The old Duke was stroking his beard, "I heard Old Chen’s grandson is quite promising. How about your Majesty sending someone to ask him if he would like to join the Imperial Medical Bureau? I believe the old minister’s disciple should not disappoint."
The Emperor clapped his hands, "If you hadn’t reminded me, I would have forgotten about his grandson. Excellent, I will send someone to approach him."
After a while of casual talk between the emperor and his minister, the Emperor shifted the topic and tentatively asked the old Duke, "I have heard rumours about Su Xu’s daughter. Many who have seen her believe she bears a striking resemblance to Princess Zhenmin?"
The old Duke nodded, "She does bear some resemblance."
The Emperor spoke seriously: "Old Duke, tell me the truth. What was the real reason behind the marriage engagement you arranged between your house and Su Xu’s?"
The old Duke stared at the Emperor, cleverly deflecting the question back, "What does your Majesty think?"
The Emperor wanted to say ’How should I know? There are so many things in your Duke Residence’s that I am not privy to.’ However, he kept his dissatisfaction to himself and only said, "That’s why I am asking you. When the marriage agreement between the Duke Residence and Su Family was made, Su Xu was only a minor Governor of Jiangning County. The difference in their status was vast. There must have been a special reason, otherwise there would be no point of contact."
The old Duke nodded, "Your Majesty is correct, there was indeed a special reason."
As the Emperor waited for him to continue, the old Duke closed his mouth and said no more. The Emperor was irritated, "Old Duke, do you mean to say you won’t even tell me?"
His voice rose in intensity, "If she were just a common girl, I wouldn’t care to know, but since she resembles Princess Zhenmin, I naturally want to get to the bottom of this. Are you forcing me to send someone to investigate her?" 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
The old Duke thought to himself, ’You’ve certainly already sent someone to investigate, but since you’ve found out nothing so far, you’re cornering me with questions today,’ which was indeed his agenda as he attended this grand court meeting.
Then, on purpose, he kept the Emperor waiting before heaving a sigh and casting a look at Yu An who was standing aside to serve them.
Yu An jumped, and when the Emperor signaled him with a nod, he quickly retreated and diplomatically closed the doors of the Imperial Study Room.
With only the Emperor and the old Duke left in the Imperial Study Room, the old Duke finally began to speak, "This matter is something I had promised Princess Zhenmin to keep a secret until I died. However, as Su Rong grew older, she came to resemble Princess Zhenmin so closely that I realized the secret could no longer be kept."
The Emperor immediately straightened up, "What do you mean?"
The old Duke sighed, "Su Rong is the daughter of Princess Zhenmin and King of Nanchu. Before Princess Zhenmin died, she found me and pleaded with me to protect her daughter. So I made an arrangement with her regarding the marriage between Su Rong and Zhou Gu."
"What are you saying?" The Emperor stood up abruptly, "Didn’t she die in Dawei? How could she..."
Seeing the surprised expression on the Emperor’s face, the old Duke confidently affirmed, "Right after Princess Zhenmin arrived in Dawei for her marriage, she found out that she was pregnant. To avoid detection, she had to fake her death and live under a different name. Both the late Emperor and the Empress Dowager were privy to this."
The Emperor stood dumbfounded, "Why didn’t I know? Why didn’t anyone tell me?"
"Princess Zhenmin shared a deep emotional bond with you, your Majesty. She probably didn’t want you to worry about her. I wasn’t aware of her being alive until just before she died and took refuge in Jiangning County." The old Duke simplified the story of how Princess Zhenmin sought him out to arrange the marriage.
The Emperor took a step back, his expression still shocked, as though his mind was reeling from the revelation, "Did she pass away...eight years ago?"
The old Duke nodded, "She passed away not long after the marriage was arranged."
After a while, the Emperor finally found the strength to ask another question, "If the marriage was arranged just before her death, why did Su Rong break off the engagement?"
The news of Su Rong and Zhou Gu’s broken engagement had caused a huge uproar in the capital, and it hadn’t taken long for the reports to reach the palace. The Emperor had known about it for some time.
The old Duke was helpless. Speaking about this issue made him feel somewhat sympathetic and straightforward. There was a sense of trust between him and the Emperor, "Zhou Gu was reluctant to break the engagement. But, as your Majesty knows, the King of Nanchu currently has no heir and Su Rong is his only princess. For several years, the Queen of Nanchu has been trying to assassinate Su Rong, and lately these attempts have become even more frequent and violent. On her way to the capital, Su Rong was even ambushed by multiple waves of Nanchu’s troops. Under such circumstances, she could no longer remain an ordinary person, it’s impossible. Hence, the broken engagement was out of necessity. She cannot continue this way, sooner or later she must return to Nanchu as a princess or continue living her life under constant threat of assassination. She must assume that position to avoid being at the mercy of others, don’t you think?"
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