Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

"Yong'an, stop talking nonsense! Stop making unfounded speculations!"

Yong'an was displeased that the Emperor would be so biased towards Lin Wantang because of Grand Tutor Lin, but he hurriedly got up and knelt down, saying, "Yong'an dares not, Your Majesty, please see the truth!"

"Never mind, it's just a small matter, let's just let it go." The emperor believed that it was better to avoid trouble, and as the supreme ruler, he was too lazy to pursue the little schemes between the girls in the inner palace.

But Yong'an did not get up. He continued to kowtow and choke back tears, saying, "To be honest, Uncle, it is truly that Yong'an... is suffering."

"Yong'an was sent to marry a foreign ruler. The Khan was old but strong and had many quirks. He tormented Yong'an every day until he died. Yong'an thought she had finally escaped her fate, but she never expected that his chief consort and his concubines would see her as a thorn in their side. They would beat and scold her, and even imprison her..."

Listening to Yong'an recount these events with sorrow and tears streaming down his face, the emperor sighed repeatedly, somewhat moved: "I know you have suffered for the sake of the court and the people."

"Uncle, you are wise. I dare not complain. I would gladly sacrifice anything for the country and the people, even my life."

The emperor sighed more deeply, pushed aside the soup that Hua Ersan had brought, and rose to help Yong'an up: "Good child, I knew you were the most sensible."

Yong'an turned her face away shyly, wiped away her tears with her handkerchief, and then stepped back with her head bowed: "Uncle, it is my great fortune to be able to return to the capital and serve you again. This is the greatest blessing of my life. I only hope to spend the rest of my life with a Buddhist lamp and chanting sutras every day to pray for your long life."

Having said that, the Emperor, while expressing his gratitude, also said, "Your intentions are good, but you are still too young. You will only be sixteen next year, in the prime of your life. Can you afford to waste your youth in this deep palace?"

"Yong'an, don't worry about your marriage. I will speak to the Empress and ask her to help you find someone suitable."

Yong'an hurriedly expressed her gratitude and said, "I am grateful for the Emperor's kindness and compassion, and for the Emperor's love and care. However, I am already a married woman and a widow whose husband has died. It would be difficult to arrange another marriage for me, and I do not want the Emperor and the Emperor's wife to be ridiculed..."

The Emperor frowned and interrupted, "What nonsense are you thinking? In our dynasty, women marry regardless of social status, and it is common for them to marry two or three times. Besides, Barkhahan is not worth mentioning."

"Your Imperial Uncle is wise and benevolent, may you live in peace forever..."

Yong'an didn't finish his sentence, but hurriedly knelt down.

The emperor tried to help her up, but Yong'an refused, saying, "Uncle, please forgive me. I already have someone I love. If you wish to arrange a marriage for me, I want to marry the one I love and we can be a couple."

The emperor was surprised that Yong'an was so young and had grown up in the deep palace, yet she had someone she had taken a fancy to. He asked in bewilderment, "Who is it? Yong'an, get up quickly and tell me everything."

Yong'an still dared not get up, and after several hesitations, he finally spoke in a trembling voice: "That person is... is Governor Wei Wujiu."

Upon hearing this, the emperor, unusually, paused, his doubts vanishing in an instant, replaced by a surge of anger: "Nonsense! Absurdity!"

"Yong'an! You know perfectly well that I have already arranged a marriage for Wei Wujiu, and that the bride is the eldest daughter of Grand Tutor Lin. This marriage between two families is a significant matter, a double celebration. What else do you want to do?"

The Emperor didn't bestow this marriage for no reason. As Lin Rucong's eldest daughter, Lin Wantang couldn't possibly marry down. So either she would marry into the Eastern Palace and become the Crown Princess, making Shen Huai'an the son-in-law of the dragon, thus adding another layer of control over Lin Rucong.

On the day of their wedding, for some reason, Shen Huai'an insisted on demoting Lin Wantang to a concubine, causing a great uproar. The emperor couldn't summon Shen Huai'an to question him in detail, so Lin Wantang declared in the street that she would marry Wei Wujiu. This undoubtedly pleased the emperor even more, as Wei Wujiu could replace Shen Huai'an and still control Lin Rucong.

Moreover, Wei Wujiu is disabled and is a eunuch, destined to be unable to have children in this life. Even if Lin Wantang marries him, it will only be a facade, and she will be unable to strengthen her maternal family, the Grand Tutor's Mansion. For the emperor, this is a win-win situation.

"You want me to issue another decree to bestow a marriage upon you and Wei Wujiu? That's utterly ridiculous! You, a prince and princess, are you going to eagerly become someone's concubine? What about the dignity of the imperial family! What about my dignity!"

The emperor was furious, his voice booming, but the force of his rebuke made him weak, and he coughed repeatedly.

Yong'an, filled with fear, hurriedly kowtowed.

"Your Majesty, please calm down." Hua Niansan hurriedly came over to serve tea and patted the emperor's back to soothe him. "The princess is still young and spoke without thinking. Your Majesty need not take offense."

These words seemed to be an attempt to exonerate Yong'an, but the emperor, who was in a fit of anger, wouldn't listen. He immediately retorted, "She's still young? She's been married before and isn't young anymore!"

Yong'an had grown up in the palace since childhood, but had never seen the emperor so angry. In that instant, he deeply understood what it meant to serve a ruler like a tiger. In his panic, he dared not even utter a sound of crying, only kowtowing.

"Isn't the Emperor the Princess's uncle?" Hua Niansan smiled, glancing at Yong'an out of the corner of her eye, and sneered inwardly. Did she think the Princess was so great? Did she even want to marry his adopted son?

His adopted son was quite different from this old eunuch; he was a real man. Putting aside his achievements, Wei Wujiu's dignified appearance and handsome features alone made him a suitable match for a daughter from a prominent family or a military clan.

As for the princess? Besides the small fiefdom bestowed by the emperor and a hollow title, what else does she have? In what way can she compare to Lin Wantang?

Hua Ershisan only has Wei Wujiu as his adopted son. He doesn't expect Wei Wujiu to rely on him in his old age, but only hopes that Wei Wujiu can make steady progress in the court so that he can plan for future great things. Therefore, he had put a lot of effort and persuasion into getting the emperor to grant him a marriage. Now, he has no respect for Yong'an, who is brainless and always being used as a tool.

"Your Majesty is magnanimous, so please don't hold it against the princess."

Hua Niansan smiled and bowed to help the emperor back to the dragon bed. "In my opinion, the princess speaks without thinking and has always been kind-hearted. The fact that she spoke today is probably because she was instigated by someone."

Once the trouble was shifted eastward, Hua Niansan wanted to find out who was behind it all and see who didn't want his adopted son to have a good time and wanted to ruin his adopted son's wonderful marriage!

The emperor drank two cups of tea before his cough subsided, and he let out a long sigh: "What the eunuch says makes sense, Yong'an. Tell me honestly, who said anything to you these past few days that made you have these inappropriate thoughts?"

Yong'an trembled, her mind blank, and she stammered, "No... I didn't..."

She knew the emperor was using Eunuch Hua's words to try and exonerate her, but she didn't want to seize that opportunity; she only wanted...