Ji Mingchen felt that perhaps the relationships of those around him were all too perfect, which made him have high expectations for his own.
It had to be as loving and enduring as his father and mother's, and as vibrant and fulfilling as his sister and brother-in-law's.
That's why he feared choosing the wrong person and worried about the fickleness of human hearts.
But he never considered that love was never a perfectly planned arrangement from the start. Instead, it was about two people stumbling and fumbling their way through life, adjusting and supporting each other. If he didn’t even dare to take the first step, how could there be a story afterward?
Ji Mingchen left Hai Qing’s courtyard.
Hai Qing gazed at the falling leaves outside the window and sat alone for a long time.
The next day, she rose as usual to begin her practice when a servant hurried over and said, “Miss, the palace has come to propose marriage.”
Her lips twitched, and Hai Qing lifted her skirt as she rushed to the front courtyard.
It wasn’t His Majesty and the Queen who had come, but Ji Mingchen himself. He wasn’t dressed in his usual princely attire but rather like an ordinary young man from a common family. However, the courtyard was filled with betrothal gifts—so many that they could hardly fit.
Lord Hai sat in the host’s seat, his expression inscrutable. Ji Mingchen stood before him, cupping his hands respectfully, his words earnest: “If I ever treat her poorly in the future, Father-in-law, you may take up arms and march into the palace—no one will stop you.”
“She hasn’t entered your household yet—don’t call me that.” Lord Hai rubbed his face. “This matter depends on Qing’er’s wishes.”
“She’s angry with me and doesn’t believe I sincerely wish to marry her, so I can only shamelessly ask for your help, Father-in-law and Mother-in-law.” Ji Mingchen bowed deeply to them.
After all, he was the Crown Prince—how could they accept such a gesture? They hurriedly rose to stop him.
Lady Hai frowned and asked, “What help can we offer?”
Without another word, Ji Mingchen pulled out a cane from behind him.
Thus, when Hai Qing stepped behind the screen by the side door, she saw her father raising the cane high while Ji Mingchen knelt motionless before him.
Her heart clenched, and she rushed over to pull her father back, exclaiming, “What are you doing?”
Lord Hai snorted. “He wronged you, yet dares to come seeking marriage. Even if he’s the Crown Prince, I’ll give him a beating first and then impeach him in court.”
“This is too much!” Hai Qing shook her head repeatedly, pushing at the kneeling man with her other hand. “What are you doing just sitting there? Leave!”
Ji Mingchen stiffened his neck and declared, “I won’t leave unless he agrees to marry you to me.”
Hai Qing was stunned.
Ji Mingchen was truly heaven’s favored son. Though he had suffered hardships in his youth, no one in the Six Cities would dare lay a hand on him. Yet here he was, offering himself up to be beaten by her father—just to marry her?
“Don’t stop us—we’ve long resented him,” Lady Hai chimed in. “He’s delayed you all these years, and now he has the audacity to come proposing?”
Hai Qing blurted out without thinking, “Isn’t it precisely because he delayed me all these years that he’s here proposing now? If you two aren’t happy, fine, but why resort to violence? This is the Crown Prince we’re talking about!”
Lord Hai raised an eyebrow. “You don’t resent him?”
“I—why would I resent him? At most, I’m annoyed at his fickleness,” she muttered.
Ji Mingchen pressed his lips together and couldn’t help retorting, “I wasn’t fickle.”
“You dare say you weren’t?” Hai Qing turned to glare at him. “Wasn’t it you who threw my things out of the palace?”
“My lady, I had them all packed in the finest brocade boxes and returned to you with both hands. How is that ‘throwing’?”"Anyway, the meaning is about the same." Speaking of this, Hai Qing got angry, snatched the cane from her father's hand, and glared at him. "How many years have you known me, and how many days have you known her? Are you really this fickle?"
"It's not about being fickle. I already told you I just wanted to see what other women are like. Wouldn’t it be even more absurd if I looked after we got married?"
"Silver-tongued and slick. And you even let her stay in the palace where I lived—so close to your own quarters."
"You know it’s close too," he pursed his lips. "You’ve lived there much longer than she has."
Blushing, Hai Qing viciously struck the cane against the ground. "Just say it outright—didn’t you feel even the slightest bit for her?"
"No. I feel more for you."
"..."
Disgusted by his bluntness, Hai Qing tossed the cane aside and knelt down beside him, whispering, "Please, Father and Mother, grant us your blessing."
The scene was so grand, with everyone inside and out knowing the Crown Prince had come to propose. If he left empty-handed today, he’d be the laughingstock for a long time. Hai Qing searched her heart and admitted she still had feelings for him, so she decided to stop making things difficult and take the offered way out.
Ji Mingchen’s eyes lit up as he turned to her. "You agree?"
Hai Qing rolled her eyes irritably. "Mhm."
The Hai couple sighed in relief and helped them up one by one, then spoke at length with Ji Mingchen before having the marriage contract written.
Ji Mingchen was overjoyed, but Hai Qing was only moderately pleased.
She glanced at the man beside her, wondering when the next "Wei Ling" would appear.
The happiest about the Crown Prince’s wedding were undoubtedly the Emperor and Empress—not because their son was finally getting married, but because Ji Bozhai had set a rule that the heir must formally ascend the throne after marriage.
He could finally roam the world freely with Mingyi, no longer burdened by this deadweight!
Of course, he couldn’t show his delight too openly. Ji Bozhai attended his son’s wedding properly, showering the bride with endless treasures alongside Mingyi, and even handed over the keys to Ji Mingchen’s private vault to her.
"Royal women are different from commoners. You can’t freely go out and practice Artifact Crafting to earn a living, so you must hold onto these things tightly," Mingyi advised Hai Qing earnestly. "If he ever mistreats you, take everything and leave."
Hai Qing stared dumbfounded at the keys in her hand, momentarily speechless.
Was there really such a wonderful mother-in-law in this world?
Even better, after giving her the money, her mother-in-law didn’t impose any rules on her. Instead, within a month of the wedding, she set off again to travel the world.
A new emperor ascended, and everything was renewed.
The first year, Hai Qing thought Ji Mingchen treated her very well—his performance was excellent.
The second year, he remained as attentive as ever.
By the third and fourth years, Hai Qing grew suspicious. "Aren’t you tired of pretending for so long?"
Ji Mingchen nearly choked on his anger. "Pretending? I genuinely care for you!"
"Oh," Hai Qing replied, though her expression showed she still didn’t quite believe him.
Thus, while diligently governing the realm, the new emperor’s greatest worry became how to make his queen believe he truly loved her.Later, he even forced the historians to record his deep affection for the queen in the historical annals. Though the historians firmly refused, the new emperor remained devoted to his queen throughout his life, and in the end, the name of the Hai family was still inscribed in the historical records.
Empress Xiaoxian of the Hai clan, beloved by the emperor all her life, served as a model of virtue for the realm and was laid to rest with the emperor in the imperial mausoleum.
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