A Painful Plea Before the Emperor (1)

"The Emperor's reward will be very generous," Xu Weibei added.

He actually had some suspicions in his mind.

He felt that the Emperor would grant him and Gu Wanning a new marriage.

This was fantastic news for him.

However, Gu Wanning was clearly not happy about it.

Xu Weibei was conflicted.

On the one hand, he didn't want Gu Wanning to be unhappy.

On the other hand, he harbored a sliver of hope: what if Gu Wanning changed her mind?

Or perhaps she felt embarrassed to refuse the emperor, and thus went along with it and agreed?

This inner turmoil kept him up all night.

However, Gu Yuanshi was also present when the Emperor summoned him the next day.

Aside from the eunuchs, the only people in the Imperial Study were the Emperor, Gu Yuanshi, and Xu Weibei.

The Emperor had anticipated this, but was still very pleased with the remarkable harvest that actually occurred.

Therefore, he spoke very kindly today.

He even brought it up with Xu Weibei in a somewhat joking tone.

"Although you young people are capable of causing trouble, just as you have protected the country for me, your beloved daughter, though a woman, has the well-being of the people at heart and has found such a wonderful thing, relieving the people from hunger. Her efforts are truly meritorious. Therefore, I will not hold your past actions against you and will grant you a new marriage, so that you two lovers can finally be together."

It's finally here.

Xu Weibei clenched his fist inside his sleeve.

"I know that your aunt will come to the palace to see me again. But I will protect you; there is only one thing: you must not hold a grudge against your elders in the future, and you must be filial to your aunt."

After speaking, the Emperor looked at Gu Yuanshi, "What does Minister Gu think?"

Gu Yuanshi lowered his head and said, "My rebellious daughter doesn't listen to me and harbors resentment towards me. I don't want to get involved in her affairs, and I don't expect her to be filial in the future."

"Look at you, still saying such hurtful things! If I had such a promising daughter, I wouldn't bear to scold her. You, you clearly care, but you're just being stubborn."

"Your Majesty, I am not being stubborn; I am truly angry. All that happened in the past was not my wish, yet she has held a grudge and acted disobediently. Even if Your Majesty rewards her today, I will not accept any credit."

"You, you still have that stubborn mule temper, not a bit different. I feel like she inherited it from you!"

After saying that, he smiled and said to Xu Weibei, "Aren't you going to do something for your wife and appease your father-in-law? You can't be so disrespectful to your father-in-law anymore."

Xu Weibei suddenly knelt down, lifting his robe, "Your Majesty, please rescind your decree."

Chapter 269 A Heartfelt Appeal Before the Emperor (Part 1)

Xu Weibei was ultimately unwilling to force Gu Wanning.

Let Gu Wanning decide what's between the two of them.

"What do you mean by this?" the Emperor stroked his beard. "What, if I ask you to bow down to Mount Tai, you won't want to marry him?"

Xu Weibei lowered his head and said, "It's not that I'm unwilling to marry her, but that she's unwilling to marry me."

"Oh? She won't marry him? Then how come I heard that she's been defending you in public? And you, instead of staying in your grand Marquis's Residence, are now squeezing into her house every day?"

The implication is that he sees everything clearly!

Xu Weibei knew that many things could not be hidden from the Emperor.

As long as the Emperor is willing, his daily whereabouts will naturally be reported to the Emperor.

"Your Majesty," Xu Weibei replied truthfully, without panic, "This humble subject is incompetent and has not yet managed to persuade her to agree. She is unwilling to marry, and this humble subject is unwilling to force her."

The Emperor laughed and scolded, "You're quite the romantic one too."

Xu Weibei said self-deprecatingly, "You know I have a hidden ailment. It's already difficult enough that she doesn't dislike me. How could I possibly force her, scheme against her, or coerce her?"

"Nonsense! You're so young, what kind of hidden illness could you possibly have!" the Emperor retorted. "Who could be sick? You couldn't be either."

Xu Weibei smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty, this is the last thing I wanted to happen."

But the illness is there, that's an undeniable fact.

The Emperor glanced at Gu Yuanshi and said, "Regardless of any hidden illness, since she doesn't mind you, why won't she marry you?"

Xu Weibei naturally wouldn't mention the real reason.

Regardless of what the Grand Princess had done to her, being respectful and obedient was something Gu Wanning, as a junior, had to do.

Even if this matter were discussed to the extreme in front of the Emperor, he would still side with the Grand Princess.

Therefore, Xu Weibei said, "It was my fault for acting too harshly in the past and hurting her feelings. Please give me some time to slowly win her back."

The Emperor said to Gu Yuanshi, "My dear Gu, don't you feel that we're getting old? When we were young, we also tossed and turned over by love and affection, but in the blink of an eye, our children have begun to be troubled by love."

Gu Yuanshi said, "Those were things that happened when we were teenagers. I think my eldest grandson will probably have similar concerns."

The implication is that Xu Weibei quite old, and only now is he thinking about romance.

His words were tinged with disdain.

The Emperor laughed heartily.

"Xu Weibei has been held back by the country and its people." He then turned to scold Xu Weibei, "You say you are invincible on the battlefield, how can you hesitate on this matter? Fine, today I will back you up, I will ask her face to face why she is unwilling to marry my nephew."

Thus, Gu Wanning was brought into the palace in a daze.

She followed behind the eunuch as they walked among the red walls, not daring to look around.

A cold wind howled, and the desolate atmosphere of late autumn made the palace seem even more lonely and oppressive.

Gu Wanning thought to herself, under such high walls, being an empress is nothing more than being a prisoner who eats well and uses better things.

At the same time, she was also uneasy, and couldn't help but wonder why the emperor had summoned her, and even started to have wild thoughts.

It couldn't be that she got too close to Yiling, and the emperor suspected her of "treason."

No way, no way.