King Xuan had already guessed what his wife was going to say, but he still wanted to hear more.
Princess Xuan said, "Even as parents, we treat our sons and daughters differently. We hope our sons will have a bright future, and we hope our daughters will have a peaceful and happy life."
“That’s what I thought too.” Princess Xuan’s voice was still gentle, but her words were like soft knives stabbing into Prince Xuan’s heart: “I hoped that Bao’er could marry a husband who would love, cherish, and respect her, and then have several children, living a life without any troubles or hardships. But that has been a luxury for a long time.”
Princess Consort Xuan never spoke of resentment towards Prince Xuan, nor did she mention how bitter or difficult her past life had been: "When Baojie was very young, she had to work hard to keep the family alive. She didn't have the opportunity to develop a gentle nature, let alone avoid lifting a finger. To keep the family alive, Baojie had to learn to scheme, to be defensive, to be assertive, and to be fierce. She didn't have the opportunity to learn gentleness, nor the opportunity to be happy like other children when they saw wildflowers by the roadside or birds in the trees."
“Because she has too many things to consider.” Princess Xuan smiled and said, “When Baojie sees the little birds in the tree, the first thing she thinks of is that her useless grandmother, useless mother and useless brother can finally have a bite of meat. Doesn’t she like beautiful birds? It’s just that she never has the chance to like them. When just being alive is a luxury, you can’t expect her to be gentle or kind again.”
King Xuan clenched his fists, feeling a deep bitterness in his heart.
Princess Xuan said, "My husband has experienced hardship before, but he has never lived the life of a slave. When Baojie was a servant, she was fortunate to have met a good mistress. If she hadn't met her, her life would have been in the hands of others. She would have had to get up early every day to work, and she couldn't eat anything with a strong smell, or even drink a little water, so as not to have to relieve herself while working and to avoid smelling bad and offending the master."
Although Baojie never said these things, Princess Xuan saw them all and kept them in mind.
“Some of the young maids were only seven or eight years old when they were taken to bed by the masters and young masters.” Every time Baojie was on duty, Princess Xuan was terrified, afraid that one day she would not be able to wait for her daughter to come home: “Besides, it was very normal for her to be bullied and taken advantage of by the stewards and servants.”
King Xuan hadn't considered this possibility. He knew about his daughter's past, but he hadn't thought about it deeply. However, he knew that what his wife said was true, without the slightest exaggeration.
"At that time, human life was both the most valuable and the least valuable thing."
“My husband, if one day Baojie really sits in that position, it is not something Baojie can choose, nor is it something Baojie wants to choose. It is something you have forced her to do step by step.”
“My husband knows the current situation better than I do. This mess has ended up falling on my Bao Jie. How innocent is Bao Jie? What has Bao Jie done to you?”
"In this life, what I am most proud of is having Baojie as my daughter, and what I regret most is giving birth to Baojie."
"Because she was born to me, she never enjoyed happiness, never had the right to choose what kind of life she wanted to live, and never had freedom."
“Husband, no matter where Baojie ends up, it’s all because of us. We’ve forced her to do it. We’ve put all the burdens on her shoulders.”
King Xuan was somewhat enlightened, yet he remembered that his wife had never uttered a single word of resentment, not even when he left, when she painstakingly found him with their daughter, or when she discovered he had another concubine who was pregnant.
But now, each of these words felt like a knife stabbing into his heart, yet he had no way to refute them.
Because he felt that what his wife said was true and correct.
From the very beginning, the daughter had no choice. Whether she stood up in the capital to be Emperor Yan's weapon, or went to Fuzhou, or even now... no one has ever asked Baojie what she wants. It seems that everyone needs Baojie to do something.
Is this the life Baojie wanted?
King Xuan was unaware of this, but he knew that his daughter truly had no other choice but to die or remain in that position.
Because of the burden of the country, Emperor Yan, although he wanted the people to live well, was riddled with problems; because Emperor Yan had no suitable son, and neither he nor Gui Ge, two men, could shoulder the responsibility.
So Baojie has to stand up for herself, even if she has to face the misunderstanding and criticism of everyone in the world.
Baojie had no other choice.
King Xuan remained silent, his expression gradually calming down. He said, "I will not let Baojie face all the criticism alone, nor will I let her bear all the responsibility. I have been shirking my responsibilities. I will not continue like this. I cannot push everything onto Baojie. Even His Majesty, as her uncle, has begun to make amends for his past mistakes. As her father, I cannot stand idly by."
Princess Xuan looked at it for a long time before finally smiling and saying, "Okay."
Yan Shujin was unaware of these things, but she had a vague guess in her heart. She felt that some of Emperor Yan's behaviors were strange, but she also had a feeling that Emperor Yan had already made a choice.
Mr. Du was also completely baffled: "This doesn't seem like something His Majesty would do."
Yan Shujin lowered her eyes slightly and said, "If His Majesty knew that he had no more children and that his days were numbered, do you think he would choose me as his successor?"
Mr. Du's heart skipped a beat. He pondered carefully and said, "If I hadn't known about the recent events in the court, I would have thought the princess was delusional. But now... unless Emperor Yan can live another twenty or even thirty years, if he doesn't make Yan Shujin his heir, all that awaits him is chaos in the world, or the Yan family will be overthrown in just one generation."
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