Chapter 339: Chapter 335: Want to Marry Xiao Bai? Not a Chance!

Tang Xiaobai asked and then nodded to herself, saying seriously, “It’s okay, I understand. They’re playing even when selecting the Prime Minister, and now the Crown Prince is proposing a selection for the consort. They might as well consult the oracle while they’re at it. It’s better to wait and deal with the Qingzhou School first.”

The current emperor’s greatest reliance is the already established Qingzhou School thought system and its scholars who occupy nearly half of the court positions.

The Crown Prince aims to gain control and must first make the Qingzhou School withdraw from the political stage.

Governing a great nation is like cooking a small fish; unless books are burned and scholars buried, eliminating a school must be done slowly, step by step.

This requires a lot of patience.

Tang Xiaobai was a bit relieved: “The Crown Prince was never very patient, but this time he seems to be enduring it. It shows progress—”

“Ah Jiao!” Tang Shigong couldn’t help but interrupt her, wanting to say something but first laughed.

He laughed a couple of times, then said, “The Crown Prince indeed lacks patience—”

Tang Xiaobai: ???

Tang Shigong laughed again, “He’s proposed.”

“Proposed what?”

“In today’s court meeting, the Crown Prince proposed to take the second daughter of the Tang Family as his consort!”

…

“Their choice of the Prime Minister, what’s it got to do with me?” The young man in Xuan Yi with a Jade Crown, eyelids slightly lowered, had long, slender fingers holding silver chopsticks, his skin cold and pale.

In front of him, a delicately crafted gilt bronze stove was warming a sweet-scented drink, and on a black lacquered low table, four plates of floral cakes in different colors were neatly arranged.

With a delicate silver chopstick, he lifted a pale pink floral cake to his eyes, his dark eyes carrying a trace of a clear smile.

Behind him, cloud-decked structures and crimson-dyed bead curtains framed a vivid scene, the colorful, deeply hued youth appearing within this painting.

Tang Xiaobai watched mesmerized, inadvertently accepting his feeding.

Li Mu saw her take the floral cake and couldn’t help but curve his lips, continuing, “If we change our plans for every incident from the other side, it would be too passive.”

Indeed it would be…

Tang Xiaobai nodded.

Not being swayed by others is a good thing.

“Moreover, there are many candidates for Prime Minister, hence consulting the oracle for selection, but there is only one candidate for the Crown Princess Consort. Why consult the oracle?”

“But isn’t it customary to consult the oracle when the Crown Prince takes a consort?”

For the Crown Prince to take a principal consort is no different from an ordinary marriage, going through the six procedures known as ’Six Rites’.

Among the ’Six Rites,’ there is one called ’Na Ji,’ where the girl’s birth date and eight characters are taken for omen reading.

This is unavoidable.

Li Mu responded with a “Hmm,” evidently he had considered this.

And he already had a strategy: “I plan to have Mr. Lin return to the Observatory.”

Tang Xiaobai was taken aback, “Ah…this…won’t it be too obvious?”

“Obvious how?”

“Won’t it look like you’re sending someone to the Observatory just for taking a consort—” Tang Xiaobai halted mid-sentence, her expression turning from amused to surprised.

“Isn’t that quite good?” Li Mu said.

The Qingzhou School venerates omens and supernatural tales, and the Observatory is something he definitely plans to take over.

And it’s the first thing to be taken over.

Even back when Lin Xujiji left the Observatory, it was arranged for his reinstatement after Li Mu took control of the Eastern Palace.

Lin Xujiji will surely return to the Observatory, and the Crown Princess cannot afford any mishaps.

As for how others wish to view this arrangement, that’s their business.

Once Tang Xiaobai grasped the idea, she found it quite clever: “When will Mr. Lin return to the Observatory?”

Li Mu suddenly showed a pitiful expression: “I don’t know when the Duke will consent to the marriage?”

He proposed in court but received only a few lukewarm words of refusal from Duke Yan.

Tang Xiaobai chuckled, saying, “My parents have said, no one agrees to marriage on the first proposal, it’s common to call at least three times, not to mention you didn’t even come personally!”

The Crown Prince obediently served tea in her cup, gently asking, “Then who should I send to propose?”

Seeing him being so compliant, Tang Xiaobai momentarily forgot what advice she was giving, and offered her thoughts: “Usually, two ladies familiar with both families would first sound it out, and once tacit approval is obtained, an official matchmaker would be sent.”

“Do I also need an official matchmaker? Or should I send an envoy directly from Lin Xuan?”

“You’re the Crown Prince! How can you use an official matchmaker? Of course, you should directly send an envoy from Lin Xuan!”

After saying this, both of them suddenly fell silent in tacit understanding.

They stared at each other, the noble and aloof handsome Crown Prince gradually breaking into a smile: “So Ah Jiao understands—”

Tang Xiaobai covered his mouth, glaring at him with a blush: “So you can understand, but I can’t?”

Not only did she proactively understand the process of the Crown Prince’s consort ritual, but she was also here teaching the Crown Prince how to marry her!

She certainly overdid it!

He didn’t resist her hand, pulling her into his arms, and while kissing her palm, his eyes were laughing.

Tang Xiaobai, with her heart softened by his kiss, nestled in his embrace, couldn’t help but offer another suggestion: “My mother doesn’t interact much with the ladies, you could ask the Princess Consort Yi or the Lu Family’s lady…”

The Princess Consort Yi is Pei Xuan’s mother, and the Lu Family is Eldest Aunt Gu’s maternal family. Although these two families are not very familiar with the Crown Prince, there’s hardly anyone in this world truly on familiar terms with him.

Tang Xiaobai considered these two to be relatively appropriate middle persons.

However, unexpectedly, the young master had his own ideas.

The person who came to propose on the Crown Prince’s behalf was beyond her expectation.

Even the visitor themselves found it unbelievable: “The Crown Prince actually chose me to propose for him, I still don’t know whether to be angry or amused!”

“But…” Tang Jiaojiao was also at a loss, “Did Grandmother really come?”

The intermediary Li Mu invited was none other than Tang Xiaobai’s maternal grandmother, Princess Ji.

The elderly lady frowned and said, “I was going to scold him, but then he suddenly called me Aunt Grandmother, and I remembered he was also my grandnephew.”

Everyone was stunned.

Somehow, they all simultaneously neglected this point.

Tang Xiaobai was even more surprised, hurriedly calculating whether she and the young master were too closely related.

“So what if he calls you Aunt Grandmother? Doesn’t Li Shu, Li Dong, and the others also call you Aunt Grandmother? Grandmother, don’t tell me you were so easily swayed by him?” Tang Jiaojiao was slightly annoyed.

The Princess Ji, who favored Tang Jiaojiao the most, hurried to explain, “Of course not! The Crown Prince calling me Aunt Grandmother only meant I didn’t scold him, but wanting to marry our Xiaobai, not a chance!”

Everyone was taken aback again.

“Just like that?” Tang Xiaobai inquired.

Princess Ji glared at her, “What else? Don’t tell me you really want to marry him?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep