Chapter 22 The Imperial Marriage 2: Choosing a Date for the Wedding
The girl before me was about fifteen years old, with clear and lovely eyes, and a face like a spring peach blossom. She seemed to be something otherworldly, more like a flower fairy from the mountains and rivers of Jiangnan.
Even though Crown Prince Xinpingyan was used to seeing beauties all over the world in Huajing, he was speechless with amazement at the appearance of the girl in front of him.
There's nothing to criticize.
The gazes of those around him were intense.
This kind of naturally kind gaze was something Liu Jiao had never seen before.
The boy's palms were hot and itchy. She nervously looked up at Sang Ji, who was holding up her bangs and pressing his forehead against hers.
Sang Ji leaned very close to her and whispered in her ear in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Shh, help me."
Then, Sang Ji stood up, cupped his hands, and approached Xin Pingyan. "Your Highness, can you trust that I am telling the truth this time?"
“She is the one I love, and we are in love.”
Chen Chi was anxious and wanted to say that wasn't the case, so he looked at Liu Jiao.
But Liu Jiao did not refute it, which was an admission.
Xin Pingyan finally snapped out of his daze at Liu Jiao's appearance.
Once Liu Jiao's appearance was revealed, it solidified the claim that Sang Ji liked her.
This completely cleared Xin Pingyan of his suspicion that Sang Ji had eloped with the princess.
Otherwise, even if he could ensure the safety of the princess and himself, the two of them would no longer be able to stay together and support each other.
Then, whether out of anger or something else, Xin Pingyan gave a strange smile: "Fine, fine!"
"Now that I'm happy to see it succeed, I'll play matchmaker today."
He clasped his hands together and said, "I have heard that Lady Liu is beautiful, kind, talented, dignified, gentle and virtuous. She is a perfect match for Sang Ji, the leader of the Imperial Guards. Therefore, I hereby bestow this marriage upon her and choose an auspicious day this year for the wedding ceremony."
In the words of bestowing the marriage, all the praise for Liu Jiao was ironic.
After all, Liu Jiao, a country girl, was by no means outstanding in talent, let alone dignified.
Upon hearing this, Sang Ji frowned.
Everyone present was caught off guard by these unexpected words.
Sang Ji originally only wanted to use Liu Jiao to cover up the disaster and prevent him and the princess from being forcibly separated by Xin Pingyan; he never thought they would get married.
Liu Jiao was also stunned.
Sang Ji wanted to persuade him, but also wanted to refuse, hoping that Xin Pingyan would withdraw the imperial decree to grant them the marriage.
But when Xinpingyan saw him step forward, he waved his hand.
They left immediately.
This time, Sang Ji led the princess to flee in defiance of the imperial decree, but he managed to evade the matter.
However, Shinpei was extremely suspicious and still kept a backup plan.
To prevent Sang Ji and Princess Xinyuehu from developing feelings for each other, Sang Ji eloped with Xinyuehu again, to prevent her from becoming difficult to control in the future with Sang Ji protecting her.
Therefore, regardless of whether Sang Ji's feelings for Liu Jiao were genuine or not, Xin Pingyan wanted to take this opportunity to arrange a marriage for Sang Ji.
Completely sever the intimacy between the two people.
This marriage thus fell to Liu Jiao and Sang Ji.
*
Crescent Fox stayed in the bedroom until the afternoon without suffering any punishment.
All she knew was that Sang Ji was going to marry Liu Jiao.
Sang Ji resolved the matter.
As for why her naturally suspicious elder brother, the Crown Prince, had no suspicions about Sang Ji's affection for Liu Jiao, Xin Yuehu had no idea.
They didn't bother to investigate whether Liu Jiao had used any underhanded tactics.
They simply assumed that Sang Ji possessed extraordinary abilities.
Just as I was thinking this, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Then, Wangyoujun's angry face appeared at the door.
Forget-Me-Not has been at her mother's house for the past two days due to family matters.
Upon their return, they learned that Crescent Fox had opened the door without permission, causing the plan to fail.
Sang Ji was even forced to marry Liu Jiao because of this.
Wangyoujun: "Does opening the door for the Crown Prince and Li Du mean you've agreed to marry the Li family's heir?"
The Crescent Fox remained silent.
"Why can't you be a little braver? Can't you speak more clearly? Sang Ji didn't want to marry you, so he traveled all over the place, not only losing the Crown Prince's trust but also ruining his own marriage!"
"How did you repay me?"
"Just a few words to scare you and you're scared and give in? You opened the door without listening to Sang Ji? Can't you tell if it's for your own good? Even if you considered Sang Ji's sacrifices for you, or your own responsibilities, you shouldn't betray Sang Ji and me like this, right?"
Forget-Worry Lord was furious.
He and Sang Ji had been working on this for so long, and he had seen all the effort Sang Ji had put in.
Sang Ji cared about her so much, but what about her?
Crescent Fox was rambling incoherently. She was used to being pampered, and these words made her so anxious that she was about to burst into tears.
Wangyoujun still wanted to say more, to vent his anger and voice his grievances.
“That’s enough.” Sang Ji suddenly appeared and interrupted him.
Upon seeing Sang Ji arrive, Crescent Fox completely lost control.
Tears still clung to her face. "I'm sorry I made this choice. Aren't you angry with me...?"
Sang Ji simply handed New Moon Fox a new handkerchief so she could wipe her tears, saying, "Just do what you want to do, don't say anything more."
Sang Ji has always been tolerant of her.
Forget-Worry Lord had no choice but to shut up, his anger burning so intensely that his peach blossom eyes widened in fury.
*
Wangyoujun was so angry that he ignored Sangji for the past few days.
With nothing to do, he went to find Liu Jiao to play, and just then he overheard that Liu Jiao was going out.
Today we rest; there are no acrobatics performances in the terraced fields of the forest.
Instead of going to work at the chicken coop, Liu Jiao was invited by her younger brother to go and see the fun in the terraced fields in the forest.
Before heading to the terraced fields, this is Liu Jiao's dressing table.
Wangyoujun already knows that Liu Jiao's appearance has been exposed.
Therefore, let's take a look at Liu Jiao's bangs, which haven't been touched in ten years...
Looking at her whole face, he nodded in satisfaction.
He fiddled with the pink bottles and then pounced on Liu Jiao's face.
He also stuffed a bunch of jewelry and clothes into Liu Jiao's hands.
Liu Jiao's parents now turn a blind eye and no longer hide their money.
After all, he realized that his own ideas were wrong and that his daughter was suffering too much.
Liu Jiao then changed her appearance under the skillful hands and discerning eyes of Wangyoujun, who had frequented brothels for many years.
Of course, her bangs were gone too; when Wangyoujun was styling her, the first thing he did was cut them off.
...
Terraced fields are scattered across the hillsides, creating ripples in the wind.
Liu Jiao in the terraced fields
When Liu Jiao reappeared in front of the villagers of Caocun, there was a chorus of exclamations.
In the eyes of the villagers, the girl in front of them had black hair and snow-white skin, which was tied up diagonally with a water lily hairpin, making her face look rosy and tender. Her big, innocent eyes blinked and were charming and lively, just like a water lily that had come to life.
No one in the village knew who this was.
No one recognized Liu Jiao.
Therefore, they whispered among themselves.
Villager 1: "Could he also be from the capital?"
The villagers of Caocun have encountered more members of the royal family these days than the prefects have, so it's become commonplace.
Villager 2: "She doesn't seem to be one of the concubines who accompanied the Crown Prince... There's only one possibility: she's the old flame of the ruthless Sang Ji! Heard that he's having an affair with that ugly barbarian Liu Jiao, so she came to catch them in the act!"
This villager still firmly believes the rumor that Xiulian had spread that Sang Ji and Liu Jiao had an affair.
They also learned that Sang Ji's true identity was the leader of the Imperial Guards and the heir of the Sang family.
Villager 3: "Yes! It's also possible that Sang Ji is fickle and comes to Caocun to eat some weird dishes."
"Now that he's tired of Liu Jiao, who's considered ugly, he's found a beautiful new love."
Liu Jiao, the "weird dish" who went unrecognized right next to her: "..."
Who would be so kind as to let crickets sing in front of them?!
After a long time, Liu Jiao finally met someone whose back view looked a lot like her younger brother.
She looked on longingly.
But this person ignored her and went to find someone else.
Liu Jiao recognized it; it was Crescent Fox.
Liu Jiao didn't care who she went to see, nor did she care who he was.
Because Liu Jiao saw Sang Ji first while searching for Li Du.
Liu Jiao immediately ran over to find Sang Ji.
In her line of sight, Sang Ji walked slowly, as if he were following someone.
Liu Jiao followed closely behind.
Sang Ji's gaze was not on Liu Jiao.
He stared intently at the backs of the man and woman, one tall and one short, in front of him.
There was something indescribable about his expression. Liu Jiao had never seen him like this before, but she could sense that he was not happy.
Liu Jiao followed his gaze—
They saw a man walking side by side with Princess Crescent Fox.
She couldn't see the man's face clearly.
But the figure seemed familiar, somewhat like her younger brother, though his clothes and appearance were different; this person was clearly more mature.
She heard from Forget-Worry Lord that Crescent Moon Fox was going to marry the heir of the Li family, which meant she was going to marry this man.
Liu Jiao did not know the name of the Li family's heir, and only thought that her younger brother was a guard working for the Li family. Naturally, she did not know that her younger brother was Li Du.
Is Sang Ji unhappy because of this?
He was because...
Is it because you like Crescent Fox that you're unhappy that she married another man?
A faint sadness inexplicably welled up in Liu Jiao's heart.
Disappointed, she stumbled along.
When it rains, it pours.
So, she tragically bumped into the ground and fell face-first into the mud.
It was only then that Sang Ji, out of great compassion, discovered her.
Sang Ji stopped in his tracks.
Only then did he dare to come to his senses.
He looked indifferent, but still lent a hand.
Liu Jiao slunk up.
Sang Ji finally spared some of his gaze for Liu Jiao.
His question was direct: "Why did you agree to the marriage?"
Liu Jiao was stunned for a moment.
Sang Ji continued, "You could have gone to the Crown Prince and made it clear that you are not the one I love, that we are not mutually attracted, that we have no relationship, and that you don't have to marry me."
Why are you helping me?
Sang Ji's phoenix eyes fell on the hand that was resting on his arm, filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Liu Jiao simply said earnestly, "Because you are a good person."
“Good person?” Sang Ji tilted his head, clearly not having heard the word before, and pronounced the two words awkwardly.
After a long silence, he chuckled softly, like the first melting of snow, "If those people knew what you were thinking, they'd be shocked."
Seeing him smile, Liu Jiao subconsciously smiled too.
Sang Ji was finally no longer sad.
She married him, probably with ulterior motives besides helping him...
She actually wanted to use the marriage as an opportunity to try and make Sang Ji like her.
Even if this is a pipe dream.
Marrying him was the greatest joy for her.
It was a gift from heaven, or it was her greed.
Before Liu Jiao married Sang Ji, she had another doubt.
She asked earnestly, "Do you like princesses?"
If she likes the princess, she won't compete for her affections.
If she doesn't like it, then she'll work hard for herself.
That night, Liu Jiao heard the answer she had been searching for—
"I dare not even dream of it."
His words were soft in the night breeze.
*
Li Du took the princess on a walk through the terraced fields in the forest, ostensibly to get closer to her.
But in reality, he wanted to call Liu Jiao out so she could see his attentiveness to the princess and hurt her feelings.
He wanted Liu Jiao to see that his heart was with someone else, not with his younger sister.
He had to cut off contact with Liu Jiao.
Unexpectedly, after walking for more than half the distance, the mountain seemed to have no bottom, and the sky had turned completely dark.
Liu Jiao was completely unaware that the person standing next to the princess was him.
She doesn't care who he's with at all.
His heart and soul were only focused on Sang Ji.
Li Du gritted his teeth.
The plan to neglect Liu Jiao failed again.
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Author's Note: So excited! [heart eyes emoji]
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