Little Five, Do You Want to Marry Zhao Zhiwei?

Xiao Sijie's wife's family was not only prominent, but they were also relatives of the Consort of Prince of Jingping. Given Zhao Ruyu's lack of courage, she wouldn't dare to harm anyone.

Therefore, Xiao Sijie's first wife must have died of illness or an accident, leaving the position of the principal wife vacant, which became Zhao Ruyu's target.

Both Zhao Ruyu and Zhao Rurui were virtuous concubines. Such concubines could not be bought or sold, and could be promoted to the rank of principal wife.

Therefore, Zhao Ruyu's plan couldn't be clearer.

"Forget about her. As long as she doesn't bother me, and she doesn't try to commit murder or other illegal acts for money, I won't interfere with her. I wish her happiness," Zhao Ruxi said.

Xiao Lingyan agreed, "Anyway, the plot has been completely changed. Fu Yunlang has married someone else, Zhao Ruyu has also gotten married, the original couple has been broken up, and the world hasn't collapsed. We can stop paying attention to these two. Let's just live our own lives."

He added, "I have to rush back to the capital; I have court tomorrow morning. I'll head back now."

Zhao Ruxi nodded, not trying to stop him, and reminded him, "Be careful on the road in the dark."

"Don't worry, I brought about ten guards with me, all in disguise." Xiao Lingyan stood up. "Then I'll head back. Once I'm back, I'll arrange the engagement. After the engagement, we'll get married in six months."

"Yes." Zhao Ruxi nodded vigorously.

That night, Xiao Lingyan rushed back to the capital. After discussing the matter with Xu Zhou, he made numerous arrangements overnight.

The next afternoon, figuring that Xiao Ge would be free, he went to the palace to request an audience with his father, the Emperor.

"Little Five, what is it?" Xiao Ge was practicing calligraphy when he saw Xiao Lingyan come in. He smiled and told Eunuch Xie to bring him an ice bowl.

Xiao Lingyan quickly finished the chilled pieces of fruit, and seeing that Xiao Ge had put down his pen, he put down his bowl, stood up, and bowed, saying, "Your subject has recently been studying agricultural tools, but without the right method, the tools I've made are all impractical. Several senior officials in the Ministry of Works say it's because your subject is unfamiliar with farming. Your subject wishes to leave the capital and travel around to learn more about farming, so as not to make a fool of myself."

Xiao Ge grew increasingly fond of his son, who had never harbored political ambitions, was wholeheartedly devoted to relieving the people's worries, and was determined to increase crop yields.

He nodded and said, "Alright, go if you want. I'll let the Minister of Ministry of Works know after the morning court session tomorrow."

Xiao Lingyan stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Father Emperor." He then bowed his head and prepared to leave.

"Wait." Xiao Ge called out to him, walked to the table, rummaged through the documents, and handed one to Xiao Lingyan. "Take a look at this."

He just received this.

Xiao Lingyan had no choice but to return. At Xiao Ge's prompting, he sat down, opened the memorial, and glanced at it. Immediately, his expression turned grim.

It turned out that in his memorial, the minister had been vehemently arguing that Prince of Qi was too old to be engaged, which was detrimental to the country. He said that if all the people followed his example and remained unmarried, how would the country's population increase? He went on and on, elaborating at length in his memorial.

"Father, I am not the Crown Prince. My marriage is your family matter, isn't it? What right does he have to interfere?" Xiao Lingyan threw the memorial on the table, his face full of displeasure. "My second brother got married at nineteen, and I've only just turned eighteen. What he's saying makes no sense."

"But your second brother got engaged a long time ago, only because the girl wasn't old enough, so he got married at nineteen. You're different; you haven't even discussed marriage yet. If we don't urge you, and keep delaying, by the time you're engaged and betrothed, you'll probably be twenty."

Xiao Ge said, "Little Five Wu, although he has no right to interfere in your marriage, and this memorial is indeed presumptuous, what he said makes a lot of sense. I am the emperor of a country. If my sons don't get married until they are twenty, what right do I have to demand that the people get married at sixteen or seventeen? Little Five, you are a sensible child. You can't let your father be questioned by his ministers, can you?"

"Since you turned eighteen, several ministers have expressed similar sentiments to me. If you continue to delay, I will have nothing more to say."

Xiao Lingyan lowered his head. "But I really don't know who I should marry."

Xiao Ge frowned. "I've already had your mother bring you a catalog of eligible young ladies in the capital. Didn't you find a single one you liked?"

"They're all so-so. In the picture book, they all look pretty much the same—beautiful and virtuous." Xiao Lingyan said expressionlessly.

Xiao Ge thought about the picture albums he had seen before and couldn't help but laugh.

Those who made it into the catalog and were presented to Noble Consort Cen and Xiao Lingyan were all carefully selected by the palace stewards. Naturally, they were all beautiful and virtuous, which was perfectly reasonable.

However, to these men, they all looked the same, with no difference whatsoever. The only difference was the type of appearance. But due to the way the paintings were drawn, there wasn't much difference in their appearances.

Zhao Zhiwei's sketches of people are very realistic, but because they are in black and white, her drawing technique has never been used in this kind of picture book.

Thinking of Zhao Zhiwei gave Xiao Ge a headache.

Zhao Zhiwei is already sixteen years old and still unmarried. This morning, a minister mentioned during a meeting that as the first female top scholar in the imperial examination, Zhao Zhiwei should not set an example by not getting married, otherwise it would have a very bad influence.

But some time ago, he asked his cousin this question. His cousin said that none of the dandy boys in the capital were worthy of his young apprentice. He was also very worried. The young apprentice was about to turn sixteen, and the marriage could no longer be postponed, but there was no suitable candidate.

Huh, sixteen?

Thinking of this, Xiao Ge's heart stirred, and he looked at Xiao Lingyan.

His son was eighteen, and he and sixteen-year-old Zhao Zhiwei were a perfect match in terms of age. Zhao Zhiwei, needless to say, beautiful, no less than the imperial concubines. She was also exceptionally talented, and her vision and breadth of mind were no less than a man's. It would be such a pity if such a woman did not marry into the royal family.

Thinking this, Xiao Ge asked, "Little Five, have you ever met Zhao Zhiwei?"

Xiao Lingyan was taken aback, then nodded. "I've seen her before. Two years ago, I went to the Court of Judicial Review to inquire about something, and I happened to see Zhao Zhiwei there drawing portraits of prisoners. I saw her by chance. But she wasn't famous then. I thought her drawing style was novel, so I went up to take a look and said a few words to her."

When he first recognized Zhao Ruxi at Court of Judicial Review, he acted somewhat rashly due to his emotional state, as Zhang Changshen and others were aware of.

Although this matter has not been mentioned by anyone since, it can still be found if you investigate carefully.

So there's no need for him to hide it; he should just admit it openly.

It would be wonderful if we could have seen it.

Xiao Ge's spirits lifted. "So what do you think of Zhao Zhiwei? You've seen her paintings and calligraphy, haven't you? Such a talented and extraordinary woman, don't you want to marry her?"