Yan Jue knew this wouldn't go smoothly, so he refused the palace servants' help and struggled to his feet, kneeling upright on the ground.
He was no less handsome than the other princes, but due to years of illness, his body was frail and his face was excessively pale, giving him a broken appearance.
These actions seemed to have exhausted all his strength; his face was flushed, and his breathing was slightly rapid: "Father, why should I, in my ailing state, delay the marriage of a fine young lady?"
Emperor Chongde frowned subconsciously: "You are my son, a prince of noble birth. Is the Luo family girl a disgrace to you? Is someone gossiping about you?!"
Yan Jue's eyes darkened slightly. He lowered his gaze to hide the emotions in his eyes and gave a bitter smile: "Father, it is my unwillingness. Whose daughter is not cherished? There is no need to waste her life for someone like me."
He had no intention of getting married and having children. He deliberately coughed up blood in front of so many people that day so that Miss Luo would back down.
He already had someone impossible in his heart, and even though there was no fate between them, he didn't want to involve anyone else.
Emperor Chongde stared intently at him, his expression one of disappointment: "You've been dragging your feet on marriage all these years, and I've always obliged. But now you're not young anymore, you're long past the age to marry and have children. How can I face your mother like this?"
Yan Jue's hands, hanging by his sides, clenched slightly. He lowered his head even further without showing any emotion: "Father, this is my own choice. I believe Mother would understand if she knew in the afterlife. I beg Father to grant my request."
His head was kowtowed to the ground, as if he would remain kneeling until he agreed.
Eunuch Fu was so anxious that he tried to step forward and pull the person away: "Oh, Your Highness, aren't you putting His Majesty in a difficult position!"
"Please grant my request, Father!"
Yan Jue's voice was gentle, yet inexplicably firm.
Emperor Chongde's eyes flickered with uncertainty, but he finally let out a cold snort: "Very well, since this is your own wish, I will not force you any further."
Yan Jue's shoulders relaxed slightly: "Your subject thanks Your Majesty."
"Get up."
As he straightened up, he heard a sigh from above: "Your mother's death anniversary is approaching. Offer incense for me then."
Yan Jue stiffened and slowly said, "Your subject understands."
As Yan Jue left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he began to cough intermittently. A palace maid looked at him with concern: "Your Highness, are you alright?"
Yan Jue raised her hand, and in the square sky, a row of birds flew by, leaving only their blue wings in their wake.
He looked up at the sky. The sun was very bright, and staring at it for too long would inevitably make one dizzy. He squinted slightly and his gaze fell in the direction of a palace. Suddenly, a chilling look flashed across his eyes.
That's the direction of Kunning Palace, the Empress's residence.
"Your Highness?"
Seeing that he was staring intently, the palace maid whispered a reminder.
Yan Jue covered her lips with her handkerchief and said in a low voice, "Let's go back."
*
"Is the young master not coming back tonight?"
Meeting Shen Tangning's questioning gaze, Ba Liang felt guilty and couldn't lift his head. He explained in a low voice, "It's not that I won't come back, it's just that I'll be busy until very late, probably until midnight. Young Master specifically asked me to tell the young mistress that she doesn't need to wait for him."
She paused for a moment, then nodded calmly: "Okay, I understand."
After saying this, Ba Liang quickly made his escape.
Xueqing pouted, her voice filled with resentment: "What? Today is Miss's birthday!"
Shen Tangning glanced at her lightly: "Alright, we can celebrate our birthdays every year, it won't make a difference if we celebrate this one."
Xue Qing hung her head dejectedly and muttered in a low voice, "If Miss herself isn't angry, what can this servant say?"
Shen Tangning pursed her lips. Was she angry?
Perhaps there are some.
In fact, no one cared about her birthday in her previous life, because apart from her, Xueqing, and Granny Qin, no one in the Chi family would remember such a trivial matter.
Over time, she herself stopped caring so much about it.
But Xueqing and Granny Qin still insisted on cooking her a bowl of longevity noodles every year.
Perhaps it was because after being with Chi Yan, he would always try to create all sorts of surprises for her. In his words, life needs a lot of rituals.
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