Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 22 I don’t agree with this marriage
"Why are you so honest today?"

Yang gave Li Ming a full bowl of rice with confusion.

It was only noon and this devil had gone home for lunch.

Normally, he would not return until dark.

"I...bajibaji...I'm not in the mood."

Li Ming worked silently on his meal. The staple food was still the same old millet rice, served with some bitter and astringent local vegetables such as sunflower greens, cabbage, and radish.

To prevent poisoning, no outside food was allowed into the palace, so even if one made money, one could not improve the family's meals.

Just as his thoughts were wandering, a cool and soft hand touched his forehead.

"No fever, I'm fine." The worry on Li Ling's face flashed away, and he winked at him playfully, "There's nothing wrong with the body, it's probably just the brain."

Li Ming didn't want to mess around with her, so he pushed her hand away impatiently:
"You have the disease."

Li Ling was stunned and stopped talking. He ate two mouthfuls of rice silently, cleaned up the dishes and went back to his room.

Yang was not angry as usual, she just sighed sadly:

"You shouldn't treat your sister like this. She cares about you the most."

"What's up with her?"

"She's getting married soon, so you two will have fewer opportunities to meet in the future."

"……Um."

Li Ming's heart was in a mess and he put down the bowl without any appetite.

"I'm stuffed."

Opening the door, Li Lingzheng buried his head in the quilt, his shoulders shaking as he suppressed his tears.

Li Ming suddenly had a long-lost feeling of heartache.

Just like his daughter in his previous life was bullied at school.

Li Ling cried for a long time, and her shoulders finally stopped shaking. She slowly raised her head and looked at him straight.

Li Ming also looked at her speechlessly.

"Brother." Li Ling spoke calmly, tears flowing silently, leaving two crystal marks on her rosy cheeks.

"I don't want to get married."

"Yeah." Li Ming nodded silently.

"That Pei Chonghui has no talent, is mean and ungrateful, and only climbed to this position because of his family background."

"Ah."

"When my father conferred the title on me, he said that Pei Chonghui was the only one left in their branch of the Pei family, and he asked me to give birth to a son to continue the family line."

"Ah."

"But whether you have a boy or a girl is God's will. How can I control it?"

"Ah."

The sister kept crying and the brother could only listen.

In fact, they both knew better than anyone that even the most powerful person in the world could not change the marriage arrangement chosen by the emperor.

"I feel better." Li Ling had no expression on his face and looked at Li Ming with lifeless eyes.

"Thank you, you are the only one willing to listen to my nonsense."

Li Ming suddenly felt a strong sense of shame. He seemed to be too ashamed to face his sister, so he fled from the room.

When they returned to the outer hall, the "Fifth Aunt" came to visit again and was sitting and chatting with Yang.

Seeing Li Ming coming out, Fifth Aunt smiled at him warmly, her eyes curved into two beautiful crescents:

"Li Ming, I heard that you were doing charity work outside the palace? You really made your mother proud."

Li Ming inexplicably felt that behind the two crescent moons, a pair of cold eyes seemed to be examining him.

"No way, what can a kid like him do? It's all thanks to Mr. Fang's help." Yang said modestly.

"It is rare for him to have such an innocent and kind heart, and it is also a blessing for you, sister." Fifth Aunt lightly changed the subject:

"Speaking of which, Li Ling is getting married, right? I just came to see her today. It's just..."

Yang's face turned red: "The child is ignorant, I will call her out now."

"Not really. I just came to visit you on my way today. I'll sit for a while and then leave. It's just..." Fifth Aunt waved her hands repeatedly, but lowered her voice and leaned closer to Yang.

"But the Pei family is not like the Lide Palace. They will not tolerate rude daughters-in-law. With Li Ling's temper, she will probably suffer when she goes to her husband's family in the future.

"My sister has a lot of free time in the harem. Didn't she teach her the Three Obediences and Four Virtues?"

Yang's face turned even redder.

Being scolded by a talented person who is almost a generation younger than her, she could only smile.

Li Ming's face darkened and he suddenly felt chest tightness.

The intricate interpersonal relationships in the harem seemed to have formed an impenetrable web that suffocated him.

Even if he escaped from the harem, this web would still entangle him. Any movement he made outside the palace might wake up the spider in the web.

Although the Tang Dynasty is vast, he has nowhere to hide!
"Ming'er, are you feeling unwell today?"

Li Ming suddenly woke up, and what came into his sight was Yang's worried face.

"I'm... fine." He muttered softly, as if he was avoiding something, and turned and ran.

Just as he ran to the door, the old eunuch happened to rush in and the two of them bumped into each other.

The old man was hit in the stomach by the fat boy and fell flat on his face. However, he didn't care about the pain. He stood up and shouted into the house:

"My dear, something bad has happened! There is good news, there is good news!" Is it good or bad?

Yang couldn't understand the old eunuch's contradictory literature and was confused:
"Old man, have some tea first. What on earth is worrying you so much?"

The old eunuch was so anxious that he waved his hands quickly, without even taking a breath, and said breathlessly:

"My lady, you are still as steady as a rock. Go find your little monkey!"

Yang and the Fifth Aunt looked behind the eunuch at the same time, and then looked back at the eunuch.

"what happened?"

"His Majesty has summoned His Highness Li Ming to Liangyi Palace! Time is urgent. It will be difficult to report to the higher authorities if we are late!"

"Oh? What did your majesty summon the little monkey for?"

"Of course it's a good thing! They should be preparing to seal... Wow!"

The old eunuch then realized that the boy was standing behind him. He poked him with his finger in shock and was speechless:

"You, you, you... No, why is His Highness Li Ming here? Shouldn't he be..."

Shouldn't he be committing suicide or on the way to committing suicide?

Li Ming squinted at him, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth:
"Father is looking for me?"

Although it was clearly a smiling child, the old eunuch felt a chill running down his spine for no apparent reason.

But after walking in the palace for a long time, he was not so confused. He swallowed his saliva and continued to urge anxiously:

"His Majesty said he has something to talk to you about. You should quickly take a bath and burn incense... Alas, it's too late. You should change your clothes!"

"Chat? Father is busy with state affairs, how can he have time to chat with a brat like me?"

The old eunuch deliberately ignored the sting in the young prince's words:

"I dare not reveal the secret of what happened, but..."

He straightened his clothes and saluted Li Ming with his arms crossed, smiling.

"I wish Your Highness a promotion!"

Li Ming's eyebrows were wrinkled into a "川" shape.

Okay, that's fine too.

He also had a lot of things he wanted to talk to the emperor about.

"I see."

He turned around and left without hesitation.

"Hey, Your Highness! You must not be disrespectful in front of the palace! Madam, quickly give me the palace robe of Your Highness, and I will take it to him!"

The old eunuch hurriedly took the robe with both hands and chased after him anxiously.

Yang smiled bitterly and apologized to the Fifth Aunt:

"Mei Niang, I'm so sorry for this child doing this again and again."

"No, no, sister, you are too serious..."

Wu Meiniang answered hesitantly, looking at Li Ming's back with amusement.

I'm honored to be summoned by Your Majesty again and again, right...

…………

"Your Highness, your sleeves are not put on yet."

"Ah."

"Your Highness, there are still some grains of rice at the corners of your mouth. I will wipe them for you."

"Ah."

"Your Highness, jade belt, jade belt!"

"Ah."

On the way to Liangyi Hall, Li Ming walked along the way while the old eunuch helped him pack, like an old nanny.

Li Ming's biological mother could do nothing to help, because Yongxiang was like a barrier that blocked her from the harem.

Yang was like a prisoner, forced to live forever in a small space between the north of Yongxiang and the south of the palace wall.

Not only Yang, but also Li Ming's five sisters, several concubines, and even all the emperor's women, which one was not imprisoned in the cramped harem for life?

When the eldest sister Li Ling got married, she was just jumping from one cage into another smaller fish tank.

And Li Ming himself, as well as his elder brother Li Chengqian, and even all his brothers and sisters, their souls were also bound by the palace walls.

Like beasts in the arena, killing each other for the illusory emperor's grace?

"Your Highness, we're here." The old eunuch wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Finally, he sent the little ancestor to the destination without any danger. He did not forget to seize the time and kept on giving instructions:
"When you go in, don't make any noise, walk slowly, be respectful to His Majesty, don't make him angry, and..."

"I know." Li Ming bowed to the old man solemnly:
"Thank you."

The old eunuch suddenly felt like he was watching his grandson grow up, with tears of excitement in his eyes.

"The old slave is leaving first."

Li Ming watched the old man until his bent back left his sight, then he turned around and faced the magnificent palace gate.

Liangyi Palace.

The source that has made Li Ming worry for many years, that has made his father and son, his wife, his brothers and sisters no longer like family members, that has made his home no longer like a home, and that has made his mother sigh and Li Ling cry, is sitting right inside.

He took a deep breath and stepped in.

(End of this chapter)