Emperor Tai’an strode in.

Noble Consort Jing and Prince Wei both paid their respects: “Greetings to Your Majesty (Imperial Father).”

Emperor Tai’an swept his gaze over them both and sat down in a chair: “Lao Si, what happened today?”

“Are you referring to the chrysanthemum viewing banquet?” Prince Wei forced out a smile. “Your son selected Elder Miss Lin from the General’s household.”

Emperor Tai’an paused.

This boy was certainly direct.

His brows furrowed: “That’s exactly what I’m asking about! That’s not how your mother consort and Noble Consort Zhuang arranged things, was it?”

Prince Wei hastily said: “Mother Consort and Noble Consort Zhuang carefully selected ten people and told your son to choose four from among them.”

“If that’s so, why were you willful?”

Prince Wei lowered his head, his tone aggrieved: “None of those noble ladies liked your son. They all despised how plump I am.”

Looking at his wronged and dejected son, Emperor Tai’an suddenly felt somewhat reluctant, his tone taking on anger: “How dare they!”

Prince Wei kept his eyes downcast: “Naturally they wouldn’t dare show it on the surface, but that’s what they thought in their hearts.”

“Does Elder Miss Lin have feelings for you?” Emperor Tai’an was somewhat skeptical.

Even though this was his own son, he had to admit that being this plump, no normal young lady could possibly be moved romantically.

“No.” Prince Wei’s plump face produced a bitter smile. “But your son could tell she doesn’t despise me. For your son, marrying such a wife is enough.”

He mustered his courage and looked at Emperor Tai’an, pitiful: “Imperial Father, your son is both plump and without ability. Even just walking is more difficult than for others. Your son has no great ambitions—I just want to marry a wife who is reasonably satisfactory. Won’t you grant your son this wish?”

Hearing these words, Emperor Tai’an felt uncomfortable.

He only had the Crown Prince and Lao Si as sons. Although sometimes he too found Lao Si’s plumpness distasteful, no matter how plump, he was still his son.

With Lao Si like this, if one set aside his imperial prince status, he was inferior even to common people. How pitiful.

After a long while, Emperor Tai’an sighed: “So be it. Since this is your choice, I’ll comply with your wishes.”

Prince Wei was overjoyed: “Thank you, Imperial Father!”

He looked toward Noble Consort Jing again: “Thank you, Mother Consort!”

Emperor Tai’an and Noble Consort Jing exchanged glances and both smiled.

They had thought Prince Wei’s choice would stir up a violent storm in the palace, but unexpectedly, it ended as gentle as a spring breeze.

At this time, however, in the carriage returning to the General’s household, the atmosphere was rather heavy.

“Chan’er, are you willing to marry Prince Wei?” Lin Shi’s face was ugly, so agitated she wanted to jump out of the carriage.

Lin Chan smiled calmly: “Mother, whether willing or not, we can only accept it.”

Her inner heart was far from calm, but facing a mother on the verge of losing control, if she revealed the slightest dissatisfaction, it would likely cause chaos.

Lin Shi grabbed Lin Chan’s hand: “Mother knew you were unwilling! This won’t do—we can’t just accept this. We must think of a solution.”

“Mother, this was Prince Wei’s public choice. Presumably His Majesty also knows the result by now. Only the imperial family can deem a daughter unsuitable and select someone else. If we refuse, it will bring disaster upon the General’s household.”

Hearing Lin Chan say this, Lin Shi instinctively looked toward Lin Hao.

Lin Hao’s mind was in turmoil.

After escaping the betrothal to Marquis Pingjia’s household, her elder sister’s marriage prospects had become unknown to her. She had thought Elder Sister might form a connection with Young Master Han from the Minister’s household—she never imagined it would be Prince Wei.

This was Prince Wei who would later slim down into a handsome youth!

Lin Hao suddenly didn’t know what attitude to take.

If it were merely a matter of finding Prince Wei plump, that actually wasn’t a problem. If Elder Sister had someone she fancied and was unwilling to marry, that would be the real problem.

The even bigger problem was that even if unwilling, they couldn’t refuse.

Facing the imperial family, that colossal entity, Lin Hao once again felt her own insignificance.

Today Prince Wei had chosen her sister. If he had chosen her instead, in order to avoid implicating her family, her reaction would have been the same as her sister’s.

“But this is too unfair to you.” Lin Shi gripped Lin Chan’s hand with unconscious force. “When Mother returns, I’ll speak with your grandmother and have her enter the palace to petition the Empress Dowager. His Majesty is most filial and listens to the Empress Dowager above all.”

Lin Chan shook her head: “Mother, let’s wait for the imperial family’s decision. Prince Wei is the Empress Dowager’s grandson. If Grandmother goes to petition the Empress Dowager, it’s equivalent to telling her we look down on her grandson. Could the Empress Dowager be pleased? The Empress Dowager has some affection for Grandmother. If the General’s household encounters great trouble in the future, we might still be able to seek the Empress Dowager’s help. But if we exhaust that goodwill now, we’ll truly have lost one avenue.”

Though impulsive, Lin Shi wasn’t unreasonable. But thinking of her daughter, beautiful as flowers and jade, marrying a small mountain, her heart ached as if pierced by needles.

“If only we’d settled your betrothal to Young Master Han earlier.” Lin Shi’s heart held ten thousand regrets, her eyes reddening.

Thinking of Han Baocheng, Lin Chan’s heart also held indescribable, unclear feelings.

After several chance encounters, she didn’t have a deep impression of Young Master Han, but she did remember his appearance. And from when the two families agreed to meet at Tianyuan Temple, knowing there was the possibility of going further, that person who originally hadn’t been different from anyone else to her had ultimately become different.

She was just an ordinary young lady. Regarding marrying a good husband, she couldn’t help but conventionally harbor expectations.

Lin Chan suppressed the bitterness in her heart and consoled her mother: “Mother needn’t feel regret. This only shows I had no fate with Young Master Han.”

Returning to the General’s household, when the Old Madam learned Prince Wei had selected her eldest granddaughter, it was like a thunderbolt striking down.

This time, the Old Madam and Lin Shi thought along the same lines—they wanted to seek the Empress Dowager’s intercession.

Lin Chan stopped the Old Madam.

The Old Madam patted her hand: “Rest assured, Grandmother will just say you’ve already discussed marriage with the Han family.”

“Grandmother, our family’s marriage discussion with the Han family has only just begun—it can’t serve as a reason for refusal. Moreover, at today’s chrysanthemum viewing banquet, the Han family’s madam also brought her daughter. Do you think the Han family would be willing to cooperate with us in deceiving the imperial family?”

The Old Madam fell silent.

There were so many noble ladies of appropriate age in the capital. Presumably the Han family wouldn’t wade through these murky waters for Chan’er’s sake.

Lin Chan’s mind flickered with Han Baocheng’s handsome features. She lowered her eyes and smiled: “Grandmother, Mother, I don’t have anyone I’m determined to marry and no one else. Why treat Prince Wei as a flood or wild beast?”

“But Prince Wei is truly—” With no outsiders present, Lin Shi still spoke it aloud: “Too plump. I’ve never seen anyone plumper than him.”

Lin Chan pressed her lips together and said: “Being plump isn’t a crime. Whether we can get along, we’ll only know after spending time together.”

“Chan’er, do you truly have no regrets?” Lin Shi asked unwillingly.

The Old Madam also said: “Grandmother knows you’re sensible, but doesn’t want you to wrong yourself for the General’s household’s sake. As long as you’re unwilling, no matter what, Grandmother will refuse this betrothal. The General’s household only has old women and weak females left. Even if we incur His Majesty’s displeasure, this is as bad as it can get.”

Lin Chan’s expression was resolute: “I don’t feel wronged.”

His Majesty might be too lazy to bother with old women and weak females, but a General’s household that had offended the Emperor yet remained enormously wealthy—could it withstand the wolves?

And there was the Crown Prince—the Crown Prince was eyeing her younger sister covetously.

Grandmother and Mother considered her lifelong affairs more important, but for her, her loved ones’ safety and happiness were most important.

Understanding Lin Chan’s intention, the Old Madam and Lin Shi could only sigh.

As soon as Mother Han returned to the Minister’s household, she summoned Han Baocheng: “Baocheng, the matter between you and Elder Miss Lin—forget it.”