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

Chapter 124

After a while, Xie Wan Ning was the first to look away. She tilted her neck to look at the sun and said dryly, "I'm hungry. It's time to eat. Let's go eat."

Pei Yuqing's breathing slowed down when he saw someone evading without saying anything clearly. He felt as if his heart was soaked in a vinegar jar, sour and bitter. He wanted to hug the person and bully him severely.

But he was used to forbearance, and restraint was engraved in his bones, so he could not question her harshly.

In the end, he just clenched his fingers and hummed softly in his throat.

Xie Wan Ning didn't notice anything wrong at all. She smiled as if she had been pardoned, lifted her skirt and walked quickly inside.

When they returned to the table, the familiar friends had not said anything yet, but Cao Ying'er, who they had only met a few times, tilted her head and looked over.

"Everyone was asking about you just now. Where have you been? We haven't seen you since then."

Her tone was intimate, as if the two of them had a very close relationship.

Xie Wan Ning handed the plum branch in her hand to the maid behind her and said casually, "I saw that the plum blossoms in the garden were blooming well, so I went to pick a few branches and brought them back."

Cao Ying'er also saw the plum branches she brought back and said with a smile, "There is a patch of yellow plums in my garden, and they are in full bloom right now. If you like them, I will go back and pick a bunch and send them to your house."

Since the other party took the initiative to make friends, Xie Wan Ning had no reason to be rude, so she smiled and agreed, "Thank you very much."

By the way, this Miss Cao was also a victim of the Second Prince incident.

The time of her murder was quite coincidental; just a few months ago, at a flower-viewing banquet hosted by Princess Duanyang.

On that occasion, Xie Wan Ning was also present. She was abducted by Lu Ziyan and molested behind a rockery. The three of them made a lot of noise, which attracted all the attention. Even when the Second Prince arrived at Pei Mansion, few people knew about it.

No one would know that the daughter of the Minister of Personnel was bullied by the Second Prince when he found an opportunity.

Given Cao Ying'er's background, she could have easily become the prince's principal wife, but who knew she would be raped in such an unclear manner.

The most hateful thing is that the Second Prince already has a principal wife and even a concubine. The only remaining concubine position is unknown and no one knows how many noble ladies who were seduced by him and are now living in constant fear want to take it.

The daughter of the Minister of Personnel may not even be able to become a concubine now.

Just bringing it up for a moment, Xie Wan Ning felt hatred.

As a woman herself, she felt a certain amount of sympathy and empathy when facing the victim.

The two chatted back and forth for a while and quickly became familiar with each other.

Cao Ying'er personally served her a bowl of eight-treasure sweet porridge and handed it to her, saying with a smile: "Wanwan is pretty and has a likable personality. We hit it off right away. I'll send you an invitation someday, and you must come and do me the honor of coming."

"Okay, I'll definitely go." Xie Wan Ning took the jade cup and started to eat.

They were chatting animatedly, and the other female members of the family were also talking loudly.

Soon, a familiar name came into my ears.

Xie Wan Ning's hand holding the spoon paused slightly.

I only heard a young woman say: "Have you heard? The prince of Wuyuan Marquisate has caused a big stir in Qingzhou. He has arrested fourteen officials in a row and is on his way back to the capital."

"Young General Lu?" someone at the table exclaimed, "This killer can go anywhere without spilling blood. What are a dozen officials? Have you forgotten that last year he even beheaded the military supervisor appointed by His Majesty himself?"

That's the military inspector.

Carrying the emperor's order is almost equivalent to the emperor coming in person.

As a result, Lu Ziyan beheaded him on the charge of disturbing the morale of the army.

When the news reached the capital, many people were shocked.

Some even thought that he was defying the Heavenly Lord and intended to rebel.

If any other official committed such a mistake, even if he did not die, he would probably be exiled to a remote place and would never be allowed to return to the court as a punishment.

However, Lu Ziyan was only given a few insignificant reprimands and was soon reused again.

At that time, Xie Wan Ning was still Lu Ziyan's fiancée. Countless people envied her future husband for being so capable.

Some people also say that even His Majesty’s own son may not receive such treatment.

Who would have thought that he is his biological son.

He is the legitimate son born to his original wife.

Xie Wan Ning secretly complained inwardly and felt a little uncomfortable again.

Now, whenever she heard the name Lu Ziyan, she couldn't remain calm or excited.

She was frightened, fearful, and uneasy, with extremely complicated emotions.

I can no longer completely forget about this person as I had originally planned.

Counting the days, the Chinese New Year is less than half a month away, so it is time for him to come back.

Seeing her dazed look, Cao Ying'er smiled and said, "You still lose your mind when you hear the name of an old friend every night?"

"..." Xie Wan Ning was silent for a moment, not wanting to chat about such topics with others. She said a few perfunctory words and then started to eat seriously.

I thought to myself that she was not in a state of disarray, but was clearly suffering from sequelae.

She was completely afraid of Lu Ziyan.

…………

During the banquet, Xie Wan Ning couldn't refuse the hospitality and drank a few glasses of wine with her friends. When Pei Yuqing came to find her, she was already a little tipsy.

I was sobered up the moment I stepped out of the room and was hit by the cold wind.

When they arrived at the main hall, Zheng, as a married daughter, was entertaining guests with her brothers, sisters-in-law and younger brothers' wives.

Seeing her daughter coming over, she held her daughter's hand and said softly, "Mother knows that you are busy as the year draws to a close. When you are done with the affairs of the mansion, you can come home often to visit. Your cousin has been talking about missing you these days."

Xie Wan Ning felt a little guilty when she thought that she had not been home to visit for ten days or half a month. She also wanted to find out whether Xie Ruyu and Duan Cheng had started discussing their marriage, so she agreed with a smile.

She sat with her mother for a while, and met Ji Chengfeng coming in from the outer hall.

He was still wearing the same light blue cross-collared robe, with wide sleeves embroidered with layers of cloud patterns in silver thread, and a jade belt outlining his slender waist. His face was elegant and his eyes were tranquil, like an immortal walking out of the clouds.

As soon as he came in, the ladies who were chatting with each other in the inner hall fell silent. Some ladies who did not know his identity whispered to their relatives and friends, and when they heard that the visitor was the grandson of Marquis Qucheng and the new top scholar, their eyes gradually brightened.

He is extremely talented, handsome, and has a good family background. Such a man is definitely the ideal son-in-law that all the ladies from wealthy families would dream of.

The old lady of Qucheng Marquis's Mansion really liked this grandson. When she saw him come in, she smiled and said to Xie Wan Ning, "Wan Wan, have you met this cousin today?"

Xie Wan Ning was just acting coquettishly towards her mother. When she heard this, she turned around and looked over. She immediately smiled and said, "I have seen him. My brother said that this is my second aunt's cousin."

After Ji Chengfeng saluted the old lady of Qucheng Marquis, he turned to look at them and saluted as a junior again, "Cheng Qian greets aunt, cousin."

He has reached adulthood, so Chengqian is probably his name.

When Zheng was in the boudoir, she had a very good relationship with her younger sister, so she naturally loved her nephew very much. In fact, when Ji Chengfenglai first arrived in the capital at the beginning of the year, he visited Xuanping Houfu several times.

However, Xie Wan Ning was already engaged to Lu Ziyan at that time, so Zheng did not specifically ask her engaged daughter to come out and meet her cousin.

This is why they only officially met today.

Zheng asked her nephew a few questions with concern and asked him to come to her house more often when he had nothing to do.

Ji Chengfeng answered all the questions patiently, and after chatting with the aunts for a while, he stood up, said goodbye, and went to the side hall.

After everyone left, Zheng took her daughter's hand and whispered, "Wanwan, what do you think of your cousin?"

Xie Wanning praised: "A gentleman is like jade, gentle and elegant."

After hearing her daughter's praise, Zheng calmed down and whispered, "Your aunt wrote to me a while ago, saying that your cousin has not yet been engaged, and asked me and your grandmother to find a good girl for him in the capital."

"Not engaged yet?" Xie Wan Ning was shocked. How come there are so many young men who are still unmarried?

Her brother is, this cousin is, and the Duan Cheng we heard about today is also one.

Zheng also thought of her eldest son, sighed sadly, and soon got back to the topic.

"Your aunt asked me to do this, so I must take it to heart," Zheng asked in a low voice, "Wanwan, are you familiar with the daughter of the Minister of Personnel?"

"!!!" Xie Wanning's eyes slowly widened, "Cao Ying'er?"

"That's the name," Zheng nodded. "In terms of origin, age, and appearance, the daughter of the Cao family is a perfect match for Cheng Qian. Your aunt must be satisfied. I just don't know what this girl's personality is like. Have you ever dealt with her? Is she straightforward?"

"..."

Xie Wan Ning frowned slightly, and under her mother's earnest eyes, she spoke with difficulty: "I've only met him twice, and he seems to have a good personality, but I don't know much else."

She said, "Mother, marriage is a big deal, don't rush to arrange a matchmaking, you need to understand it in detail."

"I'm still learning more about it. You don't know how anxious your second aunt is." Zheng said with a smile, "As long as the couple is well-matched and has a good personality, there is no girl in the Shangshu family who doesn't know the rules."

Her nephew will be 21 after the Chinese New Year, and he has already become the top scorer in the imperial examination. His future is limitless. Now all he needs is to find a wife to take care of the backyard and have children, while he can rest assured and consolidate his career.

Aunt Zheng was extremely thoughtful and had chosen good candidates.

Although the Minister of Personnel is not as high-ranking and powerful as some of the cabinet ministers, he is also an important minister who has a say in front of the emperor. As for the Yue family, they do not ask for much help, but at least they will not be a drag.

If Xie Wan Ning didn't know about Cao Ying'er and the Second Prince, she might have thought that this was a very suitable marriage.

But now, looking at her smiling mother, she hesitated for a long time and couldn't say anything.

Only His Majesty and Pei Yuqing knew about this royal scandal, and she couldn't expose it like this.

...Then let Ji Chengfeng marry Cao Ying'er?

To be fair, Cao Ying'er does have a very good temperament and is straightforward. She would definitely be a very qualified lady of the house. It is not her fault that she was forcibly taken away by the second prince.

Can……

Can she escape the control of the Second Prince?
If she still had contact with the Second Prince after marriage, it would confuse the bloodline of her offspring...

There is no wall that is impenetrable. Once the truth comes to light, Zheng, as the person who arranged this marriage, will end up with no thanks for his efforts.

Based on Xie Wan Ning's understanding of her mother, Zheng would probably blame herself for the rest of her life.

…………

On the way back in the carriage, Xie Wan Ning was still thinking about this question.

In fact, this is just Zheng’s idea at the moment and nothing has been done yet.

Nowadays, blind marriages are no longer a thing. If a marriage is to be arranged, people usually ask their children about their wishes.

Ji Chengfeng himself might not necessarily be attracted to Cao Ying'er, and since Cao Ying'er is being pestered by the Second Prince, she probably wouldn't think of getting married so soon.

So, things shouldn't come to that point.

But Xie Wan Ning was still very worried.

She frowned from time to time, sighed from time to time, and was completely distracted.

She didn't notice that the carriage had been quiet for quite some time. Her husband, who usually loved to hold her little hand when they were alone, seemed to be in a very low mood.

Pei Yuqing quietly looked at the girl opposite him with a tangled expression for a long time. Seeing that she really had no intention of paying attention to him, he smiled bitterly in his heart.

How could he think that this girl would be willing to explain to him what she and Ji Chengfeng were talking about in the morning when they were alone?

Obviously, not only did she have no such intention, she was not even willing to look at him directly.

At this moment, he must not be the one she is thinking about in her little head.

The man who always thought he was calm couldn't help himself this time and was the first to speak: "What are you thinking about?"

How could Xie Wan Ning understand the complicated emotions in his mind? After hearing what he said, she came back to her senses and looked up at him.

The moment they looked at each other, Pei Yuqing reached out and held her hand that was on the small table, squeezed it gently, and whispered, "What's wrong?"

"..." Xie Wan Ning hesitated for a few moments, but still told Zheng's plan.

Hearing this, Pei Yuqing was also slightly stunned.

Xie Wan Ning said in distress: "Do you think I should intervene in this matter?"

It would be fine if she didn't know, but since she knew, she couldn't bear to watch her mother do the wrong thing with good intentions.

She wanted to ask her extremely intelligent husband.

But Pei Yuqing looked at her silently for a while before slowly saying, "You are so upset, are you just worried that your mother-in-law will blame herself after the matter is exposed?"

"......?" Xie Wan Ning showed doubt on her face, but then she reacted and said frankly: "Ji Chengfeng is my cousin, and I certainly don't want to see his family in turmoil."

If he really married Cao Ying'er and she couldn't get rid of the Second Prince, who could say for sure whether the child born would be from the Ji family or the Second Prince's.

Confusion of bloodline is the most serious problem for a family.

Pei Yuqing raised a light arc at the corner of his lips, "Wanwan has only seen Brother Ji twice, so I am worried about him."

The words were so sarcastic that even Xie Wan Ning, who was slow-witted, could sense something was wrong.

"What do you mean?" She frowned, looked at the man opposite her, and said hesitantly, "Could it be that you are still upset about the fact that I happened to meet my cousin this morning and chatted with him for a while?"

Pei Yuqing didn't say anything.

Such a tacit attitude made Xie Wan Ning's eyes gradually widen. She really didn't expect that this person's popularity was so narrow.

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