Chapter 85 Explanation

The candlelight flickered behind him, casting the man's shadow on the ground.

"My Lord." Wen Ning stood where she was, folded her hands on her stomach, and performed a very standard bow that couldn't be more standard.

The "Marquis" was called too politely and with too much courtesy, almost as if they were meeting for the first time.

Xie Jinglan felt inexplicably depressed.

He suppressed his strange feeling and pointed at the medical book on the table, trying to find a topic to talk about. "It's so late, why are you still reading this?"

Wen Ning lowered her eyes, with no expression on her face.

"I went to see Master yesterday. The Marquis took good care of him. He is in good health. During our conversation, he mentioned the remaining poison in the Marquis' body, so I thought I could do my best to help."

"Ning'er..." The man's Adam's apple rolled, and he suddenly reached out to embrace her. But she gently took a half step back, avoiding his touch.

"My Lord, you must live a long life," she said, her lips curved in a perfect arc, but her eyes seemed to be frozen with ice, "so that you and the Fifth Princess can grow old together."

She spoke the last few words very softly, but they were like ice spikes, piercing Xie Jinglan's heart.

The man's hand stretched in the air froze, and the warmth on his face disappeared in an instant, leaving only astonishment and surging anger.

He would even rather she cried and made a fuss at him, pouring out all her grievances, anger, and unwillingness, rather than drawing a line between them so calmly.

But he knew very well that Ning'er was different from other women.

When Xie Jinglan saw her like this, he felt like something was blocking his heart and he felt suffocated and uneasy.

He would rather face the battle of thousands of troops than deal with her alienation at this moment, which made him more helpless than swords and spears.

"I have never agreed to that marriage. Not before, not now, and certainly not in the future!" He clenched his fists, his eyes filled with pleading, "Ning'er, please believe me..."

Before he could finish his words, Wen Ning took half a step back, widening the distance between them.

She lowered her eyes, her tone as distant as if separated by a layer of thin ice, "The Marquis's marriage is decided by His Majesty and the Marquis, and I dare not say anything more. It's getting late, if the Marquis has nothing to do, I..."

"What do you mean nothing! What do you mean 'common woman'?" Xie Jinglan interrupted her, and the dull pain in his heart came over him.

He suddenly took a step forward, ignoring her attempts to dodge, and reached out to hold her tightly in his arms.

Her body was soft, but now it was as stiff as a rock, and even her breathing was stiff with resistance.

"I have something to do, and you're not just any common woman..." He buried his head in her hair, his voice almost inaudible, with a barely perceptible tremor, "Only you can make the decision about my affairs, Ning'er, stop making trouble, okay?"

She had reason to be angry, but he couldn't bear to see her so distant.

The person in his arms didn't struggle, only the slightest trembling came from the sticky fabric, like a frightened little animal.

"Ning'er, listen to me."

Xie Jinglan originally thought that some things did not need to be said, and the less she knew about some dirty things, the better protection it would be for her.

But when he looked at her tense profile, the hesitation in his heart finally shattered into powder.

Even if the complexity of this world would shock her, he accepted it. It was better than having these unspoken words between them and letting their hearts grow cold.

So today, he planned to say it all.

"I can't explain why the Fifth Princess is so attracted to me. If I knew the reason, I would have changed my temperament and behavior long ago. But you must understand, this marriage is never my decision. Even if the Emperor doesn't marry the Fifth Princess to me, there will always be another princess who will do it.

I command two hundred thousand elite troops at the border, and half of the generals in the court have fought and died with me. Your Majesty has to rely on me to suppress rebellions and maintain the stability of the country, but he also has to be on guard day and night against my excessive military power and the emergence of ambitions.

The Fifth Princess is the Empress's legitimate daughter and the Crown Prince's younger sister. If I marry her, I'll be firmly in the Crown Prince's camp. When the Crown Prince ascends the throne, I'll be both his consort and a high-ranking official. Military power will naturally be firmly in the hands of the Emperor, leaving nothing to worry about.

There are so many factions in the court now, and which prince is not secretly trying to win over the border generals? The emperor wants to use my power to suppress those forces that are ready to make trouble, but he is also afraid that I will be won over by others and become a variable.

The Queen had already let the Fifth Princess "accidentally meet" me several times. Those rumors outside about "mutual love" were just indirect hints to force the Emperor to agree.

The prince also invited me to a private banquet, and his words and deeds hinted that if I became his brother-in-law, I would be able to lead all the troops in the world in the future.

I, Xie Jinglan, have spent my entire life protecting my country and my people, never harboring any desire to overstep the bounds. If you truly desire a peaceful and secure life, simply accept this marriage proposal. It would seem that everything would be auspicious for both me and the court.

But I won’t.

I don't want to be manipulated like this, and I don't want to... wrong you.

It's not that I haven't thought of a way. I could have said I only had three years left to live and asked the imperial physician to check my pulse at midnight. The emperor might not have forced me to do that. But if that were to get out, there would be chaos at court and at the border. The morale of the troops would be shaken. How could those eager enemies miss this opportunity?

I had no choice but to reveal the difficult circumstances surrounding my own offspring, hoping this would temporarily deter the emperor and the court from granting me a marriage. However, I didn't expect this to attract the dirty thoughts of those from the side branches. They were eyeing the wealth and titles of the Marquisate, thinking they had an opportunity to take advantage of it, so they spread rumors in front of you, causing you to suffer injustice.

At this point, the man's Adam's apple rolled, and he reached out to shake her hand. Seeing that she didn't dodge, he gently grasped her slightly cool fingertips in his palm, "I was inconsiderate. I thought I blocked the wind in the court, but I couldn't prevent the rain at home. I made you angry for nothing.

The affairs of the court are murky, and the human heart is even more complex. I protect you because I don't want you to be involved in such dirty things. That's why I hide many things from you. It's not because I don't trust you, but because I'm afraid that if you know, you will be even more frightened.

I've also thought about simply reporting to His Majesty that you're the one I hold dear. But I don't dare. Those eyes and tactics in the palace are hard to guard against. If I openly protect you, I'll only push you into the spotlight and make you a target for others to attack me."

His fingertips tightened slightly, and his voice was filled with a sense of fear and melancholy.

"The events of Blood Fang Village have already left me terrified.

So Ning'er, believe me, I have never thought about marrying a princess. From the day I kept you by my side, I never thought about it.

Xie Jinglan poured out all the words that were suppressed in his heart in one breath, his chest rising and falling slightly due to his rapid breathing.

He couldn't help but tighten his arms, as if afraid that if he let go, she would retreat back into that distant shell.

"Ning'er," his voice was whispered against her head, a tone of desperation in its hushed tone, "You forced me to do this. I wanted to keep these words to myself, but now that I've spoken them, you can't do anything about it. From now on, you won't be able to avoid the turmoil of the court and the storms of the Marquis' Mansion."