When the duke's wife heard her husband's words, she was a little puzzled.
She couldn't help but ask , "Is her brother going to be promoted? But even if her brother becomes a first-grade official, his family background is still a little lacking."
Moreover, it was impossible for Xiao Hanzheng to become a first-grade official so quickly.
Liang Mingcheng whispered in her ear, "Prince Yi has already asked for an imperial edict to marry Xiao Baili's mother.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Xiao Baili's mother will be Prince Yi's princess consort in the future. The siblings have broken off relations with Xiao Yuanshi and followed their mother.
"In the future, they will most likely follow Mdm Kong to Prince Yi's palace.
"I heard that Prince Yi treats them as his own, so Xiao Baili can't run away from being a princess.
Prince Yi was the emperor's favorite brother, so it was no surprise that his daughter was a princess.
Besides, Xiao Hanzheng has a lot of potential.
It's possible for him to become a first-grade official in the future. Shi Qingluo was even appointed as a princess by the emperor himself.
His son's business was getting better and better, and this was also related to Shi Qingluo.
So if he could marry Xiao Hanzheng's sister, he felt that it would be better than marrying a girl from an aristocratic family.
The duke's wife thought for a moment and said, "Even if she becomes the daughter of Prince Yi, she used to be a farmer's daughter. I'm afraid that if my son marries her, other families will laugh at him."
Liang Mingcheng frowned. "What's there to laugh about? They might even be envious.
"Besides, that's just why I'm thinking. They might not marry their daughter to Youxiao."
He had long heard that Xiao Hanzheng and his wife loved Xiao Baili very much. Their aristocratic family did have a strong background, but they had too many family members and it was too complicated.
Xiao Hanzheng might not marry his sister.
The duke's wife was a little unhappy. "Youxiao is quite good. Why won't they let him marry her?
"Enough for now, I'll see if there are any suitable women from noble families in the capital. If there are no suitable ones, I'll wait until Xiao Baili's mother marries Prince Yi and she comes to the capital.
"If her character is satisfactory, then I'll consider proposing marriage to Youxiao."
She looked at her husband. "Don't get Youxiao to marry her first. I'm still more inclined to let him marry someone of equal social status."
Liang Mingcheng also knew that women like his wife, who came from big aristocratic families, had a strong sense of family status and she doted on Youxiao, so she always wanted to marry a daughter from an aristocratic family.
However, when his son was getting married, it was mainly his mother and wife deciding on who he should marry.
He did not object.
He nodded and said, "Sure, you can bring up my suggestion to my mother and discuss it with her. I think it's a good idea."
The duke's wife smiled. "I understand."
The next day, she still sent someone to inquire about Xiao Baili's situation in Nanxi County and the northern border.
The Liang family wasn't the only one who was interested in Xiao Baili's marriage.
At noon the next day, the second prince called the fifth prince out for tea and to watch a play.
After sitting for a while, Liang Hengshao said to his brother, "Fifth brother, what do you think of Xiao Baili?"
Liang Hengyu listened to the show and replied, "She's pretty good!"
Liang Hengshao smiled and suggested, "Then how about you marry her as your concubine? "
When Liang Hengyu heard this, he immediately choked. Cough, cough...
He turned to look at his brother. "Second brother, are you joking? "
Liang Hengshao raised his eyebrows. "I'm not joking. I'm serious."
"You know that our imperial uncle is going to marry Xiao Hanzheng's mother, right?
"My people at the northern border have sent back news that our imperial uncle is very concerned about Mdm Kong. He often takes Xiao Baili and Xiao Hanyi out, as if they are his own children.
"The imperial physician had concluded that it would be difficult for our imperial uncle to have children due to his health conditions, so after he married Mdm Kong in the future, he would also bring Xiao Hanzheng and the other two back to his residence and treat them as his children.
"If you marry Xiao Baili, you'll be able to win over Xiao Hanzheng and our imperial uncle."
Liang Hengyu was speechless. He was wondering why his brother would suddenly mention this. It turned out that he was using him as a tool with the marriage.
"Then wouldn't it be better for you to marry her?" he said, pursing his lips.
Liang Hengshao shrugged. "I would like to, but Xiao Hanzheng and his wife would definitely not agree."
If it wasn't for the fact that he had too many women in his backyard and that he had fallen for Shi Qingluo before hence Xiao Hanzheng would not have agreed, he would have definitely married Xiao Baili as his secondary concubine.
Otherwise, after a while, he could announce that Ge Chunying had died of illness, and the position of his secondary consort would be empty.
It was a pity.
Liang Hengyu was speechless.
"Xiao Hanzheng won't agree for you to marry her, and he definitely won't agree for me to marry her either.
"He won't let his sister be my secondary concubine, and with Xiao Baili's personality, she won't want to be my concubine.
"Last time, didn't our cousin get close to her on purpose and ended up being tricked by Shi Qingluo? I don't want to be scammed."
He was with his cousin that time and had seen with his own eyes how Shi Qingluo had set him up.
There must be something wrong with his brain if he were to offend Shi Qingluo.
"Unless Xiao Baili becomes my main consort, and then I'll also be like our imperial uncle who is prepared to marry only one main consort. There won't be any other women in the backyard.
"If this is the case, Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo might consider me."
Liang Hengshao choked at his brother's words. "How would you know if you don't try? "
He didn't give up. "Xiao Hanzheng will be transferred to Northern City after the new year. I'll help you get a job in Northern City. You can go and contact Xiao Baili."
Liang Hengyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Brother, as long as I have my princess consort, I can't marry Xiao Baili. You should give up on this idea."
He couldn't help but rebut, "And it was you and our mother who insisted on choosing her as my princess consort."
His mother and brother made the decision for him without even asking for his permission.
However, after his wife married him, he didn't hate her and their relationship was quite good.
Liang Hengshao sighed. "She comes from a good family. "Our mother saw that she's indeed a woman with good looks and temperament, so she tied the knot for you.
"Who knew that she would suddenly fall sick before the marriage, causing her to be always ill after marrying you.
"You can go to Northern City and try it out. If Xiao Baili likes you and wants to be your secondary concubine, Xiao Hanzheng won't stop her."
He wanted to win over both Prince Yi and Xiao Hanzheng, and he really didn't want to give up.
With the help of these two, he could make up for the disadvantage he had against the crown prince.
Especially Prince Yi, who had a great influence on his father.
He had accidentally found out that not only did his imperial uncle have the late emperor's secret guards, but his father had also handed the secret guards of Daliang over to his imperial uncle.
As long as his imperial uncle was biased towards him, there was nothing to worry about.
Liang Hengyu looked at his brother's firm attitude and knew that it was useless to object.
He nodded perfunctorily. "Alright, I'll try it out in Northern City after the new year."
When the time came, he would just say that Xiao Baili was not interested in him.
Xi Rui and Liang Youxiao had returned.
Old Master Liang and Old Master Xi had gone around showing off their light and warm down jackets yesterday.
Since he was bored in the capital, he believed it would be a good idea to go with them to Northern City next year.
As for pursuing Xiao Baili, he would forget it.
His brother insisted on fighting for that position with the crown prince. Both of them had the same mother, so he could only stand on his biological elder brother's side.
It wouldn't be bad if he became the crown prince in the future.
He could be a carefree prince like his imperial uncle.
If he didn't, in the best case scenario, he would be a prince with no real power under someone's authority, and in the worst case scenario, he might even lose his life.
If he could not give Xiao Baili what she wanted, Xiao Hanzheng and Shi Qingluo would never agree. He knew his own limits.
Seeing that he had agreed, the second prince heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Then I wish you all the best."
Liang Hengyu's mouth twitched. "I really have to thank you!"