As Ning Chen's first child, although she is a girl, the eldest princess has never been looked down upon. In other words, even though her biological mother has never been favored, she is still the child that Ning Chen cares about.
What's more rare is that although Yan herself is confused, she was born into a noble family and brought up her daughter to be very dignified and elegant.
As for the eldest princess' intelligence, to be honest, it was not Yan's credit, but because Ning Chen specially hired a female teacher for the eldest princess.
No matter what, when she reached the age of coming of age, the eldest princess could definitely be regarded as the most outstanding girl of that era.
She was born as a darling of heaven with excellent looks and talents. She was also gentle and approachable, never showing off. She was also extremely intelligent, sensible, and knew when to advance and retreat.
So when choosing a husband for the eldest princess, Ning Chen bluntly called all the best men in Kyoto to come and choose one by one.
Finally, three young masters from the Qi, Xu, and Zhou families were selected and sent to be taken to the eldest princess for her own inspection.
Concubine Rong called her daughter over and handed her the book for selecting a son-in-law.
"These are the young talents that your father and queen have chosen for you. You can decide which one you like better. I think all of them are good."
In fact, when she heard that the Queen and the Emperor had chosen together, Concubine Rong was worried that the Queen would interfere, but she didn't expect that it was all for the good.
Of course, Concubine Rongxian did not say this, otherwise she would have to listen to her daughter's nagging again.
Now that she is getting along with the eldest princess, Concubine Rong always feels that she is more like a daughter.
The eldest princess was unaware of her mother's little thoughts. She was flipping through the booklets with a blushing face. When she came to the last book, she suddenly saw a familiar name, Zhou Jinyao.
Looking at the small portrait attached to the back of the booklet, it was indeed the young man I met at my aunt's house that day.
When Concubine Rongxian noticed that her daughter had stopped, she also leaned over to take a look.
"Like this? It's similar to your personality. I heard that Mr. Zhou is also a quiet person. He likes to study poetry and books. He is the only son in the family. His two sisters are married. His mother passed away a few years ago. Now there are only him and his father in the mansion. It would be great if you could marry him and take charge of the family."
"Mother!" The eldest princess closed the booklet in shame. "My daughter just looked at me for a few more times. Why did you say such things? What are you talking about whether I am the head of the household or not? My daughter is not even married yet!"
Looking at her like this, there is nothing that Concubine Rong doesn't understand.
It must be what you like.
So he deliberately teased, "You don't like this, then how about the son of the Xu family? Not only is he good-looking, but his father is also a trusted minister of your father, the emperor, and he is also the prince's companion. He will definitely have a bright future."
The eldest princess lowered her eyes, pulled her handkerchief, and spoke in a low voice.
"Why would I need a prince consort with a promising future? I am getting married, not being the top scholar. Besides, I am a princess. I have everything I want, so why would I need a prince consort to earn anything for me?"
"Oh - that's right. Why not choose the young master of the Qi family? Xiangluo, you go and tell the emperor that you are not satisfied with any two of the three and that he has decided to choose the one from the Qi family." Concubine Rong said deliberately.
Xiangluo understood and bowed immediately, "Okay, I'll go and reply for the princess right away!"
The eldest princess became anxious and hurriedly grabbed Concubine Rong's sleeve.
"Mom! I haven't said anything yet, why do you want to settle down in the Qi family?"
Concubine Rong laughed out loud and took her daughter's hand.
He asked seriously, "So which one do you want?"
The eldest princess's cheeks were as red as crabapples. She bit her lip and whispered, "Zhou family, Zhou Jinyao."
"I knew this was what you were thinking." Concubine Rong reached out and poked her daughter's forehead, her eyes full of smiles.
He waved his hand and asked someone to pass on the message.
Soon, Ning Chen got the news.
However, a princess' marriage is not just a matter of a marriage certificate. When the eldest daughter gets married, the father always has to meet the person in person and examine her.
A few days later, Lord Zhou received an imperial edict ordering him to bring his son to the palace to meet the emperor.
Having served as an official for many years, Lord Zhou naturally guessed what the emperor meant, so before entering the palace, he reminded his son to be smart and never show his pedantic temper in front of the emperor.
Zhou Jinyao felt indifferent, as he knew that the emperor wanted to appoint him as the emperor's consort. However, being a consort had no appeal to him.
But marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words, so just obey.
Unexpectedly, after entering the palace, the emperor did not see him. He only called Lord Zhou to talk to him in the imperial study and sent Huai'an to take him to the imperial garden.
Zhou Jinyao didn't think much of it. He just thought that the emperor and his father had important matters to discuss, so he followed him obediently.
On the other side, Ye Jun deliberately sent the fourth princess out and also brought the eldest princess to the imperial garden.
So the two met by "coincidence".
The eldest princess recognized the person in front of her, so she blushed and bowed slightly from a few steps away.
"How come Master Zhou is in the palace? What a coincidence."
"Miss, how are you doing?" Zhou Jinyao bowed. "I came to the palace with my father. I wonder if Miss..."
Seeing that the girl in front of me still had her hairstyle combed like a girl in the boudoir, I thought she might be the family member of some queen or a princess in the royal family.
Remembering the reason why he entered the palace today, Zhou Jinyao took two steps back to ensure that the distance was appropriate so as not to cause misunderstanding.
Look at this little action, he is undoubtedly a gentleman.
Zhou Jinyao was stupid, but the eldest princess was not stupid. She knew very well the intention of her fourth sister calling her out.
I must let myself meet this future prince consort.
For a moment, the eldest princess was in a playful mood, holding her handkerchief and deliberately said, "I am from Yuzhou, the niece of Concubine Rongxian, and I came to the palace to accompany the eldest princess."
"You are Miss Yan. I am honored to meet you." Zhou Jinyao bowed.
The eldest princess found him so easy to deceive and found it even more amusing, so she teased him again, "You are about the same age as the eldest princess. Could it be that you were chosen by the emperor to be his consort and came to the palace? I want to take a look at you for my princess cousin first."
After saying this, he walked quickly closer.
This action immediately frightened Zhou Jinyao so much that he took two steps back, and his fair and handsome cheeks suddenly turned red.
"Miss Yan, please respect yourself. Men and women should not touch each other. Moreover, if I become your consort, I will be your cousin-in-law, so you should be more cautious."
Although he said this and abided by the rules, Zhou Jinyao felt a little uncomfortable when he looked at the bright and beautiful girl in front of him.
Last time at Princess Jiahe's mansion, I only caught a glimpse of her, but now I can't cross that line even a little bit.
"Hahahaha, oh, you're so funny. I just teased you and you actually believed it!"
Suddenly, a young girl jumped out from behind a rockery not far away. She was as delicate as an elf and was holding her only son with her hands and smiling.
Zhou Jinyao was still confused, while the eldest princess' cheeks turned red.
He took two or three steps over and pinched the fourth princess's face, "Yuan'er! You are such a bad girl!"