1 Obsession
◎Brother Yan◎
Hu Zhou Dynasty, the 16th year of Xia Bian.
Late spring.
In Yuzhou and Liangjing, located at the feet of the emperor, the rivers are clear and the seas are calm, and the times are peaceful and the harvests are plentiful.
Today is the birthday of the daughter of Grand Secretary Wei Jizhi, which coincides with the reign title. The mansion is decorated with lanterns and a banquet is held to celebrate with the guests.
The current emperor Jingren ordered eunuch Xu to deliver a gift. Wei Jizhi thanked the emperor for the grace and invited eunuch Xu into the side hall, offering him some wine.
"Thank you for making this special trip, father-in-law."
"This is our duty, isn't it?" Eunuch Xu said with his usual smile. "The emperor is happy today, and we are happy to do this job. But we have been to Wei Taizhong's house several times, so I don't know when I can drink in your daughter's wedding wine again."
Wei Jizhi had no idea what to say, and he smiled awkwardly, "Thank you for your concern, Eunuch Xu. When the date is set, I will definitely treat you to a wedding drink."
"It's not just our family that's concerned." Eunuch Xu narrowed his eyes and smiled with his hands covering his mouth.
"Today, His Majesty even joked that after sixteen years of gifts, if the Grand Secretary had difficulty finding a suitable husband, he might consider the two unmarried princes."
Upon hearing this, Wei Jizhi was so shocked that he quickly stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, your words are truly humiliating to this old minister."
The news of the gift sent from the palace quickly spread throughout the Wei Mansion, and it was inevitable that the guests would whisper to each other and discuss it privately during the banquet.
"Your Majesty is so kind that he never forgets the Wei Mansion at this time every year."
"Indeed, for sixteen years! There are many people in the court who have higher ranks than Wei Taizhong, but only his family has been favored by the emperor."
"Who told me my daughter was born at the right time? She's just lucky!"
Wei Jizhi, a Grand Councillor, courtesy name Lunwu, was a fourth-rank Qin official. He had been instrumental in assisting Your Majesty in seizing the throne, and his daughter, coincidentally born in the month of the new emperor's accession, earned His Majesty's special favor, sending gifts on every birthday.
Today is the sixteenth year.
Sixteen was the prime age for marriage, so the Emperor's gift today was quite unique. Besides jewels and jade, he also included many rare and precious silks and satins, saying that he was making a dress for Wei Taizhong's daughter.
"But will these silks and satins be of any use this year?" someone chuckled.
"Keep your voice down, Minister Yan and his son are right behind us."
As a result, the voices of private discussions were deliberately lowered, but the content became more and more exciting.
"I heard that Minister Yan's eldest son was not very fond of the Wei family's daughter and wanted to cancel the engagement several times."
"I've heard about it as well. It's just that because of the friendship between the Yan and Wei families, and Miss Wei's special affection for Young Master Yan, this marriage has been delayed. I don't know what to do."
"To put it nicely, it's a special liking," someone chuckled, "She's already controlling her husband like that before they even get married. Who would dare to marry a rich girl like that?"
"If you ask me, the eldest son of the Yan family is also stubborn and doesn't listen to his parents' orders."
"That's because he has the support of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince..."
"Shh, the real boss is coming..."
The whispers stopped abruptly, and the guests straightened their seats. They caught a glimpse of the man they were talking about, the eldest son of the Yan family, walking hurriedly and gracefully past them.
He was wearing brocade clothes and a jade belt, had a burly figure, his back was as independent as a solitary pine, and his jade face was cold and arrogant.
It must be said that the eldest son of the Yan family was born with a good appearance, was both talented in literature and martial arts, and had a remarkable demeanor. No wonder he was highly appreciated by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who verbally gave him the reputation of "Prince Qilin".
The guests sighed inwardly as they watched the figure walking away with its head held high. Then a conspicuous figure in colorful clothes came into their sight and hurriedly chased after the figure that had already disappeared.
Someone exclaimed in surprise: "Isn't that... Miss Wei?"
On the other side, Wei Jizhi sent Eunuch Xu out of the mansion, came back and looked at the gift from the emperor and sighed quietly.
Taizhong Wei had no sons but a daughter, whom he cherished from childhood. He had devoted considerable thought to her marriage, finding a good husband for her when she was six and securing a satisfactory marriage.
The prospective relative-in-law, Yan Sunwei, is a fourth-rank Yellow Gate Minister.
Qi Zheng, the eldest son of the Yan family, whose courtesy name was Yu Wen, had been a tutor to the crown prince since childhood. Now he was handsome and served as a captain of the sixth rank personal guard beside the crown prince.
The two families are of equal status, and if the daughter marries him, she and her husband will complement each other and the couple will surely live in harmony and happiness.
But, it's embarrassing.
This Young Master Yan, with his jade-like complexion and imposing bearing, was known throughout the city as the "Kirin Prince." With fame comes trouble. Secretly, many matchmakers approached the Yan family with marriage proposals, but fortunately, Young Master Yan politely declined them all.
At first, Wei Jizhi thought that his future son-in-law was sticking to the marriage contract, but it was not until two years ago that he realized that was not the case at all.
Yan Qizhen refused because he didn't like it.
Because at that time, the Yan family tentatively asked if they could cancel the engagement, saying that the child was old enough and did not want to obey his parents' arrangements. Wei Jizhi then realized that Yan Qi was opposing the marriage.
While he was still hesitating about breaking off the engagement, his daughter, upon learning about it, swore to death that she would not marry anyone but him! Fearing that it would cause a real quarrel between the two families, the Yan family did not mention breaking off the engagement again.
In the past two years, his crazy daughter has been pestering Yan Qi Zheng whenever she has the chance, and pinching off peach blossoms as soon as she sees something wrong, and she won't let Yan Qi Zheng even look at other girls.
In order to keep her future husband, she caused a lot of trouble, which made him feel distressed and helpless.
I don’t know, now that my daughter is sixteen years old, whether Young Master Yan would be willing to come and propose marriage?
"Where is the young lady?" Wei Jizhi sent someone to carry the gifts into the inner hall, but he didn't see his own daughter.
The maids and servants below looked at each other, no one dared to reply to the master's words. Wei Jizhi suddenly felt a sense of unease: "The young lady went out?"
"Master," a maid finally told the truth hesitantly, "The young lady just... chased after Master Yan."
Master Wei: “…”
Outside the west gate of the Wei Mansion, two carriages sped away one after another. The first one carried Yan Qizheng, while the second one naturally carried the Wei family's daughter, Wei Ziyan.
Yan Qizheng came to the banquet with his parents, but he left the table in a hurry after sitting for a short while, saying that he had important matters to attend to from the Crown Prince. Wei Ziyan did not believe him.
Even the emperor knows that today is her birthday, so there is no way His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would urgently summon him at this time.
A while ago, Wei Ziyan heard that Yan Qizheng seemed to have taken a fancy to a girl from another family. If this tendency wasn't nipped in the bud soon, it would take root and cause endless trouble.
Today, she insisted on watching it herself.
Sitting in the carriage with her was Qiu Luo, her maid who had served her closely since childhood. She had accompanied the young lady in every "brave thing" she had done in the past two years.
The daughter of a distinguished doctor, she is beautiful and innocent. Why would she ruin her reputation for an ungrateful son-in-law?
In Qiu Luo's eyes, his daughter wasn't just beautiful, she was also incredibly elegant. Quiet as an orchid in a deep valley, more gorgeous than a peony or hibiscus. When she was lively and agile, she was like a fluttering butterfly, with a face as rosy as a peach blossom, eyes full of longing, and a single smile that could bring out alluring charm.
Such a beautiful young lady is infatuated with her cold-blooded son-in-law. Qiu Luo feels sorry for her young lady.
"Miss, please don't be so reckless today. You'll make a fool of yourself."
After Qiu Luo finished speaking, Wei Ziyan looked nonchalant: "It's not a bad thing to watch a joke. If you can't marry the person you want, you will never laugh again in your life."
"Young lady, do you really want to marry Master Yan?"
Wei Ziyan twitched the corner of her mouth slightly, and without answering, she lifted the curtain and looked out. She saw that the carriage in front slowly turned towards the west of the city, while the Prince's Mansion and the Imperial Palace were both in the east of the city.
Sure enough, Yan Qi was lying.
The carriage ran for another cup of tea before stopping at a cruise ship dock. Through the curtains, Wei Ziyan saw Yan Qi jumping out of the carriage, looking around for a few seconds, and then walking alone towards the riverbank.
Wei Ziyan quickly got off the carriage, and she and Qiu Luo walked and ran after them.
Yan Qi was boarding a cruise ship. With her sharp eyes, she caught a glimpse of a woman flashing by in the cabin. Sure enough, he was here to meet that young lady in private!
Without thinking, Wei Ziyan quickly took Qiu Luo onto another boat and ordered the boatman to row quickly to catch up.
It was early March, and although the sun was shining brightly, the wind still carried a chilly spring breeze. Wei Ziyan and Qiu Luo hid in the cabin to avoid the wind, wondering what the two people ahead were doing in the cabin.
Yan Qizheng wasn't into the world of pleasure, nor was he a playboy. If he was willing to be alone with a girl, it must be because he admired her. If he was interested, there was no doubt he was considering a marriage.
She had previously disrupted two of Yan Qizheng's secret meetings, both of which involved him treating people to formal meals in restaurants, demonstrating his shallowness. But this time, he had chosen a more leisurely and secluded cruise ship for his tryst, suggesting something more complicated was going on.
"Boatman, please pull the boat ashore."
The ship was gradually approaching, and Wei Ziyan walked out of the cabin ready to go, planning to jump onto the ship in front when the two ships were close to each other.
"No, Miss!" Qiu Luo grabbed her, terrified. "What if you fall into the water?"
"Don't worry, it's impossible." Wei Ziyan was confident.
The two ships were only a step's distance apart, so she could definitely jump over.
But she overlooked one thing: the wet side of the boat was slippery.
Wei Ziyan leaped forward and managed to jump over, but her foot slipped and she fell to the stern of the boat, with most of her body sliding out.
"Miss——" Qiu Luo screamed in shock.
Regardless of the numbness from the pain from the fall, Wei Ziyan hurriedly clung to the stern of the boat with her hands, thus preventing herself from falling into the river.
Even so, her two feet and half of her legs were already submerged in the water. The coldness of the river water instantly spread from her feet to her head, making her shiver suddenly.
"Help!" Qiu Luo shouted loudly, "Master Yan, come and save the young lady!"
The continuous cries for help immediately attracted many onlookers from the shore and the bridge. Wei Ziyan's temples were pounding. If Yan Qizheng saw her in this state, would he feel embarrassed?
So she hurriedly put in all her might and was trying to climb up when a pair of black men's boots inlaid with gold appeared under her eyelids.
Then, two strong hands held her armpits and easily pulled her onto the deck.
"Wei Yilan," Yan Qizheng called her by her given name in dissatisfaction, "What are you doing?"
Wei Ziyan collapsed on the deck, looking up, and saw the man's solemn and cold face.
Although this person is good-looking, his facial features are too sharp, his eyebrows are like swords and his eyes are like stars. When he is unhappy, he looks a bit fierce.
With the experience of the previous two times, she knew that showing weakness was the best strategy.
"Brother Yan, my clothes are wet and I feel a little cold..." Wei Ziyan looked around at him, with a trace of pitiful look on her face.
Fortunately, only her shoes, socks and half of her clothes were wet. If she had fallen into the water and gotten soaked in broad daylight, her reputation as a young lady from the Wei family would have been completely ruined.
Yan Qi stared at her coldly without saying a word for a long time.
A cool breeze suddenly blew, and Wei Ziyan shivered. Along with the wind came a woman's voice: "Master Yan, please bring the girl in to change her clothes."
Her voice is soft and melodious, she must be a beauty.
The people watching the excitement on the bridge were whispering to each other, and no one knew what they were talking about.
Wei Ziyan continued to look at Yan Qizhen guiltily. He swallowed his breath unwillingly, took off his outer robe and wrapped it around her, then pulled her up with all his strength.
Wei Ziyan's legs felt weak after falling into the water and getting frightened. She clung to his forearm and refused to let go. Yan Qizheng looked over coldly again, his discontent evident on his high nose.
"My legs are weak..." Wei Ziyan was also helpless, but she was not deliberately clinging to him.
The stern face turned back and let her grab her arm and slowly move into the cabin.
A graceful woman came into view, and Wei Ziyan's eyes widened. The two girls Yan Qizheng had spotted before were notably beautiful, but who was this time?
The voice just now was already beautiful enough, and now when she faced its owner again, Wei Ziyan's eyes suddenly lit up.
This woman has a sweet smile and natural beauty, and can be called a graceful lady.
"I just happened to pick up two new sets of clothes. If you don't mind, you can change here."
It was still such a pleasant voice, making Wei Ziyan feel comfortable no matter how she listened to it.
What a pity...
"Thank you." Wei Ziyan thanked him politely and looked around.
A teapot, fruit, and delicate snacks were placed on the small table. A single man and a single woman sitting on a boat, drinking tea and chatting—what else could that be but a tryst?
When she looked for Yan Qizheng again, he had already left the cabin. The beautiful woman helped to lower the curtains around her and spread out two new sets of clothes for her to choose from.
Wei Ziyan picked up a set at random and changed quickly behind her. She immediately felt much warmer, but she still had to endure a pair of wet shoes on her feet.
After all, you have received someone's kindness, so you should be grateful no matter what.
"My name is Wei Ziyan. May I ask your name, young lady?"
"Miss Wei, I am Liu Yu'er."
Liu Yuer, what a sweet name.
She actually had a good impression of this girl, but unfortunately because of her relationship with Yan Qizhen, it was unlikely that she would make friends with her.
"Thank you very much, Miss Liu, for your help today. Yu Wen and I will visit Miss Liu at your residence another day to formally express our gratitude."
When Liu Yu'er heard her say this, she was stunned, and Wei Ziyan continued.
"Miss Liu may not know, but Yu Wen is my fiancé. Today is my birthday, and he should be taking me home soon."
Wei Ziyan had a faint smile on her lips. Liu Yu'er looked at her for a long moment and then smiled in sudden realization: "It turns out that Master Yan already has an engagement."
It's enough for both of us to understand each other and stop when the time is right.
"Miss Liu, see you later." Wei Ziyan smiled at her again, walked out of the cabin holding the wet clothes she had changed, and just met Yan Qizhen's ugly face.
"I don't have time to take you back!"
His words were cold and hard, and it was obvious that he had heard what she had just said to Liu Yuer.
Wei Ziyan curled her lips, revealing a sense of grievance: "Today is my birthday..."
"Don't act pitiful!" Yan Qizhen was not fooled. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the stern of the boat.
The martial artist had such strong grip that it hurt her wrist.
"Miss, you scared me to death!" Qiu Luo was still shivering on the boat next door.
"Take your young lady back home."
As Yan Qi was about to push her over, Wei Ziyan violently broke free from him, stiffening her neck and saying, "I'm not leaving! Unless you come with me!"
More and more people came to watch the fun on the shore. Wei Ziyan was not afraid of being laughed at, but that didn't mean Yan Qizhen didn't care either.
"Wei Yilan, don't force me to do it!" He suppressed his anger and spoke with gritted teeth.
"I'm your fiancée. Today is my birthday, and you're not with me but meeting someone else here!"
"Wei Ziyan!" Yan Qi was furious.
This fiancée whom he didn't want at all was willful, capricious, and unreasonable!
He wanted to break off the engagement, but she threatened to commit suicide. If he got close to other women, she would definitely destroy him!
He had endured it for two years, and now when he heard her mention the word "fiancée", he couldn't hold back the anger in his chest!
"I'm going to the Wei Mansion to cancel the engagement now!"
Yan Qizhen said sternly, dragged the dazed woman onto the next boat, threw her to the maid, and ordered the boatman to quickly row the boat back to the dock.
Seeing that he was serious, Wei Ziyan was so anxious that she almost cried.
"I don't want to cancel the engagement! If you do, I will... die in front of you!" After saying that, he pretended to jump into the river, but was stopped by Qiu Luo in a panic.
"Miss..." Qiu Luo was already crying anxiously.
here we go again! !
Yan Qizheng shouted angrily: "Jump! Don't expect me to save you!"
Wei Ziyan was about to move forward again, but Qiu Luo hugged her tightly around the waist: "Master Yan, please try to persuade the young lady!"
Yan Qizhen snorted coldly, turned around and left.
“Bang—”
There was a sudden muffled sound behind me, and at the same time there was a cry of surprise from the shore.
Yan Qizheng couldn't help but look back, only to see the woman who was desperately trying to kill herself fall to the bow of the boat. It seemed that she had slipped while trying to get rid of the maid and lost her balance...
Before he could finish picturing what had happened, the woman had already clumsily climbed up from the deck and, regardless of her embarrassment, stubbornly and staggeringly clung to the edge of the ship.
The cool breeze ruffled her black hair.
"Brother Yan..."
She turned her head and looked at herself, her eyes red, her voice and tone sad and pitiful.
"I have no destiny with you in this life, but if there is an afterlife..."
"...Will you marry me?"
【Author’s words】
Not even in the next life!
Brother Yan is a man with a heart of stone.
PS: The male lead is not looking at each other, not looking at each other, not looking at each other!
The male protagonist has never seen any other woman, and the incidents on the cruise ship and in the restaurant were all misunderstandings, which will be elaborated on later.
The background is fictitious, and the historical period is Hu Zhou (nonsense) and Xia Bian (fabricated), and the customs and culture cannot be verified.
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