Chapter 416 - To Drag Her Out!
Nianzu could not converse with his father the previous night. Therefore, he decided to talk about the matter in front of everyone in the 'Hall of Greetings.'
As he walked in, he saw the First and the Third Prince with their respective wives. Even Princess Zhu Lin was present there. They all greeted each other and took their respective seats. Han Wenji came there with Empress Deng Hui and his other consorts. Seeing them, they stood up and bowed in front of them.
Han Wenji took his seat while Deng Hui sat beside him, followed by the other Consorts. "You all may sit," Han Wenji told them.
"Father, Brother Yongzheng and Brother Wanxi might have reached the Northern Province with Huo Jin last night. In a day or two, they all will return after ending the matter with Tan Gengxin," Jian Guozhi informed Han Wenji.
"That's a relief. Any news from the Crown Prince's side?" Han Wenji asked.
"No, Father," replied Jian Guozhi.
"The punishment to your first wife will be decided after the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess return along with two other Princes," Han Wenji asserted. Jian Guozhi nodded his head.
Han Wenji looked at Nianzu. "Prince Nianzu, later talk to me in private," Han Wenji stated. Nianzu had understood that his father had found out about Chuntao and him.
Nianzu stood up and said, "Father, let's talk in front of everyone." He bowed and looked at him. Everyone in the Hall was confused to hear the statement of Nianzu.
"What does the Fourth Prince want to talk about?" Consort Ju Fen curiously asked and looked at Deng Hui, who had knitted her brows.
"Father, I do not want to marry Princess Huan Zhu Lin," Nianzu pronounced in front of everyone. Zhu Lin was shocked to hear that. She could not understand what went wrong, that Nianzu refused to marry her.
"Why, son?" Deng Hui asked. The three Consorts also asked the same question.
"I love someone else, and I wish to marry her," Nianzu replied to her mother.
Han Wenji did not like that his son brought the matter into the light like this.
"Does it mean that the Fourth Prince likes that village girl?" Ju Fen said in a way that it appeared as if she was taunting the Fourth Prince.
"She has a name, Mother Ju," Nianzu reminded her. "I hope from here on, mother Ju will not call her a village girl," Nianzu humbly told her.
Zhu Lin had no idea what was going on there? She was devastated to learn about the truth that the Fourth Prince was in love with another woman.
"Son, you can not love her," Deng Hui intervened. "You might have taken your infatuation the other way," she added.
"Mother, I am aware of my heart. I love Chuntao and I want to marry her," Nianzu stated.
"This is a shame that a brainy Prince-like Prince Nianzu ended up giving his heart to a woman with no identity. Everyone will raise questions on us and His Majesty. The advisor of the nation if does such deeds then what message will it give to our people?" The Second Consort remarked and looked at Han Wenji.
Nianzu clenched his fist but he kept his cool. "People always talk. However, I do not care about them. I have not done any crime by loving her. It was my choice to open my heart for her and I want to follow this. I may sound rude but the Second Mother shall not say about the identity of my woman or any other woman." Nianzu's last words seemed like a warning to the Second Consort.
Jian Guozhi thought to stand for Nianzu when he heard Han Wenji.
"Prince Nianzu cannot marry a commoner. It is not acceptable," Han Wenji proclaimed. "There will be no conversation on this anymore," Han Wenji stated.
"Father, why are you doing this? For the first time, I have asked something from you. Why can you not accept my relationship?" Nianzu questioned. He suddenly turned furious.
"Prince, be within your limits. Do not raise your voice against your father," Deng Wei scolded Nianzu.
"Apologies if I raised my voice. I do not know what is wrong with it to marry a person who is a commoner. Father, tell me, why can I not marry her?" Nianzu questioned again and pressured his father to answer.
"I have already given my answer, Prince Nianzu. Empress Hui, please talk to your son regarding this. I am leaving," Han Wenji stood up when Nianzu stopped him. Deng Hui and other Consorts along with other family members had also stood up.
"I renounce my title as the Prince and as your advisor," Nianzu pronounced. Han Wenji could not believe that Nianzu would say those words this way. "I was never happy with this status anyway. I renounce this, and I will no longer stay in this Palace," Nianzu affirmed as he gazed into the eyes of his father.
"Brother Nianzu, please calm down," Jian Guozhi tried to pacify him.
"Brother, I am calm. I only said what I truly felt from my heart! This desire I always wanted to express. Earlier the reason was different, and now it is different. Earlier, I was titled as the son of a concubine, and now as soon as my mother became the Empress, people started respecting me. I do not want to live in the Palace," Nianzu asserted and extended his hands out. He brought them up, to the front, till his shoulders and joined them. Bowing his head, Nianzu requested, "Free me from this title." His eyes were filled with tears.
"Son, please do not request such a thing. Your Majesty, I will talk to the Prince. Forgive him for his behavior," Deng Hui bowed her head.
"I will pretend I never heard it," Han Wenji asserted. "Prince shall be happy that the young woman is still alive for defying my orders and running away from her marriage," Han Wenji affirmed. Nianzu lifted his head, and he peered at his father. His eyes flickered, and his hands trembled.
Jian Guozhi and Rong Zemin gulped because this was the first time they saw their father announcing such a thing.
"She defied my orders, and defying the order of the Emperor means only Death," Han Wenji pronounced while gazing into the eyes of Prince Nianzu. "If the Prince thinks that he can hide her from me, then he is wrong. Even the General of this Empire listens to me first. For me, only one order is enough to drag her out of the Wang residence." This time Han Wenji threatened his son, who was stunned to hear such words from the mouth of his father. He had lost his temper.
"Father, how could you do that? You arranged a matchmaker for her. You forced a marriage on her. She was going to marry a 30-year-old man. Is this the way an Emperor makes decisions?" Nianzu raised his voice this time. "You are no less than late Empress Wei, who always controlled my life," Nianzu remarked as tears poured down his cheeks. He controlled hard but not anymore. Jian Guozhi glanced at Nianzu while Rong Zemin raised his eyebrow in shock. Such a remark from the Fourth Prince was unexpected to them.
"I want to see how extreme my father can go. I always stand for the right things, and this time I will do the same," Nianzu proclaimed, keeping the menacing expression on his face.
"Nianzu, don't speak a word," Deng Hui scolded her son again and then pleaded with Han Wenji to forgive the Fourth Prince.
Nianzu chuckled and turned to go. "Nianzu, apologize to your father," Deng Hui stated, but he did not listen to his mother and walked out of the hall.
"Your Majesty, please forgive the Prince. I will talk to him and make him understand," Deng Hui tried to calm down Han Wenji and at the same time assured him. Her head was lowered. "I will make him understand," she repeated herself. Han Wenji frowned but did not say anything. He turned and left the hall.
"Sister Hui, today the Prince's behavior was strange. It is the grace of His Majesty that he did not punish Prince Nianzu for conversing this way with him," Ju Fen asserted.
Jian Guozhi shook his head and walked out of the hall.. Rong Zemin also left with his wife while Xue Yu-Yan stayed there for a while, before leaving the place.