Chapter 380: and ===GLOSSARY=== sections

383. Chapter 383: Children's Marriage

Father King held him, and Sui Sui also obediently snuggled up to him.

Only after truly holding the child in his arms did Prince Qi's heart finally settle.

All right, all right, nothing's wrong.

Just now, when he heard the news, Prince Qi nearly scared himself to death.

He kissed Sui Sui's cheek, rubbed her head, and then finally let out a long sigh.

Knowing that Lù Yǐnxiāo was the first to jump in to save someone, his own little six wasn't far behind, and the other servants eagerly jumped in too; Prince Qi waved his hand and said, "Everyone gets a reward, everyone gets a reward."

Just reward the servants.

But it wouldn't be right to simply pay off Lù Yǐnxiāo and the other youngsters with silver.

After all, they saved lives and did a good deed; just tossing money at them would feel a bit humiliating.

So Prince Qi quickly had Sui Si fetch the finest pine-soot ink from the storeroom for Lù Yǐnxiāo, and also gathered some study supplies for the other children.

As for He Zhongran, who caused the trouble, Prince Qi didn't blame him either, and didn't want the children to be frightened, so he also gave them some little toys to play with.

The children were cheered up and the adults could relax.

Lady He knew her child had caused trouble, felt a bit embarrassed, and quietly went to apologize to Princess Consort of Qi.

Sui Sui fell into the water, and Princess Consort of Qi was indeed quite frightened.

However, children's play sometimes lacks foresight, which is normal.

He Zhongran himself was also quite frightened; as long as it wasn't done on purpose to cause harm, Princess Consort of Qi was actually quite magnanimous.

Moreover, the two households get along well; on the day of Sui Sui's coming-of-age banquet, the He family also sent a generous gift, which, though also a thank‑you, gave both sides face.

So Princess Consort of Qi didn't overreact, just said a few words, then let the other side go first to comfort the children.

The children were just frightened at the moment; after a while they started playing again, each full of energy, and although they still remembered what happened, they didn't dwell on it.

Prince Qi's birthday banquet was held splendidly; even the Empress Dowager, who had been ill all along, got to share in her son's joy and her health recovered quite well.

At least her complexion improved a lot, though she remained lazy and didn't like getting out of bed.

The imperial physician said that, following the Empress Dowager's wishes, she still needs to be nurtured; her qi and blood are lacking, so being a bit lazy is normal.

The Empress Dowager herself sees it as fine; she's already old, so anything goes.

Moreover, she has lived much longer than the Late Emperor; she's come out ahead.

However, she just needs to understand those things in her heart; there's no need to tell outsiders.

Not even her own son is an exception.

That is also the Late Emperor's son.

For Prince Qi's birthday, the Empress Dowager also arranged gifts, and His Majesty naturally didn't fall short.

After the banquet ended, after seeing off the guests and settling the children to sleep, Prince Qi sat down with the Princess Consort to talk.

Prince Qi first spoke about the Tang household: "I heard that the Tang family's daughter's marriage has been settled."

He had previously, out of anger, even kicked Tang Ren amidst the chaos.

Now bringing it up, he didn't show much emotion, simply saying the match for Tang Youqing: "It's the younger son of Prince Chu, two years younger than the Tang daughter; his conduct is not bad, and moreover the Tang family's eldest daughter married the eldest son of Prince Chu, so the sisters will have each other to rely on."

Princess Consort of Qi was somewhat surprised that the Tang family ultimately made such a choice.

Normally speaking, each household's children's marriages involve their own considerations.

Moreover, they will also conduct a risk analysis and share the burden.

Put bluntly, having two daughters marry into the same family sounds nice, but the risk is also concentrated.

More often, people still marry off to different branches, trying as much as possible not to put all their eggs in one basket.

Princess Consort of Qi was surprised by the Tang family's choice, so she exclaimed, "Sisters marrying into the same household…"

After sighing, she added, "It can also be considered a good story."

In response, Prince Qi shook his head: "I guess it's just a helpless move made out of lack of choice."

Previously, everyone assumed that the Tang family's daughter would enter the Eastern Palace to become a consort to the Crown Prince.

Although it's a consort position, when the Crown Prince eventually ascends, at worst she'd be a concubine, and with her own family's Empress Dowager looking after her, her life would be fine.

Moreover, the Crown Prince's consort had been in the Eastern Palace for two years without issue; if the consort were to bear a child first, perhaps when the Crown Prince ascends, the consort could even rise to become Empress.

Of course, given the Tang family's situation, as long as the Crown Prince isn't foolish, it's impossible for him to bypass his consort and truly promote the Tang daughter ahead.

However, even if it's a consort position, her days won't be bad.

However, Lady Tang was unwilling, feeling that being a consort meant being inferior and having to watch others' expressions.

She herself was a stepwife, having suffered enough of that, and wanted her own daughter to be a proper main wife.

Being a stepwife won't do, being a consort is even worse!

Lady Tang was unwilling, and secretly began to look over eligible men and women in the capital.

Moreover, she had never greeted the Eastern Palace side before, thus earning the grudge of the Crown Prince's faction.

The Crown Prince certainly wouldn't show any of it on his face, lest people think he's too petty.

But behind the scenes, some maneuvers are also normal.

However, even if the Crown Prince wants to vent his anger, he'll likely prioritize interests.

Prince Qi couldn't be bothered to manage how those people with eight hundred hearts scheme against each other.

He only knows that it's fine if the Tang family stops staring at his son.

As for his own son's marriage, he also cares a great deal.

Feng Xuanze had just celebrated his birthday and grew another year older.

At his age, he still hasn't decided, and Prince Qi also grew anxious: "The Empress Dowager means, pick a few you like, take them to her to look at, and she'll choose the best from among them."

Princess Consort of Qi has also recently been considering a selection.

The relationships in Jing Cheng are complicated and intertwined.

Prince Qi has no intention of getting involved in the center of power; he just wants to live a peaceful life, so these noble ladies in Jing Cheng are not easy to choose.

Each family's interests are more or less connected; marrying this girl might not create any conflict of interest for his own family, but what about his maternal family?

What about the marriage ties of the other daughters and sons in their family?

There are many things involved, so Princess Consort of Qi naturally has many considerations.

She has also been looking around lately, and now she has picked two satisfactory ones for Prince Qi to see: "I have indeed met two nice ladies recently, and I have sent people to inquire; both ladies are not yet engaged."

Upon hearing that someone had been selected, Prince Qi also became energized: "Tell me, whose family are they from?"

Princess Consort of Qi replied with a smile: "One is the eldest granddaughter of the Qingzhou Prefect, fifteen years old; I hear she is a lively girl, and it's good for a young lady to have a somewhat active temperament, for Ze Ge'er is sometimes too steady."

Although he is the heir of the Wangfu, steadiness is indeed needed.

But getting along with him, one inevitably finds his temperament a bit dull.

If a somewhat lively lady were to come and complement him, their life would be more interesting.

After hearing this, Prince Qi nodded quite satisfied, but there was still another matter on his mind, so he quickly asked: "What about the other one? How is the other one?"