Chapter 459 I Want to Marry Liu Nanshi!
Madam Gu was taken aback. Seeing him leave without looking back, she had no choice but to ask Gu Qianning, "Who is your second brother looking for revenge against? Who has provoked him?"
Gu Qianning hesitated and said, "It might be related to the ambush my second brother suffered yesterday."
"What? He was ambushed yesterday?"
"Yes, Mother, didn't you notice that Second Brother doesn't look well?"
"He doesn't look well? I didn't notice."
Gu Qianning sighed, "Mother, please show more care for Second Brother in the future. Don't worry about Cousin Pei's marriage for now. Please help Second Brother get married first."
"Do you think I don't want to get your second brother married? How many marriage proposals have I made for him? Do you think he'll listen to me?"
"That means you didn't hit the nail on the head."
"Then who can I find for him that truly touches his heart?"
Gu Qianning opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't dare to say Shen Wantang's name.
She always found it strange that her second brother, who clearly had the ability to snatch Shen Wantang away from Xiao Qingyuan, stubbornly refrained from doing so.
Why?
——
Prince Ning's Mansion.
The atmosphere in Princess Ning's room was cold and lifeless.
Shen Wantang sat next to Princess Ning with red eyes, looking as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Below, Xiao Qingyuan knelt stiffly.
After an unknown amount of time, Princess Ning finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "Qingyuan, how many more troubles do you have to cause before you become sensible and mature? When will you finally grow up? Your father has been sent to the palace to be reprimanded again because of you, and even I was summoned to the palace by the Empress Dowager and scolded. You have completely disgraced us!"
Xiao Qingyuan raised his head, his eyes red, and said, "Mother, Nan Shi was drugged. Me and her... it really was an accident!"
"She was drugged, what about you?"
"I...I wasn't drugged."
Princess Ning, unable to bear it any longer, picked up a teacup and smashed it at him. She roared furiously, "How could you do such a depraved thing if you weren't drugged?! Liu Nanshi was drugged and out of her mind, and you were out of your mind too?"
Xiao Qingyuan dodged the teacup by sidestepping it, and the teacup shattered behind him.
Regret and pain appeared on his handsome face: "I don't know why it turned out like that. I just wanted to help her, but she clung to me too tightly, and I ended up with her without thinking... If I could do it all over again, I would never do it this way!"
Princess Ning closed her eyes and said wearily, "Qingyuan, there are no 'what ifs' or 'do it again' in this world. Everything is already set in stone. You are always too impulsive and too soft-hearted. You never consider the consequences of your actions. If you had slept with a palace maid, it would have been fine, but you happened to sleep with Grand Secretary Liu's eldest daughter. Grand Secretary Liu will not let this go."
Xiao Qingyuan hurriedly said, "Mother, then I will marry Nan Shi!"
"absurd!"
Princess Ning slammed her hand on the table in anger: "You are already married. If you remarry, what will become of Tang'er?! You two have made mistakes, and you expect Tang'er to bear the consequences for you? Is this something a human being would do?"
Xiao Qingyuan looked at Shen Wantang and saw that her eyes were red and her expression was aggrieved. He suddenly found himself unable to say what he had prepared.
"Since Tang'er married into our Ning Prince's Mansion, she has diligently managed the household and dutifully served me and your father. Everyone in the mansion praises her for being virtuous and filial."
Princess Ning took Shen Wantang's hand and said, "Tang'er, don't worry. With me in charge, no one can shake your position as the Crown Prince's wife!"
A tear fell from Shen Wantang's eye: "Thank you, Mother. I am content to have a mother who loves me."
Princess Ning patted her shoulder reassuringly, then turned to Xiao Qingyuan: "Do you have anything else to say? If not, go to the Buddhist hall and kneel before me."
Xiao Qingyuan's face turned pale: "Mother, I have already promised Nan Shi that I will marry her and make her my Crown Princess."
Princess Ning was both shocked and furious: "What did you say?!"
Xiao Qingyuan said urgently, "Mother, I ruined Nan Shi's reputation, shouldn't I marry her? Shen Wantang and I have never consummated our marriage! So, letting her leave the palace and me marrying Nan Shi is the best solution!"
"You didn't consummate your marriage?! What happened last time?"
"Last time, I lied to you to appease you, and the bloodstains on the handkerchief were also done by me."
"How dare you lie to me!!"
"I know it was wrong of me to lie to you, but now that I think about it, it was a really good thing that I didn't consummate my marriage with Shen Wantang. After she left the palace, she can still marry someone with a clean conscience!"
Princess Ning looked at him in disbelief: "You actually think that Tang'er can marry someone innocent after marrying you? Who do you want her to marry?"
"Marry Pei Lin'an? Didn't Madam Gu mention it last time? She wants Shen Wantang to be Pei Lin'an's wife!"
"Shut up!"
Princess Ning was furious: "Tang'er isn't going anywhere, she'll stay in the palace! She's the daughter-in-law I personally chose, and if you want her to leave, you're slapping me in the face! You've already made me lose face, I can't let her lose all her humanity too!"
Xiao Qingyuan suddenly stood up: "Why is Mother so stubborn? Why must you side with an outsider? In what way is Nan Shi inferior to Shen Wantang? She has a good family background, good looks, and talent. She is the most suitable candidate to be my Crown Prince's consort!"
Princess Ning looked at him with a face full of disappointment: "Do you think I didn't consider Liu Nanshi when I was choosing a wife for you? She is the daughter of a Grand Secretary, and she has the title of the most talented woman in Dafeng. She is good in every way. Don't you think I wanted you to marry a wife who is a good match for you?"
Xiao Qingyuan was somewhat dissatisfied: "Since Mother had considered it, why didn't she say so earlier? If Nan Shi and I had gotten to know each other earlier, we wouldn't be in this situation today, and she wouldn't have lost so much face."
Princess Ning sneered, "What good would it do if I said anything? You were bewitched back then, insisting on marrying no one but Chu Yanluo, and even went to Fazhen Temple to become a monk. Who would want to marry you?"
"Back then, even when I tried to speak to Madam Liu, she would brush me off, as if she was afraid I would take a fancy to her daughter. When I sent her a visiting card hoping to visit her, she claimed to be ill and refused to see me!"
"Not to mention Grand Secretary Liu, he's arrogant and has never looked up to our Prince Ning's Mansion, let alone you. He's the one who's interested in the Gu family, and Gu Qianhan!"
"And Liu Nanshi, what do you think she was always going to the Duke's mansion for? She had her eye on Gu Qianhan!"
Xiao Qingyuan's face darkened: "Mother, don't make wild guesses about Nan Shi. She has no interest in Gu Qianhan. She and I are true friends! Our Ning Prince's Mansion is one of the most powerful and influential families in the capital. It's impossible for Grand Secretary Liu to look down on us. Madam Liu is not seeing you because she is really sick. It's not because she's afraid you'll take a liking to Nan Shi. Why do you always think the worst of people, Mother?"
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