needs a capable wife.”

He paused momentarily and continued, “Yang Wanning will be his concubine as well.

“As for the Seventh Prince, his mother doesn’t have anyone in the imperial court, so let’s choose Yan Yurong to be his wife, the direct granddaughter of the Nine Gates Admiral Yan.”

The Empress’s heart skipped a beat when she heard this. The Nine Gates Admiral was in charge of the entire capital’s military forces. It could be said that he was even more of a threat than the Zhou family.

This was also why she had never nominated anyone from this family, nor did she dare name someone to the First Prince.

What did the Emperor mean by this? Was he starting to support the Seventh Prince?

“It’s settled then. Inform the Ministry of Rites to start preparing wedding attire for them. The imperial edict will be issued tomorrow for them to get married one after another.” After the Emperor finished speaking, he returned to his study to draft an imperial edict for bestowing marriages.

The Empress looked at his back and almost crushed the cup in her hand. However, after taking a deep breath, she quickly regained her composure and asked someone to prepare a bath to wash up.

Zhou Ying was really impressed. It seemed that the Empress’s job was not something anyone could do.

She glanced quickly at the First Prince’s and Fourth Prince’s residences. Perhaps it was too late, but they had already slept.

Thus, she left and started to get busy.

After they were done with their work, the husband and wife sat together for supper. Zhou Ying told Gu Chengrui about the Emperor’s series of arranged marriages and said, “The Emperor is really good at balancing power among his sons.

“Out of the four princes, three had military power.

“Although the Fourth Prince doesn’t have one, his mother’s side of the family is the Prime Minister, who is second only to one person and above all others.

Now that he will be connected to more powerful in-laws, his status in the court cannot be underestimated.”

“That’s why I said it’s not easy to be an emperor. He has to consider all aspects. Otherwise, he’ll lose his balance and be screwed.”

“Since the Emperor knows about Yang Wanning’s situation in the Yang family, why would he appoint her as the Third Prince’s concubine?

“It’s just like suddenly putting you under Princess Ping Yang’s name; it’s a little confusing.”

“I have a bad feeling about this. After we receive the reward, we should return to Dongyang.”

“Are you saying that the Emperor wants our lives?”