Marrying a White Snake Wife is Super Cool

Emperor Gu Yuanzhang, of course, would not neglect his wife of many years just because of state affairs.

Gu Ziye, as expected, cornered her father in the Empress’s chambers.

Gu Ziye shook her father’s arm, whining coquettishly, "Daddy~ Yuan~ said that the next auspicious day is in thirteen days. Otherwise, we’ll have to wait a whole year."

The Emperor chuckled and stroked his daughter’s head. "This Lu Yuan," he said, "using tricks meant for little girls to fool our precious daughter."

The Emperor was quite fond of Lu Yuan. Aside from the fact that his daughter would be a concubine, he was very satisfied with him in all other aspects.

If Lu Yuan weren’t so capable, his most beloved daughter would never have ended up with him!

When selecting Prince Consorts for his daughters, Emperor Gu Yuanzhang didn’t strictly base the decision on status, giving everyone a fair chance to compete. The most capable man would win.

This was especially true for scholars from the Lower Class. Marrying a Princess was a true case of a pheasant turning into a phoenix.

Although Lu Yuan came from a humble background, he possessed advantages that others couldn’t hope to match.

Hearing this, Gu Ziye pouted. "Daddy~ you can’t talk about my man like that. He didn’t fool me."

The Emperor and Empress were used to their daughter’s usually carefree and frank demeanor. But now, she couldn’t be criticized—or more accurately, her man couldn’t be criticized.

The Empress teased, "My dear daughter, you haven’t even married into his family yet, and you’re already protecting your husband’s honor?"

"Mother, it’s Daddy who’s in the wrong~" Gu Ziye tilted her head up, a look of proud defiance on her face.

As the family of three chatted idly, an old eunuch was already waiting outside the door.

The Emperor glanced at his personal old eunuch outside the door, beckoned, and called out, "Come in."

Normally, the personal eunuch would stand off to the side. The fact that he was now waiting right in the center of the doorway meant there was business to attend to!

The old eunuch bowed his back and entered with small, shuffling steps.

"This old servant greets His Majesty the Emperor, the Empress, and Her Highness the Princess. Your Majesty, this is a report sent from the Astronomical Bureau." The old eunuch presented it with both hands.

After taking it, the Emperor said, "You may withdraw for now."

"As you command." The old eunuch then backed out of the room.

The Emperor held up the report and said, "Look, this report contains the auspicious dates for our daughter’s wedding. I’ll see if Lu Yuan was just fooling you."

The Empress said nothing. Gu Ziye leaned in close, craning her neck. "Daddy, hurry and open it!"

The Emperor unfolded it. Written on it were Gu Ziye’s birth details and the auspicious dates for marriage: October 28th and November 24th.

Seeing this, the Emperor burst out laughing. "What did I tell you? That boy was just fooling you.

Saying there was only one chance this year, or you wouldn’t be able to get married at all. How absurd."

"That’s impossible. How could Yuan~ lie to me?" Gu Ziye snatched the report from the Emperor’s hands in disbelief and looked at it.

"October 28th... isn’t that thirteen days from now?" the Empress pointed out.

Hearing this, the Emperor calculated the dates in his head. "Ah, that’s right. When I saw there were two auspicious dates this year, I momentarily forgot that thirteen days from now is indeed October 28th."

Gu Ziye felt like she had won back a point. "See? I told you Yuan~ wouldn’t fool me. Look, it calculates to exactly thirteen days from now. But... what’s this about November 24th?"

The Empress was partial to Lu Yuan, but she wouldn’t say so directly. She only said, "Could someone have miscalculated? This October 28th seems quite accurate. I just wonder if this November 24th date is really viable."

Being a sharp man, the Emperor naturally understood the Empress’s implication. He took the report back from his daughter and said, "I will have the Astronomical Bureau take a closer look over the next few nights and verify it again."

Gu Ziye reminded him, "Daddy, if the November 24th date turns out to be invalid, there won’t be much time left before October 28th."

Hearing this, the Emperor stroked his daughter’s head and said, "Alright, I know. We’ll start preparing for the October 28th date for now, how does that sound?"

At that, Gu Ziye jumped for joy, exclaiming, "Daddy, you’re the best man in the whole world to me!"

The Empress could only shake her head, truly at a loss with her daughter.

After leaving the Empress’s chambers, the Emperor crumpled the report into a ball, threw it into a pond, and ordered, "Within two days, the Astronomical Bureau must give me a definitive calculation for the Thirteenth Princess’s wedding date, no matter what."

The personal eunuch bowed and assented.

’Is my daughter’s wedding date really that important?’

It was important, but not *that* important.

What truly terrified the Emperor was that Lu Yuan actually knew divination. If it was just as Lu Yuan had said—that October 28th was the *only* auspicious day this year—that would be utterly horrifying.

’A single person’s divination is faster and more accurate than all the officials of the Astronomical Bureau combined? How is that possible?’

Lu Yuan was the future Prince Consort, so it wasn’t exactly a slap in the face to the Court, but still...

As the ruler of a nation, how could Gu Yuanzhang allow such a powerful individual to exist outside of his control?

Right now, the relationship between Lu Yuan and Emperor Gu Yuanzhang was like that of Marquis Xibo, Ji Chang, and King Shang from *The Investiture of the Gods*.

In the novel, Ji Chang was a master of Fu Xi’s Trigram Skill. Would King Shang allow a minister who could divine fortune and misfortune to exist?

If such a person developed traitorous intentions, their divination could be used to ruin the nation’s destiny.

Does national destiny really exist? I suppose there’s the concept of a "National Destiny Balancer." That’s why you can’t blame the national football team for being terrible; after all, they’re the legitimate "National Destiny Balancer," protecting our Celestial Dynasty’s decades of peaceful development.

’This kid... how much more is there about him that I don’t know?’ the Emperor thought. Suddenly, he remembered something he had almost forgotten.

As he walked, the Emperor said, "Eunuch Li, first thing tomorrow morning, inform the Ministry of Rites that the Thirteenth Princess will be married on October 28th. Don’t you dare fall behind on this!"

"This old servant has noted it!" the old eunuch said.

"Handle it according to the highest standards for a princess’s wedding!"

「In the following days」

The Imperial Capital was adorned with lanterns and colorful banners as preparations proceeded with fiery intensity.

Gu Ziye stood before a bronze mirror, turning and swaying as she admired her reflection in her wedding attire, a wide smile on her face.

"Little sister, you are so blessed. I hear you’re marrying a very capable man," said a woman, a few years her senior, as she arranged Gu Ziye’s hair.

This woman was the Emperor’s fourth daughter, Gu Lanxin, also known as the Fourth Princess, Princess Anqing. She had married a court scholar and currently resided in the Ten Princes’ Mansions.

Although Princess Anqing lived within the Imperial City, she was considered married out of the palace. She could not enter the Imperial Capital proper without a summons. Today, she had been summoned by the Empress to visit her younger sister.

Unfortunately, this older sister, who bore some resemblance to Gu Ziye, was fated to have a very different life.

The man the Fourth Princess, Gu Lanxin, married was corrupt. He would one day be executed by Emperor Gu Yuanzhang. Tragically, Gu Lanxin, having borne no children, would be left a widow.

Of course, that was all in the future. For now, they were living a perfectly fine life.

When marrying off his daughters, the Emperor had to consider the overwhelming power of the Nobles, which could cause instability in the Court.

Therefore, the princesses were often married to talented men who lacked power and influence, thereby dispersing authority.

If a princess married a man from a poor family, she certainly couldn’t be expected to live with his parents. If his family was dirt poor, would the princess be sent to carry night soil?

Thus, the Court built the Ten Princes’ Mansions within the Imperial City. Originally intended for Vassal Kings visiting the capital, they had now become the residences for married princesses.

Gu Ziye fiddled with her sleeve and said, "Sister, don’t tease me. Your husband is a genuine scholar who passed the highest imperial exams."

Princess Anqing said, "I hear my new brother-in-law is from Taiping City in Qilu Province. I wonder, will you also be living in the Ten Princes’ Mansions in the future, little sister?"

Hearing this, Gu Ziye’s hand, which had been fiddling with her sleeve, froze.

Gu Ziye had no desire to live in the Ten Princes’ Mansions. Although she would have servants, the entire street of the Mansions was filled with her own sisters.

To Gu Ziye, that life seemed incredibly stifling.

Gu Ziye patted her sleeves and said with a smile, "Sister, I think I’ll be going back to Taiping City with my man. I don’t know when we’ll see each other again after that."

As she continued to style Gu Ziye’s hair, Princess Anqing, Gu Lanxin, said, "That’s good, too. You’ve always loved your freedom, little sister. It’s just as well not to stay in this Imperial City."