Xiao Ge's Summons

"The lady understands the master's concerns; he doesn't want their daughter to be involved in the struggle for the throne. But looking around the capital, how many noble families and court officials are truly uninvolved in factional struggles? Even if they are uninvolved now, who can guarantee they won't get involved tomorrow? Rather than that, it would be better to marry the daughter to a prince directly."

"Among all the princes, only Prince of Qi has no ambition to seize the throne. The young lady's top scholar title was personally selected by the Emperor, and her official position was also bestowed by the Emperor. Since she married Prince of Qi, even the Imperial Concubine couldn't prevent her from obtaining an official position. Just for this reason alone, Madam feels that they are better off than any other family in the capital."

"Tell me, which father-in-law, mother-in-law, or husband in the capital would be willing to let their daughter serve as an official? And this young lady's aspirations are different from other women; she doesn't want to stay at home bearing children and serving her husband. Even if she were willing, if the husband is inferior to his wife in every way, wouldn't he constantly take concubines to assert his own status?"

"Of course, you are not only the young lady's master, but also have three other disciples. You must consider their needs. However, my wife said that fellow disciples are not like biological siblings and can be completely unaffected by each other. Even if the young lady marries the Prince of Qi, Wu Huaisi and the other two officials can still maintain their political stance as before."

Kang Shilin listened to Liu Quan's words and remained silent for a long time.

It must be said that he was moved by Lady Zhu's last two words.

He tried to set aside the influence of the Lady Zhu and consider the feasibility of marrying Zhao Ruxi to Xiao Lingyan on his own. Or rather, if Zhao Ruxi didn't marry Xiao Lingyan, who else in the capital could his young apprentice marry?

He was saddened to discover that he couldn't find anyone Zhao Ruxi could marry.

There are indeed some people in the capital who don't take sides, such as Peng Guoan. But these people all live together in large families. Although they don't participate in the struggle for the throne, there are still many conflicts within their families. Once Zhao Ruxi marries into the family, she can only stay at home obediently, raise children, and serve her husband. It's almost impossible for her to go out and take up an official post.

Putting aside Zhao Ruxi's lofty ambitions, just considering her talent, if she were confined at home by her in-laws and only used as a tool for childbirth, he, as her teacher, would be furious.

Furthermore, Zhao Ruxi married Xiao Lingyan. As long as Wu Huaisi and others remain neutral in the subsequent events, everyone will know that they were not affected by this marriage.

The fellow disciples are not blood relatives and are not related by blood. It is perfectly acceptable for each of them to adhere to their own political stance. Presumably, the Crown Prince and the Third and Fourth Prince would be happy with their attitude and would not force them into the faction of the Second and Fifth Prince.

Therefore, the impact is not as great as imagined.

He raised his head and looked at Liu Quan scrutinizingly. "Did your wife or your daughter say these words?"

If Zhao Ruxi taught Liu Quan to say that, then he would have to re-evaluate his young apprentice.

Liu Quan was stunned for a moment, then immediately wanted to swear an oath. "It's absolutely true, it was my wife who said it. The young lady said she wasn't sure and needed to ask for your opinion. I haven't read the letter she wrote, so I don't know what she said in it. I swear! If I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death."

Kang Shilin was just asking casually. Having spent so much time with his apprentice, he believed he could see through his youngest disciple's character.

Seeing Liu Quan so anxious, he quickly waved his hand. "Alright, alright, I believe you. To raise a child like your daughter, your wife must be quite remarkable, at least not lacking in political acumen."

Liu Quan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Kang Shilin added, "I understand your wife's meaning. Don't worry, if the Emperor asks me about this marriage, I won't object."

Liu Quan bowed to Kang Shilin and said, "On behalf of my wife, I thank you, sir."

He stood up and said to Kang Shilin, "My daughter wrote to ask you about this matter. Do you want to write a letter back to her, or have me pass on the message?"

Kang Shilin said, "You won't be able to return to Nanyang until tomorrow, right? Come back to me to get the reply before you leave. This is a very important matter. If something goes wrong when you take the letter back to the Marquis's residence, and people find out, it will cause trouble."

"Yes, sir, you are very thoughtful. Rest assured, my wife has instructed me not to say a word about this to anyone other than you," Liu Quan quickly replied.

Kang Shilin nodded in satisfaction. "That's good. Okay, you can go back now. Come see me again tomorrow morning."

"Yes, I'll take my leave."

Liu Quan bowed and was about to leave when someone called from outside the door, "Master, the palace eunuch has arrived. The Emperor summons you to the palace to dine with him."

Liu Quan was taken aback and looked at Kang Shilin.

Kang Shilin stood up. "It's probably about your daughter's marriage. Don't worry, I understand your wife's intentions. If the Emperor is sincere, I will grant your wife's wish."

Thank you, sir.

Kang Shilin rode in a sedan chair to the palace and went to the palace where Xiao Ge usually stayed, where he found that wine and dishes had been prepared and were waiting for him.

"Uncle, please sit down." Before he could even bow, Xiao Ge, beaming, stepped forward and personally helped him up, gesturing for him to sit down.

Eunuch Zhang brought up a wine pot and poured a cup of wine for Kang Shilin.

Kang Shilin readily sat down, looking at Xiao Ge with a questioning gaze.

Xiao Ge knew that Shan had never liked drinking. Usually, when they ate together, Xiao Ge never urged him to drink. Today's behavior was very unusual. Could it be that he really wanted to propose marriage to Zhao Ruxi on behalf of Xiao Five?

Xiao Ge raised his wine cup and said to Kang Shilin, "Uncle, I must toast you today, because I want to ask your apprentice for my son Little Five's hand in marriage. You must agree."

"W-what?" Kang Shilin feigned surprise.

"Haha." Recalling how her Little Five mentioned Zhao Ruxi when he came back, Xiao Ge was extremely Gao Xing. "You don't know, the other day..."

He recounted how he had received the memorial the day before, and how he had mentioned Zhao Ruxi to Xiao Lingyan, and how Xiao Lingyan had gone to Nanyang.

"That boy came back and told me that he felt he had been waiting for me to bring up Zhao Zhiwei before he got engaged at eighteen. He said that Zhao Zhiwei's appearance, temperament, and even her paintings and calligraphy suited him perfectly, so he immediately expressed his desire to marry her. He felt that Zhao Zhiwei Zhiwei had feelings for him. However, she didn't agree at the time, saying she needed to discuss it with her elders, especially to get your consent."

He raised his wine glass again. "So today I've come to ask for your hand in marriage on behalf of my son."

Kang Shilin picked up his wine glass, clinked it against Xiao Ge's, took a small sip, and then put the glass down.

Kang An had already come over to serve Kang Shilin food when he clinked glasses with Kang Shilin. Kang Shilin picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and suppressed the alcohol in his mouth.