Chapter 93

"Jiang He, I'm willing to marry you."

Seeing Su Yawan's astonished expression, he smiled slightly, his thin lips barely moving. "Are you curious as to why I am still a virgin?"

A tender aura emanated from Xue Taifu, and the alluring look in his eyes had not yet completely faded. Su Yawan's breathing quickened involuntarily, just as Xue Taifu had said.

Suddenly, the cat entered the main hall and jumped into Xue Taifu's arms, revealing its soft belly and inviting Xue Taifu to comfort it. Xue Taifu looked at the little creature in his arms, and then at Su Yawan.

The two do have some inexplicable similarities.

“When I was young, it was predicted that I was destined to be a phoenix. After the death of the late emperor, the late emperor listened to the words of the civil and military officials and welcomed me into the palace. At that time, I was already fifty years old, and the princesses under my knees were almost adults and had full wings. Only the emperor was left alone and weak.”

When Xue Taifu recalled his reasons for entering the palace, he felt they were utterly absurd.

Even to outsiders, the late emperor doted on him, even adopting the young emperor into his family because he was unable to have children, and finally passing the throne to the young emperor.

It wasn't that he didn't want to have children, but rather that he didn't want to have a royal child.

"The late emperor was old and had long lost the energy for matters of love. He never touched me."

There was one exception, however. After drinking, the late emperor suddenly became lustful towards him and wanted to summon him to his bedchamber. Naturally, Consort Xue refused and instead ate the pastries sent by other concubines in the harem, which contained sedatives.

Now that he had become the Phoenix Lord, he could not be just a beautiful vase. Few of the old and faded men in the harem did not hate him, but they could only watch helplessly as he monopolized power in the harem. The two heads of the Imperial Medical Academy were also his confidants.

The concubine who sent the pastries only intended to warn Consort Xue, but unexpectedly, it brought her great disaster.

Xue Taifu portrayed himself as a pitiful man persecuted by the harem. Under orders, Imperial Physician Jiang told the late emperor that he had been taking the "Red Beauty Elixir" for a long time and would never be able to have children again.

Upon hearing this, the concubine who delivered the pastries paled instantly, saying that he had only made a moment of confusion and had absolutely no intention of wanting Consort Xue to be childless.

Thinking of this, Xue Taifu found it ridiculous. In any case, the late emperor still released this concubine, since she still needed to rely on this concubine's father for favors.

However, the late emperor completely gave up on the idea of ​​touching him, since there was no need to favor a man who could not have children.

The cat jumped off the bed, and Xue Taifu wrapped his arms around Su Yawan's neck, staring at the woman who had taken his body, and said softly, "You are my first woman."

Feeling lonely in the deep palace, he suddenly had the idea of ​​teasing this newly rich courtier. Unexpectedly, the other party was really deeply in love with him, which was quite interesting.

Su Yawan was momentarily unsure whether to feel pleasantly surprised or heartbroken over Xue Taifu's plight. The eloquent and shrewd woman she was in court was now stammering before Xue Taifu, "Your Majesty, this humble subject..."

"Call me Azi," Xue Taifu corrected her, and then took off the clothes she had just put on.

Suyawan was unable to leave the Jiaofang Palace all night.

The palace servants could only watch from afar. The lamps in the palace were lit all night. The imperial physician's cat went into heat in the middle of the night and kept meowing. Fortunately, the imperial physician did not find it annoying or blame him.

Xue Lingyi took leave because of a happy occasion at home, and Su Yawan also took leave the next day. No sooner had she left the palace than the Emperor arrived at Jiaofang Palace.

"The Empress Dowager summoned Minister Su yesterday, and I don't know what they discussed. Minister Su only left the palace this morning and even asked for leave from his daughter."

The Empress Dowager secretly observed Xue Taifu. Her father was only a few years older than her, but if he hadn't taken her in back then, she might have been persecuted to death by her older sisters long ago.

Even the late emperor only started paying attention to her because he favored Consort Xue.

"The Emperor has arrived quite early." Empress Xue lay on the chaise longue, exuding a languid air. "I have been unconscious for so long and know very little about the affairs of the court, so I came to ask her."

"My dear minister," Xue Taifu repeated the word to himself.

The Emperor, relieved to receive the explanation, said, "So that's how it is. If Father wants to know, he can simply ask his daughter."

“You are busy with official duties. Just establishing the princess as heir and the preparations required afterward will be enough to make you anxious and exhausted for a while. Since Lord Su is your confidante, there is no difference between asking her and asking you.”

Xue Taifu's tone was flat, but it couldn't hide his fatigue, and his voice was a little hoarse.

The Emperor understood his tone, "Does this mean the Empress agrees to make Xile the Crown Princess?"

Before the late emperor passed away, he instructed his old ministers that they should follow the lead of Xue Taifu in all matters. The current emperor thought that the late emperor really loved Xue Taifu very much and wanted to leave him a guarantee for the rest of his life.

Although Xue Taifu did not directly interfere in court affairs, he still wielded considerable influence.

"I never said I disagreed." Empress Xue took a deep breath, supporting her weary body, and said, "You only have this one daughter, and she is born to your most beloved Consort Feng. It's only a matter of time before you establish an heir."

Gaining the approval of Xue Taifu was a great joy for Emperor Wei.

She wanted to say a few more words to Xue Taifu, but seeing that he was propping his head up and had already closed his eyes, she had no choice but to hold back. "I haven't slept all night with Su Aiqing. Father must be tired, so I won't disturb you any longer."

For some reason, she felt that Xue Taifu was getting younger and more beautiful.

After returning to the Jingzhao government office, Su Yawan immediately took a cold shower. Now, thinking back on what had happened that night, it was truly absurd. She had actually embraced the person she had been longing for for so many years, and their hands were so soft and cold that she couldn't help but fall deeper into their embrace.

But reason told her that this was wrong.

She poured cold water over her head, trying to convince herself to calm down. She thought that making the same mistake once was enough, and she couldn't even imagine doing it a second time.

Upon hearing from the officials of the Jingzhao government that she had returned, Jiang He rushed straight into the bathhouse.

"You didn't come back all night, and I've been waiting for you." She was still waiting to ask Su Yawan about Xue Lingyu.

When Jiang He saw the marks on Su Yawan's body, she couldn't help but be stunned. "What happened to you...?"

Su Yawan spent the entire night in the palace, so it was impossible for her to go to Qingxiufang to look for any dancers. Moreover, she hadn't even glanced at other men all these years. The only possibility was...

Jiang He's eyes widened, her voice filled with undisguised shock, "You've actually made something of yourself."

She knew that Su Yawan was thinking of Xue Taifu. Xue Taifu was once the most beautiful woman in the capital, and her beauty was naturally stunning. However, there was an insurmountable gap in their social status.

Now, Su Yawan has crossed this chasm. If others knew about this, he would be beheaded!

"Don't ask me about Xue Lingyu anymore. As you can see, my mind is in turmoil right now." Su Yawan slowly exhaled.

Xue Lingyu is the grand-nephew of Xue Taifu. It was one thing for her to oppose Xue Lingyu and Jiang He being together before, but now...

Having become intimate with Xue Taifu, she had no way, nor any standing, to judge his nephew's affairs.

"You used to like Xue Lingyu very much, but he ran away from the wedding before marrying you, and he also left you with the child in his womb. Your injury was also related to him. When you woke up, you unexpectedly lost your memory of him."

“Jiang He, I have erased all traces of Xue Lingyu from your life, but you still can’t forget him and still like him as much as ever.” Su Yawan was also helpless about this, but who can predict matters of the heart? Just like she never expected to lose control and spend a whole night in the Jiaofang Palace.

"Is the child in his belly mine?" Jiang He wanted to doubt the truth of this statement, but Su Yawan's appearance did not seem to be lying to her, and she had no reason to lie to herself.

"Physician Ji said that you are trying to escape the things you care about most because of emotional distress. This condition is reversible." Su Yawan pursed her lips and looked at Jiang He.

"Jiang He, why don't you go and ask Xue Lingyu yourself—"

Maybe then I'll be able to remember things from the past.

If Jiang He still wants to be with Xue Lingyu after she remembers, then she has nothing to say.

Jiang He's heart was even more confused than Su Yawan's.

The fact that Mian'er was actually her child explained the Xue family's attitude towards her and the several hesitant words from Xue's father.

Jiang He still remembers that day when Xue Lingyu tugged at her clothes, his eyes full of surprise, and asked very cautiously.

"Are you really not going to hold a grudge about what happened before?"

What happened in the past? Why did the two of them end up like this?

Jiang He couldn't help but frown, covering her head and taking several steps back.

Xue Lingyu held Mian'er in his arms. The little guy was growing so fast. He didn't usually eat anything special. Even now, if he held him for a while, he had to rest, and his arms were sore.

Seeing the harmonious scene between father and daughter, Xue's father smiled and said, "Mian'er is almost a month old. The imperial physician said he wants you to bring the child to the palace so that he can see her and share in the joy."

Xue Taifu's most beloved junior was Xue Lingyu. Upon hearing the news of the birth of his daughter, he had already sent a gift over. At the same time, the Xue family also received a gift from Prince Feng.

The Xue family and Prince Feng were not related, so her sending gifts was quite unexpected.

"I wonder when Jiang He and the eldest son of the Prince of Feng will be married." Xue Lingyu suddenly said this, his head down, not wanting his father to see his disappointed look.

Even if he regrets it, Jiang He can't turn around and marry him. So, he only has Mian'er left.

A servant came to announce: "My lord, young master, Miss Jiang has arrived."

When Jiang He came to visit Xue Lingyu, Xue's father took Mian'er with him and left, so that Xue Lingyu could have more time alone with Jiang He.

His child was stubborn and obstinate, tormenting not only the other person but also himself.

When Jiang He came in, she saw Xue's father carrying Mian'er out. Mian'er, still in her swaddling clothes, had her round eyes wide open, as if she recognized her and was greeting her.

In just a few days, Mian'er has grown quite a bit.

Seeing that she was staring outside, Xue Lingyu called out to her, "Jiang He".

Jiang He came to her senses and walked to Xue Lingyu's side.

Seeing that she was staring at her, Xue Lingyu didn't want her to worry, so she said in a relaxed tone, "I'll be out of confinement in a few days, and then I'll be able to get out of bed."

Jiang He remained silent, her expression also not good.

Xue Lingyu asked, "You seem unhappy? Did something happen?"

"Xue Lingyu, Mian'er is my daughter, isn't she?"

Out of the blue, those were the words he uttered.

Xue Lingyu paused for a moment, then said definitively, "Of course it's yours."

"I've come here to ask you only one question." Jiang He's attitude was very serious; she didn't want to miss any change in Xue Lingyu's expression. "Are you willing to marry me and become my husband, the young master of the Jiang family?"

Xue Lingyu appeared taken aback and asked in surprise, "Why would you ask me that? Aren't you the legitimate son of Prince Hefeng...?"

"Regardless of anything else, I only need your answer. If you nod, I'll take care of the rest." Jiang He suddenly wondered if Xue Lingyu would agree if she risked defying the imperial decree.

This phrase was all too familiar to Xue Lingyu; Jiang He had said the same thing when he was at the Jiang residence.

She said he didn't need to worry about anything, he just needed to marry her peacefully.

"Xue Lingyu, back then I braved the ridicule of the entire capital to propose to you, and you refused. The second time, you clearly agreed, but you left before the wedding, leaving me all alone..."

Jiang He's hand touched Xue Lingyu's face, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes. "This is the last time. If you are unwilling to marry me, we will have nothing to do with each other from now on. I will never come looking for you again, nor will I appear in front of you."

She truly meant what she said. Although there was only one Xue Lingyu in the world, Jiang He still valued her dignity. Perhaps giving up on something she could never have, something that had left her battered and bruised, was the best course of action.

Xue Lingyu blurted out, "I'm willing to marry you."

His eyes suddenly reddened, and he choked out, "Jiang He, I like you."

If he didn't like Jiang He, he wouldn't have felt wronged by being a concubine, nor would he have repeatedly tried to leave because he felt unworthy of her, and he certainly wouldn't have risked his life to give birth to her daughter.

His eyes welled with tears as he called out to Jiang He, "Jiang He..."

Jiang He held his shoulder, her expression very excited, and asked, "Xue Lingyu, you said this yourself. You, Young Master Xue, are a man of your word and wouldn't lie to a small businessman like me, right?"

Her tone was somewhat obstinate, and she desperately wanted a positive answer.

Xue Lingyu sniffed and nodded, "Yes."

Jiang He held Xue Lingyu in her arms, inhaling the fragrance of his hair, and murmured a promise: "My husband can only be you, not anyone else."

She was the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, and Xue Lingyu was the son of the Prime Minister. There was no longer any question of whether they were a good match.

Jiang He handed the green jade pendant she always carried with her to Xue Lingyu.

"Whoever possesses this jade pendant will essentially own half of the Jiang family. The managers in the business will all obey your orders. This is only part of the betrothal gifts. I will personally come to propose marriage later."

She ruffled Xue Lingyu's hair. "You have to wait for me."

Xue Lingyu held the jade pendant tightly in his hand; this time he wouldn't lose it again.

After leaving the Xue residence, Jiang He returned to the Jiang family.

Because of Xue Lingyu's elopement and her own injury, her mother and father broke ties with the Xue family. Her mother even stormed into the palace and beat Xue Lingyi up. Although Xue Lingyi knew she was in the wrong and chose to let things go, her mother's anger had not completely subsided.

This time, Jiang He will have to put in much more effort than last time to persuade her mother and father to allow Xue Lingyu to join their family.

Therefore, she decided to act first and ask His Majesty to grant her the marriage, and then slowly explain to her mother and father that Xue Lingyu had given birth to the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, and Jiang He believed that the two elders would not stand idly by and watch their Jiang family member be left to wander outside.

Jiang He first went to the palace to discuss the matter with her brother. After learning that she had regained her memory, Jiang Wanyi still insisted on marrying Xue Lingyu. At first, she said that she was crazy, but later, seeing that she was determined, she could not persuade her no matter what she said, so she had no choice but to let her go.

He only has one younger sister, and now that she is in the palace, he cannot take care of her all the time. Seeing her suffer so much because of Xue Lingyu, it is hard for her as her older brother, and he can't help but blame Xue Lingyu as well.

Jiang He is stubborn like that, but Jiang Wanyi hopes she can be happy.

"Promise me, this is the last time. If you make any more mistakes, I will risk my life to seek justice from the Xue family."

"Brother, please trust me one more time." Jiang He held Jiang Wanyi's hand. The two siblings' most similar feature was their eyes. Jiang He smiled and said, "He gave birth to Mian'er for me. Even if he goes back on his word this time, don't I still have Mian'er by my side?"

Mian'er is the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, and she's almost a month old, but Jiang Wanyi hasn't met her yet.

Jiang Wanyi is a father of two, and he always can't help but soften when it comes to his children. He sighed and agreed, "I'll bring Mian'er over another day, so that these two little ones can see their little sister."

With her mother and father getting old, their greatest wish was for the Jiang family to prosper and for the continuation of their lineage to fall on Jiang He's shoulders.

After marrying Xue Lingyu, he needs to have at least one more child before he can finally get past Jiang Wanyi.

After discussing it with her brother, Jiang He decided to go to the palace again tomorrow to ask the Emperor for a marriage decree. Today, Jiang Wanyi would first whisper sweet nothings in her ear.

After Xue Lingyu was able to get out of bed, her father accompanied her and carried Mian'er into the palace to pay respects to Grand Tutor Xue.

The deep palace is lonely, and it is likely that the Empress Dowager longs to have a child of her own. Unfortunately, she was framed by the concubines and was unable to conceive. Xue Lingyu plans to bring Mian'er to the palace to visit her more often so that the Empress Dowager can be happy more often.

Mian'er was born with exquisite features, and her pink fists kept waving. It was the first time that Xue Taifu had seen such a small child, and he couldn't help but hold her in his arms.

When Mian'er saw such a beautiful person for the first time, Xue Taifu only held her little hand and she smiled. It was very healing and cute, touching the softest part of Xue Taifu's heart.

When she adopted Wei Di, she had already grown up, unlike this infant still in swaddling clothes.

The palace attendant said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty and Prince Feng have arrived."

"What are the Emperor and Prince Feng doing here at my place?" Xue Taifu asked, somewhat puzzled, as he had guests present.

Upon entering the hall, Prince Feng first bowed to Grand Consort Xue, and then turned his gaze to Xue Lingyu, who was standing beside Grand Consort Xue. She had originally intended to explain the reason for the annulment of the engagement to the Emperor, but upon hearing that the young master of the Xue family had brought his daughter to the palace to visit Grand Consort Xue, she couldn't help but take the opportunity of paying her respects to see him again, and persuaded the Emperor to come to Jiaofang Palace with her.

Xue Taifu and Prince Feng had some connection, and when he saw Prince Feng staring at his grandnephew, he was immediately displeased.

Feeling Feng Wang's gaze, Xue Lingyu was puzzled, but with the Emperor and Xue Taifu present, she still smiled politely at Feng Wang.

This smile made him look even more like Yu'er, and Prince Feng couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia.

When Emperor Wei saw that Consort Xue was holding a child in her arms, he stepped forward and said, "This must be my father's great-niece. She is very beautiful."

"It seems she has reached her one-month milestone. As you can see, I did not prepare any gifts when I came. How about we bestow upon this child the title of Princess and the name Ruyi, as a way for me to express my wishes for her? What do you think, Your Majesty?"

Xue Taifu thought the title "Ruyi" was very good and nodded.

Mian'er was quite heavy, and Xue Taifu's arms ached from carrying her, so he returned the child to Xue Lingyu.

The child was supposed to call the Emperor Wei his maternal aunt, but because Prince Feng was present, no one said it directly.

Xue Lingyu was unaware of the death of Prince Feng's eldest son and thought the marriage decree was still valid. Seeing Prince Feng present, she felt somewhat uneasy and even a little afraid of him.

Most unexpectedly, Jiang He also came to Jiaofang Palace.

She had originally come to see the Emperor, but the people in the Imperial Study said that the Emperor had gone to the Jiaofang Palace to visit Consort Xue. Xue Lingyu was Consort Xue's grand-nephew, so she wanted to ask the Emperor to grant her a marriage in front of Consort Xue, and also to ask him to be a witness.

Jiang He hadn't expected so many people to be there, but she showed no sign of backing down.

Jiang He bowed first, then looked at Xue Lingyu and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I, Jiang He, request Your Majesty to grant me a marriage with the eldest son of the Xue family."

Xue Lingyu was immediately shocked. Prince Feng was still present. How could Jiang He be so bold as to not be afraid of Prince Feng's wrath?

Emperor Wei glanced at Consort Xue, and seeing that he made no comment, he pondered and asked, "Jiang He, are you sure you want to ask me for the hand of Xue's eldest son?"

Jiang He said, word by word, "I am certain."

"Although the marriage to the eldest son of Prince Feng is no longer valid, it hasn't been announced to the public yet. Even if a marriage were to be granted, it would take some time, not to mention..."

Moreover, we must also consider Prince Feng's feelings.

At this moment, Prince Feng stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Your Excellency, this old minister has a request."

Xue Taifu gestured for her to speak.

“This old minister has lost his son long ago. I happened to meet Young Master Xue, and he looks so much like my son Yu’er. It is quite a coincidence. If Young Master Xue is willing, he can recognize me as his godmother and marry as the adopted son of the Prince of Feng, thus continuing this marriage agreement.”

"I have nothing left to lose, so I will use the entire Fengwang Mansion, as well as all the properties, land deeds and houses under my name, as dowry."

There's no use for her keeping these things; it's better for them to end up in Jiang He's hands, at least preserving some dignity for the Prince Feng's mansion.

Jiang He came to visit me yesterday, hoping that I could announce the annulment of the engagement today. It is clear that she likes Xue's eldest son very much and will definitely treat him well.

Xue Lingyu hadn't reacted yet. He looked at Prince Feng, then at Jiang He, still in a state of surprise.

Xue Taifu gave him a push and urged, "Yu'er, why don't you go and pay your respects to your godmother?"

This matter was entirely beneficial to Xue Lingyu. The Prince of Feng held a prestigious position, and she married into the Jiang family under the title of the Prince of Feng's adopted son. No one in the entire capital dared to discuss the past anymore.

Xue Lingyu bowed to Prince Feng and said, "Greetings, Godmother."

Prince Feng quickly helped him up, and looking at Mian'er in his arms, he was even more excited. "This child looks exactly like Yu'er when he was born. In this way, my wish can be completely fulfilled."

A note from the author:

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 17:45:31 on March 10, 2022 and 20:49:52 on March 11, 2022!

Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 29941763 (1 landmine);

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 1 bottle of egg pudding;

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

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【Paws】

[Drink this nutrient solution, and you'll be ready to fight another 33,000 tomorrow!]

Words cannot express my feelings; I can only try my best to nourish you with nutrient solution. Can you feel my boundless affection?

Am I the only one who doesn't want the female lead to marry the male lead? I'm so annoyed by Chinese-style family reunion plots.

[Help! I spent all day in class guessing what would happen next, guessing that Prince Feng would recognize Xue Lingyu as his relative... so she could get married. Holy crap, it actually happened! To be honest, I've been following this story every day, waiting for the updates, and all I can say is... this ending feels a bit top-heavy.]

Feeling unmotivated to write? Grab a bottle of nutrient solution! Having no inspiration for your writing? Grab a bottle of nutrient solution! Nutrient solution—your deepest love for the author!

[Sobbing]

The male lead is practically a gender-swapped version of Mary Sue.

[Grand Wedding]

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