Chapter 362: The Prince Consort’s Concubine’s Worry
Xiao Xia made three suggestions that hit the nail on the head, each one more shocking than the other, especially the third one, which was something that almost happened in history. After Duo Jishi obtained the Khan throne and was called Shibi Khan, he proposed to Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty to form an alliance with a princess of the Sui Dynasty. Yang Guang pointed out that he had already married Princess Anyi as Khatun, and it would not be ethical to marry a princess of the Sui Dynasty again. He directly rejected his proposal, which laid the hidden danger for the hostility between the two countries.

After a while, Gao Jiong said slowly: “Your Majesty, the King of Chu is right. Before Du Jishi ascended the throne, he is not qualified to marry the princess of the Great Sui Dynasty. This is a principle. The princess of the Great Sui Dynasty only marries the monarch. There is no precedent of marrying the crown prince. You can directly use this reason to refuse him.”

Yang Su also said: “Your Highness the King of Chu has thought more deeply than us. If this matter is not handled properly, it will really appear that Du Jishi married both his aunt and his niece. This will be a shame for our Great Sui Dynasty and will be ridiculed by future generations for thousands of years. We must avoid this from happening.”

Yang Guang was also persuaded by Xiao Xia, and he finally made up his mind to reject Duo Jishi, no matter whether he wanted to marry Princess Nanyang or another princess.

He turned around and asked Su Wei: “What did the Turkic envoy say in the end? What if we don’t agree?”

Su Wei said quickly: “The mastermind said that this would be the greatest shame of Du Jishi’s life, and it would definitely have a serious impact on the relationship between the Sui Dynasty and the Turks in the future.”

Yang Guang snorted, “If he wants to become the second Datou, I will help him!”

Xiao Xia came out of Ganquan Hall and walked to Taiji Hall. He heard someone calling him, “Xiao Qilang!”

Xiao Xia turned around and saw a person flashing behind a big tree. It was Xiao Zhurong.

Xiao Xia walked forward and said with a smile: “Why are you hiding here, sneaking around? Don’t let the guards think you are an assassin!”

“I’m waiting for you!”

“Wait for me?” Xiao Xia was stunned.

Xiao Zhurong said quickly: “I just met Li Min, he said you went to the Imperial Study to see the Emperor, I will wait here, you will definitely pass by here.”

Xiao Xia patted his arm, “Let’s go! Let’s find a place to have a drink.”

“I’m going to ask for leave first!”

Xiao Zhurong passed the imperial examination this year and became the chief clerk in the Secretariat. He was very cautious in his official duties, so Xiao Xia did not make things difficult for him.

“Go! I’ll wait for you at Chengtian Gate.”

Xiao Zhurong ran away, and Xiao Xia went to Chengtian Gate by himself. After waiting outside Chengtian Gate for a while, Xiao Zhurong came running.

“I’ve already asked for leave, let’s go!”

Xiao Xia called a palace carriage to take them to Wanhuhou Restaurant in Chongrenfang.

“Do you want to call Third Sister?” Xiao Xia asked with a smile.

Xiao Zhurong hesitated for a moment and said, “Don’t call her! If she comes, many things won’t be discussed.”

Xiao Xia understood very well that the third sister had a strong control. If she came, the topic had to follow her direction, and there was really nothing to talk about.

Xiao Zhurong, this kid, hey! He is definitely being controlled by his wife.

The carriage arrived at Chongrenfang and soon stopped in front of Wanhuhou Restaurant. Xiao Xia rewarded the driver with two taels of silver. The driver thanked her profusely and left. The two of them entered the restaurant and sat down by the window on the second floor.

Xiao Xia ordered two plates of steamed buns, some stir-fried dishes, a plate of barbecue, and a pot of sake.

“It’s really tiring to attend the morning court. You have to get up before dawn. I really want to suggest that you wait until dawn to attend the court next time.”

“I’m afraid this suggestion won’t work!”

Xiao Zhurong explained with a smile: “I don’t want to delay government affairs, so I attend the morning court before dawn. After the morning court, it’s just the beginning of government affairs. But this kind of hard work is enviable! I don’t even have the qualifications to attend the morning court!”

“Soon, when you become the imperial concubine, you will be eligible to attend the morning court.”

When the word “prince consort” was mentioned, Xiao Zhurong asked with a bitter face: “I heard that the Turkic prince also wants to marry my third sister. Will the emperor agree?”

Xiao Xia smiled and said, “I can tell you clearly that the emperor has decided to refuse. Not to mention my third sister, even if it is a daughter of the royal family, it is impossible. The princesses of the Great Sui Dynasty only marry the monarch, and there has never been a precedent of marrying the prince. I think Du Jishi will use this excuse to leave the Great Sui Dynasty.”

“why?”

“If he stays in the Sui Dynasty for a long time, it will seriously affect his expansion of power in the grasslands. Whether he can become the Khan in the end depends on his strength. I feel that he has wanted to leave for a long time, but he just couldn’t find an excuse. Now that he has an excuse, after he returns, he can send his brothers to Chang’an as hostages to weaken his competition. He is more than happy to do so.”

Xiao Zhurong didn’t care about the internal strife among the Turks. He only cared about whether his marriage would be cancelled.

“Thank you for convincing the emperor. I’ll treat you today. Let’s have a nice drink.”

At this time, the bartender brought two plates of hot buns, which were the most popular bursting dumplings in Chang’an. Xiao Xia was about to pick up her chopsticks when she saw Xiao Zhurong looking at him with a look of astonishment and a dull gaze behind her. Xiao Xia turned around and saw her third sister Yang Feiyan standing behind her, with her hands on her waist and staring at Xiao Zhurong with wide eyes.

“Third sister, why are you here? Come and sit down.” Yang Feiyan sat down angrily, “I will stay here if I have nothing to do. Don’t you know?”

This question was meant to question Xiao Zhurong, “Why did you come here without calling me?”

Xiao Xia quickly explained: “Don’t be angry, Third Sister. Balang is absent-minded today. It’s normal for him to forget to call you.”

“Why, give me an answer!”

Xiao Xia was surprised and said, “Don’t you know that your matter has been brought to the morning court? The Turkic envoy wants to see my father at the morning court and propose to me in public.”

Yang Feiyan clenched her fist and slammed it hard on the table, “And then?”

“The emperor did not summon them, but asked Prime Minister Su to send them away. Later, I went to see the emperor again and told him about the situation.”

“What did you say?”

“Third sister, don’t ask. In the end, the emperor has already decided to reject Turkic’s proposal.”

“No! I must know, will you tell me or not?”

Yang Feiyan stretched out her hand to grab Xiao Xia’s ears, but Xiao Xia dodged in fear and looked at Xiao Zhurong with sympathy, only to see Xiao Zhurong instinctively shrink his neck.

“Don’t do it, I said.”

While eating the buns, Xiao Xia vaguely described the situation in the imperial study. After that, he cleared out another plate of buns.

“Hey! Eating buns all day long, becoming like big brother, can’t you be more stable?”

Xiao Xia rolled his eyes and said, “I won’t be able to eat it after I go to Hexi, so I’ll eat more now.”

“Are you going to Hexi?” Yang Feiyan and Xiao Zhurong asked in unison.

Xiao Xia nodded, “I’ll leave at the end of the month!”

Xiao Zhurong was a little anxious, “I thought you would go to Jiangnan. Didn’t you say you wanted to go to Jiangnan?”

Xiao Xia frowned, “When did I say that?”

“Last time at Shenmu Manor, the night before you left, you said that if you had the chance, you wanted to go to Jiangnan to start a career.”

Xiao Xia remembered that he seemed to have said that.

“I will go to Jiangnan, but I have to go to Hexi to do something, which will take about three years. When I finish my work, I will apply to my father to go to Jiangnan.”

“What are you going to do?” Yang Feiyan asked curiously.

“Third sister, don’t ask this!”

Yang Feiyan reached out to pull her ears again. Xiao Xia was helpless. Why was her sister so curious?

“Go and deal with Tuyuhun, and expand the territory for the Sui Dynasty!”

Yang Feiyan nodded, and suddenly she glared at Xiao Zhurong and said angrily: “Look at them, they are going to expand the territory for the country, but you are spending all day in Chang’an, and you are still a man.”

“Can you please be reasonable?”

Xiao Zhurong muttered in a low voice: “I want to go to the local area to be a county magistrate, but you didn’t agree, let alone go to the frontier. Besides, how can I live a life of debauchery? After I came to Chang’an, I have never drunk wine again.”

“Oh! So you’ve drunk it before.”

Xiao Zhurong froze for a moment. “Well, well, I don’t remember much about the past, Xiao Qilang, I’m sure I’ve never been to that kind of place, right?”

Yang Feiyan sat down next to Xiao Zhurong, held his hand and said softly, “I know you really want to go to Pingkangfang to drink wine. Why don’t you go tonight? I will accompany you and let you drink as much as you want, little pig, is this okay?”

Xiao Xia felt a chill down his spine when he heard this. He quickly stood up and said, “I have something else to do. I’ll take my leave now!”

After saying this, he turned around and ran away, ignoring Xiao Zhurong’s desperately pleading eyes.

Little Piglet, you let the cat out of the bag yourself, so you’d better wish you good luck!

(End of this chapter)