Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Xie Qingya and Mei Xuezheng, being inside the room, were unaware of the situation outside.

Since it was beyond their control, they didn't dwell on it too much. Xie Qingya quickly told Mei Xuezheng about the letter that had arrived from the south earlier today.

While they were discussing, suddenly Lingji's anxious voice and a series of hurried footsteps interrupted their conversation.

"Third Young Master, Third Young Master, the master is sleeping now, perhaps you could come back later!"

"I don't care if he's sleeping or not!"

Xie Qingya and Mei Xuezheng exchanged glances.

Mei Xuezheng reacted swiftly, immediately getting up and walking behind the screen.

Xie Qingya hid Mei Xuezheng's teacup on the table.

Almost as soon as they finished, the door was forcefully pushed open from the outside, and a twelve-year-old boy clad in blue stood at the doorway.

He bore some resemblance to Xie Qingya.

However, Xie Qingya looked more like their mother, the Grand Princess, while the boy outside resembled Prince Nan'an more.

Lingji followed behind.

Seeing only the master inside, he felt somewhat relieved and bowed his head apologetically, "Master, your subordinate..."

Xie Qingya knew what he was about to say.

"Go down," he didn't let Lingji finish, otherwise, given his brother's temperament, he might seize the opportunity to make a scene.

Lingji obeyed and retreated.

Before leaving, he cast a worried glance at the brothers, clearly fearing another argument.

Xie Qingya remained silent, quietly observing the boy at the door.

The boy standing at the door was his younger brother, named Xie Pingan.

As a child, he always followed behind him, calling "Second Brother, Second Brother," asking to be held. Now, the look in his eyes was filled with nothing but disgust.

He didn't even want to step into the study, standing outside panting, like a fierce young wolf baring its teeth, glaring at him angrily.

"If you're not drunk, why didn't you go to receive the decree!"

"Do you know, because of you, our Prince Nan'an's mansion is already under heavy criticism!"

Xie Qingya lowered his gaze and leaned back, exuding an air of indifference: "If you don't wish to go, then don't."

"You!"

Xie Pingan clenched his fists, his rage mounting.

Just as Xie Pingan was about to speak again, a faint and anxious female voice came from behind: "Third, third brother!"

Xie Pingan's anger faltered, and he turned to see a girl wrapped in a pink cloak hurriedly walking over with an umbrella.

The snowy ground was treacherous, and the girl, anxious in her heart and fearing that her third brother would come to quarrel with her second brother again, had run over herself.

At this moment, she was holding an umbrella with one hand, stumbling forward, staggering, and almost falling several times.

Seeing this, Xie Pingan became anxious.

Without bothering to stay angry with Xie Qingya, he immediately turned around to help her.

Meanwhile, Xie Qingya, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent, also showed a slight change in expression. He sat up straight, gazing at the girl in pink outside the open door, wanting to get up and go to her, but his hands remained tightly pressed on the armrests, stiff and unmoving.

The voices of the siblings came from outside.

Xie Pingan and Xie Zhangning were twins, and the bond they had formed in the womb had always been strong.

After the family's tragedy, the three Xie siblings had changed a lot.

Xie Pingan no longer acknowledged Xie Qingya as his elder brother, but he still treated Xie Zhangning well, even better than before.

Two years ago, Her Highness Liu Yuan, due to the deaths of Prince Nan'an and her eldest son, fell into deep sorrow and eventually passed away on the anniversary of their deaths.

After that day, Xie Zhangning developed a high fever, which lasted for three days. When she woke up, she remained trapped in grief and refused to speak.

By the time everyone realized something was wrong, she could no longer speak clearly.

Despite consulting numerous doctors, her stutter persisted, whether due to her illness or unresolved emotions in her heart.

The voices of the siblings came from outside.

Xie Pingan's temperament was now more explosive and reckless than Xie Qingya's had been in his youth, like an untamed wolf or leopard, using aggression to protect himself and his family.

But in front of Xie Zhangning, he was always compliant.

"What did I say that was so wrong? Didn't you see how those palace eunuchs delivering the edict looked at us? Our family is already in such a state, and he still acts like this! Is it such a hardship for him to receive an edict? If he's so proud, why not just call off the marriage!"

"Third, third brother!"

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore, don't worry."

The siblings talked for a while, and soon Xie Zhangning brought Xie Pingan over.

"Second, second brother."

Xie Zhangning led Xie Pingan into the room and spoke softly to Xie Qingya.

She had always been naturally gentle.

After the family's tragedy, she became even more so, speaking and acting with great care.

Now, she stood by the desk, clutching Xie Pingan's sleeve, her round, bright eyes brimming with worry and nervousness as she looked at Xie Qingya.

"Don't, don't be angry with third brother, okay?"

Xie Qingya looked at her, feeling deeply guilty, and his voice softened: "Second brother isn't angry."

"That's good, that's really good." Xie Zhangning breathed a sigh of relief. What worried her most now was the relationship between her two elder brothers.

But she didn't know how to adjust either.

Like now, after saying one thing, she was at a loss for words.

She blamed herself for being inarticulate, yet didn't know how to improve.

The room was quiet.

Second Young Master was about to tell her to go back and rest, lest the cold weather worsen her already frail health.

But before he could speak, Xie Pingan, who had been suppressing his words earlier, spoke up with a tone of annoyance.

"Let's go!"

He was fed up with staying.

With his younger sister there, he couldn't argue with Second Young Master, or she'd end up worried and in tears.

But he also didn't know what to say to Second Young Master; he despised what Second Young Master had become!

This wasn't the Second Young Master he had always admired! His Second Young Master wasn't like this!

He took Zhang Ning's hand.

Before leaving, he shot a fierce glare at Second Young Master and said, "I don't care who you marry, but keep your woman in check. If I find out she dares to bully Zhang Ning, she'll pay for it!"

After saying this, he didn't care about Second Young Master's reaction and just took Zhang Ning's hand, turned around, and left.

"Third Young Master, slow down."

Zhang Ning spoke while turning back to bid farewell to Second Young Master: "Second Young Master, we're leaving now."

The siblings quickly disappeared.

Lingji returned at some point and apologized to Second Young Master outside: "Master, it was my fault for not stopping Third Young Master!"

Second Young Master was still watching the siblings leave and simply said, "It's not your fault."

Mei Xuezheng came out again; he had been behind the screen all along.

"Your Third Young Master's temper... why not tell him the truth? To prevent him from misunderstanding you like this."

After Mei Xuezheng came out, Lingji went back to guarding the courtyard.

Second Young Master mocked himself: "It's not really a misunderstanding. Back then, it was to chase me that Father and Elder Brother went to that place and fell into someone else's trap."

Mei Xuezheng frowned: "But if it weren't for the strange armor, with Prince Nan'an and Jingfeng's abilities, they couldn't have been trapped without any ability to fight back!"

Second Young Master's eyes darkened, and his hands clenched tightly again.

Mei Xuezheng knew he was thinking of the past and sighed inwardly, quickly changing the subject: "Is Zhang Ning still like this? Isn't there any doctor who can cure her?"

Second Young Master shook his head, his voice hoarse: "She's taken many medicines, but there's no improvement."

Mei Xuezheng sighed: "Mother has been looking for doctors for Zhang Ning. Once there's news, I'll have someone bring them over immediately."

Second Young Master looked up at him: "I won't say thanks, but tell Aunt to be careful."

Mei Xuezheng smiled and said, "Rest assured."

After Mei Xuezheng left, Xie Qingya saw the imperial edict, personally delivered by Aunt Deng.

Aunt Deng had been a long-time companion of his mother.

After his mother passed away, she and Steward Sun managed the affairs of the inner and outer courtyards respectively.

Aunt Deng was quite pleased about the change of princess.

"This old servant always thought that the girl from the Xiao family was too impulsive and arrogant, not easy to get along with, and I was worried before. Now it's good, Princess Jiashun is a well-known noble lady in the capital, dignified and virtuous."

Aunt Deng had no idea about the key details, only thinking that he had married a gentle and virtuous wife, and there wouldn't be daily quarrels anymore.

Xie Qingya didn't bother to explain further, letting Aunt Deng continue to be overjoyed and busy.

After she left, Xie Qingya opened the imperial edict and read it.

He ignored the flattering words about a perfect match, only glancing at the signatures at the bottom.

One was Xie Qingya, the other was Xu Duanyi, male on the left and female on the right, placed together.

Xie Qingya's gaze lingered on Xu Duanyi's name for a moment.

But only for a moment, soon Xie Qingya casually tossed the edict aside, paying no further attention to it.

...

The news of Xie Qingya and Xu Duanyi's arranged marriage quickly spread throughout the capital, and even the court officials heard about it.

At first, everyone thought it was a rumor.

But the next morning, the young emperor Liu Xie personally mentioned it... Originally, Xiao Baozhu wanted to break off the engagement and had already been involved with Liu Xun, but naturally, this couldn't be said.

Not only couldn't it be said, but Empress Dowager Zhaoyu had to be praised.

Therefore, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau was brought into the conversation.

It was said that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau calculated that the fates of the Xiao family's daughter and Prince Nan'an were in conflict, which was a very bad omen. Empress Dowager Zhaoyu, grateful for the merits of Prince Nan'an's mansion, specially arranged for Princess Jiashun to marry Prince Nan'an.

Those serving in the court were no fools; no one would believe in such fate calculations.

Moreover, Xiao Baozhu and the top scholar Liu Xun often met in public, and Xiao Baozhu repeatedly declared in public that she would never marry Prince Nan'an.

But knowing is one thing, whether it can be said is another.

Compared to the fierce arguments during yesterday's morning court, today's court was peaceful, with no one speaking ill of the Xiao family or Empress Dowager Zhaoyu.

After all, with Princess Jiashun's reputation, her marriage into Prince Nan'an's mansion could be considered a step down.

Therefore, today's morning court was filled with praises for Empress Dowager Zhaoyu's decision.

When the news spread outside, it caused quite a stir.

There were countless people in the capital who liked Xu Duanyi, like fish in a river. If it weren't for Xu Duanyi's special status and her previous engagement to Prince Wen Zhao, they wouldn't have dared to enter the palace to ask Empress Dowager Zhaoyu for her hand in marriage, otherwise the door of Marquis Wu'an's mansion would have been trampled by matchmakers long ago.

Over the years, there were also relatives and noblewomen who discussed this matter with Empress Dowager Zhaoyu, hoping to arrange a marriage for their sons or grandsons with Princess Jiashun.

But Empress Dowager Zhaoyu never relented.

When in a good mood, she would reply with "I can't bear to let her go," but if she was in a bad mood, she wouldn't even speak.

After this happened several times, people no longer dared to bring it up, assuming that Princess Jiashun was determined to remain loyal to Prince Wen Zhao. As for the men who admired Xu Duanyi, they naturally saw her as a goddess living in a high tower, only daring to look from a distance, never daring to get close.

Who could have imagined that such a divine woman would now be marrying Prince Nan'an!

How could this not leave everyone shocked and angry?

That same day, someone cornered Xie Qingya, demanding answers.