Chapter 1954 Frankness
Mingda was even more frank than Bai Cheng. When Manbao asked her, she nodded and said, "I like him very much."
Manbao couldn't help but be curious, "What do you like about him?"
Mingda couldn't help but smile before saying, "I think he looks a lot like you."
Manbao: ...How is she like Bai Er? She's so smart!
Mingda smiled and said, "That's right. The energy is very similar. Besides, he's not only healthy but also happy. I know you're not afraid of us, and he's not afraid of us either, so neither of you wants to gain anything from us. I'm very happy to be friends with you. I rarely have people like you around me."
What Mingda didn't say explicitly was that there weren't a few people around her, but only two or three of them.
It was Sister Changyu. They had a deep relationship as sisters, but at the beginning, including now, she was kind to her, not only because of their sisterly love since childhood, but also because she was the daughter of the emperor and the queen.
Although Mingda didn't care about this, she still cherished friends like Zhou Man and Bai Erlang who didn't try to please her just because she was a legitimate princess, and didn't want to get anything from her.
She said, "It's not that I have to recruit him as my consort, I just like him very much. Seeing him with you guys always makes me laugh, and I feel happy."
She smiled and said, "If you hadn't asked, I wouldn't have told you. Marriage is a matter of parents' decision. I don't know what kind of husband my father would choose for me."
Manbao asked, "Aren't you going to ask?"
Mingda shook his head slightly, but then nodded and said, "Father will tell me, I don't need to ask specifically."
Manbao thought about it and couldn't understand, "How could you be so indifferent? That's the person you'll be with for the rest of your life."
She said, "I can't do that. If we're going to live together in the future, I have to be good-looking first. Otherwise, it will be so boring."
Mingda couldn't help but burst out laughing and asked, "So you chose Bai Shan and not Bai Erlang?"
Manbao's eyes widened in disbelief, "What are you talking about? How could I possibly choose Bai Er?"
That is simply unimaginable.
Mingda thought about it for a moment and found it unbelievable. She couldn't help laughing and asked, "But to outsiders, the conditions between these cousins are actually similar. Although Bai Shan's family background is better than Bai Er's, Bai Shan lost his father at a young age, while Bai Er has both parents and brothers. This alone makes him much better than Bai Shan. In terms of friendship, you have known each other for a longer time and are from the same village. Why did you choose Bai Shan and not him?"
Man Baowei opened his mouth and was speechless for a long time. "How should I put this? I have never thought about this before."
Mingda said, "Yes, I have never thought about it. I have never thought about marrying him. I just like him."
"Have you thought about it now?" Manbao said, "Of course you have."
Mingda didn't deny it and smiled, "Now that it's been mentioned, I can't help but think about it. It only takes a moment for the thought to come to me."
"Yeah, I was shaking like crazy just now." Manbao complained, then asked, "So what do you think?"
Mingda smiled and said, "Let it be."
"I don't believe it. You have never been an obedient person. Why are you so obedient now?"
"I've only ever heard people say that Sister Changyu is disobedient. This is the first time I've heard someone say that I'm disobedient."
"That's different. Princess Changyu appears fierce and complains, but she never says no to the arrangements of His Majesty and the Queen. But you are different." No matter how docile Mingda appears, he has his own ideas in his heart.
Seeing that she was determined to get to the bottom of things, Mingda took off his shoes, sat cross-legged on the couch and said, "Okay, it's okay to tell you."
She said, "My father said he wanted to arrange a marriage for me, but he looked at several families and none of them satisfied him. I calculated that it would be impossible to settle it this year."
The Empress Dowager's health is getting worse. If she still can't find a husband after this year, she will have to wait at least two more years before getting engaged. After all the busy work, it may take three years before she gets engaged.
So when Mingda guessed that the marriage might not be settled, she naturally would not take the initiative to mention her concerns about Bai Erlang.
Besides, "Three years doesn't sound like a long time, but it will be long in the blink of an eye. Bai Cheng will be an adult by then, right?"
Manbao said, "Brother Bai got engaged after he came of age, so he's not that old."
Mingda paused after hearing this, then said, "Okay, there's a little more..."
She said softly, "In three years, I don't even know if I'll still be alive."
Manbao was startled and said hurriedly, "What do you mean? Although you are a little weak, you shouldn't be this serious, right?"
Mingda smiled bitterly and said, "That's just you. In fact, many people in and outside the palace know that I have been deficient since birth. I am only slightly better than Yin Huo from Lord Yin's family."
She said, "He and I are two sickly people, both inside and outside the palace. We seem to be doing better now, but I don't think the deficiency we were born with can be cured."
"So I'm not sure what kind of consort my father wants to choose for me," Mingda said. "Is it to conspire, to win over, or just for the sake of the few days I have left?"
Manbao didn't expect her to think so much. After a while, he said, "No wonder you always lack energy. You think too much."
"Why don't you ask His Majesty?" she said, "He loves you so much, I think he would discuss it with you."
Mingda shook his head. "I don't want to embarrass Father, so let's wait and see what kind of consort Father wants to choose. If it's the first two, I won't mention it. If it's the last, I'll have to think about it."
Manbao: "Why do you still need to consider it?"
The chance of hearing her junior brother's words like this is very small, only one in six.
Mingda said, "Of course I have to consider it. What if I'm not in good health by then, and I die right after I get married? Wouldn't that mean I'd become a widower for nothing?"
Manbao: "...You think too much."
So when they returned to Chongwen Hall, Manbao and Bai Erlang said, "Mingda said she would think about it. She doesn't want to make you a widower."
Bai Jilang glared, "You even asked her?"
"You should always ask for her opinion before you ask for marriage, right?" Manbao said, "But now I know that she doesn't hate you, and she even likes you a little, so you can work hard towards the emperor."
Since it is the parents' order, it is natural to obtain their consent before taking action against the culprit. This is fair and just, isn't it?
Bai Erlang became worried, "How can I try so hard? I can't even see His Majesty."
Manbao thought for a moment and said, "I do see him occasionally. How about I pass on a message to you?"
Bai Erlang: "What do I have to say to His Majesty?"
Of course not, she often has nothing to say.
It's late, everyone go to sleep first, the next chapter will be around 11:30 pm
(End of this chapter)
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