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In front of the officials, Gu Bei firmly rejected the Emperor's intention to arrange a marriage for him, once again drawing the attention of everyone present.
However, this time, it was not envy that filled the room, but astonishment.
Who would dare to refuse the Emperor's marriage proposal? This was truly an extraordinary occurrence.
The Shangyang Princess still had the joy on her face, but her eyes were filled with disbelief, leaving her somewhat at a loss.
The Emperor himself did not expect this. He had high hopes for this marriage and looked at the kneeling Gu Bei with a slight frown.
Before the Emperor could speak, the Queen could no longer contain her displeasure and said, "General Gu, what is the meaning of this? What kind of beloved could make you resist such a marriage? Do you think that the Princess is inferior to a common woman? Do you believe she is unworthy of you?"
For a princess to be outshone by a commoner would bring disgrace to the royal family, and this burden would fall squarely on Gu Bei's shoulders.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to explain," Gu Bei replied. "The Princess is of noble birth; whoever she marries will be fortunate. However, my heart belongs to another. To marry the Princess under these circumstances would be a great disrespect to her. How could I commit such an unseemly act?"
Gu Bei desperately tried to flatter the royal family while belittling himself, hoping that the Emperor and Empress would reconsider their decision and stop meddling in matters of love.
"Hmph!" The Queen was not swayed by his words. "Do not try to use such grandiloquent phrases to deceive His Majesty and me! Gu Bei, I ask you directly: do you refuse to marry into the royal family?"
With her words, the situation escalated to a new level. What had been a private matter between young lovers now became a grave offense against the royal family.
The ministers present had varying thoughts; some were gleeful while others were anxious, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire. Everyone remained silent, afraid to draw attention to themselves.
In this atmosphere that felt almost threatening, Gu Bei calmly maintained his stance: "The Princess is noble and well-educated; she deserves someone better suited for her. What merit do I have that I should dare aspire to such heights?"
"Gu Bei!" The Queen's voice carried thinly veiled anger. "What a silver-tongued fellow you are! No matter how you argue, it boils down to your unwillingness to marry the Princess. I will ask you once more: do you truly wish to marry her or not?"
To be able to marry into the royal family is something that most people can only dream of. If someone were to be rejected in front of others, where would the royal family's dignity go? Moreover, the Queen looked at the Shangyang Princess, whose face, once as radiant as a rose, was now pale.
The Queen sighed inwardly. How could it be that they couldn't find a suitable prince consort and instead had to settle for such a blockhead?
Well, as long as Gu Bei no longer held out, this matter could be settled, and it would simply fulfill the princess's wish.
However, reality proved that Gu Bei was even more 'ungrateful' than the Queen had imagined!
"Your Majesty, I respectfully report," Gu Bei's voice was deep and resolute. "My heart belongs to another. I am determined to spend my life with her; in this life, I will marry no one but her. Your Majesty, I appreciate your kindness, but I hope the princess finds a better match."
Gu Bei's words elicited various reactions in the hall. Some were moved by his deep feelings, but many others secretly mocked Gu Bei for his stubbornness.
Even if he had someone he loved, so what? Could that person possibly compare to a noble princess? Besides, marrying a princess didn't mean he couldn't take concubines.
First marry the princess, then take that woman as a concubine; wouldn't that mean he could have both wealth and beauty in his embrace?
Hmph, what kind of general is this? So inflexible in his ways! No wonder military men are often seen as rough and ignorant, only knowing how to fight without any brains.
"What better match could there be? You just don't want to marry me!"
The Shangyang Princess felt as if she had lost all face in her life. As a dignified princess, she had been publicly rejected in front of civil and military officials; she would never be able to hold her head high before others again!
The pink fantasies of a loving future with Gu Bei shattered instantly like a soap bubble—one gentle poke and it burst into nothingness, leaving no trace behind.
With her love for the prince flowing away like water, the princess felt she could no longer stay at the banquet. She stood up abruptly, tears welling in her eyes. "I hate you!"
With that, she pushed past the palace maid beside her and ran out of the banquet hall.
"Princess!"
The Queen saw the princess running away in tears and quickly shouted at the maid, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and follow her! If the princess hurts herself, you'll pay for it!"
Startled, the maid didn't dare to hesitate and hurriedly ran after her.
In an instant, there was some commotion at the banquet. Amidst the chaos, no one noticed that someone was missing.
Liu Susu, as the daughter of the Prime Minister and the wife of a court official, had more than enough status to attend the celebration banquet.
When the Emperor proposed to betroth the princess, Liu Susu felt a chill in her heart. Once Gu Bei was commanded to marry the princess, she wouldn't dare to cause trouble anymore.
However, at the same time, she felt a bit of schadenfreude. She thought to herself, who told you all to offend me before? Now look what’s happened; you’ve been torn apart!
Yet, Liu Susu could never have imagined that Gu Bei would refuse marriage for a mere Ye Xiaohan.
After a brief moment of surprise, her heart was filled with seething anger. How dare these two show affection in such a public setting! Ye Xiaohan was just a lowly commoner; in the Prime Minister's Residence, she wouldn't even qualify as a first-class maid.
That someone would be willing to offend the royal family for her—what kind of nonsense was this about being together for life? Gu Bei must have lost his mind!
Liu Susu quietly stood up and chased after the princess. The princess had been publicly rejected; she must be furious with those two. This was too good an opportunity for sowing discord to miss!
Meanwhile, at the banquet, the Emperor felt increasingly uncomfortable as Gu Bei repeatedly rejected his marriage proposal.
"Gu Ai Qing, what do you mean by this?" The Emperor's tone had noticeably cooled. "Although the princess has her shortcomings, I believe I have raised her well enough to assist her husband in managing affairs. Your outright refusal—are you dissatisfied with the princess or with me?"
Anyone would feel displeased by such rejection, especially someone as high-ranking as the Emperor. That he had managed to suppress his anger and not punish Gu Bei was already a great favor bestowed upon him.
Gu Bei reiterated, "Your Majesty, I am utterly loyal to you and harbor no disrespect towards the princess. However, matters of the heart cannot be matched by status or conditions. To others, my beloved may seem like an ordinary person of lowly status, but in my heart, having her in this life is enough; I have no other thoughts."
He suddenly thought, rather inappropriately, that if he truly dared to take multiple wives, would Ye Xiaohan pick up a table and break one of his legs?
The mere thought of Ye Xiaohan stirred a wave of tenderness within Gu Bei. Yet, this was not the time for such distractions; he quickly reined in his thoughts and focused on handling the overwhelming favor bestowed upon him by the emperor.
Many were sweating for Gu Bei, but in the end, the emperor did not show anger nor punish him.
"Such personal matters can be discussed later; today is a celebration feast and should be lively," the emperor raised his cup and said, "Come, I toast all my loyal ministers."
The ministers quickly raised their cups in response, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The emperor clearly did not wish to continue this topic, and the ministers were not foolish enough to bring it up again and offend him. In an instant, the banquet returned to its previous atmosphere of laughter and song.
Only the Queen felt aggrieved and complained, "Your Majesty! Gu Bei has openly defied you and resisted marriage, causing the princess to flee! Are we just going to let this slide?"
If that were the case, she would be the first to disagree! The emperor was indeed too indulgent towards Gu Bei, allowing him such boldness!
The emperor frowned and replied, "On such a joyous occasion, must we create discord? Moreover, if Gu Bei is unwilling, we cannot force the princess upon him; what would that mean for her?"
The Queen understood this reasoning but still felt discontented. "Marriage is a serious matter that cannot be treated lightly; it has always been arranged by parents and matchmakers. He has gone out and found someone unsuitable—doesn't that embarrass the Gu family? Young people simply do not understand their place!"
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