The concubine's favorite? Break off the engagement and marry another prince, please respect you

Chapter 10

After bidding farewell to Pei Yuqing, Xie Wan Ning was speechless when she was led onto the carriage.

...As a girl, she would go out on horseback on such a sunny day, but her brother came out in a carriage.

As soon as he got in the car, Xie Yanyu stretched out his hand to her: "Give me the jade pendant."

"..." Xie Wan Ning was silent for a moment, then obediently took out the jade pendant from her sleeve, which was still warm, and handed it over.

Xie Yanyu looked over it for a long time before handing it over again: "Prince Pei is of noble status and much older than you. Since you called him brother today, you are not allowed to speak without restraint in front of him in the future."

He was much older, so Xie Wan Ning couldn't help but ask curiously, "How old is he? He looks to be around twenty."

"He is more than ten years older than you." Xie Yanyu did not hide the truth from her and said frankly, "If he had followed the princess' order to marry a wife earlier, his child would probably be only a few years younger than you now."

Xie Wan Ning calculated in her mind, she is sixteen this year, so Master Pei must be at least twenty-six or twenty-seven years old?
She opened her lips and thought to herself that the man was well maintained.

Not knowing what she was thinking, Xie Yanyu reminded her again: "If you meet him again, you must not be so unreasonable. Remember to respect him as an elder."

"Got it," Xie Wan Ning nodded obediently, and then she thought of something and asked, "Is Master Pei's health really as the rumors say?"

I can’t live past thirty, I’m already twenty-six or twenty-seven now…

Thinking that such a gentle person could die so young, she felt a little reluctant and looked at her brother expectantly.

"Prince Pei is the only son of Princess Duanyang," Xie Yanyu said helplessly, "As he gets older, the princess can no longer bear to hear others mention this matter. It's fine if you and I talk about it in private, but you are not allowed to ask directly about it in public."

Seeing that his sister was indeed curious, he paused for a moment, then spoke again: "Your health is indeed not very good, you must take your pills with you, and you must not have too many emotional fluctuations, and you must not be too happy, angry, sad, or joyful."

At this point, he glanced at his sister and said in an ambiguous tone: "Wanwan, don't mess with him anymore in the future."

"No way," Xie Wan Ning said innocently, "How did I offend him?"

I felt sad in my heart that such a healthy person could be so weak.

Such a kind-hearted man, knowing that he will not live long, is unwilling to get married in his twenties for fear of ruining other girls.

...It is true that good people do not live long, but evil deeds last for thousands of years.

Xie Yanyu was about to say something else when the carriage slowly stopped.

Xie Wan Ning was as if she had been pardoned. She quickly lifted the car curtain and jumped out, which made her brother behind her feel both angry and amused. He shook his head helplessly and got out of the car.

The first thing he did when he returned home was, of course, to pay his respects to his mother, Zheng.

Although old Marquis Xie has passed away, the three brothers have a good relationship and do not live in separate houses. Except for the third uncle who is now in office, there are only two families living in the backyard of Marquis Xuanping's mansion. None of them have concubines, maids, illegitimate sons and daughters, so it is very quiet.

The sun sets in the west, and the afterglow of the setting sun shines on the glazed tiles. The gate behind the deep courtyard wall appears somewhat soft under the reflection of the sunset.

Zheng, with black hair and a red hairpin, was half leaning on a soft pillow, talking to her aunt. Several wives from Xie's side branches were sitting beside her.

Seeing her children coming back, she smiled and asked, "How come you two brothers and sisters met at the door by chance?"

Xie Wan Ning smiled, knelt down to greet him, but did not answer.

Xie Yanyu, a man, saw a room full of women, but he didn't turn around and leave. He was worried about his sister's matter and didn't ask about it clearly. How could he say anything in front of so many people? Seeing this, several wives from the side branches stood up and said goodbye.

Aunt Liu also smiled and said, "Then I will go back first. I'll trouble you to take care of Ru'er's affairs."

"Got it. I'll start sending the invitations tomorrow." Zheng waved her round fan and smiled. "If you're worried, come over early tomorrow to keep an eye on it."

Hearing this, Xie Wan Ning understood that her cousin's coming-of-age ceremony was approaching.

Compared to Zheng, who was born as the legitimate daughter of the Qucheng Marquisate, the mistress of the second branch of the Xie family came from the Liu family, a wealthy merchant family in Minzhou.

A wealthy family certainly has no shortage of money, and the status of merchants in this dynasty has also improved a lot compared to the previous dynasties. Except that they cannot buy official positions and their descendants cannot take the imperial examinations, they can enjoy gold, silver, brocade and silk as long as they are willing to spend money.

But since ancient times, people have emphasized scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, and the idea that merchants are lowly has long been deeply rooted in people's minds.

In the circle of noble ladies in the capital, Liu was not considered to have much reputation.

Although his second uncle Xie Shengshu was appointed as the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, he was not the eldest son of the marquisate and did not have extensive connections.

For such a major event as her daughter's coming of age, there is a huge difference between inviting guests in the name of the second wife or inviting guests in the name of the marquis's mansion, which is why Liu gave such instructions.

Xie Wan Ning thought of her cousin and her eyes moved slightly.

Who would have thought that Xie Ruyu, who had been at odds with her since childhood, always loved to compare, was sensitive, strong-willed, and weird, would actually stand up for her after learning that Lu Ziyan favored his concubine over his wife and that his eldest son was born from the concubine's belly first.

She moved into the Lu family and lived there for a while. When she saw Liu Manrou, who came to pay her respects but was actually showing off, she slapped her twice and made her fall to the ground. Regardless of her reputation as an unmarried girl, she pointed at Lu Ziyan and cursed him. If her two cousins ​​hadn't dragged him away, with her clever tongue, she would probably have cursed him for two hours without saying a word.

In the dream, it seemed that everyone treated her very well, except Lu Ziyan.

But because of Lu Ziyan, she became depressed and died young, and even vomited blood due to anger.

I don’t know if she will die just like that. Will she still dream?
...What's next?
This question made Xie Wan Ning a little dazed.

It was not until Zheng called her out twice that she came back to her senses.

"What are you thinking about? I've been calling you for so long but you didn't respond." Zheng tapped her forehead in a chastising manner. Seeing that her daughter looked a little strange, she asked, "What's wrong?"

She looked at her eldest son: "But you lectured your sister again and made her unhappy?"

"..." Xie Yanyu was silent for a moment, and said without words: "Her heart is tied to Lu Ziyan, so she won't be afraid of me preaching. I'm afraid she has been wronged in the Lu family."

Xie Wan Ning was too embarrassed to ask her brother to take the blame, so she tugged at her mother's sleeve and whispered, "Mother, I don't want to marry Lu Ziyan anymore."

Zheng was startled. "What happened?"

Although her daughter was a little spoiled, she never acted on impulse and valued the young master of the Lu family very much. If she had not suffered a great injustice, she would not say such words.

Xie Yanyu also sat up straight, frowning as if facing a great enemy: "Did Lu Ziyan bully you?"

"It's not really bullying, it's just that I really don't want to marry him." He did bully her in the dream, but Lu Ziyan hasn't really bullied her yet.

Xie Wan Ning lowered her eyes and repeated what Lu Ziyan had said today.

(End of this chapter)