Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1171 - 167: Preparing to Return to Swamp Prefecture

In Kunde Hall, the Emperor and Lady Liang were having a meal.

"At this moment, my youngest son and his wife are probably in the middle of their wedding ceremony." Although the Prince Mansion isn’t far from the Imperial Palace, one can faintly hear the joyous and festive sounds coming from there.

Lady Liang calculated the time and gently said, "The ceremony should be over by now; little ten is probably being urged to drink by the guests."

The Emperor suddenly reached out and held Lady Liang’s hand, with a look of guilt on his face, said, "Xiao Xiao, I’m sorry, I can’t let you receive the bow from little ten and his bride."

Lady Liang held the Emperor’s hand back, smiled softly at him, and said, "Aren’t they coming to the palace to bow to me tomorrow?"

"It’s still somewhat different." The Emperor had always felt apologetic towards Lady Liang and their son.

"Your Majesty, speaking a bit disrespectfully, even if I were the Empress, I wouldn’t be able to go to Prince Han’s Mansion to receive their bow." Lady Liang lightly patted the Emperor’s hand, "Besides, you’re just like me; we’re both in the same boat, neither should blame the other or feel guilty."

The Emperor was amused by Lady Liang’s words, reached out to pull her onto his lap.

"Sometimes, I wonder if we were ordinary people; our family would have lived well."

Lady Liang reached out and pinched the Emperor’s face gently, laughed, and said, "My Emperor, if you were an ordinary person, you and I would not know each other, I wouldn’t have entered the palace, we wouldn’t have been together."

"True." The Emperor buried his head in Lady Liang’s neck, rubbing it playfully, "Seems there are some perks to me being the Emperor."

Lady Liang raised her hand and gently stroked the back of the Emperor’s head, "Is your heart feeling a bit heavy because your son is getting married, do you feel like he’s drifting further away from you?"

The Emperor said in a muffled voice, "Hmm, always thought that little rascal is just a kid. Suddenly he got married, and I realize he has grown up, feeling both happy and a bit sad."

Lady Liang teased, "You obviously married off a son, but it seems like you’re giving away a daughter." The Emperor’s mood was just like that of marrying off a daughter.

"Always feel like the little rascal has been taken away."

Lady Liang couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

The Emperor lifted his head, looked at Lady Liang discontentedly, "Xiao Xiao, you’re making fun of me."

Lady Liang cupped the Emperor’s face in both hands, inspecting left and right, said with great curiosity, "Emperor, I never realized you had such a possessive desire towards Yao Yao."

"He’s my son..." The Emperor looked aggrieved, "Since childhood, he hasn’t been close to me, always thought I treated him poorly, guarded against me everywhere..." The more the Emperor spoke, the more aggrieved he felt, becoming emotional and teary-eyed.

Seeing the Emperor about to cry, Lady Liang quickly embraced him to soothe, after a long time, she managed to calm him.

After finishing their evening meal, the two sat in the study, playing chess and chatting.

"Little rascal is married now, should be leaving the capital soon." The Emperor asked, "Are you willing to let him go? If you aren’t, I’ll keep him here."

"I’m unwilling, but can’t keep him here." Lady Liang laughed, "I can see Yao Yao likes Swamp Prefecture, he has many things yet to do there."

"Really don’t want to keep the little rascal?" Actually, the Emperor couldn’t bear to let his youngest son go.

"Emperor, even if you keep him here, he’ll sneak away." Lady Liang understood her son’s nature, "With his skills, if he wants to sneak away, you can’t stop him."

"The little rascal’s abilities are growing." The Emperor said with both gratification and melancholy, "He realized that I’m making deals with my eighth son."

"If he didn’t realize, you’d call him foolish." Lady Liang said, "Yao Yao is smart, capable of figuring many things out, but he just pretends not to know."

"Who do you think the little rascal takes after, when I was his age, I didn’t have as many tricks up my sleeve."

Lady Liang looked innocent, "I don’t have so many tricks either."

"The little rascal with my fourth and eighth sons..." The Emperor frowned slightly, "If the little rascal finds out what I did to my eighth son, do you think he will hate me?"

"You’re his father, why would he hate you?" Lady Liang comforted the Emperor, "He will understand you."

"When do you think we’ll get to hold a grandchild?" The Emperor abruptly changed the subject.

Lady Liang was used to the Emperor jumping from topic to topic.

"You won’t be getting one for a few years."

"Why, doesn’t the little rascal want children?" The Emperor already had many grandchildren, but he most anticipated grandchildren from his youngest son.

"He said women shouldn’t have children before the age of twenty, or they might face complications. He plans to wait until Si Yun turns twenty before considering having children."