Chapter 29 I Will Marry No One But You
Xie Yunyu thought to herself, "I came here today to refuse you, so how can I tell the truth?"
If I say I've dreamt about you at night, then this matter will never end.
So he decisively shook his head.
"No."
Xiao Ling thought of the person she had been thinking about day and night, the person she had seen in her dreams, and now coldly uttered the two words 'no'.
I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
However, the fact that this person is alive and well in front of me is already a great blessing.
At least we won't always only meet in our dreams.
Xiao Ling sighed.
"I've come today to tell you that I love you and want to marry you."
Xie Yunyu also sighed and said, "The reason I invited the Prince here today is only to tell you that we are impossible, and I will not marry you."
After these two sentences were spoken, the room fell silent for a long time.
Just as the Crown Prince was about to be overwhelmed and suffocated by the silence, Xie Yunyu spoke again:
"Our Tianxinglou pastries are quite good, Your Highness, please have a taste."
Xiao Ling had no interest in tasting the pastries, but nodded and accepted them anyway.
Seeing that the conversation had progressed to this point, the Crown Prince realized that an agreement could not be reached today.
He stood up, walked over, sat down, and said with a smile, "Finished chatting?"
Neither of them spoke.
Xie Yunyu poured a cup of tea for the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince asked Xie Yunyu, "Third Lady Xie, I have a question that I don't understand and would like to ask you."
"Your Highness, please ask," Xie Yunyu said with a smile.
Why won't you marry my cousin?
Xie Yunyu laughed and said, "He doesn't meet my criteria for a partner."
"What are your criteria for choosing a partner? Tell me about it."
The prince took a sip of tea and said leisurely.
"I am actually a lazy person who hates trouble, so my first thought was not to get married."
If I have no choice but to get married, I have no patience to take care of those who have three wives and four concubines, and illegitimate children.
If, after marriage, the two can only have each other, live in harmony, and freely enjoy their own little lives, that would be the best outcome.
The crown prince shook his head and said, "Men in this world usually have three wives and four concubines. It's probably unrealistic to expect a man to remain faithful to one woman until death."
Xie Yunyu laughed and said, "Women can remain faithful to one man for life, so why can't men?"
Who says women must depend on men for a living?
The Crown Prince remained silent after hearing Xie Yunyu's unorthodox remarks.
Instead, he continued, "If that person was harmonious with you when you first married, but later he took a fancy to another woman and insisted on taking her as a concubine, what would you do?"
"Then let's get a divorce, it's no big deal."
Xie Yunyu said nonchalantly.
Xie Yunyu's words were clearly beyond the Crown Prince's comprehension.
However, Xiao Ling earnestly chimed in from the side, "I can handle this condition. I don't like a bunch of women huddled together chattering away."
Having lived all these years, you're the only one I've ever fallen for.
"After we get married, if you don't want to live in the capital, we can go live in the mountains; it'll be quieter there."
Xie Yunyu said these words in the hopes of scaring Xiao Ling away.
But at this moment, Xiao Ling said that he could meet this condition.
This made Xie Yunyu very discouraged. Just as her second brother had said, this person was indeed very difficult to deal with.
"Your Highness, you are good in every way, but your family background is too high. I don't want to climb the social ladder by marrying into your family. Do you understand?"
Xie Yunyu's words were spoken with a hint of exasperation.
Upon seeing Xie Yunyu's anxiety, the Crown Prince looked at Xiao Ling with concern.
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Ling remained completely unfazed.
"This is my business, you don't need to worry about it. You just need to consider whether or not you want to marry me."
As for whether my family agrees or not, and what kind of life you'll lead after you marry into the family, those are things I need to consider.
If you lose your freedom after marriage and your life is worse than before marriage, then there's no point in forcing you to stay with me.
The Crown Prince nodded in agreement, finding Xiao Ling's words to be reasonable. In fact, Xiao Ling was already doing these things.
Xie Yunyu smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's easier said than done, Your Highness. You won't be able to get past the Princess."
I heard that the Eldest Princess is very fond of Lady Wei.
I have met Lady Wei. She is far superior to me in both looks and background.
"You are a match made in heaven."
Xiao Ling, slightly displeased that Xie Yunyu was about to push him to someone else again, said:
"I've said it before, I will marry no one but you in this lifetime."
Neither of them could convince the other, and silence fell over the air once again.
Seeing that the two had killed off their conversation again, the Crown Prince mediated, saying:
"Third Sister Xie, I heard that your second brother, Xie Yunman, is quite good; he has already passed the imperial examination with top honors?"
When Xie Yunyu heard the Crown Prince ask about her second brother, her expression immediately relaxed, and she nodded:
"Yes, Your Highness."
"The old Grand Tutor's grandson is indeed remarkable. I hope to hear the news of him achieving the highest honors in all three categories in next year's imperial examinations."
Xie Yunyu smiled genuinely upon hearing this: "Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness."
The Crown Prince then asked, "How has the Grand Tutor been feeling lately?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. My grandfather has always been in good health."
"Back when Grand Tutor Xie taught me, although he was a bit strict, he taught me very well."
Since the Grand Tutor left the court, I've never heard those profound yet simple principles explained again.
Upon hearing this, Xie Yunyu wanted to defend her grandfather.
"My grandfather was a bit strict because of His Highness the Crown Prince's status. Actually, my grandfather is a very humorous person in private."
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince realized that when Old Man Xie taught him, he was strict and rigid; when had he ever been associated with humor?
Seeing that the Crown Prince did not believe her, Xie Yunyu continued to explain:
"When my second brother and I were little, we kept pestering our grandfather to teach us to read. My father said that our grandfather was going to teach the crown prince."
My second brother asked me what the difference was between what the prince was learning and what we were learning.
The father said, "The Crown Prince must learn the ways of the king, the ways of the hegemon, and the teachings of Confucius and Mencius."
The crown prince listened and nodded.
“When I heard this, I went to ask my grandfather what the way of the king, the way of the hegemon, and the way of Confucius and Mencius are.”
Guess what my grandfather said?
The prince's curiosity was piqued, because Xie Taifu had indeed taught him these questions in class, though they were nothing more than general principles.
Xie Yunyu said with a smile, "Grandfather replied:"
The way of the king is that if your opponent doesn't obey, you have to beat him.
Domineering means that even if the opponent obeys, you will still attack them.
The Confucian and Mencian doctrine is: before you punish someone, tell them why you are punishing them.
Upon hearing these three explanations, the Crown Prince was completely taken aback and asked in astonishment:
"Is this how Grand Tutor Xie explained it to you?"
Xie Yunyu nodded.
The crown prince, looking incredulous, continued to press, "What about Confucianism?"
"I'm hitting you for your own good."
"What about the art of diplomacy?"
"To rally others to attack you."
What about Buddhism?
"Persuade and beat at the same time; beating you is to eliminate your karmic obstacles."
What about Taoism?
"If I don't hit you, my Dao heart will not be stable."
Xiao Ling suddenly burst out laughing: "Anyway, there's no escaping this beating."
Xie Yunyu smiled and nodded: "Grandfather said that this is the true style of a celestial empire."
The Crown Prince was completely bewildered; he hadn't expected Grand Tutor Xie to be this kind of person in private.
Do you think what he said is wrong?
Upon closer examination, they all make sense.
Then why did he teach me so much nonsense and make me memorize so many books?
Old Xie is not a fair man.
After a while, the Crown Prince recovered his senses and said, "Ahem, hearing you say that makes me miss the old Grand Tutor a bit..."
In two days, I will summon the Grand Tutor to the palace so that I may seek his guidance.
Upon hearing this, Xie Yunyu realized that she had meant well but had done something wrong.
I silently apologized to my grandfather in my heart, saying, "I'm sorry, Grandfather, I didn't mean it."
For the next while, the Crown Prince was also stunned, only able to digest the explanation given by Grand Tutor Xie, without saying a word.
With noon fast approaching, Xie Yunyu had no choice but to speak:
"Our food at Tianxinglou is also quite good. Would you two like to stay and have a taste?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com