Chapter 327 Rejection of Marriage
The Qian family was cleared of their grievances, and the mansion returned to its former bustle.
The Qian Family Army continued to be commanded by General Qian, and Qian Bolin was reinstated to his original post and continued to lead the Imperial Guards.
Although the matter was over, Madam Qian was old after all. After staying in the dark and damp prison for so long, her health was still greatly affected. Now she could not take care of the big and small things in the Qian Mansion, and could only rest and recuperate in the back house.
After this incident, Madam Qian suddenly felt much more enlightened. She left the Buddhist temple and began to take care of the affairs in the mansion.
As the great benefactor of the Qian family, Qianhuan has now become a guest of honor of the Qian family. Madam Qian often invites her to the Qian residence to chat and talk about daily life. Madam Qian's love for Qianhuan is beyond words.
After careful study and analysis of the pill taken by the old emperor, Bai Lingxuan finally confirmed that the chronic poison that His Majesty was poisoned by came from this pill.
When this pill is taken for the first time, it can make people feel refreshed and as if they are a dozen years younger, but long-term use will cause irreversible damage to the body.
Thinking that this elixir was presented to him by Concubine Xue, Emperor Jingxi's face became gloomy, and he immediately ordered Concubine Xue to be sent to the cold palace.
Originally, the old emperor wanted to execute Concubine Xue, but considering that Concubine Xue was a princess of the Canglang Kingdom, if she was executed rashly, it would affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. In the end, he had no choice but to throw her into the cold palace and let her fend for herself.
After Concubine Xue was sent to the cold palace, her life was very difficult. Qi Jiaqing asked the secret guard to take her to sneak into the cold palace to see her once.
Qi Jiaqing asked with some sympathy, "My sister left her hometown and married that old man, Emperor Jingxi. You endured humiliation for so many years. Now you have ended up like this. Do you feel resentful?"
Concubine Xue laughed at herself, "There's nothing to complain about. From the moment I decided to marry Dayuan, I knew the mission I was carrying."
"Is it worth it to ruin your life for the so-called mission?"
"Of course it's worth it. My sister came to Dayuan to marry. Doesn't she have her own mission like me? Could it be that my sister regrets it?"
Qi Jiaqing said with some self-pity, "So what if we regret it? So what if we don't regret it? Do we have a choice? As princesses of the Canglang Kingdom, we have no choice."
"Since my sister understands, just complete your next mission. The old emperor's health has been ruined by me. When he dies, the princes and grandchildren will fight to the death for the throne. At that time, Dayuan will be in civil strife, and our Canglang will be able to take advantage of the situation. Now that the Zhaixing Tower has been built, Dayuan's treasury has been emptied by more than half. Once a war breaks out, our Canglang will be able to take over the entire Dayuan. In this case, my sacrifice is nothing."
"Royal sister, take good care of yourself in the cold palace. I hope you can live to see that day."
After Qi Jiaqing said this, she let the secret guard take her away.
Concubine Xue looked up at the sky and murmured to herself, "I am destined not to see that day."
In order to help Emperor Jingxi recuperate, Bai Lingxuan has been going to the palace to serve him every day these days.
The old emperor asked, "Doctor Bai, how long can my body last now?"
"Your Majesty, if you strictly follow my instructions and take good care of yourself, you can last at least a year and a half, or at most two years. If you don't take good care of yourself, I'm afraid you won't be able to last even a year."
Thinking of how Concubine Xue had caused him to be like this, Emperor Jingxi was filled with hatred. She turned to Li Dequan and ordered, "Go down and tell someone to take good care of that bitch in the cold palace. Just don't let her die."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will give the order right away."
During the days when Bai Lingxuan entered the palace, the seventh princess Teng Shiyue always came to the emperor's side, and the old emperor also saw that the seventh princess was interested in Bai Lingxuan.
The old emperor knew that Bai Lingxuan was an excellent doctor. In order to tie him up to take good care of his body, the old emperor said, "Doctor Bai, what do you think of the Seventh Princess?"
Doctor Bai was stunned, not understanding why the old emperor asked him this question, but he still said honestly, "The seventh princess is innocent and lovable."
"Then I'll betroth the Seventh Princess to you, what do you think?"
Bai Lingxuan immediately knelt down and refused, "Your Majesty, please take back your order. The Seventh Princess is a princess of wealth and status, and I am just a commoner. I dare not marry into such a high position."
The old emperor didn't expect Bai Lingxuan to actually refuse, and what he said was exactly the same as what Qian Bolin said when he refused the Ninth Princess.
The old emperor was immediately furious. "Humph, all of you say you are out of your league, but in fact you just don't want to marry my daughter. My daughters are all worth a lot of money. When will it be your turn to be picky?"
Bai Lingxuan said the same thing, "Your Majesty, please don't embarrass me. I have never thought of becoming a royal consort."
The old emperor couldn't stand it anymore. "I have already granted this marriage. If you don't agree, it will be disobedience. I will have them drag you out and behead you immediately."
Who knew that Bai Lingxuan was also a stubborn person, he still said, "Your Majesty, I cannot obey your orders in anger."
The old emperor grabbed the cup and smashed it to the ground, shouting, "Come here, drag this ungrateful guy out and chop him up."
At this moment, the Seventh Princess, who had been eavesdropping outside the palace, ran in, knelt down and cried, "Father, please calm down. Father, you must not kill Divine Doctor Bai."
The old emperor was furious when he saw his daughter was not doing well. "He would rather die than marry you. Why are you still begging for him?"
"Father, marriage is based on mutual consent. Forced marriage is not a happy marriage. Since Divine Doctor Bai has no interest in me and my daughter does not want to marry him, why would you get so angry and kill so many people? Your body still needs Divine Doctor Bai's help to regulate it."
Perhaps the seventh princess's last words worked, and the old emperor finally regained his sanity. His body indeed still depended on Bai Lingxuan.
So the old emperor had no choice but to wave his hands and said, "Doctor Bai, for the sake of the Seventh Princess, I will spare your life. You all can go down, I want to rest."
The two of them quickly stood up and left the hall. As soon as they came out, Doctor Bai bowed to the Seventh Princess and said, "Thank you, Princess, for pleading for me."
The Seventh Princess stared at him and asked in some pain, "Bai Lingxuan, do you really hate me so much? Do you hate me so much that you would rather die than marry me?"
Bai Lingxuan was obviously stunned. He looked a little unnatural and said, "I don't hate the princess."
The princess asked a little aggrievedly, "Then why don't you want to marry me? And you have been deliberately avoiding me all these years. Do you know that I have liked you for many years, and the person I want to marry most in my life is you."
"Bai loves freedom by nature. His biggest dream is to travel around the country and become a traveling doctor. Being a royal son-in-law is too tiring and has too many rules. Bai really doesn't want to do that."
The seventh princess' eyes lit up instantly, "So, you just don't want to be the royal son-in-law, not that you don't like me, right?"
These words immediately stumped Doctor Bai. He didn't understand how he felt about the Seventh Princess. He didn't hate her, but he didn't really. Sometimes he even thought she was quite cute.
But he was very sure that he didn't want to be a royal consort at all. After all, the princess was the emperor's daughter. Marrying her home would be like worshipping a giant Buddha at home. He was not that stupid.
He did not directly answer the Seventh Princess' question, but found an excuse to leave, "Well, Princess, I have something else to do, so I won't chat with you anymore. I'll leave the palace first."
After saying this, Doctor Bai ran away quickly.
The Seventh Princess stamped her feet and yelled, "Bai Lingxuan, come back and explain yourself clearly before you leave."
Unfortunately, the only response she got was an increasingly blurry back.