Yin Huaixi was worried that she would be angry, so he quickly explained, "Empress Ning has evil intentions. I was far away in Liaodong and was afraid that it would be too late for her to take advantage of the loophole, so I could only beat her at her own game and use the Empress Dowager to settle the marriage first."
In the imperial family, all noble ladies with titles had to obtain the approval of the palace for their marriage. They could not decide on their own.
Those with more prominent statuses had their marriage personally arranged by the emperor, the Empress Dowager, or the Empress.
For a woman like Yu Youyao, the daughter of an external minister who had received the emperor's grace, they would often be more serious about her marriage.