Chapter 547 - 163: Granting Marriage_5
It’s like a joke, thought Shen Yurong.
He didn’t love Princess Yongning. Every moment he spent with her was obligatory and perfunctory. When Princess Yongning clung to him, he wanted to push her away. Now that Emperor Hongxiao’s marriage decree had come down, he no longer needed to push her away, but suddenly, panic bubbled up in his heart.
It was as if he had spent a great deal of effort raising a beast. He resented the creature for being too clingy and consuming too much of his time, waiting for it to grow plump and ready for slaughter. But before the harvest season arrived, the beast had run away. All his efforts were for naught, like scooping water with a woven basket.
Including his beautiful wife, whose sacrifices had now become worthless.
The Emperor Hongxiao’s marriage decree had been issued, and Shen Yurong saw the situation more clearly than others. He knew there was no turning back. Princess Yongning must marry Li Xian. Even if Prince Cheng was successful in his endeavors later, Prince Cheng wouldn’t mistreat the Li Family, which had offered its support. Between Princess Yongning, Li Xian, and himself, Prince Cheng would surely need to choose one—and between the Li Family and himself, Prince Cheng would have to choose one.
It seemed he had no chance of winning, for the Li Family was affluent, while the Shen family had nothing in the past. Even if by his own talents he had gained Prince Cheng’s favor and made Prince Cheng believe that the Shen family was more valuable than the Li Family, that was a tiger. If Princess Yongning were to remarry him, she would have to call off her engagement with Li Xian.
This time, Shen Yurong truly wore a green hat.
Twice "green hat," the first time was his own doing, putting himself in a position to be pitied and ridiculed by everyone, all for the sake of climbing higher. The second time, he was still aiming to climb higher, yet the higher he climbed, the less he wanted others to make a laughingstock of him.