"No! I don't agree!" Huan Mi suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up, her face flushed, and said to Lu Pianpian, "I will never marry you! Don't even think about it!"
Lu Pianpian glanced at Huan Mi and was about to speak when Prince Li stopped her, saying, "Don't be rude."
"But Father..."
"Step back," Prince Li hissed Huan Mi. "My words are law, they are imperial edicts. But I wonder why Young Master Lu insists on marrying my daughter?"
"You should know that with just a word from me, I can promote Young Master Lu to a first-rank official, on par with the prime minister; even if he doesn't like power, he can still possess vast wealth and become the richest man in the region."
Li Wang emphasized, repeating, "Why did you have to choose my daughter, Young Master Lu?"
Inside the prison, a white cat nimbly darted through the tunnels, finally stopping in front of Huan Changming's door, following the scent. It slipped between the iron bars, panting, and approached Huan Changming. "There...there's something extremely important..."
Having not eaten or drunk anything for several days, Huan Changming looked as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, completely lifeless. Only his face remained radiant, shining brightly even in the dark of the prison.
He asked in a hoarse voice, "What is it?"
This event shocked the cat to the point that it could not express it in words. It blinked, and a blue light shot out from its cat pupils, pointing into the void. The scene that had happened a few breaths ago was replayed in Huan Changming's eyes.
Huan Changming looked up at the light screen and saw Lu Pianpian, dressed in white, kneeling in front of the hall with his back straight. He was a young man who looked like an immortal, and he gazed at Prince Li with clear eyes as he spoke slowly.
“The Ninth Princess is of noble birth, and Shao Yan fell in love with her at first sight. He secretly vowed that he would marry no one but her in this life. He only hopes that His Majesty can grant Shao Yan’s sincere wish and allow him to be the one who can grow old with the Ninth Princess.”
Everyone knows that Princess Huanmi is the youngest daughter of the King of Li, but no one knows that the King of Li also has a ninth daughter.
But Lu Shaoyan knew it all too well.
They knew perfectly well what was going on, yet they still called him a person of high status and fell in love with him at first sight.
As the moon sank in the west, half of Huan Changming's face was hidden in shadow, making it impossible to discern his expression.
The scene continued. Li Wang's face turned ashen, and he asked Lu Pianpian, barely containing his anger, "You want to marry her? Do you even know who she is?"
Lu Pianpian said, "Regardless of her background, I only want to marry Princess Changming."
Huan Mi's face looked as if he had been slapped hard across the face, his expression contorted and extremely ugly.
The banquet fell into a deathly silence, but Huan Changming, inside the prison, let out a low laugh, "Hahaha..."
The cat heard his hoarse laughter, which was particularly eerie, and its fur stood on end in fear. It quickly withdrew its magic. "It was Lu Pianpian who said she liked you and wanted to marry you at the family banquet."
"The Prince of Li has agreed to your marriage..."
Huan Changming's laughter paused for a moment, then resumed its unrestrained laughter. The cat was so frightened that it dared not utter a word, and the laughter did not stop even when the jailer came to reprimand Huan Changming.
He laughed until he was tired and leaned against the wall, muttering something like a curse: "Ha, Lu Pianpian..."
A note from the author:
Hey, another attacker has gone mad here, drag this on.
Chapter 22
After the banquet at the Li Palace ended, King Li kept Huan Juntian and Huan Mi in the imperial study.
As soon as Huan Mi entered the palace, she knelt before King Li. "Father, you betrothed Huan Changming to Lu Shaoyan in front of so many people! Do you really intend to send your daughter to that dangerous land of Xiye for a political marriage?"
Faced with her vehement questioning, Prince Li did not reply, but instead looked at Huan Juntian beside him. "Tian'er, what do you think about this matter?"
Huan Juntian said in a deep voice, "Since Young Master Fu Xilang won first place in the spring hunt, and Father is the Son of Heaven, His word must be followed by action. Therefore, I believe that it is only right and proper for Father to grant Lu Shaoyan's request."
Li Wang nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Huan Mi, "Did you understand?"
“Brother Wang and Lu Shaoyan are from the same school, so naturally he’ll speak up for him!” Huan Mi trembled with anger at the thought of marrying into Xiye. “If we’re talking about kinship, Brother Wang and I are the ones who share the same bloodline! Is Brother Wang really going to sell out his own sister just to help a fellow disciple?”
"I'll side with what's right, not with my own family." Huan Juntian remained calm and unmoved by Huan Mi's accusations. "Besides, when did I ever say I was going to sell you out?"
Li Wang then said, "Mi'er, you really should reflect on yourself. Why is that young master Fu Xi willing to marry a criminal woman, but unwilling to marry you?"
"Who cares if he marries me? In the end, my father and brother are determined to send me to Xiye for a political marriage..."
Huan Mi sat on the ground in despair, tears streaming down her face. Not only could she not have Jing Yi, but now even her last remaining freedom was being taken away.
Huan Juntian glanced at her, then bowed to the King of Li and said, “Father, the Western Night invaded our borders, occupied our cities, and abducted our people. Such outrageous acts of banditry must not be tolerated. Your son is willing to lead the soldiers of Li to the border to reclaim the cities and rescue our people.”
"Good!" King Li had long harbored the intention to launch a military campaign against Xiye, and Huan Juntian's petition at this moment had relieved his urgent need. "My son is brave and will surely return in triumph!"
"Mi'er, hurry up and thank your brother."
Huan Mi got up from the ground, choking back tears, and asked Huan Juntian, "Brother, are we really going to attack the Western Night Kingdom?"
Huan Juntian nodded. "Yes."
Once the two countries go to war, it will be a direct confrontation. Unless the country is defeated, there will be no possibility of peace talks or marriage alliances.
Huan Mi tugged at Huan Juntian's sleeve and said earnestly, "Brother Wang, you must win."
After receiving the imperial edict from Prince Li to release Huan Changming, Lu Pianpian went straight to the prison to rescue him.
He walked into the cell. Huan Changming was so thin he was barely recognizable. The jailer took out a key and unlocked the iron lock on Huan Changming's wrist. Without anything to support him, he floated down to the ground like a butterfly.
Lu Pianpian stepped forward and caught Huan Changming in time. The body in her arms was so thin that it was a little uncomfortable to hold, but he subconsciously hugged her even tighter. "It's alright."
His arms were warm and cool, and Huan Changming opened his eyes, greedily inhaling his scent. After a long while, Huan Changming finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Why did you save me?"
Lu Pianpian gently brushed aside a strand of hair that was covering his eyebrows and eyes. "I just can't bear to see you suffer."
Huan Changming smiled faintly, raised his scarred arms and hugged Lu Pianpian's neck. "Senior brother, where are you taking me?"
Where do you want to go?
"Wherever my senior brother takes me, I will go."
Lu Pianpian paused for a moment, then said, "I won first place in the spring hunt and asked the Prince of Li for permission to marry you. The Prince of Li agreed, and I came here to take you back to my home."
"Okay." Huan Changming hugged Lu Pianpian's neck even tighter. "I'll listen to my senior brother."
After bringing Huan Changming back to the Lu residence, Lu Pianpian let him stay in her room temporarily.
Huan Changming had not eaten or drunk anything for many days, so Lu Pianpian had someone prepare food for him and poured him some warm water herself.
Thinking that he hadn't explained the engagement to his junior sister yet, he said, "The arranged marriage is just a temporary measure, only to get you out of prison and prevent you from marrying into the Western Night Kingdom. Once the war is over, I will find a reason to leave the king and request the annulment of the engagement. At that time, you will regain your freedom and can marry whomever you want."
Huan Changming swallowed the water, his face showing no particular expression.
But when he looked up at Lu Pianpian, tears welled up in his eyes. "Since you say so, Senior Brother, does that mean what happened at the bottom of the cliff was just an accident? Just a fleeting encounter with you, Senior Brother, and you'll forget about it right away?"
Lu Pianpian froze, and it took her a while to find her voice, "Junior sister, did I really do such a beastly thing to you?"
Huan Changming's tears fell in torrents, dripping onto Lu Pianpian's clothes. "I don't blame you for being out of your mind that day, Senior Brother."
Lu Pianpian quickly wiped away his tears, "Junior sister, I'm so sorry... I was indeed out of my mind that day, I deserve to die! I'm willing to bear the consequences. But you... Junior sister, would you be willing to marry me?"
With tears welling in his eyes, Huan Changming asked in return, "Senior brother, are you willing to marry me?"
"I'm willing!" Lu Pianpian slapped herself across the face, regretting, "It's my fault for holding you back, forcing you to marry me..."
A five-finger mark quickly appeared on his fair cheek, showing how severely he had hurt himself.
Huan Changming found the fingerprint on his face quite irritating, and he reached out to touch it. "Senior brother, don't do this. I don't blame you, and I'm not trying to marry down."
The servants brought in the food, and Lu Pianpian used a spoon to feed Huan Changming. After taking only one bite, she spat it out a short while later.
Lu Pianpian quickly took a handkerchief to wipe his face, "Is it because you don't like the food?"
Huan Changming shook his head, his face pale. "My stomach isn't feeling well, I can't eat..."
He had been starving for many days, and his stomach had long since become accustomed to emptiness, so he was not used to being fed at this moment.
Lu Pianpian had no choice but to send someone to fetch a doctor again. After the doctor took Huan Changming's pulse, his expression changed. "Young Master Lu, I have something I'd like to say to you privately."
Lu Pianpian nodded, but Huan Changming stopped her, saying, "Doctor, please speak freely."
"This... is probably not appropriate."
"What's wrong with that? I'm the one who's sick. Isn't it only right for a doctor to tell the patient about the symptoms?"
The doctor, persuaded by Huan Changming's sharp words, sighed, "The young lady suffered from many ailments in her youth, making her constitution much weaker than the average person. In addition, she has a potent poison in her body, many old injuries, and constantly worries more than the average person, leaving her mentally and physically exhausted. With both internal and external depletion, the young lady, at such a young age, already has the body of an eighty-year-old woman..."
Lu Pianpian hurriedly asked, "Doctor, how should we treat this?"
The doctor shook his head and said, "He will die within six months, and there is no cure."
"Quack doctor!" Huan Changming picked up a bowl and smashed it at him. "If you spout any more nonsense, I'll kill you!"
Lu Pianpian used her hand to shield the doctor from the bowl, then glanced at the furious Huan Changming, said nothing, quickly led the doctor out of the room, and apologized to the doctor: "I apologize to you on her behalf."
The doctor waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned, and said, "That's all I have to say. Farewell."
Lu Pianpian returned to the room, where Huan Changming still looked furious. "Do you really believe what he said?"
The doctor was found by a servant of the Lu family from an outside clinic, so the possibility of him lying is extremely low.
Lu Pianpian neither said she believed it nor she didn't.
He walked to the bedside and asked in a low voice, "When were you poisoned? Who gave you the poison?"
Huan Changming swallowed hard, his imposing aura weakening slightly. "Who else could it be?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Pianpian could only think of Huan Mi. "It's alright, my senior sister is skilled in medicine, she will definitely be able to cure your poison."
"I'll bring her here and give you another check-up. You should know her medical skills."
Huan Changming said, "If I could have the honor of being treated by Senior Sister Qu, I would be extremely grateful."
"I'll go and ask my senior sister to come right now."
"good."
As soon as Lu Pianpian stepped out of the Lu residence gate, she bumped into Qu Surou, who was walking side by side with Jingyi.
The sight of the two of them together made Lu Pianpian uneasy, and she unconsciously showed hostility towards Jing Yi, asking, "Why are you with my senior sister?"
Jing Yi could sense that Lu Pianpian's attitude towards him was unfriendly, and he carefully said, "We're going the same way."
"There aren't that many coincidences in the world." Lu Pianpian shielded Qu Surou behind her. "Don't let me see you getting close to my senior sister again."
Qu Surou asked in bewilderment, "Pianpian, what are you doing?" She was just walking the same way as Jing Yi, and his reaction was far too strong.
Jing Yi's approach to Qu Surou was indeed for ulterior motives. He didn't know if Lu Pianpian had seen through it, but given how hostile she was to him, staying here would only make things awkward. "Then I'll take my leave today. Miss Qu, see you another day."
Qu Surou nodded, and Lu Pianpian shouted, "There will be no future!"
Qu Surou was puzzled by Lu Pianpian's inexplicable tantrum for the first time. As he led her back to the mansion, she couldn't help but ask, "Why do you dislike Jingyi so much? I think he's a pretty good person."