Chapter 74. Sunlight streamed through the carved window lattice...
Sunlight streamed through the carved window lattice, casting Master Xiao's pacing figure into various distorted and abstract shapes. After pacing around a few times, he returned to the door and once again peered outside.
He was about to ask again why the Third Miss hadn't returned yet, but remembering he'd already asked that question several times, he swallowed it back. His fingers unconsciously began to rub the jade pendant at his waist more quickly once more.
"My lord, what's wrong with you today? What's the matter that you're in such a hurry to see your daughter?" The first wife was getting angry at her husband for pacing around the room like a donkey pulling a millstone, almost wearing out the fine Persian carpet she had just changed. He was driving her, who was originally calm, to the brink of anger.
"Why haven't they come back yet?" Master Xiao muttered under his breath, dismissing the First Madam's question with a perfunctory reply: "You don't understand, you'll understand later."
Hearing his words and seeing his obviously abnormal state, the First Madam became worried: "This... could it be that something happened to our daughter? Master, if it's about our daughter, please don't hide it from me."
"My daughter is alright. Even if something had happened, it would have been a good thing." As he spoke, Xiao Fuyan's breathing became rapid, and his face flushed with excitement.
He opened his mouth, clearly wanting to say something, but ultimately said nothing. He only glanced at the door again before pacing around the room once more.
As he turned around, he pondered the earth-shattering news he had received that day.
The news came from a chance encounter with Registrar Ma of the Prince's Mansion at the teahouse today. Xiao Fuyan had heard from the waiter that Registrar Ma was also drinking tea, so he thought he would go over to say hello and chat for a bit, hoping to build a relationship and establish a connection.
Who would have thought that today, not only did Ma Lushi not look down on him, but his attitude was so good that it was almost obsequious. After drinking a cup of tea, he even said directly: "Master Xiao, no, Brother Xiao, I have felt very compatible with you since we met. We have quite a good relationship. Now that you have achieved great success, you must not forget to help me out."
Although Xiao Fuyan had some connection with this Ma Lushi, that connection was entirely built on the exchange of gifts, so he was naturally completely confused by what he heard.
Afterwards, he repeatedly hinted that his daughter was about to rise to the top. Although he was drinking tea, his words sounded like drunken ramblings. In the end, he even let slip that his son-in-law, Qin Ji, was His Highness Prince Cheng.
Xiao Fuyan's first reaction was that the old man was talking nonsense, but upon further reflection, the matter was so outrageous that it actually seemed somewhat true. As the registrar of the Prince's mansion, if such reckless talk were false, he would absolutely not dare to utter a single word without being instructed to say it.
"Could my son-in-law really be a prince?" This thought was like a spark thrown into dry tinder, instantly igniting Xiao Fuyan's entire being.
What followed was a mixture of anxiety, doubt, and ecstasy. He was like an old farmer who had unearthed a gold mine in his poor field, and was already dazzled and mesmerized by just a glimpse of its splendor.
If it's true... if it's true, then Yan Hui'er will be the princess, and he will be a member of the royal family. The Xiao family will rise to the top in one step, leaping into the magnificent palaces he never dared to dream of before.
The thought of that possibility made Mr. Xiao's heart pound wildly and a surge of heat coursing through his body.
But beneath the fervor lay some underlying concerns. Even if Qin Ji was indeed a prince, it was Qin Ji who was engaged to and married to Yan Hui. Although it was unclear why he had concealed his identity before, once he revealed his true identity, would Prince Cheng, who was Qin Ji, still recognize him as his wife?
After all, the Xiao family was just a merchant family. Could Yan Hui, a merchant's daughter, really become the principal wife of the county?
Xiao Fuyan's mind raced through the names of the high-ranking officials and dignitaries he had met, as well as those he had encountered and seen during his travels across the country over the years. He even thought about the plays he had heard and the unofficial histories he had read. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his family was more likely to be left behind than to rise to prominence.
After all, most people in the world are driven by self-interest and avoid harm, and are often unfaithful and fickle.
Master Xiao clenched his fist tightly, his emotions shifting from elation to worry in an instant. But after a moment of worry, he quickly reassured himself that it wouldn't be that bad. If the Prince had no intention of continuing his marriage with the Third Girl, he wouldn't have received this hint today.
She might not get the position of principal wife, but given the relationship between Qin Ji and Yan Hui'er, she's guaranteed to be a concubine no matter what. In common parlance, this is considered demoting a wife to a concubine, but in the royal family, a concubine is still a consort and can still enjoy immense wealth and power.
Thinking of this, Master Xiao suddenly felt a flash of inspiration; he felt he had figured it out. He understood why Ma Lushi had deliberately come to hint to him today that Qin Ji was Prince Cheng.
Given her daughter's personality, she might find it difficult to accept going from being the principal wife to a concubine. But being the concubine of a prince is still an incredibly prestigious position in the world, and... it's a blessing that women all over the world would rather die for. Compared to being the principal wife of a wealthy merchant, this is infinitely better!
As a father, if his daughter had any questions, he naturally wanted to explain the reasons to her. The more he thought about it, the more logically consistent it became, and when Xiao Fuyan looked out the door again, his anxiety lessened considerably.
The first wife sat to one side, unconsciously tightening the embroidered handkerchief in her hand. She looked at Xiao Fuyan with a confused yet uneasy gaze, and seeing her usually stable husband's moods changing so drastically made her increasingly uneasy.
This was not an emotional outburst that could be caused by ordinary matters. She finally couldn't help but ask again in a soft voice, "Master, since it's such a good thing, why are you so restless? We've been husband and wife for so many years, and it concerns our daughter. Is there anything you can't say to me? Keeping it to yourself like this is making me very uneasy."
What men consider good things may not necessarily be good things for women. At this moment, she was very worried that her daughter had suffered some grievances at her husband's home, or that the young couple had quarreled.
Mr. Xiao remained vague, saying, "I can't say for sure right now. Just wait and see. Everything will be clear when our daughter comes back." After saying that, he casually sat down on a chair near the door and stopped pacing around the room like a millstone.
Seeing him like that, the first wife had no choice but to worry and wait with him.
......
"Yan Hui'er, you're finally back!" As soon as Xiao Yan Hui entered the door, she saw her parents looking at her with expectant expressions.
Before he could even offer his greetings, Xiao Fuyan instructed his servants, "You may all leave now."
After kicking everyone out, he even went to close the door himself. Seeing Master Xiao's behavior, Xiao Yan Hui guessed why he had called her back in such a hurry today.
Sure enough, as soon as the door closed, Xiao Fuyan walked a few steps to Xiao Yan Hui's side and asked in a low voice, "Daughter, is it true?"
He didn't explicitly say what it was about, but his eyes remained fixed on his daughter's face, not missing the slightest change in her expression.
Upon hearing Master Xiao's question, Xiao Yan Hui nodded almost without hesitation, confirming his probing: "If you are asking about Qin Ji being the Prince of Cheng, then it is true."
Qin Ji had no intention of keeping this a secret any longer. Even if Master Xiao hadn't asked today, she had planned to come back to her parents' home tomorrow to explain things to them.
"It's... really true..." Even Mr. Xiao himself didn't expect to receive such a clear and affirmative answer. He murmured softly with a dreamlike expression.
After muttering a few words, he suddenly wiped his face, tears welling in his eyes, but his face displayed an expression of wild joy, a joy that even bordered on madness: "Hahahaha..."
The next moment he threw his head back and burst into laughter. If it weren't for the cleanliness of the place where the First Madam lived, the loud laughter would have shaken some dust off the beams: "Hahahaha... uh..."
The result was that his joy turned to sorrow. Halfway through his laughter, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat, making it difficult for him to breathe.
With his face flushed red, Master Xiao pounded his chest. This unexpected turn of events brought the First Madam, who had been stunned into a blank mind upon hearing the absurd news, back to her senses. She quickly stepped forward and, together with Xiao Yan, helped Xiao Fuyan up. The mother and daughter were flustered, one patting his chest and the other patting his back.
"Dad, calm down, calm down! Take a deep breath, follow me, inhale...exhale...inhale...exhale..."
It took a lot of effort for Xiao Fuyan to calm down. In the cold weather, all three of them were panting with sweat on their foreheads. They each took a big gulp of hot tea before they were able to communicate.
"Father, you scared me to death just now." Xiao Yan let out a heavy sigh, leaning weakly against the chair, feeling that her limbs were still limp. After calming down a bit, she quickly ordered the servants outside to go and fetch a doctor from the clinic.
Although she had anticipated that her adoptive father would be very excited, it was a bit too much for him to be so happy that he almost fainted. Could it be that her adoptive father had a hidden heart condition? Although he seemed to be fine now, it would be safer to have a doctor check his pulse.
“I’ve never seen you so easily swayed by reality before, sir.” Even the First Madam said this, although she herself was still in a daze and her heart was pounding, but that didn’t stop her from complaining about her husband.
Xiao Fuyan was speechless for a moment, only rubbing his chest with lingering fear, telling himself to stay calm and composed. The feeling of walking through the gates of hell just now had truly frightened him.
"My God! Is my son going to be a princess?!" After a long while, the First Madam suddenly exclaimed.
"..." Xiao Yan was speechless, realizing that it was only now that the First Madam had fully digested the previous news.
"I originally planned to come over tomorrow and slowly tell you about this, but I didn't know you got the news somewhere first, and look at the mess you've made today." She made tea for the two elders again before starting to explain the whole story.
......
"What did you say?" Xiao Quexian exclaimed in surprise, and the small hand warmer she was holding rolled to the ground with a thud. She didn't even care that the unburnt red charcoal inside had burned a black spot on her skirt. Her expression at this moment was one of utter disbelief, as if she had heard fish flying in the air.
“I said Qin Ji is Prince Cheng, I heard it from my father himself.” Liang Zhao quickly pulled Xiao Quexian a few steps away before repeating what he had just said.
“That’s impossible!” Xiao Quexian retorted decisively.
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