RPAGF Chapter 423 The Right to Divorce a Husband
Chapter 423 The Right to Divorce a Husband
"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims, 'Now there is a woman of gentle and kind character, prudent and prudent manners, dignified and courteous, beautiful both in appearance and in intelligence. My third son, Xie Nanyuan, is a man of valor and skill in warfare, of exceptional talent and learning, and is of marriageable age.'"
I hereby appoint you as the First Rank Princess of Rui, giving you the power of the inner court and allowing you to marry a man of your own. I also grant you the right to divorce your husband. If you ever become separated from your husband, no one can stop you. This is my decree!
The content of this imperial edict... was beyond Shen Qionghua's expectations.
Not only the title of Princess Rui, but also the last sentence surprised her.
The right to divorce a husband...
What this means is self-evident.
Even if Xie Nanyuan really became the emperor in the future, with the imperial edict personally issued by the late emperor, as long as she wanted to leave, Xie Nanyuan would not be able to stop her.
Otherwise, he would be disrespectful to the late emperor and disregard filial piety.
Unless he no longer wants the throne under his butt, he can only watch her leave.
Xie Nanyuan was... handing over the absolute initiative of their relationship to her, letting her control it.
She said that she did not want to be a concubine and was unwilling to be trapped in the small space of the backyard, so he really asked for the position of Princess Rui for her.
She said that there was a gap in status between them, he was in a higher position and she could not fully trust him, so he lowered his head, let her be superior to him, and promised her that he had the ability to end the relationship.
She said that she felt insecure and could not trust him wholeheartedly, so he engraved this promise on the imperial edict, without regret and without changing it.
It turns out that this is what I meant when I said "I understand" before leaving that day.
Instead of deciding to withdraw his thoughts, he decided to find a way to eliminate her worries, cut off all obstacles, and walk to her side.
In Dai Viet, women held a lower position than men, and marriages and divorces were rare, and divorces were unheard of. Furthermore, he was a prince...
Since this is a matter of royal reputation, one can imagine how much effort he put into convincing the emperor to add this sentence at the end.
Shen Qionghua looked at the imperial edict and almost lost her voice. After a long while, she suddenly said, "This imperial edict...how could the emperor agree to it?"
Xie Nanyuan looked at her utterly shocked expression and couldn't help but laugh. He said softly, "Father originally disagreed and even said I was embarrassing myself and a weak husband."
"But I kept pestering him, using my military merits and rewards this time as an exchange, and even bringing up the marriage I deserved for winning first place in the last hunt."
"I threatened him again, saying that if he didn't agree, I would never get married in this lifetime. After a while, I would return to the border and continue to live among the wind, sand and loess."
"My father wanted to have a grandson, and since he couldn't persuade me, he had no choice but to agree."
"I finally got my father to agree, and I just took it out of the palace this morning. I was planning to find you in the evening, but I didn't expect you to come to me first."
"Now I've finally proven my innocence. I have legitimate reasons to come looking for you, so why would I bother to deceive you?"
As Xie Nanyuan spoke, a rare hint of pride appeared in his eyes.
Seeing Shen Qionghua just staring at him blankly without saying anything, Xie Nanyuan paused and suddenly said:
"Shen Qionghua, I've already boasted in front of the Emperor. You won't let me lose face in front of him, will you?"
Shen Qionghua didn't hear anything about the boasting and the loss of face. She was still immersed in Xie Nanyuan's previous words and hadn't come back to her senses.
It turned out that the price was even greater than she had imagined. Was even the military merit this time exchanged for it?
In this battle with the State of Chen, there were spies inside, making victory extremely difficult, and even he almost lost his life.
The military merits she earned fighting on the battlefield, amidst mountains of blood and mountains of corpses, were exchanged for a promise to divorce her husband...
"Isn't it a pity?" Shen Qionghua looked into Xie Nanyuan's eyes and said softly.
"What?" Xie Nanyuan was slightly stunned.
"The military merits you earned fighting in mountains of corpses and seas of blood are exchanged for a promise, a promise to divorce you. Isn't that a pity?" Shen Qionghua asked.
Xie Nanyuan's thin lips curled slightly when he heard this, and a bit of wickedness appeared on his face. "It's just a military achievement. If I can earn the first one, I can earn the second one."
"What's more, the military merit and rewards are originally given to me. Since they are given to me, why can't I redeem them in a different way?"
"For me, being able to marry you is much more meaningful than adding another military achievement to my list of merits."
"Of course, if you really care about the military merit, you might as well agree to it, so that the military merit will not be wasted." Xie Nanyuan chuckled.
As he spoke, he took Shen Qionghua's hand and led her to the desk.
He took the imperial edict from Shen Qionghua's hand, spread it out, ground the ink himself, dipped the brush in it, and handed it to Shen Qionghua.
He said softly, "This is the promise I made to you. If you accept it and feel that I am worthy of your trust, please write your name in this blank space. Later, I will bring this imperial edict into the palace and affix the imperial seal. In this way, you will never be able to escape."
"However, this imperial edict is for you to keep. It cannot be read out in public. The one that is read out in public is another imperial edict, and that one does not contain the last sentence."
"Well, my father said that I have no shame, but I can't drag down the royal family either. So, unless we really reach that point, the imperial edict in your hand must never be made public."
At this point, a suspicious red tinge appeared on the tip of Xie Nanyuan's ear.
Shen Qionghua stared at the pen in Xie Nanyuan's hand. Upon hearing this, she subconsciously asked, "So I have to seal it up and take it out only when I divorce my husband?"
When Xie Nanyuan saw that he had said so much but Shen Qionghua only said this one sentence, he immediately lost his composure.
He glared at Shen Qionghua angrily and said unhappily, "This is just a promise. You will never have that day in your life. I will make you willingly stay with me forever. You will never need it."
"And don't even think about it. If you marry me, you'll be mine for the rest of your life."
"So, Shen Qionghua, this is all the sincerity I can show you, and I'm laying it out before you. What about you?"
"If you think I'm okay, and are willing to trust me and entrust the rest of your life to me, why don't you write your name on this imperial edict?"
As he spoke, he moved the pen toward Shen Qionghua's hand again.
Shen Qionghua stared at the pen that was already dipped in ink and clenched her hands suddenly.