Chapter 164 My Crown Princess, Why Can't It Be You?
Looking at Meng Anxian, who was crying tears of joy, and at the relief on Meng's mother's face, Meng's father sighed helplessly: "It's not like that, it's just that once you enter the palace, it's like entering a deep sea, and I'm a little worried about you!"
Upon hearing this, Mencius' mother burst out laughing: "So, you're reluctant to let your daughter get married?"
Upon hearing this, Meng's father burst out laughing, then sighed helplessly, patted Meng Anxian's head, and turned to walk towards the study in the backyard.
"Mother, don't worry. You don't need to worry about anything from now on. Your daughter will take care of everything for you. I've made up my mind. Once I become the Crown Princess, that Chen woman won't be able to compete with you anymore, and she won't be able to cause you any more trouble!"
"Yes, my good Xian'er, I knew it! I haven't spoiled you for nothing!"
Mencius' mother felt a surge of relief upon hearing this.
But this was just the beginning. After thinking for a moment, Meng Anxian still spoke up: "Mother, shouldn't we also carefully choose my sister's marriage? Do we really have to wait until she's twenty-five?"
"Even if she really does wait until she's twenty-five, it's her own choice, so what does it have to do with me?"
"Besides, she's not my daughter, and she's never considered me her mother!"
After saying this, Meng's mother snorted and pulled Meng Anxian inside.
When the news reached the Crown Prince's residence, Xiao Ce felt completely distraught. He knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
For a moment, Xiao Ce's feelings were extremely complicated. From a macro perspective, this matter was definitely very good, but from his own perspective, he felt like crying.
Seeing Xiao Ce's condition, Zhang Xuanyun hesitated for a moment before asking, "Your Highness, are you... alright?"
"No, not good at all!" Xiao Ce snorted, then muttered, "That Meng Yanzhi, she must have deliberately pushed this forward, that brat!"
Zhang Xuanyun could see very clearly that Xiao Ce had indeed taken a liking to the Meng family's daughter, but it wasn't Meng Anxian he was interested in; it was Meng Yanzhi.
only……
Meng Yanzhi doesn't seem to have any feelings for Xiao Ce, so it's likely that there won't be any further developments between the two of them.
Xiao Ce got up and went into the palace to talk to Xiao Xingyuan.
On the surface, he was there to report on the floods in the south, but in reality, he went directly to see Meng Yanzhi after the report.
"Did you ask His Majesty for permission to grant you this marriage?"
As soon as Xiao Ce opened the door and walked in, he immediately began to interrogate him.
Seeing Xiao Ce like this, Meng Yanzhi was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
She stood up, gave a proper bow, and then said with some helplessness, "Your Highness should know that no one can stop His Majesty from doing what He wants to do, and similarly, no one can force Him to do what He doesn't want to do. This is simply His Majesty's will!"
"Actually, this is a good thing for us. A lot of disaster relief money went into my father's pocket before and was all sent to the Jade Prince's Mansion. The Emperor must have already found out about this, which is why he bestowed the marriage at this time to appease them and try to find a handle to use against them!"
"The list I gave you before, now all the evidence has come to light, it's time to reap the rewards."
Meng Yanzhi has been busy these past few days, thinking through all these matters thoroughly.
"I know all this, but why does it have to be the Crown Princess position!" Xiao Ce said, somewhat annoyed, as he sat down on a chair and frowned at Meng Yanzhi. "This... this is about to happen, Meng Anxian is about to marry into the family!"
"Your Highness, why are you in such a hurry? This is just an imperial decree; it hasn't been announced when the wedding will take place!"
"The Crown Princess's etiquette is already very complicated. You can ask the Ministry of Rites to drag it out for a while. It won't be easy to finish in less than a year or two. During this time, you just need to harvest all the people and replace them with your own people. Then the Jade Prince will collapse on his own."
Meng Yanzhi looked at Xiao Ce with a smile.
Xiao Ce disliked Meng Anxian, so after the marriage was put on hold, Xiao Ce was preoccupied with how to avoid it. As for the aftermath of the marriage, he didn't think about it at all.
Hearing these words now, Xiao Ce suddenly felt that he was indeed somewhat shallow.
He thought about it carefully and found that Meng Yanzhi's words made a lot of sense. When he looked at Meng Yanzhi, his eyes changed: "You are really calm. I heard that I have a marriage agreement, and you are not in a hurry at all?"
"This was part of our plan all along, so why rush it? Besides, we're not really getting married!"
"Your Highness, it's just an empty title. I think you shouldn't take it too seriously!"
Meng Yanzhi spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but she was so nonchalant that Xiao Ce felt a slight sense of loss when he saw her like this.
Xiao Ce took a deep breath, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "If you don't take this to heart, what do you take to heart? Me...? Do you take me to heart?"
Upon hearing this, both of them were slightly taken aback, especially Meng Yanzhi, who never expected Xiao Ce to say such a thing. She subconsciously looked at Ming Chu and, sure enough, saw Ming Chu's reddened eyes.
She knew that Mingchu genuinely liked Xiao Ce, and now that Xiao Ce kept talking about her, she must feel very uncomfortable.
Meng Yanzhi hurriedly shook her head: "No, this humble woman dares not, this humble woman has never coveted the Crown Prince! Your Highness, this humble woman's words carry little weight, I only beg Your Highness not to drag this humble woman into this mess."
Seeing Meng Yanzhi avoiding him like the plague, Xiao Ce's already disappointed eyes were now filled with even more helplessness.
He sighed softly, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips: "Fine, it was just wishful thinking on my part!"
Xiao Ce gave Meng Yanzhi a deep look, and after confirming that she truly had no place for him in her heart, he turned and strode outside.
The moment he left, Mingchu's tears fell.
Seeing Mingchu's distressed state, Meng Yanzhi stood there, experiencing a feeling that was difficult to describe for the first time.
For the first time, she felt that she had really let Mingchu down.
"Mingchu, I'm sorry, I..."
"Miss!"
Ming Chu immediately wiped away his tears and strode forward to hug Meng Yanzhi.
"Miss, please don't say such things. Even if it wasn't you, it wouldn't be me. I know what I'm doing."
"I'm just sad. I'll cry it out and I'll feel better."
In the early Ming Dynasty, he loved Xiao Ce, but he loved Meng Yanzhi even more.
Seeing Meng Yanzhi blaming herself for her own actions, he felt even worse and could only hold her and cry.
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