H! GVCP Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Wait a Little Longer

Emperor Jianyuan had six princes and six princesses. 

Among them, the First, Second, and Third Princes were already married, leaving the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Princes unwed.

The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Princesses had also all been married off, leaving only Princess Qing'an and Princess Baoyue without betrothed husbands.

Emperor Jianyuan had always respected his first wife; the marriages of the children all required the Empress's approval.

In truth, the Empress felt nothing but impatience regarding this matter. Her own children were all dead, yet she was expected to oversee the marriages of the children other women had borne for her husband.

Emperor Jianyuan’s actions were no different from rubbing salt in a wound, yet he blindly believed he was granting the Empress her rightful power. 

The Empress could only feel like laughing.

The Empress was aware that Emperor Jianyuan intended to select consorts for the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Princes.

However, as of now, the Emperor had not yet issued a decree. Consort Liang’s anxious display truly made the Empress feel she lacked composure.

On the surface, it appeared she held the power over the marriages of the princes and princesses; however, anyone with a bit of wit knew that her consent meant nothing without Emperor Jianyuan’s permission.

The Empress glanced at Consort Xian. Consort Xian had always been sensible and never stuck her neck out in such matters, and she was no different now.

Even though Consort Xian also had a son awaiting a consort selection, she showed no sign of hurry.

Compared to Consort Xian, Consort Liang appeared extremely foolish.

The Empress lowered her gaze, swept a look over Consort Liang, and said warmly, "Sister Liang, do you perhaps have a candidate in mind?"

Being questioned like this by the Empress, Consort Liang suddenly realized her mistake. 

She shifted her body, appearing somewhat restless and ill at ease.

"Your Majesty... this concubine... this concubine has no one."

The Empress gave a faint smile, her tone peaceful and gentle: "Since that is the case, it wouldn't hurt to wait a little longer. If there is someone you favor, there is no harm in mentioning it in advance."

Wait a little longer?

Wait for what?

Naturally, they were waiting for news from Emperor Jianyuan.

The fact that Emperor Jianyuan had not spoken proved he felt that now was not the time for consort selection. 

If anyone was in a hurry, they might as well go find His Majesty themselves; as for whether he would agree, that was a separate matter.

The Empress announced the end of the morning audience, and the various concubines rose again to see her off.

Since Noble Consort Chen’s daughters were already married off, she couldn't be bothered to care about such things.

She had no son and was now unable to conceive; in the future, she would simply wait to spend her old age alongside the Empress.

No matter who the new Emperor turned out to be, he would surely not kill the mother-consorts who had borne children.

Noble Consort Chen was very open-minded; once the audience was dismissed, she was the first to leave.

Immediately after, Consort Xian bid farewell to Consort Liang and was the first to depart from Weiyang Palace.

As Consort Xian boarded her sedan chair, she kept rubbing her temples; she could not fathom why that fool, Consort Liang, had suddenly brought up the matter of consort selection.

Emperor Jianyuan clearly had no such inclination at the moment. She had thought about finding a daughter from a prestigious family for her son.

Initially, Consort Xian felt that Prime Minister Cui’s youngest granddaughter was quite good, but after the County Princess of the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion entered the capital, she realized that was an even better candidate.

Consort Xian had always harbored the ambition to support her son in the struggle for the throne, so she naturally wanted to put effort into securing powerful marital alliances for him.

Cui Zhili was very good, but behind Yu Lingzhao stood the Prince of Zhennan’s Mansion with its military power, wasn't that even better?

In truth, Consort Xian wanted both, but she also knew that given the status of these two girls, it was impossible for either to be a concubine, even to a prince.

Therefore, the objective of Consort Xian and her son, Xiao Ning’an, was very clear: Yu Lingzhao.

The incident where Qing’an injured Yu Lingzhao was an accident. Consort Xian hadn't been able to learn the news in time; by the time she knew, Emperor Jianyuan’s punishment had already been handed down.

Consort Xian couldn't do much with that situation, so she simply sent some supplements to the Prince of Zhennan’s Mansion.

Only when Consort Liang suddenly mentioned the candidates for royal consorts today did Consort Xian realize she had overlooked her.

Consort Liang had a son too, and more importantly, she had a daughter.

If the son didn't succeed, she might be thinking of marrying her daughter to the third son of the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion; that would also create a marital alliance. 

Consort Xian’s brow furrowed slightly, her face the picture of a sorrowful beauty, making anyone who saw her feel a softening of the heart.

"Send someone to tell Ning’an: do not let others beat us to it," Consort Xian instructed in a low voice. 

She wasn't particularly worried.

After all, her son had an excellent reputation in the capital and was born handsome; with Ning’an’s talent, he would surely be able to charm Yu Lingzhao.

It wasn't that Consort Xian was overconfident; it was simply that Xiao Ning’an was also extremely confident in his own abilities.

Yu Lingzhao was temporarily unaware of the events in the palace. She was currently reading a letter from the Prince of Zhennan's Mansion, which said that her Eldest Sister-in-law was coming to the capital to visit her. 

Yu Lingzhao immediately had Fei Wu make arrangements to have the Mengxi Garden prepared for her sister-in-law's stay.

After Yu Xunyang finished reading the letter, his heart began to race. He felt as though something bad was about to happen and was filled with worry.

Seeing this, Yu Lingzhao asked, "Third Brother, what is wrong?"

"Zhaozhao, for some reason I feel uneasy, as if something is about to happen." Yu Xunyang felt his right eyelid twitching incessantly.

Since taking over the Zhiyu Guards, Yu Lingzhao had retrained them; their intelligence gathering was now increasingly agile and accurate, and there truly hadn't been any unusual news lately.

However, out of her distrust for the original work, Yu Lingzhao still took Yu Xunyang's unease seriously.

She ordered Guan Xiao to assign two personal bodyguards to Yu Xunyang, stipulating that they must never be separated no matter where he went; at least one of them had to stay by his side at all times.

Yu Xunyang wanted to refuse, but since Zhaozhao’s style had become increasingly decisive lately, she left him no room for objection, so he had to agree.

Yu Xunyang also reminded his sister whether enough time had passed and if she should go to the palace to give thanks.

Yu Lingzhao shook her head. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Wait a little longer. Guan Xiao said there are still many eyes watching outside the manor."

Too much attention on the Prince’s Mansion was not a good thing. She could wait a bit longer until everyone was distracted by other matters, which would make it more convenient for her to act. 

Yu Xunyang understood that his sister had her own plans, and the two sat down to enjoy some snacks leisurely.

Just as Yu Xunyang felt like life had returned to how it used to be at the Prince of Zhennan’s Mansion, he heard his sister say she wanted to spar a few rounds with him.

Yu Xunyang was stunned. "What?"

Yu Lingzhao gave a slight smile: "I said, Third Brother, spar with me for a few rounds to see if I have truly recovered."

Yu Lingzhao was thinking of the assassins they encountered at Huguo Temple that day; her third brother could not afford to let his martial arts skills go to waste.

Over the past few days, she had sent Guan Xiao to observe him, finding that her brother was often lazy in his practice. 

If this continued, his already mediocre skills would only get worse.

Yu Xunyang thought it was nothing serious, just a bit of practice, so he immediately agreed, even adding, "Don't cry if your Third Brother wins later, Zhaozhao."

Yu Lingzhao looked back at him in surprise; where did her third brother get such confidence?

However, Yu Xunyang misunderstood her look. He stood up and headed toward the martial arts field, promising he would definitely go easy on her.

Guan Xiao, Huaping, Feiwu, and the others all felt that the Third Young Master was far too confident. 

Guan Xiao, in particular, touched the bruise ointment at his waist and looked at the Third Young Master with sympathy.

If nothing else, the County Princess’s martial arts were personally taught by the Prince of Zhennan himself, and she had been exceptionally diligent lately.

Yu Lingzhao didn't bother explaining to Yu Xunyang. To teach a 'child,' one must deliver a critical blow right when they are at their most confident, that is the only way they grow.

That day, Yu Xunyang was pummeled by his sister several times, losing every bit of his dignity as an elder brother.

If Yu Xiaoyan and Yu Qizhi knew of this, they would simply sigh and say that Old Third never had much of an 'elder brother' persona to begin with.