Chapter 171 Song'er and Ying'er are actually not destined to be together!
Although Yuan Song's actions that day were extremely rash, the Yueqing County Magistrate did not blame him. When he heard that the head of the Yuan family had specially sent people to apologize with generous gifts, he not only refused to accept them, but also ordered people to return the gifts.
"If it weren't for the third place winner, this murderer who had been hiding for over a decade wouldn't have been so easily apprehended. It was also because of the third place winner that the Yueqing and Yongjia prefectures were able to join forces and bring to justice the mastermind of the women trafficking who had been hiding for years. I am deeply grateful, so how could I dare to accept a gift from the Yuan family? It's a sin, a sin!"
Therefore, cousin Yuan Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, for the sake of the family head's prestige, he still punished him with three days of house arrest as a punishment for his audacity, hoping that he would restrain himself in the future and not lose the title of Tanhualang.
However, no one knows a son better than his mother. Seeing that her son behaved out of character and did not challenge Yuan Ying, but returned to his own courtyard without saying a word, Mrs. Yuan knew that something big had happened.
After she calmly asked Yuan Ying about the inside story, she couldn't help but sigh deeply in her heart. Song'er and Ying'er were actually not destined to be together.
"From your childhood, your father and I have never restricted you. We only hope that you will do what you want. However, we forgot to teach you that there are things in this world that are not what you want."
Yuan Song had a problem since childhood: the angrier he got, the more carefree he looked. When Madam Yuan entered the study, he was painting, but he discarded his paintings after they were finished. The floor of the study was littered with paintings: one on the left, a picture of a fishing boat singing at dusk; the other on the right, a picture of a small bridge and flowing water. Yu Nian didn't dare pick up any of them, fearing they would spoil the young master's mood and bring him bad luck.
Fortunately, the lady came in, and Yu Nian felt relieved. He then quietly left the study and closed the door.
"Ying'er is a good person, and mother likes her. If she had stayed in the academy and grown up with Mr. and Mrs. Rong as before, even if your uncle wanted to marry you off to someone else for the benefit of our entire family, your father and I would have come to ask for Ying'er's hand in marriage for you."
Seeing that her son was unmoved and still painting on the paper, Mrs. Yuan sighed helplessly again.
"I only knew her father was a good-for-nothing. I just thought Ying'er's father wasn't close to her and her stepmother didn't love her. Even if she was a merchant, as long as her parents were decent people, I would help you marry her."
"But on that day, the first time they met, her father started playing tricks on me. You probably know more about what happened after that than I do. I heard from Ying'er that if there hadn't been someone to testify that her stepmother and the adulterer were responsible for all those shady dealings, I'm afraid Ying'er's father would have been killed without even knowing it."
"If you ignore the family's opposition and insist on becoming in-laws with such a family, not to mention how your relatives will look down on Ying'er, this troublesome Yue family will only cause endless trouble in the future."
Mrs. Yuan naturally had no idea that Du Heng came with a marriage certificate written by the emperor himself. She just thought that Su Ying's meeting with the Du family was on hold because of the matter between her father and stepmother.
"What mother told you are all family traditions that you usually don't pay attention to. If you don't believe me, you can go to the academy in three days and take a look. Even though Madam Du is Ying'er's aunt, the Du family will have to consider whether to arrange this marriage with the Su family for the sake of Du Heng's title of top scholar."
These last words seemed to reach Yuan Song's heart. With a loud snap, he slammed his brush onto the table. The force was so great that ink splattered across the unfinished painting, splashing here and there, just like his current mood, a chaotic mess.
His mother was right; he was going to the academy. However, he wasn't going to see if the Du family's lawsuit would ruin the emperor's promise of marriage. Instead, he wanted to ask Ying'er in person how she would cope if Du Heng's family looked down on her because of it. Had she already decided on her own path?
However, the gate of the academy was already guarded, and he was able to rush to the academy three days later.
In the face of Du Heng's thanks, he was dismissive, just said a few words coldly, and rode his horse to the academy.
Over there, Su Ying and her aunt had just ordered the servants to close the courtyard gate when they heard urgent banging sounds outside the door.
As soon as the gate opened, a tall figure rushed to the aunt and nephew.
"Mrs. Du, please forgive my nephew's recklessness. I really have something to ask Ying'er."
Without waiting for Rong to speak, he pulled Su Ying over and hurriedly wanted to take her away.
"Brother Yuan, what are you doing?"
Du Heng chased to the gate of the academy and saw Yuan Song trying to help Ying'er onto the horse, so he hurriedly stopped him.
"Didn't I make it very clear just now? If you want to thank me, Brother Du, just return Ying'er to me!"
Before Du Heng could even speak, Su Ying understood. She knew Yuan Song's temper better than anyone else. He would never force anyone, but he was too self-centered, which could easily lead to misunderstandings. If Du Heng stepped forward to stop him, it would only force Yuan Song to insist on taking her away.
So, she spoke first: "Cousin, I just have something to say to Yuan Song."
Du Heng saw from her eyes that she didn't want him to intervene. Although he was worried, he still stepped back, made way, and said with restraint, "I'll wait for you in the academy."
Yuan Song snorted coldly, no longer looking at him, and directly helped Su Ying onto the horse. Then he turned over and sat behind her, riding his horse straight into the depths of Yandang Mountain.
As they sped along, they heard a rumbling sound like thunder not far away, and Su Ying knew that they were heading towards the Dalongqiu, which is known as the "No. 1 Waterfall in the World".
Perhaps it was because the waterfall was too spectacular that made him seem too small in front of Su Ying. At this moment, Yuan Song no longer acted arrogantly. Instead, he looked humble and depressed, and even his voice sounded sad.
"I'm afraid your stepmother's matter won't be resolved peacefully. You're bound to be implicated. When Du Heng went to Xu Chongnian's house, he probably had the intention of currying favor with him."
He spoke in a haphazard manner, worried that Su Ying wouldn't understand the implications of the situation, yet also afraid she'd think he was spreading rumors. He quickly added in a low voice, "I'm not talking about Du Heng, I'm talking about his mother."
However, it's not right for a younger generation to criticize the elders. Yuan Song felt that he was making things worse by explaining himself, so he stopped trying to make amends and said bluntly, "Originally, Du Heng was in trouble, so the Du family naturally cared about you. But now that he has won the top spot in the imperial examination, and you have been forced to deal with things beyond your control, I'm afraid that even with your aunt's presence, his mother will resent you, fearing that you will ruin Du Heng's future. If that happens, what will you do?"
"But I'm different. Even if my uncle doesn't like you, he's far away in the capital and can't harm you. My parents won't do anything to you either. If other members of the clan want to look down on you, I can just buy you a new house. After all, the emperor is far away, so we can just live our own lives."
His voice gradually rose. "Don't worry about the Emperor granting you a marriage. Even though Du Heng was appointed the prefect of Yunzhou, it's actually a tough job. The Lu and Pei families have been feuding for a long time, and everyone else is trying to avoid it. If it were a good job, they wouldn't have specifically asked Du Heng, who had just won the top spot in the imperial examination, to take it. You know, the top three positions are always awarded to the Hanlin Academy first, so there's no reason for them to serve as local officials."
"The Emperor granted the marriage to appease Du Heng so that he could take office as soon as possible. So don't worry about breaking the engagement. As long as Du Heng goes to Yunzhou and fulfills the Emperor's wishes, everything can be worked out in the long run."
The more he talked, the more feasible it seemed to him. Just as he was about to further describe his future with her, Su Ying interrupted him.
"Yuan Song, why don't you marry me?"
Yuan Song smiled and replied, "Of course I am attracted to you."
Su Ying nodded and said, "I married Du Heng because I liked him."
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