The Lin'an Marquisate in Dingjing City was truly magnificent. The late marquis' wife was the late emperor's favorite, Princess Yuqing. After becoming a consort, the Marquis's military power should have been revoked. Unable to resist Princess Yuqing's coquettish behavior, the late emperor actually allowed it to go unchecked. This clearly demonstrates the importance Princess Yuqing held in the late emperor's heart.
Princess Yuqing was a woman of extraordinary beauty and a gentle and considerate disposition. Marrying into the Lin'an Marquis's mansion, she was naturally doted upon by him. Unfortunately, he eventually took a concubine, who became Fang Shi.
If Princess Yuqing was a natural lady from a noble family, graceful and graceful, then Fang was a typical beautiful girl from a small family. Her father had been indebted to the Marquis of Lin'an, but when the family fell into poverty, Fang's father used the favor to blackmail the Marquis of Lin'an into marrying Fang as his concubine.
A concubine was different from an ordinary one; they couldn't be beaten or killed at will. Furthermore, Fang Shi was truly humble and didn't act jealously, so the Marquis of Lin'an didn't take it to heart. Perhaps the sons of noble families were accustomed to having three wives and four concubines, so it was rare for the Marquis of Lin'an to have only one concubine. He didn't think it was wrong.
Unfortunately, men and women have completely different perspectives on issues, especially regarding concubines. Marquis Lin'an felt that taking a concubine was fine, as concubines were merely playthings, and the person he truly loved was still Princess Yuqing. However, Princess Yuqing felt differently.
Princess Yuqing had grown up doted on by the late emperor, and after marrying into the Marquis's mansion, she had lived a life of luxury. Her husband had only her as his legal wife, and she was accustomed to such a life. Who would have thought that a concubine would suddenly appear? Princess Yuqing was about to give birth to Xie Jingxing, and she was still in confinement after giving birth, but she was devastated by this incident.
Every day, Fang came to pay her respects to Princess Yuqing, dressed in the most formal manner. It was fine when she wasn't around, but when she was, Princess Yuqing felt incredibly annoyed. If Princess Yuqing were an ordinary princess, she could have found a way to secretly trip Fang up and get rid of her. Unfortunately, Princess Yuqing had always been well-protected, with a naive and innocent nature, so she wasn't one to be manipulated by those shady tactics.
It was the princess's dowry nanny who came up with a plan. Without telling the princess, she secretly found a reason to drive Fang away. But somehow she failed and was even discovered by the Marquis of Lin'an.
Although Marquis Lin'an behaved unruly in his daily life, he was actually a man of integrity in his heart. He hated women playing tricks and immediately reprimanded Princess Yuqing harshly.
This was the first time Princess Yuqing had argued with the Marquis of Lin'an since marrying him. As she couldn't stand being wronged, she didn't tell anyone about the nanny's situation, and only confronted the Marquis of Lin'an head-on, ultimately leaving him in a huff.
She had originally thought that Marquis Lin'an would come visit her in a few days, but who knew that a month had passed, and Marquis Lin'an was still resting at Fang's place. A woman's confinement period is particularly stressful, and Princess Yuqing was so angry that she fell seriously ill.
Marquis Lin'an was still deeply in love with his first wife, so he wanted to come and visit Princess Yuqing. However, he received the imperial edict to go to war overnight, and left without even having time to say goodbye to Princess Yuqing.
Not long after Marquis Lin'an left, Fang discovered that she was pregnant.
As the principal wife, Princess Yuqing absolutely could not hinder Fang Shi while Marquis Lin'an was away, and she even had to protect the child in Fang Shi's belly. Otherwise, if anything went wrong, the rumors in Dingjing would be that she had taken advantage of her husband's absence to murder the concubine.
Over time, Princess Yuqing became exhausted, her body gradually failing her, and she was on the verge of death. Seeing this, the nanny was filled with anxiety, but Princess Yuqing refused to allow her to report to the royal family. She got up and wrote a letter to the Marquis of Lin'an, asking him to come back to see her.
She waited and waited, but in the end Lin Anhou never showed up.
Princess Yuqing died. Three days after her burial, the Marquis of Lin'an returned triumphantly, unable even to see his beloved wife's body. He was filled with grief, feeling it was a pity that his beloved was gone, only a handful of yellow earth remained.
At that time, the late emperor was furious and dismissed the Marquis of Lin'an. It wasn't until the new emperor took office, taking pity on his talent, that he reinstated him. Sadly, there was no such beautiful story of a talented man and a beautiful woman.
Marquis Lin'an never took another wife, and the Lin'an Marquis's mansion was left with only Fang. Fang also remained humble and submissive, as she had been for decades. Marquis Lin'an showed some concern for her children, but he still devoted all his energy to his legitimate son, Xie Jingxing.
But Xie Jingxing didn't appreciate it. Ever since he started to understand things, he had been distancing himself from Marquis Lin'an. The love-hate relationship between Princess Yuqing and Marquis Lin'an was almost a household name in Dingjing. If anyone wanted to know, they could always find out.
The Marquis of Lin'an felt guilty about his son and always tried his best to satisfy him. Xie Jingxing, however, seemed to enjoy going against his father, constantly causing him headaches. Regardless, he inherited Princess Yuqing's beauty and talent. Despite his mischievous nature, he was a brilliant and talented young man, and naturally the dream lover of the daughters of the noble families of Mingqi.
The same is true today.
Xie Jingxing strode into his study.
His courtyard was where Princess Yuqing had once lived while recuperating. It was far from the main courtyard, but it was quiet and secluded. Xie Ding had once wanted him to move closer to the main courtyard, but Xie Jingxing had refused. His reason was: he simply didn't want to see certain people.
His attitude towards the Marquis' Mansion has always been so cold.
The servant beside him pushed the door open and walked in, bringing a snow-white ceramic bowl with flowers sprinkled on it, and said, "Madam Fang made crystal lotus seed porridge. She said she had been cooking it for several hours. It will warm the master."
He didn't like his subordinates calling him "Young Master" or "Prince", and only called him "Master", as if this could distance him from the Marquis' Mansion.
Xie Jingxing glanced at the bowl. The porridge was cooked until it was shiny and the soup was bright and thick. It must have been cooked for quite some time. It exuded a fresh fragrance that made people's mouths water.
He said coldly: "Fall."
The servant said yes as usual and left.
Just as he exited, a person appeared from behind the door. He lowered his head slightly and whispered, "Master, I have checked it out. It is the third young lady of the first house in the general's mansion, Shen Xin's legitimate daughter, Shen Miao."
"Chen Xin?" Xie Jingxing frowned.
Shen Xin and Xie Ding had been at odds politically for years, and the Shen family and the Lin'an Marquis family also disliked each other. Furthermore, the checks and balances on military power involved numerous interests.
The Lin'an Marquisate and the Su family were also close friends. Perhaps the Shen family's warning to the Su family was also a reminder to the Xie family. But what could the sudden reminder from those who were originally enemies actually mean? Besides, Shen Miao was just a little girl; what did she know? Did the Shen family deliberately ask her to remind them? Shen Xin was now far away in the northwest. Could he be from the second or third house? Shen Gui and Shen Wan were also extremely ambitious individuals. Now that the court was in turmoil again, I'm afraid they were trying to take advantage of the situation.
"The Shen and Xie families are clearly divided. The sudden show of goodwill from the Shen family girl clearly shows that she has bad intentions." He raised his eyebrows, his tone as cold as iron: "Continue to investigate!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
