Although Qing Wei was not very old, he handled things in a steady and measured manner, which is why his mother specially arranged for him to follow Yan Shi.
Now, in his anxiety, he actually used the old-fashioned term at home to call me "Qing Xiaojie" instead of "Third Princess Wang", I knew that this time's trouble must have gone too far and really angered Father.
Don't hesitate any longer, order Qin An to prepare the carriage, then walk out while asking Qing Wei: "What's going on? Is Father angry about him leaving home privately for Mo Bei?"
The eunuch followed closely behind me, walking towards the main gate of the Wang mansion, shaking his head in response: "It's not like that, young master secretly left home, although the old master and mistress are worried, but he has made great contributions and returned safely, without any injuries. Although they can't help but scold him a few times, their anger has already dissipated by half. Moreover, before young master even returned to the capital, the emperor's rewards have already arrived, with gold, silver, jewels, and fine silks pouring in, piling up so high it's almost overflowing. I heard that the emperor also intends to grant young master a generalship - such great honor, none of the many young masters in the Mu Rong family have ever enjoyed, I can see that the old master and mistress are overjoyed."
I looked at the proud look on his face and knew that what he said was not false, so I couldn't help but ask with some doubt: "Then what is it for?"
"It's not just the young master's stubbornness that's causing trouble." The eyebrows on Qingyi's face danced with excitement, and she looked around cautiously before lowering her voice to say: "This time, apart from the reward, it seems that His Majesty also intends to marry Princess Yiyang to the young master. This is a great honor, but when Master mentioned it to the young master, he immediately refused. No matter how hard Master and Mistress tried to persuade him, he wouldn't agree, which is why Master was so angry that he wanted to use family law."
Just as we were talking, we arrived at the main gate of the Wang Mansion. In a moment, the carriage was ready and waiting. Qin An personally lifted the curtain for me to get in, while Qing Wei said by the side: "Your Highness, you go to the mansion first to see Young Master, I'll be right back after a short run."
Qin An hastily called out to him: "Young man, a horse has already been prepared for you, mount up and follow the princess."
Qing Wei Road passed Xie, turned over and got on the horse, I slightly nodded to hint, the carriage curtain came down, and the carriage drove towards the direction of the Xiang Fu.
"Being able to marry a princess is a great honor, why didn't Young Master Yan agree?"
I let out a faint sigh, for in the eyes of the world, this is an immense honor, and what's more, this Princess Yiyang Nan Chenghui is the beloved and pampered darling of the Emperor.
But I knew that such a marriage would never be agreed to by him, with his temperament. Even if the Emperor really issued an imperial edict, he might have the ability to defy it. Not to mention now, it's no wonder Father was furious, using family law on me, his youngest and most spoiled son.
All the way back to the Xiang Mansion, from the mouths of the servants below, I learned that Yi had been locked in the ancestral hall by his father, and no one else was allowed to enter except for his parents.
I hastily rushed towards the ancestral hall, only to see several brothers surrounding the courtyard outside, all with anxious expressions, yet dared not enter due to Father's orders. Seeing me arrive, they all revealed relieved expressions. The eldest brother came forward and greeted me, saying: "Greetings, Princess Wang."
I hastily supported him: "Brother, what's going on? We're at home now and there are no outsiders. What happened to Nian?"
Big brother also didn't hesitate, and urged me anxiously: "Little sister, since you're here, think of a way to persuade him. I've never seen Father lose his temper so badly before, and he won't even let us go in."
I nodded, the guards in front of the ancestral hall stopped my brothers, but after all, I was the third princess of the current dynasty, so they all looked embarrassed and didn't know what to do. So I spoke up: "You can rest assured, if Father is going to blame someone, I'll take full responsibility, it's me who insisted on coming in, it has nothing to do with you."
The two of them hesitated for a moment, and finally opened the door to let me in. I stepped on the bluestone path, passed through the courtyard, and walked towards the main hall of the ancestral temple. From afar, I heard Yan's voice, stubbornly refusing to back down: "…the two most difficult things in this world are accompanying the prince to read books and becoming a princess's husband. Why do parents want to push their son into the fire pit? My sister has already sacrificed her life for the Mu Rong family, now it's my turn, isn't it?"
His father's voice trembled with rage: "You, you ungrateful son, what are you saying..."
A loud "crack" sound, seemingly the whip falling, made my heart ache with pain and I quickened my pace. Meanwhile, my mother's sobbing voice had already risen to a heartbreaking pitch: "Jiang'er, just listen to your father, it's freezing outside, if we keep struggling like this, how can we go on?"
"Absolutely not! Everything else is fine, but this one thing, I refuse no matter what!"
"Bang", another sound.
Her mother's voice also became more urgent: "Yiyang Gongzhu is a national beauty, what's wrong with that? It's an honor that many people can't even dream of. Even if she's a bit spoiled, she'll change slowly after marriage. If you really don't like her, it's okay to see each other less often in the future. Marrying a princess may not be like ordinary people having three wives and four concubines, but in our family, if you want to take one or two girls as concubines, it's not impossible. Why are you so stubborn and can't turn around?"
"I never thought of having three wives and four concubines, nor would I marry a princess. Whoever wants this honor can have it, I will only marry the one I truly like, and treat her well for the rest of my life!"
"What a mess!" Father said angrily: "You say it yourself, who is the person you really like?"
"Not now, but I will find it someday!"
His father was still furious and scolded, "You can't even look up to the princess, what kind of woman under heaven can you look up to? You might as well become a monk directly!"
He opened his mouth without hesitation and said, "The woman I have my eyes on is naturally a rare find in the world. Even if she can't compare to Second Sister, she can't be too far off either. In any case, it definitely won't be Princess Yi Yang!"
I let out a soft sigh, pushed open the door and went in. At a glance, I saw that Yun had taken off his upper garment and was kneeling in front of our ancestors' memorial tablet. His back wasn't a bloody mess, but there were already several clear whip marks on it, with one or two of them having seeped out threads of blood.
He was the youngest son of his parents, and he had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood. The whole family spoiled him to the extreme, and even his parents were reluctant to scold him half a sentence, let alone make him suffer such physical pain today.
My heart ached, but I knew that Father was truly angry this time, and didn't dare to speak. Just as I was thinking about what to do next, Mother grabbed my hand and said tearfully: "Qing'er, please persuade your younger brother, I really don't know what else to do..."
I hastily grasped my mother's hand, comforting her with a tight grip. But then I saw my father staring at me intently, suddenly putting down the whip in his hand, and walking towards me with a solemn expression. He bowed deeply to me and said: "Minister Murong Dang pays respects to the Third Princess."
I was startled and hastily retreated, then busily rushed to support Father: "Father, what are you doing? Are you intentionally trying to unsettle my heart?"
He let me support him to straighten up, then looked into my eyes and said: "This time you came back, is it as the daughter of the Murong family, not as one of the three princesses of the current dynasty, right?"
I was taken aback, and although I already knew what he was going to say next, I could only nod lightly.
"Since that's the case, I'll teach your younger brother a lesson. Don't interfere, go wait outside the ancestral hall."
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