Chapter 885: Chapter 885: Criteria for Choosing a Son-in-Law
She walked up to Su Ran and introduced to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, this is my mother; you’ve met her before."
It is only complete with His Majesty present~
The Emperor nodded gently at Su Ran with a warm and smiling demeanor, "Mother-in-law."
Su Ran, with an apologetic gesture, said, sorry, sorry, as she had been busy catching up and had forgotten about the Emperor, thankfully he did not mind.
Normally, Su Ran wouldn’t have been so inattentive, but today she was happy and, having subconsciously already accepted the Emperor, she knew he was sincere towards Lian Hua, treating him like family and forgetting the formalities she used to show outsiders.
"No need for formalities, Mother-in-law," the Emperor gently said, raising her up.
Lian Hua smiled broadly from the side, seeing that her mother had officially met His Majesty, and then turned to Lian Changhe, saying, "Emperor, this is my father; I often spoke of him to you. My father cherishes me greatly, always helping me... cough, cough, he just cares for me deeply."
The Emperor looked towards Lian Changhe, slightly lowering his eyes, "Father-in-law."
Lian Changhe was momentarily at a loss, his feelings quite complicated, hastily waving his hands, "That’s inappropriate, inappropriate, just call me a humble subject..."
Lian Bingcheng quickly poked him, lowering his voice as a reminder, asking what nonsense he was speaking, stating that ’humble subject’ is self-referred, not a name to be called, clearly, the old man was foolishly happy.
Lian Changhe quickly came to realization, having made a blunder in front of his son-in-law, feeling somewhat embarrassed and awkward inside, he hurriedly corrected himself, "Sire, forgive me, your humble subject misspoke, that, that..."
"Father?" Lian Hua was slightly puzzled, not knowing what was going on with her father.
Everyone looked towards Lian Changhe, all not understanding what had happened to him.
Only Su Ran understood somewhat, knowing that Lian Changhe cherished Lian Hua exceptionally, ever since she was little, fearing that his little girl might be deceived as she grew up, always ending bedtime stories with advice to be cautious of good-looking people and sweet-talking individuals so as not to be deceived in the future, and so on.
Lian Hua had been quite adept at fighting and playing since childhood, which worried Su Ran greatly, while Lian Changhe was instead delighted, hoping that this would help his daughter not be bullied after she married.
Watching his playful little daughter grow up, he would sometimes worry, knowing one day she would marry, always fearing she might suffer after marriage. When discussing marriage with Su Ran, he couldn’t help but list a bunch of requirements.
The foremost was that her future husband must treat her well, this was the utmost precondition, without which everything else was moot.
Secondly, he should not be too handsome, not being a gigolo from the brothels, looks wouldn’t fill the stomach, and might attract undue attention, making things unstable, not trustworthy.
Thirdly, the family status should not be too high, ideally of ordinary background, even poverty was fine, as the Lian family could provide support; anything too high would be beyond the support of her mother, father, and brothers, leaving nothing but conflict if she was bullied and nothing could be done.
Fourthly, no concubines were permitted; in the past, an ancestor of the Lian family stipulated that men could only marry but not take concubines unless the wife passed away and a second marriage was undertaken. This was due to an incident with concubines causing near ruin of the Lian family. Naturally, Lian Changhe hoped his son-in-law would cherish only his daughter, avoiding messy affairs with concubines, ready to initiate a divorce if a concubine was taken.
Fifthly, abilities and ambitions shouldn’t be too prominent (fearing ambition might lead to abandoning his wife after gaining high status), and he must be practical and not frivolous, and so on.
In summary, Lian Changhe had a long list of standards for choosing a son-in-law, adding more whenever he thought of them; if recorded, it could surely become a book!
By Lian Changhe’s standards, the Emperor fit none of them, not only being too good-looking but also of the highest rank, with tales of three thousand beauties in the harem going against every criteria for a son-in-law!
After knowing Lian Hua entered the palace as the Emperor’s consort, Lian Changhe felt dizzy and dreamy, finding it all unreal; how could his little girl, being so small, possibly be married without his knowledge?
His heart was filled with worry, first contemplating what they would do if Lian Hua suffered in the palace with no means of divorce.
Sometimes, in a daze, he fantasized aloud, thinking if one less consort among many wouldn’t matter, could they take their daughter back?
During that period, he would occasionally mumble one or two sentences, which Su Ran noticed, until during the Longevity Festival when Lian Changhe went out and heard the people’s praise for the Emperor, his attention was diverted.
Subsequent events followed one after another, overwhelming him, though Su Ran talked about the situation in the palace after returning, having heard that Lian Hua was unharmed, other aspects didn’t register, being focused on redress and the anticipation of seeing Lian Hua, leaving him no room for other thoughts.
Only upon now entering the palace and feeling the royal majesty did he awake, suddenly remembering past concerns.
As the Emperor stood before him, his worries intensified, this son-in-law had unprecedented charm and demeanor, appearing too perfect; how could such fortune befall his family?
Spitting inwardly, no matter how perfect he seemed, his own little girl remained the most important!
At this moment, seeing Lian Hua’s puzzled look, he bit his lip, braced himself, and bowed to the Emperor, "Your humble subject was impolite, hoping Sire forgives me, but please allow your humble subject to speak privately with Nannan."
"Father, what do you wish to say to me?" Lian Hua blinked, puzzled at her father’s apparent displeasure.
Su Ran understood Lian Changhe’s intent, gently pulling Lian Hua’s hand, gesturing her to refrain from speaking.
Lian Hua felt like scratching her head, unsure of how joyful things turned this way.
Others remained perplexed; Lian Bingcheng didn’t understand the meaning, nudging Lian Changhe’s clothes, "Brother Changhe, why are you..." suddenly so serious and stern, acting as if he had lost his mind?
Lian Changhe ignored the others, maintaining his posture, firmly staring at the Emperor, saying, "I hope Sire grants my request once again."
The Emperor felt a heaviness descend into his heart, knowing this hurdle with his father-in-law was indeed difficult to pass.
He gazed at Lian Changhe, despite thorough preparations, none proved useful at this pivotal moment.
Finally, he cleared his mind, with a solemn expression, walked over, respectfully aiding Lian Changhe up with both hands, "Father-in-law, no need for formality. You are Nannan’s dearest kin. How could I not permit it?"