mtl008 Chapter 315 Forced into the Palace
Chapter 315 Forced into the Palace
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around was shocked.
She slowly raised her head and looked up at the people in front of her, a helpless and sad smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. "But when you decided to send me to the palace, did you ever consider my personal opinions and feelings?"
"This is nonsense! Don't you understand the original intention of doing this?
If I hadn't seized the opportunity to become a phoenix, wouldn't I have ended up being a widow for the rest of my life, entangled with a down-and-out scholar with no future at all?"
Faced with the almost hysterical roar from her parents, the girl explained calmly: "But that man is by no means an ordinary person. He is the top scholar in Yangzhou and is considered one of the most promising candidates to win the title of top scholar in the imperial examination in the future. My family has promised that as long as he successfully ranks among the top three in the examination, he will be allowed to marry me."
At the end of her speech, her voice gradually became low and choked, and crystal clear tears kept flowing in her beautiful eyes.
The scenes of her past longing for a happy and perfect marriage seemed to appear vividly before her eyes - until the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, when a turning point suddenly came: King Xuan was passing through Hangzhou Prefecture while staying there temporarily while inspecting the people's livelihood in various places, and it happened that her father's carefully planned matchmaking brought them together and they met; from then on, the fate of several generations was changed.
Her parents happily agreed to the marriage with great excitement...
No matter how talented Meng Yan is, he is just an ordinary scholar from a poor family. How dare he be compared with the distinguished Crown Prince?
Why are you so stubborn?
Am I stubborn?
You forced me to give up my love and even threatened me with Meng Yan's future to marry King Xuan.
Even in this situation, didn't I still follow your wishes?
Since I have married King Xuan according to your wishes, how can you be responsible for me?
Father, do you know the pain in my heart?
When I had just become a bride and had not yet truly experienced the sweetness of marriage, I heard the news I least wanted to face - Meng Yan was framed and imprisoned.
Not only that, his lifelong dream also came to an abrupt end, and he would never be able to change his destiny through scientific examinations again.
Hearing this, the father, who was always known for his majesty, had a change of expression on his face, and then burst into strong dissatisfaction: "All this is to protect you! If you let Meng Yan enter the officialdom, will he be unfavorable to you because of the old feelings? How will the Xuanwang Mansion treat you then?"
"So, in fact, what you care about from the beginning to the end is not my feelings, right?"
Qinghan asked back with tears in her eyes, "Meng Yan studied hard for twenty years before he was able to obtain the title of Jieyuan. The teachers all said that he was a rare talent and would definitely achieve great things in the future. But now..."
She paused, her voice filled with sadness and powerlessness.
"Even though I submitted to the arranged marriage, it was clearly still not enough to satisfy you, to the point where you wanted to kill him. First you betrayed me and harmed an innocent man, and yet you forced me to continue playing the role of a good daughter."
A mocking smile appeared on her lips. "It is because I have been too obedient and docile for a long time that I have ended up like this. The trajectory of my life is no longer under my control. If this continues, what reason do I have to fight for the supreme glory for my family?"
Hearing this, the usually stern and cold father's expression instantly turned very ugly, and he stared in disbelief at his daughter, who looked weak but was actually as tough and stubborn as a rock.
"No matter what, I will not continue the family line for the so-called prince."
Although Chen Qinghan was speaking, there were still crystal tears in her eyes.
"Father, I'm afraid you will never have the chance to witness those glorious moments you've always dreamed of in this lifetime."
This sentence completely enraged her father, who had been trying to control his anger. He mercilessly slapped her in the face, and then he rebuked her with a thunderous voice: "You are a rebellious person! You actually gave up everything for a mere scholar!"
Then the younger brother also started scolding his sister.
Just as the family was caught up in an endless quarrel, suddenly frightened footsteps and shouting were heard outside the door.
It turned out that an incredible and major change had occurred in the palace: an unknown force was heading towards the palace, and the situation was extremely urgent.
After hearing the news, everyone present looked at each other in surprise.
Not long ago, the rebels in the north were completely defeated by the imperial court's heavy blows; why are new forces emerging now and heading straight for the heart of the capital?
Just as Xiao Meng was thinking about the answer with a puzzled look on his face, his eyes inadvertently stopped on a minister beside him who looked calm and composed...
The person that everyone was paying attention to took a sip of the wine in the glass, then raised his head slightly and looked over here. A barely perceptible ruthlessness flashed across his deep, dark eyes.
Seeing this, Xiao Meng felt his scalp tingling. He immediately threw away the wine cup in his hand and stepped forward to ask the reason.
Song Yanyi showed a playful smile at the corner of his mouth, but he said slowly: "The suppression of the rebellion is the result of the joint efforts of the two adults. As for why a new person appeared to try to subvert the imperial power, I really don't know the details. I hope Your Highness will not misunderstand."
"What a silver-tongued man!"
At this moment, Xiao Meng was extremely angry.
Just when the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, a eunuch suddenly came rushing in with news that the rebels had breached the city gate defenses and were approaching the outskirts of the palace.
Realizing that the situation was urgent, Xiao Meng had to temporarily put aside his suspicion of Song Yanyi's personal behavior and turn to consider how to properly handle the current crisis.
The Yulin Army was fighting bravely on the battlefield, but their bravery was powerless in the face of the enemy's overwhelming numbers.
The enemy's strength has exceeded 10,000, while our side has only 5,000.
Although the soldiers tried their best, their eyes revealed despair and helplessness that were difficult to conceal.
The air was filled with the smell of blood and sweat, and every sound of swords clashing was like a sad song that was about to end.
The eunuch's voice trembled as he reported in panic: "Your Highness, our soldiers are doing their best to resist the enemy, but...
The enemy has too many people, far more than us. I'm afraid it will be difficult to sustain this disadvantage any longer!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the last spark of hope in Xiao Meng's heart.
When hearing this number, Xiao Meng, the usually calm and composed Prince of Xiaoshu, changed his expression drastically and almost jumped up from his chair. "What did you say? More than 10,000 soldiers?! How could such a large-scale rebel force approach the imperial city quietly?! It's unbelievable! Who was negligent in his duty and caused such an oversight?"