Chapter 4: Forced Enemy to Marry
After coming out of Juxintai, Jiang Si received a lot of attention because of the emperor's praise.
Xiao Qiangyue teased Jiang Si, "After today, more people will come to visit your house. By then, don't let the Jiang family's doorstep be trampled down."
On Jiang Si's right, Qin Zhiyi smiled slightly: "No matter how many people go, our Ah Si has her own ideas."
Four of the closest friends gathered under the tree, with endless things to talk about.
Not far away, a young man wearing a round-necked robe of ancient satin with treasure patterns and a golden crown on his head walked towards them with his robe lifted up, looking like he was full of energy.
The red maples were like fire. He was wearing a scarlet robe, rhinoceros leather boots, and a jade leather belt around his waist. He had a handsome face and a dashing figure, and was very eye-catching.
He is arrogant and looks down on others with only three-point eyes.
Wherever he went, others retreated and no one could stand up to him.
Because everyone knows that this person has a quick temper, is arrogant, and doesn't care about his reputation at all.
He is one of the most dissolute young men in Beijing.
This person is the one mentioned by Liu Weining and the others, the Duke of Qi’s late-born son, the young master of the Duke of Qi’s mansion, Qi Jialang.
Qi's father was a duke, and Qi's mother was the queen's sister. The whole family was of noble status, and he was favored because he was a late-born son.
Except for the princes in the palace, everyone has to give him some face.
He is a man with a bad temper, sharp tongue and a competitive spirit.
He often quarrels and fights with others, rarely loses, and is feared by others.
Qi Jialang walked towards them and stood ten steps away.
"Jiang Si!" He called her by her name, playing with the jade ring on his thumb, with a barely perceptible smile on his lips, but in his eyes, there was an unintentional, yet unconcealable excitement.
"What?" Jiang Si was rude to him, her tone was crisp and even contained a hint of disgust.
A year ago, she couldn't stand him bullying a group of poor teenagers who sold fruits for a living on the street, so she scolded him. Since then, the young master of the Duke's Mansion has appeared in front of her from time to time.
Occasionally, she would snatch the pearl hairpins she wanted to buy, saying that she would buy them back for her mother and sister.
They met by chance at the alley entrance, and the carriage of the Duke's Mansion deliberately squeezed the carriage of the Jiang family.
He would appear in front of her every now and then to cause trouble, sometimes quarreling with her, and then walk away when he got what he wanted.
However, apart from being a bit annoying, he was not as vicious and unreasonable as he was to other people. He just hated her and did not make things difficult for her.
Nor did he use his power to oppress others.
Seeing this little ancestor who could not be offended coming, Jiang Si's friends also looked as if they were facing a great enemy.
Everyone knew that he was not easy to mess with and they couldn't afford to mess with him. They didn't do anything, but he still took the initiative to come to them.
I don’t know what evil plans that evil-minded person has up his mind.
Xiao Qiangyue sarcastically said, "He has such a good appearance, but he has a devilish heart."
Qi Jialang coughed lightly and asked nonchalantly, "I heard you were arguing with Xie Yunshuo about a vase, and the emperor praised you?"
"So what?" Jiang Si was suspicious. What was he trying to do?
This young master Qi was followed by several cronies, all of whom were second-generation rich men from Beijing who were of noble birth and had no scruples.
Some people call this group of people the ghost-seeing ones.
Qi Jialang asked a few questions with good intentions, but Jiang Si attacked him with every word, and the young men around him were all filled with anger.
But no one ever said anything.
They flapped their folding fans vigorously to vent their frustrations. The people around them gradually moved farther and farther away. Only Jiang Si and the others were left here, along with this group of troublemakers who no one dared to mess with.
If you look closely, you can see that Qi Jialang's expression has also changed slightly. His nose is wrinkled and he is biting his teeth to endure it.
But he still didn't get angry and asked again: "How old are you now?"
"What exactly do you want to say?" Jiang Si was puzzled. "If you want revenge, just say whatever you want to say and do it directly."
She pressed him, but Qi Jialang started to hesitate and turned the ring faster and faster.
After a long while, he finally stammered, "Are you old enough to get married? Who are you going to marry? What kind of person do you want to marry?"
After saying this, Qi Jialang awkwardly turned his gaze away, his eyes wandering.
Jiang Si was stunned, and a possibility she had never thought of emerged.
Could it be that Qi Jialang's strange and abnormal behavior is because he has feelings for her?
Realizing this, Jiang Si was not at ease, but instead felt fear.
She always felt that with Qi Jialang's temperament, if he wanted to marry her, it was not to take her home as his wife, but to torture her every day.
To avenge the deep hatred she had for scolding him in the street last year.
She had no intention of marrying someone like him.
Therefore, regardless of whether he was being sincere or not, she simply spoke frankly.
"What kind of man should I marry? Of course, a gentleman who is well-read, refined and polite."
After hearing this, Qi Jialang's face darkened. He wanted to say something, but couldn't, so he left angrily.
He knew she was hard, even harder than he was.
There was no point in trying to convince her, so he just went back home and asked his father to make the decision and send a matchmaker to propose marriage.
His father knew that he had set his eyes on the girl from the Jiang family and had planned to make the decision for him.
Their conversation, as loud as firecrackers, was heard by Xie Yunshuo and others who happened to pass by from behind the maple forest.
The refined and polite scholar that Jiang Si described seems to have the same meaning as Xie Yunshuo's answer to the question of getting married.
She wants to marry a gentleman, and he wants to marry a gentle girl.
The two have the same aesthetic taste.
This thought flashed through Xie Yunshuo's mind briefly, like a breeze blowing through the treetops, causing the leaves to tremble slightly.
Someone beside him laughed and said, "I didn't expect that the young master of the Duke's Mansion would be interested in a fierce woman like Miss Jiang. I really can't tell."
Another person said, "If a weak woman married into the Duke's mansion, she would probably be bullied by that young Master Qi and suffer from the darkness. Only those who are strong and unyielding can fight him back and forth. This is what they call one thing conquers another."
Xie Yunshuo shook his head.
No matter whether Jiang Si was harming the weak scholar or confronting Qi Jialang, it would be fine as long as she stayed away from him and didn't come in front of him to defeat him.
As it happened, the refined scholar she admired had nothing to do with him, and the two of them had nothing to do with each other.
However, three days later, when Xie Yunshuo left Wanyi Garden and returned home, he suddenly heard the bad news.
His father and mother had already agreed to arrange for him to marry a girl from the Jiang family.
At that time, when he got up early to greet everyone, his mother Xia Rongyi asked his younger brothers and sisters to go back to the house first, leaving him alone.
Xie Yunshuo thought that his parents wanted to discuss something with him, whether it was academic achievements, military exams, or even a marriage.
He never expected that the two elders had already arranged his marriage and told him about it, not asking about it.
"Soon, I will ask the official matchmaker to visit the Jiang residence and ask for the bride price."
Hearing this, Xie Yunshuo was a little dazed for a moment.
But he knew that his father and mother would not joke with him, especially about such a big thing.
Xie Yunshuo frowned, somewhat incredulous, and asked, "Why?"
Xie's father was a decisive and resolute military commander, and his mother, Xia Rongyi, was also the eldest daughter of a wealthy family who was smart, strong, and talented.
The two of them also found it difficult to accept this decision.
Originally, the two families would discuss the marriage after the eldest granddaughter of Master Wen came of age.
This marriage was satisfactory to both of them, as well as Xie Yunshuo's grandparents.
Now they have to take back their decision due to circumstances. Even if the person they want to marry is a fairy, the Xie family will not be willing to do so for a while.
Seeing that his father and mother's expressions were gloomy and solemn, Xie Yunshuo also felt a surge of emotions in his heart. He reached out and grabbed the teacup beside him and clasped it tightly.
Xie Xingxiu sighed and said to him, "Three days ago, at the Juxin Terrace, His Majesty asked about your marriage and praised the daughter of the Jiang family. I, your father, have been unable to sleep for the past three days and nights, pondering this matter over and over again. Finally, I have decided that for the sake of the Xie family, it is best for your marriage to satisfy His Majesty. Our family cannot marry into a family of equal status, and even if we change the candidate, I am not sure whether His Majesty will be satisfied. In this case, I will simply ask for your marriage to someone His Majesty finds suitable."
When listening to his father's story, Xie Yunshuo's expression changed several times. Finally, he put aside his confusion and gave up his desire to oppose.
"Then my father and mother will have to work hard to arrange it."
The emperor's order is above all else, and what is at stake is the Xie family's official career and future. If his marriage does not satisfy the emperor, I am afraid that this huge and deep-rooted tree will be unstable.
I thought that with the emperor's grace, real military power, and the tiger talisman in hand, the Xie family's glory would continue for hundreds of years.
However, one could not expect that from these two simple sentences, one could glimpse the turbulent state of the Holy Will.
The more I think about this matter, the heavier my heart becomes.
He no longer had any extra thoughts to worry about the Jiang family girl.
Even if Jiang Si is the worst woman in the world, the Xie family will mobilize all their resources to happily welcome her back in a sedan chair carried by eight people.
What's more, the emperor's praise was good. Jiang Si was indeed frank and upright, and her character was noble, but her temper was a bit prickly.
Especially the longest and sharpest needle, which happened to pierce Xie Yunshuo's body.
After a while, a strange incident spread throughout the capital.
Shortly after the Queen Mother's birthday, more and more people came to visit the Jiang family.
Today there is a matchmaker sent by Minister Wu, and tomorrow there will be a matchmaker sent by Deputy Commander Xiao.
The emperor's commendation of Jiang Si made her one of the most sought-after brides-to-be in the capital.
Among the people who came to propose marriage, there were actually people from the Duke's Mansion.
The wife of the Duke, the Queen's younger sister, personally visited to show her respect and arranged for Jiang Si to be the principal wife for the fifth son, the youngest of her family.
This move shocked the Jiang family, including Jiang Si and her parents.
The Duke's wife came in person simply to secretly force the Jiang family to agree.
Everyone knows that the fifth young master, Qi Jialang, is a playboy and a bad-tempered nobleman, so the Duke's Mansion uses his status to bully others.
The Duke's wife came forward in person to shut the Jiang family up and make it difficult for them to refuse.
At this chaotic and complicated moment, the most unexpected thing was that a matchmaker also came to the General's Mansion to ask for Jiang Si's hand in marriage for his eldest grandson Xie Yunshuo.
When this news came out, those who knew about the feud between the two felt as if they had just heard a fairy tale.
Even if General Xie and his wife wanted to marry into the Jiang family, how could Xie Yunshuo agree to it?
It was originally thought that anyone in the capital could form an in-law relationship, but it was definitely not the Xie family or the Jiang family.
Moreover, this is the first time that the Xie family has officially been working for Xie Yunshuo's marriage, so it must be true.
Just when everyone thought that the Jiang family would not agree, the Jiang family actually replied to the General's Mansion alone.
Everyone knows that although this is only the first step in discussing marriage, once the two parties have exchanged the engagement letters, it will basically be successful unless their horoscopes are incompatible.
People who are not in the know are puzzled and wonder what kind of coincidence is hidden in it.
In fact, Jiang Si didn't want to agree, and the Jiang family didn't want to agree even more.
However, if she did not agree to the Xie family's proposal, there was no better way to avoid marrying into the Duke's Mansion.
The Jiang family is just using the Xie family as a shield.
If she had to choose between Xie Yunshuo and Qi Jialang, Jiang Si would rather marry into the Xie family and ignore Xie Yunshuo and treat each other with respect.
He was also unwilling to deal with Qi Jialang, the unruly little devil.
What's more, this marriage was ordered by the emperor himself.
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