kvmb Chapter 265 I’m late
Chapter 265 I’m late
The emperor narrowed his eyes.
Upon hearing this, the Duke of Sheng, who had been sitting quietly in his seat observing everything, suddenly sat up straight.
His eyes were wide open, staring intently at Sheng Junyao's back, his heart filled with dread.
Lu Yangyang was listening to her elder brother talk about the Northwest when she suddenly heard this sentence, and her eyes lit up instantly. If His Majesty could agree to her elder brother's marriage to Li Duan, then Li Duan would not have to go to a political marriage!
But the light only lasted for a moment before it went dark.
The eldest brother arrived late and probably didn't know that His Majesty had previously wanted to arrange a marriage between Li Duan and the emperor. By proposing marriage now, he is going against His Majesty's wishes, and I'm afraid His Majesty will not agree.
She also became nervous and looked down at Li Duan.
Li Duan was in a daze, his eyes were empty, and he seemed not to have heard his elder brother's words at all.
Lu Yangyang's nose suddenly stung with tears. If it were before, Li Duan would have jumped for joy at this moment if she could hear these words, but now, she probably wouldn't be able to hear anything.
The emperor stared sharply at Sheng Junyao, as if trying to discern something from his face. Sheng Junyao had been waiting for an audience with the emperor all the way to the palace, so there was no way anyone would have had the opportunity to tell him what had just happened; he should be unaware of it.
Sheng Junyao has accomplished something significant this time, and deserves a reward, even a title would be fitting. However, Sheng Junyao only mentioned marriage, which he couldn't directly refuse. But to ask Li Duan to marry Sheng Junyao—something he might have considered in the past—was impossible now.
He knew Li Duan's background better than anyone else. Marrying her to a powerless nobleman or sending her far away would be the best option. Sheng Junyao now held real power, so he needed to make other arrangements.
After much deliberation, the emperor neither agreed nor refused: "I also wish to grant your request, but unfortunately, I have other plans regarding Li Duan and need to consider them further. Let's leave it at that for now. Is there anything else you desire?"
Sheng Junyao's heart sank.
From the moment he entered, he sensed something was amiss. Today, the court was holding a welcoming banquet for foreign envoys, and the eldest princess was dead with a strange man beside her. Considering the circumstances at the scene, it wasn't hard to guess that the man had attempted to assassinate her and was killed on the spot. The only man who could have caused the eldest princess to act this way was none other than the former consort Bo.
The eldest princess must have died because of Prince Consort Bo.
The fact that Bo Fuma was trapped in Northern Yan and then appeared in the capital, even managing to assassinate someone in the palace, must be related to the Eldest Princess. Now that the Eldest Princess has died because of this, Li Duan has lost her support.
She didn't even know if His Majesty would implicate her because of this matter. The only way to save her was to take this opportunity to ask His Majesty to grant her a marriage.
Therefore, he first recounted the smallpox case in Yangguan City in as much detail as possible, so that His Majesty could shift his attention. Then, he would identify the mastermind behind it, downplay His Majesty's emotions regarding the assassination, and only then would he propose the marriage. He was unaware of what had happened before, so in this situation, His Majesty was unlikely to directly refuse him in front of everyone after declaring the reward.
But he still made a mistake.
There's another arrangement... what could it be? His Majesty hosted a banquet for foreign envoys today, could it be... a marriage alliance? If His Majesty had already brought up the marriage alliance at the banquet, it would be difficult to change his mind now. But His Majesty hasn't given a definitive answer yet. The marriage alliance is to stabilize relations between the two countries. As long as the person's status is high enough, the specific person chosen is not so important, especially since there was just an assassination attempt, and it was related to Li Duan. As long as the imperial decree hasn't been issued, changing the person isn't impossible.
Having figured this out, Sheng Junyao knew that it was time to drop the matter.
that……
Sheng Junyao silently turned his head to look at Li Duan, then reluctantly turned back and bowed deeply to the emperor. "Your Majesty, I have long admired Princess Li Duan and have always wanted to propose marriage to her after she comes of age. Today, witnessing this scene, I cannot bear it. I humbly request Your Majesty to grant me the favor of helping the princess bury the eldest princess, as a token of my heartfelt wishes."
The emperor's face darkened once again.
The Crown Prince promptly chimed in, "Father, the Prince Sheng's intentions are solely for Princess Liduan. I humbly request that Father grant his request."
With everyone watching, the eldest princess died at the emperor's hands, and probably no one could speak up to collect her body.
In particular, it is even less likely that members of the imperial clan will preside over the funeral arrangements for the eldest princess. Now that Sheng Junyao has brought this up, he is only considering it as a token of his affection for his beloved. The emperor has just refused to grant the marriage, and if this matter is not fulfilled, there will surely be a lot of rumors about the eldest princess. It would be better to just give her a proper burial.
The emperor naturally understood the crown prince's meaning.
After a long pause, he coldly uttered a single word, "Approved."
Then he got up and left.
Feng Dajian, clutching his injured hand, hurriedly followed.
With the emperor gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The crown prince immediately ordered the palace servants to arrange the guests' positions and also withdrew the imperial guards surrounding Li Duan and his group.
Sheng Junyao got up and walked towards Lu Yangyang and Li Duan, but Duke Sheng hurriedly came over to stop him: "You come back with me first."
Sheng Junyao looked at him coldly: "Father, why don't you go back and think about how you plan to explain to me how you indulged Sheng Yunzhu, bullied my sister, and forced my mother to leave the manor?"
"You! You unfilial son!" Duke Sheng, who had just recovered from a serious illness, looked extremely unwell. He pointed at Sheng Junyao and his face turned red with anger.
"Once I've finished my business, I'll go back and talk things over with my father." Sheng Junyao said this and strode past him.
The Duke of Sheng was furious, but the Crown Prince had already sent someone to ask him to leave, so he had no choice but to leave with a dark expression.
Sheng Junyao walked up to Lu Yangyang and Li Duan, squatted down, and looked at Li Duan's empty and lifeless eyes. His eyes suddenly reddened. He had been running around for the Northwest and rushed back as fast as he could, thinking that if he could make it in time for her coming-of-age ceremony, he would give her a gift and express his feelings to her.
He's not made of wood; how could he possibly remain unmoved when such a passionate heart is presented to him?
He just thought that there was plenty of time in the future, and that she had given him so much love and care, so he should reciprocate little by little and fill her heart as well, so that he could say that he would have no regrets for the rest of his life.
He never imagined that fate could be so unpredictable, and that life could be so unpredictable. He suddenly regretted not having understood her feelings sooner, so that she wouldn't have been left to face all this alone.
"I'm late."
Sheng Junyao's voice trembled slightly as he reached out and gently wiped the bloodstain between Li Duan's eyebrows.
Lu Yangyang quietly stood aside, her eyes red and her face turned away.
Eunuch Cao pushed the Crown Prince over, and the Crown Prince looked closely at the Princess's body, his fingers trembling slightly as they fell into his sleeve.
After a moment, he finally spoke to Lu Yangyang.
"I still have matters to attend to at the Dali Temple. I'll leave my aunt and Li Duan in your care with A Yao. I apologize for my oversight."
Lu Yangyang knew that his apology was addressed to the eldest princess.