Chapter 1236 - 30: The Pearl Collector and the Princess
Chapter 1236: Chapter 30: The Pearl Collector and the Princess
The Emperor was silent for a moment; he knew best how exhausting being an Emperor could be. However! Being an Emperor also had a lot of perks.
"I admit, being an Emperor is a bit tiring. But the benefits are even greater. All the best food and fun things are prioritized for the Emperor, aren’t they? Once you become Emperor, you can also have quite a few male concubines. Whether you want them burly and upright, cultured and refined, or delicate and pitiful - isn’t it all up to your choice?" The Emperor coaxed patiently.
Tianmiao said nothing. Although having priority on the best food and fun was nice, a bunch of male concubines was not appealing.
"If you agree to become the Crown Princess, I’ll agree to the marriage of the sixth son." The Emperor finally revealed his true intentions.
"Isn’t this what you wanted to say all along, Father?" Tianmiao said helplessly.
"Hehe, you’ve seen right through me." The Emperor didn’t shy away any longer and admitted directly, "Yes, this is indeed my intention."
The reason the Princess had never been made Crown Princess wasn’t due to two groups of ministers being at an impasse, nor the Emperor worrying about the ministers’ feelings and delaying the decision. It was because the Princess herself had always been unwilling.
"Alright then." Tianmiao didn’t really mind becoming Crown Princess or Emperor; she hadn’t wanted to before simply because she was lazy. Thinking about it now, she figured she could play the role for a few years and then abdicate.
The Emperor almost jumped up and exclaimed with excitement after putting on his crown, "You’ve agreed, huh? No backtracking now. I’ll go draft the decree!"
"I’ll head back first," said Tianmiao.
"Alright, alright, off you go." The Emperor rushed over to his desk without looking back, waving his hand like shooing away a fly to signal Tianmiao to leave quickly. Then he suddenly wondered if he was too tactless, and hurriedly turned to Tianmiao with a big flattering smile, "Take care, come to the palace sometime with the sixth son and your students for a meal."
Tianmiao: "..." Is it really okay for an Emperor to be this tactless?
As Tianmiao was leaving, the Emperor didn’t forget to instruct the Chief Eunuch to give her a lot of food to take with her, fearing that the label of being tactless wouldn’t come off otherwise.
After Tianmiao left the Imperial Palace, the Emperor’s decree was ready, planning to announce it at the court the next day.
But soon, the Emperor drafted another decree, this one to abdicate in favor of the Crown Princess.
The Chief Eunuch beside him was so shocked that his eyes widened.
The Emperor blew on the ink blot, looking very satisfied, and then instructed the Chief Eunuch to put both decrees away.
The Chief Eunuch was so surprised that he didn’t immediately come to his senses. Only after the Emperor called him twice did he snap out of it and hurriedly knelt to beg for the Emperor’s forgiveness.
"Get up," the Emperor wasn’t angry at all, instead he enthusiastically asked the Chief Eunuch, "Are you curious why I made such a decision? My health is still good, so why would I abdicate? No Emperor doesn’t wish to sit on this dragon throne a bit longer, so why have I changed?"
The Chief Eunuch dared not speak, silently listening to the Emperor’s words. The Emperor likely wasn’t trying to explain to him, he just wanted to voice his own thoughts.
"Because I want to witness an unprecedented flourishing age. I can’t do it, but she can." The Emperor slowly walked over to the window, looked up at the sky, and continued softly enough for only himself to hear, "You all think it’s just because I favor her, but you don’t know that her extraordinary talent is unattainable by anyone, not even me. Who knows which deity from the heavens she is, reincarnated into the royal family by chance."