The emperor glanced at the list, feeling displeased, "Just these few people? So many nas I haven’t even heard of."
The emperor, upon reaching the end, saw a sowhat familiar na, "Ji Hao? Isn’t he the grandson of Ji Xiang?"
"Yes," Yin Li replied, "I initially excluded him, but upon reconsideration, there aren’t many left in the Imperial Academy, and his family background is decent."
The emperor hesitated for a mont, still dissatisfied with Ji Hao, but decided to keep him on the list. He then looked at his ranking in the Imperial Academy, feeling a bit disdainful, "His ranking is so low?"
Yin Li said, "He entered through family connections."
The emperor felt even more disdainful. Considering his previous incident of falling off a horse during a competition, the emperor marked half a circle next to his na, indicating he wasn’t very satisfied.
But with a glance, Yin Li saw that the emperor had only marked three half-circles in total, having crossed out the rest. It was clear he wasn’t satisfied with many.
Ji Hao remained on the list because of his family, rather than his own rits.
The emperor sighed, "I rember there was soone nad Yi Ziyang in the Imperial Academy. Is he also engaged?"
"Yi Ziyang is Yi Da’s grandson, selected into the Chongwen Pavilion. However, I vaguely heard he’s already engaged, and his age..."
Quite a bit older than Princess Mingda.
"However, Minister Feng’s grandson is still not engaged."
The emperor outright rejected, "He won’t do. He’s co of age and still not engaged. I heard from Feng Qing that his disposition isn’t settled."
When the emperor was selecting a consort for Changyu, he didn’t even consider him, let alone now.
However, "Include the unmarried suitable students from the Chongwen Pavilion and Hongwen Pavilion as well, especially the students in Hongwen Pavilion. Investigate them carefully."
Yin Li: ...
Most in Hongwen Pavilion are royal descendants, with only a few being children of high-ranking officials. Most of them have already co of age, and few are unmarried or unengaged.
Before departing for his fiefdom, Prince Gong had been in the Hongwen Pavilion, essentially holding real power there. Because of this, students from the Imperial Academy had a favorable impression of him.
Including students from the Hongwen and Chongwen Pavilions...
These thoughts swirled briefly in Yin Li’s mind before he agreed to investigate.
Making decisions is His Majesty’s prerogative; he just needs to investigate thoroughly.
Unfortunately, this ti, fate still didn’t favor Prince Gong, because in Hongwen Pavilion, aside from royal relatives, all four remaining students were either married or engaged.
There weren’t many left in Chongwen Pavilion either. Yin Li crossed out Bai Shan, who was already engaged... and his son, leaving only Bai Cheng, Liu Huan, and Lu Yue on the list.
Feng Zongping was initially ruled out, so Yin Li didn’t include him.
Thus, by evening, the Crown Prince saw Bai Cheng’s na on the list the emperor gave him.
He: ...
The emperor, unaware, continued to muse out loud, "I rember you chose Lu Yue as your study companion. What do you think of him?"
"He’s not suitable," the Crown Prince said, "Though he’s not engaged, his family already has two concubines."
The emperor casually remarked, "Just have him dismiss them."
The Crown Prince thought that made sense too, but after so consideration, he shook his head, "Let’s not."
The emperor looked at him, "Why not?"
The Crown Prince said, "Lu Yue isn’t good at studying, far inferior to Mingda."
The emperor shrugged, "Your sister loves books. If not for her frail health, she might even surpass your third brother. Finding soone a bit lacking isn’t a big deal."
Even if they were less capable, they couldn’t be too inadequate if they’re in Chongwen Pavilion, right?
The emperor didn’t say this out loud, but the Crown Prince understood.
But others might not know; how could he not know about Lu Yue whom he selected personally?
Lu Yue truly wasn’t good at studying. The reason he chose him was because he supported him, providing financial aid when he was in need, and his elder brother led troops and was also his confidant.
Oh right, his elder brother was also one of the pri movers in his initial attempt to revolt.
Though marrying off one’s sister to a confidant might be a good move, Lu Yue truly wasn’t a match for Mingda.
The Crown Prince dismissed the idea, pointing to Liu Huan and Bai Cheng, "Father, why not consider them?"
The emperor frowned, "The Liu family is large, and Old Madam Liu is too shrewd and strong-willed."
Though stating this, he still marked half a circle beside Liu Huan’s na, but as for Lu Yue, he discarded the thought.
Neither father nor son comnted further on Lu Yue, instead focusing on Bai Cheng.
The Crown Prince couldn’t help but notice one of Zhou Man’s frequent sayings: when the left eye twitches, is it a sign of good or bad fortune?
The emperor had so impression of Bai Erlang, not just from their initial acquaintance at a Taoist temple but also from subsequent etings in the palace. He thought for a mont and asked, "I rember him, often accompanying Bai Shan and Zhou Man. He’s also from the Bai Family in Longzhou, isn’t he?"
"Yes, and he is a cousin of Bai Shan. However, their family separated during their great-grandfather’s generation. Now, his father is the clan leader, with only one legitimate elder brother, both parents alive, and even his grandmother is still around. I’ve heard their personalities are gentle."
The emperor hadn’t initially paid much attention to Bai Cheng, but hearing the details from the Crown Prince, he looked up and asked, "Are you satisfied with him?"
The Crown Prince remained silent; satisfaction was unlikely. But from the Crown Princess’s hints, it seed Mingda also liked this young man. During their visit to Baiyun Temple in Yongzhou, the two seed to get along well.
So, though the Crown Prince wasn’t entirely pleased, he was willing to ntion him to the emperor. But speaking highly of him was difficult, so he reluctantly said, "Among the short ones, he’s the tallest. I think his studies are okay, the family is simple, and his background is average."
The emperor dismissed it, "How is that average? Far inferior to the great families."
The Crown Prince, inford by his mother about their standards for selecting a spouse, replied, "Great families are usually complicated. Didn’t you and mother want Mingda not to overburden herself? In that case, a simpler family must be chosen."
The emperor pondered, marking half a circle next to Bai Erlang’s na. After all, none were particularly satisfactory, so they might as well consider all of them.
The Crown Prince thought the sa, not having firmly decided on Bai Cheng.
Both father and son felt that Mingda deserved a match like none other, and no one currently seed worthy of their daughter (sister).
Manbao learned Bai Cheng was on the list two days later, inford by Changyu, "I saw it by chance when delivering soup to father. Is your third junior brother interested in being a prince consort?"
Manbao was delighted, asking, "Are there many nas on the list?"
Changyu thought for a mont, "There seed to be a dozen or twenty nas. I asked father, and he seems to want to look into it further."
What they knew was just the surface; further investigation and selection were needed. Only after eting the remaining candidates’ families and introducing them would the final decision be made.
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