Chapter 98 A Strategy For Courtship
"Tell me everything that you know about her so far, leave no detail out." the emperor put the documents down preferring for the information to be read to him .
Byron the assistant presented the information on a hologram and started reading it while pointing to different pictures of Carolyn at different ages.
"She is thirty two years old, the third among eight siblings so far."
"So far?" the emperor questioned.
Byron nodded assuring the emperor of his words, "The baroness Su is currently pregnant and she has given birth to eight children so far. She had one miscarriage ten years ago, it's unknown whether she and her husband the baron intend to further grow their brood."
"What are their political affiliations? Do they stand with the left or the right wing?" the emperor asked. In the Sun star politics existed just as it did in any other nation. The emperor had ministers who advised him regularly and these ministers belonged to the left or right wing as they were deemed the left and right hands of the emperor. Most ministers came from noble houses, they were highly educated and often wealthy. Most noble houses belonged to the left or right wing depending on their ideologies and the emperor personally appointed the ministers depending on where they belonged. Recommendations could be made from the royal office by different ministers on suitable candidates to represent them but choice fell to the emperor at the end of the day. In the Sun star, the emperor maintained ninety percent of his power and there was a law which stopped the ministers from attempting to interfere with the affairs of the royal family.
This law was so strict to the point that when an empress was chosen, her family would not participate in any political affairs for the next seven hundred years. This would stop the empress's family from interfering with political affairs or using her power to amass their own. If they were discovered doing so, they would all be beheaded down to the very last child.
"Neither, they choose to be neutral as the Su family has never been interested in amassing power or wealth. Dorian Su was approached by the right wing and offered a recommendation for the position of junior information minister after Esong married his daughter but he turned it down. The left did the same thing, offering him a recommendation for the position of senior disaster preparation minister but he turned them down as well."
"Hmmm." the emperor replied.
"She is the oldest daughter." Byron continued, "She attended the following schools. Bright star primary school from the age of six to eleven. During these years she was often at the top of the class and she received many awards. After that she joined Shooting star middle school from the age of twelve to eighteen where she graduated second in her class and gained admission to the Lumos Academy for mecha crafting where she learned how to craft mechas for two years. According to her former teachers she was on track to becoming a successful craftswoman, one of three women in her classroom but she dropped out suddenly after being accused of plagiarism on her final second year exam. The school kept the plagiarism charges quiet because such a scandal would tarnish their image. In return for keeping it quiet she voluntarily dropped out citing inability to pay school fees."
"Have you done a fact check?" the emperor asked with a big frown on his face.
"I am still trying to gather all the facts related to this case your highness. According to my source she cried and vehemently insisted on her innocence but she could not prove it. The other girl whose mecha she plagiarized is the daughter of the Viscount Marley's family. She used to be mediocre but on that exam she suddenly shot to number three in the classroom. Her grades also changed since then and she graduated among the best in her class. There must be more to the story but I am treading carefully."
"What did she do after leaving the academy?" the waved his hand dismissively.
"She enrolled into the Skylar college of medicine and became a successful nurse for the rest of the years here. She has one ex boyfriend who ended the relationship with her when the family was banished..."
The emperor coughed and Byron corrected himself. "When the daughter of the Su family Scarlet Su was graciously gifted the blue star planet by none other than you your highness. You had the great foresight to see what the blue star could be cultivated into. Your vision is unlike..."
"Alright, enough." the emperor stopped Byron from spewing more nonsense because the fact was that he banished the Su family to that planet. "Which family does the ex boyfriend belong to, we don't need anymore Su family and royal family related scandals. If Markay successfully courts her I do not need him popping out of the clouds to make unpleasant claims."
"I will take care of things and make sure that you do not ever hear his name and hers together in the same sentence your highness." Byron bowed respectfully. "These are the most recent images that the seventh prince has sent from the blue star planet. " Byron showed the emperor the pictures on a hologram. "These are cows being milked, that white liquid going into the transparent steamers is the milk."
The emperor was fascinated with the video. "So that sweet milk which I drink for breakfast daily comes from them?"
"Yes your highness."
"Fascinating." he said. "Give Markay every book that has been written on the strategies for courtship of a woman. He must succeed."