Chapter 143 Marry Me
"Clean up, close the door, and don't see anyone."
Zi Su agreed with tears in her eyes and quickly called the maid to help clean up the mess on the ground.
The hurried horse hooves shattered the tranquility outside Ning Pavilion.
Qin Xiu dismounted, the hem of his crimson official robe fluttering in the wind, his hair and body already soaked by the rain, but he just stared intently at the tightly closed mansion door.
At the same time, the entire capital city knew one thing.
He Ning, the prince of Zhenbei, proposed to marry Jiang Qingning, who was expelled from the Jiang family, whose father and brother were stationed in Lingnan, and who was entangled with the prince of Qin.
This shocking news was spread at the fastest speed by those with ulterior motives, and spread rapidly among the mansions of nobles, teahouses and taverns.
"Have you heard that Prince He, the Third Rank Censor, is going to marry that Jiang?"
"Are you crazy? She's been divorced and reportedly even had a child!"
"Censor Xun refuted it personally in the court, how could it be false?"
"Tsk tsk, an abandoned woman, first she tried to get close to Prince Qin, and now she's hooking up with Prince He, what a clever trick!"
"Not entirely. Prince He himself praised her tenacity and intelligence."
"Humph, who knows if she used some kind of seductive trick? A helpless orphan girl, on what basis?"
When the people saw Qin Xiu appear, they gathered outside the door of Ning Pavilion.
Jiang Qingning's name almost instantly became the most controversial topic of conversation in Beijing.
Qin Xiu's face was so gloomy that it seemed like water was about to drip out of it when he heard the faint sounds of discussion.
He ignored the prying eyes, strode forward and knocked on the door hard.
The door opened a crack, revealing the concierge's face.
"Prince Qin?"
"I want to see Jiang Qingning."
Qin Xiu's voice was low, carrying an unquestionable command.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will go and report to Miss Zisu." The doorman responded and closed the door tightly.
Half an incense stick of time passed and the door of the mansion was opened from the inside.
Zi Su stepped out and bowed respectfully: "Your Highness, the eldest lady is not seeing any guests today."
Qin Xiu frowned and said in a deep voice, "I have something to say to her. Miss Zisu, please be flexible."
Zi Su quickly shook her head, her voice firm: "Your Highness, please forgive me. My daughter said that she will close the door and not see anyone today!"
Qin Xiu frowned fiercely, took a deep breath, and pleaded, "Go tell her that if she doesn't want to marry He Ning, let me in."
"I, Qin Xiu, am willing to welcome her into the Duke's Mansion with the ceremony of a Crown Prince's wife, a grand sedan chair carried by eight men, and a lavish wedding ceremony spread over ten miles. I will never let her down!"
Zi Su looked at him awkwardly, mustering up the courage to whisper, "Your Highness, the eldest lady has long expected you to say this. Don't worry, let me tell you that if she is asked to marry you, she is unwilling, but if she is asked to marry Prince He, it is not impossible."
The blood color on Qin Xiu's face instantly faded, leaving only a deathly pale color.
He stared at Zi Su, as if trying to find any signs of lying on her face.
Zi Su felt her heart flutter when she saw him looking at her. She straightened her back with a slight tremor, as if to express the true meaning of his words.
for a long time.
Qin Xiu's clenched fists slowly loosened, and his knuckles turned blue and white from excessive force.
Without saying anything else, he turned around and walked towards his horse with heavy steps.
Qingzhi and Qingming hurried forward to hold the horse. Seeing their master's distraught look, they were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
"Sir, you..."
"Miss Zisu, my master..." Qingzhi couldn't help but look at Zisu.
Zi Su shook her head vigorously, her eyes red, unable to say a word, and quickly closed the door.
The night is as thick as ink and everything is silent.
Ning Pavilion was dark. A faint candlelight shone through the window lattice of the main room, reflecting a thin and lonely silhouette on the window paper.
A dark shadow silently climbed over the high wall and landed in the yard.
However, just as his footsteps touched the bluestone slabs in the courtyard.
"call out!"
An extremely sharp sound of breaking through the air suddenly rang out, carrying a cold murderous intent, and shot straight into Qin Xiu's face.
Qin Xiu's instincts were honed on the battlefield, and he suddenly turned sideways at the critical moment.
“Swish!”
The cold metal flew past the fabric of his upper arm, leaving behind a string of tiny blood beads.
He felt a sharp pain, it was a scratch. If he hadn't reacted quickly, the hidden weapon would have been pierced into his throat.
Qin Xiu's heart was filled with alarm, and he woke up from his confusion in an instant. He suddenly looked up towards the main house.
"Lecher! Look at the sword!"
A clear and angry roar was heard, followed by a figure flying out of the window of the main house like a light swallow.
With agile and swift movements, the figure flipped beautifully in the air and landed steadily on the stone table in the yard. In his hand, a long sword with a cold glow was pointed directly at Qin Xiu.
With the help of the dim moonlight, Qin Xiu could see the person coming clearly.
A girl about fifteen or sixteen years old, with eyes and eyebrows that are about five to six points similar to Jiang Qingning.
At this moment, her eyebrows were raised, her eyes were wide open, full of anger and contempt. It was Jiang Qingxi.
"It's you?!"
Jiang Qingxi saw Qin Xiu's face clearly and was furious. "Qin Xiu, you hypocritical hypocrite, I was wrong about you. How dare you climb over the wall in the middle of the night and break into my sister's boudoir!"
"If I hadn't insisted on sleeping with my eldest sister today, would you have succeeded? Shameless wretch!"
The long sword in her hand hummed, and the tip of the sword was only a few inches away from Qin Xiu. The sharp sword intent forced Qin Xiu to retreat.
"Stop it, little sister! Don't be rude to Master Qin!"
The door to the main house was pushed open.
Jiang Qingning walked out wearing a plain coat, his long hair simply gathered behind his back, his face looking particularly pale and cold in the moonlight.
Her eyes swept across the bleeding wound on Qin Xiu's arm, then fell on the tip of her sister's sword, which was shining coldly, and finally fixed on Qin Xiu's embarrassed face, with a complicated and indistinguishable expression in her eyes.
"Eldest sister! He..."
Jiang Qingxi was indignant, but the tip of his sword was still pointing at Qin Xiu.
"Put away the sword."
Jiang Qingning's voice left no room for doubt. "Go back to the room and wait for me. I want to talk to him."
Under the moonlight, Jiang Qingning and Qin Xiu stood facing each other, a few steps apart, yet it seemed as if there was a deep abyss between them.
The night wind blew by, ruffling the corners of Jiang Qingning's plain coat, but it couldn't blow away the heaviness that hung between them.
Qin Xiu's eyes were fixed on her cold face. The wound on his arm ached slightly, but it was not even one-tenth as painful as the one on his heart.
His Adam's apple rolled with difficulty, his voice was extremely hoarse, and he was determined to risk everything:
"Jiang Qingning, marry me."
"If you agree, tomorrow at dawn, the betrothal gifts from Duke Qin's mansion will fill the entire courtyard of Ning Pavilion. I, Qin Xiu, swear here that I will be with you for the rest of my life and I will never let you down."
These words came with a humble plea.
However, what responded to him was Jiang Qingning's cold voice without any emotion:
"Qin Xiu, I don't want to."
Qin Xiu's tall body shook almost imperceptibly, and his face was as pale as paper in the moonlight.
The two of them just faced each other in silence. The only sounds in the courtyard were the wind and their suppressed breathing.
After a long while, Qin Xiu finally squeezed out a dry voice from between his teeth, with despair on the verge of breaking: "Why?"
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