When he walked out of Cuiying attic, he saw Yan Yao’an standing at the entrance with her head tilted up, waiting for something to happen.

  As soon as Yan Yu came out, she excitedly surrounded him, her face full of curiosity. “Sixth Brother, do you know Ah Zhen?”


  “When did you get to know her?”


  “What did you talk with her? ”


  Yan Yu didn’t intend to answer her questions at all. He walked around her and got into the carriage. After she got on, he told the driver to return to the palace and then sat on the carriage with his eyes closed, deep in thought.

  If the Crown Prince had already spoken to Emperor Yuan Huai, then he would have to put on a show of competing with his elder brother for a woman.

  If the Crown Prince didn’t say anything, then it would be difficult for Xie Zhen to become a Royal’s wife, according to Xie Zhen’s identity as a daughter of concubine.

  But before he set out, Emperor Yuan Hui had promised him a condition.

  He needs to make good use of it.

  While Yan Yu was analyzing the situation in detail, Yan Yao’an intransigently came over and asked the same question as before, “Sixth Brother, how did you guys get to know each other?”


  His thoughts were interrupted, and he said slowly, remembering his childhood, “We were neighbors.”


  Yan Yao’an knew that before Yan Yu had returned to the palace, he had stayed outside the palace for a very long time.

  Even so, it was still somewhat strange to receive this answer. “Then, why did you pretend that you didn’t know her when we were at Mingqiu Lake last time?”


  Yan Yu remained silent.

  It wasn’t that he pretended not to know her, but that little bastard had completely forgotten about him!

  He was too angry at the time to turn around and walk away. He had been watching her from the dark, and he nearly couldn’t help but grab her.

  He should not have been anxious after all these years, but he had waited too long to find warmth in her, and that was why he was so angry when she did not think of him.

  Yan Yao’an didn’t care, because she still had a lot of questions. “What did you say to Ah Zhen?”


  “Were not you waiting down there? Why did you go up to her? ”


  Yan Yu closed his eyes and opened them after a long time. “He Yi.”


  He rarely called her by her title, and when he did, he was usually serious.

  Yan Yao’an straightened her back, staring straight at him. “What?”


  The carriage was walking on a spacious road. The wheels of the carriage made a dull noise, but sitting inside the carriage was perfect smooth. There was no bumpiness in the carriage.

  After a long silence, Yan Yu slowly said, “I want to marry Xie Zhen.”


  Yan Yao’an thought she had misheard him. Her chin nearly dropped to the bottom of her feet as she stuttered once more, “What, what did you say?”


  He did not repeat, but simply said, “After we return to the palace, I will ask father for permission to marry her. If he doesn’t agree, then speak up for me.”


  Emperor Yuan Hui used to be in love with imperial concubine Hui, so he also doted on the two children of them.

  If it was useless for one person to say it, then the two of them combined would be able to convince him.

  Yan Yao’an was shocked speechless, “You …”


  “Why would you marry Ah Zhen?”


  She had never heard him talk about Xie Zhen, and every time he face Xie Zhen, he would always be neither hostile nor friendly. Is it the first time they’ve seen each other since they met again.

  Why were they getting married?

  What about second brother?

  Yan Yao’an was still a little reasonable, and knew it was hard to deal with. “Second brother has already told esteemed empress that if you’re going to intervene, so how could he possibly be willing to do that?”


  “What if father has already granted him to marry Ah Zhen?”


  Yan Yu’s pupils darkened. It was not that he hadn’t thought of this possibility. If it was really so …


  He couldn’t imagine what it would be like for him to marry her to Yan Tao. If that ever happened, he would become a lunatic and try to snatch her away regardless of the consequences.

  With this thought, Yan Yu opened the curtain and ordered the driver to hurry back to the palace.

  Yesterday, the singing and dancing was going on all day, Emperor Yuan Hui left court this morning, and then was staying in the hall to rest.

  After hearing the the old eunuch’s words, Yan Yu did not ask why. He opened his robe and knelt on the ground outside the hall.

  His body was straight and his eyebrows were firm. Even though he was kneeling down, there was an air of neither servility nor arrogance about him.

  the old eunuch was frightened and hurriedly went to help him up. “What is Your Highness doing?”


  “If you have urgent matters, this old servant will go in and inform His Majesty. Why should you kneel?”


  However, even after helping him for a long time, he did not manage to help him up.

  Yan Yu was an extremely stubborn man. Once his decision was made, not even ten oxen would be able to bring him back, let alone an old eunuch.

  He did not move as he stared straight ahead. “There is no need to tell royal father. I will kneel here for as long as possible, until he wakes up.”


  the old eunuch was worried, how could it be so simple as he said?

  If His Majesty were to wake up and find his treasured son kneeling outside, it wouldn’t be easy for any of them servants.

  the old eunuch’s eyes crinkled with anxiety and helplessness. “Why on earth should you kneel?”


  “Let this old servant tell His Majesty about that. And the stone floor is cold, you kneel and will get sick.”


  After talking for quite a while, he still remained unmoved, as if he had not heard the old eunuch’s words.

  He didn’t want anyone waking His Majesty up, so he steeled his heart to kneel until the end.

  the old eunuch could not dissuade him, so he let him go, sighing under the eaves with his whisk.

  He knelt there for four hours until the sun set in the west. Then, he heard a servant say that His Majesty had woken up.

  the old eunuch did not dare to delay any longer and hurriedly went in to report.

  At this moment, Emperor Yuan Hui had just woken up, and was currently dressing himself in the maid’s arms. He had reached his 40s, and several strands of hair had already grown white by his sideburns. However, he still looked very spirited.

  When he looked up and saw Eunuch Yu, he asked casually, “Didn’t I ask you to wait outside?”


  Eunuch Yu called out “Your Majesty”, then said, “the Sixth Palace has come. He’s been kneeling outside the hall for several hours now.”


  Emperor Yuan Hui frowned, not understanding. “Why doesn’t he come in, why is he kneeling outside?”


  How could Eunuch Yu know the reason? He had asked Yan Yu ten times, but he was unwilling to tell him.

  “This servant doesn’t know either …”


  “Your Majesty should ask him personally.”


  After dressing himself, Emperor Yuan Hui walked out of Palace Xuanshi and saw Yan Yu kneeling on the bed.

  He raised his eyebrows and had him lifted from the floor. “What does that mean?”


  “Did you do something wrong to apologize to me? ”


  He remained unmoved. In the end, the guard did not dare to do anything to him, instead he helped him a few times, but he didn’t get up. Instead, he was yelled at by him, “Retreat!”


  The guard looked at Emperor Yuan Hui awkwardly.

  Emperor Yuan Hui then asked, “Do you want me to help you up?”


  Yan Yu shook his head, his lips dry and his voice hoarse. “Before I set out, father promised me one thing …”


  “Will you still abide by your promise?”


  Who would have thought that it was actually because of this. Emperor Yuan Hui was both angry and amused. “Of course I will do it. This Emperor’s word is clear, how could I cheat you?”


  He pressed his lower lip and because of he had knelt for too long, his legs got numb, his body heavy but his mind clear, and he said, “I have a matter that I wish to ask father’s permission.”


  Emperor Yuan Hui was not in a hurry to ask him what was the matter. Instead, he asked with interest, “You’ve been kneeling for so long just for this matter?”


  He did not feel embarrassed and nodded crisply. “Yes.”


  “Say it, what’s it?”


  Yan Yu lower his eyes and said without thinking: “I want Xie Zhen.”


  Emperor Yuan Hui stunned. “Who?”


  He swallowed a mouthful of saliva. For some reason, he felt a little nervous, and his throat burned with pain. “I want to marry the fifth girl of the Xie Family as my wife and beg Imperial father to fulfill my wish.”


  Emperor Yuan Hui understood what was going on, and he was also a little happy. After kneeling for so long, he just wanted to beg for his granting marriage?

  Originally, granting a marriage wasn’t a troublesome matter. It was rare for him to have a girl he liked. As a father, he should try his best to satisfy him.

  However, coincidentally, the Crown Prince had just told Emperor Yuan Hui the same thing the day before yesterday, and he also wanted to marry the fifth girl of the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion, causing the Emperor Yuan Hui extremely curious. Who exactly was this Fifth Girl, to be able to make both of his sons like her?

  Emperor Yuan Hui did not reply, so Yan Yu kneeled down on the spot.

  At the side of the main hall, the palace maidservants and eunuch were holding their breaths, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing the two.

  For a moment, the wind was quiet and the clouds stopped moving. after a long while, Emperor Yuan Hui called out to him, “Don’t kneel anymore. Stand up and speak.”


  Yan Yu wanted to get up, but it was a pity that he had lost all feeling in his legs and was unable to move at all.

  The guard helped him up from the left and right, barely managing to lift him up from the ground.

  Emperor Yuan Hui calmly asked, “Why do you want to marry the fifth girl of Xie family?”


  “Do you know her? When did you know her?”


  Obviously, he wanted to force him to confess. He had to say, “When I was young, I lived in Qing Zhou and we are neighbors.”


  Emperor Yuan Hui did not doubt his words, but he did not expect that there was such a relationship between the two.

  Xie Liqing had previously served as a prefect in Qing Zhou, and he had also lived Qing Zhou for seven or eight years. All of this was truly a coincidence.

  Emperor Yuan Hui thought it in his heart, but his expression was very serious. “Did you fall in love with her since young?”


  “…”


  Yan Yu paused and looked away, refusing to answer the question.

  After seven or eight years, Emperor Yuan Hui knew very well about this son’s character. He said yes and meant no, and his face was cold and passionate. It was typical of him that he cared about face even if he died.

  For example, right now, he clearly had a good impression of that girl, but he refused to admit it.

  If he admitted it, he would agree with him. Could it be that hard to tell the truth?

  A childhood sweetheart, innocent playmates, it was indeed a good pair.

  Xie Zhen was the daughter of Xie’s concubine, marrying Yan Yu as imperial princess…


  He looked at Yan Yu and asked, “Can it start as that she marry you as your side imperial concubine first?”


  Yan Yu didn’t have any room for discussion, “I want to marry her as my wife.”


  As he spoke, he was about to kneel down again.

  Not a side imperial concubine, not even a concubine.

  Emperor Yuan Hui ordered servants to stop him. He frowned and thought for a while before his tone turned serious. “It’s not that I can’t promise you, but your second brother also asked me for help a few days ago. I promised him to consider it for a few days …”


  “If you insist on marrying the Fifth Miss of X , have you decided how to face your second brother in the future?”


  Yan Yu hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding, “Your son has decided.”


  It looked like he already had an idea. Emperor Yuan Hui sighed with melancholy, “Let me think about it again. You can go back.”


  Normally, when Emperor Yuan Hui said this, he would agree.

  Yan Yu bowed and said, “Thank you, father.”


  Emperor Yuan Hui sighed again. He finally knew that having many sons was not necessarily a good thing.

  Within a few days, there was the imperial edict of granting marriage.

  Eunuch Yu came to the Duke Dingguo’s Mansion with the people from the Ministry of Rites and asked the Xie family’s second branch to take the imperial edict.