Seeing him remain silent for a long time, Noble Consort Rong pressed down hard on his shoulders and shook him back and forth, trying to snap him out of it.
"Marrying Princess Shuwan is a godsend. Not only must you marry her, but you must also treat her well so that she will stand by your side and help you."
Xiao Rongyan slowly came back to his senses, staring blankly at Noble Consort Rong.
"Mother, where did you hear that Imperial Father leaked military intelligence?"
Noble Consort Rong furrowed her brows in agitation, having no desire to answer this question at all.
"Where I heard it from is not important. What matters is that he succeeded."
Xiao Rongyan's knees gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
He shook his head, his mind a tangled mess, completely unable to sort out his thoughts.
"Let me think, let me think," he muttered subconsciously, speaking as much to Noble Consort Rong as to himself.
Seeing him in this state, Noble Consort Rong released him, frustrated by his lack of resolve, her brow creased with intense dissatisfaction.
It was already afternoon by the time Xiao Rongyan returned to his manor. Princess Consort Ying, who had been waiting for two hours, immediately came forward to greet him, only to have the door shut in her face.
Looking at the study door that Xiao Rongyan had closed himself, Princess Consort Ying blinked in bewilderment.
She stared at the door, her face full of confusion.
What was going on? He looked as if he had lost his soul.
Inside the study, Xiao Rongyan sat in his chair for the entire afternoon.
He replayed all the significant events he had experienced from childhood to adulthood, especially all the efforts he had made since coming of age to compete with Prince Qi for the position of Crown Prince.
Finally, thinking about how the power in his hands had been completely diluted in just two short years, how his status in the court had plummeted, and how he now had seven more younger brothers vying for the throne, the anger in his heart only grew.
Noble Consort Rong's words involuntarily swirled in his mind.
Xiao Rongyan thought it over and over, deducing the two paths of doing it versus not doing it hundreds of times in his head, before finally reaching a conclusion.
Noble Consort Rong was right.
If he did not use the Shuobei Kingdom, it would be almost impossible for him to obtain the throne.
At the thought that his own father's throne had not been obtained honorably either, Xiao Rongyan gradually convinced himself.
As the thought emerged, the expression on his face began to change.
From his initial apprehension to a final, resolute greed.
He stood up and looked around, as if this place were the Hall of Supreme Harmony, envisioning himself draped in the imperial yellow robe, ascending the steps one by one to sit upon the golden dragon throne.
After coming out of the study, the first thing Xiao Rongyan said to Princess Consort Ying was, "Change the residence to Tinglan Courtyard."
Princess Consort Ying moved her lips but ultimately said nothing.
It was her mother-in-law's intention; she could not and dared not object.
It was early autumn when Princess Shuwan's imperial carriage arrived in the capital.
According to Xiao Chengjing's decree, the marriage was to take place immediately upon her arrival.
The carriage, adorned with red silk, stopped at the entrance of the Ying Prince's Manor, surrounded by commoners who had come to watch the spectacle.
Tens of thousands of copper coins were scattered, clinking and clattering for half a quarter of an hour, as Xiao Rongyan, wearing his wedding attire and a gentle expression, led He Shuwan into the manor.
Watching the two walk side by side through the main entrance, the fake-smiling Princess Consort Ying had already cursed them a thousand times in her heart.
The grand wedding ceremony was almost on par with that of a primary consort—where did that leave her, the actual Princess Consort?
Outside the crowd, at the base of the corner wall, Li Qinyun's face was pale, her heart dying over and over again.
She couldn't fight for the position of Princess Consort, and now even as a secondary consort, she was going to be suppressed by someone else. Her future status in the manor would likely be even more difficult.
Forced to show respect due to imperial prestige, and also wanting to see this Princess Shuwan who had come for the political marriage, Song Jinzhao still brought a modest gift and brought Song Qiming along.
Surprisingly, not only did she come, but Prince Qi, Xiao Rongche, had also arrived.
At the empty tables where no one had yet taken a seat, he was the only one sitting in a chair, his left eye staring blankly into the void, lost in unknown thoughts.
