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“Excuse me,” the arrogant woman who nearly hit her said with no real apology.
She went to retrieve the ball.
Afterward, Xu Qingyi asked Xu Tingjun, “Who is that person?”
Knowing that her younger sister had seen little of the world, Xu Tingjun wasn’t surprised. “She’s Princess Zhenyang, the eldest daughter of Prince Su.”
With that, Xu Qingyi understood. She was the child of a failed contender for the throne.
Thinking about the woman’s future, the frustration in her heart turned into sympathy.
The current Emperor was fifty-three years old and still in good health. He had five grown sons.
Prince Su was the Emperor’s eldest son born of a concubine. He held the advantage of being the eldest, and he had always been very ambitious, making him a popular candidate for the throne.
No wonder his eldest daughter, Zhenyang, was so arrogant and domineering.
Another popular candidate for the throne was the Crown Prince, but he was frail and had just reached adulthood.
This further fueled Prince Su’s arrogance.
In the original story, the Pingyang Marquis residence initially supported the Crown Prince before switching their allegiance to Prince Su.
In the end, the Crown Prince didn’t successfully ascend the throne, and Prince Su’s attempt to seize power also failed. The throne fell to the unassuming Prince Gong.
Prince Gong was initially inconspicuous, focusing diligently on his duties and exhibiting great composure and stability.
The Emperor intended to have him assist the Crown Prince.
Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was suspicious and burdened by excessive worries, eventually dying from exhaustion.
With no one to assist, and Prince Su attempting to eliminate him, Prince Gong, after surveying the situation, decided to seize the throne himself.
Therefore, the current Prince Gong is still essentially the Crown Prince’s subordinate and is not highly valued.
“Second Sister, don’t take it to heart. Princess Zhenyang is always like that,” Xu Tingjun offered a word of comfort.
Of course, if Xu Qingyi were foolish enough to pick a fight with Princess Zhenyang, she would happily watch the show.
As long as she wasn’t implicated.
“Elder Sister, you flatter me. Why would I take it to heart?” Xu Qingyi was eager to distance herself from Princess Zhenyang.
She was pondering how to persuade the Pingyang Marquis to not support Prince Su.
Then, in the blink of an eye, she saw Madam Qin chatting and laughing with Princess Zhenyang.
Xu Qingyi was instantly stunned, her mind reeling.
This magical development… no way?
She thought, does the Pingyang Marquis residence really want to be exiled?
Xu Tingjun followed Xu Qingyi’s gaze and also saw this harmonious scene. Her thoughts were similar to Xu Qingyi’s. “What does Princess Zhenyang want? She can’t possibly have any interest in your younger brother, can she?”
If Xie Yunzhi was the nation’s beloved, then Xie Huaian was an insignificant nobody.
Compared to the Princess, he was worlds apart.
In the original story, she wasn’t interested, but Xu Qingyi was afraid.
What if her small actions disrupted the plotline, causing Princess Zhenyang, in her pursuit of love, to take a roundabout route—even if she couldn’t marry her idol, she still wanted to be in the same household register—that wouldn’t be good.
Sigh, it can only be said that the pursuit of love in ancient times was quite crazy.
“A noble lady like the Princess certainly wouldn’t be interested,” Xu Qingyi replied with a smile.
Xu Tingjun agreed and put it out of her mind, pulling Xu Qingyi to eat some food and sweets. “You don’t go out much. These are things from the palace; you usually can’t get them.”
“No, thank you,” Xu Qingyi refused. “I’m neither hungry nor thirsty.”
She dared not touch anything at this banquet.
“You’re too cautious,” Xu Tingjun said with mixed feelings. She thought that if she had married such a husband, she would also have to be very careful.
Unfortunately, she ended up marrying a dissolute and fickle man whom even dogs would despise; she didn’t have the good fortune to experience this kind of caution.
When the banquet ended, Xu Qingyi left and returned home in her carriage.
A gift from the Princess’s residence was sent, supposedly for everyone.
Xu Qingyi had the nursemaid receive it, keeping her distance. She even took off the jade bracelets given by Imperial Concubine Xue and had someone put them away.
“Mother-in-law, how did your conversation with Princess Zhenyang go?” Xu Qingyi suddenly asked.
“She seems to have a good impression of Huaian,” Madam Qin inadvertently let slip, then looked at Xu Qingyi in surprise. “How do you know that?”
Xu Qingyi feigned innocence. “Know what?”
She acted surprised again. “Oh, she actually likes my second brother?”
Madam Qin’s face showed clear displeasure. “What’s wrong with the Princess liking Huaian? Not every woman in the capital has to like Yunzhi.”
It was clear that Madam Qin harbored resentment toward her excellent stepson.
Xu Qingyi wasn’t intentionally pouring cold water on the situation; she was just stating the truth. “Before Princess Zhenyang spoke with you, she specifically made things difficult for me. Mother-in-law, think about it. If she truly wanted to marry my second brother, why would she create trouble for me, the elder sister-in-law?”
Madam Qin’s face turned green. How could she not understand the implication behind Xu Qingyi’s words?
But she was unwilling to accept it. “Don’t talk nonsense. Do you not want to see Huaian do well?”
Xu Qingyi felt speechless and thought to herself, if I truly didn’t want him to do well, I wouldn’t bother to interfere. They might as well all be exiled.
After all, her family wouldn’t have to go.
Prince Gong was also a fan of Xie Yunzhi. When it came down to it, he admired strength—what man hasn’t fantasized about being a hero on the battlefield?
Xie Yunzhi was the object of their dreams and fantasies, both male and female.
Sigh, it has to be said that having an idol husband who is popular with both men and women is really beneficial—all the advantages.
“I’m just stating the facts, fearing that Princess Zhenyang’s intentions are not what they seem,” Xu Qingyi still had a good impression of the Marquis and didn’t want him to suffer in his old age, so she offered some more advice. “Mother-in-law, maybe you should discuss this with father-in-law before making a decision. After all, Princess Zhenyang is of noble birth.”
“Of course. How could I make such a decision without the Marquis’s agreement?” Madam Qin glared at her daughter-in-law, quite displeased with her interference. “Such an obvious matter; do I, as an elder, need your instruction?”
… … … Okay, okay. The Princess hasn’t even married her son yet, and already she’s acting so haughty.
As the saying goes, good words cannot persuade a ghost determined to die.
Since that was the case, Xu Qingyi didn’t bother to say anything more. It wasn’t that she was unwilling to help; it was simply that everyone has their own destiny.
Back at the Pingyang Marquis residence, Madam Qin immediately discussed Xie Huaian’s marriage with the Marquis, showing great enthusiasm.
“How could Princess Zhenyang possibly be interested in Huaian?” The Marquis’s immediate reaction left Madam Qin deeply wounded.
“My Lord, your words are unfair,” Madam Qin said, very displeased. “Princess Zhenyang personally told me that she admires Huaian. Is she lying?”
That’s utterly false.
The Marquis’s assessment of his second son was always objective. “If you said she wanted to win over the Pingyang Marquis residence, I would find that more believable.”
“It doesn’t make a difference. She wants to marry Huaian!” Madam Qin dared to say. “Think about it. The Eldest Young Master has been ill several times since the beginning of spring…”
She left it at that, continuing, “If we refuse, it’s not worth offending His Highness, Prince Su.”
Even if the Crown Prince eventually ascends the throne, to show benevolence, he wouldn’t punish the Pingyang Marquis residence.
That’s true; there’s no loss either way.
But offending Prince Su is a different matter.
If Prince Su ascends the throne in the future, he will certainly resent the Pingyang Marquis residence for rejecting him today.
This was a serious matter, and the Marquis couldn’t immediately make a decision.
If they made the right bet, it could indeed push the Pingyang Marquis residence to new heights. Conversely, if they made the wrong bet, it could severely damage them.
“Let me think about it again,” The Marquis said cautiously.
Madam Qin said, “Time is of the essence. My Lord, you must decide quickly.”
Madam Qin had thought it over and couldn’t find anything wrong with this marriage.
After all, no matter who ascends the throne, the Pingyang Marquis residence wouldn’t lose out.