"What's the rush? All the rules are forgotten!"
"It was Zhou Mama, Yao Youqing's wet nurse, who scolded her."
Yao Youqing, who was practicing calligraphy, also raised her head, her clear eyes filled with a faint smile, and two cute dimples appearing on her lips.
"Take your time and talk things out, don't rush."
Although she was already fourteen years old, she looked younger than her actual age because of her petite figure and delicate features. Her voice was soft and sweet, light and delicate, and she was as lovely as a flower bud just beginning to bloom in spring. She needed to be carefully protected to bloom gracefully, otherwise a sudden rainstorm might knock her down.
Qiongyu, who was usually most afraid of Zhou Mama, couldn't care less at this moment. With a look of panic, she said to Yao Youqing, "News has come from the palace that...that His Majesty has bestowed a marriage upon you...to His Highness Prince Qin!"
Yao Youqing paused, her smile freezing on her lips.
Ling Shuang, the maid who was grinding ink for her, was also startled and put down the ink stick, grabbing Qiong Yu's arm tightly.
"You can't just say things like that carelessly. Did you ask around?"
Qiongyu nodded, her voice choked with emotion.
"No need to ask, the whole city knows! Someone must have spread the news on purpose, otherwise how could it have spread so fast!"
Mrs. Zhou shook her head slowly, her face full of disbelief.
"Impossible, impossible... Master will never agree to this!"
The master only has this one daughter now! How could he bear to marry her off to such a faraway place?
Besides, there's His Highness the Crown Prince...
The Crown Prince clearly has feelings for the young lady! How could he possibly agree to this?
Qiongyu cried, "Everyone says that Master agreed and even fainted from joy during the court assembly! I think he was clearly just angry enough to faint!"
"Qiongyu!"
Mother Zhou scolded Qiongyu, signaling her to shut up.
To say that the master fainted from anger means that he was dissatisfied with the marriage and with His Majesty who bestowed the marriage upon him.
Now everyone in the court and among the people is saying that the master fainted from joy. If he were to go back on his word now, he might be guilty of deceiving the emperor!
Yao Youqing ignored all of that and her delicate eyebrows furrowed together, her expression even more anxious than before.
"Father fainted? Where is he now? Has anyone been found to treat him?"
As she spoke, she lifted her skirt and started to walk out.
Madam Zhou quickly pulled her back: "Miss! The master is in the palace, and the imperial physicians are treating him. Even if you go there now, you won't be able to find him!"
Yao Youqing said urgently, "Then I'll go wait for him at the palace gate!"
Even with such urgent words, spoken in her soft, sweet voice, it sounded like she was pleading.
Seeing that she insisted, Zhou's mother had no choice but to order the servants to prepare a carriage. Before the carriage was ready, Yao Yuzhi was sent back, along with the imperial decree of marriage.
Yao Yuzhi has already received the imperial decree in the palace, so the Yao family does not need to prepare an incense table to receive it again.
The palace servants who escorted him back offered their congratulations and repeatedly congratulated Yao Youqing.
With a forced smile, Madam Zhou had a red envelope wrapped around her hands. After seeing the palace servants off, she welcomed Yao Yuzhi and her father back to the main courtyard.
As soon as they entered the room, Yao Youqing helped Yao Yuzhi sit down on the daybed and said, "Father, I heard you fainted at the court meeting. How are you now? Are you feeling better? What did the imperial physician say?"
Yao Yuzhi's temples are already gray. Years of hard work have exhausted him, and the successive losses of his wife and two sons have made him look old. He is only holding on by sheer willpower.
He could only be truly happy in front of his daughter, but today, hearing her words of concern, he couldn't laugh and comfort her as he usually did. Instead, he felt even more useless. After years of being an official, he hadn't been able to bring any protection to his family, and now he even had to give away his only daughter!
Tears welled in his cloudy eyes as he choked back sobs and grasped his daughter's hand.
"Father is so sorry... Father is so sorry, Ning'er!"
Yao Youqing shook her head: "Father gave birth to me and has cherished me like a treasure for more than ten years. How can you say that you have wronged me?"
"As for the arranged marriage, I've already heard about it. It's alright, I'm willing to marry!"
Yao Yuzhi felt no comfort at all because of her words; instead, she felt even more heartbroken.
Why did his daughter, who was so obedient and sensible, become a victim of the imperial court?
The Qin king's fiefdom was thousands of miles away from the capital, and the Qin king himself had always been at odds with him, so how could he treat his daughter well?
Even if she suffers some injustice, he, as her father, won't know. And even if he did, he couldn't travel thousands of miles to support her!
Yao Yuzhi felt excruciating heartache whenever she thought about it.
Yao Youqing said, "There are some things I haven't told Father before. Actually... it might not be a bad thing for me to marry someone else. If I stay in the capital... I might have to marry the Crown Prince, but... I don't want to marry him."
Although she spoke very softly, Yao Yuzhi still heard her clearly and frowned.
"You have no feelings for His Highness the Crown Prince...?"
He had always believed that his daughter and the crown prince were childhood sweethearts and had long harbored feelings for each other. So, although he was unwilling for her to marry into the royal court, he did not stop them from seeing each other. After all, he had watched the crown prince grow up and trusted his character. He believed that the crown prince would treat her well.
When the topic of marriage came up, Yao Youqing blushed slightly, but still shook her head.
“My brother, the Crown Prince, has always treated me very well. However, he is of noble status and was made Crown Prince two years ago. If I marry him and become the Crown Princess, then in the future… I might become the mother of the country. I consider myself to be without talent or virtue and unworthy of such a great responsibility.”
Yao Yuzhi then understood what she was thinking and nodded knowingly.
Ning'er is gentle and obedient. With the support of Zhou Mama and the others, she is fine as a mistress of the household, but as an empress... she is indeed not up to the task.
He had thought about this question before, but he hadn't brought it up because he felt that his daughter also had feelings for the Crown Prince. He didn't expect that she had already thought it through in her heart.
"If that's the case, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
If he had told her earlier, he would have arranged a marriage for her sooner, and there wouldn't be this disaster today.
Yao Youqing lowered her eyes and murmured, "I see that Father is very satisfied with my brother, the Crown Prince, and seems to be interested in arranging a marriage. I don't want to... I don't want to put Father in a difficult position. Besides... what difference would it make if I said it? No one would dare to marry me."
Although the Crown Prince has never formally proposed marriage to the Yao family, his affection for Yao Youqing is common knowledge and not a secret. This is why, even though Yao Youqing is now fourteen years old, no one has come to propose marriage.
No one dared to compete with the Crown Prince for the person; if they did, wouldn't that be offending the future emperor? Who would have such audacity?
The reason Yao Youqing didn't say anything was that she didn't want her father to have any conflicts with Wei Chi because of her marriage, so that the two would become estranged in the future and unable to get along as ruler and subject.
After a moment's thought, Yao Yuzhi understood her concerns, burst into tears, and could no longer utter a word.
Although his daughter was gentle, she was never stupid; on the contrary, she was quite intelligent.
But how could such a smart and sensible daughter be married to the tyrannical and domineering general, the King of Qin?
Yao Youqing knew what he was worried about and comforted him, "Ning'er has heard that the Prince of Qin is handsome, brave and skilled in battle, and loved by all the border people. Although he is a bit strong-willed and not on good terms with the court, ... such a person should not make things difficult for women. I think even if he doesn't like his daughter, she shouldn't be mistreated after she marries him. Father, please don't worry!"
Yao Yuzhi knew she was trying to comfort her, but there was nothing else she could do, so she had to suppress her worries for the time being and let her go back first.
Yao Youqing helped him rest before leaving, returning to her own courtyard.
After she returned, she did not allow Ling Shuangqiongyu to serve her, but only left Zhou Mama in the room.
After the two maids closed the door and left, she buried her face in Zhou Mama's arms, tears streaming down her face like broken beads.
"Aunt Zhou, I'm so scared..."
...
At the post station where the King of Qin was staying, dozens of guards who had accompanied him kept the courtyard under tight surveillance, and even the slightest movement of a falling leaf would attract attention.
In the surrounding area of the post station and even in inconspicuous corners throughout the capital, countless sentries were hidden silently to ensure that anyone in the post station would be alerted to any disturbance immediately.
Guo Sheng, one of Prince Qin Wei Hong's personal attendants, stood in the room with a sullen face, angrily saying, "What kind of marriage is this, His Majesty! Knowing full well that Grand Tutor Yao and the Prince are at odds, he still insists on betrothing her daughter to you! Isn't this just making things difficult for you!"
Wei Hong remained silent, but Cui Hao, who was also an attendant, said, "It is precisely because the Prince and Grand Tutor Yao are at odds that he wants to betroth Miss Yao to the Prince."
“The prince has been wary of His Majesty all these years. We have discovered and eliminated all the people His Majesty planted. Even if he marries a noble lady to become the princess, it will be the same. It will not play any role. At most, he will be a decoration in the inner quarters.”
"Instead of that, it would be better to marry off Grand Tutor Yao's daughter to us. This would not only earn us a reputation for treating our brothers well, but also ensure that the Prince would not gain any advantage by marrying into a powerful court."
The prince is arrogant and would never fawn over Grand Tutor Yao's daughter just to please him.
Furthermore, Grand Tutor Yao was an upright and honest man, almost blindly loyal, and would never stoop to flattering the prince for the sake of his daughter.
Furthermore, since he had no children, he was even less likely to plan anything for himself, so no one was more suitable than his daughter.
If Miss Yao were to experience any discomfort in the Prince's residence in the future, and Grand Tutor Yao were to find out, he would surely blame and resent the Prince.
"It must be said that although our Emperor's health is deteriorating day by day, his mind is still very clear."
"Although Grand Tutor Yao is not a high-ranking official, he has several close friends who hold important positions in the court. Not to mention, before becoming the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, he had many students, among whom quite a few were outstanding. Although he could not turn the tide of events with a single call, he would certainly have many followers. If he were to side with the Crown Prince, it would definitely be a good thing for the Crown Prince."
Guo Sheng gritted his teeth: "No wonder the Crown Prince didn't say a word back then. The whole capital knew he liked Miss Yao, but he just watched His Majesty..."
"cough!"
Cui Hao coughed lightly, interrupting him.
Regardless of Miss Yao's past relationship with the Crown Prince, she will now be the Prince's woman.
To talk about her past relationship with another man in front of the prince, wouldn't that make the prince lose face?
Guo Sheng came to his senses and said no more, but his expression remained indignant and dissatisfied.
Cui Hao looked at Wei Hong on the seat again and said, "What does Your Highness think of this marriage? If you really don't want to marry her, there are other ways. As long as you haven't brought her out of the capital, there is still room for you to back out."
Even if they agree, so what? Before they take the person away, they have plenty of ways to make the marriage legally and legitimately cancel it.
Even if His Majesty knows they are secretly plotting against him, he will be powerless to do anything about it if he cannot find evidence; at most, he will only feel some dissatisfaction.
What their prince fears least is the emperor's displeasure, since the emperor has never been satisfied with the prince over the years anyway.
Wei Hong sat in the chair, tapping his index finger lightly on the table a few times, his expression calm and expressionless.
"Since I've agreed, I won't go back on my word. It's just that I'm marrying her to be a decoration; it doesn't matter whose daughter she is."
Chapter 3 Seeking an Audience
At the Ji residence, a maid named Panxiang carried a heavy box into Ji Yunwan's room and said with a smile, "I have been sending people to urge you every day, and finally the Zhucui Tower has finished making all your jewelry today. Now Miss won't have to worry about not having jewelry to wear when she sees the Prince."
Ji Yunwan smiled and said, "Don't talk nonsense. The marriage hasn't been settled yet. If people hear this, they'll think our Ji family has no manners!"
Panxiang smiled and opened the box, revealing the newly made headdress and jewelry inside.
"Although it is not yet decided, the Prince and our Ji family have always been close. In order to wait until the eldest daughter's mourning period was over before the wedding, it was delayed until now."
"It's a pity that the eldest young lady was not blessed enough and passed away before the wedding date. The master intends to marry the second young lady to him and also to form a marriage alliance with the prince. Given the relationship between the prince and our Ji family, how could we possibly refuse?"