Thinking of this, Li Youran suddenly came to her senses. She absolutely could not be so irresponsible as to just run away.

"Please rest assured, everyone, I won't do anything rash."

Li Youran looked at her concerned relatives and said solemnly.

"Openly resisting marriage is impossible, but what if unforeseen circumstances arise?"

Everyone looked puzzled after hearing Li Youran's words, wondering what she meant.

"If something happens before the wedding that prevents it from taking place as scheduled, there's nothing that can be done about it."

Only the Second Prince seemed to suddenly understand, and after thinking carefully for a moment, he said to Li Youran.

Li Youran nodded upon hearing this, and everyone finally came to their senses. But what could have happened to stop the wedding from proceeding?

According to past tradition, if an unlucky event occurred in the world, or if a close member of the royal family passed away, the emperor would usually issue an imperial edict prohibiting any celebratory events for a certain period of time.

Another possibility is that the person involved has passed away, making it impossible to continue the matter.

"Although the imperial decree has been issued to grant the marriage, the specific wedding date still needs to be determined. Let's not rush things, lest we throw ourselves into chaos."

The Second Prince's Consort walked over, took Li Youran's hand, patted it gently, and said...

Li Youran nodded, determined to find a good solution before the wedding.

"I had just asked the emperor for a marriage decree and was refused, and then the imperial edict was sent to the Second Prince's residence. It's clear that the old emperor has ulterior motives!"

Grandpa Wu was throwing a tantrum in his study, sweeping the pastries on the table across the floor with his arm. The delicate pastries scattered all over the floor, rolling right to Grandpa Wu's feet.

"You worthless wretch! You're so old and you still can't control your emotions. How can I entrust the Wu family to you with peace of mind!"

Grandpa Wu, leaning on his cane, walked over, his steps unsteady. Although he was old, his voice was full of energy.

"Father, what exactly does the Emperor mean by doing this? Does this mean that our national defense forces are truly doomed?"

If this were back in the day, let alone a mere Li Youran, even a princess would have been enough for the emperor to refuse if the Wu family had just asked.

What angered Grandpa Wu was not that his son couldn't marry Li Youran, but rather the emperor's attitude towards the Wu family.

Refusing the Duke of Huguo's request for a marriage alliance and instead granting one to the Duke's brother-in-law's family is clearly a way of belittling the Duke of Huguo's family.

“The Emperor’s actions are not without reason. Everyone knows that the Prime Minister and the Third Prince are close, and our Duke of Huguo’s mansion is the Prime Minister’s maternal family. What would it mean if Li Youran were married into our Duke of Huguo’s mansion?”

Grandpa Wu understood things better than Uncle Wu. He knew that their Duke Huguo Mansion had been forcibly incorporated into the Third Prince's faction, even though their Duke Huguo Kung Fu had no such intention.

“I said long ago that although His Highness the Third Prince is favored, he is not a wise ruler. I advised you not to get so close to him and to stay away, but you insisted on dragging the Prime Minister to join His Highness the Third Prince.”

As he spoke, Grandpa Wu sat down, looked at Uncle Wu Xiawu, and continued.

"Now you're all in the same boat, it's too late to run away."

After hearing what Grandpa Wu said, Grandpa Wu frowned deeply.

It may sound harsh, but that's the truth. Back when the Third Prince was enjoying immense power and prestige, the Duke of Protectorate's Mansion and the Prime Minister's Mansion certainly benefited from it.

Now that the Third Prince's favor has waned, their Duke of Protectorate's Mansion is naturally no longer what it used to be.

But he was truly unwilling to give up so easily.

"You unfilial son, where are you going?"

Without even thinking, Master Wu knew that Old Master Wu was either going to see the Prime Minister or to ask the Third Prince for a favor.

"Father, I need to go find His Highness the Third Prince."

With that, Old Wu turned and left without looking back. He couldn't just sit and wait to die; he had to do something to prevent the Second Prince from gaining power.

"It's all fate."

Grandpa Wu, supporting himself with his cane, stood up again, looked up at the courtyard, and said in a tone that suggested he was leaving his fate to fate.

Back in the day, he was a man who had made great contributions, but unfortunately his son was a disappointment and did such foolish things.

Old Master Wu was already beyond his strength; he might close his eyes tomorrow anyway, so let them do whatever they want.

"Qianqian, are you really no longer seeing Youran?"

After learning about Li Youran's arranged marriage, Zhou Caidie went to the Jiang residence, intending to go with Jiang Qianqian to find Li Youran.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Qianqian was still sulking and refused to go with him.

"She made fun of me first."

Jiang Qianqian fiddled with the blue gemstone hairpin in her hand and said softly.

In fact, Jiang Qianqian had long since stopped being angry with Li Youran. After calming down, she realized what had happened.

She had acted impulsively and misunderstood Li Youran before, but she couldn't save face, so she sulked until today.

"I really don't know what to say to you! Never mind, come closer and I'll tell you a secret."

Jiang Qianqian looked incredulous after hearing Zhou Caidie's words.

Is this really true?

"Would I lie to you? How could Hu Qinqin have been so quiet all this time?"

Zhou Caidie pursed her lips as she spoke, then looked at Jiang Qianqian and continued.

"Others may not understand You Ran, but don't you know her? She's the kind of person who would go to great lengths for her friends, and she's capable of anything. You're so confused that you actually think she's stealing your man. Don't you ever think about this? If she had feelings for Tian Alang, why would she have waited until now?"

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