Chapter 466: Chapter 257: Bestowing a Marriage upon the Fourth Prince_4
Upon hearing the emperor’s words, many ministers became attentive.
For both the Crown Prince and Prince Dai, although the Fourth Prince would not pose a threat to them for the time being, they remained wary of him.
Over the years, the Fourth Prince had refrained from interacting with the ministers, adopting a "detached" demeanor, but neither the Crown Prince nor Prince Dai believed that he wouldn’t vie for the throne. No prince would forgo the throne unless he were a fool.
Zhao Yao: "..." I feel like I might be implicated.
With the Fourth Prince about to reach adulthood, the Crown Prince, Prince Dai, and the ministers would all be very interested in his title, fiefdom, and marriage.
As of now, the emperor had not made it clear which territory he would grant the Fourth Prince as a fief, but the ministers speculated he would grant Liangzhou to the Fourth Prince. As for the Fourth Prince’s future princess, most ministers guessed it would likely be someone from the Li Family, but the Crown Prince and Prince Dai worried the emperor might give the daughter of a military officer to the Fourth Prince as a princess.
The Fourth Prince himself remained calm. To him, it did not matter whom he married as his princess.
The emperor looked at the numerous ministers below him who were quite concerned about the Fourth Prince’s marriage and curved his lips in a teasing smile.
"Many of you love your daughters. I wonder which of you is willing to become my relative by marriage?"
The ministers looked at each other, not daring to speak. Many among them wanted to become the emperor’s in-laws but were hesitant to say so.
"Really? Am I that undesirable that not a single person wants to join my family?" The emperor displayed an injured expression.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to join your family."
Who is it?
The ministers all turned to look at the person who had spoken, and then their faces showed stunned expressions.
Both the Crown Prince and Prince Dai were shocked when they saw who it was, exclaiming in unison, "General Lu?!"
As they saw General Lu step forward, the ministers gasped in astonishment.
The previously composed Fourth Prince also showed a look of surprise upon seeing General Lu.
"Oh, Old Lu, you are willing to become my family by marriage, huh?"
General Lu spoke with a tone full of deference: "To become family with Your Majesty is an honor for me; my daughter to marry the Fourth Highness is a blessing she must have earned over eight lifetimes."
The emperor slapped the armrest of his throne, laughing heartily: "Well said, Old Lu, your discernment is indeed excellent."
General Lu, praised by the emperor, showed a slightly embarrassed expression.
Seeing his bashful demeanor, the other ministers could only feel disgusted.
They had truly underestimated General Lu, thinking he was an honest man, yet he turned out to be so cunning and sycophantic.
General Lu was typically so quiet in court that he seemed to have no presence at all. However, no minister dared to underestimate him.
He was the Third Rank Peace East General and had numerous military achievements to his name. He was once even a household slave to the emperor, which made him a confidant to the emperor.
Three to four decades ago, General Lu’s family was nearly slaughtered by bandits, but the emperor saved them. Since then, General Lu insisted on repaying the emperor by serving him loyally, even wanting to be his humble servant; the emperor had no choice but to accept him as a follower, though he insisted on being the emperor’s lackey, and thus the emperor indulged him.
Since then, he had always served and protected the emperor dedicatedly. On the battlefield, he saved the emperor several times.
Although his military prowess was not on par with Shen Hu and others, compared to others, he was still quite formidable.
Even though he was no longer the emperor’s lackey and had become a renowned Third Rank General, he still considered himself a servant, remaining loyally devoted to the emperor.
"Tsk tsk tsk, aside from Old Lu, you really do disappoint me," the emperor said with a very resentful tone, "I didn’t expect you all to dislike me so much, I am truly heartbroken."
Prime Minister He and Grandmaster Liu watched the emperor’s performance with indifferent expressions.
Though they knew the emperor was performing, many ministers still fell for it, saying they were willing to become the emperor’s family by marriage.
The ministers rushed to declare their daughters, or nieces, or grandnieces beautiful and virtuous, insisting they would make an excellent princess consort for the Fourth Highness.
The emperor glared at the ministers with a proud expression and declared: "Now that you all wish to become my family by marriage, I am no longer willing."
"Your Majesty, please don’t, I sincerely wish to join your family by marriage..."
The emperor raised his hand to interrupt the ministers. With a serious expression, he said: "Since Old Lu was the first to step forward and express his willingness to join my family by marriage, it shall be Old Lu."
Upon hearing these words, the other ministers showed expressions of extreme surprise.
Although they had gotten an inkling when General Lu stepped forward, hearing the emperor declare it himself still left them reeling.
The faces of the Crown Prince and Prince Dai instantly turned very unsightly.
"Old Lu’s daughter is quite good, Old Fourth, would you be willing to marry her as your princess?"
The Fourth Prince had been dumbstruck earlier, but now he had come to his senses, though his heart was still a flurry of emotions.
"Your subject is willing, marrying General Lu’s daughter as my wife is a blessing for me." He never expected his father to grant General Lu’s daughter to him, this... Father...
"In that case, Old Fourth, I will grant Old Lu’s daughter to you as your princess."
The Fourth Prince knelt on the ground, bowing deeply to the emperor: "Thank you, Father!"
General Lu also knelt on the ground, solemnly giving thanks: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
With a beaming smile, the emperor said: "Old Lu, we are now family through our children."
"It is my honor!"
Many ministers were stunned by this marriage grant. Not only was the Fourth Prince caught off guard, but even they hadn’t expected the emperor to grant General Lu’s daughter to the Fourth Prince.
Although General Lu’s rank was not as high as that of Chu Ying and the other four Great Generals, he was a confidant of the emperor. Moreover, he was unlike the four Great Generals in that he had been with the emperor since childhood.
Now that the emperor had granted his daughter to the Fourth Prince, it indicated that the emperor valued the Fourth Highness greatly.
While Prince Dai had long enjoyed the emperor’s favor, Princess Consort Dai was from the Marquis Xuanping’s Mansion, not the daughter of any general. The same was true for the Crown Prince.
The ministers had thought the emperor would not marry the daughters of his confidants to any prince to avoid entangling them in the princes’ struggles. They hadn’t anticipated the emperor would have the Fourth Prince marry General Lu’s daughter as princess consort, this... was truly astonishing!
Could it be that the Fourth Prince was the emperor’s favorite son all along?