NCCnovel Chapter 140 Forced Marriage
Chapter 140 Forced Marriage
Xie Bohuai watched Qingshan's figure disappear into the distance, then looked at Si Yan and saw Si Yan shrinking his head. He snorted, "You certainly know a lot."
"No, no, we are all people around you, we just follow your wishes. Sir, where are you going?" Si Yan quickly changed the subject, his physique couldn't handle running around the camp for long.
Xie Bohuai: "His Majesty is not feeling well, I need to go to the palace to see him."
The Emperor was already in a bad state, and after being angered by Prince Jing, his condition worsened.
Old Master Xie is right. Once the Emperor passes away, Xie Bohuai will become the target of everyone's criticism, unless he has the ability to make the new Emperor listen to him.
Upon hearing that they were going to the palace, Si Yan hurriedly followed.
When the two entered the palace, they encountered Li Mao, the heir apparent of Prince Duan. Prince Duan was low-key and usually did not get involved in any major events. When he saw Xie Bohuai, he simply nodded indifferently.
However, Li Mao has been spending more time at the Shi family's place these past two years.
Born into royalty, it's inevitable that they'll have some ulterior motives.
Xie Bohuai had no intention of speaking to Li Mao, but Li Mao called out to him.
"Lord Xie, do you know who is written behind the plaque of 'Upright and Just'?" Li Mao suddenly asked.
Xie Bohuai looked at Li Mao, "Does the young master want to know who it is?"
Li Mao shook his head. "I just want to know, they shouldn't be from our Prince Duan's residence, right?"
"Your Highness doesn't want that, does he?" Xie Bohuai looked Li Mao up and down. Compared to his naivety three years ago, he was much more composed now. "The other princes may not have the same forbearance as your father."
"I don't want everyone to be scrambling for things; the Prince Duan's Mansion just wants a peaceful life. I wonder if Lord Xie could..."
"No, I don't know either." Xie Bohuai interrupted him ruthlessly. "Does the young master really not want to join?"
He was in a position of power and did not think that the Duan Prince's family wanted to stay out of it, after all, the eldest son of the Duan Prince's family had once approached him.
Li Mao shook his head again.
Si Yan watched Li Mao's retreating figure before whispering, "Actually, the Duan Prince's lineage is the most interesting. Three years ago, the Emperor asked the Duan Prince to attend to him when he was ill. If it were anyone else, they would definitely have used this opportunity to rise in rank, but the Duan Prince did nothing. Even when his brothers humiliated him, he didn't utter a sound. He's really good at enduring." He didn't know who was written behind the plaque of "Upright and Honorable," which is why he said that.
Xie Bohuai walked ahead, saying, "If they don't fight, they'll die. Their backgrounds dictate that they have to fight. No matter who comes to power, they won't let their brothers off the hook."
Si Yan agreed. As they were talking, they arrived at Renzheng Hall, but Si Yan waited outside and did not go in.
After Xie Bohuai entered the inner palace, the eunuch had just fed the emperor his medicine.
"You've arrived." The Emperor leaned against the bed, glanced at Xie Bohuai, then closed his eyes and spoke, "Is the sixth prince still being disobedient?"
“Your Majesty, Prince Jing has always been short-tempered and he is not so easy to settle down.”
"Then strip him of his jurisdiction and let him be a leisurely prince in the fiefdom. I gave him the title 'Jing' back then, hoping he would always think of that character, but I was too optimistic. He's a man of his word. Oh well, he's not very bright. Even if he has ambition, that's all he is. Let him live." The emperor thought of his sons and felt quite weary. Each of them was vying for the throne with all their might.
He's not dead yet.
After opening his eyes and glancing at Xie Bohuai, the Emperor asked, "Anything interesting happening in the capital lately?"
Xie Bohuai thought for a moment and said no.
The Emperor pursed his lips slightly. "If you won't tell me, then I'll be blunt. You're of marriageable age. Since the Ye family's daughter is already married, she's no longer a good match for you. I'll find you another family. Take a look."
"Your Majesty, this humble subject..."
"As a young man, you must eventually settle down and start a family. Otherwise, who will remember you a hundred years from now?" The Emperor's attitude left no room for refusal. "If you refuse again, I will make you marry a princess. Once you're truly tied to someone, you'll have no chance to escape. Ziqian, I consider you my son. If I can see you settle down and start a family, that will be a perfect ending. If you still like Miss Ye, bring her into my household as a concubine. You are a man destined for great things; you cannot have any weaknesses."
After saying this, the Emperor waved his hand, indicating that Xie Bohuai could leave. If Xie Bohuai refused again, he would bestow a marriage upon Ye Wanning.
When Xie Bohuai walked out of Renzheng Hall, his face was as black as charcoal.
The eunuch who brought the birth date and time was trembling. "Lord Xie, His Majesty means that you should choose one of these three young ladies. If you wish, you can marry all three, but you must choose at least one. Actually, His Majesty is doing this for your own good. He often thinks about you, and even now, he is still thinking about your marriage."
Xie Bohuai didn't reach out to take it; Si Yan accepted it for him. He glanced at them; they were from ordinary families, without much influence, yet possessing some real power—a decent marriage. But his master…
As they left the palace, Si Yan dared not even breathe loudly, for fear that her master would be angry and have someone killed.
Xie Bohuai didn't even glance at the portrait in Si Yan's hand before mounting his horse.
However, the Emperor intended for the entire capital to know about this, so the next day everyone knew how much the Emperor valued Xie Bohuai and even considered bestowing a marriage upon him—what a great honor that would be!
When the news reached the Ye family, Ye Wanning was playing shuttlecock with Le Ge'er when Yunzhi came to deliver the message: "It is said that when Master Li heard that his daughter might marry Lord Xie, he fainted. The other two families did not go out. Everyone seems to be avoiding this matter at all costs."
"That's normal. Think about Lord Xie's reputation; most people are afraid of being implicated." After all, the Emperor's health might not even last this year. Ye Wanning heard from her older brother that the Emperor hadn't attended court for three months, which showed how poor his health was.
Yunzhi nodded and said, "It's just that some people are saying that the Emperor seems to want you to be Lord Xie's concubine." It was because of this news that she came to see her mistress.
Upon hearing this, Ye Wanning was instantly stunned.
The shuttlecock that Le Ge'er kicked landed on the ground. Seeing his mother standing there in a daze, he skipped over and asked, "Mother, Mother, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing, Mother is tired. You and Chunxi play." Ye Wanning led Yunzhi into the house, taking a deep breath. "Where did this rumor come from?"
"I don't know, that's just what some people say. If it's true, what will you do?" Yunzhi couldn't help but worry about her master, feeling that it was all Lord Xie's fault. Why did he have to dig up the grave? If it hadn't happened, no one would have connected the Ye family with Lord Xie.
"Don't panic about these unfounded rumors. The Emperor is a very busy man. Even if he wanted to help Xie Bohuai find a wife, he wouldn't be so idle as to arrange for Xie Bohuai to take a concubine," Ye Wanning comforted Yunzhi, also to reassure herself.
She felt it shouldn't be that bad.
Being a concubine means serving tea to the mistress and living under her watchful eye forever.
She was the daughter of an official family. Even if the emperor wanted to bestow a marriage upon her, he would first ask his older brothers for their opinions.
Moreover, given Xie Bohuai's personality, he probably wouldn't want to, right?
Ye Wanning felt a mix of emotions when she thought of Xie Bohuai.
For two days in a row, everyone waited for Xie Bohuai to make a choice, and Ye Wanning also asked people to inquire about what was happening outside.
When she went to the princess's residence, she met Xie Bohuai, who was also looking for Princess Longyu.
The two walked from opposite sides of the corridor and met face to face. Yunzhi gasped, thinking how unfortunate this was.