This marriage can be said to have been full of twists and turns.
It was originally agreed that he would be the boss of the Prince of Wei's Mansion, but who knew that Li Tai messed it up. Li Chengqian had an idea at that time and took this matter to the Eastern Palace, otherwise there would be greater variables in the court in the future.
Although she changed from the eldest grandson's wife in the Prince of Wei's Mansion to the concubine of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, her position seemed to have been lowered on the surface. Of course, this was the case for an ordinary family. After all, the eldest grandson's wife could be in charge of the entire Prince of Wei's Mansion in the future.
But anyone with a discerning eye could see that no matter what method Prince Wei Li Tai used, he would not be able to have anything to do with that throne, unless Li Chengqian and Li Xiang, father and son, suddenly fell ill. Otherwise, he would not even be able to think about it in this life.
So even though she became a concubine, the people of Nanzhao Kingdom didn't feel ashamed at all. Instead, they were very happy. What's the point of having that empty title? This is the future emperor's concubine, much better than the current Wei Wangfu. If there is better luck, maybe the prince born by our princess will very likely inherit the entire Tang Dynasty.
Of course, such a situation is impossible to happen now. Although there is no explicit regulation, whether in the previous dynasty or now, as long as the prince is born to a foreign princess, he basically has no possibility of inheriting the throne, and he does not even have the right to lead troops.
Take Prince Wu Li Ke for example. His grandfather was Emperor Yang of Sui, who was considered an orthodox Han emperor. But what did it matter? Just because he had the blood of the previous dynasty, he was kicked out of the battle for the throne early on. Although no one said it explicitly, everyone with a discerning eye could see that no aristocratic family would support him, and no one would put their future on a prince who would never ascend the throne.
But it's different with Li Xiang. He is definitely a legitimate family. If the prince's legitimate son was still intact, then Li Xiang might be in some danger. But now both his legs are broken. Would the Tang Dynasty choose a person with broken legs to be the emperor?
What's more, Li Xiang has a very high prestige in the army. All the newly added territories of the Tang Dynasty were conquered by Li Xiang. If Li Shimin were to change his successor, the first to oppose it would be the various Tang Dynasty armies.
Li Shimin certainly understood how terrifying military opposition was. How had he achieved his position in the past? Wasn't it because the military generals all supported them? If Li Xiang were forced to rebel now, he might also become the emperor emeritus. Just how embarrassed his father was back then, he would be 10 times more embarrassed now.
There are also some capable people in the Nanzhao Kingdom, who quickly analyzed all of this. In history, the position of the crown prince was the most stable. It was probably Li Xiang in front of us. What's wrong with being a concubine? We are willing to be a concubine. It is much better than being the wife of some small family. After all, we will be able to enter the palace in the future.
Therefore, the entire Nanzhao Kingdom treated Li Xiang's arrival with the highest standards. This time when Li Xiang went to the palace to pay a visit, all the royal family members who could come were there. Except for the King and Queen of Nanzhao, everyone else was waiting at the palace gate to greet them.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty."
When he saw a group of people kneeling in front of him, Li Xiang knew some of them, as he had become familiar with them yesterday, but it was the first time he met some of them. After all, this was a small foreign country. If it were in the Tang Dynasty, princesses and daughters would not have to come out to meet each other, but there was no such rule here, and basically everyone who could walk came.
This made Li Xiang confused. Although the Tang Dynasty was open-minded now, it did not require all princesses to come out to meet people. You have to know that these people were either his elder aunts or his younger sisters-in-law. Li Xiang really didn't know how to deal with such a meeting in a formal occasion. This made Li Xiang feel a little embarrassed.
"Princess Yongning meets with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty."
Upon hearing this, Li Xiang was even more confused. When he was in Chengdu, he knew that his future wife had a new title, Princess Yongning, which meant eternal peace between Nanzhao and the Tang Dynasty. But he didn't expect that the wedding hadn't even started yet, but his wife was asked to pay homage first. I really don't know what the rule is?
Not only Li Xiang was a little confused, but also the followers around him, they did not expect that Dali had such customs. However, we should also do as the Romans do. But most people turned their eyes away. If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gets married, of course we have to pay our respects to the mistress honestly, but he has not gotten married yet. As his subjects, who dares to look up at the mistress?
Amidst the envious gazes of many princesses, Princess Yongning came out from behind with confidence. Li Xiang only took one look at her and immediately couldn't move his eyes away. Li Xiang was a man who had seen the world, and he had seen many beauties, whether from Chang'an or the Western Regions. However, when he saw Princess Yongning, his eyes still lit up.
"Your Highness..."
Two breaths of time have passed, and the princess is still kneeling here. Qian Ping has no choice but to remind her quietly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, if you lose your composure in such an occasion, doesn't it mean that we have never seen a beautiful woman?"
"rise."
To be honest, Li Xiang has seen many beauties since he came to this era, but Princess Yongning is purely beautiful, without any other temperament to enhance her beauty. She is simply incomparably beautiful, especially her snow-white skin, which makes Li Xiang unable to take his eyes off her. Among all the women Li Xiang has met, her appearance can be ranked among the best.
After hearing what Li Xiang said, the people present breathed a sigh of relief. If Li Xiang lost his composure today, all the previous performances would be in vain, and it would also bring a series of disadvantages to the Tang Dynasty. As the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, he couldn't take his eyes off other people's princess. If this spread to the people, the prestige of the Tang Dynasty would surely plummet. When Li Shimin knew about this, Li Xiang would be in trouble.
Princess Yongning lowered her head and looked docile, and it seemed that she had been educated very appropriately. However, she had just made eye contact with Li Xiang, and her cheeks were already flushed.
The people of Nanzhao also breathed a sigh of relief. They had seen everything that had just happened. As long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was satisfied, then half of our mission would be accomplished. If there was no response, then it would be troublesome...
