Eyes Charming - Chapter 16
He invited her again, but she refused to go out. He knew she was a lady from a respectable family and should naturally be so reserved, so he didn't force her. He was convinced that she would become his bride someday, and he didn't mind waiting a little longer.
Yes, she comes from the Cao family, is exceptionally beautiful and talented, virtuous and kind, and is of similar age to him. They will surely marry naturally, just like the Emperor and the Empress, and live a loving life together. He will love her as much as the Emperor loved the Empress, ensuring that all his sons are born to her, and he may even forgo taking any other concubines.
Finally, the time came for his parents to arrange for him to take a concubine.
That day, his father summoned him to the Funing Palace to tell him about the selection of a concubine for him. He excitedly put on his best clothes and made himself look exceptionally handsome before stepping out of the palace gate.
His parents were very pleased to see that he had grown into such a handsome and dashing young man, and they smiled at each other. Empress Gao smiled and told him that she had already chosen a perfect lady from a prestigious family for him.
He lowered his head and asked, "May I ask whose daughter you are?"
He was just waiting for his mother to say Wanji's name. His heart was pounding, and he chuckled inwardly at his nervousness.
"Therefore, Xiang Xiangmin's great-granddaughter."
Xu almost lost consciousness. This must be what it means to be struck by lightning. He saw that Empress Gao's lips were still moving, and she was still smiling, presumably praising Miss Xiang, but he couldn't hear a single word.
After a long silence, he managed to suppress his chaotic, tangled, and burning thoughts, striving to appear calm, and asked, "Then, what about Wanji?"
"Wanji?" Empress Gao's smile began to turn slightly awkward: "She has been betrothed to your younger brother Hao."
Hao!
"Why him?" Xu roared. Why him? Xu and Wanji were born in the same year, but Hao was almost two years younger than her. From childhood to adulthood, Hao would only follow Wanji around shyly and call her "Sister Wan." Xu never imagined that one day Hao would actually compete with him as a rival for the woman he had chosen since childhood.
Not content with competing with him for the throne, Hao also cunningly and quietly stole his woman!
Extremely angry. Clenched fist. Knuckles cracking. Eyes bloodshot, as if about to bleed.
"What are you doing?" Emperor Yingzong slammed his hand on the table. "This is outrageous! Go back and reflect on your actions!"
Empress Gao hurriedly got up and wiped away the cold sweat from his anger with a silk handkerchief, gently advising, "Xu'er, we didn't expect you to be so unhappy... Actually, Miss Xiang's talent and beauty are no less than Consort Wan's... Don't blame Hao, it has nothing to do with him, it was your grandmother's decision..."
Royal grandmother?
Emperor Gaozong immediately strode towards Qingshou Palace, where Empress Dowager Cao resided, leaving his parents looking at each other in bewilderment. Empress Gao sighed dejectedly and said to Emperor Yingzong, "Was what we did really the right thing?"
Xu pushed aside the palace maid guarding the gate and forced his way into the Qingshou Palace.
"You've arrived." Empress Cao sat in the hall, as if she had expected it.
"Why?"
"You'll understand later that this was the right decision."
"Wanji and I share similar interests, are of similar age, and most importantly, love each other. You, Grandmother, surely know this, so why do you still try to separate us? In what way does Hao surpass me? Why do you marry your own grandniece to Hao, who is younger than her and still needs her care, instead of entrusting her to me, who will always cherish her? Don't you know? Wanji is like a herbaceous plant; without the right sunshine and dew, she will gradually wither!"
"Hao will take good care of her. They will treat each other with respect and love until they grow old together."
"Respectful to each other?" Xu sneered. "Hao will treat anyone you marry with the same respect, even if that person is an ugly woman. His absolute obedience to you and his innate gentle nature have robbed him of his aesthetic sense and desire for choice. Whether it's Wanji or Wuyan, he won't care. He won't be picky about the wife you choose for him, but he will never appreciate Wanji's delicate beauty and emotions. Marrying Wanji to him would be like casting pearls before swine, a complete waste of talent."
Empress Dowager Cao remained unmoved: "I have my reasons for doing this. You may return; this matter will not change."
"I understand," Xu nodded slowly. "You will make Hao the Crown Prince, and you will marry your grandniece to him so that she may become Empress and continue to maintain the Cao family's supreme glory and power. I lost Wanji because I did not have the right to inherit the throne!"
A sharp gaze pierced through Cao Hou's eyes, causing him excruciating pain. There was no blood, but a chill ran down his spine.
"How can someone like you inherit the throne?! You completely lack the magnanimity and breadth of mind that a monarch should possess! Your lack of desire certainly makes you appear weak in this court with its tradition of vying for fame and fortune, but do you know that your greatest flaw is that you have too many desires? You never consider whether you have the ability to satisfy them all, and once you fail to achieve your wishes, you habitually make others take the blame for you. If you are rejected by them, you immediately assume that the world has wronged you. Get out! I don't want to see you until you've figured things out!"
In that instant, the fear of losing Wanji caused Xu to abandon all dignity and pride. He rushed forward and knelt on the ground, almost trembling as he grasped Empress Dowager Cao's skirt, pleading half-crying and half-shouting, "Grandmother, I beg you, please marry Wanji to me! You will never understand how important she is to me. She is the only person in this palace, in this world, who loves me more than Hao!"
Empress Dowager Cao kicked him aside and angrily shouted at the surrounding eunuchs, "What are you all standing there for? Drag this madman out of here!"
The eunuchs swarmed forward to pull him away, but he resisted and beat those who tried to pull him away. The eunuchs silently endured the attack while working together to drag him out.
They threw him outside the palace gates, the eunuchs withdrew, and the gates of Qingshou Palace were tightly closed.
Xu scrambled to his feet, rushed back, and pounded on the door, frantically calling for the Empress Dowager, but there was no response from inside.
He pounded on the door in vain, finally exhausted. His legs gave way and he knelt outside the door, saying to those inside, "If you don't agree, I'll kneel here forever."
The Empress Dowager's cold voice echoed from inside: "Kneel if you want. I won't change my mind even if you kneel until you die."
He knelt there, the sky growing dark, the wind and dew biting at him, hunger and cold suffocating him, but he gritted his teeth and endured it, refusing to move an inch.
He counted the night watch in a daze, but couldn't remember what day it was, and his mind gradually became blurred.
Just as she was about to faint, she suddenly smelled Wanji's familiar fragrance.
He struggled to open his eyes and, sure enough, saw Wanji gracefully approaching.
He called out to Wan'er in surprise, but she didn't answer. She walked up to him, her expression cold, and stretched out her hand. In her hand, there were no chrysanthemums, only a piece of raw yellow incense.
"This is the fragrant resin you collected from the deep mountains that day. I haven't used it, but I'm returning it to you now."
What do you mean? He looked at her, puzzled.
Seeing that he didn't take it, she placed the incense directly in front of him, then turned and looked up at the moon, saying, "We are not destined to be together in this life; may we each take care of ourselves from now on."
He didn't believe it and said urgently, "I know the Empress Dowager forced you to say this. Why are you afraid of her? As long as we persevere, we will surely see the light at the end of the tunnel."
She shook her head and said, "I am willing to marry Hao, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."
A pang of sorrow gripped his heart, followed by a surge of rage. He roared, "Do you want to be empress?"
She still didn't turn back, and it was impossible to tell what expression was on her face. After a long silence, she only said, "Think what you want," and then gracefully moved away.