General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

The next morning, he went to court as usual.

Chen Chengfeng noticed that his elder brother had a serious expression on his face as soon as he entered the room.

Given his network of connections, he must already know about his impending marriage to Prime Minister Lü's daughter.

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Chen Chengfeng's lips.

His second elder brother was inferior to him in every way—birth background, power, and temperament—and was also very weak.

If it weren't for having a younger sister who was favored by the emperor, and the fact that the emperor had no other princes of marriageable age, how could such a guy be his rival?

Even if you fight someone like that to a standstill, he himself will feel ashamed.

Fortunately, everything is about to settle down.

However… thinking about what had happened in the past few days, his expression became serious again.

The day before the Spring Banquet, the Empress sent a message to the Third Prince's residence: the Emperor intended to marry the Fourth Princess to the Prince of Huai's heir.

As the only non-royal prince of Nanyue, the title of Prince Huai was hereditary and his influence was enormous.

Prince Huai's heir, Gong Yuan, is an only child. If their marriage is successful, Prince Huai's powerful influence will inevitably be transferred to the Second Prince's camp.

They could never have imagined things would turn out this way.

Upon seeing the news, Chen Chengfeng immediately went to the palace to see the Empress and try to find a way to stop the incident at all costs.

Finally, the Empress made the final decision, and at the Spring Banquet, in front of all the officials, she destroyed Chen Zhizhi's innocence, rendering the Fourth Princess completely useless.

But what happened next was beyond their control.

The plan failed, and the Empress Dowager was suspected. In order to regain the Emperor's favor, they had to find a way to cure the Empress Dowager. Unexpectedly, after the Empress Dowager was cured, the Emperor not only dispelled his dissatisfaction with the Empress Dowager, but was also overjoyed and bestowed the daughter of Prime Minister Lü upon him in marriage.

Although the final result was in his favor, why did he always feel that something was amiss?

It's as if... an invisible hand is controlling the course of events, manipulating his ups and downs.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Before I adjourn the court session, I would like to share some joyous news with all of you," the Emperor said with a smile.

Most of the people standing below had not yet received the news, and upon hearing this, they began to discuss it, speculating about what it was.

The Emperor smiled and waited until the discussion below had subsided before slowly speaking: "I have issued a decree that the Third Prince shall marry the youngest daughter of Prime Minister Lü."

A single sentence struck the court like a thunderclap, instantly stirring up ripples in the stagnant waters.

Everyone in the court knew the significance of this bestowed marriage.

For a time, the people in the court experienced both joy and sorrow.

The ministers and followers of the Third Prince applauded, while those on the Second Prince's side looked worried.

Some ministers who were originally observing and had not yet taken sides saw this situation and began to congratulate the Third Prince, preparing to pledge allegiance to the future Crown Prince.

The Third Prince's side was filled with joy, the atmosphere as lively as the New Year. Only one person was unhappy, and that was Jiang Qianzhong.

After the court session, Jiang Qianzhong deliberately walked at the back, waiting for the people who had come to congratulate the Third Prince to disperse.

"Your Highness." Jiang Qianzhong hurriedly bowed.

The Third Prince was riding high today, fawning over the ministers, but the smile vanished the moment he saw Jiang Qianzhong.

Unfortunately, Jiang Qianzhong was completely absorbed in his own emotions and did not notice the Third Prince's change in expression.

"Your Highness, you once made a verbal agreement with me that the position of principal wife would be reserved for Ruan'er. Why are you going back on your word now?" he asked anxiously.

Chen Chengfeng was already a bit taller than Jiang Qianzhong, and he glanced at him from above: "Are you questioning this prince with that tone?"

Jiang Qian choked, suppressing his anger for the moment: "Your Highness, I dare not. But Your Highness, a person cannot stand without integrity, you have clearly already told me..."

Chen Chengfeng wouldn't be angry if it weren't mentioned, but it brings it up again.

He stared at Jiang Qianzhong, his eyes blazing with barely concealed anger: "Jiang Qianzhong, how dare you say that a person without integrity cannot stand? You've deceived this prince so thoroughly!"

Jiang Qianzhong didn't react for a moment: "Your Highness, I have always been loyal to you. When have I ever lied to you?"

Chen Chengfeng sneered, "You still dare to say you haven't lied? I ask you, didn't you say Jiang Qiqi was dead? Why is she now the General's wife!"

Jiang Qianzhong was stunned. How could he forget that Jiang Qiqi was now the general's wife? His lie to the Third Prince that she was dead had been exposed.

The main reason was that he didn't expect Jiang Qiqi to live so long.

At that time, she was barely breathing and looked like she was about to die, but she not only lived to get married, but she is still alive after being married for so long, and her health is even getting better.

“Jiang Qianzhong,” Chen Chengfeng leaned closer to him and warned in a low voice, “Don’t forget why I promoted you in the first place, and how you got to this position.”

Chen Chengfeng stormed off in anger.

If it weren't for Qi Qi back then, Jiang Qianzhong wouldn't have cared about him at all, and he would still be just a minor official of the fifth rank.

Instead of being grateful, he lied to him about something so important.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Qianzhong returned home with a dark face. Before he even entered the house, he heard a loud commotion coming from inside: "Didn't Mother and Father say that the position of the Third Prince's principal wife was definitely mine? How come the Emperor has now bestowed the marriage upon him by Prime Minister Lü's wife, Lü Shuyi!"

"Ruan'er, don't worry, wait for your father to come back and ask him," Jiang Chenshi comforted her.

Jiang Qianzhong stopped at the door, closed his eyes briefly, and then pushed the door open and went inside.

Seeing her father return, Jiang Yunruan felt as if she had found her pillar of support and immediately rushed over to him.

"Father, please go and ask the Third Prince for me if it's true that he wants to marry Lü Shuyi."

Jiang Qianzhong practically spat out the words through gritted teeth: "It's true, I've already asked."

Upon hearing these words, Jiang Yunruan seemed to have all her strength drained away, and she slid to the ground.

She sat on the ground, staring blankly ahead, without saying a word.

"Ruan'er, don't frighten your mother, Ruan'er." Jiang Chenshi quickly squatted down and shook her daughter.

Jiang Yunruan's mind went blank.

Several years ago, before she had even reached marriageable age, she had already met the Third Prince. At that time, her father told her that she would be the future Third Prince's wife, and later become the Crown Princess and Empress.

From that day on, she had been looking forward to her coming of age, eagerly awaiting the arrival of that day.

But now… Jiang Yunruan looked at the person standing next to her and couldn’t help but ask:

"Why? Father? I've been of marriageable age for almost three years, and it's bad enough that the Third Prince keeps postponing the marriage proposal, but now the Emperor has directly issued an imperial edict to extinguish my hopes? Father, why is this?"

Jiang Qianzhong understood that the Third Prince kept putting it off because Jiang Yunruan was not the person he wanted to marry, but now it was no use saying anything.

However, if the Third Prince really marries Prime Minister Lü's daughter, then his position as Crown Prince will be a foregone conclusion.

In fact, Jiang Qianzhong didn't dare to covet the position of the principal wife at first. It was only after seeing his attitude towards Jiang Qiqi that he slowly began to have ambitions.

"Ruan'er," Jiang Qianzhong comforted her, "It's alright. Even if there's no position for the principal wife, there's still the concubine. Even if you are a concubine, when the Third Prince becomes the emperor, you will at least be a Noble Consort. A Noble Consort is already second only to the emperor, above all others."

Moreover, it was worthy of their background, after all, he was just a minor second-rank official.

Jiang Yunruan wasn't a three-year-old child, and she wasn't buying his act at all: "Imperial Consort? No matter how good the Imperial Consort is, she can't compare to the Empress!"

Jiang Qianzhong knew she would say that. No one knows a daughter better than her father, so he could only reply for the time being: "Ruan'er, the Emperor has only bestowed the marriage. As long as you are not married yet, you still have hope."

“That’s right, it’s just an arranged marriage!” Jiang Yunruan suddenly raised her head.

She wiped away her tears, looked at the two people opposite her, her eyes filled with malice: "Father, Mother, I am determined to have this position as the Crown Princess, and no one can stop me."