Chapter 40: Will Not Accept Anyone Else
The next day, when Xia Furong appeared in Guan Osprey Palace, Ye Junqing couldn't eat anymore. He knew based on the night pearl decorating Xia Furong's waist belt that she had managed to get money.
"What do we do?" Ye Junqing looked towards Yao Mowan, his voice filled with despair.
"Perhaps… Prince should just accept being married off after all! Ahem… I mean, getting married. Just marry her!" suggested Yao Mowan sincerely.
"Yao Mowan!" Ye Junqing glowered at her.
"Furong kowtows in salute to Prince!" At this time, Xia Furong had already walked over and was curtsying to Ye Junqing delicately. After what happened before, Ye Junqing had no plans to return the greeting and just nodded slightly.
"The pearl on your waist is so pretty! Wan er has one that's even better, want to trade?" Yao Mowan reached out to touch the night pearl hanging off of Xia Furong's waist, but Xia Furong immediately backed away. Her eyes flashed cold.
"This princess appreciates Your Imperial Highness's kindness!" With Ye Junqing present, Xia Furong couldn't very well explode so she could only reply with feigned politeness.
"That's such a pity." Yao Mowan glanced at that pearl and her lips hooked in an almost imperceptible arc. She remembered that pearl clearly. Ye Hongyi had bestowed it to Yao Suluan a long time ago. It seemed that the fish has taken the bait.
"Junqing has finished eating and will be withdrawing." Ye Junqing was very depressed, so he saluted and strode out of Guan Osprey Palace. When Xia Furong saw that Ye Junqing was leaving, she reflexively turned to run after him, but recalled something and turned back around.
"Yao Mowan, this princess will give you a bit of advice. Humans have a face and even trees have skin, so act like a decent human being. As of now, the esteemed prince is already this princess's fiancé, so you better not have any thoughts about him. As for those pearls from before, this princess will just treat it as giving charity to a beggar!" Xia Furong lifted her chin as she glanced towards Yao Mowan haughtily.
"Then that's truly such a coincidence. Mowan had just thrown those worthless toys onto the street just yesterday. As of now, they're probably already in the hands of some beggars!" Yao Mowan's smile was as bright as that of a blooming flower even as her eyes filled with ridicule.
"You! Humph!" Xia Furong glowered at Yao Mowan, then left Guan Osprey Palace.
Once Xia Furong left, Ting Yue looked towards her master skeptically.
"Your Imperial Highness, did you really throw her stuff onto the street?"
"Tch! Do you think this consort the type to disdain having too much money?" replied Yao Mowan. Ting Yue was speechless. She suddenly felt that this question of hers had been too dumb.
"Then what do we do now? Xia Furong has support now, so how do we cancel the engagement?" asked Ting Yue worriedly.
"Don't forget, this peace marriage wasn't set by her!" Yao Mowan lowered her eyes. As she gently stroked Fluffy, an unreadable light flashed through her eyes. Although Ting Yue didn't really understand, she still felt relieved. She had forgotten that there was nothing her master couldn't make happen.
After leaving Guan Osprey Palace, Xia Furong looked for almost an hour before she found Ye Junqing in the pavilion above Jade Lake.
"So Prince was here. You sure made it hard for Furong to find you!" Xia Furong gently wiped at the sheen of sweat on her forehead, then smiled happily as she walked into the pavilion.
"Was Princess looking for Junqing for something?" Ye Junqing couldn't really say he hated Xia Furong, but he definitely didn't like her.
"There's nothing especially important, just that the Ministry of Rites has already decided on the date. Furong was wondering how Prince's packing was going? If Prince doesn't mind, Furong could have Ah Bi and Ah Zi help Prince pack, or perhaps Furong can personally help Prince prepare!"
Xia Furong sincerely liked Ye Junqing. Ever since that glimpse so many years ago, she had made a vow that this would be the only man she'd ever marry. If it weren't for that, King Xia wouldn't have thickened his face to suggest a peace marriage to Ye Hongyi. He knew very well that Bactria and great Chu were nowhere close to being on the same level. In front of great Chu, Bactria was completely a poor devil.
However, to King Xia's astonishment, not only did Ye Hongyi agree to his suggestion for a peace marriage, he even allowed for Ye Junqing to marry into Bactria. King Xia never would've dreamed that something like having a meat pie fall from the sky into his lap would happen to him.
"To be honest, Junqing didn't start packing, nor did Junqing ever consider leaving great Chu." Ye Junqing couldn't help but worry about whether whatever Yao Mowan had planned would work, so he decided to tell Xia Furong the truth directly. When Xia Furong heard this, she was stunned and looked toward him in bewilderment.
"What Prince means… Is that you wish for Furong to stay in great Chu?" Xia Furong only hesitated for a brief moment before she made her decision. As long as she could be together with Ye Junqing, even if she couldn't return to Bactria, she still would've made a profit.
"What Junqing means is that Junqing will not take Princess as wife, please understand." Ye Junqing really wanted to make this sentence more tactful and pleasing to hear, but he really didn't know what words could make this truth less harsh for Xia Furong to hear.
Ye Junqing's words seemed to explode in Xia Furong's ears like thunder. Xia Furong's brows furrowed slightly and her voice trembled.
"Prince, are you joking with Furong? King Chu had personally written an imperial order accepting my imperial father's proposal for this marriage and during this entire trip here, Furong hadn't heard any news of anyone objecting to this. Furong truly has no way to understand what Prince is saying right now." Xia Furong's eyes became misty and she swallowed hard.
"In reality, Junqing had only received His Majesty's spoken decree one day before Princess reached great Chu. Junqing had immediately wanted to ask His Majesty to cancel the engagement, but His Majesty refused to see Junqing. However, this won't change Junqing's decision. Please forgive Junqing's lack of manners." Ye Junqing's voice was like the sound of rain falling on porcelain, pleasantly crisp and clear.
"Apologies. Forgive Furong for not being able to understand nor forgive. All Furong knows is that this was a peace marriage Imperial Father had set. Regardless of what Prince thinks, Furong's original intentions won't change." Tears were whirling in Xia Furong's eyes and her voice contained a strong sobbing tone.
"What need is there for…" Before Ye Junqing could finish his words, Xia Furong had already turned and left, crying.
That night, in Guan Osprey Palace, as Yao Mowan looked at the letter Ben Lei had sent, a trace of worry flashed through her eyes.
"Master, Yan Nansheng has already stepped out to help, so the current worry is solved," said Yin Xue consolingly.
"That worry is resolved, but these recent events mean that someone has probably set their eyes on having Mangyuan as a base." Yao Mowan sighed softly as she destroyed the letter.
"Hopefully those people turn out to be just bandits," said Yin Xue softly.
"Even if they're not bandits, this empress isn't afraid of them. This empress will simply deal with them as they come. If they dare to do something again, this empress will personally deal with them! Oh right, do you think Phoenix Feather Manor would be able to take out another million taels of gold?" Yao Mowan returned to the main topic and looked towards Yin Xue seriously.
"Ahem… This subordinate feels that… Master should have some mercy. It's not good to push Yan Nansheng into too much of a corner…" persuaded Yin Xue sincerely.
"Then forget it. Write a letter back to Ben Lei and have him give King Xiliang some down payment first and the rest will be sent all at once later." Yao Mowan felt that Yin Xue's words were reasonable. Yan Nansheng was also a person, he wouldn't be able to take too many repeated stimulations.
Meanwhile, in Harmony Palace, Xia Furong hurling things and sweeping off all of the porcelain on the table in fury.
"Princess, please calm down. As of now, with King Chu's written decree, the peace marriage is already set. The esteemed prince can't disobey." Ah Bi stood next to Xia Furong timidly and carefully tried to console her.
"Why isn't he willing? Why!? Based on this princess's looks, not even ten Yao Mowans could compare! Yet he's actually rejecting the peace marriage because of that crappy woman!" At the side, Ah Bi and Ah Zi shared a glance without daring to say anything.
In reality, in their eyes, their master's looks couldn't even be placed on the same scale as Yao Mowan's. If their master was likened to a butterfly, then Yao Mowan was a peacock. If their master was a peacock, then Yao Mowan was a phoenix! In brief, their master was several grades inferior.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
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