Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

Zou Tai: "It's about my cousin entering the palace."

Su Qin: "Your cousin is also going to enter the palace?"

Zou Tai: "Last time when the emperor was selecting concubines, my cousin was on the list, but Liangchen said at that time that it was not a good time to enter the palace, so my family found a way to remove my cousin's name from the list.

At this palace banquet, my mother and aunt said that the emperor might be considering selecting a concubine again, and they were worried that he would allow my cousin to enter the palace again, so my mother asked me to ask for your opinion."

Su Qin was puzzled: "Why did your mother ask you to ask for my opinion?"

Zou Tai: "Mother said that the emperor must want you to enter the palace, so Liangchen asked for an imperial decree to grant the marriage at the palace banquet.

You, your sister, and Miss Xu are all so eager to get engaged because you don't want to enter the palace as concubines. Is there something wrong with this palace?"

Su Qin understood. It turned out to be this matter. Perhaps their behavior was a little strange, which made other families with daughters of marriageable age to become suspicious. They thought that there was something bad happening in the palace or with the emperor, so they were unwilling to enter the palace.

She smiled and explained: "There is nothing wrong in the palace. I don't want to enter the palace because I prefer the free life outside the palace. Besides, Liangchen treats me well, so I think marrying him is more suitable.

My sister did not enter the palace because my father was in prison and his health has deteriorated a lot. My younger brother is still young and cannot support the family. The family needs an adult man to support the family and take care of the family. Wang Er has no family, so if my sister marries him, they can live in the Su Mansion and take care of their parents.

As for Miss Xu, she is simply unsuitable for the palace. She comes from the countryside, and although she can read and write, she lacks the sense of propriety. Moreover, she is straightforward and very simple. If she entered the palace, she would probably make mistakes because she does not understand the rules and social customs.

Zou Tai nodded in understanding and said with a smile: "I said that your request for permission to marry was definitely not due to matters in the palace, but mother and the others refused to believe it. Others may not know, but how could I not know about Liangchen?

He cares about you the most. He wears the coarse cloth purse you made for him every day and treasures it very much.

He asked for permission because he truly wanted to marry you. He had made such great contributions back then, but he didn't ask for anything but a promise. I knew he was planning it for you."

Su Qin knew that Zhao Liangchen was interested in her. Normally, she didn't feel uncomfortable when she was with Zhao Liangchen, but after hearing what Zou Tai said, she felt inexplicably embarrassed. Did Zhao Liangchen value her so much in his heart?

She couldn't help but raise her hand to touch her slightly burning face, then coughed lightly: "Go back and tell your family that there is nothing wrong in the palace, please rest assured."

Zou Tai looked around and saw that there were no servants around. He then whispered, "My mother said you are very wise and intelligent. I want to ask you if you think my cousin is suitable to enter the palace."

Su Qin didn't want to meddle in other people's affairs, but seeing Zou Tai's sincere eyes full of trust, she said, "It depends on what your family wants. If you want the emperor's trust and to be valued by the emperor, you can send your cousin to the palace. If you just want to keep a low profile and stay safe like Marquis Wuning, then don't send her.

After all, as long as you enter the palace, you may give birth to a prince. Having a prince is not a big deal in the short term, but when the princes grow up, you will inevitably be involved in the struggle for power among the princes. Even if you don't want to fight for the throne and just want the prince to be an idle prince, there will be people who push you to take sides and you can't escape.

The emperor will certainly become very sensitive and suspicious after what happened with Prince Liang. In order to consolidate his power, he will reuse the families of these concubines. However, in order to prevent things like what happened with Prince Liang from happening again, he will keep a close eye on the families of concubines who have princes, to prevent them from forming cliques and undermining him.

Different choices lead to different paths, so you should consider carefully what your Zou family wants before making a decision."

Zou Tai: "What would you do if you were in our family's situation?"

Su Qin frowned and thought for a while: "If I were the one in charge of your Zou family, if your cousin had no objection, I would choose to let her enter the palace.

The difference between your family and the Wuning Marquis's Mansion is that the Wuning Marquis has already handed over his military power and resigned. He still has a title, and as long as they don't cause trouble, don't form cliques for personal gain, and keep a low profile, the emperor won't be suspicious of them.

But your family is a military general guarding the border, with soldiers under your command, and is the type that the emperor fears the most.

If you follow the example of Marquis Wuning and hand over the military power, and your father retires, your family will be left with nothing, and the foundation laid by your ancestors will be destroyed.

However, if he wants to continue leading the troops, he must be wary of the emperor's fear. Sending the Zou family girl into the palace will make the emperor let down his guard for a short period of time.

When your cousin gives birth to a prince in the future, as long as you have no intention of participating in the fight for the throne, just do your own thing with peace of mind. It’s up to the emperor to monitor or investigate you. Anyway, as long as you don’t do anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.

When the princes grow up, if you are worried that someone will frame the Zou family during the fights among the princes, you can seek refuge with the Queen and the Duke of Lu.

The queen is pregnant with a son, the eldest and legitimate child. As long as he grows up safely, he will definitely be the crown prince. The Duke of Lu's Mansion is powerful, and in order to keep the crown prince's position, they must have made preparations early.

As long as the emperor is not too foolish in his later years, it will be safe for the Zou family to seek refuge with the queen.

Even if the Empress and the Duke of Lu lose power and the Crown Prince's position is in jeopardy, you have troops at your disposal. As long as you gain a firm foothold in the army, you will most likely be fine."

Zou Tai felt relieved after hearing this. He bowed to Su Qin and said, "Thank you for your advice, sister-in-law. I understand. I'm sorry for disturbing you on your wedding day. I'll apologize another day."

After saying that, he left in a hurry and went back to discuss countermeasures with his family.

After Su Qin saw him leave, she said to Aunt Zhang, "Aunt Zhang, I want to take a bath."

After a tiring day and feeling sleepy after a full meal, Su Qin fell asleep after taking a shower without waiting for Zhao Liangchen to come back.

Aunt Zhang saw that it was difficult to persuade her, so she had to stand guard at the door.

The brothers in the army all loved to drink and kept pestering Zhao Liangchen to get him drunk. It was already late at night when he finally sent everyone away and returned to the main courtyard.

Aunt Zhang was a little embarrassed when she saw Zhao Liangchen staggering into the yard, not knowing whether she should wake Su Qin up.

When Zhao Liangchen approached, she gritted her teeth and explained for Su Qin: "Sir, the young lady waited for you for a long time and fell asleep when she saw that you were not coming back. She got up early this morning to dress up and was really exhausted."

Although Zhao Liangchen drank a lot and walked a little unsteadily, his mind was very clear. Su Qin fell asleep, but he was not disappointed. Instead, he smiled and said to Aunt Zhang: "It's okay, let her sleep well. I'll go to the front yard to sleep and not disturb her."

He wanted to leave after he finished speaking, but Aunt Zhang hurriedly called out to him, "Sir, you can't do that."

Zhao Liangchen turned around: "Why not?"

Aunt Zhang hesitated for a moment and said, "Today is your wedding day. If you don't stay here, the servants in the mansion will find out tomorrow and think that you don't like your daughter. They will look down on her. If this gets out, people will gossip about her."

Zhao Liangchen slapped his forehead and said, "I didn't think it through. I won't leave then."

Aunt Zhang said hurriedly, "Then the servant will fetch water for you to bathe."

Zhao Liangchen stood in the corridor waiting for Aunt Zhang to prepare water. The house was decorated in an especially festive way today. Looking at the red silk lanterns all over the yard, he was in a particularly good mood.

He finally had a home of his own. Before he moved into this courtyard, he hadn't felt at home, just a place to live. But when Su Qin married into the family, his heart suddenly felt filled with joy, a sense of home. He stood there, gazing at the beautiful scenery, and envisioned a wonderful life with Su Qin in the future.

After Aunt Zhang brought the water to the bathroom, she asked Zhao Liangchen, "Sir, how about I call the servants to come in and help you bathe?"

Zhao Liangchen shook his head: "No need, this yard belongs to Su Qin. Let her meet all the servants tomorrow. After she picks the good ones, only servants with her permission can enter this yard."

Aunt Zhang left without saying anything. Zhao Liangchen took a bath by himself. He washed very slowly because he was nervous and did not dare to enter Su Qin's room.