Sheng Li was a little surprised to hear what Wang Hao said. Wang Hao repeated his words, "Your Majesty, what if I marry Princess Bai?"

  "Do you know what you are saying?" Sheng Li asked.

  "Yes, Your Majesty," Wang Hao answered.

  "You are supposed to marry the daughter of the Prime Minister. Do not make a decision in a hurry. It can affect two families," Sheng Li advised him.

  "Your Majesty, I have not agreed to marry Miss Ai Huian. Also, I have a right to choose whom I can marry," Wang Hao reasoned.

  "Why do you want to marry Princess Bai Yaling? Do you perhaps like her?" Sheng Li asked him with skepticism.

  "Because no man is ready to marry her," Wang Hao replied.

  "Wang Hao, I cannot allow you to marry Princess Bai if this is the only reason. She will not agree to this because she will take it as a pity. Let's give time to her. After the announcement of her pregnancy, she is a little flustered. Also, you cannot marry a woman just because no one is marrying her. Many factors need to be kept in mind," Sheng Li pronounced.

  "Yes, Your Majesty," Wang Hao said and lowered his eyes.

  "You shall leave if there is nothing more to say," Sheng Li told him. Wang Hao stood up and bowed in front of him. He stepped back and left the chamber. Sheng Li furrowed his brows together. He knew Wang Hao from his childhood. He never once turned soft like this.

  Xing-Fu came to the chamber. "Your Majesty, the Empress wants to meet Princess Bai. She has been asking about her and I could not lie to her," Xing-Fu said with a trembling voice.

  "You never do work rightly," Sheng Li remarked and stood up from the chaise.

  "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I could not lie to the Empress and ended up telling her everything," he stated. Sheng Li walked past him while Xing-Fu followed his lead.

  As Sheng Li entered the main chamber, Ying Lili quickly came towards him. "Why did you not tell me such an important matter related to Princess Bai?" Ying Lili asked him with a worried expression.

  "Because you get worried easily, as you are right at this moment," Sheng Li replied. He took her towards the bed and made her sit on the mattress.

  "Shi Zhihao was not a nice choice for her. I sent him back to the Eastern Province," Sheng Li asserted.

  "Let me go to her chamber," Ying Lili said. "Princess Bai needs someone beside her," she requested Sheng Li.

  "I know," Sheng Li replied. "However, let her stay alone for some time. Let's give her time. She has many things going on in her head," Sheng Li opined.

  Ying Lili agreed to him. "But if we let her stay alone for a long time, then she might try to take a drastic step. Last time, she tried to take her life," Ying Lili asserted.

  "My spies are keeping an eye on her. It won't happen this time," Sheng Li assured her.

  "Let me go after an hour. I will keep her company for an hour or two. Why did Prince Shi Zhihao say such a thing to Sister Bai? Did you not punish him?" Ying Lili questioned him.

  Sheng Li was astonished to hear this. She usually refrained from punishment. Sheng Li sat beside her. "I wanted to but Princess Bai stopped me. Also, he was a guest here. Whatever his decision was, I could only accept. I thought Consort Dowager Ju had her hands in this but now I feel that she did not do anything," Sheng Li asserted.

  "You still have not finished these fruits," Sheng Li said as he looked at the plate which was covered with a lid. He moved the lid and picked the plate, which had freshly peeled oranges in it.

  He picked one and put it inside Ying Lili's mouth. However, in his back head, the words of Wang Hao were revolving. Why did he express his sudden desire to marry Princess Bai Yaling?

  ~~~~

  Wang Hao reached the bottom of the stairs of the main building of the Northern Palace. "His Majesty was right. I cannot marry any woman just because no one is marrying her. But I feel bad seeing those eyes of Princess Bai," Wang Hao murmured.

  "General Wang," Lei Wanxi put his arm around Wang Hao's shoulder, surprising him from his sudden appearance.

  "Prince Wanxi," he replied.

  "General Wang looks anxious. What happened?" Lei Wanxi asked.

  "Nothing, Prince Wanxi," Wang Hao lied.

  "Did General Wang hear about Princess Bai?" Lei Wanxi asked him.

  "Yes," he replied.

  "Prince Shi Zhihao said that no man would marry her because she is carrying the child of the Second Brother. I was not here but this news has spread like a fire in the Capital. In the office, I saw officials discussing it," Lei Wanxi pronounced.

  "So, I thought to come here and talk to Brother Sheng about this matter. I don't want people to think badly of the child who is not even born," he stated.

  "Prince Wanxi is right," Wang Hao answered.

  "General Wang, can there be no man who can marry Sister Bai? It must be tough for her. She is being punished for the things that she never did. People say bad things about her and it's saddening how they blame a woman? Some were even saying that Sister Bai has a bad fate. I scolded them but how long? I pray to the Jade Emperor that a good man enters her life and shuts the mouth of everyone," Lei Wanxi proclaimed and pulled his hand back from Wang Hao's shoulder.

  He took out his fan and opened it.

  Wang Hao agreed with the words of Lei Wanxi. Even he had the same thoughts. He was ready to marry Bai Yaling but the question of Sheng Li to him, made him contemplate.

  "Prince Wanxi, I will see you later," Wang Hao took his leave and walked away.