Chapter Thirteen: An Exorbitant Dowry
The entire room fell silent.
Li Xiangyuan nearly fainted: "You wretch! What nonsense are you spouting!"
Li Yu retorted to Li Xiangyuan with dissatisfaction: "It's all over the place! Prince Jing is twenty-three and still unmarried, and there isn't even a female mosquito in the manor!"
With reddened eyes, he grabbed Li Bao'er's sleeve, "Father, how can you bear to let my sister live as a widow?!"
Li Yu knew that her father disliked their family, but she still didn't expect Li Xiangyuan to be so heartless!
He hated this hypocritical and cold-hearted father!
Li Yu clenched his fists; he would never stand by and watch his sister suffer.
In Li Bao'er's sea of consciousness, the electronic voice of 001 was still chattering, but she forcibly cut it off.
She gazed at the scene before her.
Wang Qingzhi dug her fingertips into her palm, and Li Yu's thin back straightened taut.
Of the thousands of lights in this world, two are lit for her.
For this reason alone, she was determined to fight her way out of Mu Cenlin's clutches!
But when she caught a glimpse of Li Xiangyuan's twitching lips, she suddenly felt guilty and touched the tip of her nose.
Ahem... The rumors about Mu Cenlin being gay... It seems, probably, possibly... that it was one of the eight hundred little essays she wrote back then to please the Third Prince?
Li Bao'er quickly got up to comfort her mother and younger brother, her voice gentle: "Mother, younger brother, don't worry, I..."
Before Li Bao'er could finish speaking, she slowly dragged out her words and looked at Li Xiangyuan with a mocking tone.
The old fox's expression changed drastically!
That rebellious daughter! This rebellious daughter is up to her old tricks again!
Li Xiangyuan seemed to have already heard the treasonous words and seen the scene of his entire clan being stained with blood on the execution ground.
He suddenly jumped up and grabbed Li Bao'er's wrist before he could even speak.
Li Bao'er smiled and said, "I have long admired His Highness Prince Jing. It would be my great fortune to marry him."
The hall was deathly silent.
Li Bao'er grasped her father's trembling hand in return, her face beaming with a shy smile:
"To be able to marry a prince is truly a blessing I've accumulated over eight lifetimes."
Don't think that Li Bao'er was unaware of the reason behind this sudden marriage.
Everyone in the capital knew that Li Bao'er was in love with the Third Prince. Li Xiangyuan hadn't interfered much in the past, partly because he hoped that Li Bao'er could get close to Mu Yuan.
But now that she has stolen the military tally, the power of Prince Jing is rising even higher, and he wants to downplay the incident.
This marriage must have been arranged by that old fox.
However, it just so happened to be what she wanted.
This was the first good thing the old fox had done for her.
But if you want to use her as a pawn? You'll have to peel off three layers of skin first!
Suddenly, Li Bao'er timidly tugged at Li Xiangyuan's sleeve: "Father, I've heard that the storerooms of the Prince Jing's mansion are so empty that horses could run through them."
She blinked and said, "You wouldn't bear to see your daughter starve after marrying into that family, would you?"
Seeing Li Xiangyuan hesitate, she continued, "Alas, although Father doesn't like Bao'er, this Prime Minister's residence is still better than the Prince Jing's residence. I can't bear to leave..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Xiangyuan gritted his teeth and said, "Three hundred acres of fertile land in the eastern suburbs as dowry."
Li Bao'er covered her mouth and chuckled: "Father, I've been dreaming about Grandpa a lot these past few days."
She paused deliberately, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed cold sweat seeping from the back of Li Xiangyuan's neck.
He said that the painting in the storeroom should be used to decorate his granddaughter's dowry.
That was an imperial calligraphy bestowed upon the old master of the Li family by the late emperor. It was not only priceless, but also a family heirloom that served as a symbol of prestige for the Prime Minister's residence!
Before Li Xiangyuan could even speak, Zhang Shufen could no longer kneel. She stood up with the help of her maid and scolded, "What nonsense are you spouting, you wretched girl?"
"The old man won't appear in my dreams, but he'll appear in yours, you little hussy? Do you think you're some fox spirit reincarnated from a ghost story?!"
Although Zhang Shufen is quite old, she speaks with a strong voice.
Li Bao'er was physically weak and had been injured repeatedly, so she walked for more than ten miles.
She was feeling quite dizzy, her face gradually turning pale, her body unsteady, and she looked at the eunuch who had come by imperial decree with tears streaming down her face.
With a pitiful look on her face, she murmured, "I've always known that Grandmother doesn't like me, and now that I'm about to leave home, she still treats me so coldly."
The last syllable of her voice trembled, so fragile it made one's heart ache.
One is strong, the other is weak, creating a stark contrast.
The eunuch frowned, and his gaze toward Wang Shufen carried a hint of disgust.
Seeing this, Li Xiangyuan's temple veins throbbed, and he immediately interrupted sharply: "Here you go! Plus the land deed for a three-courtyard house in the north of the city!"
Are you satisfied now?
Li Bao'er smiled and nodded, accepting the imperial edict, and said softly, "Mother, A-Yu, let's go back to the courtyard."
This action completely ignited Li Yan's anger.
She grabbed Li Xiangyuan's sleeve, "Father! Are you just going to spoil her like this?"
"That house is clearly..." Li Yan screamed halfway before being forced back by Li Xiangyuan's murderous gaze.
That was clearly the wedding gift promised to her!
"Shut up!" Li Xiangyuan kicked Li Yan away and saw off the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict with a respectful expression.
Zhang Shufen was also very angry, and she was so dizzy that she had to be helped away by her maid.
Li Yan was left alone in the hall, screaming irritably.
The servants around them didn't dare to breathe, but they were all speculating in their hearts.
The second young lady is no longer favored?!
The young lady has become the Princess Consort of Jing!
As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, Wang Qingzhi immediately locked the door, even dismissing her personal maid.
Wang Qingzhi grabbed her daughter's wrist, her fingertips trembling: "Bao'er, tell your mother, what exactly happened?"
Her voice was very low, but she couldn't hide the sob at the end, "Bao'er, Mother knows you've always been decisive, but how can marriage be a trivial matter?"
Li Yu followed closely behind, grabbing Li Bao'er's sleeve and whispering, "Sister, are you crazy? Just a few days ago you asked me to inquire about the Third Prince, how come you suddenly want to marry Prince Jing?"
Li Bao'er lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes casting a shadow beneath them.
It's all her fault for being stupid, no! You can't blame her entirely for being stupid!
And then there's 001, that lousy bastard!
Li Bao'er suddenly chuckled softly, but when she looked up, her eyes were clear. "Mother, Ayu, do you really think I'm in love with Mu Yuan?"
Li Yu raised her voice in anxiety, "Isn't that right? You serve him faithfully, and a legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's family is treated like his maid. If this isn't infatuation, what is?"
Li Yu was absolutely right; to outsiders, Li Bao'er did indeed seem like a maid.
But when Li Bao'er actually heard these words from her own brother, her face still tightened.
I guess I was really shameless before...
"You brat!" Wang Qingzhi smacked Li Yu on the head and pulled her daughter to her side like a protective mother.
"My daughter is someone who dares to love and hate!"
Wang Qingzhi's voice suddenly choked up: "It's just that your mother can't bear to see you suffer like this."
Li Bao'er felt a warmth in her heart and gently held her mother's trembling hand.
Li Bao'er concealed her embarrassment and calmly asked, "Do you still remember that I have a precious jade pendant?"
“I know! You brought it back from the Golden Buddha Temple when I was nine years old, and you wouldn’t even let me touch it.” Li Yu answered quickly.
To cover up the truth, Li Bao'er calmly fabricated a lie: "That was a token given to me by a seriously injured boy when I saved him. But by some twist of fate, I mistakenly thought it was the Third Prince's."
Wang Qingzhi keenly noticed the change in her daughter's expression: "So that boy is actually...?"
"It is King Jing."
Li Bao'er lowered her eyes and smiled faintly, letting them fill in the gaps in the lie on their own.
In the instant the candle flame popped, she vaguely saw Mu Cenlin's fierce gaze as he grabbed her by the neck and asked, "How else do you want to harm me?" She couldn't help but shudder.
But in an instant, she put on a sweet smile and gently held her mother's hand: "So Mother, you don't need to worry, your daughter will be fine."
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