"Who is it?"

The sound was like thunder, making Yuan Xi's heart beat wildly. His father, Xia Mingyuan, was the emperor's uncle and had been the left prime minister for many years. He had been in power and made decisions for many years, so there was a hint of anger in his shout.

Yuan Xi hesitated in her heart. If she stood up and admitted that she had accidentally fallen, it would not be a big deal. But for some reason, she still shrank back and hid herself in the shadow of the trees.

Xia Mingyuan frowned and wanted to go forward to check, but he glanced at the man behind him out of the corner of his eye. After weighing the two options, he had to give up for the time being and turned around to lead the man towards the corner door.

Yuan Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Seeing that the wound on her leg had stopped bleeding, she tried to stand up. Fortunately, Li Ma Ma came over at this time and exclaimed when she saw her, "Miss, what happened to your leg?"

Yuan Xi quickly signaled her not to make a loud noise, and helped her stand up. She was worried about the Seventh Aunt, so she didn't care about the injury on her leg, and asked Li Ma to take her directly to the Seventh Aunt's room.

The Seventh Aunt was the lowest among the other aunts in terms of family background and favor. The furnishings in her room were ordinary, and she only used the cheapest incense. But for Yuan Xi, this room was the only place in the Prime Minister's Mansion where she felt warm.

When she was seven years old, she got a strange disease. The doctor prescribed a prescription, saying that she had to take it until she reached the age of 15. The Seventh Aunt was worried that the maids in her room were not taking good care of her, so she prepared medicine for her every day and asked her to take it in her room. Whenever she took the medicine and grieved, the Seventh Aunt would smile and take out the maltose she made by herself and put it in her mouth. That was the happiest time of her youth: even though she was a little girl and the least valued by her father, she could feel that someone loved her sincerely.

The tears on the Seventh Aunt's face had not yet dried. When she saw her come in, she hurried to greet her, but immediately noticed the wound on her leg. She asked in surprise, "How did you get hurt?"

Yuan Xi smiled and shook her head, saying, "It was an accidental fall, it's no big deal."

The Seventh Aunt frowned and said distressedly: "How can it not be a problem? We are getting married in two days, and we must recover quickly to avoid leaving scars." As she spoke, she ordered Anzhu to get medicine, and was worried that the servants might hurt her, so she bent down and applied medicine to Yuanxi herself.

Yuan Xi looked down and saw that the makeup on the Seventh Aunt's face had been worn away by tears. Her face, which was not delicate to begin with, could no longer hide the traces of aging. She felt sad and reached out to help her straighten the crooked pearls on her hair. She said softly, "Aunt, after Yuan Xi gets married, she won't be able to take care of you. You must remember to think more about yourself and never get angry with Dad again."

The Seventh Aunt's hands froze, and she opened her mouth to say something, but in the end she said nothing. She only lowered her head and cried, "Poor child, what should I do from now on..."

Yuan Xi quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and smiled and comforted her: "Auntie should be happy. It is Xi'er's blessing to be able to marry into the Marquis's mansion."

Who knew that when Seventh Aunt heard this, her tears could not stop even more. She just hugged her and was speechless for a long time.

Yuan Xi felt that Seventh Aunt was a little strange today. She thought to herself that Seventh Aunt must have believed those rumors about the Marquis' Mansion, which was why she was so worried. She was about to say a few words to comfort her, but then she thought that they might never see each other again, and her heart ached, and she couldn't help but shed tears.

At this time, a servant came hurriedly. He was embarrassed when he saw the two people crying and hugging each other at the door. Then he immediately put on a smile and said to Yuan Xi, "Miss Jiu, you are really here. It's so easy for me to find you. The master sent me to ask if you have any unfulfilled wishes before leaving the palace. Just tell me to do it for you."

Yuan Xi recognized that this man was a servant who served beside her father. This was the first time since she was a child that her father had asked about her thoughts. Although it was such a small concern, it also made her happy. She looked up at the Seventh Aunt excitedly, but found that the Seventh Aunt had a sneer on her lips.

At the same time, in the mansion of Marquis Xuanyuan, where a wedding was also approaching, Marquis Xuanyuan Xiao Du was trying on the crown and clothes he would wear on his wedding day. On the pattern embroidered with gold thread, a pair of soft hands as soft as solidified fat were slowly moving from the outer robe to the inner robe, and then sliding down to the waist inch by inch until they were fiercely clamped by a pair of big hands.

Xiao Du smiled, looked down at the beautiful but slightly panicked face, and asked lazily, "New here?"

The maid whose wrist he held quickly hid the panic on her face, pursed her lips, looked at him with a charming look, and said softly: "My family name is Wang, and my family was once a scholarly family. Unfortunately, I fell into poverty and sold myself as a slave. I hope you will have mercy on me, Lord." She remembered the instructions she had received before, tried to suppress her fear, and put on a pitiful and touching look. She had been very confident about her appearance since she was a child. Even if the man in front of her was of noble status, he was just a man after all.

Sure enough, she saw Xiao Du slowly lower his head and move closer to her face. Before she could secretly rejoice, he had already grabbed her neck tightly, put his lips to her ear, and laughed softly: "Do you know where the people who dared to do what you did before are now?"

She was startled, and her face turned pale as she remembered the rumors surrounding this man. Although someone had assured her that those were all nonsense, the hands holding her neck were slowly exerting force, and a chill slowly spread from the back of her neck to her whole body, making her shiver uncontrollably.

Xiao Du still smiled, turned her stiff body toward the window, pointed to a dense crabapple tree not far away and said, "It is said that for crabapple flowers to bloom well, they must be raised from fresh corpses, especially for a delicate little girl like you, don't you think?" The maid stared in horror, tears welling up uncontrollably. She wanted to escape but was clamped by the hands behind her head. She could only cry and tremble, "Master, spare my life. I will never dare to do it again."

Xiao Du slowly dug his nails into her delicate skin, leaned close to her ear, and whispered only one word: "Get lost!"

The maid felt the pressure on her neck suddenly relieved, and she collapsed to the ground as if she had been pardoned. She was afraid to stay there any longer, so she quickly got up and ran out desperately, almost bumping into the steward Liu Zhong who was about to come in.

Liu Zhong quickly moved away, looking at her fleeing figure, shaking his head and saying, "The newcomers in the mansion are getting less and less aware of the rules nowadays." The mansion's chief steward Zhou Jingyuan, who was standing next to him, frowned thoughtfully, turned his head and said, "Go in first, business is more important."

As soon as they entered the room, they saw Xiao Du taking off his crown and robes with a look of disgust and throwing them on the ground. He coldly ordered: "Make a new one!" The two men looked at each other, tacitly did not ask any further questions, and just nodded in agreement.

Seeing Xiao Du's expression gradually ease, Liu Zhong began to report to Xiao Du the dishes that were set for the wedding banquet: "Yangzhou fried crab, assorted stewed vegetables, roasted lamb leg..." Before he finished speaking, Xiao Du's brows turned cold, and he casually pulled out the jade belt from his waist and swung it fiercely in that direction. The paper was immediately torn into two pieces by the golden hook. Liu Zhong was so scared that his hands trembled, and he stammered, "Do you think there is anything wrong with this, Lord?"

Xiao Du was still furious, and glared at him and said, "Didn't I tell you that red meat is not allowed at the banquet? Why is there a dish like lamb?"

Liu Zhong was so frightened that he hesitated to reply. Zhou Jingyuan quickly bowed and said, "This wedding banquet is not a family banquet after all. The Duke of Zhong, the Duke of Liang, the Marquis of Jining, and the Prince of Rui will all send people over. If the dishes are too monotonous, it will be a disgrace to the Marquisate. Besides, this menu was discussed and decided after the old man and the lady had reviewed it."

"Oh?" Xiao Du said coldly, "Manager Zhou is using my parents to pressure me." He walked slowly over, picked up the jade belt on the ground, folded it in his hand and glanced at it coldly, "Listen, I don't care who comes. Since this is my wedding banquet, I have to follow my own rules. Remove all the red meat. If you don't want me to do it, I can replace someone else to do it."

Seeing that his attitude was cold and hard and there was no room for negotiation, Zhou Jingyuan could only helplessly wink at Liu Zhong. Liu Zhong had a bitter face, glanced at the broken menu on the ground, sighed, and took the order to leave. Zhou Jingyuan stood up and said to Xiao Du: "There is one more thing. General Zheng and General Zhang have returned to the capital yesterday."

Xiao Du's eyes lit up, and he finally smiled, saying, "Really? Why don't they come over? I haven't seen them for more than a year."

"It's just..." Seeing that Zhou Jingyuan seemed to be hesitant to speak, Xiao Du said impatiently: "What do you want to say? Say it quickly!"

Zhou Jingyuan thought for a moment before saying, "Yesterday, General Zheng and General Zhang were riding their horses on the street with their men. They happened to meet a military officer from the Military History Office. The military officer couldn't stand it and went up to him to reprimand him. But General Zheng whipped him with a whip and hit his right arm, causing blood to drip. Those military officers are not easy to deal with. It is said that he has found several colleagues and is preparing to report General Zheng for causing chaos in the city and taking advantage of his power to commit murder. General Zheng is your cousin after all, and he is returning to the capital for your wedding. If this matter gets out of hand, I am afraid that the Marquis's mansion will be implicated. You should either go and persuade General Zheng to find a way to calm this matter down.

After hearing this, Xiao Du grinned and clapped his hands, saying, "Well done! How can my brothers let others scold us in the street? Those so-called military historians only know how to scold others with their pens. When the border is in danger, it is still my brothers who will risk their lives. Let those censors just report to the emperor. Even if they make trouble in front of the emperor, I will take responsibility for them."

Manager Zhou had not expected him to react in this way, and could not help but refute him: "Being like this, doesn't it make us look like we are taking advantage of our power and giving others something to blame?"

Xiao Du leaned over and smiled shamelessly: "Just tell me, if this power is not used to oppress others, what is the point of having it?"

Manager Zhou was choked by his words, and his facial expression changed several times. Finally, he suppressed his dissatisfaction, shook his head and left. Liu Zhong had been waiting outside the door for a long time. When he saw him come out, he asked with a bitter face: "Manager Zhou, what is the menu..."

Zhou Jingyuan waved his hand and said unhappily, "Didn't you hear what the old man said yesterday? The real Marquis is here now, and he's the one who's going to arrange the wedding, so we have to do everything he says." Then, the old man who had been in the Marquis' Mansion for more than ten years shook his head and sighed, "How could such a good seedling grow up to be like this? If he continues to act so recklessly, I'm afraid..."

At this time, the red sun was gradually disappearing in the sky and dusk was approaching. A breeze blew up the fallen leaves, covering up the sigh, and then drifted away, lifting a corner of the robe of the Left Prime Minister Xia Mingyuan.

Xia Mingyuan was wearing an indigo silk gown and walked onto the corridor with his hands behind his back. Li Ma saw him coming from a distance and immediately went to greet him with a smile on her face. She said cordially, "Master, you are here. Miss has already prepared your favorite food and wine and has been waiting for a while."

Xia Mingyuan was just about to step over the threshold with his robe lifted. He turned his head back in surprise when he heard the words, and then walked inside without saying a word. As soon as he entered the room, he saw a few plates of his favorite side dishes on the table. Yuan Xi was sitting at the table with a reserved look on her face. When she saw Xia Mingyuan coming in, she stood up in a panic and knelt down to greet him.

Xia Mingyuan saw Yuan Xi's expression of fear and unfamiliarity, and felt mixed emotions. He sat down and said calmly, "It's just you and me, father and daughter. There's no need to be so polite." He stared at Yuan Xi again and asked, "Is it your wish that I come to have dinner with you?"

Yuan Xi nodded quickly, and picked up her chopsticks to serve Xia Mingyuan the food. She had never been alone with her father like this before, and at the moment she felt nervous and a little excited. Seeing that Xia Mingyuan was still staring at her, as if waiting for an answer, she lowered her head and whispered, "Because from childhood to adulthood, my father has never eaten alone with me, and I'm afraid there will be no chance after I get married, so..."

Xia Mingyuan was shocked, and Yuan Xi's eyes dimmed. Thinking that this might be the last chance to talk to Daddy alone, he continued, "I heard that Daddy would go to their room alone to have a meal with them on their birthdays. So every year I thought that Daddy must have accidentally forgotten and would remember it next year. But I waited for many years before I finally realized that Daddy would not come."

Her voice got lower and lower until it was inaudible. After a while, she sniffed and continued, "Another time, I heard that my second sister was sick and my father stayed by her bedside for a whole night. So I always hoped that I would get seriously ill. When I was seven years old, I finally got sick, but I didn't see my father. I thought the disease must not be serious enough, so I deliberately went out barefoot on a winter night and finally got a high fever. I was lying in bed at that time and kept thinking that I would be able to see my father when I opened my eyes, but in the end, my father didn't come." She smiled a little sadly, raised her eyes and said, "My father must think his daughter is stupid."

Xia Mingyuan stared at her intently, and finally felt a little guilty. He remembered that she was born on the Lantern Festival, so he named her Yuan Xi. He remembered that when she was still a little unable to walk, she would always wave her hands and smile at him. Then... when did she grow up, and what kind of life did she lead these years? He never paid attention to it and never asked. Did he not want to ask, or did he not dare to ask?

Yuan Xi saw that her father frowned and fell silent, and thought that she was not good at speaking and had made her father angry, so she became more and more uneasy. At this time, Xia Mingyuan took out a box of rose cream from his arms and said, "When you get married in the future, you must pay more attention to your appearance in order to keep your husband's favor. This box of rose cream was a tribute from the West. There are only three boxes in total. Today, the emperor presented one box to our house. It is said that it has a miraculous effect of improving your appearance. Today, your father will give it to you as a wedding gift."

Yuan Xi opened her eyes wide, as if she couldn't believe that this was a gift her father had given her specially. The corners of her eyes suddenly became moist. She quickly took the rose cream, took out an exquisite wooden box from the cabinet, and carefully put it in.

Xia Mingyuan saw that the box did not look like a dressing table and there were a lot of messy things inside, so he asked casually, "What's in it?"

Yuan Xi held the box to her chest and said with a smile, "These are all things my father gave me." She picked out a pearl flower and said, "This is what my father gave to each of my sisters when he came back from Yangzhou." She took out a sugar figurine whose face could no longer be seen and said, "This was made by someone at the New Year and given to us personally. I couldn't bear to eat it, so I put it in this box, hoping to take it out and look at it from time to time." She introduced them one by one, and finally stroked the box of rose cream, smiling even more happily, saying, "This box of rose cream was given to me by my father personally. I am the only one who has it, and it is much more precious than the others."

Xia Mingyuan turned around, not knowing what to feel, but Yuan Xi was very happy and asked Li Ma to bring in a pot of wine. She was no longer reserved and poured wine for him while saying, "My daughter is going to get married soon. I will use this cup of wine to thank you for raising me."

Xia Mingyuan put the wine glass to his lips, and seeing that Yuan Xi had already finished the drink, his face immediately flushed, and he finally asked, "Have you ever blamed Dad?"

Yuan Xi had never drunk before, and she felt dizzy and shook her head in a daze: she was just a concubine who had lost her mother, and she could live in the prime minister's house with good food and drink, so what could she complain about? However, she opened her mouth, but in the end she didn't ask the question she had always wanted to ask: what did she do wrong to make her father not even want to look at her for so many years.

Yuan Xi felt dizzy from the alcohol and fell on the table. She was half asleep and heard her father closing the window behind her and putting a piece of clothing on her. She felt warm inside: It was great that her father still cared about her.

At this moment, she heard her father whisper beside her: "Don't blame me, this is your fate!" Then he seemed to sigh heavily, pushed the door open and walked out, calling Nanny Li in to serve her.

Yuan Xi was confused and wanted to stand up and ask, "Why is it her life? What is her life?" But she couldn't muster any strength in her body. She only felt Nanny Li carrying her to the bed, and soon she fell into a deep sleep.