Chapter 11: Forcefully Annulling the Engagement
Sun Jiaojiao waited anxiously by the door of her chambers for several days, finally managing to catch her Minister father, who practically slept at his government office, on his return.
As soon as she heard Minister Sun had entered, Sun Jiaojiao immediately sent Yu'er to request her cheap father's presence.
Minister Sun didn't even have time to sip his tea before he turned around and hurried to Sun Jiaojiao's chambers.
When Sun Jiaojiao saw Minister Sun, she immediately dismissed the entire room of maidservants. She also ordered Xiao Yi, Xiao Er, Xiao San, and Xiao Si, who were outside, to "get lost" and stand guard ten meters away, forbidding them to come any closer.
Once all this was done, Sun Jiaojiao knelt on the floor and said, "Father, your child does not want to marry the Crown Prince."
Minister Sun was rather surprised. "What is the meaning of this?"
Sun Jiaojiao: "I just don't want to marry him. His Highness the Crown Prince is not the right man for me."
Minister Sun was completely baffled. "Although this marriage was bestowed by the Emperor and is a supreme honor, Father remembers that when you were young, you entered the palace, glimpsed His Highness the Crown Prince from afar, and came back whining that you would marry no one but His Highness. Have you forgotten all that childish nonsense?"
To think she could say "marry no one but His Highness" as a child.
She really was precocious...
Sun Jiaojiao steeled herself and said, "Childhood was childhood, now is now. Now, your child does not want to marry. Besides, Father, you said it yourself, it was nonsense. The imperial family's inner courtyards have always been perilous places that eat people without spitting out the bones. Your child may not have known her own limitations when she was young, but she knows them clearly now. This Crown Prince cannot be married."
She had said her piece. Whether her cheap father would listen, she had no confidence.
In ancient times, servants had no status. In truth, women didn't have much status either.
Don't be fooled by her being the pampered Young Miss; wasn't her future still in the hands of this cheap father?
If her cheap father was determined to sell his daughter for glory, then even if she bashed her head in and died in front of him, she couldn't change her fate.
Sun Jiaojiao could only hope that this Minister Sun was a doting father who would consider the stakes, let her off, and go discuss annulling the marriage with the Emperor. Then he could find her a husband she could perhaps manage...
She pretended to wipe the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.
In reality, how could Minister Sun want to send his daughter into that Eastern Palace?
The factions at court were intricate and complex, not something that could be explained in a few words. The fact that Sun Jiaojiao had been designated as the Crown Princess was even less simple. In short, it was the final result of a political game between multiple powers.
Although the Emperor was the Son of Heaven, he was repeatedly isolated and sidelined at court due to the severe interference of his relatives by marriage. The Empress Dowager's clan had deep roots, and the Empress's family was also a force to be reckoned with. Even the Imperial Consort's brothers were wildly ambitious, often overstepping their bounds, relying on the military power in their hands.
The Emperor loathed relatives-by-marriage and did not want his most valued Crown Prince to repeat his own mistakes. He therefore pushed aside all opposition and designated the Sun family's Young Miss as the future Crown Princess, precisely so that the Crown Prince would be less constrained by in-laws after ascending the throne.
In truth, when the imperial edict was issued, the court was in an uproar, with a great deal of opposition...
This was because Sun Jiaojiao was not particularly outstanding among the high-born ladies of the capital. Her virtue, appearance, speech, and skills were not exceptional. As for her family background, although Minister Sun was a high-ranking second-tier Minister, he was just a scholar who had slowly worked his way up. He disliked forming cliques and was only concerned with diligently doing his duty for the court. No matter how you looked at it, she just didn't seem like the best match for the Crown Prince.
Minister Sun understood the Emperor's meaning. The sacred command was difficult to defy.
Moreover, at that time, he believed Sun Jiaojiao had been fond of His Highness the Crown Prince since childhood, so he accepted the edict and did not raise objections on the spot.
But that was then, and this was now. Since Sun Jiaojiao no longer liked the Crown Prince and didn't want to marry into the palace, it had to be reconsidered.
Minister Sun looked at his daughter's tear-streaked face. His heart softened. He stroked his beard and decided to try to get this marriage annulled.
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