Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 446 Princess Linchuan's Conditions

On the city wall of Chunming Gate in Chang'an.

Li Xiao and the other two stood side by side with Xu Ling, gazing eastward, their expressions filled with anticipation and worry.

"Second Prince, do you think Father and the others will arrive today?" Xu Ling asked.

Li Xiaodao: "Don't worry, I went to the Inner Commandery to ask, and General Wang said that he will arrive no later than today."

Li Lian suddenly gave a wink and pulled Li Yong aside.

Li Yong frowned and said, "Si Lang, what are you doing?"

Li Lian pointed at Li Xiao and whispered, "Don't disturb Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law."

When Li Yong heard the words "Second Sister-in-law," he paused for a moment, turned his head, and saw that Li Xiao had unknowingly hugged Xu Ling's waist, and Xu Ling had also rested her head on his shoulder.

Li Yong's eyes widened, and he said, "Second brother, you wouldn't..."

Li Lian laughed and said, "Haven't you noticed these past few days? Second Brother's attitude towards Madam Xu is quite different."

"But her identity..."

Li Lian laughed and said, "You don't understand your second brother's thoughts. He just wants to follow his eldest brother's example and decide his own marriage. Besides, isn't it better for him to marry Madam Xu than Madam Wei?"

Li Yong said in a low voice, "I'm just afraid Father won't agree."

Li Lian said, "That's not necessarily true. Didn't Father promote Consort Zhu to the rank of Lady? In my opinion, Father has always wanted to suppress the powerful clans and elevate the status of commoners and ordinary people, so he should agree."

When Li Yong heard what he said, he thought it made sense and his heart was moved. He thought to himself, "So, I can decide my own marriage?"

Suddenly, Li Xiao shouted, "Look, Ling'er, a horse team is coming!"

Li Yong looked up and saw a horse team approaching. He had sharp eyes and immediately recognized the leader.

"It looks like Wu Minzhi!"

Li Lian stared at it for a while and said, "It really is. The one next to him is Cheng Wuting."

Li Xiao had already pulled Xu Ling down from the city wall, and Li Yong and the other two hurriedly followed.

As expected, it was Wu Minzhi and Cheng Wuting who arrived. They had finished their mission in Liaodong and were originally heading back to Chang'an when they suddenly received an order from Wang Jishan.

Wang Jishan instructed the two of them to detour through Jizhou to pick up several prisoners and bring them to Chang'an.

Those prisoners were from the Flying Feather Class. Because this matter was quite serious, Wang Jishan was afraid of any accidents, so he sent Cheng Wuting and Wu Minzhi to make the trip in person.

As soon as they entered the city, Li Xiao and his companions went up to them and inquired about the Flying Feather Class.

Hearing the sound, Master Xu in the carriage leaned out to look. Xu Ling spotted him immediately, rushed over, and cried out, "Father!" but was stopped by the inner guards.

Wu Minzhi waved his hand and said, "Don't block them. Let the father and daughter meet. With all the princes here, are you afraid the prisoner will escape?"

Li Xiao frowned and said, "Cousin Wu, Master Xu and the others were framed; they are not criminals."

Wu Minzhi smiled and said, "I know, but the higher-ups have instructed us that the case is still under investigation and that we should transfer the people to the Dali Temple first."

Li Xiao nodded.

After meeting with Master Xu, Xu Ling explained the situation to him.

Xu, the troupe leader, then realized that it was Li Xiao who had saved them. He thanked the three of them profusely and was then taken away by Cheng Wuting and Wu Minzhi.

At this point, the matter is basically over.

A person's name is like a tree's shadow. Since Di Renjie is in charge of the case, it's no different from the truth coming out. All we have to do now is wait.

The three Li brothers parted ways at the city gate, and Li Xiao took Xu Ling back to the Xu Prince's Mansion.

Just as he entered, a servant from the Prince's residence came to report that Consort Zheng had invited Li Xiao to the palace, saying that she had something important to tell him.

Li Xiaoxin figured it must be related to the marriage of Lady Wei, so he comforted Xu Ling for a few words and then immediately took a carriage to the palace.

Consort Zheng had already requested permission from the Empress to enter the palace for him, so Li Xiao went straight into the palace and arrived at the east courtyard of Chengxiang Hall.

Consort Zheng was sitting in the palace eating loquats when she saw him arrive and waved to him.

"Xiao'er, come here quickly, your mother has something to tell you."

Li Xiao sat down next to her and asked, "Mother, has the marriage with Lady Wei been called off?"

Zheng Cairen said solemnly, "Mother just went to the residence of Princess Xincheng and spoke with Princess Linchuan about this matter."

Li Xiao was taken aback and asked, "Did you tell her this after you left the palace?"

Consort Zheng said, "You don't know, but Princess Linchuan somehow offended Her Majesty the Empress and has been banned from entering the palace for almost ten years."

Li Xiao suddenly realized, "So that's why Aunt Linchuan never attends palace banquets."

Consort Zheng continued, "Shortly after Princess Xincheng gave birth, my mother left the palace under the pretext of visiting her. She also asked Princess Xincheng to invite Princess Linchuan to her residence and explained the situation to her."

"Did she agree?" Li Xiao asked hurriedly.

Zheng Cai Ren stared at Li Xiao: "Xiao'er, have you offended her recently?"

Li Xiao smiled awkwardly, lowered his head, and said, "It's true that something happened between me and her son."

After Zheng Cairen inquired in detail, Li Xiao finally explained the situation in detail.

"You child, you didn't even tell your mother about such a big thing!" Zheng Cairen was very dissatisfied.

Li Xiao held her arm and said with a forced smile, "Mother, haven't I always had the chance to enter the palace? I was just about to tell you today."

Zheng Cai Ren glared at him and snorted, "You're just trying to fool me. What's going on between you and Xu Ling?"

Li Xiao blushed slightly and said in a low voice, "Mother, I want to marry her and make her my princess."

Zheng Cai Ren blurted out, "No way!"

Li Xiao was taken aback and looked up at Consort Zheng. Consort Zheng quickly said, "Xiao'er, I'm not against it. I have no objection if you want to take her as a concubine or even a lady-in-waiting. But the principal wife will need to attend court banquets and various ceremonies in the future. How would a commoner woman understand these things? If she makes a fool of herself, it will only embarrass you."

The marriages of princes in the Tang Dynasty followed the system of "one principal wife, two concubines, and ten attendants".

Ruren is equivalent to a concubine, while Yingqie is a high-ranking concubine with a formal status and can be included in the royal register.

Ordinary concubines below the rank of concubines were not subject to quota restrictions, but they were of low status, had no official status, and were not recognized by the royal family.

Li Xiao immediately expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, "Mother, Aunt Liu let my elder brother decide his own marriage, so why won't you let me decide? Ling'er doesn't know etiquette, but she can learn it in the future!"

Zheng Cairen hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm afraid your father won't agree."

Li Xiaodao: "Silang said that Father should agree."

Consort Zheng sighed, "Princess Linchuan does not agree to cancel the marriage, so I'm afraid it still won't work."

Li Xiaoleng asked, "She doesn't agree?"

"Yes, that's why I asked you if you offended her. She said she would only agree to cancel if you agreed to one condition."

"What conditions?"

Zheng Cairen said, "She didn't say, she only said that you should go to her in person."

Li Xiao frowned. He knew without even thinking that it must be about Zhou Boyu.

He had given Zhou Boyu a chance back then, but Zhou Boyu refused to repent. Now that things have blown up, there's nothing he can do.

“Mother, don’t worry about her. I made a promise to her when I was young and ignorant, and I don’t have to keep it. Don’t you think so?”

Consort Zheng sighed, “Xiao’er, she said she has already written to Prince Ji, asking him to come to the capital and personally petition your father to complete this marriage.”

Li Xiao's face immediately turned pale.

Everyone knows that his father valued his two brothers most, namely the Prince of Ji and the Prince of Yue.

If Prince Ji were to personally bring up this matter, his father would likely agree.

Li Xiao immediately panicked: "Mother, what should we do now?"

Zheng Cai Ren was hesitant. She had already come up with a way to help her son, but hearing that he wanted to marry a commoner made her quite unhappy.

Seeing that Li Xiao's eyes were slightly red, she finally softened and said softly, "Don't be afraid, Mother has already thought of a way."

"any solution?"

Consort Zheng smiled and said, "Besides His Majesty and your mother, who has the most say in your marriage? Have you forgotten?"

Li Xiao was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, "Mother!"

Empress Wu actually wielded more power than her biological mother, Consort Zheng, but she only cared about her own children and rarely interfered in the affairs of the other princes and princesses.

Consort Zheng smiled and said, "When I recently went to the Lizheng Hall to pay my respects, Her Majesty the Empress asked a few questions about you. She doesn't like Princess Linchuan, so naturally she won't let you marry someone from Princess Linchuan's maternal clan."

Li Xiao was overjoyed. As long as Empress Wu did not agree to the marriage, Prince Ji could do nothing about it.

"I'll go find my mother right now!"

"return!"

Consort Zheng called Li Xiao back after he ran out, and said in an annoyed tone, "Why are you in such a hurry? If you rush over like this, Her Majesty the Empress might not agree if she sees that you look strange."

Li Xiao was startled and asked, "Mother, what should we do?"

Zheng Cai Ren beckoned to him, gesturing for him to sit closer, and lowered her voice.

"Her Majesty the Empress is an extremely shrewd person. Although she dislikes Princess Linchuan, she will not easily allow anyone to use her influence to achieve their goals. If you or I were to speak to her, she might not help us."

Li Xiaolu looked thoughtful and said, "That's right, we need to think of a way to let her find out about this by accident."

Seeing that her son was taking the initiative to think, Zheng Cairen was very pleased and smiled, "So how do you plan to let her find out unintentionally?"

Li Xiao's eyes lit up: "I have a solution."

"Oh, tell your mother."

Li Xiaofu whispered it in his ear.

After hearing this, Consort Zheng nodded and said, "The person you found is better than I originally thought. Then go ahead and do it."

Li Xiao bowed to Consort Zheng before leaving Chengxiang Palace. After leaving the palace, he did not return to his own residence but went to Li Lian's residence instead.

An hour later, Li Lian, under the pretext of visiting his sister, requested permission to enter the palace and arrived at the princess's residence.

Unexpectedly, when he entered the moon gate of the princess's courtyard, no one came to greet him. The courtyard was empty, and he couldn't even see a servant.

Li Lian gave a wry smile.

It's no wonder they resent him; he deliberately distanced himself from his two younger sisters.

He arrived at the back hall of the princess's courtyard, stepped inside, and immediately heard the sound of string and bamboo instruments.

Looking up, I saw Princess Gao'an sitting at a table on the east side of the hall, playing the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument).

Beside a screen on the west side, Princess Yiyang sat in a large armchair, reading a book.

The hall was very quiet. The palace servants and eunuchs all bowed their heads and did not utter a word. Only the melodious sound of the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) and the sound of Princess Yiyang turning the pages could be heard, creating a tranquil scene.

No one paid any attention to Li Lian.

The palace servants and eunuchs would never have dared to do such a thing; clearly, they had been instructed by the two princesses.

Li Lian didn't disturb them and stood quietly at the door.

(End of this chapter)