Of course, Murong Zhao was merely thinking.
The princes were all waiting for the Empress to bestow marriages upon them; how could they truly disregard these matters?
After the princes had discussed for a while, the Eighth Prince spoke, stopping them from straying further from the topic.
"Alright, stop arguing. Let's handle the important matters first."
Having said that, the Eighth Prince turned to Murong Zhao again.
"Continue, place Shangguan Xi on the table for now. Consider this a temporary pass."
Murong Zhao sighed inwardly, resigned himself, and continued his introductions to everyone.
...
"...This ninth Jinshi, though not from a prominent family in the royal city, is the daughter of the City Lord of Shazhou Prefecture."
"Shazhou? Can one even live in a place like that? I heard the environment there is harsh. What would happen if one were married off there?"
Upon hearing "Shazhou," the Eleventh Prince displayed a look of revulsion.
The other princes also frowned.
Clearly, the place called Shazhou was not well-received by them.
Murong Zhao said helplessly,
"This Jinshi has already reached the Imperial Examination. It's highly likely she will remain in the royal city in the future."
The Tenth Prince spoke up at this point, directly addressing the core issue:
"This woman is too dark. If I were to marry her, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to find her at night."
The portraits Murong Zhao had collected were done by famous painters in the royal city, using colored pigments. Not to mention, compared to the actual person, they retained a certain degree of fidelity.
At least, they were much better than the simple ink wash paintings commonly used by the examination academies in the places Nian Jiaojiao had seen before.
The Tenth Prince's words successfully amused everyone.
The Ninth Prince laughed so hard that his waist almost straightened.
His hair had a natural curl. When he laughed, his eyes turned into charming crescent shapes. If a plush toy enthusiast saw him, they would probably want to embrace him tightly and give him a good ruffle.
The Eighth Prince also wore a smile. He picked up his fan and gently tapped the Tenth Prince's head, saying,
"You, this Jinshi has a heroic appearance and determined eyes. How can she be as bad as you say? It might be due to the weather in Shazhou; she's just spent more time in the sun, causing her skin to be a bit dark."
After speaking, he turned to Murong Zhao and said,
"Please place this lady's information on the table for now."
Murong Zhao nodded and then began introducing the next portrait.
...
Finally, as they reached the last portrait, everyone's gaze was captivated, unable to be moved away.
The Tenth Prince's hand loosened, and the teacup in his hand fell to the ground. Servants immediately rushed forward and knelt to clean up, fearing any stray fragment might injure these noble princes.
The Tenth Prince paid no mind to the teacup and excitedly said to Murong Zhao,
"Murong Zhao, who is this lady? Introduce her quickly, and be detailed."
Murong Zhao pursed his lips.
He knew it.
Other princes might not be certain, but this Tenth Prince was definitely going to be interested.
Looking at the man's shining eyes, it was as if he wanted to "devour" that lady.
"Ahem."
The Eighth Prince coughed twice, reminding the Tenth Prince to mind his image.
The Tenth Prince realized he had been overly excited and quickly retracted his leaning posture, though his gaze never left the portrait.
The other princes, while not as visually oriented as the Tenth Prince, were all now curious about the woman in the portrait.
Under the pressure of the princes, Murong Zhao could only introduce:
"This lady is named Nian Jiaojiao, and she is also the second-place finisher in this Jinshi examination. She comes from Qingzhou, but she is not from any prominent family. She is from a commoner background in a small mountain village in Qingzhou.
Also, she currently has five husbands in her household."
After hearing Murong Zhao's introduction, all the princes wore expressions of disbelief.
With such looks and demeanor, could she be a commoner?
And from a small mountain village?
What commoner from a small mountain village reached the final stage of the imperial examination so young?
The Eleventh Prince couldn't help but confirm,
"Is this information of yours correct?"
Murong Zhao nodded affirmatively.
"It's definitely correct. Do the princes still not trust the Murong family's intelligence gathering capabilities?"
As everyone knew, the Murong family specialized in gathering intelligence for the royal family. If the Murong family couldn't obtain intelligence, no one else could.
After hearing Murong Zhao's words, the princes fell into contemplation.
However, the Tenth Prince at this moment declared without hesitation,
"What does background matter? She's already a Jinshi. Are you afraid she won't be able to get by in the royal city? She's so beautiful, I'd accept her even if she were a beggar.
I don't care, you all cannot compete with me. I want to ask the Empress to bestow a marriage upon me!"
The other princes actually wanted to wait and observe further, to assess the woman's character. Little did they expect their little Tenth to be so impatient and make a decision. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Murong Zhao felt anxious.
In fact, he had collected more information than this.
He hadn't mentioned how Nian Jiaojiao treated her husbands or the fact that she was currently the renowned "Qinglian" hermit of the royal city.
Unexpectedly, even with all this, the Tenth Prince didn't hesitate.
Truly, his obsession with looks was etched into his bones.
At this moment, the Eighth Prince spoke.
"Little Ten, don't be so undignified. A prince's marriage is of utmost importance. Moreover, your words and actions represent the royal family's face. How can you be so eager to seek a marriage?"
The Eighth Prince's words were echoed by the agreement of the other princes.
They all began to persuade him, hoping the Tenth Prince would calm down and consider more.
At this time, Murong Zhao also suggested,
"Your Highness, you are of noble status. It would be more appropriate to have the other party actively seek your hand."
Murong Zhao's words struck a chord with the Tenth Prince.
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"After the Imperial Examination, the Empress will surely host a grand banquet for these Jinshi, and all the princes will be present. I believe with your Highness's appearance, you will surely capture that lady's attention..."
Murong Zhao's words were left unfinished, but everyone understood.
At this moment, the Ninth Prince's eyes flickered as he agreed,
"Yes, yes, I think Murong Zhao makes sense."
The Tenth Prince thought for a moment and reluctantly said,
"Alright then... let's wait until after the banquet."
What the Tenth Prince didn't know was that his words had made everyone present inwardly breathe a sigh of relief.
Soon, each with their own thoughts, they left the rear garden and returned to their respective palaces.