Chapter 155: Proposal

**Chapter 155: The Marriage Proposal**

With Marquis Xiao there, Yue Niang was ultimately taken away.

Zhou Yan’s face turned pale. Yue Niang’s heart ached with reluctant sympathy. Before leaving, she turned back and said, “My lord, I’ll visit you again someday.”

She had said “someday,” but with Marquis Xiao standing in the way, Zhou Yan would find it difficult to see her again.

Inside the carriage, Xiao Ce glanced at his reluctant daughter and cleared his throat. “You’ve taken a liking to that boy?”

Yue Niang lowered her head, twisting her handkerchief between her fingers, her voice muffled. “He’s been kind to me. He saved me and brought me to the capital.”

“Hmph! And yet he settled for making you his concubine. If he truly valued you, he’d have married you as his wife.”

Xiao Ce disliked Zhou Yan, so everything the man did seemed wrong.

To Marquis Xiao, anyone who wronged his daughter was a scoundrel.

But Yue Niang couldn’t help defending Zhou Yan. “With my standing back then, it was grace enough that he was willing to take me in.”

Before her parents appeared, Yue Niang had never dared to dream of becoming Zhou Yan’s wife—she hadn’t considered it even now.

Now she had her parents, and Zhou Yan treated her well. It was more than enough.

Yet her timid demeanor only made Marquis Xiao’s heart ache more. “A daughter of Xiao Ce is fit to marry a prince! What’s a lowly Vice Censor-in-Chief to us? Dan Yang, come home with your father. I’ll find you a good husband!”

The Xiao carriage slowly faded from view. Zhou Yan stood at the gate, watching until it turned the corner and vanished from sight.

Not once did the woman he cherished look back, let alone change her mind and step down to return with him.

“She’s gone?”

Hui Gu, having grown tired of waiting for her son to return, came out to find him.

Finding him staring vacantly at the street corner, she pressed, “She’s gone?”

“Yes.”

Zhou Yan clenched his fists, suppressing the bitterness in his heart.

But no matter how he tried to hide it, a mother could always see her child’s pain.

Hui Gu had once disapproved of her son taking a concubine, but now she couldn’t bear to see him give up without even trying.

“Yue Niang isn’t married yet. If you truly love her, what you should do now is go and propose properly! Marquis Xiao is angry because you wronged his daughter. Show through your actions that you’ll treat Yue Niang well in the future!”

Hui Gu was exhausting herself as a mother, even coaching her son on winning his love back.

Zhou Yan froze. Even his mother understood this logic—how could he have been so blind? He truly didn’t deserve to claim he loved Yue Niang.

“Mother, I know what to do now!”

......

The Xiaos owned no home in the capital, so they stayed in a villa belonging to the Marquis of Anning.

When Wei Xun heard that Xiao Ce and Madam Xiao had brought their daughter home, his eyes darkened.

“The Valiant Marquis’s family is of noble status. Assign more guards to watch the villa—keep the riffraff away.”

The “riffraff,” of course, meant Zhou Yan.

Chang Yuan wore a complicated expression. "My lord, aren't you afraid Lord Zhou will retaliate if you do this?"

Unable to win back his own wife, he was determined Zhou Yan wouldn’t have his either.

Their lord really played dirty.

Wei Xun lightly snorted. "This marquis was just helping Marquis Xiao reunite with his long-lost daughter. Would Zhou Yan dare interfere with a father and daughter reuniting?"

Of course Zhou Yan wouldn’t dare—he’d look terrible doing so.

Their lord had calculated exactly this and deliberately outmaneuvered Zhou Yan.

Ah, poor Lord Zhou. Of all people to offend, he had to provoke their marquis. Now his wife was gone.

These two were now in the same miserable boat, yet still insisted on hurting each other.

At least Little Peach still talked to him. As for their masters’ conflicts, let them sort it out themselves.

Chang Yuan shook his head and went out to give orders to the guards.

......

After listening to his mother, Zhou Yan arrived the next day with a matchmaker and dowry that had been ready for ages.

He'd always intended to marry Yue Niang, so everything was already prepared.

Servants carried dozens of chests as the procession made quite a show heading toward the Wei family's villa.

But before they could enter, the villa guards turned them away.

Xiao Ce stood at the gate, looking down his nose at Zhou Yan. "Lord Zhou, you may take these things back. Did you really think such paltry offerings would be enough to marry my daughter? Hah!"

His meaning was crystal clear—he looked down on Zhou Yan and would never agree to the marriage.

Zhou Yan’s face didn’t change, but he remained polite.

"If these don’t meet the marquis’s standards, I’ll prepare more until you’re satisfied—so Lady Xiao will marry me."

He’d blocked Wei Xun’s marriage to A Yuan once before, so he understood Xiao Ce’s feelings.

What he needed to do now was convince Xiao Ce he truly loved Yue Niang and would treat her well.

"Hmph!"

Xiao Ce scoffed coldly and waved them off. "Save your breath. No matter what you do, this marquis will never be satisfied."

With that, he ordered the guards to shut the gates.

"Bang!"

The gates slammed shut right in front of Zhou Yan. Even the matchmaker felt sorry for him. "Lord Zhou, maybe you should try your luck elsewhere?"

With the father against him, winning over the daughter wouldn’t be easy.

But Zhou Yan wasn’t giving up. "Don’t worry, you’ll get your cut when this works out."

What could the matchmaker say? For a man of Zhou Yan’s standing, courting any other girl in the capital would be easier than this Xiao family business, and her commission would be better too.

Yet since Zhou Yan insisted on this lost cause, she was in too deep now to pull out.

......

When court ended, Wei Xun was once again cornered by Zhou Yan at the palace gates.

"Marquis Wei, honor me with a drink?"

The words were phrased as an invitation, but Zhou Yan's gaze was sharp enough to kill.

Wei Xun brushed his official robe and replied coolly, "Sure."

Both were refined, handsome men, and their sudden appearance together at Jing Garden stirred quite a commotion.

"Marquis Wei, Lord Zhou, would you like us to keep you company?"

The courtesans, dressed provocatively, cast flirtatious glances, their ample curves nearly brushing against the men.

Wei Xun remained cold-eyed and flicked his sleeve away from them. "No need. Bring two jugs of good wine and then leave."

The courtesans sulked, disappointed. "Marquis Wei is still as aloof as ever."

Wei Xun rarely came here. He wasn't much of a drinker and seldom touched alcohol except for unavoidable social occasions.

Zhou Yan watched him dismiss the courtesans, then lowered his eyes and poured each of them a cup.

"This cup's to you—for pulling out all the stops to outmaneuver me."

Without waiting for Wei Xun’s reaction, Zhou Yan raised his cup and downed it in one go.

Jing Garden's wine was smooth at first but strong on the aftertaste. His quick, aggressive gulps betrayed his fury.

Wei Xun lifted his own cup and took a slow sip. "You give me too much credit, Lord Zhou. I merely took a page from your book."

Back when Zhou Yan had blocked him from A Yuan, he should have known that fate would turn around one day.

"Hmph!" Zhou Yan scoffed bitterly. "Marquis Wei's cunning knows no bounds. I can't hold a candle to you."

"What'll it take for you to let me see Yue Niang?"

Xiao Ce might dislike him, but those guards stationed at the estate answered to Wei Xun—the real obstacle was Wei himself.

Wei Xun drained his cup slowly, his elegant fingers idly spinning the porcelain between them.

"Lord Zhou, remember why we first shared a drink here?"