I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse
Chapter 1001: Rejecting the Marriage Proposal

Chapter 1001: Chapter 1001: Rejecting the Marriage Proposal

Luo Xin nodded and said, "Mother, this matter concerns our Second Brother and also relates to our family’s future."

"What issue is so grave?" Mrs. Meng’s expression remained indifferent.

"Let Second Brother speak for himself, since he is one of the parties involved."

With that invitation from Luo Xin, both Mrs. Meng and Zhen Nan turned their gazes towards you. You cleared your throat and said, "Just now, the Emperor summoned me and discussed a marriage proposal. He wishes to marry off The Great Princess to me."

"Hmm." Mrs. Meng pondered for a moment, her brow slightly furrowed, "The Emperor wants to wed the Princess to you; although I had guessed as much, I didn’t expect it to be The Great Princess. It’s said that The Great Princess has recovered from her serious illness, and logically, there should be countless suitors, with the first choice being a member of The Changsun Family. When Empress Changsun was still alive, a marriage had been arranged with them. But because The Great Princess’s illness did not seem to improve, the Emperor, out of love for his daughter, refrained from marrying her off to them. I hadn’t expected this benefit to fall into the lap of you, this cheeky lad."

"Mother, what kind of way is that to talk about your own son? Although I may not be flawlessly handsome, I am still quite presentable. And as for family background, while we may fall short of the imperial family, my martial skills and character are certainly first-rate. I haven’t even complained about feeling aggrieved at marrying someone older than myself."

Mrs. Meng gave you an annoyed look and said, "What do you know? On her eighteenth birthday, your father presented her with a Preserve Appearance Pill, refined by the Master, ensuring that even if The Great Princess lives to be very old, she will still maintain the youthful appearance of an eighteen-year-old. Although it’s been several years since I last saw her, the memory of her face is still fresh in my mind—that woman is truly the most incomparable beauty in the Mortal World."

You pursed your lips, somewhat disbelieving, "Pfft, if she is even a third as beautiful as my Nan Nan, I would be incredibly lucky."

Knowing that your words were meant to comfort her, Zhen Nan felt sweet inside. She gave you a charming smile, making your hormones almost overflow.

"Always know just what to say, don’t you? Even now, you don’t forget to sweet-talk your wife." Mrs. Meng laughed softly, while she also patted Zhen Nan’s hand, "Both of you are daughters-in-law of my choosing, and your status is unshakeable by anyone. Even if The Great Princess were to enter Luo Mansion, she would be just a concubine, the same as you."

The term "concubine" came from your mouth; you found the term distasteful and had suggested to Mrs. Meng that no matter how many women you might have in the future, they should all be treated as concubines, with no distinction of status. Mrs. Meng was indifferent; her son being able to attract numerous women was a joy for her.

"Mother, I don’t mind at all, as long as I have a place in my husband’s heart," Zhen Nan smiled gracefully, as captivating as a blooming peony.

"Rest assured, that won’t be an issue because I’ve already declined," you said.

"Hmm?"

Not only Mrs. Meng and Luo Xin, but even Zhen Nan turned to look at you in stunned disbelief.

"Oh, what I mean is, I’ve rejected this marriage proposal," you clarified.

"What!?" Everyone reacted with uniform shock, all looking at you as if you were some kind of monster.

Luo Xin, patted his own head and stared at you intently asking, "Is what you’re saying true? Did you actually turn down this marriage?"

After all, Luo Xin, a high official, had some understanding of The Great Princess and cared a great deal about her existence.

He knew that ever since you had recited "The Phoenix Hairpin" at the Moon-viewing Pavilion in honor of The Great Princess, Emperor Li Shimin had considered you as the ideal husband for her.

Moreover, Li Shimin took a great liking to you. Though you weren’t interested in power and had a bit of a roving eye—which man doesn’t?—Emperor Li Shimin was extremely confident in his daughter’s allure. He firmly believed that once you wed The Great Princess, you would surely forsake all other women and devote yourself solely to her.

Luo Xin, puzzled by your rejection of the marriage, did not wait for your response and pressed on, "Second Brother, did you truly refuse the marriage in front of His Majesty?"

"Uh, one might say so, but His Majesty’s attitude is a bit uncertain, I’m afraid this matter won’t be so easily settled." As you spoke of this matter, your brows furrowed slightly.

Yun’er, tell mother why you want to reject such a marriage proposal." Meng Family looked somewhat calm, yet her beautiful eyes gleamed as she looked at her fine son.

On one hand, she felt proud that the Emperor of the Great Tang had taken a fancy to her son; on the other hand, she also took pride in your courage to reject the marriage specifically proposed by the Emperor himself. Who else in the entire Tang Dynasty would dare to reject a matrimonial proposal personally offered by the Emperor?

"Mother, His Majesty is being a bit unreasonable in this respect. His intention is clear—if I want to marry The Great Princess, I must dismiss all the wives and concubines in my family. How could I agree to such a thing!"

Your words were very firm. As soon as you said this, it gave Zhen Nan, who was standing by, a different feeling. She could hear that your words were truly heartfelt, without a hint of flattery. Zhen Nan’s eyes, as they looked at you, became even more enchanted, while deep inside, she also felt waves of irritation and anxiety stir. As for these feelings of irritation and anxiety, she wouldn’t tell you.

"Good! A fine refusal! Truly my son!" Meng Family affirmed thrice in a row, making clear her own stance. If you had agreed to the Emperor’s marriage proposal, even she, your mother, would have lost respect for you.

"It’s just that, I’m afraid His Majesty won’t let it go just like that," Luo Xin said with furrowed brows.

"Let him be. When soldiers come, use a general to block them; when water comes, use earth to cover it. Could our Luo Family actually be afraid of him? Even though he is the Emperor, he can’t just forcefully shove his own daughter onto me and then expect me to be a Chen Shimei, right?"

"Right, brother, I suddenly have an idea." Soon, a thought to avoid further entanglement with the Emperor suddenly sprang up in your mind.

"Let’s hear it?" Luo Xin knew you had many cunning plans.

"Uh, can you send me somewhere else? Whether as a civil official or a military general, as long as it’s not in Chang’an. That way, His Majesty surely wouldn’t continue to cling to this issue, right? Our Tang Dynasty is vast and its people talented; there are plenty who would be worthy of The Great Princess, not to mention one less of me."

In fact, you had harbored such a thought for quite some time now. As the saying goes, ’the man who stands out invites trouble as a pig invites weight.’ Currently, your reputation is too loud, inhibiting many of your activities and preventing you from acting as freely as you once did.

Moreover, what you need now is a place to quietly cultivate. Zhao’er is currently with the Queen Mother of the West, and no matter what, you must find her and bring her back.

After all, you’ve been in this Map of Kingdom for quite some time now, you can’t continue to drift along like this. Some matters also need to be settled.

"This..."

"Brother, I’ve been meaning to bring this up for a while, and you know it. My cultivation has reached a bottleneck, and my Master has passed away. Even the Grand Master has said that I should travel more. Once I achieve a breakthrough in my mental state, my strength will improve significantly."

"Hmm, I’ll try. Before early court tomorrow, I’ll talk to Chancellor and see if he can find a way."

"Heh, there’s got to be a way."

You took Zhen Nan back to your courtyard.

"Husband, have you ever seen The Great Princess?"

"No, why do you ask?"

The two of you sat down together on a stone bench in the courtyard, and finding the stone bench cold, you let Zhen Nan sit in your lap.

Zhen Nan appeared quite at ease with your actions, and without any hesitation, she sat down.

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