Chapter 44 A Long Way Away, A Reply Required

Yan Qingyan and Xie Mingyuan actually came too!

They, like Ming Shendu and Xiao Yelan, came to participate in the selection of male concubines.

Ming Shendu understood why his mother and clansmen had agreed to his coming.

She understood why Xiao Yelan came, because he was all alone, without a mother or clan, and he made his own decisions. No one could interfere with him. He probably just met her twice, found it interesting, and decided to join in for fun on a whim.

She didn't understand why Yan Qingyan came. Like her ex-husband, he had a family, and his family was also a prominent family, no smaller than Cui Yunzhou's family. Logically speaking, his mother and his family should not have agreed to his coming. After all, although not everyone knew about her infertility, the higher-ups of the prominent family must have known, because she did not deliberately hide the news, nor did she stop the Cui family from spreading the news.

Like Yan Qingyan, Xie Mingyuan also came from a powerful family, even larger than those of Cui Yunzhou and Yan Qingyan. She learned by chance that Xie Mingyuan was disliked by his family because his mother was a concubine with no status or position. His father's legal wife had given birth to a boy a year younger than Xie Mingyuan, and the Xie family doted on this younger brother, ignoring Xie Mingyuan's existence. Even though Xie Mingyuan rose to the position of prime minister through his own abilities, it did not change the attitude of the Xie family and his father.

That day, she only acted out of momentary pity and sent her maid to give Xie Mingyuan, who was walking in the rain without an umbrella, an umbrella. Little did she expect that this small matter would lead Xie Mingyuan to voluntarily participate in the selection of male concubines.

Well, since they're all here, no matter how she tries to persuade them, it'll be useless.

Thinking of this, Tianyao withdrew her gaze from Yan Qingyan and Xie Mingyuan, turned around, and sat down in her seat.

She had just sat down when Tianheng's personal father-in-law spoke up again, making an announcement.

"General Qin Ge has arrived."

!!

Tianyao suddenly stood up, her face full of shock.

What?

Qin Ge, isn't he at the border?

When did he return to the capital?

Could it be...?

A guess popped into Tianyao's mind, but she quickly shook her head and deleted it from her mind.

Impossible. It's absolutely impossible for Qin Ge to have traveled all the way back from the border just to participate in her selection of a husband.

Moreover, she's not choosing a son-in-law right now, but a male concubine. As the only son of the Qin family, how could he possibly participate in the selection of a male concubine?

Qin Ge is 190cm tall and wears a clean and neat black robe. His waist-length hair flutters in the air as he walks, and his black leather boots make a 'thump thump thump' sound on the stone pavement.

Every step he took felt like it was treading on Tianyao's heart, making it pound wildly.

In the blink of an eye, Qin Ge stood in front of Tian Yao. He looked down and saw her shocked face. His cold face suddenly broke into a smile, like an iceberg melting. He spoke and asked in a deep voice.

"Your Highness, I have come here today to ask for an answer."

reply?

What was the reply?

Tianyao was taken aback, her brows furrowed slightly, and she tried hard to recall.

Upon seeing this, Qin Ge's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a surge of murderous intent and ferocity reminiscent of someone who had fought on the battlefield. He gritted his teeth and said...

"Your Highness, you haven't forgotten, have you?"

Tianyao quickly shook her head, her face full of denial.

I just remembered, I didn't forget!

Wasn't it just that more than three years ago, when she returned to the capital from the border, he proposed to her?

But she simply couldn't bring herself to say it in front of so many people.

So she could only reply softly, "I haven't forgotten, but more than three years have passed. Could it be... General Qin, your feelings... are still the same as before?"

"Furthermore, I am now married and divorced, and my body is unable to bear children, so..."

Therefore, because you are the only son of the Qin family, it is absolutely impossible for us to be together.

Tianyao didn't say what she was going to say, but she knew that Qin Ge should be able to understand what she meant.

"So what?"

“My Qin family doesn’t care about these things, and my parents are no longer alive. Even if they were, they wouldn’t stop me.”

"As for the continuation of the bloodline, my sister gave birth to a girl two years ago, and from then on, the Qin family line will be continued by my niece."

"Therefore, Your Highness, you need not consider anything else, but only yourself. Are you willing to walk with me for a while?"

Why is it a stretch of road?

Tianyao asked, puzzled.

"Because I guard the border and defend against foreign enemies, I may die on the battlefield at any time. Therefore, if I die, I do not need Your Highness to keep my vows for me. I hope Your Highness can do what you want to do and continue to love the people you want to love."

Tianyao was moved and clenched her hands at her sides.

She sensed this respect for women in Qin Ge's words.

In Qin Ge's worldview, women can also continue the bloodline and inherit the family business. Moreover, he has no possessiveness towards her. He said that if he died, she would not have to remain chaste for him. She said that if he died, she could choose another man.

How could he be so good?

Three years ago, Qin Ge was actually on the list of sons-in-law that the late emperor had asked her to choose, but she did not choose him.

She didn't choose him, not because she didn't like him; on the contrary, she liked him very much.

Because Qin Ge, just like he is now, respected her a lot more than three years ago. He would ask for her opinion and thoughts before taking any action and would only do it if he got her permission. He wouldn't do it if he didn't get her permission. When she was with him, her emotions were always positive, without any negative emotions.

In the end, however, she did not choose Qin Ge, but instead chose Cui Yunzhou. The reason was actually very simple and realistic: Qin Ge was a general who would have to guard the border, and she did not want to go to the border to suffer.

In her previous life, in modern times, she was born into a well-off family. Her parents loved her dearly and doted on her. She never suffered any hardship.

In this life, here, she is a princess. Except when she was a newborn princess, her nominal mother was extremely harsh on her, and she suffered a bit. But after she latched onto Tianheng's coattails, she never suffered again.

Therefore, having lived two lives, she could be said to have always been pampered and never really suffered. So, the thought of going to the border made her feel resistant and unwilling.

But at this moment, she wavered.

Tianheng knows her secret that she is not a real princess, and he cares about her a lot. If he were to get angry and really reveal her secret, how would she face herself in the capital?

But things would be different once she went to the border. Even if Tianheng revealed her secret, she would be far away at the border, and those acquaintances in the capital would not be able to see her. Naturally, she would not hear any sarcastic remarks and would not feel bad.

Even if the people at the border knew she wasn't a real princess, they wouldn't mock her because she had no grudges against them. Besides, Qin Ge was a man of his word at the border, and he would definitely protect her.

Her only worry about going to the border was the living environment.

"Princess……"

Qin Ge noticed Tian Yao's changing expression and was about to speak when Tian Heng's personal eunuch, Hao Hao, made a grand announcement.

"His Majesty has arrived!"