The Empress of Zhen Huan Reborn

The Emperor had already instructed the Empress to hold a one-year-old banquet for Princess Wen Yi, so the Empress took the opportunity to resume the morning greetings from all the palaces.

That day, the Queen was talking to the concubines when she saw the Emperor striding in.

"Your Majesty, your humble concubine greets you." The concubines hurriedly paid their respects to the emperor.

The emperor glanced at everyone and said, "You are all here. I have something to discuss with the queen today. Since you are all here, please sit down and listen."

After the emperor finished speaking, he sat down next to the queen. The queen smiled gently and asked, "Your Majesty, what happened?"

The emperor said with a sad face: "At the court this morning, Junggar sent people to the court to ask for marriage, asking for a princess of the Qing Dynasty to be the princess of their Yingge Khan to be the princess, in order to reassure the people on the border."

After hearing this, the Queen said thoughtfully, "It is common for princesses of the Celestial Empire to marry into a foreign country. All you need to do is pick a suitable girl from the royal family, confer the title of Heshuo Princess on her and marry her off."

The emperor said worriedly: "The problem is that this time they want to marry a princess who is their own daughter, not a member of the royal family."

When Cao Qinmo heard that he wanted to marry a legitimate princess, she was very worried, fearing that the emperor came this time just to marry Wen Yi off, so she pleaded quickly, "Your Majesty, although Wen Yi is your biological daughter, she is still young. How can we marry her?"

After hearing this, the emperor said, "If Wen Yi is old enough, I won't have to worry about this. You all know the current situation in the court. I have been on the throne for less than three years, and I have just pacified the northwest. The Junggars are always powerful. If this matter is not properly resolved, I am afraid that there will be a war. If we mobilize the army again, we will not have enough money and food for the time being. This is really not the best idea."

Cao Qinmo didn't listen to the second half of the emperor's words at this time. All that echoed in her mind was what the emperor had just said: If Wen Yi was old enough, there would be no need to worry about this. She looked at Concubine Hua for help.

Nian Shilan gave Cao Qinmo a look that urged her to stay calm, and Cao Qinmo's heart was able to calm down a little.

What happened later was just like in the previous life. The empress recommended the late emperor's Princess Chaogui. The emperor pretended to agree with helplessness, named Princess Chaogui the Princess Gulun, and ordered the empress to prepare to marry Princess Chaogui to the Junggar Khan in ten days.

Then the emperor left Jingren Palace on the pretext that he had something to do in the previous court.

Cao Qinmo followed Concubine Hua all the way back to Yikun Palace.

After entering the main hall, Nian Shilan sat at the table and said to Cao Qinmo, "Do you feel anything about the princess' marriage today?"

Cao Qinmo knelt down quickly and said, "Your Majesty, Wen Yi is still young. I just want to wait until she grows up, set up a residence as soon as possible, and find an ordinary family. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy on her."

Nian Shilan listened to Cao Qinmo's words and said, "If I don't fall, I will satisfy your motherly heart."

After hearing this, Cao Qinmo promised repeatedly: "In the future, I will do my best to assist the queen."

Nian Shilan thought about it and realized that in her previous life, not long after Princess Chaogui married into Junggar, the old Khan died. According to Junggar customs, Chaogui became the concubine of the new Khan.

Nian Shilan said to Cao Qinmo, "You go back first. As long as you are obedient, I will protect Wen Yi."

After hearing this, Cao Qinmo kowtowed to Nian Shilan repeatedly to express his gratitude, then walked out.

Nian Shilan thought for a moment in the palace, and finally decided to go to the Yangxin Palace to ask for an audience with the emperor.

Su Peisheng saw Nian Shilan coming outside the Yangxin Palace and hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Empress Hua, why are you here?"

Nian Shilan smiled and said to Eunuch Su: "I want to talk to the emperor about the marriage. I'd like to trouble you to report it."

When Su Peisheng heard this, he quickly agreed and turned to enter the Yangxin Palace.

The emperor was handling government affairs. When he heard that Nian Shilan was asking for a meeting outside, he asked Su Peisheng to bring her in.

Nian Shilan entered the palace, knelt down and saluted the emperor: "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."

The emperor asked Nian Shilan to stand up, and then he said, "I heard from Su Peisheng that you came to see me about Princess Chaogui's marriage?"

Although the emperor's expression remained unchanged, he was thinking in his heart, could it be that Nian Shilan came here to ask him to let Nian Gengyao lead the troops to recapture Junggar?

The emperor did not want to do this. He did not want to send troops to solve a problem that could be solved by a woman. Firstly, he did not want to waste money and manpower, and secondly, he did not want to give Nian Gengyao another chance to gain military merit.

Nian Shilan walked up to the emperor and said calmly, "I heard that Yingge Khan is old and more than old enough to be the princess's grandfather. Could it be that the emperor is really willing to marry Princess Chaogui to such a man? If the emperor compromises, how can we govern the surrounding aboriginal lands in the future? How will our Qing Dynasty maintain its reputation?"

The emperor looked at Nian Shilan without blinking and asked, "So according to you, do you want to lead the troops to fight? I said today..."

Before the emperor finished speaking, Nian Shilan interrupted him, "Of course not. I know that Jungar asked to marry the legitimate princess of our Qing Dynasty. This was a precedent when the late emperor was alive. It is not appropriate for the emperor to make an exception now. But I have heard from my brother that Yingge Khan's health has been getting worse."

The emperor nodded and said, "Yes, the proposal to marry the princess is also to bring happiness to Yingge Khan."

Upon hearing this, Nian Shilan said quickly, "That's even worse. I heard that there is a custom in Junggar that if Yingge Khan dies suddenly, then our princess will have to change from being a princess to a concubine of the new Khan. That would be such a disrespect to our Qing Dynasty."

The emperor said with a frown: "I know that, but the Qing Dynasty cannot afford the cost of war."

Seeing the emperor's frown, Nian Shilan gently massaged his head and said softly, "Your Majesty might as well agree to Junggar's request. It's just that the Queen Mother loves Princess Chaogui very much. When she heard that the princess was going to marry Junggar, she was so sad that she was bedridden. Princess Chaogui grew up with the Queen Mother since she was a child. She is worried about the Queen Mother's health and wants to wait until the Queen Mother is well before marrying Junggar. If the old Khan dies suddenly during this period, after the new Khan ascends the throne, the two of them will be of similar age, which will be a good story."

When the emperor heard what Nian Shilan said, his eyes lit up. Yes, he had the final say on when the empress dowager's health would recover. If he waited until Yingge Khan died suddenly, it would be uncertain whether the new Khan would still ask for Princess Chaogui's hand in marriage.

This way, the emperor would not have to bear the stigma of forcing his sister to marry Junggar. The emperor said to Nian Shilan happily, "My beloved, your idea is still very good. The old men in the court only know how to argue about whether to marry or not, which makes me feel so headache. You are the one who suits my heart best."

Seeing this, Nian Shilan knew that the emperor had agreed to her request. No matter what happened in the future, she would do her best. Then she smiled and said to the emperor: "Marrying a princess is more or less related to the harem. I hope the emperor does not blame me for discussing state affairs."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "It's okay. I allow you to interfere in this matter."

At this time, Su Peisheng came to report: "Your Majesty, Lord Zhang Tingyu is asking for an audience outside the palace."

Upon hearing this, Nian Shilan said goodbye to the emperor very sensibly, turned around and walked out.