Xie Lin was shocked and thrilled, yet somewhat disbelieving.
He steadied himself and asked, "So, should I really return to the residence to see my mother? I’ll come back soon, is that okay?"
Li Wan paused, not expecting his eagerness, then smiled and nodded a moment later, "Yes."
Xie Lin asked again to make sure, "Really, it’s okay?"
Li Wan looked at him silently, somewhat amused, "Little Prince, how many times must I answer you? If you do not believe me, you can have your guard watch at the gate of the Prince’s Palace. I won’t run away."
Xie Lin coughed lightly and touched his nose, "Then wait for me, I’ll be back soon."
He turned and walked away, quickly disappearing from sight.
The Commandery Prince watched the two in shock. As Xie Lin left, he opened his mouth but ultimately didn’t stop him. Once Xie Lin’s figure vanished, he turned to Li Wan, "Sister Wan, why did you agree so hastily? There’s the command of parents and the matchmaker’s words."
Li Wan calmed herself and lowered her head, submissively saying, "Father, I have long admired Little Prince Xie, but due to status, I truly dared not aspire. Now that he has come to propose, how can I refuse?"
"What? What?" The Commandery Prince looked at her in surprise.
Li Wan raised her head, her face adorned with the submissive smile elders love, "Since the day I followed Mother to the capital and saw Little Prince Xie, I took a fancy to him at first sight, but his status was too lofty, so I dared not aspire and always kept my distance."
She paused, then said quietly, "Mother knows about this; I have mentioned it to her."
"You, you two..." The Commandery Prince couldn’t find the words for a long time, "I’m going to find your mother. Such a big matter, it’s, it’s too hasty."
Although he was dissatisfied with Xie Lin’s impetuousness, he had to admit that this was indeed a highly sought-after match for the Prince’s Palace.
The Commandery Prince also left quickly, soon disappearing from sight.
Li Wan stood there alone for a moment, looking up at the bright sunshine, she raised her hand to block it and slowly smiled after a while.
Her maid, Qing Luo, came over and whispered, "Miss, did you really agree to Little Prince Xie? How come it feels so sudden to me?"
Li Wan turned and went back inside, "I’ve waited for this day for two years. If he hadn’t realized his affection for me soon, I truly might have married someone else."
Where was it sudden? Such a good suitor, Miss Qin from the Former Household of the Imperial Historian didn’t want him, but she certainly did.
Qing Luo followed Li Wan inside, closed the door, then whispered, "If Little Prince Xie knew that it was you who sold that aphrodisiac to someone to be given to him... he would probably be furious."
Li Wan touched her forehead with a finger, "I’ve kept this matter secret. Heaven knows, you and I know, aside from us, no one knows. Keep it to yourself, even in your dreams you are forbidden from speaking of it."
Qing Luo immediately clamped her mouth shut, "This servant has already forgotten."
Li Wan smiled and lightly patted her face, "Good girl."
Instantly, Qing Luo worried about the future of Little Prince Xie, "In the capital, everyone believes that the young lady is the stepdaughter who followed her mother into the Prince’s Palace but they do not know that her biological father actually came from the prestigious Li Clan. Just that, due to some unknown reasons within the high walls, before passing away, he disassociated the young lady and her mother from the Li Clan, changed their identities, and made them appear as mother and daughter with no family constraints. The mother, now unencumbered by the Li Clan, gained her freedom and remarried into the Prince’s Palace, where the young lady became the adopted daughter."
In her hands, the young lady held the business her late father left for her, including a shop dealing in medicinal materials. Knowing that the young lady harbored intentions to act against Little Prince Xie, it was all too easy to sell her a certain medicine; there was no need for her own involvement.
Since it was medicine sold by the young lady, it was neither unsolvable nor particularly harmful to the body, which was why Little Prince Xie managed to sustain himself and reach the Imperial Medical Bureau that day. Had it been some other secret medicine, Little Prince Xie would have fallen that very day.
Although Prince Xie Lin was excellent in investigating cases, he still hadn’t traced the source of the medicine nor suspected the young lady. She genuinely felt that Prince Xie Lin was no match for the young lady, and she truly feared for him if he were to marry her.
In contrast to the prince’s unease, the stepmother was much more composed. She smiled and said to him, "I indeed know about this, and it is true that Sister Wan favors Little Prince Xie Lin. As she has said, I also feel that we are out of our league, hence didn’t dare attempt anything. Now that Prince Xie Lin has shown interest, naturally we are happy to agree."
The prince looked at her, "You mother and daughter are too, too rash."
It seemed that today he wouldn’t say anything else.
The stepmother glanced at him reproachfully, "When I agreed to marry you back then, it was immediate. Did you also feel it was rash then?"
The prince suddenly found himself at a loss for words, and stammered, "Not really, I felt that at that time, you agreed to a good proposition."
Heaven knows that back then he had hovered around her for two or three years, and she had firmly refused to marry anyone. Later, as Sister Wan’s age increased, she was moved by emotions and reasoned into agreeing to marry into the family. Where was there any rash decision or swift agreement? How very unlike now, when Sister Wan had not even troubled Xie Lin a little bit. It really felt like Xie Lin got a bargain.
The stepmother seemed to discern his thoughts and said with a smile, "Little Prince Xie Lin keeps a clean house, not even a concubine in sight. Young and promising, with a successful career, such a young and distinguished minister in the court, many prestigious families are eager to connect through marriage. If he marries Sister Wan, but Sister Wan hesitates even a moment, she would be at fault. A pie falling from the sky must be caught immediately; one cannot afford to be coy or delay."
The prince ran out of words completely; wasn’t she talking about him? He had a previous wife and children. Though he had no mistresses, he did have concubines. Even though he had dismissed the concubines before marrying her, he still had them. Comparing himself to Xie Lin, was it not obvious what she was telling him, and in what he lacked?
He coughed, "Alright then, I just feel that young people are too reckless, but if you two have no objections, I naturally have none either."
He had objections, but he couldn’t do anything about Xie Lin; the Rui An King and Queen hadn’t even visited yet. If they did come, he would have to be all the more courteous. A favored minister enjoying royal favor against a less favored relative of the royal family had no comparison in front of the emperor. He was well aware of his position.
Xie Lin hurried back to Prince Rui An’s Mansion and immediately headed for the Queen’s courtyard. The Queen was sighing with the wet nurse, unable to eat because she was worried about Xie Lin’s marriage. Xie Lin understood his mother; with Su Xingze bringing back his almost-fiancée to the capital, the lack of even a hint of a marriage proposal for him was naturally a source of anxiety for her, nearly turning her hair white.
Hearing footsteps, the wet nurse immediately said, "Oh? Has the little prince returned?"
"Tell him to get lost; I don’t want to see him," the Rui An Queen now greatly disdained her son and did not wish to see him.
As Xie Lin crossed the threshold, he heard clearly and raised an eyebrow with a smile, "Mother, don’t be so quick to dismiss your son. Even if you want to send me away, you need to quickly bring along a matchmaker to the Prince’s Palace first to formalize the matchmaking. After that is settled, it won’t be too late to dismiss me."
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