Chapter 298: Marriage in Ten Days
How could he possibly think that Li Huaiyan, that playboy, really wanted to marry his daughter?
Lord Zheng felt that he had been behaving very well by staying in the mansion these days, not colluding with the Fifth Prince, and not forming a clique for personal gain.
"Master Zheng has misunderstood." Ling Chenyi said calmly, "Don't overthink it. We are here today for no other reason than to propose marriage to Duke Li. Duke Li likes your daughter and has asked me and the Fourth Prince to come here to persuade him."
"..." Lord Zheng looked confused.
A voice in his heart told him that this was definitely a trick!
At this moment, a dark shadow was projected from the door, covering the light in the center of the room. Li Huaiyan's face turned dark.
Lord Zheng's heart couldn't help but skip a beat, but then he thought, no matter what his purpose was, he came to propose to his daughter, so he immediately straightened his back.
Li Huaiyan stared at Lord Zheng and walked slowly into the house.
He clenched his fists tightly at his sides, and his whole body was filled with a sense of hostility.
Lord Zheng's heart was lifted again.
Something doesn't seem right.
"Li Huaiyan." Ling Chenyi saw the clue, frowned, stood up and pulled Li Huaiyan to his side, "What's wrong with you?"
There was a flicker of fire in Li Huaiyan's eyes.
Xiao Yuan also frowned slightly.
Seeing that he was about to compete with Lord Zheng, Ling Chenyi immediately pulled him to sit next to him and said in a low voice, "Don't forget your purpose today. He is your future father-in-law after all. If you beat him up while asking for marriage, you may never want to marry in this life."
Li Huaiyan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and calmed himself down.
Lord Zheng, who was sitting at the top, was also feeling uneasy.
"Lord Zheng already knows the purpose of our visit today." Li Huaiyan said in a calm voice.
Lord Zheng was still a little frightened and nodded blankly.
"What does Lord Zheng mean?" Li Huaiyan picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.
What does he mean? Of course I don't want to.
After all, he is on the emperor's side. Just one step, his daughter hanged herself in order not to marry the fifth prince, and then she was betrothed to Li Huaiyan, who is on the fourth prince's side. The emperor must think that he is hypocritical.
He can't afford the consequences.
However, he didn't dare to refuse Xiao Yuan's cold and indifferent look.
"Well... Duke Li should have heard of my daughter's reputation. I would never dare to curry favor with the Duke's Mansion and bring discredit to Duke Li."
He spoke softly and politely.
Li Huaiyan's eyes darkened, and he turned to Xiao Yuan and said, "He said he doesn't want to."
Mr. Zheng, "..."
Xiao Yuan lowered his head and sipped his tea. The room was very quiet, and even the sound of his breathing and sipping tea was particularly clear.
"There is a minister in the Ministry of War, whose surname is also Zheng. He must be a relative of Lord Zheng, right?" Xiao Yuan asked slowly.
Lord Zheng's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded hesitantly, "It is my useless nephew from a distant family."
"Bought the position?" He raised his eyes indifferently.
Lord Zheng's legs immediately went limp.
Xiao Yuan ignored it and asked, "How much did you sell it for?"
"I don't understand what the Fourth Prince means. My nephew was promoted from the government office below. He has solved several cases. I regret that he has some talent, so..."
Bang--
Xiao Yuan placed his teacup heavily on the table. Zheng Daren was immediately startled and stopped talking. He opened his eyes slightly and stared at Xiao Yuan in a daze.
"Sir Zheng can be considered a senior official in the court, but since I asked, I have sufficient evidence. Sir Zheng should not bring those cunning words and tricks to play in front of me."
Lord Zheng's face slowly began to turn pale, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.
As an official in the court, who doesn't give convenience to his own family? Accepting some insignificant bribes is harmless, but if it is brought out, the person will be punished.
Especially, it fell into the hands of the Fourth Prince.
What worried him even more was that the Fourth Prince might have other leverage over him.
Xiao Yuan stopped talking and waited for him to weigh the pros and cons and make his own decision.
"Duke Li is a handsome man, and he doesn't despise my daughter's reputation. This is her blessing that she has earned in several lifetimes. I have no objection, but... you also know that my daughter offended the fifth prince a few days ago. If she is betrothed away right away, I am really worried..." He raised his eyes secretly and looked at the expressions of the three people carefully.
Ling Chenyi sneered.
"Lord Zheng's calculations are so bad that they are about to fall on my face."
“…”
Ling Chenyi raised his eyebrows and looked at him, "Why, you cut both ends of the carrot and let you take all the sweetness? You don't want to offend the Fourth Prince, but you're also afraid that the Fifth Prince will find trouble with you. Do you want us to settle it for you?"
"No, no, no." Lord Zheng waved his hands repeatedly with a forced smile.
Aren't officials supposed to be gentle and cautious? How could they be so blatant and slap someone in the face?
However, the person who beat him was the eldest princess's son, the emperor's nephew, and the prince of the Yongning Marquis's Mansion, so he could only endure it.
He closed his eyes slightly and smiled bitterly.
"What I mean is that since we are married, we are all family from now on. Family members help each other and there should be no need to make such clear distinctions, right? Don't you agree, Duke Li?"
No matter what his purpose was, he wanted to live peacefully and securely in his official position, so he could not refuse this marriage.
She is a dead chess piece anyway. It would be a waste to throw her into a nunnery. It would be better for her to marry him. As for where this grass will fall, it depends on where the wind is strong and the land is fertile.
Li Huaiyan stared at Lord Zheng with a cold half-smile on his face, which made him feel uneasy.
"I will accept these betrothal gifts on behalf of my daughter. I am grateful to Lord Li for not giving up. I wonder if Lord Li has made a decision about this marriage?"
He didn't want his daughter to stay in the house for even a day longer, and wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.
"Ten days from now, it will be a good day." Li Huaiyan said calmly, "But there is one thing I want to make clear to Lord Zheng first. I am a person who cherishes women. If Miss Zheng has any injuries or scars on her body on the wedding day, I will go to Lord Zheng to talk about it."
…
He can't even teach his own daughter a lesson?
However, with Xiao Yuan around, he continued to endure, "Duke Li, what are you talking about? Yue'er is my legitimate daughter. I love her so much, how could I hit her?"
"That would be best. We can both get married respectably and live in peace. It will be good for me and for Mr. Zheng, too. Don't you think so?"
The corners of Lord Zheng's mouth twitched a few times.
The betrothal gifts were all accepted, but he, as a father-in-law, didn't even listen and just made threats. Who would feel uncomfortable marrying off their daughter like him?
But when he thought about his daughter's situation, he didn't have so many requests. He just wanted to get rid of these three plague gods as soon as possible.
The discussion afterwards went smoothly.
Apart from being concerned about whether the handle in Xiao Yuan's hand would affect his career, Lord Zheng didn't care about anything else. Naturally, he had no requirements for the marriage and just went along with it perfunctorily.
Two quarters of an hour later, the two sides reached an agreement as if they were negotiating a deal. Lord Zheng personally stood up and sent the three people out the door, but met Mrs. Zheng who was hurriedly coming with her young son.
His brows immediately frowned, "What are you doing here?"
Madam Zheng bowed first, then said, "I heard that the Fourth Prince came in person to act as a matchmaker for our Yue'er, so I came to pay my respects."
"Ye'er, quickly thank the Fourth Prince." She pushed Zheng Ye. The child was also very tactful. She did not dare to act rashly in front of Xiao Yuan and saluted properly.
Xiao Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly, he glanced at Li Huaiyan, and still gave him face and let him stand up, after all, he was Zheng Yue'er's biological mother and brother.
"This must be Duke Li, he is so handsome. My girl is so lucky."
Madam Zheng stared at Li Huaiyan with her eyes, as if she wanted to scrape something off him. "Ye'er, what are you standing there for? This is your future brother-in-law, why don't you greet him quickly?"
"Brother-in-law." Zheng Ye called out crisply.
Lord Zheng knew his wife's character and immediately pulled her to his side. "The Fourth Prince is busy with government affairs. Don't waste time. Why don't you take Ye'er back with you?"
Madam Zheng frowned and waved away Mr. Zheng's arm. "The Fourth Prince and his future son-in-law are close friends, so he certainly won't mind."
Lord Zheng closed his eyes, feeling extremely ashamed. Ever since he had this little son, his wife had gone crazy, completely losing all her previous restraint and only thinking about making profits for her son.
As expected, Madam Zheng slowly spoke, "Ye'er and Yue'er are the closest to each other. From now on, you will be a family. Ye'er's studies will be entrusted to you, your son-in-law."
Li Huaiyan's brows were almost knotted together, and his temples were twitching slightly.
Ling Chenyi had learned a lot today. He gave Zheng a gloomy look, and Zheng immediately said, "Excuse me for making fun of you three. I will take you out of the house now. Please."
Xiao Yuan walked around Zheng Ye and went out. Lord Zheng glared at Madam Zheng and immediately followed him.
Madam Zheng frowned, not very happy, "What three of you? Aren't they my sons-in-law in the future? Do I have to be servile to them?"
"Mother," Zheng Ye raised his head, looking unhappy, "Can that brother-in-law really help me go to the palace to study?"
"Of course you can. He and the Fourth Prince are friends. It would only take a word for him to let you go."
"Great," Zheng Ye's eyes flashed with coldness, "I'll wait until I go to the palace to study, and see if those people in the school dare to laugh at me again."
When Lord Zheng came back and heard the conversation between the mother and son, he was shocked.
"What are you talking about? Are you crazy?"
Madam Zheng glanced at Mr. Zheng, and pulled Zheng Ye back, admonishing him as they walked, "Go find your sister and apologize to her later, and ask her to forgive you. Be a good girl for the next ten days, and don't make her angry again, understand?"
Lord Zheng's head was buzzing.
Going to the palace to study is the qualification only for princes and royal family members. What kind of person did he marry? !
But... he frowned and followed the mother and son to Zheng Yue'er's boudoir.
At that time, the maid was applying facial mask to Zheng Yue'er.
As soon as Zheng Yueer saw the expressions of the three people, she had an idea in her mind. She stood up and bowed calmly, "Dad and Mom."
"Sister." Zheng Ye was pushed and quickly ran forward to grab the corner of Zheng Yue'er's clothes. "I was wrong before. Please don't be angry with me, okay?"
Zheng Yue'er paused, thinking that she would have to stay in the Zheng Mansion for a few more days, and then she gently pulled out the corner of her clothes, "You and I are siblings, so I naturally won't be angry with you."
Mrs. Zheng smiled and said, "That's right, I said your sister wouldn't take it to heart. There's no such thing as overnight hatred among family members. But your brother felt bad and had to come to see you."
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