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

"Uncle, Yong'an knows he has overstepped his bounds and deserves to die, but Yong'an..."

Yong'an gasped, then steeled her resolve: "Yong'an truly admires Commander Wei. We were childhood friends and studied together for many years, and feelings have long since developed. Yong'an hopes that Your Majesty will grant her wish and bestow upon her the title of Commander Wei's secondary wife!"

It was truly audacious of me to bravely blurt it out in one breath.

Afterwards, Yong'an listened to the silent hall, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and broke out in a cold sweat from nervousness and fear.

But she had no regrets. Even if it angered the emperor and brought her punishment, she had at least spoken her mind and tried her best to be with Wei Wujiu forever. As for the rest, having done her best, she would accept her fate.

The emperor's face darkened with anger. He stared at Yong'an, who knelt before him, head bowed, seemingly unfazed by his fate. After a moment of silence, the emperor abruptly stood up: "Have you gone mad! Yong'an, oh Yong'an!"

"You've got a pretty good idea... You don't want to disgrace the royal family, so you want me to issue an edict to make you Wei Wujiu's concubine? Do you know that the rules for concubines are governed by court etiquette and law? Do you know that for a concubine to be accepted, the principal wife's approval is required, and her family's tolerance and understanding are also necessary?"

"Your authority is illegitimate, yet you expect me to issue decrees arbitrarily? Where do you place me? Where do you place yourself? And where do you place Grand Tutor Lin?!"

Before Lin Wantang, the principal wife, was even married into the family, the emperor listened to his biased opinion towards Yong'an and bestowed upon her the title of secondary wife. This was a clear warning to all the officials and the people that the emperor did not value Grand Tutor Lin at all and had ruthlessly trampled on his dignity. Even if Grand Tutor Lin was ill, he would still submit a memorial to the emperor and would rather die to seek justice for his daughter!

"Yong'an, what foolish thing have you done? What nonsense are you spouting? Huh? Where are all the governesses who have been with you since childhood? Are they all dead? How dare you act like this!"

This time, there was no need for twenty-three attempts to persuade or instigate. The emperor was thoroughly enraged, and the entire hall was filled with kneeling people. Despite countless cries of "Your Majesty, please calm down," the emperor remained unmoved.

"A secondary wife? You speak so casually! Let me ask you, under what circumstances would a man take a secondary wife? Since ancient times, the imperial laws have stipulated one husband with multiple concubines! When a wife dies and a new wife is remarried, the spirit tablet of the deceased wife must be honored first! How can you be so absurd!"

The emperor was so angry he was panting heavily, his face already contorted in rage. He couldn't bear to hear Yong'an say anything more and ordered, "Guards! Princess Yong'an has listened to slander and acted recklessly. She is hereby confined to the palace for three months. Her head maid, Haitang, is to be flogged to death!"

Yong'an was horrified and stopped pleading in his panic. He shook his head repeatedly, filled with trepidation and fear: "No... Imperial Uncle, Your Majesty, please forgive me..."

The emperor ignored him and issued another order: "The seven headmistresses who instructed Princess Yong'an were all exiled to the Censorate for improper teaching. All thirty-two servants in the Jinxiu Palace are to be exiled as slaves!"

"Yes," the palace servant replied tremblingly.

Hua Ershisan shook his head helplessly. In his rage, so many innocent people suffered. But he couldn't blame the emperor for being ruthless. Who told Princess Yong'an to be so reckless and foolish?

The concept of having a second wife has never existed in the laws and regulations of any dynasty. At most, it was just a folk custom. Does Yong'an really want to bring hearsay into the imperial palace? What a joke!

Yong'an was completely dumbfounded. She never expected that in just a short moment, she would not only watch helplessly as Haitang was dragged away, but also be beaten to death in the Jinxiu Palace. All the palace servants witnessed this, and in addition to their fear, they were all exiled.

Soon after, the Jinxiu Palace was locked up and the people were confined to their quarters. At the same time, the palace servants were replaced by a new batch from the Imperial Household Department. The new servants, to put it nicely, were still there to serve her, but to put it bluntly, they were all the emperor's spies.

Yong'an was still in a daze when she was sent back to the palace. When she finally came to her senses, the huge palace was deserted and she was all alone. Helplessly, she hugged herself and wept uncontrollably.

"Haitang, how could I have hurt you..."

Yong'an cried and laughed with regret, but then she thought that if she was really confined for three months, Wei Wujiu and Lin Wantang would soon be getting married once the ban was lifted.

No, she can't wait that long.

If I really can't marry Wei Wujiu, then what's the point of living?

Meanwhile, in the courtyard of Jingyuan.

It was past midnight. After taking a bath, Lin Wantang was wearing only a light white undergarment and a casual outer robe. She was still practicing calligraphy by the table. Even though there was some noise coming from outside the courtyard, she did not stop writing with her wrist suspended in her hand.

It wasn't until Chunhen had inquired about the details and then ran in to whisper something in Lin Wantang's ear that she put down her brush after finishing the last line of writing.

"How could the princess be so foolish?"

Lin Wantang frowned and murmured, finally understanding why the princess had deliberately misrepresented things at the banquet and was intentionally targeting him; it turned out she was in love with Wei Wujiu.

Even so, the princess should have tried every means to sabotage the marriage instead of going directly to the emperor and saying that she would be given a concubine.

"The princess is fickle and acts recklessly..."

Before Chunhen could continue, Lin Wantang warned, "You must not be disrespectful to the princess."

Princess Yong'an was only twelve years old when she was sent to the northern frontier for a political marriage. She suffered all kinds of humiliation at such a young age. It is understandable that she is a bit absurd and foolish now.

Lin Wantang didn't take Yong'an's previous harassment to heart at all. She thought for a moment and said, "It's not a good idea to keep the princess under house arrest in the palace like this. Without someone by her side to comfort her, I'm afraid she might do something foolish again..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Wantang's guess was confirmed.

Qiu Ying rushed in, bowing hurriedly: "Miss, something has happened in the palace! Our people say Princess Yong'an has hanged herself!"

Lin Wantang was startled, and Qiu Ying hurriedly said, "Miss, don't panic. Fortunately, the palace servants in Jinxiu Palace are careful and discovered it in time. The princess is not in immediate danger, but... the emperor is even angrier."

"How could this be..."

Lin Wantang looked worried and then heard Qiuying say, "Miss, Eunuch Hua from the palace sent someone to say that the Emperor intends to invite you to the palace to comfort the princess, but if you don't like it, it's okay if you don't go. Eunuch Hua will find a way to handle it."

"Me?" Lin Wantang pondered for a moment and shook his head slightly: "No, the one who tied the knot must untie it. Qiuying, go and report this matter to the Governor in detail, and then trouble the Governor to go to the palace to comfort the Princess."

Qiu Ying was taken aback, and Chun Hen hesitated for a moment before saying, "Miss wants the master to go to the palace to persuade the princess?"

Lin Wantang was puzzled. Had she not spoken clearly? Why were Chunhen and Qiuying reacting this way?

Chunhen pursed her lips: "Miss, it's not that I'm being petty, but the reason the princess caused such a scene is because she admires you, sir. Even the Emperor, being wise, has no intention of summoning you to the palace. If you were to send him to the palace to persuade the princess, wouldn't you be afraid... that the princess might use this opportunity to force a relationship?"