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It wasn’t surprising that Xie Huaian was tempted.
Regardless of the Princess’s motives, being able to marry her was a good thing.
Xie Huaian wanted to have both career and love.
Du Jinyun was his love, and Princess Zhenyang was his career.
For a better future, Xie Huaian believed that Du Jinyun would understand his choice.
“Second Young Master, what did you say?” Du Jinyun asked when Xie Huaian returned.
“Jinyun, my parents are still carefully considering it and plan to discuss it with the clan uncles,” Xie Huaian said with a flickering gaze. “So I didn’t give a definite answer. Maybe they’ll end up giving up?”
“Really?” Du Jinyun was suspicious, her eyes dark.
Her intuition told her that her man… might have developed feelings.
After all, who wouldn’t want to marry a royal Princess?
A wave of sadness washed over her, and tears welled up. Was a man’s heart truly unreliable?
“Jinyun, I…” Xie Huaian, seeing her tears, wiped them away with a pained expression. “It’s not that I didn’t refuse, but I couldn’t. Unless we leave the Marquis residence and run away.”
Du Jinyun was startled.
“Are you willing?” Xie Huaian truly loved her. After some thought, he gave her a choice. “Jinyun, let’s elope. We’ll go far away from the capital and live a simple life with our child.”
This…
Du Jinyun was stunned. How could this work?!
How would they live after eloping?
They could take some money with them, but no matter how much money they had, it wouldn’t last a lifetime. Besides, their child would need food and clothing. What would they do when they ran out of money?
If they didn’t leave, she would at least remain a concubine in the Marquis residence, and her child would be a master in the Marquis residence—significantly better than ordinary people!
Du Jinyun was still calculating this. Otherwise, why would she have chosen Xie Huaian in the first place? Wouldn’t it have been better to marry a man of equal status and become his wife?
“Jinyun?” Xie Huaian said, “In the Marquis residence, we’re not free. My parents wouldn’t let me do as I please. Once we’re out, we’ll be free.”
As long as Du Jinyun was willing, he would be willing too.
Of course, he also explained the drawbacks to Du Jinyun: “But if we lose my status as the Marquis’s son, I won’t be able to provide you and our child with a good life.”
Xie Huaian presented Du Jinyun with two paths, letting her choose.
“Second Young Master, don’t joke. How could I possibly let you alienate yourself from your family?” Du Jinyun immediately said.
No, she couldn’t leave the Marquis residence; leaving would mean ruin.
She had worked so hard to reach this point; how could she go back to living a hard life?
Neither path was easy, but at least staying in the Marquis residence meant a life of luxury and some hope for the future.
Furthermore, Du Jinyun thought, since Xie Huaian was willing to elope for her sake, it showed his sincerity. Even marrying the Princess wouldn’t threaten her position.
In the future, if Xie Huaian used the Princess’s connections to advance his career, it would also benefit her and her child.
Clearly, faced with the choice, Du Jinyun, who had experienced hardship, leaned towards the more advantageous option.
“I understand your predicament, Second Young Master, and I don’t object to you marrying the Princess, but I’m only worried about the safety of my child and myself,” Du Jinyun said, touching her belly.
Seeing her understanding, Xie Huaian promised, “Don’t worry; I will do my best to protect you and the child. Nothing will happen to you.”
If Xu Qingyi knew about this development, she would have exclaimed, “This Du Jinyun is amazing! So clear-headed! For the sake of her own benefit, she’s sending her own husband to the Princess’s bed.”
Although, the Princess, who already had her heart set on someone else, might not necessarily sleep with Xie Huaian.
She clearly wanted to be with the Eldest Young Master Xie.
Several clan uncles came to the Marquis residence to discuss Xie Huaian’s marriage.
Xu Qingyi also wanted to attend, to explain to the Marquis the advantages and disadvantages of taking sides, but she was insignificant and had no right to participate in the discussion, so she could only stay in her courtyard to look after the children.
And to spread some anxiety to the Eldest Young Master’s room.
“Oh dear, the clan uncles have all arrived, so I guess we’ll have a result today,” Xu Qingyi said, nibbling on sunflower seeds. “With such a big commotion, I guess Second Brother will become the Princess’s husband… What should we do? Oh dear.”
Look at how worried Lady Xu is.
Xie Yunzhi thought that she truly cared about him.
Unfortunately, he was unable to speak and couldn’t offer any comfort.
“If Prince Su falls from power, the consequences will be severe. Why can’t the Marquis resist such a tempting opportunity?”
Yes, Xie Yunzhi was incapacitated, and the Pingyang Marquis residence was on the verge of decline. As the head of the family, it was understandable that the Marquis wanted to board Prince Su’s ship.
She herself was only able to remain safe and sound because she knew the plot and avoided making mistakes.
Therefore, Xu Qingyi didn’t bother to speak to the Marquis in case her words were disregarded due to her low status, or she was considered mad.
Things weren’t certain; if she said the wrong thing, she would have to bear the consequences.
Managing her own fate was already difficult enough; she wouldn’t bother interfering in other people’s lives.
But Xu Qingyi felt stifled. The feeling of being the only sober person in a drunken world was agonizing, so she could only vent her frustrations to the Xie Yunzhi.
So, it turned out that Lady Xu didn’t have high hopes for Prince Su?
This was quite unexpected to Xie Yunzhi. Even more unexpected was that she was actually concerned about court affairs.
And she had her own distinct stance.
But then again, he thought it might not be a lack of confidence.
Prince Su’s strong momentum was well-known; there was no reason for Lady Xu to be pessimistic.
She was probably just cautious and conservative by nature and believed that the Pingyang Marquis residence could thrive even without taking sides.
Yes, Xie Yunzhi also thought his father was too aggressive, probably worried that without him, the Marquis residence would eventually decline, so he was impatient.
He understood.
“Tsk!” Xu Qingyi spat out two sunflower seed husks. “Let me say this upfront; I’m against getting involved with Prince Su. It’s easy to get on the boat, but difficult to get off.”
“…” Xie Yunzhi sensed Lady Xu’s displeasure but was helpless.
Their branch of the family no longer had the right to speak.
“So, if something happens in the future, don’t expect me to share your fate,” Xu Qingyi said calmly. “Using your name, my children and I should be pardoned. We’ll split the family then.”
She glanced at the sleeping beauty who would soon wake up and issued a quiet warning, “If you agree, that’s best. If you don’t, then pack your bags and join them on their journey.”
Xie Yunzhi felt a chill run down his spine, his neck feeling cold.
What agreement or disagreement? He was in this state; did he even have the right to speak?
Lady Xu’s blunt words were truly unpleasant.
Besides, with a 50/50 chance, the Pingyang Marquis residence shouldn’t be so unlucky as to choose the losing side.
After venting her frustrations to the Xie Yunzhi and delivering a stern warning, Xu Qingyi felt a little better.
Before leaving, she became cheerful again, smiling as she stroked the Yunzhi’s face, “Of course, if the Eldest Young Master makes the right choice, good fortune awaits him.”
Xie Yunzhi: …
Meanwhile, before the Pingyang Marquis residence could reach a decision, news of the marriage alliance between the two families had already spread.
“Crash!” Princess Xining smashed another cup in her Princess mansion, her face full of hatred, because she knew her niece, Princess Zhenyang’s intentions.
What a shameless woman! She had heard that Xie Yunzhi could produce an heir and couldn’t wait!
After venting her anger, she felt a touch of envy.
She wished she could do what Princess Zhenyang dared to do, but she valued her reputation and couldn’t stoop to such underhanded tactics.
No, she couldn’t let Princess Zhenyang succeed.
Princess Xining could tolerate Xu Qingyi producing an heir for Xie Yunzhi because Xu Qingyi was Xie Yunzhi’s legitimate wife.
But Princess Zhenyang? Tsk, what was she?
The next day, Princess Xining entered the palace to see the Emperor and stated directly, “Father, I heard that Prince Su wants to marry Zhenyang to my cousin Yunzhi’s younger brother. You can’t agree to this.”
“Oh? Is that so?” The Emperor, whether genuinely unaware or feigning ignorance, frowned and asked.
“Yes.” Princess Xining pursed her lips. “It was Zhenyang herself who proposed it. Don’t you find it strange? She’s always been proud and arrogant. How could she possibly take a fancy to an ordinary and unremarkable wastrel?”
The Emperor paused. “So, you mean…”
“She likes my cousin Yunzhi,” Princess Xining said disdainfully. “If you really let her marry into the Pingyang Marquis residence, just wait for chaos to erupt.”