Zheng Ying knelt straight on the ground, like a statue, and her dark eyes were like an unfathomable vortex, as if they could devour everything. His expression was actually very calm, and it was unusually calm. He did not express any opinion on the emperor's almost explicit actions, and just knelt like this, quietly.

"Don't you feel bad?" The emperor didn't seem to care much about what Zheng Ying thought in his heart, he looked aggressively as if he did it on purpose: "Little Wu, I know that you are an ambitious child. I know exactly what you want. But you have to understand that if you want to sit firmly in this chair, you will have to go through this kind of heart-cutting pain many times. It's just that you can't marry the girl you love right now, and then you'll know that it's too small compared to what you're going through in the future. It may not be long before you forget the pain of the day, because there will be many painful things waiting for you. ”

Zheng Ying still didn't say a word, but the emperor talked a lot, sentence after sentence, pressing step by step, as if he was deliberately pouring salt on Zheng Ying's wound, wishing that he would hurt a little more.

"Xiaoliu has already made a marriage, and I don't want to delay your family affairs any longer." The emperor turned to stare at Zheng Ying, as if waiting for him to resist: "If you want to fight for this position, you have to marry earlier." A suitable concubine, plus a child, is your biggest capital. Even if you have the ability, but you have no family and no children, the courtiers will not be at ease with you. The imperial court needs a stable continuation and inheritance, and a childless emperor will cause turmoil in the court, so the heir is very important. ”

Zheng Ying raised her head and looked at the emperor, the mask of calm finally began to crack again.

"It's good for me to look at the Xie family." The emperor didn't seem to notice the change in Zheng Ying's expression: "Xie Xiang has protected you, you should also calm his heart." Look at what Xiao Liu did, no matter what he does, in this regard, he is much stronger than you. You are the prince, you may be the emperor in the future, and your marriage is a political matter. When you think about your marriage, you should think about it as you think about the major affairs of the government. ”

"Father, the emperor's ......" Zheng Ying knelt down and moved forward a little, opening his mouth to say something, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by the emperor.

"I don't need to delay any longer." The emperor stared at Zheng Ying and said word by word: "It's better to choose a day than to hit the day, I will marry you and Miss Xie today." Recently, there have been a lot of things in the court, and your marriage can just divert the attention of some courtiers. Again...... I had heard that General Red and Miss Hsieh were best friends, and that she was about to go on an expedition, so I had time to marry her friend before she set out, and she had time to express her blessings. Ying'er, you have been a very calm and rational character since you were a child, you should know that this is the most suitable arrangement. ”

Zheng Ying didn't raise his eyes to look at the emperor, he looked straight at the spotless floor tiles in the imperial study, and the heavy sadness in his eyes gradually flooded.

"Kid, I know it's hard for you." The emperor quickly turned around, and Zheng Ying's eyes also made him a little sad: "It's always been difficult for you." You've been like that since you were a kid. I can understand that you like the eldest lady of the Mu family. The child was indeed pleasant, lively and cheerful, and his heart was like glass. It's just Ying'er, she's really not suitable for you. It's not just that the identity is not suitable, in fact, from head to toe, it is not suitable anywhere. Think about it, such a lively girl, can you bear to lock her up in the harem, be lonely for the rest of her life, and be accompanied by the red tiles of the palace wall? It was a swallow eagle, not a lark, and the cage couldn't be closed. ”

"Yes......" Zheng Ying's voice was almost inaudible: "Sooner or later, you have to fly high, how can you cut off her wings and lock her in the palace." If she is locked in the deep palace, such a clear and transparent smiling face, she will probably never see her again......"

"If only you understood." The emperor nodded: "I will give you a marriage today." In any case, Concubine Xin Wang must be the daughter of the Xie family. ”

Zheng Ying didn't say a word, knelt in place and was silent for a moment, then bent down and bowed silently to the emperor. This wordless compromise somehow suddenly made the emperor feel sad, as a prince, he couldn't help himself, and the emperor actually understood it better than anyone else.

The burden on them is too heavy, and how can they bear it without sacrificing everything with all their might?

But in the face of his son, the emperor finally relented. He sighed and added: "I don't intend to force you too much, I don't care how you live." I will mention you one more thing, if you have the ability to sit on the throne in the future, I can't control who you let into the harem and who you let be the queen. By then, I had already gone to see the emperor, and the flood behind me was monstrous. Even if...... Alas! ”

Having said that, both the emperor and Zheng Ying actually understand that this is an insincere comfort. Da Zhou can't have relatives with heavy troops, so no matter which family the future queen comes from, it is impossible for her to come from the Anguo Mansion.

"Does my father know why his sons like her?" Zheng Ying suddenly asked softly.

The emperor turned his head to look at Zheng Ying and did not answer. Zheng Ying didn't seem to care whether the emperor would answer, he continued to say softly: "That year, Prince Li had a birthday, and my father gave Prince Li a garden. Erchen and the six emperor brothers went together to celebrate their birthday. It was in Prince Li's Mansion that Erchen saw her for the first time. ”

At that time, she was still a little girl, her eyebrows and eyes did not grow, she couldn't say whether she looked good or not, and Erchen couldn't even remember what she looked like at that time. But Erchen clearly remembered that she smiled beautifully. With such a bright smile, Erchen had never seen it before, it seemed that when she smiled, the surroundings became bright. ”

Erchen didn't have much extravagance, he just wanted to be able to see her smile often. Father, it's too dark in this palace...... And her smile is like sunshine......"

The emperor sighed heavily, he could understand Zheng Ying's mood as a moth to the fire. This child grew up beside Empress Wei, and he was a ruthless father. In order to grind out a qualified heir, although he knew many things, he chose to turn a blind eye.

He quietly encouraged the competition among his sons, hoping to elect a stronger one as his heir. He actually knows how much pressure a child will be under when he grows up in such an environment, but so what? For him, polishing a qualified heir is more important than anything else.

He can't be soft-hearted, he can't feel sorry for his sons. Because he is a king, and he carries the king of society and people's livelihood on his back. Nothing and no one can be more important than the interests of the country, including him.

For the prosperity and stability of the Great Zhou, anyone can be sacrificed, including himself.