Chapter 262: A Marriage Decree

Shang Qinghua walked over and lightly tapped Yue Mingxuan on the head with the folding fan in his hand.

Yue Mingxuan reacted a beat too slowly, he turned to look at him before letting out a sigh, wondering when a life like this would finally come to an end.

“Alright, enough of that. We should head back. I heard from Moonless Cicada that lately Rong Zishen has been lingering around you a lot. If we return too late, he’ll probably notice. It wouldn’t be good if he discovers your connection with Flying Opera Group and the Midnight Blades.”

Yue Mingxuan nodded; that was true.

Every time, Rong Zishen seemed to appear before him as if by coincidence and he never knew exactly when the man had shown up.

“Good thing you’re back. I was worried you might be late tonight. I received word—the Emperor may summon you today. Wang Jian told me to hurry up and find you.”

As soon as the door was pushed open, Gongsun Xing was already sitting inside.

Yue Mingxuan felt that his room had truly become like a teahouse and everyone came and went as they pleased.

“I more or less know already,” he said. “The wolf behind me, who knows what kind of deal he struck with the Emperor to have his sister marry Rong Zishen as a consort… the principal wife, no less.”

Gongsun Xing frowned.

“You’re really letting Princess Xueyin marry Rong Zishen? From what I’ve seen, he’s not a good man. Whether he’ll treat her well is anyone’s guess. That’s your own sister!”

Gongsun Xing had assumed Shang Qinghua was using his sister as a pawn and a trace of displeasure stirred within him.

Yue Mingxuan remained expressionless while Shang Qinghua spoke.

“Rong Zishen won’t have the chance to treat Xueyin poorly. She is a princess of Xieshang Kingdom, of noble rank. Coupled with the Emperor’s intentions, he never planned to make Rong Zishen the Crown Prince anyway, marrying a foreign princess is of little consequence. Besides, I will find a way to have Rong Zishen removed.”

After a brief silence, he continued,

“I also proposed that the daughter of a prime minister be taken as a concubine, to pave the road thoroughly for Xueyin. After that, Xueyin can handle things herself.”

After all, she was a princess.

Sure enough, as soon as dawn broke, the news spread throughout the entire palace.

Concubine Keshun had just risen when she smashed several vases in anger.

She could not understand how the Emperor could issue such an edict without consulting her at all.

Rong Zishen also learned of the news, yet he felt nothing about it.

Just as before, wherever Yue Mingxuan appeared, he would be there as well, lying in wait like a hunter guarding a stump for a rabbit.

It was as if the prey he awaited was not his own future consort, but Yue Mingxuan.

If not for the fact that every time they met he wore an expression that practically said I want to tear you apart, Yue Mingxuan might almost have thought the man had taken a liking to him.

The Emperor personally went to soothe Concubine Keshun, telling her that if this matter were settled as the birth mother of the Second Prince she would be granted a promotion in rank, which could also be considered a gesture of respect toward the princess of Xieshang.

Upon hearing this, Concubine Keshun said no more, though inwardly she continued to weigh her options, was her son’s future path more important, or her own current status?

After thinking it over again and again, she knew she could not refuse the Emperor and so she accepted the decree with thanks.

With that, the matter was considered settled.

Princess Xueyin prepared to return to her homeland to await an auspicious date for the wedding.

Before leaving the palace, she met her future husband, Rong Zishen, for the first time.

He carried an aura of hostility, like someone who had just stepped out of a battlefield of slaughter.

He glanced at Xueyin—this gentle and seemingly fragile princess was to be his future wife?

She looked easy to bully and lacking any obvious imperial arrogance.

Yet when she reached him, though she clearly saw him, she merely gave a slight nod as a greeting. Then she lifted her chin, straightened her back, and walked out with quiet dignity.

Rong Zishen was momentarily taken aback. Turning to watch her departing figure, there was no doubt, this woman had, for the first time, captured his attention.

This was precisely Shang Qinghua’s intention: she had to make Rong Zishen remember her.

Xueyin was born into the imperial family and her mind was among the sharpest.

Among the few truly clever people in Xieshang, the foremost was Shang Qinghua, a man of deep schemes, and next came Xueyin.

That day, when she said that as a woman she could hardly accomplish anything great, it was not truly so.

She was a woman who could stand shoulder to shoulder with men, her cunning no less than her brother’s.

What was rare was that her heart was upright, she was a good child.

On the day the princess left the palace, Yue Mingxuan also went to see her off, standing beside Shang Qinghua.

After Xueyin exchanged a few words with her brother, she smiled, lifted her skirts, and ran over.

“Will you be my royal sister-in-law?” she asked.

The question left Yue Mingxuan stunned.

What was she saying? Sister-in-law? Does that mean she want him to marry Shang Qinghua? That was practically impossible.

So he shook his head. “That’s basically impossible. We’re not walking the same road. Xueyin, I like you very much. I hope we can meet often in the future. Even after you marry Rong Zishen, don’t let yourself be wronged.”

“Alright.”

Shang Qinghua walked over and asked, “What did you and Xueyin talk about? She looked so happy when she left, she even said you were very good.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep