With the twelfth prince ascending the throne, Li Yaonan's status and fame rose to a higher level.
As his son, Li Xu became a popular commodity. He went from being a good son-in-law in the eyes of the ladies to a perfect son-in-law that all the ministers in the court were vying for.
The court and the in-laws are closely linked.
In the past, when the throne was not decided, Li Yaonan was labeled as the twelfth prince. No matter how outstanding Li Xu was, he had to think carefully before choosing him as a son-in-law. Ministers who did not want to participate in party disputes naturally excluded him from the list of sons-in-law.
Since ancient times, the struggle for the throne has been like a gamble. If you win, you will soar to the sky, but if you lose, your family will be destroyed.
Li Yaonan is the emperor's tutor of the current dynasty. Not only does he have the merit of following the emperor, he is also a great Confucian scholar of the dynasty. As his eldest son, Li Xu's value has skyrocketed. The title of the eldest lady of the Li family is more sought after than the emperor's selection of concubines. Once you enter the palace, it is like entering a deep sea. The real noble clans are unwilling to send their daughters to the palace to suffer, not to mention that Lin Yixuan had previously said that the family rules of the Li family do not allow concubines. Such a good son-in-law is hard to find even with a lantern.
Of course, the most important thing is that they value the future of the Li Mansion. As long as the Li family does not rebel, there will be absolutely no problem in ensuring the wealth and prosperity of their descendants for three generations.
The officials and nobles became interested. Li Xu was young and promising, and he was also a classmate of the emperor. Lord Li had a successor, and the rise of the Li family was inevitable. Now everyone wanted to try their luck and see which lady would be chosen. They sent people to inquire, and almost broke down the door of the Li family.
Lin Yixuan has been very worried recently. His son is too outstanding and too many people come to inquire about his news, which makes him very annoyed.
In the flower hall of the Li Mansion, Lin Yixuan was talking to the wife of Censor Yang.
"My niece is not only beautiful, but also very gentle. She is a good manager. I am not praising her. If I didn't really value your boy, I wouldn't ask you to do this..."
Lin Yixuan's face was frozen with laughter, and he declined politely, "My boy's marriage is decided by his father. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. His father said that he can get married after he turns 18."
Madam Yang was not satisfied and immediately said, "How can this be possible? When he turns 18, all the girls from good families will be engaged. You can't listen to men. He doesn't know anything. It will delay your boy. Besides, you can get engaged first. My niece is of the same social status as yours. She is gentle and virtuous. I guarantee you will like her."
Lin Yixuan frowned, impatience flashed in his eyes, and he said lightly: "It doesn't matter if I like him, the child has to like him. He is preparing for the imperial examination now, so he can't take care of him at the moment. His father plans to wait until he is a little older before talking about marriage."
Madam Yang was all smiles: "He did well in the imperial examination. A tiger father will have a dog son. He is worthy of being taught by Lord Li. Your boy is promising. It doesn't matter. My niece can wait."
Lin Yixuan was unhappy. Was it because Madam Yang didn't understand him or what? He didn't agree to this marriage. Lin Yixuan's tone became tougher: "No need. It's not good to delay the young lady. I plan to talk about my boy's marriage in a few years."
Madam Yang's face darkened, she was very unhappy. Although Li Yaonan was in a high position and had great power, he was, after all, a new noble in the court. Not only did he not have the support of his family, he also had no help in the court. He was alone. If anything happened to him, the Li family would collapse in an instant. How could they compare with the aristocratic families? The marriage was a sign of respect for him, but Lin Yixuan was so disrespectful to him. She really didn't know how to appreciate him.
Lin Yixuan had an indifferent expression, he hated these noble families the most, he didn't know whether they had any ability or not, but they had countless rules. He looked down on the noble families for being good at scheming, and also looked down on the children of poor families for having no background. He usually only made friends with the literati and scholars of the upright school. Who did he think they were? In his opinion, there are only two words to describe them - pretentious!
The atmosphere in the room became tense. At this moment, a maid came in and said, "Sir, the wife of the Duke of Wei is here."
Lin Yixuan felt relieved and a smile appeared on his face: "Please come in."
Madam Yang looked unhappy. She and the wife of Duke Wei did not get along well. She wanted to leave, but was afraid that others would think she was scared. Now she didn't know whether to leave or stay. Her face looked extremely ugly.
The wife of Duke Wei walked into the flower hall with a smile. She glanced at Madam Yang first, then said with a smile: "I didn't know that Master Lin had a guest. Today, I am the one who disturbed you. I hope I didn't interrupt your conversation. Madam Yang is really a rare guest."
Lin Yixuan curled his lips and smiled, instantly understanding the meaning of her words. The Yang family prides themselves on being a pure family. Their ancestors had produced great scholars, and although their descendants were not very ambitious, they carried out some of the pure family traditions to the end, not forming cliques, not pursuing personal gain, and not engaging in corruption. Before the twelfth prince ascended the throne, the Yang family avoided him, but today they actually came to visit, wasn't he a rare guest
Lin Yixuan smiled and said, "What do you mean by disturbing me or not? Madam, your presence is a great honor to our humble home. Please take a seat."
Madam Wei took a seat readily, glanced around, raised her eyebrows and smiled, "I heard that Lord Li is going to start a class at the Imperial College. I wonder what the rules are for Old Master Yang?"
Madam Yang had a cold face and a very arrogant attitude. She said proudly, "The old man is old, so the matter of opening the school and giving lectures should be left to the young people."
The wife of the Duke of Wei sneered. Nowadays, everyone knows that Lord Li is a man of outstanding talent. Old Master Yang is probably too proud to show up and seek fame.
Lin Yixuan just smiled and said nothing. The wife of Duke Wei was from a noble family, while the wife of Censor Yang was from a clean family. The two sides had been at odds for a long time, so he just let them quarrel so as not to bother him.
Mrs. Yang felt depressed, so she sat for a while and then said goodbye.
The wife of the Duke of Wei was disdainful and cursed her when she saw her leaving: "You really think you are a toy."
Lin Yixuan smiled meaningfully and said calmly: "The emperor likes their temperament."
Upon hearing this, the wife of the Duke of Wei sighed and stopped talking immediately. Isn't it true? Among those noble families, except for the truly big families, how many are not seeking fame and reputation? But the emperor just likes this kind of people. Otherwise, with their stubborn and stubborn character, they would have no place to stand in the court.
After a moment's silence, Lady Wei Guogong said, "I didn't send you a visiting card today. I shouldn't have come to your house, but I saw so many people coming and going in your house. I was worried that if I came a step too late, you would have arranged your son's marriage, and then I would regret it."
Lin Yixuan was quite helpless. The ladies who came to visit him recently almost all talked about this topic. She smiled and said, "My son's marriage is decided by his father."
The wife of Duke Wei raised her eyebrows and said, "Don't fool me. Give me a definite answer. What are the rules between you and Lord Li for your son's marriage? Let me know. You should know that my daughter will not have trouble finding a husband. I value your boy because your family has a good tradition. With a father-in-law like you, my daughter will definitely not suffer if she marries him."
Having said that, Lin Yixuan couldn't refuse. He didn't like dealing with these ladies. After thinking for a moment, he said bluntly, "To be honest, Madam, we respect Xu'er's opinion on marriage. After all, we have to spend our whole life together, and we have to find someone he likes."
The wife of Duke Wei frowned: "This... How can a girl who is still waiting to be married make friends with a man from another family? How can he be considered to like her? Isn't your boy just fooling around?"
Lin Yixuan's lips curled up, and a soft look flashed in his eyes: "My husband and I are deeply in love. Xu'er has been influenced since he was young. He wishes to find a loyal person and stay together until old age. He swears that he will find a wife who shares the same feelings with him in the future."
Lady Weiguogong was envious. She opened her lips but swallowed her words. She couldn't let her daughter meet him privately just for the Li family boy. The Duke of Wei couldn't afford to lose face. "Forget it. My daughter is unlucky."
Lin Yixuan glanced at her with an apologetic look. Lady Wei Guogong chuckled and quickly put aside her regrets. She sneered, "Alright, marriage cannot be forced. It depends on your willingness. I didn't mention what happened today. Your boy is very ambitious. I want to see what kind of wife he will find in the future."
Lin Yixuan smiled faintly, understanding what she meant. Since it was related to his daughter's reputation, he would naturally not bring it up. He smiled and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Your daughter is chaste and virtuous. I like her very much. She will definitely find a good in-law in the future."
The wife of Duke Wei smiled with satisfaction: "Of course, my daughter is good. Princess Fu said a few days ago that the prince is indeed good at both civil and military affairs, but the troubles in her family... Well, let's not talk about it."
Lin Yixuan smiled faintly but did not say anything. Prince Fu was the uncle of the late emperor. Although he was of noble status, his family was in a mess, with seven or eight illegitimate sons. It sounded good to be the Crown Prince of Fu, but it was unknown whether he could inherit the throne. Moreover, as the Crown Prince of Fu, he was destined to be unable to do anything. From the perspective of either interests or happiness, the Prince Fu's Mansion was not a good candidate for marriage, and the wife of the Duke of Wei was naturally unwilling to marry her daughter to him.
The two chatted for a while, and then the wife of the Duke of Wei stood up and said goodbye.
Lin Yixuan heaved a sigh of relief, and immediately asked someone to prepare the formalities after she left. He planned to stay in another courtyard for a while. Although he was a Shuang'er, he was also a man. Dealing with these ladies was so tiring that it was really unbearable.