26 Hard to Coax
◎A unique feeling of softness falls into the heart◎
Imperial officials usually received five days of wedding leave, which could be extended depending on the circumstances. For Yan Qizheng's wedding, the Crown Prince granted him a two-week leave.
The Crown Prince said that Yuwen's marriage was a major event and could not be rushed. Furthermore, the young lady of the Wei family had received the Emperor's favor for sixteen years, and the two had finally become a couple. They should be given ample time to cultivate their relationship.
However, the prince's kindness might be wasted. The new bride of the Yan family had returned home seven days earlier and hadn't brought a single word to her husband's family, apparently unwilling to return to Shu.
Every time his mother inquired about him, Yan Qizheng feigned generosity, but his temper grew more and more frantic each day. But the words had already been spoken, and he couldn't go back on his word. He had no choice but to hold it in. When he felt the pressure was too much, he would ask a friend to help him train his horses at the stables.
Newlyweds should be in love, affectionate and enjoying their own happiness. It's a pity that Young Master Yan married the heartless and indifferent Miss Wei, leaving him alone right after their wedding. Wu Guanyi couldn't help but tease, "What are you trying to achieve?"
The two men rode side by side. Yan Qizheng tilted his head slightly and squinted his eyes at him. "As if you can marry someone who is affectionate to you?"
"Of course," Wu Guanyi said without shame. "The one I marry will definitely be someone I love and who loves me back."
Yan Qizhen snorted softly and turned away, not bothering to pay attention to him.
Not long ago, the wife of the Minister of Personnel Fang Jikai tried to matchmake for the second daughter of the Qi family, and the man she was looking for was Wu Guanyi, the second son of the Minister of Personnel Wu.
"Don't disbelieve me, my father won't agree to this marriage with the Qi family without my approval!" Wu Guanyi got angry and cursed.
"Qi Lique is just an old scoundrel who sold his daughters for fame and fortune! He sold one daughter to be Crown Prince Zhaoxun, but he's not satisfied yet, and he wants to get on the good side of the Minister of Justice. Look at the names he gave his daughters, Qi Baozhu and Qi Baoyu. He's just short of having the words 'value money as life' carved on his forehead!"
After scolding Qi Lique, Wu Guanyi scolded Fang Jikai for muddying the waters and having ulterior motives.
"This guy is very cunning and might be plotting something from behind. My father isn't that stupid. He would let me jump into a trap even though he knew it was a trap."
The Minister of Personnel Fang Jikai is indeed an elusive figure.
It was Minister Fang who had been the matchmaker when Qi Lique was able to marry his eldest daughter, Qi Baozhu, into the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince, intent on wooing the Ministry of Personnel, readily agreed to the match. Otherwise, how could the Crown Prince have accepted Qi Lique, a fifth-rank official with no real benefits to gain, as his daughter as Crown Prince Zhaoxun?
However, even after Zhao Xun accepted the throne, this minister did not join the Crown Prince's camp. During the Crown Prince's several court meetings, the Minister of Personnel did not step forward to support him. Not only did he not support the Crown Prince, he also did not appear to approach the other princes.
Now, Fang Jikai is instigating the Qi family and the Minister of Justice. As everyone knows, Minister Wu is a complete princeling, so this confusing operation is really puzzling.
But, the world is unpredictable. If Minister Fang's sincerity is truly sincere this time, the Crown Prince might take another gamble. Therefore, not only does Wu Guanyi have no say in this marriage, but even Minister Wu has no final say.
Wu Guanyi was not unaware of these interests, but he was self-deprecating and selectively ignoring them. Now that he had scolded someone, he felt that the anger that had been pent up in his chest for the past few days had at least been relieved.
"Alas..." He sighed, "Compared to this, I'm not as good as you."
"At least your marriage is clean, without any messy conflicts of interest. At most, there's a temporary disagreement between the couple. But women, as long as you're willing to coax them, will sooner or later be completely devoted to you."
Will it?
Yan Qizhen frowned slightly. That woman was so stubborn that it gave him a headache just thinking about her.
After finding out that she was a soft-hearted person, he had already humbled himself and even offered her his beloved Persian cat - you know, normally, other people couldn't touch it, but he only let her play with it.
He has already shown enough patience and kindness, so how else can he be coaxed?
"How do I coax you?" Wu Guanyi raised his eyebrows lightly. "If the mountain doesn't come to me, then I'll go to the mountain!"
"How?"
Yan Qi was staring at his friend suspiciously, still haunted by Feng Yue's last bad idea. Wu Guanyi confidently patted his chest, "Don't worry, there's absolutely no problem this time!"
Wei Ziyan didn't take a nap today and went out to keep her appointment with Liu Yuer.
Liu Yu'er's family lives in a foreign land, and after her parents and relatives passed away one after another, she had no choice but to come to Liangjing to seek refuge with her clan relatives. Although her mother sympathized with her life experience and was willing to adopt her as her adopted daughter, the most important thing was that Liu Yu'er herself was willing.
Wei Ziyan knew Liu Yu'er to be quite proud and arrogant. Even now, alone and helpless, she wouldn't compromise herself or accept others' sympathy. Therefore, she had long wanted to meet Liu Yu'er on this visit, but unfortunately, the people at the Liu residence said her cousin had gone out of town, so Wei Ziyan had no choice but to wait at home for seven days.
Upon learning that Liu Yu'er had finally returned to Beijing, Wei Ziyan quickly asked her out for a boat ride.
It had only been half a month since they last saw each other, but it seemed like a long time had passed. Both of them felt the joy of meeting again after a long separation.
After Wu Guanyi sent Wei Ziyan back home that day, no one knew what happened next. Liu Yuer couldn't wait to know how her good sister felt about her wedding.
When they met today, seeing Wei Ziyan's smile and happy face, Liu Yu'er guessed that she was doing well. When she asked, she found out that she was indeed doing well. Liu Yu'er couldn't help but sigh, "Thank goodness you turned back and didn't make a big mistake."
"It's not what my sister thinks." Wei Ziyan knew she had misunderstood.
"Very good" does not mean that the couple is in harmony, but that there is no chaos, which she feels is good enough.
"What is that?" Liu Yuer asked with a smile.
"Sister Liu, I don't want to hide it from you, and I'm only telling you." Wei Ziyan had a secret in her heart, and she felt suffocated because she couldn't tell anyone.
"In fact, it won't be long before I divorce him."
"What does this mean?" Liu Yu'er was shocked.
"I have an agreement with Yan Qizheng that he will set me free once he lets go of our past grudges and stops being angry with me."
"..." This sentence made Liu Yu'er feel even more absurd. "Are you still thinking about waiting for your brother Zhao after you are free?"
Um......
Maybe.
Wei Ziyan didn't have time to think about what happened afterwards. She just felt that she shouldn't have married Yan Qizheng.
Their marriage was born out of lies and unwillingness. Without mutual affection, how could their relationship last? Were they destined to continue deceiving each other for the rest of their marriage?
"You, you..." Liu Yu'er seemed to not know how to say it to her, and it took her a long time to find her words.
"Even after your divorce, you still can't erase the fact that you're married. How many men in the world can accept marrying a...divorced woman? Are you willing to be a concubine?"
Hearing this, Wei Ziyan bit her lip and said softly, "He and I...are not actually husband and wife."
“…”
This time Liu Yuer opened her mouth but didn't say a word.
"Don't talk about me. My sister is a year older than me and she's still unmarried! Wouldn't you consider it?" Wei Ziyan blinked and cleverly changed the subject. "Do you have someone you like? Ziyan, can you help me find someone?"
"You're talking about your own business, but you're dragging me into it." Liu Yu'er rolled her eyes at her when the subject was diverted.
Wei Ziyan said, "My business is so terrible that my ears are numb from hearing about it these days. Please be kind and let me go."
I think it was because of these few days at home that Master Wei and his wife said a lot of caring words to her. Liu Yuer sighed, "You don't know how to appreciate the blessings you have."
"Then can I share some of my blessings with Sister Liu?" Wei Ziyan took the opportunity to follow up on this.
"Since you and I are sisters, you should naturally worship my mother as your godmother, right? My mother said that if she hadn't been pregnant, she would have given birth to five or six children when she was young. Now that she has a daughter at her age, she is so happy that she wants to go to Xuanyi Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha immediately..."
Liu Yu'er looked at her in surprise, her lips tightly pursed, her eyebrows slightly knitted together. Wei Ziyan quickly stopped talking and asked softly, "Sister Liu, do you think this is too sudden?"
"Yeah, why do you suddenly... want Madam Wei to recognize me?"
It seemed that Liu Yu'er didn't believe the excuse she had just made up, so Wei Ziyan had no choice but to confess the truth: "I just want mother to find a good marriage for my sister."
After her brother's death, Liu Yu'er moved to Liangjing to live with a distant relative. As an orphan, and with her distant relative being just an ordinary small merchant, it was difficult for her to find a good marriage.
Besides, she was new here, so how could she know any marriageable man?
If she had the identity of the Wei family's adopted daughter and the connections of the Wei family, she would have more good choices.
Liu Yu'er knew all these things without Wei Ziyan having to say them out loud. The talk of sworn sisterhood was just a roundabout way of saying it, to avoid embarrassment for her.
"Why? Are you afraid that I won't be able to get married?" Knowing that she meant well, Liu Yu'er smiled.
"Look at you, you're already married but you're still thinking about getting a divorce, yet you still want me to get married. What's the logic behind this?"
"Our situation is different!"
"What's the difference? If you can't develop feelings for Master Yan over time, how can you expect me to develop a loving relationship with the strange man that Lady Wei arranged for me?"
How did it get around so much and finally come back to her? Wei Ziyan curled her lips and said, "Sister Liu is really good at Tai Chi."
Liu Yuer giggled and looked at the rippling water outside the cabin, feeling emotional.
"The world is vast, and fate is unpredictable. Even if we share the same path, each person will experience their own ups and downs. Perhaps I'll be happier if I marry, or perhaps I'll be happier if I don't. What you insist on seeking isn't necessarily a blessing, so why not just let nature take its course?"
Liu Yu'er turned to look at Wei Ziyan again with a broad-minded smile on her face: "Don't worry, I can handle it no matter what."
Seeing that persuasion was useless, Wei Ziyan was a little disappointed: "Then aren't you afraid that your aunt will try every means to force you to marry?"
"Don't worry, I'll find a way." Liu Yu'er then changed the subject. "Actually, I'm fine in the Liu residence. At least they didn't force me to become someone else's concubine."
Wei Ziyan knew that it was useless to say more, so she rested her chin on her hand and admired the scenery outside the window.
The afternoon sun shone off the emerald water, flickering and shimmering. The summer breeze was warm, unlike March, when she had chased Yan Qizheng here...
Alas, if I had known this would happen, why would I have played so many sad scenes? Wei Ziyan didn't think about it, but when she did, she felt sad, and when she felt sad... it was as if she was seeing the real person in front of her.
She blinked, pausing her thoughts.
After blinking again, I could still see Yan Qizhen's profile.
Suddenly, the profile face turned towards her, and a pair of bright black eyes suddenly locked onto her gaze.
Ah, it’s the living Yan Qizhen!
Wei Ziyan widened her eyes in surprise.
Yan Qizheng was also in the cabin, sitting by the window. The two boats came from different directions and happened to pass each other and run parallel.
"It's Master Yan." Liu Yu'er also noticed the people on the next boat. "Why is he here on the cruise?"
You can't come to meet the girl again?
Just as this thought flashed through Wei Ziyan's mind, she saw another head squeeze out next to Yan Qizhen's face - it was Wu Guanyi.
"Miss Wei, Miss Liu." Wu Guanyi's face was full of surprise at the coincidence, and he greeted them enthusiastically from a distance.
Everything in the world happens by chance, and sometimes fate is so wonderful.
Since it was such a coincidence, no one objected to Wu Guanyi's suggestion that "it's better to meet by chance than to invite each other", so everyone simply took a boat together and cruised the river together.
Yan Qizheng and Wu Guanyi easily boarded the boat the two girls were riding in. Wu Guanyi bowed politely and said, "Thank you, Miss Liu and Miss Wei, for your help."
"Still calling me Miss Wei?" Yan Qizheng reminded from the side.
Wu Guanyi then smiled and changed his address to Wei Ziyan, "sister-in-law."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Qizheng glared at him. Wu Guanyi unwillingly changed his words and called her "sister-in-law". Then he muttered, "In fact, he was born a month earlier than me."
"That's still bigger than you." Yan Qizhen took it for granted.
So, Wu Guanyi is also twenty this year...
An idea suddenly popped up in Wei Ziyan's head, so when the four of them sat down, Yan Qizhen, who was originally going to sit with Wu Guanyi, was pulled to sit next to her by her side.
Wu Guanyi grinned and tactfully went to sit opposite Liu Yuer.
"Why are you here on a boat trip?" Wei Ziyan asked Yan Qizhen in a low voice.
"He said he was tired from riding and wanted to rest on the boat."
This "he" naturally referred to Wu Guanyi. Wei Ziyan glanced across and saw Wu Guanyi raise an eyebrow, tilt his head, and enthusiastically answer Liu Yuer's question, "Where do you ride horses?" He then asked if Liu Yuer liked riding horses, claiming he had a dozen fine horses at a stable and suggested she try them out. He seemed quite enthusiastic...
Wei Ziyan was so preoccupied with peeking that she didn't notice the man next to her, curious about what she was looking at, quietly approaching. As soon as she turned her head, their faces collided, and the other man's thin lips barely brushed her forehead.
Wei Ziyan was caught off guard and subconsciously retreated...
"There are also my horses at the stables. Let's go and take a look together?" Yan Qizhen seemed not to notice, and his voice slowly fell into her ears.
Wei Ziyan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, grabbed the cup and drank a sip of tea to calm herself down.
"Okay, but..." He looked up and saw Liu Yu'er across from him also hesitating, "I'm afraid this dress...is not suitable for Sister Liu and me."
"How difficult is that?" Young Master Wu, who was always good at making decisions, immediately suggested, "Yu Wen and I will take you both home separately. You can change your clothes and meet us at the horse farm."
"No!" Wei Ziyan blurted out.
Although Lady Wei wanted her daughter to stay at home for a while longer, she also wanted her daughter and her husband to live in harmony. Sleeping in separate beds after marriage would only lead to chaos sooner or later.
Therefore, she had been urging her daughter to return to her husband's home for the past two days, and the return gift had already been prepared. If her son saw his son-in-law coming to visit, he would definitely let his daughter go back to her husband's home with him today.
"There's no need to go through so much trouble. Don't we have riding clothes at the stable?" Wei Ziyan thought of another idea.
Wu Guanyi laughed dryly, "Yes, there is a horse farm, but I'm afraid you two might dislike it."
"It's nothing to dislike, it's just a set of clothes, right, Sister Liu?"
"That's not bad," Liu Yu'er agreed. "We can go directly to the stables and save the trouble of going back and forth."
"That's fine..." Wu Guanyi glanced at Yan Qizhen, who pursed his lips with a gloomy expression.
After getting off the boat, Wei Ziyan got into Liu Yuer's carriage. Wu Guanyi patted his friend on the shoulder and said, "It's not like there's no chance. We'll just have to act according to the circumstances."
Yan Qizheng looked towards the carriage and sighed softly.
Originally, Shouzhong had planned to use the opportunity of sending someone to visit, and when Madam Wei saw him, she would definitely let her daughter go back with him. Now that his plan had failed, he didn't know what other chances he would have.
In contrast to Yan Qizhen's disappointment, Wei Ziyan was secretly happy in the carriage - it was a good opportunity for Sister Liu and Wu Guanyi to get to know each other better.
Just now, the two of them were sitting together on the cruise ship. Sister Liu's elegance and grace were a perfect match for Wu Guanyi's bravery and boldness.
Liu Yu'er had a slight smile on her face and looked very excited.
Little did she know that she had other motives in agreeing to go to the racecourse. She hoped to use this opportunity to bring her younger sister Ziyan and her husband closer and ease their relationship.
Each of the four had their own concerns, but they all rushed to the stables in a single carriage and two horses, finally arriving together. After getting off the carriage, the two girls went to change their clothes while the two gentlemen waited outside for tea.
Wei Ziyan casually chose a riding outfit, a tight-fitting top, long trousers, and riding boots. When she came out after getting dressed, the two gentlemen's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Women are as capable as men." Wu Guanyi gave her a thumbs-up for her neat, tight-fitting outfit. "Miss Wei's riding skills must be extraordinary."
"That's right!" Wei Ziyan said proudly when talking about horseback riding. "I have been practicing horseback riding since I was a child. Most men's riding skills are not necessarily better than mine."
As she spoke, her eyes moved and she caught a glimpse of Yan Qi looking at her with a smile on his face, which clearly hinted at his intention.
"What are you laughing at?" Wei Ziyan had a feeling that he was laughing with ill intentions.
"No..." Yan Qizheng denied it flatly, but the corners of his lips still curved. "I was just thinking about the unusual riding skills I saw last time..."
Last time you saw me?
Yan Qizheng saw her riding a horse...
Isn’t it in the cherry forest?
Wei Ziyan's memory flashed like lightning - it was the scene where she made a mistake in controlling the horse while fleeing in a hurry and almost broke her butt. It was really embarrassing!
Wu Guanyi asked curiously, and Wei Ziyan hurriedly stopped Yan Qizheng: "Don't say it! Last time was an accident."
Seeing her furious, Yan Qizheng naturally stopped. But Wu Guanyi refused to give up and insisted on asking Yan Qizheng questions, which made Wei Ziyan feel very nervous, fearing that Yan Qizheng's words were not reliable.
While the three of them were talking, Liu Yu'er came out dressed. She wasn't wearing a woman's riding clothes, but she was dressed like a young man, just like she had on the outing that day.
At first glance, Wu Guanyi was a little unrecognizable. He clapped his hands and joked, "Miss Wei is still as capable as a man, while Miss Liu is simply too capable to be a man. I've been feasting my eyes today."
"Is Second Young Master Wu serious?" Wei Ziyan, having been pestered by him earlier, deliberately acted mischievously. "Is it possible that only girls from Lantingfang could feast Second Young Master Wu's eyes?"
Wu Guanyi was so surprised by this that he was completely bewildered. Liu Yuer smiled, took her sister's hand, and turned to head back to the stables. Reflecting on his thoughts, Wu Guanyi patted his friend's shoulder, full of understanding and sympathy: "Your wife is petty and vindictive. I'm afraid she'll be hard to appease."
Yan Qizheng thought to himself, "What's that? You haven't experienced her true ability to irritate people."
At that time, let alone coaxing her, it was already generous of him to be able to resist taking action.
This horse farm was large, housing the famous horses of many young men in the capital. Wu Guanyi and Yan Qizheng alone had nearly forty horses. Each of them was hard-earned, truly one in a hundred.
Wei Ziyan was not interested in the stories behind each of the treasures Wu Guanyi mentioned. She just observed their fur color and body shape one by one.
She liked good-looking horses and didn't care whether they were excellent or not. Therefore, she shook her head at the tall brown horse Yan Qizheng recommended - it looked too ordinary.
Upon learning about her principles for choosing horses, Yan Qizhen was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Since she only wants good-looking ones, I will take her to see the most special white dragon.
The stables were mostly filled with brown and black horses, but he had a rare breed of pure white horse. From its mane to its tail, it was flawless.
Wei Ziyan was stunned at first sight. This was the most beautiful white horse she had ever seen! Its hair was pure, its body was bright, and its neck stood upright, like a proud princess.
"Is this it okay?" Wei Ziyan asked Yan Qizhen, her eyes shining.
"Bai Long can't do it." Yan Qizheng shook his head, "He has poor endurance and a bad temper. You can't control him."
"Don't be afraid, I can train horses." Wei Ziyan didn't want to miss such a beautiful horse.
Yan Qizhen was a little troubled.
The chance encounter on the boat and bringing her to the horse farm were all Wu Guanyi's ideas, in order to make her happy.
If he didn't agree to give her the white horse, everything he had done would be in vain. So after hesitating for a moment, Yan Qizheng finally nodded.
At worst, he can just take the trouble to protect her from the side.
"Try it first. It may not let you ride it."
"Okay." Wei Ziyan asked happily, "It's called Bailong, right?"
"yes."
So Wei Ziyan gently stroked its fur, called it "Long'er" and tried to get close to it with a flattering expression.
Yan Qi was watching with amusement, so he fetched some hay and fed it to her. After all this, Bai Long was quite respectful to her, not even snorting to scare her.
Wei Ziyan chose the white dragon she liked, while Wu Guanyi picked a thousand-mile horse for Liu Yuer.
It was said that he had gone to great lengths to transport it from a great distance, and he boasted about it to the heavens and the earth. Not only did he boast, he also criticized the white dragon she had chosen as superficial and useless.
"She's so delicate and delicate. It's okay to just look at her, but she's useless."
How could Wei Ziyan be convinced? Naturally, she wanted to compete with him.
"Then let's have a competition! Let's see who's faster, your swift horse, or the white dragon?"
"Let's compete." Wu Guanyi agreed, and then said to Yan Qizheng, "You and I will each choose a horse, and we will compete two against two."
"Okay, two against two!" Wei Ziyan responded first, then dragged Yan Qizhen to choose a horse.
The woman's soft palm wrapped around her rough fingers. Yan Qizhen couldn't help but lower his head, his eyes falling on the small hand holding his.
A unique feeling of softness spreads from the arms to the top of the head, and then to the heart.
Amidst his endless thoughts, the idea of interlacing his fingers subconsciously came to Yan Qizheng's mind. His chest palpitated slightly, and the soft touch on his fingers suddenly disappeared.
"Hurry up and choose," the unaware woman put down his hand and turned towards him with an innocent look on her face.
"Choose the most powerful one!"
【Author’s words】
My wife held my hand [burst into tears]
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