sbdcsierra Chapter 272 Who's next?
Chapter 272 Who's next?
"What did you say?"
Lu Yangyang's mood felt like it had been hoisted high into the sky and then plummeted down, leaving her staring blankly at the Crown Prince.
"He didn't necessarily want Li Duan to go for a political marriage. There were several other princesses of marriageable age in the palace, and he could find a suitable one from the imperial clan. The reason he brought up Li Duan was because of a secret contest between him and his aunt. He wasn't so determined. It might have been a warning, a reminder, or perhaps he just wanted to get rid of Li Duan far away. But Helian Jue was very satisfied with Li Duan, and his aunt died because of Lord Bo, so Li Duan became a usable bargaining chip, and someone he had to get rid of far away."
“If Li Duan marries King Yi, it will maintain peace between the two countries for a few years, which is a win-win situation, and he will naturally be happy to see it happen.”
"But if we let Li Duan disappear and live in anonymity, we'll lose our best bargaining chip, and the price for someone else might not be the same. He'll always want to collect some interest, for example, by finding someone to marry A Yao to restrain A Yao and block A Yao's path to marrying Li Duan as his principal wife. Therefore, this marriage cannot be refused. If we refuse, he'll pursue Li Duan's matter again, and we'll be back to square one. At that point, Li Duan's future will truly be uncertain."
The Crown Prince calmly analyzed the Emperor's psychology with her, but Lu Yangyang listened with trepidation.
She immediately understood the meaning of those words.
The emperor knew perfectly well that Li Duan was his daughter. If the eldest princess were still alive, he could use Li Duan to manipulate her, and wouldn't necessarily have to send Li Duan away for a political marriage. But the eldest princess was gone, and he saw Li Duan as a thorn, a thorn that had to be removed.
At this particular moment, this thorn happens to be of some use, so he will inevitably use it in a suitable way to gain benefits.
The emperor either wanted to use Li Duan to restrain Sheng Junyao, or to use Li Duan to exchange for a few years of peace. He didn't care what Li Duan's feelings were; he only cared whether this pawn could bring him benefits.
This is the heart of an emperor.
Lu Yangyang looked at the Crown Prince in a daze. He said that was the first method, but what about the second method? What was the second method?
If you want to stop the emperor from sending Li Duan to marry a foreign ruler, and if you want your elder brother to marry Li Duan openly and legitimately, then there's only one possibility: you need enough leverage.
The military achievement in the Northwest Smallpox case only earned him the task of collecting the body of the eldest princess.
If you want to change this marriage...
Lu Yangyang looked at the Crown Prince with suspicion and asked in a trembling voice, "If we want His Majesty to agree to bestow a marriage upon my elder brother and Xiaoli, does my elder brother have to hand over his military power in the Northwest?"
The crown prince nodded slightly. "Yes."
“That’s the culmination of my brother’s seven years of hard work, your ideals, and the stability of the Northwest. If it falls into the hands of others…” Lu Yangyang couldn’t continue.
My elder brother is the Crown Prince's man, and the Northwest is one of the Crown Prince's pillars of support. Without the Northwest, it would be like cutting off one of the Crown Prince's arms. If His Majesty were to target the Yan family again, the Crown Prince would have no way out.
The stability of the Northwest in recent years has become uncertain.
All of this actually had nothing to do with Ri Duan; fundamentally, it was just a struggle for imperial power.
It was yet another struggle for imperial power.
Ritsuya was just one of the insignificant victims.
Lu Yangyang was suddenly overcome with anger. She realized she had never truly understood what imperial power was. Thinking of the Duke of Sheng, she realized he, too, was scheming for power and willing to sacrifice anything.
Lu Yangyang was so angry that her eyes were bloodshot and her lips trembled, unable to utter a sound.
Only when she could no longer bear it did she stubbornly look at the Crown Prince: "Do innocent people have to be sacrificed? Li Duan, elder brother, who's next?"
The crown prince did not answer her question, but instead looked away into the distance: "Yangyang, do you know why so many people are determined to reach the highest point, to reach a higher position? It's for the present, so that when they have to make a choice, they will have the power to choose."
"But even those who reach that position still struggle. Some are able to fulfill their duties, while others simply get lost in the vortex of power, sinking deeper and deeper."
“Li Duan’s affairs are not for you to interfere with. A Yao and I each have our own choices, and this is our path.”
Lu Yangyang was unwilling to give up: "Then what about me? Am I just supposed to stand by and do nothing?"
"Take Li Duan to the southwest, leave immediately, let her forget A Yao, and live a good life. One day, if you find your own path, come back." The Crown Prince looked at the devastated Lu Yangyang, feeling a pang of pity, but with a storm brewing, the capital could no longer be left behind.
She won't leave unless we make things clear to her.
But now is the perfect time.
She values relationships and will take Li Duan away if she doesn't want Li Duan to get caught up in this mess.
Leave this place of trouble.
The crown prince turned his face away, preparing to call Pei Ji to leave.
Just then, Granny Shen knocked on the door hurriedly, "Miss, Lin Shuang requests an audience, saying that the county princess just went to the palace."
Lu Yangyang jumped up and ran towards the door.
Lin Shuang, who had been waiting outside, ran over crying and knelt down in front of Lu Yangyang with a thud: "Miss Lu, the county princess secretly left and went into the palace without telling anyone. When Lin Feng chased after her, she had already reached the palace gate and gone inside. Lin Feng couldn't get into the palace, and Prince Sheng was out on business. Miss Lu, what should we do? The county princess..."
Lu Yangyang was anxious to run out when the Crown Prince stopped her.
"Wait here, I'll go to the palace first and settle things down, then I'll come back to pick you up to meet her."
Lu Yangyang was really anxious: "Can I go with Your Highness?"
"Li Duan is going to see the Emperor." The Crown Prince stopped Lu Yangyang with just one sentence.
Lu Yangyang stopped in her tracks. She had the title of princess, but she couldn't even enter the palace. Even if she entered the palace with the crown prince, she couldn't see the emperor.
"Wait at home," the Crown Prince told her before hurriedly leaving.
It wasn't until evening that Lu Yangyang was brought into the palace by people sent by the Crown Prince and taken to Zhaoyang Palace, the palace where the Eldest Princess had once lived.
Li Duan was still wearing that mourning clothes, the overly plain white color making her seem like a completely different person from before.
Before Lu Yangyang arrived, Li Duan had already dismissed all the palace servants and was waiting in the side hall where she used to live.
Lu Yangyang stepped forward and grabbed Li Duan's hand, lowering her voice, "Come with me, I'll take you with me, to the ends of the earth, no one will be able to find you, I'll go with you!"
Lu Yangyang's hand tightened involuntarily as she stubbornly looked at Li Duan. "Listen to me, Li Duan. As long as we leave the capital, everything will be alright. Wait a few more years, and we'll come back. Trust me, I can take you away! I've always wanted to travel the world and practice medicine like my master. Come with me, and we can go to many places. Don't you want to know how I used to live? You'll find out once we leave the capital. Let's go now!"
"Yangyang, I'm not leaving. I'm going to marry into a foreign power."