QT: TPE Chapter 24.1

“You can listen.” The Emperor said, smiling at her.

“It was I who told you this, my beloved consort. It’s not your fault.”

“Besides…”

Xu Lingyi asked in confusion, “Besides what, Your Majesty?”

“Besides, I know my beloved consort won’t tell anyone.”

Xu Lingyi nodded quickly: “Of course, I would never betray Your Majesty. Now that I’ve entered the palace, I belong to Your Majesty. Your Majesty is my heaven and my earth. I can only live by relying on Your Majesty.”

She portrayed herself as vulnerable, making her seem pitiful.

The Emperor was indeed moved. He couldn’t help but hold her, and that night she almost cried out for water again.

The Emperor spoke to Xu Lingyi for two reasons.

Firstly, he genuinely likes her; she is young and beautiful, and compared to her, all the other women in the harem seem like unbearable, ordinary beauties.

Furthermore, her obedient and docile nature pleases him greatly, not to mention their intimate relationship.

Of course, the most important reason is that the Xu family is his loyal subjects. The Xu family father and sons are loyal enough to him, and they are far away on the frontier. Xu Lingyi is in the palace, thousands of miles away. If she really wants to send a message, to whom will she send it?

“I have always been unwilling to adopt a son from the imperial clan. At that time, the Empress Dowager and I had even fantasized about having a direct bloodline, but things did not go as planned. I have accepted that I will never have a prince in this life. So now I have no choice but to adopt one.”

The Emperor’s sadness and resentment at this moment were genuine.

He truly regretted not having a prince.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. The Emperor is the ruler of the world, possessing everything in the world and able to control anyone’s fate, yet he has no son of his own.

Ordinary families often have many children and grandchildren, while the Emperor struggles so much to have an heir.

How could the esteemed Emperor accept this?

Xu Lingyi could only hug the Emperor and silently comfort him. She didn’t say anything, nor could she say anything.

She felt that the Emperor should be grateful that she had entered the palace. Although she had ulterior motives and entered the palace with a purpose, at least she could help him realize his dream of having a prince.

In this light, they had both ultimately gained something.

“There aren’t many candidates among the imperial clan. In the end, I still intend to choose Li Qinwang, Li Xu.”

Upon hearing the familiar name, Xu Lingyi was no longer flustered, although her hatred for him had reached its peak.

When she first returned to this life, she had told herself that she would eventually have Li Xu executed by slow slicing. Now, she was merely sparing his life for the time being.

Besides, wouldn’t it be better to give Li Xu hope of ascending the throne, and then completely crush it?

“Li Xu is ambitious, and his abilities and political acumen are outstanding among the other candidates. Although I am unwilling to hand over the hard-won empire a hundred years from now, I also don’t want it to be destroyed. Li Xu is barely qualified.”

The Emperor spoke silently, and Xu Lingyi listened quietly.

After a moment of silence, the Emperor sighed and said, “Actually, I had considered having the Princess succeed to the throne before.”

Xu Lingyi was shocked; she hadn’t expected to hear such words from the Emperor.

Throughout history, there has never been a case of a woman ascending the throne, nor has anyone ever considered allowing a woman to inherit the family business. This is true even in ordinary families, let alone in imperial families.

The Emperor knew that the ideas that had once crossed his mind were, in the eyes of the world, too absurd and impractical.

But this idea had indeed existed, and he had even considered putting it into practice.

Unfortunately, he doted on Princess Minghua too much. His only daughter’s temperament was beyond redemption. He knew all too well that the Princess was arrogant and domineering, but he just couldn’t bring himself to discipline her.

This daughter is his only bloodline in this life. If he doesn’t love her, how can he love some outsiders?

 

 

 

You can support this lovely translator and your favorite series by buying me a cup of Ko-fi ( ˘▽˘)っ♨

I will really appreciate it. ♥️♥️♥️