"Snow Lotus? This... isn't this the national treasure of the Northern Desert?"
Emperor Wenjian was flattered when he saw the gift box that Gao Changhong handed him.
He had never seen this Snow Lotus before, but he had heard of it before. After all, folklore says that those who obtain the Snow Lotus can live for decades longer!
Many emperors coveted this Snow Lotus, so why would the Regent of the Northern Desert want to give it to him?
What does he want from me?
Or is this Snow Lotus a fake?
Otherwise, why would he be willing to give it away?
Emperor Wenjian's mind raced in that instant, finding it hard to believe that Gao Changhong would give him something so precious.
In fact, Gao Changhong had no intention of giving the Snow Lotus to Emperor Wenjian. He brought it with him to find his Ruan Ruan and give it to her.
After all, Ruan Ruan had suffered a serious injury and her body was severely weakened when she escaped.
The imperial physician from the Northern Desert said that even if Ruan Ruan takes good care of herself, she can only live to be forty years old at most.
But Ruan Ruan ran away later. Over the years, he has always carried the Snow Lotus with him, thinking that when he finds Ruan Ruan in the future, he will give her the Snow Lotus to take.
But now that Ruan Ruan is dead, this Snow Lotus won't do him much good.
With his beloved not by his side, longevity held less appeal for him.
In his life, he had achieved fame, fortune, and power. In the end, his only regret was his beloved from back then.
Now that he can no longer be with his beloved, he can only entrust his feelings to other places.
"It is indeed our Northern Desert's national treasure. To be honest, the reason I am willing to give it to the Emperor today is because I have a request."
Gao Changhong saw the suspicion in Emperor Wenjian's face and bluntly said that he had his own purpose.
"Oh, what does the Regent desire?"
When Emperor Wenjian learned that he had a request, the excitement on his face subsided.
It's right to have something in mind, but if he's giving such an expensive gift, what he's asking for must be something significant.
Could it be that they want to take back the two cities that the Great Liang Dynasty reclaimed from the Northern Desert?
If that's the case, I'll be in a real bind.
As an emperor, he naturally wanted to live for several more decades and enjoy the throne for a few more years. In his mind, exchanging two cities for several decades of life was worthwhile.
However, this would make him appear selfish and would cause his people to be dissatisfied with him as their ruler.
Emperor Wenjian waited for Gao Changhong's reply while agonizing over whether he should agree to the condition if Gao Changhong made it.
Is it more important for the people to have a good reputation, or is it more important to selfishly live a few decades longer?
But he never expected that Gao Changhong would make a different request.
Instead...
"I love my daughter dearly and only want her to marry the man she loves. Your Majesty, you saw last time that Yufei insisted on marrying no one but the Crown Prince. But as her father, I really do not want my daughter to be a concubine, not even a secondary wife."
Therefore, I hope Your Majesty will allow the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to divorce, and that my daughter will marry the Crown Prince. Of course, to compensate the Crown Princess, I can agree to allow her to marry my son as his principal wife after the divorce.
"!!!"
Emperor Wenjian felt as if he were hallucinating, and stood there stunned, unable to believe that what he heard from Gao Changhong was true.
A snow lotus, just to force the Crown Prince and Crown Princess to divorce?
This is... utterly absurd!
"emperor?"
Seeing that Emperor Wenjian was stunned, Gao Changhong called out to him.
Emperor Wenjian then came to his senses and looked at Gao Changhong with a complicated expression.
"The Regent sent such a precious snow lotus just so that his beloved daughter could marry the Crown Prince?"
Emperor Wenjian still couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, so he asked again.
"Yes, that's exactly right."
Gao Changhong nodded firmly.
Upon receiving a positive answer, Emperor Wenjian first breathed a sigh of relief, but then his expression became somewhat troubled.
It's not about making him surrender the city; that way, he won't worry about whether it affects his reputation among the people.
But what reason would he need to give for the Crown Prince to divorce?
You can't say that your father broke up his son and daughter-in-law's marriage just to get a Snow Lotus for himself!
This would also affect his reputation and cause the crown prince to resent him.
This regent is simply overly fond of his daughter and wants her to marry the crown prince, so perhaps...
"Your Majesty, your love for your daughter has moved me deeply, and I naturally cannot refuse such a sentiment. However, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess have had a very deep relationship for so long."
If I were to forcibly separate them and force them to divorce, it would likely incur resentment. Since the Regent is unwilling to let his beloved daughter become a concubine, how about I demote the Crown Princess to the Crown Prince's secondary consort, and then make the Regent's daughter the Crown Princess?
This would satisfy the Regent's wishes and also reduce Xiao Ye's resentment.
Emperor Wenjian weighed the pros and cons in this way.
"No, my daughter is unwilling to share a husband with another man."
The regent refused outright.
"this......"
Emperor Wenjian did not expect that the regent would refuse even this.
He originally thought his suggestion was a good one, but now the regent disagrees and insists that he break up the crown prince.
It gave him a headache.
He wanted the Snow Lotus, but he also didn't want to be called a tyrant.
Separating the Crown Prince and Crown Princess without any reason would likely attract just as much criticism as giving two cities to the Regent.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
