Li Nuo was bewildered by the scolding he received from Li Anning and claimed his innocence.
Men should marry when they grow up, and so should women; what could he do?
Find an excuse to arrest the nosy officials from the Ministry of Rites, give them a good lecture, and tell them to mind their own business instead of meddling with the Princess’s marriage matters?
The Ministry of Rites was responsible for such things; arranging the Princess’s marriage was exactly their duty.
Li Nuo had no power to interfere with such national affairs.
After all, what did he have besides a father who was powerful enough to dominate the court?
Without his father, he was nothing.
However, the thought of Li Anning getting married someday did stir some unpleasant feelings within Li Nuo.
Although, he knew such feelings made little sense.
After all, she was the one he had called "wife" countless times...
As Li Nuo was lost in thoughts, Li Anning tapped on the table with her knuckles and pointed at the painting, saying, "You’ve drawn something incorrectly."
Li Nuo snapped back to reality.
She knew about painting, to claim that his work was flawed?
Li Nuo looked at her and asked, "What’s incorrect?"
Li Anning pointed to the Phoenix and herself in the painting, slightly stuck out her chest, and asked, "Do you think what you’ve drawn is correct?"
Initially, Li Nuo hadn’t noticed anything amiss.
But her gesture of thrusting her chest out was clearly suggestive.
Looking at the sketch, Li Nuo then realized that there were indeed some details that he hadn’t handled properly.
If he drew Li Anning or the Phoenix separately, the painting would have no flaws.
But with both in the same painting, certain details needed attention.
For instance, the curve in front of the Princess’s chest should be slightly larger than that of the Phoenix’s, though not by much, but larger is larger.
This specific feature wasn’t reflected in Li Nuo’s depiction.
Not only did it not represent the actual situation, but it even looked as if the curve of the Phoenix was larger.
This was contrary to the truth, and luckily, Li Nuo had only sketched the outlines, so it wasn’t too late to make corrections.
Li Nuo crumpled the draft and threw it into the wastebasket.
He grabbed a new sheet of rice paper and quickly sketched their silhouettes once more.
Looking at the curves of the two figures in the drawing, Li Anning nodded in satisfaction and left the room.
Li Nuo worked on the drawing for a while but felt his eyes grow tired, so he decided to step out of the room to rest them.
His wife was still in the pavilion practicing painting with the Phoenix.
Li Anning and Mumu Ning’er were skipping rope in the courtyard.
Watching painting was uninteresting, so Li Nuo stood aside and watched them skip rope, his eyes following the rhythm of Li Anning’s jumps, left to right, up and down...
After inadvertently performing a set of eye exercises, his eyes felt much better.
Li Nuo returned to his room and continued painting.
When he got to the part about his wife, Li Nuo hesitated slightly but flicked his wrist, adding a little curvature to her figure.
His wife actually had some curves—perhaps she didn’t want it to interfere with her cultivation practice, she usually wore tight chest bindings that made them less pronounced.
But even so, compared to the Phoenix and Li Anning, she fell far short.
If he didn’t add this particular stroke, the painting would seem too cruel.
The finished piece wasn’t quite suitable to give to his wife, nor to Li Anning and the Phoenix, so Li Nuo kept it for himself.
The next day, he left home in the afternoon, not heading to the Ministry of Justice but straight for the Ministry of Rites.
Li Nuo was beginning to understand why officials’ sons and rich tycoons always flaunted their fathers.
When faced with something beyond his power, the first person he thought of was his father.
He himself didn’t have a good solution for the matter Li Anning had entrusted to him.
As Li Nuo entered the Minister of Justice’s office, his father was playing a game of Go with King Chun.
Li Nuo knew the rules of Go but wasn’t an expert; he usually played a simpler game with Mumu.
While playing, King Chun said, "It’s boring for you to watch us play, so if you have something to say to your father, go ahead..."
Li Nuo stood aside and said, "You guys keep playing, I’m not in a hurry."
Once they finished the game, Li Nuo asked, "Father, Uncle King Chun, I heard that the court is choosing a Prince Consort for Princess Anning?"
King Chun nodded and said, "You’ve heard as well, huh? Time flies so fast; it feels like just a few years ago she was crawling on the ground, and now she’s eighteen. It’s time to select a Prince Consort for her..."
Li Nuo cleared his throat and said, "The Princess told me she doesn’t want to marry yet."
King Chun looked slightly taken aback and asked, "Anning doesn’t want to marry? Why did she talk to you about it?"
"..."
Li Nuo said, "We’re friends; she asked me to help her think of a solution."
King Chun shook his head and said, "Being born into the royal family, she doesn’t have much say in whether she marries or not. Historically, Princesses would have their Prince Consorts decided before the age of eighteen. Anning is already behind schedule. The Ministry of Rites is already drafting a list of candidates for Prince Consort. At the next court assembly, it should be mentioned..."
In Daxia, when Princesses reach the marriageable age, if Your Majesty does not specify, usually the Ministry of Rites will draft a list.
The Ministry of Rites will select several candidates for Prince Consort based on their age, family background, and character, follow a process at the court assembly, and submit the final list to Your Majesty, who will then appoint one as Prince Consort.
He looked towards Li Nuo and said, "If Anning has any preferred candidates, she can just say so. I will have the Ministry of Rites add that person’s name to the list..."
Normally, this would not adhere to protocol, but for Anning’s future happiness, as her brother, he could make an exception just this once.
Li Nuo said, "She said she wants to wait."
King Chun asked in confusion, "Wait for what?"
Li Nuo shook his head, "I don’t know."
It was when he asked her this question that she scolded him.
He was merely repeating her words, verbatim.
At that moment, Li Xuanjing nodded and said, "I understand. You can go back now…"
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Father didn’t have as many questions as King Chun. Li Nuo believed his father understood his meaning and left reassured.
After Li Nuo had left, King Chun touched his chin and muttered, "Anning doesn’t want to marry. Why did she send him to say that? The two of them... couldn’t be having issues, could they?"
Before he finished speaking, he shook his head and said, "He’s already married and couldn’t possibly become Prince Consort. Besides, there’s an issue of seniority. Speaking of which, he must call Anning ’Aunt.’ Perhaps I’m overthinking..."
…
Imperial Palace.
At the mid-moon court assembly.
Today’s court assembly had already been in session for quite some time.
With the spring examinations imminent, followed by the Imperial Examination, it would soon be the busiest time for the court’s departments, needing all detailed matters arranged months in advance.
As the court assembly was about to conclude, the Assistant Minister of Rites stepped forward, holding a folded document, and said, "Princess Anning has reached the age of eighteen and the time for marriage. The Ministry of Rites has tentatively drafted a list of five candidates for Prince Consort, as follows..."
"The son of the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhao Jun, aged nineteen, of noble character and filial piety..."
"The grandson of the Grand Scholar of the Hongwen Academy, Zhang Xiande, aged eighteen, with exceptional intellect and competent in both literary and military skills..."
"The son of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Wei Yue, aged seventeen, gentle and respectful with exemplary demeanor..."
…
When selecting a Prince Consort for the Princess, the court had certain requirements for talent, character, and family background. The candidates chosen by the Ministry of Rites were young elites from Chang’an’s official’s sons.
After reading the information on the candidates for Prince Consort, the Assistant Minister of Rites asked, "Concerning the list of five candidates for Prince Consort, do any of the lords have any objections?"
Even though the Assistant Minister of Rites asked this, it generally was just a formality.
The candidates for Prince Consort were carefully selected by the Ministry of Rites and should not have any issues.
Objecting at this time would either indicate a deep-seated enmity with the family of a candidate or an intention to cause trouble for the Ministry of Rites.
Seeing no objections, the Assistant Minister of Rites spoke again, "Since..."
"I have an objection," came a voice.
A figure slowly stepped forward to the front of the grand hall.
Seeing this, the Assistant Minister of Rites trembled slightly, swallowing back the words he was about to say.
The other officials in the court also looked at Li Xuanjing with surprise.
The Assistant Minister of Rites cleared his throat cautiously and asked, "Lord Li, please speak."
Li Xuanjing said indifferently, "Princess Anning is incomparably graceful and possesses the cultivation of the Fourth Realm at a young age. Even when compared to other countries, she is a rare and exceptional lady. Although the Ministry of Rites selected young elites, they fall far short of the Princess. A hasty decision would not only wrong the Princess but would also disrespect the Royal Family."
The Ministry of Rites officials fell into deep thought.
What the Minister of Justice said made sense.
He seldom spoke of such reason on the court.
But even a remarkable lady must marry someday. Isn’t the Song Family’s legitimate daughter remarkable, and didn’t she marry your son? Why is there a double standard when it comes to the Princess...
Just as the Assistant Minister of Rites was about to speak, Li Xuanjing’s gaze swept across an official, who he randomly fixed upon, asking, "What do the lords think?"
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That official’s body shook. Although the address was to all lords, the look was fixed on him. He immediately said, "Lord Li is most perceptive!"
Li Xuanjing’s gaze passed over a row of officials.
Wherever his gaze landed, people began to speak out.
"Lord Li is correct."
"The Ministry of Rites’ selection was too hasty..."
"None of these candidates are worthy of Princess Anning."
…
If one person objected, the Ministry of Rites could overlook it.
But when a group objected, especially the Minister of Justice leading the charge, they had no choice but to reselect.
The next court assembly was ten days away.
This delay would extend the process by at least ten more days.
The Assistant Minister of Rites sighed inwardly and could only say, "Since so many lords object, the Ministry of Rites will redraft a list..."