Bai Qingyuan was about to cry.
He was so unlucky. He had finally managed to regain his former glory and triumph, but then he ran into this jinx again.
The one who walked slowly in from outside the Golden Palace was naturally Jing Zheben, who had rushed back from Liangzhou.
Zhu Xinning's eyes were like water, sparkling with starlight, as she watched Jing Zhe slowly approach, feeling as if time had stood still.
Jing Zhe had been looking at Zhu Xinning ever since he entered the palace. After not seeing her for so long, his longing for her had grown as strong as the wild grass growing on the plains. So as soon as he entered the gates of Jingzhou, he thought about rushing home to see Zhu Xinning.
However, he eventually gave up the idea, because when he was in Liangzhou, Emperor An had sent him a message by carrier pigeon, instructing him to go to the palace to report on his duties as soon as he returned to Jingzhou. Bai Qingyuan had already launched an attack on him on this matter before, but fortunately he had not returned to the capital at that time, so the attack failed.
Having learned from his experience, Jing Zhe went directly to the palace.
However, this time he made the right choice to go to the palace. Not only was Zhu Xinning there, but he also happened to run into Bai Qingyuan making trouble for him again, so he directly confronted him.
"Your humble servant Jing Zhe greets Your Majesty!"
When Jing Zhe arrived at the Golden Palace, he first bowed to Emperor An.
"Rise, President Jing has made great contributions to Da'an, there is no need for such a grand ceremony!"
Emperor An laughed.
After Jing Zhe stood up, he turned around and looked directly at Bai Qingyuan.
He's here! He's here!
All the ministers held their breath, but they could not hide the excitement in their eyes. In the days when Jing Zhe was away, how much they missed this kind of slap in the face without using any vulgar language!
Bai Qingyuan's face turned pale, but he felt a little reliance on Jing Zhe, thinking that as long as he controlled the key to Jing Zhe's marriage, he didn't care how much Jing Zhe scolded him!
At this moment, Jing Zhe spoke up.
"Grand Tutor Bai, it's been so long! I've missed you dearly!"
"..."
Bai Qingyuan kept his mouth tightly shut, waiting for what was to come.
"I used to think that Grand Tutor Bai held a high position but had no real ability. Now it seems that I was wrong."
After Jing Zhe finished speaking sincerely, he changed the subject: "So it turns out that Grand Tutor Bai has the potential to be a matchmaker! How about we stop calling you Grand Tutor Bai and just call you Matchmaker Bai?"
"You...how dare you!"
Bai Qingyuan knew that Jing Zhe was deliberately provoking him and wanted to remain calm, but Jing Zhe's mouth was so hateful that once the words came out of his mouth, he could no longer remain calm.
"Your Majesty, you must do justice for this old minister!"
Being humiliated in front of all the civil and military officials and Empress Yueyao by a mere fifth-rank official, Bai Qingyuan felt utterly humiliated. What was even more infuriating was that he had no way to deal with Jing Zhe.
Therefore, they could only seek help from Emperor An.
"This... Jing Zhe, don't talk nonsense!"
"..."
This was already considered Emperor An's "criticism" of Jing Zhe, and Bai Qingyuan turned pale upon hearing it.
Jing Zhe shrugged and laughed, "Your Majesty, what I said isn't wrong either. I've only just returned to Jingzhou, how come Grand Tutor Bai is already arranging a marriage for me? Does he want me to have a few children while I'm still young, so I won't regret it later when I can't have any children?"
"..."
Bai Qingyuan covered his chest with his hand, and his face turned red again.
Meanwhile, Duke Yu Sheng stood aside, nodding slightly. With just a few words, he had completely broken down Bai Qingyuan. It seemed that there was still a long way to go between him and Jing Zhe!
"Nonsense! This is a marriage proposal? Open your eyes and look! The person opposite us is Empress Yueyao. Who wouldn't be vying to marry Empress Yueyao? I'm nominating her for you; you should thank me!"
Bai Qingyuan glared and puffed out his beard.
"hehe."
Jing Zhe sneered and said disdainfully, "Grand Tutor Bai, I thank your whole family first, and then thank your ancestors for eighteen generations! I can't afford such a good thing! I think Grand Tutor Bai should do it himself—no, Grand Tutor Bai is already halfway to the ground, so he definitely can't. Or Grand Tutor Bai's son would be fine too—oh, I forgot, Grand Tutor Bai can't have children."
"..."
Bai Qingyuan wanted to spit out blood and faint, but he couldn't. He could only stand there and endure Jing Zhe's insults.
"Jing Zhe, don't talk nonsense!"
Normally, the two would just bicker like this, and Emperor An would not only be too lazy to care, but also want to see more of it. After all, the court was stagnant when Jing Zhe was away, and it lacked the vitality it had now.
But Empress Yueyao is still alive. If this continues, the court will become like a marketplace, which is unacceptable.
Jing Zhe withdrew and indeed remained silent.
But Bai Qingyuan would not give up. Jing Zhe's words just now had further fueled his fighting spirit. If Jing Zhe really stayed, he would be driven to his death by anger sooner or later!
So no matter what, we have to get rid of him!
So she continued, "Although President Jing's official rank is not high, his Da'an Newspaper is outstanding in Jingzhou and is highly valued by His Majesty. In addition, President Jing is exceptionally talented in literature, making him a rare young talent in Anguo! What is Empress Yueyao's impression of our President Jing?"
Unable to defeat Jing Zhe, Bai Qingyuan turned his attention to Empress Yueyao.
Since Jing Zhe entered, Murong Xi, like Zhu Xinning, had never taken her eyes off him. However, the ministers' attention was focused on the two arguing, and they did not notice him.
Only then did everyone look over and notice that Murong Xi's eyes were somewhat complicated, seemingly filled with appreciation, yet also mixed with more resentment.
Murong Xi still harbors resentment towards Jing Zhe for what he did to her in Liangzhou—in truth, it's a good thing that Jing Zhe didn't have any improper thoughts about her, but she's still furious.
Especially since Jing Zhe hadn't even glanced at her the moment he entered, and his words implied rejection, as if marrying her was something shameful.
Hmph, you want to refuse? Then I'll make sure you can't refuse!
Murong Xi pursed her lips, a sly glint in her eyes.
"What does Empress Yueyao think?"
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Bai Qingyuan asked again.
"President Jing... um... very good..."
Murong Xi's voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of shyness in it. As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Jing Zhe, then her cheeks turned red, and she immediately lowered her head again, twisting her hands together. She perfectly portrayed the shy state of a young girl seeing her lover, making people feel sorry for her.
"..."
The courtiers were astonished: This is promising!
Looking at Jing Zhe again, her eyes were filled with even more envy. Putting aside Murong Xi's status as an empress, just based on her looks alone, marrying her would be every man's dream.
Yu Sheng and Zhu Xinning frowned. If the Yueyao Empress openly showed goodwill towards Jing Zhe and escalated the matter into a diplomatic incident between the two countries, how could they refuse?
Bai Qingyuan was the happiest of all. Things seemed to be much simpler than he had imagined. So he pressed his advantage and asked, "President Jing, since Empress Yueyao has agreed, what are your thoughts on this marriage alliance? You don't intend to refuse, do you?"
"..."
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
