Chapter 17 : Why Not Marry King Xuan

Xue Qingyin spoke, and once again, she began to cry.

Indeed, Madam Xue’s life was tragic.

Her own son had already died, and the child she had painstakingly raised was not close to her.

And originally, Xue Qingyin herself was someone obsessed with love, only caring about He Songning, completely disregarding her own mother.

Following the original plot, the crazy actions of the original character would eventually drag her mother into the same tragic fate.

Xue Qingyin felt sorry for Madam Xue.

Why do the filial children always end up with vampiric parents? And why do selfless parents end up with reckless children?

Xue Qingyin’s sobs grew softer, barely audible.

It sounded like a dying animal.

In that instant, He Songning’s heart tugged lightly.

“Don’t cry,” he said.

Xue Qingyin ignored him.

He Songning couldn’t help but think of his own biological mother.

Xue Chengdong had only said that his mother’s status was low.

The rest, naturally, could be figured out…

Why did the emperor refuse to acknowledge him? Surely it was because his mother’s status was not just low, but shamefully low—so much so that the emperor thought even sleeping with such a woman was disgraceful.

On the day of his birth, it was probably the day she would die.

Thus, He Songning had only ever acknowledged his biological mother.

After all, just his birth had already cost her a life.

In comparison, what was Madam Xue, Mrs. Xu?

He Songning didn’t know what his biological mother looked like or what her temperament was like… but she was probably like Mrs. Xu, driven mad for not being able to protect her own child?

With that thought, He Songning finally understood Mrs. Xu.

He spoke again, lowly, “You didn’t mess up.”

Xue Qingyin perked up her ears.

“Hm?”

“I’ll be nicer to you from now on.”

Xue Qingyin suddenly turned her head. “Whoever lies is a dog.”

He Songning: “…”

Xue Qingyin pointed at him, “See, you won’t even swear. Still trying to fool me.”

He Songning gritted his teeth, “If big brother lies to you, then big brother is a dog… satisfied?”

Xue Qingyin nodded and smiled through her tears, “Yes, satisfied.”

Her smile made her eyes sparkle.

The soft light filtering in through the window seemed to shine on her face, making her look even more beautiful.

Xue Qingyin stood up and deliberately wrapped her arm around He Songning’s: “I’m so happy, big brother is finally willing to be nice to me!”

The words implied…

How cold was he in her heart before?

But He Songning was indeed more responsive to gentle gestures, not forceful ones.

He didn’t push her away.

Instead, he asked casually, “Why didn’t you want me to marry?”

Xue Qingyin, surprised, thought to herself, “How would you not know? The King of Wei must have already informed you.”

Despite her inner thoughts, she still replied that she had been asked to be a companion to the Fourth Princess.

“The Fourth Princess…” He Songning’s eyes grew cold. “Queen Wan is pushing people into the fire.”

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, “Big brother, aren’t you doing the same?”

“If the Fourth Princess seeks you out again, I’ll send a maidservant to accompany you.”

“A maidservant?” What’s the point? Is she just another spy to make sure I behave?

“She’ll protect you,” He Songning said coldly, offering no further explanation.

“…Oh.” Xue Qingyin responded.

She’d still have to rely on herself.

“Do you understand Concubine Wan’s intentions?” He Songning asked.

Xue Qingyin: “…”

Is this a pop quiz?

Seeing that Xue Qingyin didn’t respond, He Songning wasn’t surprised.

After all, Xue Qingyin had always been quite foolish.

“He Wei has intentions toward you,” He Songning said quietly.

He stared at her, watching her reaction carefully.

Finally, the plot was revealed.

Xue Qingyin inwardly took a deep breath, feigning ignorance, “What?”

“He Wei intends to marry you, but Concubine Wan dislikes your appearance and background.” This was part of He Songning’s early calculations.

Concubine Wan came from a prestigious family.

Her grandfather, Xu Lao, had served as the Chief Minister, performing duties akin to that of a prime minister. After she entered the palace, Xu Lao had retired to his hometown.

Xu Lao had three sons and one daughter. His sons were all in government, not as prominent as he once was, but importantly, Xu Lao had many capable protégés.

It could be said that the Xu family’s foundation, combined with Concubine Wan’s favor, had made King Wei the most likely candidate to inherit the position of crown prince.

If King Wei clashed with her, causing a rift between mother and son, it would be like losing a limb, and he would lose significant support.

Once Xue Qingyin entered his mansion and stirred things up, it could drag down half of King Wei’s power.

“Are we from such a lowly background?” Xue Qingyin voiced her confusion.

It wasn’t hard to understand that Concubine Wan didn’t like her appearance.

Most mothers-in-law don’t like their daughters-in-law being too beautiful.

“Your maternal family is from a merchant background, though they bought an official title. But in the capital, who would respect you?” He Songning said.

Xue Qingyin sneered. “I don’t care about King Wei. I won’t marry him.”

He Songning spoke softly, “You should marry. When my mother was poisoned by a concubine, everyone in the capital called her narrow-minded. Though my father was a third-rank official, my mother never received even the title of ‘noble consort.’ If you become King Wei’s wife, who would dare criticize her? Your maternal family would naturally rise too.”

Xue Qingyin almost wanted to give him a thumbs up.

He really knew how to speak!

Anyone else hearing that would have been moved right away.

“I’m telling you this because I want you to understand, don’t fear Concubine Wan. King Wei likes you; what can she do? Besides… I will help you.”

Just moments ago, he promised to treat her better, and now he’s pushing her toward King Wei’s trap…

It’s all you!

When she thought about it, it made sense.

In the original story, for his political ambitions, He Songning had pushed the female lead, Xue Qingyin’s sister, to the back. What could he do to her?

“But… my mother said she would prefer me to marry someone with a lower status who would pamper me,” Xue Qingyin hesitated.

He Songning sneered, “A man with a lower status? Do you know why Princess Jinque refused to remarry after her husband died?”

“Why?” Xue Qingyin genuinely didn’t know.

Princess Jinque had even fewer scenes in the original story than Xue Qingyin.

“Men of lower status who marry women from noble families don’t feel grateful. Instead, they feel inferior. The better ones just sulk, but the worse ones take concubines or even plot to seize their wives’ family’s wealth until the wife dies, and only then would they feel relieved.”

He Songning lowered his voice and added, “Such a man, would you still want to marry?”

Xue Qingyin: “…”

He Songning may be a jerk, but what he said made a lot of sense.

“What about marrying King Xuan?” Xue Qingyin suddenly proposed.

King Xuan was one of He Songning’s biggest rivals.

If she had to marry someone from his opponents, why not marry King Xuan instead?

King Xuan was much more handsome than King Wei.

And he didn’t have so many concubines.

Whenever he went to war, who knew how many years he’d be gone, and she could just live freely in the palace!

He Songning froze. “Do you know what you’re saying?”

Xue Qingyin: “I know!”

He Songning: “…” He really wanted to knock on her head to see what made her so highly regard herself.

“King Xuan is cold-hearted, unpredictable… no woman can ever catch his eye.”

Xue Qingyin recalled the King Xuan she had seen the other day.

Is that so?

Not sure.

I’ll give it a try.