Chapter 175: Don’t Wrong Our Xingqing
Hearing this, Xingnong was stunned for a moment, then frowned: “My identity has been exposed, so the Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent changed his mind?”
Songbai thought to himself, Miss Xingnong is indeed clever. As soon as Master said that, she understood. It took him a while to figure out why the Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent had changed his mind.
It must be that the Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent learned of Miss Xingqing’s relationship with Master.
What relationship? Of course, the relationship of sister-in-law!
Chu Tiankuo was not surprised that Xingnong immediately understood the key point. She had always been intelligent.
Seeing her frowning slightly, he couldn’t help but raise his hand to smooth her brow: “Don’t worry, there will be no marriage alliance. With me here, Chu Kingdom will never have a marriage alliance with other countries again.”
Xingnong believed him. From his deliberate rescue of the Eldest Princess, from his strong stance towards the Zhao Kingdom Princess, she knew his attitude.
He was not a person who would disregard the dignity of the country.
Previously, when she asked him to be deliberately kind to Princess Changle, Xingnong just wanted to teach Princess Changle a lesson about not doing to others what she wouldn’t want done to herself.
But she knew that Princess Changle would not be sent for a marriage alliance in the end. No princess or woman from Chu Kingdom would ever be sent for a marriage alliance again.
A marriage alliance is a matter of state, concerning the dignity of the country. It is not a personal grudge. Matters concerning national dignity are no small matter. All personal grudges are insignificant!
The rough thumb landed on her brow, the calloused skin scraping against her skin, causing a slight pain.
The weather was getting colder day by day. Chu Tiankuo rode to the military camp every day. The cold wind had chapped the skin on his hands. Moreover, he practiced swordsmanship every day, and his fingertips had calluses. Now that the weather was cold and the north wind was blowing, the calluses on his palms became hard and rough. With just a light touch, the skin on Xingnong’s brow turned red.
Seeing this, Chu Tiankuo paused and withdrew his hand, clenching his fist in annoyance.
Xingnong rubbed her brow nonchalantly. “I’m not worried about the marriage alliance. I believe in Senior Brother.”
Xingnong looked down at Chu Tiankuo’s hand: “Senior Brother, you’ve been riding and training so much lately that your hands are chapped. You need to protect them. Don’t get frostbite.”
What a beautiful pair of hands they used to be! Only today did Xingnong notice that the back of his hands were red and badly chapped. Thin, red lines covered the back of his hands.
Xingnong knew some formulas and methods for making skincare products. She thought about buying some materials and going back to the village to make some skincare products. Winter hand cream was essential.
Chu Tiankuo’s heart warmed, both because of her words “I believe in Senior Brother” and her subsequent words of concern. “Okay.”
Although he had never cared about these things before, the frostbite on his hands in the winter had been much worse in the past. But Chu Tiankuo glanced at the faint red mark on Xingnong’s brow, scratched by his calloused skin. He thought to himself that he really had to be careful in the future. Her skin was too delicate.
Xingnong had originally agreed with Xingqing to return to Futai County tomorrow. With the Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent mentioning this, Wen Ruiqing and Princess Changle would definitely try to stop Xingqing from going back.
“I have to tell Xingqing and let her not worry. I also need to teach her how to say goodbye to Wen Ruiqing and Princess Changle so they won’t stop her. But I can’t sneak into the Princess’s Residence in broad daylight. How can I tell Xingqing?”
“Father Emperor won’t explicitly refuse or agree to the marriage alliance so quickly. He will only prevaricate with the Zhao Kingdom envoy delegation for the time being. He will give a response after the Zhao Kingdom Emperor sends a formal marriage proposal. Wen Ruiqing knows the process. Just use the excuse of going back to see your grandmother before the marriage alliance is finalized. You can write a letter and give it to me. I’ll have someone from the fabric shop deliver it to her under the guise of delivering goods.”
Xingnong’s eyes lit up. “I’ll go write the letter right away!”
After saying that, Xingnong ran off to write the letter.
Chu Tiankuo watched her running figure. The thought of her leaving tomorrow filled him with reluctance. He couldn’t personally send her back this time. The recruitment of soldiers had already begun. He would have to stay in the military camp to train soldiers every day from now on. Rather than letting her stay alone in the capital, it would be better for her to return to Futai County, where she could do what she liked. He knew she had asked the village chief of Peach Blossom Village to build a workshop, but he didn’t know what kind of workshop she planned to open.
~
Princess Pingyang’s Residence
It was rare for Wen Ruiqing to come back for lunch. Shen Ruolan happily asked someone to add two of his favorite dishes. “Is everything alright at the yamen, Xianggong? Why are you back for lunch today?”
Wen Ruiqing glanced at Princess Changle, who was frowning and had lost her appetite, and then at Xingqing, who was eating heartily and without a care in the world.
✿✿✿
He sighed inwardly. It seemed one of his two daughters was destined to be unhappy. Both were his flesh and blood, and he found it hard to bring up the topic. But he still had to say it in advance, lest Princess Changle become depressed and lose her appetite. “Xingqing, you are fortunate. The Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent has taken a fancy to you and has designated you to go to Zhao Kingdom for a marriage alliance.”
Upon hearing this, the meat on Xingqing’s chopsticks fell into her bowl, and for the first time, her face turned pale.
Shen Ruolan was so startled that she accidentally bit her tongue.
Princess Changle was stunned for a moment, and a look of ecstasy flashed across her face, quickly suppressed. But her voice still couldn’t help but reveal a hint of joy. “Father, really? Didn’t the Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent take a fancy to me?”
Wen Ruiqing nodded. “The Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent told me so himself today. He has changed his mind! I have already spoken to the Emperor about this.”
Princess Changle finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried for a whole day and night.
Fortunately, her efforts in arranging a princess title for herself had not been in vain.
Shen Ruolan was shocked. She grabbed Xingqing’s hand. “How could this be?”
Her daughter wasn’t a true descendant of dragons and phoenixes. How could she be sent for a marriage alliance?
She looked at Princess Changle. “Princess, can you please beg the Empress Dowager and the Emperor not to let Xingqing go for a marriage alliance? Xingqing is not a true descendant of dragons and phoenixes. She can give up the princess title!”
Going to Zhao Kingdom for a marriage alliance, how could Xingqing have a good ending?
Xingqing was a piece of her flesh and blood. She had only been with her for a short time before being sent for a marriage alliance. How could she bear it? How could she face her?
She had brought her to the capital intending to find her a good marriage, but definitely not to send her for a marriage alliance!
Princess Changle was furious. Sure enough, she only loved her own daughter. Why didn’t she beg the Emperor yesterday?
Although Princess Changle was angry, she still said with a smile, “Second Mother, don’t worry. I will go to the palace and ask about it. But the marriage alliance is a matter concerning relations between the two countries. It’s up to the Emperor. I can’t guarantee that I can persuade him. The Emperor loved the Eldest Princess the most back then, but she still went for a marriage alliance.”
After Princess Changle finished speaking, she comforted Xingqing. “Sister, don’t worry. The Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent changes his mind every day. He took a fancy to me yesterday, and today he changed. Maybe he will change again tomorrow!”
Xingqing had recovered from her fear. She said nonchalantly, “I’m not worried. The Emperor’s imperial decree hasn’t been issued yet. We don’t even know if this is true.”
Wen Ruiqing was relieved to see her calm. He comforted her. “The Emperor hasn’t made a decision yet. We will only know the real candidate after the Zhao Kingdom sends a formal marriage proposal. But even the Emperor’s most beloved Eldest Princess went for a marriage alliance. The Emperor won’t refuse. Xingqing, being able to go for a marriage alliance and contribute to the relations between the two countries is a great honor. It can even be recorded in history and admired by future generations! And you will be marrying the Zhao Kingdom Emperor as his consort, enjoying endless wealth and glory. It’s better than marrying an ordinary person. Shen Shi, you should start preparing and prepare some dowry for Xingqing. The Ministry of Rites will prepare some, but as parents, we can’t not prepare anything. Even if the Zhao Kingdom Heir Apparent changes his mind again, we have to show our willingness! Don’t let people think that we’re not happy about it!”
Wen Ruiqing glanced at Xingqing. Seeing that she wasn’t crying or making a fuss, he thought that if she went for a marriage alliance, the Emperor would definitely feel guilty towards him, and his official position would definitely be promoted. He said, “Prepare more dowry. Don’t wrong our Xingqing.”
Shen Ruolan wiped away her tears. “Yes.”
Wen Ruiqing frowned and said impatiently, “Why are you crying? This is a good thing!”
The child wasn’t crying, so why was she crying? What if it made the child afraid to go for a marriage alliance and cause a scene? How embarrassing would that be?
Shen Ruolan immediately wiped away her tears and smiled. “I’ll go to the storehouse and have a look.”
With that, she quickly ran to the storehouse to cry!
Xingqing continued eating nonchalantly.
~
In the afternoon, the shopkeeper of the fabric shop came to the door, saying that he was delivering custom-made clothes for Xingqing. Xingqing received Xingnong’s letter, felt relieved, packed her bags, and prepared to go home!
