Chapter 82: She’s Breaking the Rules!

Xue Qingyin safely returned to the Xu family, which made Mrs. Xue breathe a sigh of relief.

However, she couldn’t help but complain in her heart. The King Xuan seemed cold and ruthless, but how could he be so careless?

Until Mrs. Xue saw two guards from the King Xuan’s mansion, first carrying a large box, then a large cage.

Inside the cage… was an eagle! Or perhaps it should be called a hawk.

It was so big.

So big that Mrs. Xue couldn’t help but take two steps back.

Xue Qingyin looked at Mrs. Xue’s reaction and turned back, saying, “You guys should keep it for now. I’ll be at the mansion soon, so you can get used to it.”

Just to avoid scaring Mrs. Xue.

Du Hongxue agreed and smiled at Mrs. Xue, “We’re disturbing you, we’ll take our leave.”

Mrs. Xue looked at his figure, still feeling a bit of regret.

Xue Qingyin could only laugh helplessly and pulled Mrs. Xue back into the house.

Halfway through, Xue Qingyin suddenly remembered something.

“Mother, go ahead and wait for me, I’ll be back in a moment.” Xue Qingyin said, lifting her skirt and turning back.

King Xuan’s group hadn’t gone far yet. When Du Hongxue saw her chasing after them, he immediately stopped the carriage.

“Miss Xue?” Du Hongxue asked in confusion.

King Xuan also reached out to roll up the carriage curtain. A flash of light quickly crossed his eyes, and he lowered his head and asked, “Do you want to ride a horse again?”

Xue Qingyin gasped slightly, “I just remembered something…”

“Don’t rush.” The King Xuan’s figure suddenly leaned forward, then supported Xue Qingyin.

Xue Qingyin was stunned for a moment, then she came to her senses and calmed her breath, telling King Xuan about Xu Qi’s purchase of an official position that day.

“If the Dou Gongzi my uncle mentioned is really that powerful, why would he lower himself to befriend him?”

Xue Qingyin had her suspicions that day.

Xue Qingyin said softly, “Everyone knows I’m going to enter the King Xuan’s mansion. It’s not anything else, I’m afraid it’s because of Your Highness.”

Actually, Xue Qingyin suspected that someone was trying to target her. But she couldn’t say it like that.

“Purchase an official position?” The King Xuan’s eyes, black as ink, showed a slight change in emotion.

He said in a low voice, “Alright, this King knows.”

Xue Qingyin withdrew her hand and said, “There’s nothing else, Your Highness, you can go back.”

King Xuan couldn’t help but lower his gaze and glance at his fingertips.

But he didn’t rush to leave, instead, he asked in a low voice, “If you’re scared, this King can send you a guard, alright?”

Thinking about the people He Songning sent.

Xue Qingyin didn’t mind.

If there were even more, then it would be He Songning’s turn to be afraid.

“Is that in accordance with the rules?” Xue Qingyin asked.

King Xuan said, “My father wants the rules to be clear on the surface, but how else it is, you can do as you please.”

Xue Qingyin nodded, “Alright.”

King Xuan looked at her, but still didn’t seem to be leaving.

Xue Qingyin couldn’t help but wonder, what’s wrong?

Xue Qingyin licked her lips, wanting to speak again.

King Xuan suddenly asked her, “Do you think it will be hard?”

“What?” Xue Qingyin didn’t understand.

King Xuan lowered his gaze, hiding the indifference in his eyes, and said, “Marrying into the King Xuan’s mansion will inevitably lead to scrutiny and hostility. The higher the position, the harder it is to walk.”

So he was talking about this…

Xue Qingyin was somewhat surprised. The King Xuan hadn’t told her any of this at the palace banquet earlier, why was he bringing it up now?

Xue Qingyin asked him back, “Your Highness, what kind of life do you think is good?”

King Xuan thought for a moment, but didn’t say anything.

Du Hongxue whispered beside him, “A farmer’s house with smoke rising from the chimney, simple food and drink to fill the stomach, parents alive, children under their knees?”

“That’s probably just an imagination.” Xue Qingyin said softly.

From the day she crossed over, she was very clear about the limitations of the times.

“Farmers have no power or influence, they rely on the heavens for their livelihood. Drought, floods, even if someone else is unhappy and cuts off their water channel, forget about simple food and drink, they’d be lucky to not starve to death.”

Du Hongxue murmured, “That’s true.”

“If it’s a merchant’s family, it seems prosperous. But if they are unfortunately noticed by the powerful. Merchants are only low-level, what kind of ending can they have in the end?”

“If it’s an ordinary low-ranking official, they often become the swords of their superiors. When they’re used for a long time, they will inevitably face a time of defeat.”

“Even in a peaceful and prosperous era, it’s not easy, if there’s a war, it’s even worse.”

Du Hongxue couldn’t help but say, “Hearing this, no one in this world lives a happy life.”

Xue Qingyin clicked her tongue, “No one lives an easy life, but if compared to the common people who still have to worry about their livelihood, I’ve lived well enough. Your Highness, I’m content.”

If the sky falls, it’s someone like King Xuan who’s tall enough to hold it up.

She never wavered in her decision to agree to King Xuan.

Du Hongxue heard her firm tone, his heart skipped a beat, and when he looked at Miss Xue in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.

Sometimes, people don’t need to be tough on the outside to command respect.

King Xuan suddenly raised his hand, adjusting the hair ornament at her temple, and said, “Hmm.”

He didn’t say anything else.

Xue Qingyin met his gaze, his eyes were deep, as if they were going to envelop her whole being.

For some reason, Xue Qingyin’s cheeks felt a little hot.

Du Hongxue sent Xue Qingyin back to the Xu family’s door again.

Xue Qingyin thought to herself, the King Xuan is indeed a rare person.

Others would only see the glory of his position, but he would tell her the pros and cons, the risks. Instead of just painting a beautiful picture for her.

Of course, if the King Xuan sent her more gold in the future.

Then he would be an even better gentleman!

On the other side,King Xuan’s carriage also gradually went further and further away.

Du Hongxue said in a low voice, “Miss Xue trusts Your Highness very much, she tells Your Highness everything. It’s truly rare.”

“Direct and insightful, that’s rare.” King Xuan said in a low voice.

That’s why he had a moment of regret, regretting letting her step into the cage of power.

Since she was firm, he would naturally hold her in his palm, shielding her from the wind and rain. Only then would it be worth her heart.

…

As King Xuan said, the Ministry of Rites soon sent the betrothal gifts, the engagement gifts, and the wedding gifts.

The threshold of the Xue family seemed to be about to be trampled through.

Such splendor, even Butler Xue couldn’t help but grin.

He thought, with so many things, Xue Qingyin wouldn’t bring them all to the Xu family, would she?

Xue Qingyin indeed didn’t have them carried away.

This made Butler Xue breathe a sigh of relief.

Soon, the Liu family and the Qiao family also received their respective betrothal gifts.

However, the former had a marriage contract, while the latter did not, only a document that stated the title, rank, and monthly allowance of the concubine.

Liu Yuerong could finally sit up at this time.

In just ten days, she had become thin and pale. Fortunately, her life was saved, which made the Liu family breathe a sigh of relief.

On the day the Ministry of Rites sent the betrothal gifts, Liu Yuerong had her maidservant support her to stand in the hall, watching as people carried box after box inside.

Liu Yuerong tried her best to appear calm and composed, but the curve of her lips grew wider and wider.

When she was unconscious, she was really scared, scared to death.

She was afraid that if she died, King Wei would marry Xue Qingyin.

Who could blame her, Xue Qingyin was prettier than her.

Liu Yuerong couldn’t help but resent, how come all the men in this world only cared about beauty. Xue Qingyin didn’t understand poetry or literature, she had made many blunders at banquets before. King Wei, with his eight-dou talent, how could he like her?

Liu Yuerong gasped twice before suppressing the resentment in her chest.

Fortunately… Xue Qingyin married King Xuan, fortunately, she was a concubine. How could she compare to me?

Liu Yuerong was about to smile, but her personal maid had a tense face and quickly walked towards her.

“Miss.”

Liu Yuerong asked her, “What’s the matter? You’re so flustered, it’s unbecoming.”

The maid said with a bitter face, “The Ministry of Rites also sent gifts to the Xue family.”

Liu Yuerong said, “That’s natural, even though she’s a concubine, she still needs to have the betrothal ceremony.”

The maid’s face was even more bitter, “How many boxes do we have in total?”

Liu Yuerong waved her hand and took the list, saying, “Sixty-nine boxes.”

It was a lucky number.

The maid said, “Then that’s right, they’ve all been carried in. But the Xue family is still carrying things in, one after another… definitely more than sixty-nine boxes.”

Liu Yuerong’s heart immediately beat faster, her face beaming with joy, “She dares to break the rules?”

She couldn’t wait to have her father report it to the Emperor.

But the maid said, “Miss, you misunderstood, it’s not the Ministry of Rites breaking the rules. It’s that for some unknown reason, the guards of the King Xuan’s mansion carried many boxes of betrothal gifts from the mansion to the Xue family.”

The maid couldn’t help but say with envy, “They used a hundred carriages, forming a long line. Now everyone in the city must know about it.”

Liu Yuerong was stunned, “King Xuan… sent them?”

The maid nodded.

Liu Yuerong bit her lip, “She stole the limelight like this, overshadowing me. Doesn’t that count as breaking the rules?”

The maid was confused.

She didn’t know either.

Liu Yuerong asked again, “What about His Highness King Wei?” She still had a glimmer of hope in her heart, “I don’t mind, but this clearly humiliated His Highness King Wei. King Wei probably won’t be able to bear it.”

Naturally, he would find a way to compete with King Xuan…

The news quickly reached the King Wei’s mansion.

King Wei’s injuries had almost healed. Hearing this news, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.

“Qingyin is a pity for him. My brother doesn’t understand romance…” King Wei shook his head repeatedly.

The people below asked again, “The King Xuan acting like this, elevating a concubine so high, how can Your Highness’s legitimate wife face this?”

King Wei was puzzled, “How she wants to face it, how she wants to face it, what does it have to do with me?”

The people below were choked, and said again, “But… but Your Highness’s reputation…”

King Wei sighed, “If people see what kind of dull woman that Liu girl is, they will understand me.”

Most importantly, the King Wei’s mansion didn’t have much property. It was only because his maternal family, the Xu family, had a good reputation among scholars. If he were to be associated with money too much, it wouldn’t be good.

King Wei had also taken many concubines, and entertaining scholars also required money.

Although the Emperor favored him and gave him enough rewards. But imperial gifts couldn’t be exchanged for money.

The entire King Wei’s mansion relied on the revenue from the fiefdom. If the fiefdom suffered a major disaster one year, the revenue would naturally be greatly reduced.

In short, he didn’t have enough money.

So just go to sleep.