amaotonovel Chapter 474
Chapter 474
Chapter 474
Huo Sizhen's words shocked the entire room!
No one expected that the Crown Prince of Western Qi would want to marry a widow!
Although she was only a concubine, and although Shen's status was considered noble... she was still a widow! And she already had two children!
Has the Crown Prince of Western Qi gone mad?!
But the high-ranking officials present were not stupid; they quickly realized what was happening.
Huo Sizhen definitely didn't really want to marry Shen herself, but rather to control the Shen family behind her!
The Shen family army was the main force of the Northern Yi army in attacking the Western Qi. Marrying the daughter of the Shen family to the Western Qi was equivalent to taking control of the Shen family's weakness, preventing Shen Wei and Shen Jingyang from leading their army to fight against the Western Qi without any scruples.
This is far more useful than marrying a princess. It's not difficult for the Northern Yi to sacrifice a princess, but the Shen family cannot sacrifice their closest relatives.
With the Shen family restrained, it was as if a tiger had its fangs pulled out for Bei Yi, greatly reducing the threat to Xi Qi.
Shen Wei immediately stepped forward and angrily said, "Impossible! Do you think we don't know what you're up to? You just want to hold my daughter hostage!"
He had fought against the Western Qi for over twenty years, and their hatred ran deep. He showed no mercy to the Western Qi crown prince.
Huo Sizhen looked at Shen Wei with feigned surprise.
"What hostages? Our two countries are currently negotiating peace. Western Qi is willing to send two princesses to Northern Yi for marriage alliances, and His Majesty of Northern Yi just now also offered to send a princess to marry me, a daughter of the Shen family. Why can't she be sent for marriage alliances? Is she more noble than a daughter of the royal family?"
Shen Wei sneered: "I've never heard of a marriage alliance where the bride isn't a member of the royal family, but instead a widow from a marquis's household. You've got a screw loose over my face. You can marry other noble ladies if you want, but my daughter will never go to Western Qi as your hostage. You're the ones who've come to sue for peace, so you have no right to be picky. If you're not happy, I'll go to the border and fight you right now!"
Seeing that the atmosphere on the scene was about to become tense, the emperor quickly spoke up to dissuade them.
“Crown Prince of Western Qi, Shen’s status is indeed unsuitable for a political marriage. If you have any other noble ladies in the royal family that you like, you can choose another one.”
The emperor naturally could not agree to Huo Sizhen's request.
He was only being polite to Huo Sizhen out of respect for the two stunningly beautiful princesses of Xiqi; otherwise, he would have already yelled at him and kicked him out.
You're the one who came to ask others for peace talks; it's already a favor that they'd be willing to marry a noblewoman to you, and you're still being picky!
Take it or leave it!
Huo Sizhen sighed with regret and said, "I did ask for Madam Shen's hand in marriage because I truly admire her. Since Marshal Shen and His Majesty Bei Yi are unwilling, I naturally dare not force the issue and can only give up."
Shen Wei snorted and then retreated back into the ranks of the military officers.
Princess De'an stood there all alone. After waiting for a long time without hearing anything further from Huo Sizhen, she finally realized what was going on.
Huo Sizhen only wants to marry the wife of the Marquis of Yongning. If he can't marry Shen, he'll give up. In short, he doesn't want to marry her at all!
Princess De'an was furious!