Chapter 82

His Majesty has already bestowed a marriage upon Jiang He.

When Xue Lingyi was convicted and exiled, and her entire family was reduced to slaves, almost all the officials thought that the Xue family would never recover and would decline forever. However, only a year later, the emperor recalled Xue Lingyi, and the truth about the salt smuggling case was exposed.

Liu Jing, the Minister of Personnel, spent a night in the Imperial Prison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. When he was brought up again to confront Xue Lingyi in the Golden Palace, he confessed to framing Xue Lingyi.

The court was immediately in an uproar. Who could have imagined that Liu Jing would have such audacity as to plot against the prime minister?

All those involved in the incident were handed over to the Embroidered Uniform Guard for punishment. As for Liu Jing and Kang Minzhi, the emperor sentenced them to be executed in the autumn. The country did not need such black sheep, so this was taken as a warning to others.

At the same time, the emperor also ordered the restoration of Xue Lingyi's official position, and she remained a first-rank prime minister.

After experiencing great ups and downs, Xue Lingyi's state of mind was different from before. When she was down, the officials who used to be on good terms with her avoided her like the plague. Now that she has risen again, their attitudes have changed.

As soon as Xue Lingyi stepped out of the Golden Palace, she was surrounded by people.

"Congratulations to Prime Minister Xue on his reinstatement."

"We knew long ago that Prime Minister Xue was wronged. Now that His Majesty has finally cleared your name, we are overjoyed."

"Yeah yeah."

Hearing these flattering words, Xue Lingyi felt a little irritated and couldn't help but quicken her pace, wanting to get rid of these people. However, she still casually replied with a few perfunctory words, after all, she would still be serving as an official in the same court in the future, and she couldn't afford to make things too awkward.

As Xue Lingyi walked, she suddenly felt something was strange. She looked back at the people behind her but did not find any trace of Su Yawan. She was walking quite fast, and almost all the officials who had entered the palace today had fallen behind her.

Su Yawan was supposed to attend the morning council meeting, but she was nowhere to be seen among the officials in the Golden Palace.

Xue Lingyi was puzzled and decided to go to the Jingzhao government office to take a look, since Su Yawan was her savior.

Just as Xue Lingyi was about to continue walking towards the palace gate, a person dressed in scarlet clothes rushed over and punched her in the face. The person gritted their teeth and squeezed out the words, "Xue Lingyi, you're really something else!"

It is quite a rare occurrence that the current prime minister was beaten in the palace, which also proves that the assailant is extremely arrogant and doesn't even care about his own life.

The officials behind stopped in their tracks, and some who wanted to show their loyalty and step forward to stop it all withdrew their steps when they saw the face of the person who was hitting him.

This is the mother of the Phoenix Prince, the mother-in-law of His Majesty, and the grandmother of the future Crown Princess. As long as no one dies, even His Majesty will turn a blind eye.

Moreover, it is said that the two families are about to become in-laws, so something must have happened that Jiang Shangyi is now physically abusing Xue Lingyi.

Xue Lingyi wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and frowned, saying, "Jiang Shangyi, have you gone mad?"

Seeing that she was still pretending not to understand, Jiang Shangyi's anger grew even more intense. He sneered, "You don't know why I hit you? I hit you because of you. Three years ago, you looked down on the Jiang family and were unwilling to marry your son to He'er. Now that He'er was seriously injured while saving you, your precious son still wants to leave He'er. You Xue family members are indeed all ungrateful people!"

Jiang Shangyi started doing business when she was young and had seen all kinds of people in the business world, but she had never seen anyone as shameless as the Xue family. Anyway, she was already old and didn't care what others thought of her, so she decided to make a scene and let everyone know about the despicable things the Xue family had done.

The court officials, who had been watching the drama unfold, now understood that the two families had fallen out. The eldest daughter of the Jiang family was originally to marry the eldest son of the Xue family, but the Xue family had seriously injured and nearly killed the Jiang family's daughter, and the man had run away from the marriage. Jiang Shangyi had come to demand an explanation.

The news of the Jiang family's eldest daughter's wedding had already spread throughout the capital, making the Jiang family a laughing stock.

"Look at this, fellow colleagues! The seemingly noble and virtuous Prime Minister Xue is actually a despicable person. My Jiang family is at least a noble family, or at the very least, a royal merchant family. The Xue family has bullied us to this extent. This is intolerable! Let's go and settle this matter with His Majesty!" Jiang Shangyi grabbed Xue Lingyi by the collar and started walking towards the Golden Palace.

Before Jiang Shangyi could even leave the crowd's sight, the chief eunuch beside the emperor arrived late with his men. Upon seeing Xue Lingyi, whose face was bruised and swollen, and Jiang Shangyi, who was filled with anger, she cleared her throat, bowed, and said, "His Majesty has decreed that Duke Jiang be escorted out of the palace."

No plant or tree in the palace could escape the Emperor's eyes.

Just as Jiang Shangyi was about to speak, the chief eunuch quietly walked to her side and whispered, "Lord Jiang, the Imperial Physician Xue has woken up. Prime Minister Xue cannot be harmed at this moment. The Emperor also knows the grievances that Miss Jiang has suffered. He asked me to pass on a message to you, saying that he will handle this matter and that you should go back and keep Miss Jiang company."

Since His Majesty has intervened, she can't just stay in the palace any longer. Besides, she has a son and needs to consider his well-being. This matter with the Xue family is a private one, and it's not appropriate for His Majesty to punish Xue Lingyi openly.

Jiang Shangyi's face turned ashen. He released Xue Lingyi and turned to leave.

Xue Lingyi plopped down on the ground. She still couldn't understand why Jiang Shangyi, who was supposed to be her in-law, had attacked her. What exactly had Yu'er done that she hadn't told her?

Moreover, is Jiang He's injury really as serious as Jiang Shangyi said?

Before Xue Lingyi could even process what was happening, the chief eunuch approached her with a forced smile and said, "Prime Minister Xue, His Majesty has also ordered me to escort you out of the palace."

Inside the imperial study, the emperor had lost all interest in reviewing the memorials. Looking at Jiang Wanyi kneeling on the ground, she said helplessly, "Wanyi, get up quickly."

Jiang Wanyi stood ramrod straight, like a pine tree standing against the wind. His eyes were also unusually firm. After the Emperor spoke, he prostrated himself on the ground and performed a deep bow, his voice resounding: "I beg Your Majesty to save He'er."

“I know Your Majesty is happy that Consort Xue has awakened and doesn’t want him to hear bad news about the Xue family. But I only have this one sister. If it were just a laughing stock, that would be one thing, but He’er is now in critical condition and might not wake up at all. I think Your Majesty should know this kind of pain.”

What do you want me to do?

The Emperor was also quite puzzled. Everything was fine before, but Xue Lingyu ran away from the wedding, and now the two families had torn each other apart, which put her in a difficult position.

"How about I order Xue Lingyi to send her son back to the Jiang family?" The Emperor thought about it carefully. This might be a solution, but she was worried that Jiang He had already vomited blood from anger. She wondered what kind of reaction she would have if she saw Xue Lingyu again.

These were not what Jiang Wanyi sought. He raised his head, stared into the Emperor's eyes, and said resolutely, "I beg Your Majesty to arrange another marriage for He'er, so that He'er may sever all ties with the Xue family and have no further connection with them."

This is the best way to save face for the Jiang family and preserve Jiang He's dignity.

"I agree." The Emperor sighed and finally helped him up from the ground. Although Jiang Wanyi had only been kneeling for a short while, his body had not yet recovered after giving birth. His knees were numb and cold. Although he didn't say it out loud, he couldn't help but frown.

Emperor Wei helped Jiang Wanyi to his seat and gently massaged his knees. He stopped only after seeing Jiang Wanyi's brows relax.

“Prince Feng is the late Emperor’s younger sister and the most noble prince in the imperial clan. Her eldest son has just turned sixteen this year, so I will bestow Prince Feng’s eldest son in marriage to your sister.”

The status of the eldest son of Prince Feng is extremely noble, even surpassing that of ordinary princes. Moreover, Prince Feng has no daughters, so his title will inevitably be passed on to his future son-in-law. If one marries the eldest son of Prince Feng, one can not only enter the royal family, but also enjoy a life of luxury.

“Prince Feng is currently in his fiefdom. I will first issue an imperial decree to grant him the marriage, and then summon him to the capital with his eldest son.”

It had been a long time since she had received a letter of greeting from her aunt, so she took this opportunity to reminisce about their aunt-niece relationship.

When Xue Lingyi returned home, Zeng Rong was almost shocked by her miserable state. It looked as if she had been severely beaten, and the injuries were all on her face, which could not be hidden.

Zeng Rong helped Xue Lingyi sit down and asked in surprise, "Teacher, what's wrong? Did a dispute break out in the Golden Palace, and Liu Jing refuses to confess?"

Xue Lingyi shook her head. "Liu Jing has confessed and accepted punishment, and His Majesty has ordered that I be reinstated to my original position."

Zeng Rong asked, puzzled, "Then what about the injury on your face?"

Logically speaking, no one would dare to beat up the prime minister of the court, unless they were extremely bold and wanted to die.

Hearing the commotion in the main hall, Xue Lingyu quickly came out to see what had happened. As soon as he stepped into the main hall, he heard Xue Lingyi sigh and say, "It was Jiang Shangyi who hit him."

Then Xue Lingyi saw Xue Lingyu at the door and called him over in a deep voice.

Seeing Xue Lingyi's expression, it seemed she knew something. Xue Lingyu didn't dare to look into her eyes and whispered, "Mother, you're injured. I'll go find some medicinal wine to apply to your wounds."

After Xue Lingyu finished speaking, she turned around and wanted to leave.

Xue Lingyi stopped him and asked earnestly, "Yu'er, do you know about Jiang He's injury?"

"Jiang He is injured?" A hint of surprise flashed in Xue Lingyu's eyes. She shook her head and said, "I don't know when she was injured?"

Before he left the Jiang residence, Jiang He was still perfectly fine and could even ride a horse to Ruyi Restaurant to buy him spicy chicken.

"On the day I returned, I was attacked. It was Jiang He who arrived in time to save me, allowing me to live to see His Majesty. Today, Jiang Shangyi stormed into the palace to attack me, repeatedly saying that the Xue family was ungrateful and that Jiang He was seriously injured and on the verge of death. I'm afraid..."

As Xue Lingyi spoke, she paused slightly, feeling ashamed. In the end, if it weren't for Jiang He, she would probably have been a victim of the knife long ago. However, she couldn't blame her son. Jiang Shangyi had beaten her, and she had no complaints about it; she deserved it.

As Xue Lingyu's mother, she should take responsibility for what her son did.

Xue Lingyu involuntarily leaned back, only managing to stand up by grabbing the table and chair. His voice trembled slightly as he looked at Xue Lingyi in disbelief, "Jiang He is about to die?"

He was unaware that his mother had been attacked by assassins upon her return, nor did he know that if Jiang He hadn't intervened, he might never have seen his mother again.

Xue Lingyi could tell that Xue Lingyu was not entirely without feelings for Jiang He, especially since he was pregnant with Jiang He's child.

"When I came back, I inquired around and found out that Imperial Physician Ji is staying by Jiang's side at the Jiang residence. Jiang He is currently seriously injured and unconscious, and we don't know when she will wake up." Xue Lingyi couldn't help but feel guilty. She never expected that Jiang He could do such a thing.

However, today's farce in the palace has completely severed ties between the two families, and she can no longer send her son back. The marriage is now completely off.

Xue Lingyu pursed her lips, lowered her delicate features, and said with self-reproach, "It is my unfilial son who has implicated my mother."

Xue Lingyi waved her hand. Her injury was nothing to worry about, but she had a deep question in her mind: "Yu'er, what exactly happened between you and Jiang He?"

"Mother, after the child in my womb is born, I will give her the surname Jiang. As for the rest, I don't want to talk about it for now." Xue Lingyu kept quiet about this, and Xue Lingyi didn't press her.

Xue Lingyu silently found the medicinal wine, applied it to Xue Lingyi, and then returned to her room.

When he heard the news of Jiang He's injury, he was suddenly taken aback. For Jiang Shangyi to seek revenge in the palace, she must have been seriously injured. In the end, it was his fault.

Jiang He did a lot for him; even her wedding dress was embroidered by him. It's clear that she always remembered her wish.

Xue Lingyu stroked his swollen belly, feeling a pang of sadness for some reason, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. He lowered his head and whispered, "Child, I hope your mother will be safe and sound."

It should have been the wedding day of Jiang He and Xue Lingyu, but now one of them is hiding away and the other is lying on the bed unable to move. Su Yawan finds it extremely ironic. Her colleagues are now discussing the Xue and Jiang families, but due to the pressure from His Majesty and the Phoenix Prince, they can only lament that the merchant Jiang family has raised such a lovelorn fool.

Unexpectedly, a decree of marriage was suddenly issued from the palace. Su Yawan couldn't help but rub her eyes, wondering if she had misread it.

"The eldest son of Prince Feng? The one who has been personally raised by Prince Feng since birth and who has never left his side?"

This is a true princess, a pampered young lady raised in the imperial family. Even though she was the fifth prince, as the current emperor's younger brother, she was not born to the empress, and her status in the imperial family was lower.

Feng Wang's father was the first Phoenix Lord of the late emperor, and his grandmother was a powerful general who fought alongside the founding empress. The entire clan was blessed with imperial favor.

Such a woman should at least marry a prince or someone of high rank. Now that she has been betrothed to Jiang He, anyone with eyes can see that His Majesty is intentionally elevating the Jiang family and also compensating Jiang He.

Su Yawan didn't need to guess to know that it was Jiang Wanyi who asked His Majesty for it. There are so many people in the world who are good to Jiang He, and there is no need for Xue Lingyu to be one more.

Su Yawan placed the imperial edict beside Jiang He's pillow. Looking at his friend's pale face, he said with a slight sore throat, "Jiang He, you must wake up soon. When the time comes, marry that Prince Feng's eldest son and completely forget Xue Lingyu. He won't even have time to regret it."

Under the care of Physician Jiang, Physician Xue finally recovered and gradually regained consciousness. He was able to say a few simple words to people. However, because he had been lying in bed for too long, he still needed to recuperate and could not get out of bed for a while.

As soon as Doctor Xue woke up, Physician Jiang told him about Xue Lingyu's situation. Such a big thing happened in the palace, and the news spread to the inner palace in no time. Even if you didn't want to know, it would be hard to find out.

As long as Consort Xue is alive, the Emperor Wei, mindful of the kindness shown to him, will not punish the Xue family.

Emperor Wei arrived at Jiaofang Palace to pay his respects to Consort Xue, saying, "Father, you've woken up."

Xue Taifu coughed lightly a few times, covering his lips with his fingers. Because he had been ill for so long, his skin was almost transparently white, and his long hair was casually draped behind him. Even without any makeup, he looked beautiful and charming. In particular, his cold and aloof eyes seemed to be unmoved by anything, and he possessed a captivating beauty that he was born with.

Xue Taifu raised his eyes to look at the Emperor, and slowly said with a smile, "Your Majesty, you have done very well."

He did not specifically refer to any particular action taken by the emperor, whether it was an achievement made during his period of unconsciousness or the Xue family's affairs. The deeper meaning of this was left for the emperor to guess.

The emperor straightened his back and said, "Thank you for your praise, Father."

Empress Xue rested her head on her hand, looking tired, and said to the Emperor, "I wish to see my father's family. If Your Majesty has the time, please arrange it."

The Emperor nodded. "Yes, I will arrange it immediately."

Father and daughter had not seen each other for many days. Apart from these few words, Xue Taifu did not say another word to Emperor Wei. Emperor Wei, considering that he had just woken up, did not disturb him further.

Watching from the side, Physician Jiang felt a pang of pity. "Why is the Imperial Physician so cold to His Majesty?"

She still remembered when Her Majesty was still a princess, she had a quarrel with the late emperor because of the matter of Xue Taifu being cursed by a beautiful woman, and she even vowed to find out who had harmed Xue Taifu, and was reprimanded by the late emperor.

Although Consort Xue was less than ten years older than Emperor Wei, Physician Jiang felt that Emperor Wei was genuinely filial to Consort Xue.

However, she had been out of the palace for many years and was unaware of what had happened during that time.

Doctor Xue glanced at Physician Jiang indifferently, without answering her question, and changed the subject: "You just said that Yu'er is pregnant?"

As soon as Doctor Xue regained consciousness, he inquired about the Xue family's recent situation. At that time, Physician Jiang had told him about Xue Lingyu's pregnancy. Now he replied, "Yes, the eldest son is already five months pregnant."

"Is it that child from the Jiang family?" Doctor Xue leaned against the bed, his tone flat.

Doctor Jiang nodded.

Xue Taifu closed his eyes, his expression unreadable. "She's certainly ambitious."

When he woke up from his sleep, his great-grandchildren were about to be born; it truly felt like a lifetime had passed.

After returning home, Xue Lingyi wanted to reunite with her family. However, her father was currently being cared for by the Jiang family, but she didn't know where he was. Xue Lingyi was too embarrassed to ask the Xue family about him at this time, and she was caught in a dilemma.

Unexpectedly, Xue's father was sent back by the Jiang family.

Following Su Yawan's instructions, Yuan Ge was tasked with erasing all traces of Xue Lingyu from Jiang He's life. In the end, she decided to take matters into her own hands and send Xue's father back to the Xue family, hoping to sever all ties with them and eliminate any future troubles.

After dropping off Xue's father, the people from the Jiang family turned around and went back. Xue Lingyu vaguely saw several familiar figures inside. She clearly wanted to ask about Jiang He's situation, but she was too embarrassed to call out to them.

After Xue Lingyu disappeared, Jiang He ordered that the news be kept from Xue's father, so Xue's father had no idea what had happened to Xue Lingyu in recent days. Now, upon seeing that she was pregnant, he paused in disbelief and said, "Yu'er, what happened to you..."

Xue Lingyu took his hand and led the group inside. "Father, the child in my womb is Jiang He's. Let's go back to the manor first, and I'll tell you the rest later."

When the Xue family first fell into poverty, Xue's father's health gradually deteriorated, and he even almost passed away. Fortunately, Jiang He sent people to take good care of him, and he gradually recovered. Now, his complexion looks rosier than before.

Father Xue and Xue Lingyu went into the inner room and sat down. Father Xue patted Xue Lingyu's hand and asked softly, "Now let's talk about you and that child from the Jiang family. You're pregnant now, have you discussed going back to the Xue family with her?"

A few days ago, he vaguely heard his servants mention that the Jiang family was going to have a wedding, so he guessed that it might be because Jiang He was going to marry a proper husband, which is why Xue Lingyu left the Jiang family.

There were some things she couldn't tell her mother, and Xue Lingyu was also feeling very upset. Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and told her father everything.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Xue could no longer sit still. His eyes widened in disbelief: "You actually ran away before the wedding? Didn't the Jiang family send anyone to look for you?"

Xue Lingyu lowered her head and said in a muffled voice, "I left a letter telling her not to come looking for me."

"I heard that she was seriously injured while rescuing her mother and is now in a coma in bed. Even if she knows I am at the Xue residence, she will not come looking for me."

“If I were to marry her as a slave, people would laugh at the Jiang family for having such a young master. Jiang He has been very good to me, and I don’t want her to be talked about like that. I just didn’t expect that my mother would be able to clear her name.” As Xue Lingyu spoke, tears streamed down her cheeks.

“But even so, your elopement will still cause a huge uproar.” Xue’s father felt that Xue Lingyu was being too impulsive. If it were really because Jiang He had someone else, that would be fine, but Jiang He’s heart and soul belonged to him. As long as they talked things out, it would be fine.

In the end, Xue's father couldn't bear to scold Xue Lingyu, so he simply held him in his arms and comforted him.

Xue Lingyi had been standing outside for a long time, but finally decided to come in.

Xue Lingyu sniffed, her voice becoming a little hoarse.

"Mother."

Xue Lingyi looked at his feigned smile, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

“Yu’er, actually, I was able to clear my name thanks to Jiang He. When I was exiled from the city, I was attacked. If Jiang He hadn’t been secretly protecting me, I wouldn’t have been able to reach my place of exile alive. Not to mention the assassination attempt on my way back, which was extremely dangerous.”

"Mother, are you saying that Jiang He has been pulling the strings behind the scenes for the Xue family all along?" Xue Lingyu opened her mouth slightly, looking at Xue Lingyi in surprise.

He had never heard Jiang He mention any of these things; she had only reassured him that she would handle everything.

So, the reason she asked me to wait three months was to use that time to help the Xue family clear their name?

"Enough, Yu'er, it's too late to say these things now." Xue Lingyi sighed and glanced at Xue Lingyu. "His Majesty has already bestowed a marriage upon Jiang He, and the eldest son of Prince Xuanfeng shall immediately enter the capital to marry her."

A note from the author:

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 23:21:39 on March 2, 2022 and 19:09:19 on March 3, 2022!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Su Chan (1);

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Sleepless Tabby Cat (48 bottles); 26937870 (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!

◎Latest Comments:

[Male lead, get out of here!]

[You've gone too far with this "running away with the baby" plot; you're forcing the two main characters' mindsets on them.]

[Let's switch partners, sob]

[They tied! I still don't understand. Poor Jiang Jiang -_-||]

[I'm switching my ship. Xue Lingyu? What the heck? I support the eldest son of the Prince of Feng and Jiang Jiang together!]

[Help! Hahahaha, a sister in the comments said that Jiang He's life was filled with resentment, hahahaha, I didn't want to laugh, but thinking about it, it's really kind of funny.]

Break up! Break up!

[Let's just say everyone should go back to their own homes and find their own mothers, right? I don't know what's going on in the male lead's head. This whole thing is ridiculous. Xue Lingyu, you've got some backbone not going back to find Jiang He. Stop torturing each other. It's so frustrating.]

【

[I hope the female lead wakes up with amnesia so she can really torment the male lead.]

I'm so frustrated with myself. I don't want to say anything more. I deeply regret subscribing, but it's also absurd to give up after following this far. I really don't understand what this story is all about. Is it about Jiang He's lifelong resentment?

Sigh, this plot development... I really don't understand it anymore...

【beba】

Marry the eldest son of the Prince of Feng, how wonderful! But it seems impossible. I give up, I blame Jiang He.

-over-