Chapter 49  

In December, the capital slowly began to feel like the New Year was approaching.

After all, a few years ago, the Holy Spirit finally relented, lifted Princess Anyi’s confinement at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, and allowed her to return to her mansion.

However, Princess Anyi had always been a lively and extravagant person. As soon as she returned to the capital, she hosted a grand banquet, staying true to her personality.

“Princess, the wife of Crown Prince Xuanwu… the former wife has reconciled with Crown Prince Jiang. Why did you invite her here?” Chao Yun, who was standing beside her, asked in confusion.

Princess Anyi didn’t rush to explain. Instead, she casually warmed her hands over the heater and smiled. “Speaking of which, Princess Anyi is also curious. A few days ago, at that temple, Jiang Huai was very protective of Xu Lianqiao…” She paused, then couldn’t help but tut in amusement. “So, why did they reconcile later?”

Although Jiang Huai was accused, he didn’t lose all his power. Moreover, the reconciliation was still under his control. After being wronged…

“Could it be… that he wanted a divorce because he realized he couldn’t be a ‘cheap girl’ like her?” Chao Yun joked. Luckily, Princess Anyi enjoyed such banter and never minded their unrestrained words.

“Oh, who knows.” Princess Anyi adjusted her bun. “That’s why I invited her… and the Wei family. They really want to see another good show.”

Ah, the days at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha were so boring… She had missed out on so much fun during her absence.

She hadn’t witnessed Jiang Huai being imprisoned, nor had she seen Ning Yuan storm into the Xuanwu Marquis Mansion. She hadn’t even witnessed Jiang Lian’s death, which wasn’t much of a surprise anymore.

Sighing, she remembered something again. “Speaking of which, my princess’s cousin is still not married… It’s really strange. He’s not young anymore. I’ve never seen anyone endure loneliness like him…”

“I heard that His Majesty intends to marry the King of Zhenbei,” she added.

Princess Anyi responded indifferently, “He has big ideas. Who could really control him?”

However, this made Princess Anyi reflect. She remembered what happened eight years ago, one of the few times she had seen Ning Yuan.

It had been so long that she could barely remember the details. She just recalled that he was a troublesome person, not someone who would easily back down from showing off his father’s face in public.

“But I’m really curious to see who he’ll marry in the end.”

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t curious.

_

At the Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion, Xu Lianqiao sat at the table, flipping over the invitation card in her hand. She couldn’t decide whether to attend Princess Anyi’s banquet.

“Why worry about it? If you want to go, go. If not, then don’t,” Ning Yuan, who was sitting across from her, asked.

He didn’t want Ah Qiao to waste time on such trivial matters when they could be doing something else.

Xu Lianqiao smiled slightly when she heard this: “Brother Ning, do you think I should also start doing these things?”

She had considered that perhaps banquets like these would be important in the future, so she thought it might be useful to attend a few and learn.

“Why?” Ning Yuan asked, his face showing slight disapproval that she had started calling him “Brother Ning” again. But he answered her question first.

“Brother Ning, haven’t you ever hosted any banquets in your house?” Xu Lianqiao asked bluntly.

Ning Yuan shook his head, as if there was nothing to hide.

“I’ve been in the military camp for a long time, and there’s no reason to socialize with others.”

But, in reality, the reason was that there had never been anyone in the mansion to make decisions about such events.

He recalled a few banquets from when he was young.

A smile formed at the corner of his mouth. “But if Ah Qiao likes this, the palace is big enough. If you want to hold a banquet in the future, you can always do so.”

“I don’t want to make trouble for myself…” Xu Lianqiao declined happily. “I thought this was something necessary for communication among dignitaries. Since you’ve never done it, why should I?”

She didn’t quite understand it, and she wasn’t fond of it.

“Then I won’t go…” She still feared offending Princess Anyi.

“Actually, it doesn’t matter if you go…” Ning Yuan said, almost amused by her reaction.

He then lowered his voice and muttered, “Why doesn’t it matter? You don’t even ask for my advice.”

Ning Yuan could tell that Ah Qiao wanted him to give her a firm answer.

At that moment, he felt pleased knowing she needed him.

“Then go,” he said.

“Are you really going?” she asked.

“Go.” Ning Yuan gave his firm approval. “I’ll go with you.”

“What?”

Xu Lianqiao almost blurted out.

She knew that so far, besides Jiang Huai and Brother Ning’s close subordinates, only the Holy Sage knew about her and Brother Ning.

According to His Majesty’s wishes, it was still necessary to wait a bit longer before openly marrying. This meant she should not be seen with Brother Ning publicly.

“Why don’t I go and support Ah Qiao?” Ning Yuan said seriously, looking at her.

Xu Lianqiao almost believed him.

But this wasn’t a matter of whether it was right or not; it was about what should be done.

“It’s time we got to know each other,” he said, his peach blossom eyes locking onto hers.

Xu Lianqiao’s face turned red.

This room felt really hot.

“It’s like building a plank road openly and crossing Chencang secretly,” he added.

Xu Lianqiao understood the meaning, but found the comparison strange.

_

December 15th was a rare sunny day in the winter.

Ning Yuan had come to the princess’s mansion to attend the banquet, not just because he was worried about Ah Qiao, but because he had a more important matter to deal with.

For this, he had been waiting in the room for a quarter of an hour.

Just then, the door creaked open.

A few rays of warm sunlight poured into the room. Ning Yuan looked up, though his smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“First time meeting, Mrs. Wei.”

The person who entered was Xu Lianqiao’s mother, Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wei, standing at the door, was taken aback. She didn’t understand what was happening. Who was this man in the room?

Clearly, she had come to meet her daughter.

“Mrs. Wei, there’s no need to look inside. I’m here for Ah Qiao.”

This brief statement not only clarified the situation but also revealed his close relationship with Ah Qiao.

“Who are you, and what is your relationship with Lianqiao?” Mrs. Wei asked seriously. Her letter had been addressed to Lianqiao.

When she heard that Princess Anyi had also invited Lianqiao to the banquet, she thought of visiting her, especially since there had been an unresolved matter between them before.

She hadn’t returned to Xu Mansion, nor had she gone to see Lianqiao. She knew only that Lianqiao had left Jiang Mansion and rented a house in the suburbs of Beijing.

Since she was her daughter, Mrs. Wei thought she couldn’t offer much help, so she decided to send her some money instead.

She never expected things to turn out this way.

Ning Yuan didn’t rush to answer. Instead, he motioned to the side.

“Since Mrs. Wei is already here, don’t leave in a hurry.”

Although Mrs. Wei didn’t recognize the man in front of her, his manner exuded an unspoken pressure. She stopped and turned around, hesitant to leave.

“I’m just a messenger. There’s actually someone else who wants to see you.”

With that, a man dressed in monk’s robes stepped out from behind a screen.

Wearing a plain white cassock and holding a string of Buddhist beads, he was instantly recognized by Mrs. Wei.

Wasn’t this the man who had heartlessly abandoned his wife and daughter years ago?

“Huh,” she muttered, her voice laced with annoyance.

“You found him,” she pointed at Ning Yuan, her anger beginning to rise.

“No,” Xu Pingchuan denied. “This person brought me here.”

“I didn’t know that after you remarried, you had actually disowned your daughter Lianqiao.”

Xu Pingchuan’s words were filled with resentment.

“Just found out, huh?” Mrs. Wei retorted sarcastically. “You’ve been alive for over ten years without hearing anything about her, not caring about her life or death. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Yes, as long as this person didn’t care, there was no news of Lianqiao, and she couldn’t even ask about it anymore.

“Isn’t it you who gave birth to Lianqiao? How could you be so cruel?”

Xu Pingchuan’s words hit a raw nerve, and his voice became more agitated.

“I gave birth to her, yes. But how could I raise a child on my own?”

“I don’t care about that. Ask your brothers if they took care of Lianqiao. It’s laughable that you don’t care about anyone with your surname and expect me to do so.”

Mrs. Wei was unsure if anyone from the Xu family had taken care of Lianqiao. She knew that when Mrs. Xu was alive, they had looked after her, but she didn’t know about the others. Her identity was too sensitive; if she wasn’t careful, her current family could suffer.

She couldn’t afford to take that risk.

Xu Pingchuan’s anger flared. “You’re unworthy of being a mother.”

“I’m here, at least no one will bully Lianqiao for no reason. You… How can you just protect other people’s daughters?” Mrs. Wei shot back.

“Then as for you, you’re worthy of being a father? Oh no, not only are you unworthy of being a father, you’re not even worthy of being a son.”

A man can say the most painful things to someone.

Those words clearly enraged Xu Pingchuan, and he nearly raised his hand to slap her.

“It’s just you trying to become an immortal or a Buddha… Bah.”

With those words, Mrs. Wei’s dignity as a Marquise’s wife was shattered.

Xu Pingchuan was a stain on her life.

“Go on, fight. If you have the ability, go ahead. I want to see how you can strike me now.”

Their relationship had become too filthy, too tainted.

All the masks had been torn off, leaving only the most disgusting truths exposed.

“Why do you think you can’t become a great immortal? I realized I was going to die, so I came to find someone to die for you.”

“Why don’t you ask Lianqiao if she’s still willing to mourn for you?”

The hand that had just lowered was raised again, and the anger that had been contained doubled.

Mrs. Wei closed her eyes, feeling Xu Pingchuan’s pause in mid-air, just as he was about to slap her.

It was then that Ning Yuan stepped forward, stopping Xu Pingchuan’s hand.

Ning Yuan wanted to watch them quarrel, but he didn’t want anyone to act on it yet.

Although he had no affection for Ah Qiao’s parents, he knew Ah Qiao felt it was difficult for Mrs. Wei. So he wouldn’t allow the man to strike her.

“Master Xu, you’re so angry,” Ning Yuan said with a slightly mocking tone.

“Where’s Lianqiao? I’m here to see Lianqiao.”

Xu Pingchuan glared at Ning Yuan, dissatisfied.

He didn’t understand why he was here with the woman Ning Yuan had brought him to meet.

Ning Yuan calmly turned and said, “You won’t see her anymore.”

“I’m just here to inform you that unless Ah Qiao wants to see you, you’re not going to see her.”

Luckily, it was Ah Qiao who had come to make this decision, or else Jiang Huai’s plan would have succeeded.

How ridiculous. Was this some kind of family reunion drama set up by Jiang Huai behind the scenes? It was truly absurd.