Chapter 126 I Don’t Want to Get Married

Faced with the old emperor's random matchmaking, Xiao Yu paused and said, "Your Majesty, I'm used to being single and have no plans to marry. Besides, even if I recover now, I'm not sure I'll be able to in the future. My reputation has always been bad, so I don't think any girl would be willing to marry me."

It must be a lie that he doesn’t want to get married. He dreams of getting married now.

But as long as Xu Chuchu is around, he will definitely not marry any other woman.

"That's not what I meant." The emperor stood up leisurely. "As the saying goes, times have changed. No one wanted to marry me before, but now it may be possible that no one will marry me."

"Your Majesty means..." Xiao Yu suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, after the emperor stood up, he personally went around to the shelf at the back and took out a brocade box.

"Do you still remember this thing? I have kept it for you." He opened the box, took out a jade pendant, and hung it in front of Xiao Yu.

"...Of course." Xiao Yu frowned mercilessly.

How could he not remember? He had just taken a look at a similar jade pendant before he came out.

The jade pendant that the emperor took out was translucent and warm, also curved. Its configuration was exactly the opposite of the one in his hand, convex on top and concave on the bottom.

If someone puts the two jade pendants together, they will definitely find out at a glance that this is a set of jade pairs that can be spliced ​​together.

Yes, these two jade pendants were exactly the two jade pendants that the emperor gave to him six years ago when he got engaged to Xia Wanqing, the daughter of Minister Xia of the Ministry of War.

One piece, and hand it to him.

And after the other piece was sent to the Xia Mansion... it was returned to the emperor by the wife of Minister Xia, Xia Wanqing's mother, who threatened to commit suicide.

Since the engagement turned out to be like this, the marriage was naturally called off.

At that time, this incident spread throughout the capital and became a topic of conversation among every household after dinner.

"It's good that you remember. That means you still have feelings for the daughter of the Xia family." The emperor's face remained amiable. "I heard that after the Xia family broke off the engagement, you were depressed for a long time. Why not reconcile now and reconcile?"

"Reconcile?" Xiao Yu frowned even more tightly.

"I know you're a little unhappy about having to do this again, but if you put yourself in my shoes, you can't blame the Xia family entirely for what happened in the past. It was also my inconsiderateness." The emperor was very humble. "Wanqing is a well-educated and well-mannered girl. It would be a pity to miss her."

To be honest, Xiao Yu was a little confused about the emperor's behavior.

He was indeed depressed when his engagement was broken off. He was only fourteen years old at that time. It was natural for him to feel unhappy when his engagement was broken off in public. No one would be happy.

At that time, he heard that only Madam Xia was against it, and Minister Xia and Miss Xia herself did not make any move. He even had an unrealistic fantasy in his mind, thinking that maybe only his mother was against it, and the girl herself was willing.

At that time, he had never even met Xia Wanqing, but he was not so disgusted with marriage. He was still hoping that there would be a girl who would not despise his illness and would be willing to accompany him and hug him.

He was willing to marry her no matter what the girl looked like or what her family background was.

But in the end, the Xia family had no intention of regretting it.

After a year or two of feeling lost, he finally faced reality and gave up his fantasies.

Until Xu Chuchu appeared.

But what surprised him most was not the emperor's inexplicable matchmaking this time, but the fact that the person chosen for him was Xia Wanqing, the only daughter of the Minister of War.

Six years ago, when the emperor wanted to arrange marriages for his two children, Minister Xia was just the head of the Ministry of War.

In recent years, because of his repeated military achievements and adaptability, and the death of the former Minister of War, he had just been promoted several levels and was appointed as the new Minister of War.

The Xia Dynasty always valued military power over culture, and the Ministry of War had a much higher status than the other five ministries. Shangshu Xia had just taken office, and became the target of competition among various forces in the court.

In order to have a good relationship with him, there are endless ways to do it.

The most stable way to win over someone is through marriage, so his beloved daughter Xia Wanqing has become the target of marriage proposals from various families.

If the Crown Prince and the Second Prince had not married, they would probably marry her as their principal wife. Unfortunately, there is no chance now, and the relatives from her mother's side have to fight for her.

It was impossible for the emperor not to see such a clear situation, and it was impossible for him to disrupt the power of the court simply to make up for his son's regret.

He wanted to marry this girl now. Was it because he wanted the Ministry of War to help him gain a foothold in the court, or was there some other purpose... Xiao Yu couldn't figure it out for a moment.

But no matter what the reason, he will never marry anyone else.

"I thank Your Majesty for your kindness," he said, bowing. "But I truly have no intention of getting married. I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decision."

The emperor understood and said, "I know you are angry, but marriage is a big deal..."

"I no longer harbor any resentment," Xiao Yu said without hesitation. "This decision wasn't made on a whim; it's the result of careful consideration."

The emperor said impatiently, "I've only been talking to you for a short while, and you're already overthinking it. No, this marriage has to go through! If you don't agree, you don't have to stay in the court anymore!"

Xiao Yu nodded seriously and said, "Then I will take my leave. Your Majesty, please take care of yourself and have dinner early."

After saying that, he really turned around and left.

"Ah, ah!" The emperor looked at Xiao Yu's ruthless back, slamming the table in anger. He said to the Grand Master, "Look at this kid! Look at him! His kindness is truly taken for granted!"

The Grand Master smiled and consoled him, "Your Majesty, please do not be angry. The child is grown up and has his own ideas."

"Hmph, ideas." The emperor sneered, "His ideas are more important than national affairs and the country."

"The child is too sentimental." said the Grand Master.

"He's a prince! His status doesn't allow him to be sentimental," the emperor said. "He was wronged in the past, but you have to know that many things can't be based solely on emotions. A real man can bend and stretch. How can he give up this golden opportunity just to gamble away his past?"

He was so angry that he drank several cups of tea. After finally calming down, he lowered his voice and said to the Grand Master, "Let me ask you again... Why is it that even after he recovered from his illness, he still has snakes on his body instead of dragons?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I didn't know this." The Grand Master shook his head slowly.

"What a shame, what a shame!" the emperor sighed. "My ancestors have been descendants of the dragon for generations, and every emperor has a dragon mark on his body. Whoever is born with the dragon mark will be named the crown prince... But in my generation, there are no princes at all."