Shanhe Festival 227. Princess's Marriage Announcement

Mo Xiaobao took his usual luggage and went to seek refuge with his grandfather who loved him the most. Although he lost the battle for his mother again, Mo Xiaobao firmly believed that it was because he was too young and his father used power to oppress him. And he secretly made up his mind that since the old man shamelessly bullied the young, he would not mind the young bullying the old when he grew up.

Ye Li sent Mo Xiaobao to the newly built Lishan Academy not far from Licheng and handed him over to Mr. Qingyun. Seeing her son standing beside Mr. Qingyun and looking at her pitifully, Ye Li felt bad. To be honest, she was too irresponsible as a mother. Fortunately, Xiaobao had been close to her since he was a child. Ye Li thought about it and decided that it would be best to visit her son every day and make some cakes he liked to eat and send them to him. When Xiaobao is older and doesn't have to worry about the bumpy ride back and forth every day, let him live in Dingwang Mansion every day. It's not a good thing for a child to never see his parents.

"Ah Li, didn't you say you would come to see Xiao Bao every other day? Mr. Qingyun will teach him well, don't worry." Mo Xiuyao hugged Ye Li and comforted her softly, "I will double the number of secret guards at Lishan Academy, and Qilin has a team stationed nearby, so you don't have to worry about Xiao Bao's safety."

Ye Li sighed helplessly. She really didn't understand why Mo Xiuyao had such a big opinion about Xiaobao. Every time he saw Xiaobao sticking to him, he would go back and torment the child. Although she knew that Mo Xiuyao knew his limits and would not really hurt Xiaobao, Ye Li was still speechless when she saw Mo Xiaobao's face turn red and pitiful every time he was bullied, "Xiuyao, do you really hate Chen'er that much?"

Mo Xiuyao looked at Ye Li innocently and smiled, "Xiaobao is my son, how could I dislike him? Ah Li, I am also doing this for Xiaobao's future. People say that strict teachers produce good students, and sticks produce filial sons. No, if Xiaobao is a little strict, he will become like Mo Jingqi and Mo Jingli in the future, won't you be sad to death?" Ye Li looked at him speechlessly, and after a while, she said, "It seems that the prince was beaten by his father and elder brother for fun since he was a child?"

Mo Xiuyao smiled but said nothing. His father was so busy that he had no time to take care of them. His elder brother was really strict with him. In comparison, Mo Xiuyao didn't think he was too strict with Mo Xiaobao. Compared to when I was five years old and got up before dawn in the middle of winter to practice martial arts, Mo Xiaobao, you should be content. Well... I am indeed a kind father. With the comparison, Prince Ding felt at ease and thought that he was particularly kind to his son. It was because Ah Li spoiled the child too much that he had opinions. It is wrong to be a parent who spoils children.

The two of them walked down the mountain together, but they ran into Xu Qingchen who was coming up from the mountain. Young Master Qingchen, who was already nearly thirty years old, was dressed in white, and looked more mature and elegant than before. Although my aunt had already had a grandson in the past few years, she was more anxious about my eldest brother's marriage. But my eldest brother didn't seem to care at all, and I never heard that he looked at any girl differently. It is normal to be unwilling to get married early. Except for Xu Qingze who was engaged since childhood, the other members of the Xu family have not yet married, but it is a bit strange to be completely emotionless. Sometimes even Ye Li thought that her eldest cousin, who was exceptional in all aspects, was preparing to become an immortal.

"Brother, are you here to pay your respects to Grandpa?" Ye Li asked first to greet him.

Xu Qingchen looked at the two people holding hands, and a teasing smile appeared on his lips. Unfortunately, Mo Xiuyao was definitely thicker-skinned than he thought. He held Ye Li's hand without changing his expression and continued to do the same. Xu Qingchen shook his head helplessly, raised his hand and waved a purple and gold letter with complex landscape patterns in his hand and said: "I have something to do. I heard that the prince and the princess are not going back to the city for the next two days, so I had to come here in person. Fortunately, I met them here." Ye Li looked sideways at Mo Xiuyao with some confusion. How could she not know that they were not going back to the city for the next two days? Mo Xiuyao looked at the letter in Xu Qingchen's hand without changing his expression and said: "Is it from Nanzhao?"

"How do you know?" Ye Li asked curiously. Mo Xiuyao pointed to the flourishing pattern on the letter and said, "The pattern on it is used exclusively by the royal family of Nanzhao."

Ye Li frowned and recalled, as if she had seen such a pattern in Nanzhao before, and couldn't help but feel ashamed of her ignorance. Ye Li took the letter and asked, "Brother, do you want to go down the mountain with us, or go to pay respects to grandpa first?" Xu Qingchen shook his head and sighed, "I just saw grandpa yesterday, and the old man was angry and didn't want to see me. Let's go down the mountain together." Ye Li was a little surprised. Big brother is the most outstanding son of the Xu family, and it is said that he is also grandpa's favorite grandson. How could grandpa be so angry that he refused to give him up?

Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "I'm afraid it's because Master Xu is too picky about marriage, and finally caused the wrath of heaven and people, and even Mr. Qingyun, who is so well-educated, can't stand it?" Xu Qingchen glanced at Mo Xiuyao indifferently. Speaking of the wrath of heaven and people, is there anyone more excessive than Prince Ding? He didn't do what he should do, but he did what he shouldn't do. It's fine to abandon his son to his grandfather, but he actually wanted to sneak away with Li'er. If he hadn't gotten the news quickly, someone would have taken Li'er to somewhere else.

"Speaking of which, it's time for my eldest brother to get married. My eldest aunt has told me many times, but unfortunately he doesn't like any of the ladies from the Northwest. I wonder how many girls' hearts have been broken by him... Huh?" Ye Li laughed as he casually flipped open the purple-gold folder and couldn't help but let out a surprised sound.

"What's wrong?" Mo Xiuyao asked with concern. Ye Li waved the memorial, glanced at Xu Qingchen and said, "Princess Anxi is getting married. Please go to Nanzhao to attend the wedding."

Mo Xiuyao was not surprised at all. "Princess Anxi is already 24 years old. Even in Southern Xinjiang, she should have been married a long time ago. What's so strange about that?"

Ye Li nodded and agreed that since Princess Anxi lived in Licheng five years ago, she went out of the city. Ye Li knew that she and Xu Qingchen had no hope. Emotional things have always been a little bit invincible.

Mo Xiuyao took the letter and flipped through it. It was indeed a letter from Nanzhao. "It's still early. The wedding date is set for July. If we travel quickly, we can set off in early July." After reading it, he was no longer interested. He returned the letter to Xu Qingchen and said with a smile, "I'll trouble you to take care of these things, big brother. A'li, Qingbai and Qingyan wrote to me a few days ago saying that the bran wheat in the north is growing exceptionally well this year. It's the earing time now, why don't we go take a look?" Ye Li finally understood. No wonder her big brother said that if he was a little late, he might not be able to find anyone. It turned out that Mo Xiuyao sent Xiaobao to her grandfather's place because he wanted to take her out with him.

Xu Qingchen held the memorial in his hand, looked at Mo Xiuyao calmly and said, "My Lord, I'm afraid you won't be able to travel far in the short term."

"Why?" Mo Xiuyao was unhappy, his snow-white hair fluttering slightly in the breeze. "I have worked hard these past few years, and finally raised Mo Xiaobao, and finally resolved the issues in the northwest. Can't I take a break?"

Hearing this, Ye Li and Xu Qingchen looked at him at the same time, their eyes full of contempt. How dare he say that he raised Mo Xiaobao? I'm afraid that without him torturing Mo Xiaobao from time to time, it would be easier for him to grow up.

Xu Qingchen smiled calmly and said, "Your Highness, in ten days the Northwest will hold its first talent selection examination. We have been preparing for four years, and you can't be absent for the first time, right? That would give people the impression that you don't take students seriously. Or are you sure you can get back from my fourth brother in ten days? In addition, even if this didn't happen, my father has told me several times about the Northwest tax reform plan he submitted the day before yesterday. I want to ask you if there is anything you haven't considered that has caused you to delay your reply? In addition... the annual Licheng Chamber of Commerce is about to begin, and merchants from various countries have begun to arrive in Licheng one after another. Your Highness..."

Mo Xiuyao stared at Xu Qingchen in amazement, as if he had something to say endlessly, and couldn't help but feel a sour taste in his mouth. He almost wanted to grab Xu Qingchen's collar and shake him hard. Didn't I leave all the affairs of the northwest to you? Why do I have to take care of so many things myself? !

Seeing Mo Xiuyao's gloomy face, Ye Li couldn't help but smile secretly. She gave Mo Xiuyao a helpless look. It's not that I don't want to go out with you, it's that you don't have time to go out. In fact, the reason why there are so many things is definitely partly because Xu Qingchen did it on purpose. Perhaps it is because the Xu family has learned the lesson of riding a tiger for so many years. Although the Xu family deeply trusts Mo Xiuyao, they have always been cautious to avoid matters of power. Except for Xu Qingfeng, who is an outlier in the Xu family, no one else would ask about the military affairs of the Mo family army. Although they relied heavily on Xu Hongyan, Xu Hongyu and Xu Qingchen in daily political affairs, they rarely participated in matters that would bring fame, or else they would use Mo Xiuyao as a cover and attribute all the credit and fame to Prince Mo Xiuyao. Xu Hongyu even consulted Mr. Qingyun and set a new family rule. In the future, officials of the Xu family must retire at the age of 58 at most. In order to prevent Lishan Academy from being the only one in power, Xu Hongyan has strongly supported it in the past two years and established several academies in the northwest, changing the situation that there was no good academy in the northwest at that time. These actions of the Xu family clearly showed an attitude, and Ye Li could only sigh softly in her heart when she saw it, accepting their kindness.

"If Your Highness really feels tired, why not take a few more days off when you go to Nanzhao in the future? Anyway, Your Highness will have nothing to do when he goes to Nanzhao by then." After Xu Qingchen finally finished speaking, he glanced at Mo Xiuyao's indignant expression and added slowly.

"My dear, it's not that I'm not considerate and don't want to go out with you to relax. It's really... my brother-in-law is too vicious. My dear, you have to make the decision for me." Mo Xiuyao looked at Ye Li with resentment. Ye Li looked at Mo Xiuyao with amusement. He had snow-white hair and didn't look old at all. He was obviously a man in his early thirties, but he looked younger than when they first met. "Okay, my dear, don't be sad. Let's go to Nanzhao to play for a few more days and leave everything to my elder brother and the others."

Hearing this, Mo Xiuyao glanced at Xu Qingchen provocatively. Xu Qingchen just pretended not to see it, raised his head to the sky and said calmly: "Li'er, it's okay to pamper your husband, but pampering too much will easily damage your brain. Big brother and your grandfather and uncle will be distressed. People who don't know will think you gave birth to twins. Listen to big brother, this husband... should be wise and brave." Ye Li looked around and made a smart decision that it would be better to keep silent. In this world, it is not only men who have difficulty between their wives and mothers, but also women who have difficulty between their husbands and big brothers. With a gentle smile, "Big brother and the prince can talk slowly. I think I saw Qin Feng has something to tell me." After saying that, without looking at the expressions of the two, he went down the mountain first.

Behind him, Xu Qingchen's smile made people feel like a spring breeze. Mo Xiuyao lowered his eyebrows and thought, could it be that Ah Li really liked the wise and brave appearance of the king, so she left so quickly? Looking back, he glanced at the person who looked like a banished immortal, and Prince Ding sneered in his heart: Destroy the relationship between the king and Ah Li? If I don't marry you off early, I will be sorry for you and your family!

Young Master Qingchen, who had an elegant and graceful smile, shuddered for no reason and looked up at the cloudless sky in confusion.

Although Princess Anxi's wedding is still some time away, they don't have much time to prepare. As Xu Qingchen said, Ye Li and Mo Xiuyao still have a lot of things to deal with, and it will take at least a month to go to Southern Xinjiang. With Prince Ding and the Princess away at the same time, there are many things that need to be explained. Sure enough, as soon as he returned to the mansion, Mo Xiuyao was invited to the study by Xu Hongyu who had been waiting by the side.

With a smile on her face, Ye Li watched Mo Xiuyao go to the study. Then, when she returned to her own courtyard, she found that someone was waiting for her there.

"Aunt, why are you here? What's the matter?" Seeing Ye Li coming in, Madam Xu stood up quickly. Ye Li went over to help Madam Xu sit down and said with a smile, "Aunt, if you have anything to say, just sit down and talk. There's no outsider here, why are you being polite to Li'er?"

"I came here without warning, but did I disturb Li'er?" Madam Xu asked with some concern. Although she was a woman from the inner court, Madam Xu also knew that her niece, as the Princess of Ding, was different from the women in the inner court or even other princesses. However, in the minds of the people in the entire northwest, the name of Princess Ding was almost as famous as that of Prince Ding. For example, the subordinates of Prince Ding and even the generals of the Mohist Army were all obedient to Ye Li. Ye Li smiled and said, "If it's not aunt, Li'er usually has no time to visit her at home. The eldest aunt and the second aunt didn't come to visit Li'er, so Li'er knew that the eldest aunt spent all her thoughts on her three brothers and didn't love Li'er."

Madam Xu couldn't help laughing when Ye Li teased her, but soon she was frowning again. She smiled helplessly and said, "Your second aunt is really content with having a grandson now, and she has put all her thoughts on Dao Rui'er. But I am really worried all day long."

Ye Li understood and asked softly, "Is it because of my elder brother's matter?"

"Who else but him?" Madam Xu sighed, "Qingchen is almost thirty and he doesn't even have a girl he likes. Your eldest brother has never been a worry since he was a child, but he is the one who worries the most in this matter. If I had known this, I should have learned from your second uncle and arranged a marriage for him early. No matter good or bad, he should at least find a wife for me." Ye Li also sighed. Her eldest brother's affairs were indeed worrying enough. The Xu family was definitely a rare and open-minded family. Except for Xu Qingze who was engaged to Qin Zheng since he was a child, the other brothers did not get engaged early. This was naturally to be able to carefully choose their sons' daughters-in-law, so as to avoid letting their sons marry wives they don't like or who are not virtuous. Even when Xu Qingchen was over 20 and still unmarried, no one in the Xu family forced him to do so. But now that he was about to turn 30, it was no wonder that Madam Xu was anxious.

"Big brother has too high standards. There's nothing we can do about it. He doesn't like ordinary women." Ye Li sighed softly. Not to mention Xu Qingchen himself, even Ye Li felt that there were few women who were worthy of her big brother. The only one who was a little bit interesting was Princess Anxi, but the big brother didn't like her.

"High standards?! Does he want to marry a fairy?!" Madam Xu couldn't help wiping away her tears and complained angrily: "Does he think it's great just because people call him the best young master in the world? Does he think no woman in the world can catch his eye? He's just an ordinary man with two eyes and a nose! Look at him, not to mention his age, if he delays it for another two years, which girl from a good family would be willing to marry a guy who is much older than her. Just because he set a bad example, now Qingfeng, Qingbai and Qingyan from your second uncle's family are all making a fuss and refusing to get married! It's all his fault as the eldest brother!" Ye Li sighed in her heart. With the look of her eldest brother, I'm afraid he won't lack girls wanting to marry him even if he's forty, let alone thirty.

Madam Xu was furious, and Ye Li could only comfort her in a low voice, saying, "Aunt, don't be angry with your brother. You are the most filial. If you knew how sad you were, you would be sad too. No one can tell what fate is. Maybe you will meet a girl tomorrow and chase her to marry her." Although the possibility of this was almost zero, Ye Li really couldn't imagine Xu Qingchen chasing after a woman to please her.

"Aunt, what are your plans?" Ye Li also knew that Madam Xu would not come all the way here to complain to her.

Madam Xu nodded and said firmly, "We can't let him mess around anymore. Your second aunt is planning to find a wife for Qingfeng. I've also found two for him. Please think of a way for your aunt to make sure he goes back to meet those girls. This kid is very cunning. He ran away as soon as I mentioned this to him. Today he asks for this favor, tomorrow he asks for that favor. I don't go out often, so how can I catch him?"

Ye Li's heart was suddenly filled with joy. It turned out that her aunt wanted to arrange a blind date for her brother but couldn't find anyone. After thinking about it with her head tilted, Ye Li nodded firmly and said, "Don't worry, aunt. Li Er will definitely let my brother go back when the time comes."

Madam Xu was overjoyed, "Then we have Lao Lier."

Ye Li smiled and said, "Whatever my aunt said is helpful, Li'er also wants to have a sister-in-law soon."