Chapter 657 Xia Linyuan Publicly Rejects Marriage
Thinking back to what happened at the flower banquet that day, Zhou still feels lingering fear.
Fortunately, everyone's attention was focused on the King of Chu and the Princess of Gaoping.
"Speaking of which, I think the Eighth Master Wen of the Yongchang Marquis's Mansion is actually quite a good match for my Yuanyao. I just don't know if the Eighth Master Wen is sincere or just joking."
When Zhou mentioned Wen Jue, who had publicly proposed to Qiao Yuanyao, she felt a deep sense of regret.
Afterwards, she inquired about Wen Jue and, after learning more about him, realized that he was a truly good person.
Unfortunately, both her daughter Qiao Yuanyao and son Qiao Jingyao told her firmly that there was absolutely no possibility between them.
However, Zhou was still somewhat unwilling, which is why she deliberately said this in front of Qiao Qinghe.
They also harbored a sliver of hope that something might happen.
There was no way around it. Although she had accepted that her daughter wouldn't get married, if possible, she still hoped that her daughter could marry a good man, have a happy marriage, and have a son and a daughter, leading a blissful life.
Qiao Qinghe sighed, "Alright, don't think about it so much. The matter of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion is not that simple. Yuanyao and Wenjue can't be together."
Upon hearing Qiao Qinghe's words, Zhou Shi visibly became dejected.
After talking for a while, Qiao Qinghe noticed that Zhou was distracted, so she didn't linger and got up to see her out.
Before leaving, he only instructed Qiao Yuanyao to take good care of Zhou Shi and not let her do anything rash.
Qiao Yuanyao smiled and leaned closer to Qiao Qinghe, whispering, "Don't worry, Aunt, my mother is reluctant to die now. My brother has become an official, and my sister-in-law and my brother are planning to give her another grandson or granddaughter."
“My mother’s unhappiness only lasts for a short while. She’ll be happy again once she gets home and sees my sister-in-law and nephew.”
Hearing this, Qiao Qinghe felt a little relieved.
Zhou was much older than her and had suffered a lot when she pretended to be crazy in her younger years, so her health was not as good as hers.
If Zhou gets upset and holds onto her feelings, it would be bad if something were to happen to her.
Qiao Jingyao has just taken office and hasn't even made any achievements yet. It wouldn't be good if he had to go home to observe three years of mourning.
After returning home, Zhou and her daughter immediately sent a letter to Qiao Jingyao, asking him to inquire about the opinions of Zhou and Xiong.
After hearing Qiao Qinghe's request, the two readily agreed.
Qiao Qinghe received Zhou's confirmation in the evening.
He immediately summoned He Shi and Wei Jia, asking them to help him choose a suitable candidate.
Zhou Bing, Xiong Peng, and Qiao Jingyao all fought their way out of a group of assassins.
Such people have a ruthless streak, but at the same time, they also yearn for the warmth of home.
Therefore, choosing a gentle, meticulous, and considerate woman is definitely the right choice.
Of course, gentleness is the first choice, but one cannot be a parasitic vine without any opinions.
After all, once a woman marries into a household, in addition to maintaining a harmonious relationship with her husband, she also has to shoulder the responsibility of being the head of the household.
Qiao Qinghe stated her requirements and then handed the matter over to the two of them.
Two days later, Wei Jia indeed handed her the list of candidates who met the criteria.
Qiao Qinghe stared blankly for a long time at the names of Asi and Asan on the list.
Both maids entered the manor together with Weijia and Ashuang back then.
Now they are all her top-class maids, one in charge of her meals, and the other taking over Ah Shuang's original job, responsible for reading to her.
However, she had too many things to worry about in the past two years, and the time she could calmly listen to Asan read was pitifully short. So the girl followed behind Ashuang, serving her closely.
Judging by their ages, they were both young women of eighteen or nineteen.
Qiao Qinghe called the two men over and personally asked for their opinions. Seeing that they both nodded shyly, Qiao Qinghe knew that they were there voluntarily.
After all, those like Ah Shuang who don't want to get married are ultimately a minority.
After that, arrangements were made for a meeting.
Qiao Qinghe entrusted all the matters to Wei Jia.
Her mind is now focused on Xia Linyuan and Li Sanqi.
After she and Li Sanqi reached an agreement, Xia Linyuan's proposal to marry Yu Huanzhen fell through. What Xia Linyuan will do next is worth paying attention to.
She was also very curious about what Li Sanqi would do about Qi Wang's schemes against Enping Hou and Li Sanqi.
A few days later, Xia Linyuan's matter came to a conclusion.
However, the result was astonishing and regrettable.
Emperor Xiaozhao personally selected Princess Lijingyue, who would marry Xia Linyuan.
As a result, Xia Linyuan publicly refused the marriage, which enraged Emperor Xiaozhao.
Finally, Xia Linyuan presented a dragon-patterned jade pendant that Emperor Xiaozhao had bestowed upon him years earlier, and the matter was settled.
The message was brought by Li Sanqi.
After listening to Li Sanqi's story, Qiao Qinghe's lips twitched involuntarily.
Could she say that the dragon-patterned jade pendant originated from her?
She had almost forgotten about it, but Xia Linyuan actually used it here.
Thinking of this, Qiao Qinghe suddenly remembered something, "Xia Linyuan has this jade pendant, shouldn't he be using it to ask the Emperor to grant him and Princess Gaoping a marriage?"
"As long as His Majesty agrees, even if the Marquis of Yongning's family does not agree, they will probably have no choice but to marry off their daughter."
Li Sanqi said with a smile, "If he really uses the jade pendant to forcibly request an imperial decree for the marriage, then he has lost the meaning of his scheming against the Yongning Marquis's Mansion and the Dayan."
Qiao Qinghe thought for a moment and understood. "That makes sense. By using the jade pendant to request an imperial decree, the Yongning Marquis's reluctance and resistance can be displayed to the world without reservation."
"In this way, His Majesty can also see the loyalty and grievances of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion."
"I'm afraid that when the time comes, His Majesty will not only not suspect the Yongning Marquis's Mansion, but will also trust it even more because of his guilt."
"If something happens to Princess Gaoping on her way to her wedding, I'm afraid Da'er will end up losing more than he gained."
Li Sanqi laughed heartily and said, "That's exactly the point. That's why Xia Linyuan didn't foolishly use the jade pendant to request an imperial decree for marriage."
"and……"
Li Sanqi paused for a moment, then said truthfully, "I had a frank talk with him once, telling him directly about his schemes against the Yongning Marquis's Mansion and Dayan, and also analyzing the predicament he was facing."
"It seems he realized that we had seen through his scheme, which is why he didn't do anything extra."
"I just didn't expect him to refuse the marriage proposal."
Qiao Qinghe sighed, "From now on, Princess Liyang's life will only become more difficult."
Li Sanqi smiled and said nonchalantly, "That's her fate."
Although Li Jingyue had taken the initiative to show goodwill to her before because of the old lady.
She nodded in agreement to forgive and forget, and even joined forces with her to plot against the deposed crown prince.
But she couldn't truly forgive and forget and love Li Jingyue.
From childhood to adulthood, Li Jingyue had secretly opposed her quite a few times. When she did something foolish for the sake of the Earl of Enping, Li Jingyue often came to her side to kick her when she was down and said some sarcastic things.
These things can't be truly forgotten just by talking about the past.
Therefore, even though Li Jingyue is having a hard time, she doesn't feel uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, she feels a little happy.
It's already an act of kindness on her part not to kick someone when they're down.
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