In the West Hall of Taiji Hall, Emperor Sima Yu, Palace Attendant Xie An, and Minister of Personnel Lu Na sat upright in a triangular arrangement. Chen Shang, the Director of the Palace on duty, stood some distance away, holding his breath and listening solemnly, so nervous that he could hear his own pounding heart. The lofty, spacious audience hall was exceptionally quiet-
Chen Shang had never imagined that his sixteenth younger brother's marriage would take such a turn. He had feared that his brother would chase two rabbits and catch neither, yet Xie An had proposed Left and Right Wives himself. This meant that his brother could marry both the lady of the Chen Commandery Xie Clan and the young lady of the Wu Commandery Lu Clan. Such a thing was truly unprecedented through the ages. Ehuang and Nüying were only a legend, while Jia Chong's Left and Right Wives had been an exceptional case of separation and reunion. If his brother could truly marry daughters of these two great northern and southern houses at once, the Qiantang Chen Clan's standing would soar, allowing it to leap into the ranks of the great clans. Marriage alliances were a shortcut to raising a family's status. Before this, even an alliance with the Wu Commandery Lu Clan alone had been something his father, Chen Xian, the Chen Clan's head, had longed for without daring to entertain much hope. Lu Shi's unyielding stance over the past two years had indeed proven how difficult it was to cross the gulf between lesser gentry clans and the great houses. Yet in the brief two months since his brother had returned from his diplomatic mission, the winds and clouds over Jiankang had shifted. Grand Marshal Huan had twice brought troops into the capital, deposed an