Chapter 121 Confrontation in the Imperial Study
The emperor pretended not to notice his little action and sat behind the dragon desk to begin to annotate the memorials. However, he had just picked up the first one and had not put pen to paper yet.
There was a loud bang in the imperial study, and the door was kicked open from the outside, causing the pen in his hand to fall onto the dragon desk.
The chief eunuch even saw the door of the imperial study shaking and trembling, as if it would collapse in the next moment.
It seems that the door of the imperial study needs to be replaced.
This was the first time in history that an emperor had his door removed by a prince.
The emperor's face turned pale with anger, and he glared at her, "Xiao Yuan, what do you want to do?"
He is truly lawless! Is he sure that he really won't kill him?
But he had said this countless times, and it seemed that it no longer had any deterrent effect.
The eunuch fell to his knees with a plop, his body trembling slightly.
The father and son were often angry with each other, but this was the first time that Xiao Yuan was so angry.
"The matter was not settled clearly in Fengtian Palace, so I, your son, came here specially to have a talk with your father." Xiao Yuan's face was cold, and he stood under the dragon desk with a unique posture.
When the emperor looked at him, his anger was reduced by half. This courage alone made him the most like him among all his sons.
It's a pity that he was too stubborn and often ignored his future for trivial matters, which made him disappointed again and again.
Otherwise, he would really be willing to give him the kingdom of Daliang.
There were complex emotions in his eyes, as if he was facing the concubine Shu of the past!
"You like Miss Shen, I've granted your wish, what are you still arguing about?"
The emperor's tone was cold.
"What about the Duan family? Is it the one that Father likes?"
"So what? I am the emperor. If I tell you to marry me, you have to marry me."
Xiao Yuan sneered, "I will marry the one I like, and why don't you marry the one my father likes?"
"How dare you!" The emperor was so angry that his breathing became rapid. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"For the sake of the Shen family, you have repeatedly contradicted me. You are disrespectful as a minister and unfilial as a son. The civil servants' memorials are almost burying me. If you don't marry the girl from the Duan family, how can you gain a foothold in the court!"
The pen in the hand of the censor has always been a knife that kills people without blood!
This incident had a great impact on Xiao Yuan in terms of both reputation and power. The old man of the Duan family was once a role model of literati, and he married the third lady Duan to him for his own good.
Xiao Yuan smiled coldly, "Isn't it because of your father's push that I am where I am today?"
He stared at the emperor and said, "Father, sometimes I really don't understand you. On the one hand, you try your best to suppress us, and on the other hand, you help us when we are dying. You are really impartial."
When Xiao Ze was at a disadvantage, he suppressed him and promoted Xiao Ze. Now that Xiao Ze is powerful, he arranges a marriage for him so that he can be on equal footing with Xiao Ze.
"You hold this bowl of water really well."
Let them check and balance each other, and no one can do anything to the other, just like the two chess pieces in his hands, he can put them anywhere he wants.
The emperor paused for a moment, then turned his gaze away coldly, not looking at Xiao Yuan. "No matter what you say, you must marry the third daughter of the Duan family."
"What if I don't marry you?" Xiao Yuan said in a cold tone.
The emperor smiled coldly, staring at him with icy eyes, "Then don't marry either of them. I'll have them both carried to the Second Prince's Palace."
Either you take both, or you take neither and give them both to your second brother. I think Xiao Ze will be very happy.
Xiao Yuan's eyes were instantly filled with hostility.
The emperor disagreed.
No matter who you are, you must follow the path he has set, and no one is an exception.
"Okay," he suddenly curled his lips and smiled coldly, "Then father will wait for you."
After saying this, he turned and left the imperial study.
The emperor's face became slightly solemn and wrinkled, staring at Xiao Yuan's departing back.
As expected, after this rebellious son said this, something bad was going to happen.
"Have someone keep an eye on him and report immediately if anything happens," he instructed the eunuch.
The chief eunuch immediately took the order and retreated.
After everyone in the imperial study left, the emperor let out a long breath, leaned back in his chair, looking a little dazed.
This rebellious son is really her son, just as stubborn.
Why can't they be more obedient, like Concubine Ning and her son, and not...
His thoughts slowly drifted away, and the emperor sat in the dragon throne for a long time without coming back to his senses.
He was the emperor, busy with all kinds of affairs, so how could he have so many love affairs, and he would not favor only one person. She didn't understand this back then.
Now his son still doesn't understand that the foundation of Daliang's empire cannot have any hidden dangers.
Not far from the imperial study, Xiao Yuan met Li Huaiyan and Ling Chenyi who had been waiting there.
When the two saw his angry look, they knew that the conversation with the emperor would probably be very unpleasant.
"The eunuch who announced the decree has left the palace and gone to the Duan and Chen families." Li Huaiyan said softly.
"Yeah." Xiao Yuan responded calmly, and the three of them left the palace and returned to the Fourth Prince's Mansion.
In the study, Xiao Yuan half-leaned in the armchair with a gloomy face and remained silent. Ling Chenyi and Li Huaiyan looked at each other and hesitated before speaking.
"Although the marriage is a little different from what you thought, it's a good thing anyway. At least the Shen family is saved, and you can marry Miss Shen back."
In fact, they all thought that this result was very good for Xiao Yuan.
Miss Duan San is well-educated and well-mannered. Even if she is the main wife, she cannot bully the troublesome Shen Anan. It is a good thing to enjoy the blessing of having two wives.
Xiao Yuan had a gloomy face and said nothing. His deep eyes seemed to be filled with cold ice.
In the dream, the two of them were in a mess because of Duan Mengmeng. If both of them were married, it would be strange if that woman didn't overturn the roof of the prince's mansion.
He asked Shen Changhe to inform Shen Anan and wait for his news, so how could he break his promise and let her down.
"Master," the butler knocked on the door and walked in holding the imperial edict.
The smile on his face came to an abrupt end when it touched Xiao Yuan's cold face, and he didn't know where to put the imperial edict.
It was Ling Chenyi who stood up, took the imperial edict in his own hands, and waved his hand for the butler to leave.
The butler broke out in a cold sweat and turned away.
He placed the imperial edict on Xiao Yuan's desk, "There are only ten days left until the wedding. What do you mean by not saying anything? Are you going to marry me or not?"
Of course, their opinions do not represent his own. It is up to him to decide whether to marry her or not.
Xiao Yuan's eyes fell on the imperial edict, and he picked it up with his pale knuckles and opened it.
Freezing on the last few sentences, the Emperor's words came to mind.
"Either marry them both, or don't marry either of them and carry them to the Second Prince's mansion."
"Of course I will marry her." He said calmly, but he still wanted to ask the man's opinion.
Ling Chenyi and Li Huaiyan breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, and their bodies relaxed a lot in their chairs, as they were afraid that he would get into trouble with the emperor because of his position.
"That's right. It's just that you are in the Fourth Prince's mansion. The main wife and concubines are all your favor. You like Miss Shen and favor her. How can the emperor control your private affairs in bed? As for Miss Duan, just give her the due respect as a legitimate concubine."
Ling Chenyi's words were very sincere.
Li Huaiyan nodded in agreement, thinking that this was very reasonable. Xiao Yuan was a prince now, and if he became emperor in the future, he would have more women around him.
"It's just a temporary title. When you achieve great things, you can give that position to anyone you want."
After getting the confirmation, Ling Chenyi got up and left the study. He ordered the butler to prepare for the wedding immediately and decorate the house.
Time is running out, so they have to hurry and not let this wedding become a joke and a stain on the Fourth Prince's Mansion.
Xiao Yuan watched the two of them busying around, and just curled the corners of his lips coldly without saying a word.
Li Huaiyan felt melancholy again, and said to Ling Chenyi, "It would be better if we could marry them separately, but the emperor insisted that the Duan and Shen families enter the palace on the same day, one as the principal wife and the other as a concubine. Not only does the Shen family's daughter have to enter through the corner door, but she can't even have a ceremony. She has to stay in an empty room on the wedding night. With her temper, I wonder what kind of trouble she will make."
Logically speaking, after entering the palace on the same day, Xiao Yuan had to stay in the main wife's room. Worshipping heaven and earth, drinking wine together, and having wedding night were all experiences that only the main wife had. The concubine could only wait and stay alone in the empty room.
If they were married separately, it would be fine to have a more grand ceremony for the concubine, but if they were married on the same day, it wouldn't even be considered an embellishment.
The girl was of an aloof and proud character, and the emperor's obvious humiliation was truly heartbreaking.
Ling Chenyi touched Li Huaiyan, glanced at Xiao Yuan's extremely ugly face, and stopped him from continuing.
Li Huaiyan didn't care much. "I still say that now that we have entered the Fourth Prince's mansion, it is Xiao Yuan who has the final say on what to do. The Emperor will never argue with him about which room to stay in first."
These words were a tiny comfort to Xiao Yuan.
But Xiao Yuan never responded from beginning to end.
He lowered his head and played with the white jade ring on his left hand, his eyebrows and eyes hidden in the shadows, and it was unknown what he was thinking.
"Master," Qing'an's voice came from outside, "the person sent by the palace to preside over the wedding ceremony has arrived."
"Yeah." Xiao Yuan responded coldly.
Qing'an's voice was hesitant for a while before he asked, "Then... how should we place them?"
"It doesn't matter. As long as there's a place to sleep, it's fine." Seeing that Xiao Yuan's face looked even worse, Ling Chenyi quickly responded.
Only then did Qing'an obey the order.
"The people sent by the Emperor's uncle will probably stay in the mansion for ten days. We should be more cautious during these days."
Li Huaiyan nodded. He picked up the cold teacup on the desk and took a sip, frowning.
"Now the Second Prince has probably become obsessed with this marriage. I really don't understand the Emperor's intentions." He looked up at Ling Chenyi, then turned to look at Xiao Yuan.
"Who do you think the Emperor wants to be the Crown Prince?"
Ling Chenyi pursed his lips and shook his head after a long while. "Uncle Emperor is helping whoever is at a disadvantage. He is wasting the power of his two sons. I really can't figure out what he is thinking."
"But he only has two adult princes, Xiao Ze and Xiao Yuan, who can inherit the throne. What good will it do him if they fight each other like this?"
Li Huaiyan was puzzled.
The study fell into silence for a moment and no one spoke anymore.
The people from the palace were very active and began to decorate the house as soon as they entered. In less than two hours, even the bare tree trunks in the courtyard were hung with red silks with the words "a happy marriage for a hundred years" in them.
Qingfeng was assigned by the eunuchs in the palace to go into the study and ask, "Master, the eunuch in charge wants to ask you, which two courtyards do the principal and concubines live in respectively."
Xiao Yuan raised his eyes calmly, and his expressionless face made Qingfeng shudder in his heart and he wanted to turn around and leave.
Fortunately, after a while, he finally spoke and said, "Wutong Garden."
Wutong Garden is the main courtyard, the one closest to the study, where the queen lives.
What about the concubine?
Qingfeng stood there without leaving. Xiao Yuan's eyes gradually darkened. "Why, do you still have questions?"
Qingfeng swallowed his saliva and thought, if he wanted to marry two girls, one yard would not be enough.
"Then...the concubine..."
"roll."
"Yes." Without hesitation, Qingfeng turned around and left the study.
Ling Chenyi and Li Huaiyan just thought that he was unhappy at the moment and didn't say anything.
The imperial edict was thrown casually on the desk. Xiao Yuan narrowed his eyes and fell into silence for a long time.
In the dream, they tortured each other, leaving their originally happy marriage in tatters.
Her pain, despair, resentment and her loving eyes always woke him up in the middle of the night, with feelings of regret and self-blame overwhelming his nerves.
He said he would make compensation, so how could he personally lead to a new tragedy for the two of them?
He could no longer bear her cold and disgusted look.
I can't bear the despair of watching the two of them grow tired of each other, but being unable to change the situation.
His eyes moved slowly, fixed on the documents piled on the desk, picked one out and unfolded it.
Li Huaiyan glanced at the memorial and frowned. "It has been raining in Xuzhou for more than half a month, and the government has not allocated money for disaster relief. I am afraid that many people will suffer and there will be corpses everywhere."
But the officials in the court don’t care about these things. They are all only focusing on their own little piece of land. The Ministry of Revenue collects taxes very quickly, but asking them to pay money is harder than asking for their lives!
Xiao Yuan's cold lips suddenly curled up, and he pushed the memorial to Ling Chenyi, "Father has been very idle these days, so find him something to do."
At this critical juncture, he still has the mind to push this to cause trouble for the emperor.
Ling Chenyi was unsure of what Xiao Yuan meant for a moment, but he still took the letter and nodded in agreement.
Xiao Yuan immediately stood up, and Ling Chenyi immediately asked, "Where are you going?"
"Xiangjue Temple."
Ling Chenyi and Li Huaiyan frowned at the same time, "It's already this late, what are you doing at Xiangjue Temple?"
Xiao Yuan did not answer. He took the cloak and left the study. Before leaving, he did not forget to instruct Qing'an to guard Wutong Garden and make good arrangements.
An imperial edict implicated three people, and the happiest one was Duan Fu.
When Duan Mengmeng received the imperial edict, she was surprised, happy and incredulous.
Before the eunuch who announced the decree left, her good upbringing of several years had gone to waste. She pulled Old Madam Duan and Madam Duan and jumped for joy with her hands and feet.
The joyful expression formed a sharp contrast with the white silk all over the yard.
The eunuch who announced the decree frowned and left without stopping for a moment.
With Grandpa Duan gone, the Duan family lost its backbone. This marriage was a timely help, and Madam Duan was very happy.
"Let's go back to the house first." She held Duan Mengmeng's arm and led everyone into the house.
Duan Mengmeng has not yet recovered from her joy.
Duan Yingying, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, "Although the marriage is a good thing, the emperor also granted Miss Shen a concubine. The principal and concubines are married on the same day, which is really..."
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