CHAPTER 650: CHAPTER 637: THE DOOMED PRINCESS 5

Emperor Xiande ultimately still had his qualms about Anning.

At dinner time, he made his way to Baoyan Palace.

When Emperor Xiande arrived, Anning was directing the palace maids in tidying up the room.

She felt that some of the furnishings in the room were unsightly and desired to rearrange them. They had nearly been at it all afternoon, and were just wrapping things up.

Seeing Emperor Xiande walk in, Anning gestured to the palace maids, "That’s enough for today, let’s continue tomorrow."

The palace maids and eunuchs quickly ceased their chores and, after paying their respects to Emperor Xiande, stepped aside.

Anning, taking Emperor Xiande by the arm to sit down, asked, "Father Emperor, have you had your meal? If not, I’ll have someone fetch dinner, and we’ll eat together shortly."

Emperor Xiande chuckled warmly, "Alright, my dear treasure, have your wounds healed? Has the eunuch provided you with scar-healing ointment?"

"It has been provided, it has."

Anning hurriedly felt her neck, "My wounds are healed, Father Emperor, don’t worry."

"Promise not to frighten your Father Emperor like that again."

Seeing that Anning’s complexion was indeed much improved, Emperor Xiande put on a stern face and admonished her, "If something’s troubling you, you should tell your Father Emperor. You must never again play such jokes with your health, do you hear me?"

Anning nodded hastily, "Understood, understood. I just didn’t want to marry Mr. Zhao. Look how young I am and how old he is. He’s so old, I don’t want to marry him, and besides, he isn’t even that handsome. If I am to marry, I want to marry someone good-looking."

Emperor Xiande couldn’t help but laugh, as he stroked Anning’s head, "Alright, I will certainly choose a handsome Prince Consort for my dear treasure."

Anning, coquettishly clinging to Emperor Xiande’s arm, implored, "Father Emperor, I like the eldest grandson from Mr. Xue’s family, would you allow him to be my Prince Consort?"

It took Emperor Xiande a while to recall who the eldest grandson of Mr. Xue’s family was.

His reaction, upon remembering, was almost identical to that of Consort Huang’s, as he jumped to his feet: "No, absolutely not, he won’t do."

Tears began streaming down Anning’s face, "Father Emperor doesn’t love me anymore. Just a moment ago, you said you would find me a handsome Prince Consort. Why have you gone back on your word? I won’t accept that, I just won’t."

At this moment, she truly embodied the spirit of a drama queen, perfectly portraying a spoiled brat.

The key point was, no matter how bratty she was, Emperor Xiande still saw her as his own adorable treasure, irresistibly cute even in her willfulness.

Needless to say, the fatherly bias must be eight meters thick.

"Don’t cry, don’t cry."

Emperor Xiande was in a fluster, trying to comfort Anning, "If you want someone handsome, your Father Emperor will find him for you. Let’s not choose the fool Xue He, alright? Your Father Emperor will surely find someone especially good-looking for you."

"No, I want him."

Anning also suddenly sprang up, confronting Emperor Xiande, "Xue He is no fool. He’s wonderful. It’s only because he wasn’t treated in time after being pulled out of the water when he fell in as a child that he suffered damage. He’s not stupid."

"Not stupid, not at all."

Emperor Xiande was really troubled about this, wondering why his precious daughter had taken a fancy to a simple-minded suitor. The girl was as stubborn as a mule, bent on doing whatever she set her mind to. If he didn’t indulge her, she was capable of bringing down the heavens upon him.

Anning started to pester Emperor Xiande again: "Father Emperor, I am a Princess, what’s there for me to fear? Other women seek husbands to provide for them, to lean on them, and even if they’re mistreated by their in-laws, they endure it. But that’s not me. I have my own fief, generous dowries, my own Princess Mansion, and servants who came with my dowry. I don’t need to eat anyone else’s rice or wear anyone else’s clothes, I don’t need a man to support me. Is it so wrong for me to just want to marry someone I find agreeable?"

Believe it or not, Anning’s words actually got the usually furrowed brow of Emperor Xiande to relax a bit.

Anning pressed on: "Plus, I am your daughter. Whomever I marry, it’ll be a step down for me, so why shouldn’t I find someone I like? Xue He may be a bit slower to react than others, but that’s a good thing. Even if I scold him, he won’t understand that I’ve scolded him, and he won’t get angry. Looking at him makes me happy, and I think that marrying someone like this, instead of a cunning person who is constantly striving to climb higher, will give me more peace of mind."

"How can my Princess marry a fool?"

Emperor Xiande was still not convinced.

He believed his daughter was the best, and nobody under the heavens was worthy of her, let alone a simpleton.

"But I just fancy him so much."

Anning tugged on Emperor Xiande’s sleeve: "Father Emperor, Father Emperor, please be kind, if you don’t agree, I’ll starve myself to death. From now on, I won’t eat a single bite. I’ll let myself die of hunger."

Emperor Xiande’s head ached.

Anning lowered her head, tears streaming down continuously: "Am I not Father Emperor’s good treasure anymore? Father Emperor doesn’t care about me, surely it’s because I eat too much and spend too much Silver. You want to starve me to death. Father Emperor no longer wants me, I don’t want to live anymore."

Emperor Xiande’s head was really hurting.

Not just his head, but his heart was aching too.

He was truly out of options. Anning hadn’t even started her hunger strike, but just the thought of his beloved daughter going hungry made his heart hurt unbearably. He just couldn’t stand it.

"You, this..." Emperor Xiande couldn’t understand why Anning had taken a liking to a simpleton. With so many talented young men in the court, why couldn’t she fancy any of them?

"The eldest son and his wife of Mr. Liu’s first branch are both gone, leaving only Xue He in the first branch. Although Mr. Liu dotes on him, Mr. Liu himself is ill now, old and frail, and any day now might be his last. If that happens, there might be nobody left to care for Xue He."

Anning, with her head down and tears streaming, pleaded: "Father Emperor doesn’t want me anymore, I might as well join Xue He. From now on, we two poor souls will just have to depend only on each other for survival."

Wiping away her tears, Anning looked up at Emperor Xiande with reddened eyes: "I would hate to part with Father Emperor and Queen Mother, so I’ve been thinking, Xue He is simple-minded and he’s the only one left in his family. After marrying him, we could live all the time in the Princess Mansion without having to go to the Xue Family’s home. How comfortable that would be. I could visit Father Emperor and Queen Mother in the palace whenever I want, but if I married into another family, I would be their daughter-in-law and would have to mind various rules and manners. Not only would it be suffocating, but it wouldn’t even be easy for me to visit the palace."

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she became, crying even harder, which filled Emperor Xiande with heartache.

"Father Emperor’s good treasure, Father Emperor knows that you’re the most filial, always thinking of Father Emperor even when getting married. Please stop crying, Father Emperor will give in to you, okay? Father Emperor will agree, all right?"

Emperor Xiande simply couldn’t withstand Anning’s persistence; he had no choice but to agree.

However, he also pondered that Anning’s words made sense.

Unlike ordinary women who rely on their husband’s family and seek a husband for support, Anning was looking for someone she liked and who would treat her well. With her Princess Mansion, her dowry, and her noble status, why should she have to settle?

And as for Xue He, although he might be a bit simple-minded, he was genuinely handsome. In all of Capital, there wasn’t a young man as handsome as he was.

His daughter was one to appreciate beauty; it was no wonder she had her eye on Xue He the moment she saw him.

So be it, let her marry him if that’s what she likes. After all, he was the Emperor, and she was his only Princess. No matter how extravagant, he could afford it. In the future, he would simply consider it as supporting one more Prince Consort.