Duanhua pushed open the door and rushed outside. Due to her haste, she nearly collided with Yan Huisheng.
She quickly stopped in her tracks, "Cou... Cousin Crown Prince."
Yan Huisheng looked around, "Why are you running?"
Duanhua immediately straightened up, obediently saying, "I heard you were back, so I felt joyous."
Yan Huisheng looked at her, "What do you need from me?"
Duanhua whispered, "It’s about that matter."
"Which matter?"
Duanhua stomped her foot, "Ah, I mean the matter I told you about in your carriage the day before yesterday."
Yan Huisheng turned to leave.
Duanhua instantly became anxious, grabbing his arm, "Cousin Crown Prince, Cousin, please help me."
"Impossible, don’t add trouble," Yan Huisheng shrugged off her hand.
Duanhua caught her breath, "That hurt."
Yan Huisheng had never raised his hand to a girl before. He paused and saw clearly that Duanhua, who said she was hit, had grabbed his arm tightly again. She looked pitiful but was extremely stubborn, pleading, "Cousin, my mother is pregnant, she needs to rest. As for my marriage, besides you, who else can I turn to? You can’t just ignore me."
Yan Huisheng was surprised, "My aunt is pregnant?"
"Yes, for over a month now." Duanhua looked at him, "Cousin, as you know, my mother has wished for many years to bear a son for my father. It was not until she took Su Rong’s prescription that she conceived. I can’t be unconscionable and bother my mother with this trouble, can I?"
Yan Huisheng looked at her, "Let go."
Duanhua did not release him, continuing to plead, "I won’t let go unless you agree."
Yan Huisheng’s face tightened, "Do you believe me when I say that I will cut off your hand?"
"You may cut!" Duanhua looked at him pathetically. "If you hadn’t hindered me back then, Zhou Gu might have been mine. But now, he has been ensnared by Su Rong and taken to Nanchu. If I don’t get married in this lifetime, and people laugh at me, it is also your responsibility."
Yan Huisheng: "....."
Only Duanhua could come up with such twisted logic.
Duanhua added, "As a dutiful princess, if I can’t get married, will it look good for you, as my Cousin Crown Prince? You will also face humiliation."
Yan Huisheng had to laugh, "I don’t think so."
Duanhua shook his arm, "All you have to do is let Uncle Emperor issue a decree and post an imperial announcement. It will not bother the imperial court officials. The Princess Residence will send people to select ..."
Yan Huisheng frowned, "What if we can’t choose one?"
"That’s impossible. With such a vast world, there must be someone good-looking."
"Do you only care about looks?" Yan Huisheng felt a headache coming on.
"If someone can’t even look pleasing to the eye, what else could there be?" Duanhua was adamant. "Cousin, please agree! Otherwise, do I really have to let my mother, with her big belly, go to Uncle Emperor? Nowadays, Uncle Emperor won’t make a decision without asking for your opinion, right?"
Yan Huisheng restrained himself from shaking her off, "You first let go."
"I won’t."
"Duanhua!"
"I am here."
Yan Huisheng stared at her, "Aren’t you afraid of me now?"
Duanhua whispered, "I am afraid. But this is about my lifelong happiness." She pouted her lips, almost crying, "Su Rong is about to get married, but I don’t even have a fiancé. I have tried everywhere in the Capital City, but have not found anyone suitable. If I don’t hurry, am I really going to wait until people laugh at me for not being able to get married? I can’t stand it."
Yan Huisheng massaged his temples, patiently telling her, "Your requirements are too high. It’s rare to find someone as good-looking as Zhou Gu in this world."
"But we must at least try, right?" Duanhua looked at him, continuing to plead, "Cousin, I will not involve the manpower of the Imperial Court ..."
Yan Huisheng’s forehead throbbed, "If I agree to this matter, it would be preposterous."
"What should we do? The Princess Residence only has so many people, and without posting the imperial announcement, we would lose out on the chance to find good-looking men elsewhere." Duanhua was feeling quite clever for coming up with the idea of using the imperial announcement.
Yan Huisheng pinched his forehead, "So you only care for a handsome face?"
"Yes."
"You have no other requirements?"
"No." She had given up all other requirements in order to convince him of the imperial announcement.
Yan Huisheng took a deep breath, and another, then told her, "I guess I could marry you."
Duanhua: "...!!!"
She was immediately frightened and let go of Yan Huisheng’s arm. Her face changed, and she stood in the wind looking lost. She began to stutter, "Cou... Cou... Cousin, you... are not... scaring me, are you?"
Yan Huisheng dropped his hand from his forehead, "Why would I scare you?"
Duanhua turned pale, "I... I... I never thought about marrying... marrying you..."
Yan Huisheng looked at her, "Although I am not as handsome as Zhou Gu, I am not an eyesore. You’ve never thought about it, but you can start now."
He said this and then turned to leave.
Duanhua was alarmed, and again grabbed hold of him, "Cou... Cousin, you aren’t joking with me, are you? Just to avoid agreeing to my request, can you make such a big sacrifice?"
She always felt that something was wrong. If he wasn’t joking, then there must be a conspiracy here.
Yan Huisheng stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "Let’s go inside and talk."
Duanhua blinked, let go of his hand, and thought aloud, with her smart mind, there must be a conspiracy!
And so, she followed Yan Huisheng indoors.
Arriving at the drawing room, Yan Huisheng dismissed everyone else and said to Duanhua, "Last spring, when I was out investigating Jiangning County, I met Su Rong before I met Zhou Gu. She saved my life once, and from that moment, I took a liking to her..."
Duanhua immediately opened her eyes wide, covering her mouth.
Yan Huisheng continued, "But she was betrothed to Zhou Gu, which obviously means I couldn’t take someone else’s wife. Especially when I found out about her status as the Nanchu Princess, there was even less possibility of anything happening between us. Therefore, I kept these feelings to myself."
Duanhua kept her mouth covered, blinking rapidly.
Yan Huisheng looked at her, "My father considered the Fifth Lady from the Duke Residence as a suitable candidate. But I was worried that if she found out about my feelings for someone else, especially her own sister, she might be unhappy. So when my father brought it up, I declined."
Duanhua still kept her mouth covered, hardly daring to breathe. She wondered if she should know all this.
Yan Huisheng went on, "My father then spoke with my mother about holding a Flower Banquet to select a consort for me after a time. I didn’t have any expectations for someone I didn’t know. If you don’t mind me liking Su Rong, and only care about looks and nothing else, then I will marry you."
Duanhua immediately removed her hand, "Cous... Cousin, I also like Su Rong. I don’t mind if you like her. But... but you are supposed to have many wives and concubines in the future, I don’t want that."
Yan Huisheng shook his head, "I will not have many wives and concubines in the future. I will only marry one princess consort, and will not set up a harem." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
"What?" Duanhua was shocked, "How could this be possible?"
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