Chapter 320 - Party Poopers

Prince Yi's words stunned everyone in the room and they all looked to the Emperor.

The Emperor on the hand seemed unfazed and he calmly went, "I am glad to see you finally have the will to settle down... But now is not the time, we will discuss this at a later time."

This seemed to be good enough for Princess Nalan and she was about to stand up when Prince Yi grabbed her arm and held her down, frowning up at the Emperor. He had not come here expecting the Emperor to simply nod in agreement.

Therefore, he had naturally come ready to work to achieve compliance. He could not allow the Emperor to brush him off right now, could not give him the opportunity to manipulate things in the shadows. It needed to be resolved now and publicly, this was the best chance for him to have his way.

So Prince Yi cupped his hands and bowed again and pressed on, "Your majesty, not so long ago, in this very hall, you made a promise to immediately decree my marriage once I informed you of the woman of my choice...I have now informed you, so I ask that you do as promised." He empathetically requested, kowtowing for extra measure.

The Emperor knit his brows in slight confusion at the mention of said "promise" that he apparently had made. But it only took him a few seconds to recall the exact "promissory" incident that Prince Yi was referring to. 

The main hall was silent as onlookers watched the scene playing out before them with avid interest for various reasons - some with worry, confusion, apprehension, while others such as Prime minister Zhao were quite pleased with this turn of events...anything to ruin this farce of a celebration was considered good news to him.

While most of the guests in the hall at the moment had actually been in attendance during the incident, not many were paying attention at that point, and even then not many would have put any weight on the very brief cordial conversation that Prince Yi had deemed to be a contract.

But Prime minister Zhao had been paying a bit too much attention at that time and it took a few seconds to recall. After all, it was during what was supposed to be one of the happiest days of his life until the Emperor ruined it by causing a show with "handpicking" Lei Xing. 

Prime minister Zhao had been unhappy about that fact and so had been closely scrutinizing the Emperor at the time trying to figure out what was his meaning by picking Lei Xing that way. If he wanted the girl, he could have easily picked her beforehand. 

What's more, there was no way it was simply a coincidence that she happened to be Defense minister Lei's daughter. He actually never believed in the anonymous nonsense the Empress dowager was touting. So he was convinced that it all meant something and considering where they were right now, he was right. 

That day, after the chosen concubines had left for the inner palace, the Emperor and Prince Yi had a brief exchange discussing marital affairs.

Prince Yi had feigned joy and congratulated the Emepror, while the Emperor being polite had feigned some interest in Prince Yi's own marital affairs, and in a gesture of goodwill, he had urged his brother to choose a princess consort and offhandedly said he would decree Prince Yi's marriage once his choice was made.

So that was it, of course, the Emperor did not actually mean those words. But he had said them and the Emperor's words were not only law but were as good as gold and could not simply be retracted...in theory. 

Back then, Prince Yi did not seem to care about the Emperor's goodwill gesture and had swiftly made his exit. Prime minister Zhao understood Prince Yi's was disappointed. After all, his daughter was now out of Prince Yi's reach, and the marriage bond, he had been aiming at for years was no longer possible. 

It was obvious to Prime minister Zhao that Prince Yi had been trying to get in his good graces by antagonizing Defense minister Lei's daughter.

And in all honestly, Prime minister Zhao had started to entertain the thoughts of Prince Yi lately since the Emperor seems to have become a muddle-headed fool...but then now it seemed Prince Yi too was also becoming a fool. 

How disappointing. He was certain that the late Emepror was turning in his grave watching his children falling so short of greatness. Women seemed to be the great weakness of the men of the Jun clan, each generation seemed to lose their heads over women.

The grandfather refused to take a second Empress, the father had his lifelong obsession with the Empress dowager and the current Emperor, he did not even to think about, and now Prince Yi...such a disappointment!

Prime minister Zhao's frown deepened and he inwardly sighed and gulped down his wine. He locked eyes with Defense minister Lei and went "hmph-ed" and looked towards the open doors of the main hall, losing interest in the scene of the confused brothers playing out at the front.

The Emperor was not at all amused with PrinceYi's approach of putting him on the spot. Forcing one's hand was never a welcome approach. As annoying as it was, the Emperor actually found it quite amusing that Prince Yi was doing this. He was actually quite curious if this recklessness in his brother was motivated by love or something else. But now was really not the time or place for this. 

So the Emperor let out a breath with a slight smile and said, "It seems that you have...but as I said, now is not the time. Today is a day to celebrate the princesses. You will have your day...soon, so for now, take your seats." The Emperor and glanced at the eunuchs, who promptly moved to assist the troublesome couple to their feet. 

Lei Xing glanced at the Emperor and he reassuringly sent her a little smile which promptly disappeared when Prince Yi did not take the hand offered by the eunuch and continued on, "Your majesty, I know this is not ideal and perhaps I should have spoken to you first before pursuing this, perhaps sought your permission, but you have made it abundantly clear that you have no interest in marrying the Zou princess so it shouldn't be - Unless I'm mistaken in my assumption?" Prince Yi asked with raised eyebrows at the Emperor.

And the hall even became more silent than it already was. Considering the occasion they were "celebrating" right now, Prince Yi's accusatory tone there was a bit...too daring. Even Lei Xing was looking at the Emperor sideways, not at all sure how he would respond to that one. It was now very clear that Prince Yi was on a mission to get the Emperor riled up. 

But then to the surprise of everyone else and to Prince Yi's great annoyance, the Emperor actually started laughing with the most incredulous expression on his face as if Prince Yi had just said the most ridiculous thing ever.

Lei Xing slightly knit her brows and lightly cleared her throat a few times, hinting for the Emperor to stop laughing. Even if he did not like Princess Nalan, laughing at the thought was very rude, inappropriate, and highly unprofessional. 

The Emperor reigned in his laughter but still clearly amused as he went on to say, "Dear brother, you are perfectly correct in your assumption. But as I am sure you aware, Princess Nalan is not a citizen of this country, therefore if you wish to marry her like you...say you do, then seek the approval of her father first as is customary in these matters and then come to me. I cannot single-handedly decree her marriage...even if she wants to." He added just as Princess Nalan opened her mouth to protest and she immediately closed it with a frown.

The Emperor looked down at the quiet frowning couple for a bit and then said, "Well then, now that we have reached an understanding, take your places and let us resume the celebration of today and tomorrow, we shall revisit this matter -"

"Cannot or will not?" Prince Yi stubbornly interjected, obviously not convinced with the Emperor's "excuse". If the Emperor decreed that they should marry, Zou will likely say nothing to contradict and even if they did, the Emperor could easily quiet them with negotiations or force if necessary.

Therefore, the Emperor simply did not want to and sure enough, the Emperor responded with a simple, "Both." 

The conversation was over and Prince Yi needed to understand that, "Take your places." He sternly ordered again.

Prince Yi's frown deepened and Princess Nalan nudged him and whispered, "This is enough..." The Emperor basically just said that once her father agreed, he would. That was very reasonable. And as they agreed upon, she would handle her father. 

But for Prince Yi this was not enough, the Emperor had just deflected responsibility. In his mind, now all the Emperor had to do was to tell the Zou king to refuse and he was sure his brother could have his way with the weak-willed king. This way, the Emperor would simply say the Zou king refused and that was it, the promise he made will become obsolete.

Since Prince Yi was stewing, Princess Nalan took the helm and said, "Thank you for your understanding and consideration for my father and my people. I have already written to my father to let him know of my decision. I am sure good news will come from him soon..." 

"That's good then." The Emperor responded with a nod and Princess Nalan lightly gave him a grateful bow and then glanced at Prince Yi, who was busy frowning at the steps before him. She nudged him again and whispered, "Stand up."

Prince Yi turned to her and she smiled at him, but he knit his brows and whispered, "I'm sorry..." Princess Nalan raised an eyebrow in confusion as Prince Yi took a deep breath and looked back up at the throne and proclaimed, "She's with child." 

Princess Nalan's eyes went wide as her mouth fell open in shock as did quite a few other mouths in the hall. Prince Yi kept his eyes trained forward and ignored the burning gaze that was being directed at him.

They had agreed not to disclose this and he had not wanted to do this to her either. But as things stood, this was the only way to ensure that things went their way...his way.