Chapter 167: Mutual Schemes
The emperor sat at the top, looking down at Xie Lingxiao, thinking about the next strategy.
He couldn't let Xie Lingxiao act cautiously, he had to find a way to catch his mistakes, or make him disappear forever.
The emperor didn't say anything, and Xie Lingxiao remained silent too. For a moment, one could hear a pin drop in the imperial study.
After a long silence, a smile appeared on the emperor's face, and he looked at Xie Lingxiao as if victory was in sight.
"Royal brother, last time you said you wanted to get married. I wonder which lady you like?" the emperor asked with a smile.
If she is a woman who is easy to control, then what's wrong with agreeing to her?
Xie Lingxiao looked at the emperor suspiciously: "Your Majesty, don't you want your minister to get married?"
Seeing the emperor grinning so wickedly, Xie Lingxiao could not help but guess what the emperor had planned.
"What are you saying? Your Majesty has long wanted to arrange a marriage for you, but there is no suitable girl at the moment. I am also worried that a blind marriage would displease your Majesty." The emperor said hypocritically.
Xie Lingxiao hesitated and said, "I'd better not get married, lest my brother the emperor be unhappy."
When the emperor saw Xie Lingxiao's hesitation, he wanted to know who he liked.
"How could that be? I am so happy that my younger brother is getting married." The emperor said against his will.
Seeing that Xie Lingxiao had no thoughts to express, the emperor said anxiously, "Royal brother, men should get married when they are old enough, and women should get married when they are old enough. Don't delay a woman's marriage because of your impulsiveness."
Don't want to tell me? He must find out who the girl is today, otherwise he won't let him leave.
Xie Lingxiao saw the emperor's thoughts and frowned, "Your Majesty, I have chosen three women. I wonder which one you want to marry me to?"
Xie Lingxiao's dark eyes flickered slightly as he guessed the emperor's intention.
When the emperor heard this, he thought to himself that he was greedy. He actually wanted to marry three women at the same time?
"Just tell me, Royal Brother. I will take care of it for you." The Emperor stared at Xie Lingxiao, waiting for his answer.
Xie Lingxiaojun blushed slightly: "Your Majesty, I like the Prime Minister's daughter Lu Jinxuan, and the other one is the loyal and brave Marquis' daughter Jiang Shaoying."
After saying this, Xie Lingxiao's expression changed: "I still want to take Shen Jingxuan, the daughter of the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion, as my concubine."
The emperor was a little confused. His younger brother actually wanted to monopolize the legitimate daughters of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's Mansion?
The Prime Minister's Mansion has a queen and a prince. If Xie Lingxiao were to receive such a great help, he would probably be unable to sleep or eat.
I'm afraid that in the future, he will not only have to worry about his military power, but also about losing his throne, right?
As for the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, it also holds the military power. Xie Lingxiao already has two-thirds of the military power of the Beiling Kingdom.
If the Yue family still holds the military power, wouldn't that mean the Beiling Kingdom will be handed over to him?
The emperor felt a little regretful for a moment. He shouldn't have brought up this matter. Now he was in a dilemma and didn't know what to do.
I just said too much and wanted to make the decision for him. If he disagrees, I don’t know how to start the conversation for a moment.
Suddenly, the emperor had an idea. Thinking of Xie Lingxiao's angry look when he talked about taking a concubine, a glimmer of hope appeared in his heart.
"Shen Jingxuan? Why did you take her as a concubine?" The emperor was a little puzzled.
Xie Lingxiao had clearly asked Shen Jingxuan to treat the empress dowager before, so why was he so angry when he suddenly mentioned Shen Jingxuan?
Xie Lingxiao's face was gloomy, his dark eyes full of hatred: "Your Majesty, I wanted to marry her before, but she didn't know what was good for her and actually rejected me."
"I think, since she doesn't want to get married, I will let her be my concubine and bring her into the mansion so that she can't see the person she likes, which will also relieve my hatred."
Xie Lingxiao observed the emperor's changes as he spoke. He wanted to see if the emperor's thoughts were what he thought.
When the emperor heard this, he smiled and said, "Brother, how can you do such a thing to a woman?"
"Besides, since you like me, I will grant you the marriage. A married woman should obey her husband. After a long time, her heart will be with you."
Thinking of Xie Lingxiao's angry look just now, the emperor understood.
Isn’t it just that the girl he likes has someone else he likes, and since he can’t get her, he wants to take a concubine to humiliate her?
If the marriage is forced upon her, Shen Jingxuan will not be able to marry the man she loves. She will definitely be furious and even hate Xie Lingxiao, right?
The more he thought about it, the happier he became.
Xie Lingxiao refused and said, "Your Majesty, I only want to take her as my concubine."
"I am a prince, how can I allow her to refuse and humiliate me? I want to take her as my concubine and humiliate her."
Looking at the emperor's appearance, Xie Lingxiao knew that the emperor's thoughts had actually reached his backyard.
Seeing how unhappy he was, the emperor laughed inwardly.
Xie Lingxiao is a prince, and girls from ordinary families are not worthy of him. Even concubines from various mansions are still not suitable to be the regent princess.
Since the official daughter is going to get married, she will be involved in various government offices. No matter what official position she holds, she will become an aid to Xie Lingxiao.
The Zhenguo Mansion is different. Shen Jianan died in the battle, Old Man Shen is old, and the only male in the mansion is not yet an adult.
No matter what choice he makes, the emperor thinks Shen Jingxuan is the most suitable one.
She married into the palace, had no support from her mother's family, and was despised by Xie Lingxiao.
Even if Shen Jingxuan married into the mansion, she would definitely be resentful and would not be able to get close to Xie Lingxiao.
The more the emperor thought about it, the more satisfied he became: "Eunuch Deng is grinding ink, I will draft an edict to grant the marriage."
Eunuch Deng hurried forward, prepared the necessary things, and stood aside to grind them.
Xie Lingxiao said anxiously: "Your Majesty, I want to marry Lu Jinxuan and Jiang Shaoying."
Although he said he was asking for it, he was extremely nervous in his heart. Xie Lingxiao was afraid that the result he would get would not be what he wanted.
After the emperor finished writing the imperial edict, he laughed: "Royal brother, don't act on impulse. Since you like Shen Jingxuan, why do you have to cause mutual hatred because of a momentary anger?"
"Okay, I have drafted an edict to marry Shen Jingxuan as your principal wife. Go back and choose an auspicious date and get married as soon as possible."
After getting everything done, the emperor felt extremely happy. Thinking of how Shen Jingxuan hated Xie Lingxiao, he wanted to laugh out loud immediately.
Xie Lingxiao was anxious: "Your Majesty, I will not marry her. I don't want to marry her. Please change your mind."
"I only want to take her as my concubine to humiliate her."
Before he could continue to say that he wanted to marry Lu Jinxuan and Jiang Shaoying, the emperor raised his hand to stop him: "My brother, please step down. I am tired."
Xie Lingxiao took two steps forward: "Your Majesty..."
Eunuch Deng stopped him and said, "Your Majesty is tired, you should step down."
Xie Lingxiao's face was full of displeasure. He glared at Eunuch Deng, then turned around and left.
When the emperor saw Xie Lingxiao finally leave, he smiled with wrinkles all over his face: "Old Deng, go and announce the decree quickly, and then go to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to check the date, so that they can get married as soon as possible."
He wanted to see how Xie Lingxiao would refuse now that the imperial decree had been issued.
The emperor was even more looking forward to the two of them living a life of dislike for each other after their wedding.
Xie Lingxiao walked out of the imperial study and left the palace quickly.
After getting on the carriage, the corners of his lips gradually curled up. The emperor would never have thought that the only person he wanted to marry from the beginning to the end was Shen Jingxuan.
When Ling Feng lifted the car curtain, he saw Xie Lingxiao's unstoppable smile, which really frightened him.
He suppressed his discomfort and said, "Master, the matter between the Queen and Shen Jianan has come to a conclusion."
Xie Lingxiao smiled and said, "Let's go back to the mansion first, and I'll go tell Xuan'er in person later."
Ling Feng stepped back and drove the carriage straight to the Regent's Palace.