NABC Chapter 150 Disobedience
Chapter 150 Disobedience
"In my haste, I misunderstood Imperial Censor Chen's meaning. However, Your Majesty has unreasonably imprisoned my husband in the palace and threatened him with death. This is indeed not the behavior of a wise ruler." Liu Yuechu, now backed by Yuwen Chan, spoke in a gentle tone, but her words were certainly not pleasant.
Moreover, Chen Zhongyao personally escorted her to the Imperial Study, clearly indicating that he would stand up for her.
Emperor Qi Xiao was so angry that his head throbbed. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "How dare you disobey me?!"
"I dare not, but I dare not deceive the Emperor." Liu Yuechu once again clearly rejected Yuwen Chan's marriage proposal. "I will never marry anyone other than my husband. I beg Your Majesty to refuse Prince Yuwen Chan of Meng. I don't want to become a laughing stock."
"A marriage alliance between two countries is not a joke." This was indeed something that Emperor Qi Xiao had seriously considered.
Liu Yuechu said quietly, "Then why don't you use your own daughter to arrange a marriage? This humble woman is not worthy."
Emperor Qi Xiao: "...You're being insolent!" He was genuinely a little annoyed.
Liu Yuechu was also going all out. If she didn't take a hard line now, who knew if Emperor Qi Xiao would really send her to the Mongol Kingdom?
Yuwen Chan is a madman.
Emperor Qi Xiao was even more so.
"This humble woman will never remarry. Your Majesty, please don't threaten my husband's life. It won't do you any good."
"Even if you kill Yuan Cuo and exterminate the entire Liu family, I will still be buried in the Liu family's ancestral graves and will resolutely refuse to marry Yuwen Chan," she said once again with great conviction.
Emperor Qi Xiao hadn't expected her to be so resolute. "If I were to recognize you as my daughter, grant you the status of a princess, and let you marry into an allied nation, would you still refuse?"
Liu Yuechu rolled her eyes inwardly. "What's the difference between being given the title of princess and going to your death? Can the coffin be made of better wood? Our Liu family has plenty of that."
Emperor Qi Xiao was so angry that his teeth itched. He really hadn't expected Liu Yuechu to be so difficult to deal with.
This is hardly a young lady! No wonder the Crown Prince and Qin Muyan both said she was extraordinary…
"I did give you the opportunity to be a member of the royal family, so don't regret it."
Liu Yuechu said resolutely, "I am grateful for Your Majesty's kindness, but I cannot accept it. I only wish to live and die with my husband. Besides, it is just a human life, which is insignificant to Your Majesty. If he is really guilty, why doesn't Your Majesty give him a chance to atone for his sins? For example, he can go to various parts of the Great Qi to draw maps. I am willing to contribute money and effort. Please grant me permission, Your Majesty!"
She knelt down and begged, but she had no choice but to bring out her trump card in advance.
Paying money to buy life is the most direct transaction.
Moreover, Emperor Qi Xiao had just tentatively offered her the title of princess, clearly indicating that he had considered it.
Even with Chen Zhongyao as a backer, the backing was not solid in the face of huge profits.
Perhaps the word "money" alone can easily destroy any semblance of dignity, even that of the Great Qi Emperor before him.
Emperor Qi Xiao was startled, his face turning cold. Liu Yuechu remained kneeling on the ground, but she also sensed a change in the atmosphere within the imperial study.
She heard faint footsteps.
She sensed that Emperor Qi Xiao had walked up to her.
She dared not look up, after all, her words had carried considerable weight, and if she were to meet the emperor's gaze again, the provocation would be far too strong.
Emperor Qi Xiao's heart was in turmoil.
I never expected that brat would even tell her about the map of the Great Qi!
Unexpectedly, that stubborn brat actually opened his heart to Liu Yuechu in front of him.
How he longed for someone he could open his heart to and cherish! But that woman was no longer there.
He walked away slowly, strolling out of the imperial study.
Liu Yuechu didn't expect Emperor Qi Xiao to leave like this? So, should she agree or not?
She got up from the ground, wondering whether she should chase after him to ask, when Cheng Hai came in from outside and stopped her. "Go back, go back first..." The man's expression was complicated and hard to describe, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. At this moment, not getting an answer was the best answer.
Liu Yuechu, however, did not want to leave. "Where is Yuan Cuo? Can I see him?"
Cheng Hai shook his head. "If I may ask, why did you ask him to draw a map of the Great Qi to atone for his sins?"
He was also shocked when he heard this.
This was a private matter between His Majesty and Yuan Cuo, and with him as an eavesdropper, no one else knew about it.
When Liu Yuechu first made the suggestion, she neither seemed to know the whole story nor was she speaking recklessly.
Liu Yuechu pursed her lips. "My husband once said he wanted to travel all over the world of Daqi..." She sensed that Cheng Hai's expression was not quite right, so she simply gave a vague answer.
Cheng Hai understood, and urged her to leave first, "Wait one more day, and we'll know the outcome tomorrow."
Liu Yuechu was kicked out like a chicken.
A group of people were waiting for her at the palace gate.
Seeing her being kicked out all alone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
The more powerfully they shouted "tyrant" just now, the more dejected they are now.
I thought she was going to die after she went in, but she came out unharmed.
Chen Zhongyao was also waiting for her at the door. "How is it?" He had been on tenterhooks the whole time.
No one who wailed and shouted that the emperor was a tyrant had ever managed to save their life; she really became an exception.
Seeing so many people, Liu Yuechu could only get into the car first, saying, "Let's go home first and talk about it later."
Chen Zhongyao followed them to the Liu family's residence, where the two talked alone for an hour.
Dark clouds covered the sky, and it got dark early.
After seeing Chen Zhongyao off, Liu Yuechu was still reviewing the day's events, feeling that His Majesty was acting strangely.
But no matter how much she thought about it, she felt that something was wrong.
She could only ask Granny Fang, "You used to serve in the palace, do you know what His Majesty's temperament is like?"
Granny Fang wanted to talk about Bai Shao, but Liu Yuechu asked about His Majesty. She thought for a moment and said, "His Majesty now is completely different from His Majesty many years ago. His Majesty was ambitious and spirited. Unfortunately, something happened twenty years ago. Since then, His Majesty's temperament has changed drastically. He seems to have lost interest in everything. The Empress Dowager has been in power for several years."
"It was also ten years ago that His Majesty regained control of the court, which was because the Empress Dowager's health was not very good."
Liu Yuechu was taken aback. Since no one in her family held an official position, she really didn't know such details about court affairs.
"What caused His Majesty's temperament to change so drastically?"
Granny Fang shook her head. "I don't know the specifics either. It's just that because the Empress Dowager took power, she released a group of palace servants, and that's why I was sent to the Princess's residence and no longer work in the palace."
Liu Yuechu never expected this to happen.
She had a hunch that this matter might be related to the deaths of Yuan Cuo's parents.
All the clues are like puzzle pieces, only one thread is needed to piece together the doubts in her heart.
She strolled into the courtyard, looked up at the sky, and saw that the misty sky seemed to have a stroke of thick ink obscuring the moon.
After gazing at each other silently for a long time, Liu Yuechu suddenly said, "Did I say something wrong today? Should I have refused to become a member of the royal family?"