Chapter 123: 123. Best Brothers (Part One)
Translator: 549690339
Marquis Zhong Xin Mansion.
Upon hearing that Xing Ji had returned, Old Lady Xing felt uneasy, “I don’t know what he said in the palace, or whether the emperor is angry. Sigh! At his age, he’s still so impulsive!”
Xing Yusheng consoled his grandmother, “Don’t worry, grandmother. If the emperor wanted to punish him, he wouldn’t be able to return.”
Old Lady Xing glared at Xing Yusheng, “All of this is for you!”
Xing Yusheng coughed lightly, “Grandmother, don’t misunderstand, I absolutely don’t mean to curse my father.”
Xing Ji arrived at the entrance and overheard the last sentence of Xing Yusheng, frowning slightly.
“How did it go?” Old Lady Xing asked anxiously.
Xing Ji’s expression remained calm, “The Imperial Matrimonial Decree will be issued soon.”
Upon hearing this, both Old Lady Xing and Xing Yusheng’s faces turned grave!
Before, the only one seeking the Imperial Matrimonial Decree was the Fourth Prince, so they thought that Xing Ji’s words meant that nothing had changed.
Xing Yusheng furrowed his brows, “Su Liang may not know about this matter yet. She has a good relationship with Miss Lin; if she speaks to the Fourth Prince, there may be a turning point.”
Xing Ji had heard the name Su Liang mentioned by Old Lady Xing many times, knowing that she was Xing Yusheng’s savior and good friend. It was her who relayed the secret information from the Fourth Prince to Xing Yusheng, which allowed the Xing Family to navigate this crisis smoothly.
At this moment, Xing Ji thought about Duanmu Chen’s performance during his second visit to the palace. He unexpectedly agreed to give up Lin Xueqing, which was beyond Xing Ji’s expectations.
Because Xing Ji knew very well why Duanmu Chen wanted to marry Lin Xueqing, and Duanmu Chen had no reason to do Xing Ji or Xing Yusheng any favors.
It was hard to say how Duanmu Yi viewed this matter, but Xing Ji knew that if Duanmu Chen didn’t voluntarily give up, Lin Xueqing would only be able to marry him.
Based on his understanding of Duanmu Chen, Xing Ji couldn’t help but suspect that something or someone had changed Duanmu Chen’s mind during his palace visits.
After hearing Xing Yusheng’s words, Xing Ji guessed that Su Liang was likely the one who made Duanmu Chen change his mind about marrying Lin Xueqing.
Old Lady Xing sighed deeply, “You shouldn’t have gone to the palace again. Regardless of the emperor’s favor for the Fourth Prince, we never had any agreement with the Lin Family regarding this matter. With the Fourth Prince in the race, would the emperor’s words easily change? You carelessly trying to snatch a woman from the Fourth Prince for Yusheng will definitely make the emperor dissatisfied with the Xing Family.”
Xing Ji snapped out of his thoughts, sat down beside Old Lady Xing, and shook his head, “Mother, you misunderstand. I didn’t make myself clear just now. The
Imperial Matrimonial Decree is for Yusheng and Miss Lin.”
Old Lady Xing looked at Xing Ji incredulously, and after a while, she slapped him on the back of his head, “You really never give me any peace!”
The shock on Xing Yusheng’s face turned into joy, “Really? What about the Fourth Prince?”
“He gave up for some reason. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be your turn,” Xing Ji said, without taking any credit for himself. Indeed, he had only brought up the matter and tried to fight for it, but the final decision lay with Duanmu Chen.
Xing Yusheng froze for a moment and blurted out, “It must be Su Liang who talked to the Fourth Prince! Otherwise, he wouldn’t suddenly give up!”
Old Lady Xing breathed a sigh of relief, “Since the Fourth Prince gave up on his own, the emperor will likely not blame us. However, we need to be cautious when dealing with the royal family. Su Liang has a deep connection with the Fourth Prince. If she really mediated this situation, that girl has a great ability!”
Normally, when people hear that an unmarried girl has a close relationship with an unmarried man, they would think about romantic affairs.
But Su Liang and Duanmu Chen were different.
Although Xing Ji had never met Su Liang, he could tell from her previous actions and this incident that she was of great value to Duanmu Chen, which was why Duanmu Chen repeatedly gave her face at crucial moments.
Knowing Duanmu Chen’s personality, there was no way he would compromise his career for romantic feelings.
“So, the marriage is settled.” Xing Ji said, “As for the Lin Family side, I’ll go talk to Lin Shuzhi later.”
“I’ll go too.” Xing Yusheng said, “This marriage hasn’t yet sought the opinion of the Lin family. If they don’t agree, I’ll just call off the engagement once the storm has passed.”
Xing Ji frowned, “Didn’t mother say that Yusheng likes Miss Lin?”
Xing Yusheng nodded, “That’s a separate issue. I like Miss Lin, but Miss Lin may not want to marry me. Marriage should be based on mutual willingness; otherwise, it will end in resentment.”
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Xing instinctively looked at Xing Ji, only to see his expression suddenly darken. He stood up and said, “Make your own decisions about your matters. In an hour, follow me to the Lin Family.”
Old Lady Xing sighed. At that time, Xing Yusheng’s mother was suddenly granted the marriage to Xing Ji. They had neither fallen in love over time nor become resentful partners; their entanglement ended with Qin Xiangzhi’s death after many years. Xing Yusheng didn’t know much about the details.
Xing Ji walked to the doorway, suddenly stopped, and turned back to look at Xing Yusheng, “The emperor ordered the Fourth Prince to investigate the attack on the Second Prince at Huguo Temple. Do you know anything about it?”
Xing Yusheng’s eyes flickered. Of course, he knew.
Xing Ji walked back, “Did you do it?”
Old Lady Xing hurriedly explained, “No! Yusheng is good-natured and not like you when you were young, always fighting people. Besides, Yusheng doesn’t know martial arts.”
“I heard that the Second Prince once tried to assault Miss Qin of the Qin Family.” Xing Ji said.
Old Lady Xing had told Xing Ji this, intending to remind him to be careful and arrange more guards for the girls in the family when they went out.
Xing Ji implied that Xing Yusheng might have arranged for Qi Yan and Qi Jun to beat up the Second Prince as a way to take revenge for Qin Yujin.
“What if it was me?” Xing Yusheng asked, not out of defiance but because he believed that Su Liang had done what he wanted to do.
“Yusheng, what are you talking about?” Old Lady Xing frowned.
Xing Ji looked at Xing Yusheng, his eyes slightly condensed, “It wasn’t you, but you know who it was.”
“I don’t know.” Xing Yusheng shook his head.
Xing Ji nodded, “It’s Su Liang. The death of her family is related to the Second Prince.”
Seeing that Xing Ji guessed it, Xing Yusheng didn’t deny it, “It’s not because of past grievances. It’s because the Second Prince saw Su Liang’s beauty and wanted to take advantage of her. Initially, the Second Prince had his eyes on
Nian Ruxue, but she deliberately drew his attention to Su Liang to save herself. As a result, Su Liang was pursued by the Second Prince, and Nian Ruxue escaped. When she saw her cousin, she even denied having seen Su Liang.
Shameless!”
Only then did Old Lady Xing learn about this matter and couldn’t help but frown, “How could that Miss Nian of the Nian Family be so vicious? She should know very well what kind of person the Second Prince is. If Su Liang didn’t have such great ability, wouldn’t she be ruined?”
Xing Yusheng said so much because his stepmother still hadn’t given up on her son’s pursuit of Nian Ruxue.
Although Xing Yusheng didn’t have a close relationship with his younger siblings, he didn’t want a person like Nian Ruxue to marry into the Xing Family and disgust his grandmother.
“I know.” Xing Ji said, “I’ll send someone to tell the Fourth Prince that you saw Nian Ruxue leaving the back mountain alone, looking somewhat uneasy, before the Second Prince was attacked.”
Xing Yusheng hesitated for a moment, but Xing Ji had already stepped out of the door.
Madam Xing held Xing Yusheng’s hand with a heavy heart, “Your father does care about you.”
Xing Yusheng awkwardly changed the topic.
When Duanmu Chen returned to the mansion, he saw Su Liang still in his study room, thinking that she had never left.
In fact, Su Liang had left but returned before reaching home. Not knowing when Duanmu Chen would come back, she decided to wait for him here.
“It seems that you are really concerned about Lin Xueqing’s marriage.” Duanmu Chen did not waste words, “But there has been an unexpected situation.” “What?” Su Liang frowned.
“I told my father to give up, but at the same time, Lin Xueqing got another Imperial Matrimonial Decree.” Duanmu Chen said.
Su Liang’s face changed, “It’s not Duanmu Ao, is it?” She had thought before that Duanmu Ao might target Lin Xueqing for revenge against Lin Bojun.
“Duanmu Ao was injured by you today, so he has not been involved yet. If he did not get into trouble, it is possible that he would have interfered.” Duanmu Chen snorted, “It’s your good friend, Xing Yusheng.”
Su Liang was very surprised, “He asked the emperor for the Imperial Matrimonial Decree?” That bold?
Duanmu Chen shook his head, “His father.” He then told her that Xing Ji knew that Duanmu Chen wanted to marry Lin Xueqing, and after Duanmu Yi agreed, Xing Ji went back to the palace not long after returning home, claiming that his son had set his sights on Lin Xueqing and that if he couldn’t marry her, he would become a monk…
Su Liang was still surprised, but she had heard that Xing Ji had been a fierce man in his youth.
She originally thought that Xing Ji and his son Xing Yusheng had a very bad relationship, but she did not expect him to stand up for Xing Yusheng.
“In that case, it’s not bad. You have a good reason to give up, showing your magnanimity and courtesy.” Su Liang’s eyebrows relaxed, and she smiled slightly.
Duanmu Chen sneered, “It seems that you agree to Lin Xueqing marrying Xing Yusheng?”
Su Liang nodded, “I do agree. But if the Lin family and Xueqing don’t want this marriage and she wants to choose another good husband, then let the crown prince find a reason to cancel the engagement. He’s easy to talk to.”
Duanmu Chen chuckled, “Of course, he will listen to you since you treat him so well.”
Su Liang did not think that Xing Yusheng should listen to her, but she understood Xing Yusheng. He was kind-hearted and would never force a marriage if Lin Xueqing didn’t like him.
But Su Liang did not feel the need to explain so much to Duanmu Chen.
Although there were unexpected situations in the middle, it all turned out well, and Duanmu Chen did indeed fulfill Su Liang’s request.
Duanmu Chen nodded, “I need to think carefully.”
Chang’an knocked on the door, “Master, Marquis Zhong Xin has sent someone to say that Prince Xing saw Miss Nian alone walking out of the back mountain of Huguo Temple today, looking anxious.”
Duanmu Chen’s expression was playful, “I see. Thank Marquis Zhong Xin and
Prince Xing for providing this important clue.”
After Chang’an left, Su Liang’s expression was indescribable. She heard Duanmu Chen explain the reason for the incident.
“I guess Duanmu Ao won’t mention you because he doesn’t have clean hands in your family’s murder case and doesn’t want it to be brought up again.” Duanmu Chen said, “Be careful, Duanmu Ao will definitely try to assassinate you next.” Su Liang was very calm, “Let him come.”
“As for my father, I will say that the biggest suspect is Nian Ruxue.” Duanmu Chen smiled, “Your good friend Prince Xing provided crucial clues.”
Su Liang briefly told Duanmu Chen about the situation at that time, which had indeed involved Nian Ruxue.
Upon learning the truth, Duanmu Chen coldly snorted, “She can’t be blamed anyway! If she wants to argue, have Qin Yujin testify that Nian Ruxue never saw you on the back mountain. Let’s see how she can wriggle out of that!”
Just then, Duanmu Chen had a thought, “After all, it’s not a glorious matter, and it’s detrimental to the royal family’s reputation if outsiders know about it. Since someone from Huguo Temple saw her with Duanmu Ao, it’s unknown if he has already forced her to do something. For Duanmu Ao’s reputation and Nian Ruxue’s innocence, why don’t I suggest to my father that she be married to Duanmu Ao as an Imperial Concubine?”
Su Liang coughed lightly, “The Fourth Prince’s idea is very interesting. If it works, they will be a match made in heaven and a pair of despicable people.”
Duanmu Chen suddenly asked, “What would Gu Ling think if he knew that his former fiancée was getting married?”
Su Liang thought, I’ll go back and ask him right away.
Upon returning home, Su Liang found Ning Jing fishing by the lake again.
“You’re really idle.” Su Liang walked over.
“I want to eat fish.” Ning Jing said, “How did it go?”
“It has been resolved.” Su Liang told Ning Jing about the whole process. At the end, she mentioned Duanmu Chen’s plan to frame Nian Ruxue.
“What do you think?” Su Liang asked.
Ning Jing pulled up his fishing rod, a small fish struggling in the setting sun.
“Can it be eaten?” Ning Jing asked.
Su Liang shook her head, “Too small, let it grow bigger before eating.”
Ning Jing released the small fish back into the lake, watching it swim away happily, and said, “I’ll fish it up again next month and see how big it is.”
“If Nian Jincheng finds out about Nian Ruxue’s situation, will he turn against you?” Su Liang asked again.
Ning Jing’s expression was indifferent, “If he turns against me because of this, he might as well give up his eyes since he’s blind. You can dig them out for me; I’ll use them for fishing.”
Su Liang coughed lightly, “Aren’t you best friends?” Ning Jing glanced at Su Liang, “My best friend now is you..”
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