The princess regretted it.

Chapter 250 Are You Afraid Someone Will Compete with You?

After hearing Hongyu's news, Jin'an's lips curled up slightly, letting out a soft laugh. That laugh was filled with a complex mixture of sarcasm and boredom. Then, she turned and picked up the embroidery frame on the couch. Her slender fingers gripped the needle and thread, and she continued to embroider slowly, stitch by stitch, her concentration etched as if the news she had just heard was nothing but a trivial matter.

Hongyu bit her lip, her brows furrowed slightly, a puzzled look on her face as she softly asked, "Princess, doesn't the Third Prince love being close to you? Why is he now helping the Second Prince plead with the Emperor to release Princess Jiaoyu? This seems strange no matter how you think about it."

"Him? He probably hates me in his heart right now." Jin An looked up at Hongyu, a hint of sarcasm flashed across his eyes, then he turned sideways and approached her and spoke, with a hint of ridicule in his low voice.

"Why? Is it because I came to look for you a few days ago?" Hongyu became more and more confused. She tilted her head and continued to ask with wide eyes.

Jin An's expression froze after hearing Hongyu's words, and his movements unconsciously stopped. His thoughts suddenly returned to the scene a few days ago when Zhangsun Wuwang came. That day was after the morning court session, and she was just like now, bored, holding an embroidery needle, fiddling with the embroidery cloth.

As soon as the Third Prince came in and saw her looking so leisurely, his usually calm face was instantly filled with anxiety. He was so angry that he walked up to her and said, "Jin'an, are you still embroidering? Do you know that things are going to change in the palace?" His words were full of urgency, and his voice unconsciously rose a few degrees, which seemed particularly abrupt in this quiet palace.

Jin An looked up at him and asked calmly and calmly, "Third brother, what's making you so anxious?" Her tone was calm, as if she could remain calm even if the sky fell, but she felt a little curious about the unusual appearance of the third prince.

"At the morning court today, your grandfather personally made a petition to the emperor, asking him to select! A show!" The third prince emphasized the last two words, his tone filled with deep resentment, and his eyes were full of dissatisfaction with the matter, as if the word "selection" was some kind of monstrous monster.

"Just let your father choose the princess! Isn't that normal?" Jin An already knew in his heart that this was the reason why he came here, but he still pretended to be puzzled. He opened his clear eyes and looked at the third prince with an innocent face, as if he really didn't understand what was so surprising about this matter.

"W-what?" The Third Prince hadn't expected Jin'an's response. He froze for a moment, his eyes wide, a look of disbelief on his face. He didn't react for a long moment. He blinked, as if doubting he'd misheard, and repeated, "I'm saying that Father is going to hold a selection. There will be more women in the palace!" There was emphasis in his words, trying to impress upon Jin'an the gravity of the matter.

"I understand now. Isn't it just father selecting a concubine? Which emperor doesn't have three palaces and six courtyards, and three thousand beauties in the harem? Father hasn't selected a concubine for many years. Compared with other emperors, he has very few concubines." Jin An withdrew his gaze nonchalantly, lowered his head, and continued threading the needle in his hand. He looked so focused, as if they were talking about something as insignificant as today's weather.

The Third Prince was so angry at her words that he looked around on the spot, his chest heaving slightly with anger. He looked like he had punched cotton, with no place to put his strength.

Finally, he looked at her steadily, his eyes almost blazing with fire, "Aren't you angry? Weren't you very opposed to it before? Have you figured out that when there are more women in the palace, it means that new children will be born. Then the palace will be bustling, and how much of your unique favor will be left?" He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his speech speed unconsciously quickened a lot.

Jin An then calmly put down the embroidery in her hand, slowly raised her head to look at the third prince, her expression still calm, but her eyes revealed a calmness that was not in line with her age, "Third brother, I know I was ignorant before, and father loved me so much that he promised me not to participate in the selection, but I am eighteen now, and not a child anymore. I know what to do and what to say. Father is the king of a country, and he has too few heirs, which is not a good thing for the country. Wouldn't it be good to have a few more concubines and have more brothers and sisters? Third brother, I don't understand, what are you angry about?" Her voice was unhurried and clear, and every word was spoken steadily, as if she had thought about these words in her mind countless times.

Having said that, Jin An paused, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at him with suspicion, and continued, "Third brother, don't you want our father to have more children? Do you want that position? Are you afraid that someone will compete with you?"

Although the questioning tone was gentle, it pierced the Third Prince like a sharp arrow, causing his heart to suddenly skip a beat and instantly sober up. He then realized that his behavior had been a bit too extreme, and his expression instantly turned a little awkward.

He quickly adjusted to his unnatural state, and the momentary awkward look on his face disappeared in an instant, like a breeze blowing across the lake, leaving only a few barely noticeable ripples, and then he quickly returned to his usual calm demeanor.

Then, he lowered his head slightly, a hint of grievance in his eyes, and his voice was also a little depressed. He said a little aggrievedly: "Jin An, why do you think so of me? I, I was worried that you would be unhappy. I know that you have never been able to resolve the knot of your mother's death, so I thought you would oppose your father's selection of the concubines."

At this point, he raised his head slightly, looking at Jin An with sincerity in his eyes, as if he wanted to convey his feelings to her completely, "Think about it, every time you mentioned this in the past, you were always in a low mood, and I felt distressed when I saw it. Naturally, I hope to follow your wishes and make you happy. That's why I thought of telling you the first time I got the news, while this matter has not been fully implemented, to see if there is any chance of a reversal. But now, you misunderstand me like this, and my heart is really more bitter than that coptis root." There was a strong sense of helplessness and sadness in his words, and people who heard it really thought that he had suffered a great injustice.