All the officials and nobles in the capital were convinced that Xu Huixin had long lost her innocence, because before she broke off her engagement with Feng Shao, someone had seen the two of them embracing each other in broad daylight and expressing their feelings. How could she possibly be innocent?
People are always more critical of women, and Prince Xun has great power, so almost all the rumors and gossip are directed at Xu Huixin and the Prime Minister's Mansion, saying that Xu Huixin is shameless and ill-mannered, and that the Prime Minister's Mansion is willing to do anything for power and has no bottom line.
In an instant, the reputation of everyone in the Prime Minister's residence was affected, including the married daughters who had already been married.
Although the Prime Minister's Mansion only has one legitimate daughter, Xu Huixin, she had two half-sisters who were already married, as well as a half-brother and a half-brother. The half-brother was engaged last year and was waiting to get married, but recently the woman's family has expressed their intention to break off the engagement. If Xu Huixin hadn't been determined to marry Prince Xun, they might have already broken off the engagement. However, the wedding date that had already been set was postponed by the woman's family on the pretext of waiting and seeing.
Meanwhile, the marriage of my half-brother is underway and is almost finalized. However, in the past two days, the woman's family has started to object, saying that their horoscopes are incompatible.
It could be said that because of Xu Huixin alone, everyone in the household was implicated.
One of the married concubine's daughters, because she had married well, even made a special trip back to her parents' home: "Father and Mother should discipline Third Sister more. Although she and Prince Xun are in love, they should restrain themselves. It's good that Prince Xun is in love with Third Sister now, but if the relationship between husband and wife is no longer so sweet in the future, it's hard to guarantee that Prince Xun will not find Third Sister too promiscuous."
Xu Huixin's face turned red with anger, and her fingers trembled. The Prime Minister's wife was also furious: "How dare you speak of your sister like that!"
“Mother, we are doing this for my sister’s sake, but when she was intimate with His Highness Prince Xun, did she ever care about our situation? Because of these rumors, my second sister is too ashamed to leave the manor.”
"Can rumors be taken seriously? Is it really worth making a special trip back for you?"
"Does Mother think I'm meddling? Does Mother think this is a good thing for the Prime Minister's Mansion? Father has already been punished by His Majesty because of this. As the head of the civil officials, if my sister doesn't restrain herself, how will the scholars of the world view Father in the future? Even if Father returns to the court, will those civil officials be convinced?"
"That's just sophistry; you just can't stand to see your sister doing well..."
"Enough!" Prime Minister Xu said in a low voice with a gloomy face, then stared at Xu Huixin and asked, "How many times has Prince Xun broken into your boudoir the other day?"
When her father publicly revealed this shameful thing, Xu Huixin almost cried. She immediately knelt down and said, "Father, I was wrong. If you want to punish me, then punish me as you please!"
"You're about to get married, who would dare punish you now?" the eldest half-sister said sarcastically. "If His Highness Prince Xun notices something's wrong with you, wouldn't he take his anger out on the whole household? Sister, not to criticize you, but your wedding is only a few days away, are you really that impatient?"
"Shut up too!" Prime Minister Xu looked at Xu Huixin with a disappointed expression. "But what your elder sister said is also true. Reputation is the most important thing for a woman. If your relationship with His Highness Prince Xun is no longer so good in the future, it will become your sin."
“Hengnian wouldn’t do this to me,” Xu Huixin said between sobs, “He said he would be good to me for the rest of his life.”
Upon hearing this, everyone shook their heads, saying she was still too young. Anyone with a bit of experience wouldn't say something so naive.
Finally, Prime Minister Xu issued an order: "Starting tomorrow, strengthen the defenses of the Prime Minister's residence and do not allow anyone to break in at will."
This order also clearly demonstrated that Xu Huixin's behavior was too frivolous, making her so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head.
She asked why her mother had stopped attending banquets and gatherings lately, wondering if it was because of her.
"It's alright. Once you marry His Highness Prince Xun, all the rumors will gradually disappear. At that time, you will be Princess Xun, and no one will dare to be presumptuous in front of you. Even the concubines and princesses will have to show you some respect."
“Mother, Hengnian promised me that he is already trying to get Father back to court as soon as possible.”
"Mother knew you were the most promising. I think the General's Mansion is behind this. Otherwise, with Prince Xun's skills, how could Lady Changsheng have run into him by chance if someone wasn't watching him?"
"The General's Mansion?" Xu Huixin bit her lip. "It was my fault for wronging Feng Shao, so it's understandable that he's angry."
"A grown man who can't keep a woman's heart, isn't that a sign of his incompetence? Besides, our Prime Minister's Mansion has already returned the favors we've shown him over the years, yet he's still clinging to it. He has absolutely no manly spirit."
"If I have the chance, I'd like to talk to him. We need to live our own lives. I've heard that the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess are both very fond of him now. He should forget about me."
The Prime Minister's wife said proudly, "Among the young ladies in the capital, who can compare to you? It's normal that he can't forget you. Even the Third and Fourth Princesses were rejected by His Highness Prince Xun, which is why he reconsidered him. You and His Highness Prince Xun are truly a match made in heaven, the most perfect couple in the world."
"Mother~" Xu Huixin said coquettishly, her eyes full of shame. The Prime Minister's wife also laughed heartily. The mother and daughter were equally smug, believing that they were the most popular. Little did they know that neither Feng Shao nor the two princesses wanted to avoid her and Si Hengnian.
The imperial decree of marriage was merely His Majesty's willful act, an attempt to bind Si Hengnian to marriage. Even if Si Hengnian did not refuse, the Third Princess and the Fourth Princess would not agree. The reason they did not refuse immediately was because they knew Si Hengnian would speak first, so why would they bother with this trouble?
The Prime Minister's wife and Xu Huixin have clearly forgotten that it was Feng Shao who personally broke off the engagement with Xu Huixin because he disliked that Xu Huixin had lost her reputation and chastity. The two of them are still imagining that the other party still remembers this!
In the General's Mansion, Song Xia recalled her past life. In her past life, because she did not expose the affair between Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin in time, her son Feng Shao became more and more infatuated with Xu Huixin. Fortunately, in this life, she exposed the affair between Si Hengnian and Xu Huixin before Xu Huixin played with her son's feelings.
What she didn't expect was that all the strange changes in her life were beneficial to her. She didn't even need to lift a finger; her children handled everything perfectly. Was she starting to enjoy life early?
She thought that since it was the children's good intention, she should let them do whatever they wanted. After all, they were children she had personally raised, and their abilities were beyond doubt. It was a terrible misfortune for Prince Xun and Xu Huixin to have met them. She just needed to wait and watch the show, and occasionally cook some delicious food to reward the children.
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