After Ye Guixue left, the imperial study became quiet.
The emperor motioned for Su Rong to sit down, and then personally pushed the cakes on the table in front of her, "I heard that you like to eat snacks?"
Su Rong nodded, thanked Your Majesty, accepted the emperor's kindness, and picked up the cake to eat.
The emperor looked at her and said, "Did you cancel Zhou Gu's marriage because the King of Nan Chu chose Ye Guixue for you? Did the Ye family side with the King of Nan Chu? Support and assist you as the heir to the throne of Nan Chu?"
Su Rong paused and shook his head calmly, "No, I broke off Zhou Gu's marriage first, and then I found out that Gui Xue came to Daliang to pick me up on the order of the King of Southern Chu."
"Why did you cancel Zhou Gu's marriage?" the emperor asked.
Of course, Su Rong wouldn't tell the truth. After eating a piece of pastry, she clapped her hands and said, "I don't have the right personality. Zhou Gu is not suitable for me."
The emperor thought about Zhou Gu's temperament. Regardless of his appearance, temperament, or family status, everything was more suitable than Zhou Gu's. Nodding, "Ye Guixue is very suitable for you."
Su Rong nodded.
The emperor sighed softly, "When I saw you yesterday, I knew that your mother and Xie Yuan had raised you very well. You are a smart little girl who has her own opinions and knows what she wants. She has a clear heart and a clear mind. You also have the ability. This is great. Otherwise, in a place like Nanchu that cannibalizes people, if you can't stand on your own, even the King of Nanchu and the Ye family won't be able to hold on."
Su Rong understood very well, nodded and corrected: "The people who have always educated me are Uncle Xie, as well as my father, mother and eldest brother. My mother passed away when I was seven years old. I care about her. There aren’t many memories left, so if you think about it seriously, she just gave birth to me, not raised me. When I was a child, she basically ignored me.”
Probably her mother knew that she wouldn't live long, so she watched her quietly most of the time. However, she was not a quiet person by nature. She was naughty and playful and didn't like to be restrained, so she didn't restrain her and kept her alone every day. For half a day, I taught them rules, calligraphy and painting. After half a day, she disappeared and she never criticized anything harshly.
The emperor paused for a while and then said: "Tell me about your mother. Tell me whatever you can remember. When I was a child, he, as the eldest sister, grew up with me and Qingping. I ...I feel ashamed of myself."
Su Rong thought to herself that it was better to be ashamed than to enjoy the results with peace of mind and have no conscience but not remember the kindness.
She simply recalled a few things, and also talked about her mother's appearance in her memory when she was a child. Of course, among these things, she could not avoid talking about her father, the eldest lady, and her. The eldest brother, as well as the aunts and sisters at home.
This was also her intention. After all, if she left Daliang, the Su family would not be able to go with her. Her father, eldest wife, eldest brother, aunts and sisters would still have to live well in the land of Daliang.
Although the prince will take care of her, the person sitting on the throne now is the emperor after all. Let him know that the Su family has always been very good to her. If he really cares about her mother's sibling relationship, he will also take care of her to some extent, right?
The emperor had been listening quietly. As an emperor, the life of ordinary people sounded very far away and strange to him. By the time Su Rong finished speaking, half an hour had passed. He nodded and said: "It seems that from now on Da Wei escaped and returned to Daliang, settling in Jiangning County. During those few years, my cousin lived a very stable and peaceful life."
"Yes." Su Rong nodded, "My mother lives in the best place in the whole government. My father never treated her badly. The eldest lady is also a good person. Not only did she not cause trouble for my mother, she also hired the best doctor for her. Then She didn’t know my mother’s identity at that time.”
The emperor nodded, "Your mother made a marriage arrangement for you in the Protector's Palace before she died. She naturally hopes that you will marry into the Protector's Palace. The Protector's Palace is a general's family, and the rules are not strict. Although the family has a great business, but the family tradition You are pure and upright. The old Protector and your aunt will educate their children and grandchildren not to do unkind and unjust things. Your mother must have put a lot of effort into choosing the Protector's house for you."
"Yes." Su Rong did not expect that in the emperor's heart, he had a very high opinion of the Protector's Palace, which was contrary to what he had been doing to prevent and suppress the Protector's Palace.
The emperor added: "Ye Guixue is indeed good, but Zhou Gu may not be unable to be your royal husband."
Su Rong was stunned.
The emperor looked at her and said, "Your mother made many painstaking arrangements for you before she died. She only had one wish, why didn't she follow it? You and Zhou Gu have different temperaments, but you can get along. But in terms of character and appearance, Zhou Gu is on par with Ye Guixue. , the only difference is that he is a descendant of the Duke of Daliang Protector, so he does not have an advantage over Nanchu. But there are advantages and disadvantages to family background. Ye Guixue was born in the Ye family, and the Ye family supported the king of Nan Chu. He did Wang Husband, we really complement each other, but you must know that since ancient times, foreign relatives have been too powerful, which is not a good thing. This is a double-edged sword. Just like the Nangong family and the royal family in Nanchu, if Zhou Gu is concerned, the disadvantages are obvious. His family background can't help you much, but equally, if you sit in the position of King of Southern Chu one day, you won't have to be too constrained by him."
Su Rong didn't expect the emperor to say such things to her, and she couldn't help but wonder why the emperor would say these things to her. She looked at the emperor, "What do you mean, uncle?"
The emperor sighed, "I heard that when you were in Jiangning County, you got along very well with Zhou Gu. After Zhou Gu returned to the capital, he showed no trace of reluctance. The reason why Duanhua cried and complained to me in front of me was also because of you. Then, I thought, this matter of personality incompatibility is nothing more than your words. If you broke off his marriage because of other unavoidable reasons, there is no need to wrong yourself. I didn't know your life experience at that time. Now I know that I am on your side. Back then, I had no choice but to feel ashamed of your mother. Now if it were you, I don’t want you to follow in her footsteps. If it weren’t for the Wei Dynasty’s army, she and Xie Yuan would have been two different people back then. Love each other..."
Su Rong suddenly stopped him and said, "Uncle, you have mentioned that you feel sorry for my mother several times. Why is that? Didn't my mother willingly do it for Daliang Sheji?"
The emperor paused, his expression changed, as if he remembered something, he shook his head, then nodded, "Yes and no."
He wouldn't say exactly how it was and how it wasn't.
Su Rong understood that for the emperor, he would not say anything that was so unknown and difficult to talk about. She would not insist on forcing him to admit it from his mouth. There was no need. After all, her mother was dead. Well, what happened back then has changed.
She was silent for a while and said seriously to the emperor: "Uncle, there is another thing that you probably don't know. My mother later fell in love with the King of Nanchu, my biological father. Otherwise, Uncle Xie and her, even if they were separated by me, would not be together. We can also get married. My mother had someone else in her heart, but she didn’t want to anymore."
The emperor obviously did not expect this and was stunned for a moment.
Su Rong laughed, "So, as far as you know, it's just a rumor that Zhou Gu and I got along very well in Jiangning County. At that time, he was the young master of the Duke's Mansion, and I was just the son of the Jiangning Prefecture. My little concubine, even if I am dissatisfied with him, I don’t dare to make a fuss. Later, when I found out about my life experience, didn’t I just go to Beijing and break off the engagement without saying a word?”
"At that time, my mother thought she could hide my life experience from me forever, so she booked Zhou Gu for me. My mother had never seen Zhou Gu before, so she didn't know whether he was round or flat. It was just what she thought was suitable." She looked at it. The emperor concluded, "Therefore, there is really no other reason for me to withdraw from Zhou Gu's marriage, except that I feel it is inappropriate."
There was a touch of arrogance on her expression, "I am the princess of Nanchu, and my prince husband naturally wants someone who can keep pace with me in all aspects. My uncle was wrong. Most kings are worried about the power of their relatives, but I am not worried. As long as the Ye family does not become a rebellious official and does not seek my throne, I am willing to share the Southern Chu State with the Ye family."
After she finished speaking, she added, "Only if Nanchu is good and Daliang can fight against Wei, can we have an extra helper, right? My uncle doesn't have to worry about Nanchu not fighting against Daliang, whether it is the king of Nanchu or me, because my mother , all of us are at odds with the Wei Dynasty, so we all naturally support Daliang."
The emperor's eyes showed some emotion, then slowly fell silent. After listening to Su Rong's words, he remained silent for a moment and nodded slowly, "Since you said so, I will take your wishes as the main priority."
He also smiled and said, "As expected of my cousin's daughter, I am very pleased that she has her own opinion."
He waved his hand and said, "I've been talking for a long time. I'm afraid that Second Young Master Ye will be impatient, so we can't keep him waiting for too long. Let's stop here today! You can safely keep the token and just investigate it with King Ruian. I I believe in you as much as I believe in your mother."
Su Rong stood up and said, "Thank you for your trust, uncle. I'll take my leave then."
(End of chapter)
