The Lord Antong’s Residence has stood for 600 years without falling, relying on generations of talented individuals and divine generals capable of commanding great armies.
Today, the world is divided into three: Great Wu has Great Feng to the north, Great Qing to the west, and the Eastern Wilderness is overrun by great demons with continuous mountain ranges, while the south has the Southern Barbarians, where Gu is strong and unceasing.
The world is far from peaceful; with these external enemies, their Lord Antong’s Residence does not need to constantly cater to the Emperor to gain imperial favor.
Instead, the Imperial Family often courts their Lord Antong’s Residence, with gifts from the palace every New Year and festival; this time, the marriage of an Imperial Princess is the most obvious signal.
As for Xia Chen… he has never been one to remain long in a subordinate position.
If he were to truly enter into a marriage with the future Empress, the Door Seizing Incident five years later would be somewhat constrained.
“You don’t want to marry the Imperial Princess?”
Cui Mengrou softly looked at Xia Chen, her eyes flowing, the charm of a mature beautiful woman naturally exuding.
“No!”
Xia Chen said decisively, without the slightest hesitation.
“There is no room for maneuver in this matter; at this time, the imperial decree should have already left the palace gates and will soon arrive at our Lord Antong’s Residence.”
Xia Qian sighed and shook his head; this matter had long been discussed and settled, and now it was merely a matter of revealing the result.
Xia Chen remained silent; how could he not know that many things had already been decided, and with his current status, he had no right to participate at all.
Yet, he was clearly one of the protagonists of this marriage, but to only find out after everything was settled, how absurd and ridiculous was that?
“Originally, this marriage was not for you. Your Majesty favored your younger brother, and the imperial envoy who delivered the decree arrived in the Eastern Wilderness, but he was politely refused by your second brother. That’s why the protagonist of this marriage was changed to you!”
Cui Mengrou looked at the silent Xia Chen, pondered for a moment, and slowly revealed the struggle behind this marriage.
Xia Chen inquired carefully and only then learned that this marriage was originally intended for his younger brother, Xia Hao, but his parents unequivocally refused, citing that Xia Hao was still young and should focus on martial arts and military strategy, and should not be distracted by marriage too early.
Afterward, they proactively submitted a memorial, stating various reasons such as Xia Chen being the eldest legitimate son and his age being similar to the Second Imperial Princess.
Emperor Wen remained silent for three days after receiving this reply, and finally, this morning, the decree was issued from the palace gates, agreeing to Xia Yuan’s request in his memorial and confirming this marriage.
Cui Mengrou felt a twinge of pity when she saw Xia Chen’s calm expression.
Becoming an imperial son-in-law would naturally mean a rapid ascent for ordinary people.
But for the descendants of meritorious families like theirs, it was a form of restraint.
Six hundred years ago, Emperor Ling’s favoritism towards eunuchs and reliance on maternal relatives led to the rebellion of the feudal lords, and the empire almost collapsed. If it weren’t for Emperor Wu Zong’s revitalization, the empire would have long changed its surname.
After Emperor Wu Zong gained control of the empire, he summarized the lessons learned and stipulated that from then on, maternal relatives were not allowed to interfere in politics or hold important positions.
Although maternal relatives were not completely stripped of power, they were no longer heavily relied upon. Although a hundred years ago, Emperor Suzong began to re-employ maternal relatives to balance the court.
As of now, the situation faced by maternal relatives is much better than before, but they are still restricted everywhere.
An imperial son-in-law is naturally also a type of maternal relative.
This is also why Xia Yuan, when faced with the Emperor wanting to marry a princess to his youngest son, would rather risk offending the Emperor than agree to the marriage between the princess and his youngest son.
Marrying a princess meant a hopeless future!
Xia Qian’s eyes held a hint of sigh; this nephew had already suffered a difficult fate, but the Emperor’s decree was irresistible, and someone had to enter into the marriage alliance.
Since Xia Yuan and his wife were unwilling for their youngest son, then only the eldest son could take his place.
“Although this is very unfair to Chen’er, Chen’er was born with a Waste , and although he has diligently studied military strategy these years, his martial Dao future is ultimately limited. Becoming an imperial son-in-law, coupled with the backing of our Lord Antong’s Residence, a life of wealth and comfort might also be a good thing.”
Xia Qian said to himself, although emotionally, having watched this nephew grow up since childhood, he naturally felt closer to him than to the never-before-seen Xia Hao.
But he was the Family Head, and he had to consider the Family’s interests more.
His second brother’s youngest son, Xia Hao, was a prodigy, perhaps with the potential to achieve the accomplishments of their ancestor, Xia Xuanzhen, and would become the Family’s leader in the future.
He truly should not be constrained by the identity of an imperial son-in-law.
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Although Xia Chen felt indignant, his eyes remained calm, and a slight smile hung on his lips as he calmly accepted all of this.
He naturally understood the implications of this: his own birth parents, unwilling to affect their youngest son’s future, finally remembered that they had an eldest son in the capital and threw him out to resolve Emperor Wen’s seemingly conciliatory but actually disintegrating and suppressive offensive.
And his marriage was merely a product of compromise in a power struggle.
As for his own thoughts, his opinions were not important.
“Even that Empress who commanded the four seas and eight wildernesses, and dominated the world, was used as a tool for political marriage before she gained power. What do I have that I cannot accept?”
Xia Chen’s inner self was resilient and exceptionally optimistic; thinking of this, his mind became clear.
“Moreover, the person originally chosen didn’t even want to marry her and was returned. No wonder this period of Xia History is so shrouded in mystery. It’s truly unbearable not to be able to control one’s own destiny!”
Xia Chen thought, sighing inwardly, the last sentence unclear whether it was directed at the Empress or himself.
At this moment, he became even more determined to seize power!
In the front hall, Luzhu entered with a somewhat hurried but still graceful and elegant stride.
“Master, Madam, someone from the palace has arrived, and it’s Eunuch Ye himself leading the group, with a grand retinue.”
Xia Qian and Cui Mengrou exchanged glances, both already knowing the purpose of the visit.
“Chen’er, come with us to welcome the imperial envoy!”
Xia Chen silently rose and followed behind the two, ready to face his destiny.
Outside the gates of the Lord Antong’s Residence, Xia Chen saw the Eunuch Ye that Luzhu had mentioned; Eunuch Ye had white hair but appeared youthful, with a ruddy complexion. Although he was a eunuch, he carried a natural Qi that no one dared to underestimate.
“Ye Wuzheng, known as Eunuch Ye, served three generations of emperors, and safely survived the Door Seizing Incident. During the Empress’s reign, he still guarded the Imperial Palace, his strength unfathomable! He is the Imperial Family’s foundation and a loyal servant of the Emperor!”
These pieces of information automatically flashed through Xia Chen’s mind.
“This is the legitimate son of Lord Antong; indeed, he is a talented individual!”
Eunuch Ye looked at Xia Chen with a smile, congratulating him.
Xia Chen saw this Eunuch who would shine brightly in the future Door Seizing Incident and respectfully bowed to him.
This surprised Eunuch Ye, but he quickly recovered, smiling and nodding at Xia Chen, forming a rather good first impression of the young man.
Although Xia Chen was the protagonist, some subsequent matters were not directly related to him; he was merely needed to make an appearance.
After welcoming Eunuch Ye into the Lord Antong’s Residence, followed by bathing and changing clothes, Eunuch Ye read the imperial decree, and Xia Chen received it, officially confirming the marriage.
The entire process left Xia Chen dizzy; there were too many rules and etiquette to follow for such a formal imperial decree.
Therefore, most so-called imperial decrees were usually verbal or informal, without so many complicated formalities.
But this time, it was a marriage bestowal for a Princess, so it was naturally different; both the Lord Antong’s Residence and the palace had to ensure the ceremony was grand to show their respect for both parties.
The entire process kept them busy until the afternoon. Xia Chen held the scroll of the imperial decree, adorned with Dragon patterns and made of unknown Materials, feeling as if everything was a dream.
He had truly become the future Empress’s fiancé, but could he truly survive the Door Seizing Incident and successfully become the Imperial Husband?
In the Door Seizing Incident, Xia Chen died on the spot; was it truly just an accident?
Thinking of this, he looked at his uncle and aunt walking ahead, no longer hesitating, and quickened his steps to walk beside them.
“Uncle, I have already Broken Through to the Eighth-Grade Essence Refinement Realm. I want to secure a position and serve the country!”
Xia Chen took a deep breath and said with conviction.
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【“When Emperor Taizu was young, he was calm and introverted, concealing his brilliance, and did not appear extraordinary among his fellow clan members. However, the Empress of the Wu Dynasty alone saw something special in Emperor Taizu, believing him to possess world-shaking talent within and destined for great achievements in the future.
At that time, Yao Guang, the Empress of the Wu Dynasty, was still a Princess, and Emperor Wen of the Wu Dynasty was seeking a consort for Yao Guang. Yao Guang then proactively submitted a memorial, and thus Emperor Taizu successfully became betrothed to the Empress of the Wu Dynasty.”
— “Xia History”, Volume One, Annals of Emperor Taizu】