Chapter 256 My Husband Must Not Marry Another Person
Chunzhi slowly raised her head and replied calmly, "I guess the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on me the night I left the capital has been found out. That's why my father specially summoned me."
Upon hearing this, the emperor frowned almost imperceptibly.
It had been a few days since the news from Xizhou was sent back to the capital. When a group of ministers were discussing in the imperial study whether Prince Chang'an should marry Princess Xiling, Mu Qingshan was also present.
When Mu Qingshan learned about this, there was no way he wouldn't tell his own daughter. In the emperor's view, Chunzhi must know about it. She was not a fool, so she should have guessed why he summoned her to the palace today.
But Huo Yuan didn't expect Chunzhi to avoid the most important thing and mentioned the assassination.
On the night Princess Chang'an left the capital, she encountered an assassination attempt outside the city. Three people were captured alive and sent back to the capital, where they were interrogated by the Ministry of Justice. The matter was also reported to the emperor.
The emperor ordered a thorough investigation at the time. After receiving the order, the Ministry of Justice sentenced the two men to severe punishment and torture. However, the three men were tough and managed to endure the torture and died in prison. In the end, the case had to be left unresolved.
The emperor was furious at the time and criticized the Ministry of Justice for its incompetence. All the officials in the Ministry of Justice were punished and could not hold their heads up for many days.
But this was just an assassination of a princess after all, and Chunzhi was fine and not in the capital, so he did not pursue the case for a result. The emperor was fully focused on the war on the front line and the affairs of state, and soon forgot about this insignificant case.
Now Chunzhi brought it up again, just when the emperor wanted to tell her another extremely important matter, which really made the emperor unhappy.
But since Chunzhi had said so, the emperor couldn't just brush it off. He said in a slightly grave tone, "I'll have the Ministry of Justice go to the Chang'an Palace and give you an explanation on this matter."
"Is that so?" Chunzhi showed a look of disappointment but had to accept it. "I understand. Thank you, Father."
The emperor was perplexed by her reaction and immediately got straight to the point: "A few days ago, Xizhou submitted a memorial stating that the Princess of Xiling would remain in Daxing to marry, and that Huo Zheng had been chosen. You should have heard of this, right?"
Haruji said, “I know.”
Even if she said she didn't know, the emperor wouldn't believe her. It would be better for her to be direct and tell the truth.
The emperor waited for a long time until he heard the two words "Chunzhi". Suddenly, he felt that she and Huo Zheng were truly husband and wife.
The same is true of cherishing words.
The emperor felt rather helpless and asked again, "Then you don't have anything to say?"
"I have nothing to say." Chunzhi said meekly, "I'd better listen to what my father says."
"you……"
The emperor thought to himself where did Huo Zheng find such a weakling like this? How could the Princess of Chang'an allow herself to be manipulated by others?
What he didn't know was that Haruji just looked like a soft persimmon at this moment.
The emperor then said, "You've been to Xizhou and spent several months there. You should understand that peace talks between the two countries are a matter of great benefit to the people. Everything has been discussed almost completely, with only the marriage between Princess Xiling and Huo Zheng remaining."
He said, "It's not that Huo Zheng is completely unwilling to marry the Princess of Xiling. It's just that he married you as his consort earlier. With you here, he has some concerns and can't agree directly. Therefore, I summoned you to the palace today because I hope you will be sensible and put the overall situation first and request to be demoted to a concubine. Huo Zheng and I will remember the sacrifices you made for Daxing and will not let you suffer any injustice."
Chunzhi was unwavering when she heard this, and said clearly, "I've already told Huo Zheng that I will never be a concubine in this life."
When the emperor heard this, his eyes darkened instantly.
He took into consideration that Chunzhi was Huo Zheng's wife and had given birth to a son, so he advised her in a gentle tone.
Who would have thought that Chunzhi was so ungrateful that she dared to reject the emperor in person.
Seeing this, Eunuch Xu quickly said, "The Emperor wants you to be the Prince of Chang'an's concubine, not a concubine. The status of a royal family is naturally different from that of an ordinary family."
Chunzhi didn't buy it. "Concubine is just a nicer title. What's the difference between it and a concubine?"
She said: "My husband must not marry another woman. Not to mention demoting me to a concubine, even if he wants to take a concubine or a maid, it is not allowed."
Eunuch Xu was startled and said to himself, "My princess, please be quiet!" He wanted to say something else to smooth things over.
The emperor then spoke again, "How ridiculous! Most men in this world have three wives and four concubines. Huo Zheng is the current Prince of Chang'an. Does that mean he still has to remain devoted to you alone?"
Chunzhi, bearing the emperor's pressure, said in a resounding voice, "Is having three wives and four concubines something to be proud of? Why should women be so devoted to one person, but men are not?"
The emperor was so angry that he laughed. Just as he was about to speak, he heard her say, "Huo Zheng promised me that he would only marry me in this life. If your father doesn't want him to marry someone else, then issue an order for me to divorce him."
"You!" The emperor was so enraged by her that he slammed the table and said, "Do you really think I can't do anything to you?"
Chunzhi was startled and terrified, but she still said with a brave face: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, so of course you can do whatever you want. You can even sentence me to death, but..."
She stopped calling him "Father" and directly addressed the man sitting on the dragon throne as "Emperor". She changed the subject and said seriously:
"My death is a small matter, but the Daxing court becoming a laughing stock is a big deal."
The emperor did not interrupt her, as if he wanted to hear what else she had to say.
Chunzhi secretly took a deep breath and took the opportunity to say, "After Xiling was defeated, they sent the princess to Daxing for marriage. How can I let her choose her husband?"
As soon as she said this, she felt more confident and continued:
"Let's take a step back and say that if Princess Xiling had chosen an unmarried man, it would have been fine, but she chose a married man.
Isn't Princess Xiling deliberately provoking my Daxing court?
If the Emperor forces Huo Zheng and I to separate in order to satisfy Princess Xiling's demands, where will the reputation of the Daxing court be placed?"
What Chunzhi said made sense, and Eunuch Xu was secretly amazed when he heard it.
The emperor's expression also became complicated.
In fact, he didn't have to meet the request of Princess Xiling. He just heard that Huo Zheng won a victory after going to Xizhou and settled the people's livelihood. He was highly praised and praised by everyone recently. His reputation for virtue almost surpassed his, the emperor of the time.
That's why the emperor wanted to use this opportunity to force Huo Zheng to bow his head, to show that patriarchal authority and royal authority cannot allow anyone to cross the line.
Chunzhi's words were from the perspective of the Daxing court, and to some extent, he actually had a better overall view than him.
The emperor didn't want to admit it, and his expression became increasingly grim. "Are you really speaking these words solely for Daxing's sake?"
"Of course I have selfish motives."
Chunzhi wanted to give the emperor a way out, so she immediately admitted that she had selfish motives.
She even said, "And I just lied. I hope Father will forgive me."
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