Chapter 24, Part 2: The Heir Apparent's Wife
Yu Wanwan subconsciously retorted.
"She's quite good-looking."
Tinglan was incredulous, biting her lip and stamping her foot.
"Miss!"
Yu Wanwan blinked, smiled, and held up a finger to her lips.
Shh! Watch carefully.
"..."
Tinglan finally realized that her young lady was different.
Before she came out, the young lady looked quite angry, but now...
This looks like gloating and watching a spectacle; there's not a trace of anger in it.
"Miss...aren't you angry?"
"What do I have to be angry about?"
“Miss Ke… before at the manor, you…”
Yu Wanwan belatedly came to her senses, but remained calm and spoke without hesitation.
"That was done for the Marquis's benefit!"
Tinglan paused slightly, seemingly lost in thought.
Yu Wanwan curled her lips slightly and continued to look out through the carriage curtain.
Some things, she doesn't need to say, Tinglan and the others can justify for her.
And that is indeed the case.
Before long, Tinglan had figured it out herself.
The young master frequented brothels and even did the absurd thing of wanting to elevate a courtesan to the rank of concubine.
No matter how well the young master handles this matter, as long as her young lady is the young master's wife, it is her fault if she does not advise him.
Now that the Crown Princess had that incident at the Marquis's residence, regardless of whether this musician can enter the residence later, the Marquis's residence cannot use this incident to hold the young lady wrong.
On the contrary, the Marquis would value the young lady even more, feel sorry for her, and thus try to make it up to her.
Miss, you've made an excellent move.
Tinglan finally relaxed and also pursed her lips in reproach.
"Miss, your acting is so realistic, it scared me!"
Yu Wanwan just smiled and didn't answer her.
This time, Tinglan wasn't in a hurry anymore; instead, she was more inclined to watch the excitement unfold.
Outside, the young master's eyes lit up when he saw Miss Xiaotang.
He stepped forward slightly, grasped Xiaotang's hand, and stepped aside, revealing the rows of betrothal gifts displayed at the entrance of Zuixianlou.
"Tang'er, ever since I first saw you, I have been obsessed with you. It's just a pity that we never met before I was unmarried."
The young master was handsome and exuded an air of nobility and elegance. At this moment, his amorous peach blossom eyes gazed at Xiaotang with deep affection.
"Although I already have a wife, I can no longer let you go. Now, I am willing to welcome you into my household with the courtesy due to a concubine. I wonder if Tang'er will accept my offer?"
Tang'er... no, Xiao Tang hadn't reacted yet, but Yu Wanwan was already getting goosebumps from the sweetness.
Although Tinglan understood Yu Wanwan's meaning, she was still furious after witnessing this scene firsthand.
But seeing his young mistress's enthusiastic expression, he forced himself to suppress his anger.
Xiaotang's pupils widened slightly, as if she couldn't believe it.
She gently pulled her hand away from the young master's, staggered back a few steps, and stared at him with her long, narrow eyes, which were brimming with tears.
"Young Master...how could you humiliate me like this!"
The beauty's tearful appearance broke the young master's heart, leaving him at a loss for what to do.
"I...I didn't..."
"Young Master!"
Xiaotang suddenly raised her voice, biting her lip. Although she looked weak, there was a hint of defiance on her face.
"Xiaotang knew her status was too low and dared not presume to be worthy of the young master. However, Xiaotang also had her own principles..."
With the help of her maid, Xiaotang slowly straightened up and spoke slowly but firmly, each word distinct.
"I'd rather be a poor man's wife than a rich man's concubine!"
The young master seemed stunned by her words, standing there blankly, unable to react.
The crowd was stunned by her words, and the noise subsided, leaving the entrance of Zuixianlou completely silent.
"Pfft..."
In such a quiet environment, Yu Wanwan's low laughter seemed particularly abrupt.
Many people turned their heads to look at the carriage.
Xiaotang, in particular, had her prepared remarks interrupted by this laughter, and her momentum was completely shattered.
If she were to continue speaking at this point, it would seem like she was being deliberate.
A hint of anger flashed in Xiaotang's eyes, but she maintained her gentle yet strong demeanor as she looked toward the carriage.
Yu Wanwan lifted the carriage curtain, revealing only half of her face.
But even just that half of her face was stunning.
It's not her appearance, but her aura.
Even though she was laughing so hard her body was shaking, the elegant and composed nobility around her completely crushed the shock that Xiaotang had just created.
For some reason, Xiaotang sensed a strong sense of crisis.
She tightened her grip on the handkerchief, then quickly released it, and, adhering to proper etiquette, bowed gracefully towards the carriage.
Then, she slightly parted her lips, trying to regain her composure.
"Why is Madam laughing?"
Although only half of her face was visible, it was clear that the person in the carriage had her hair tied up, indicating that she was dressed as a woman.
In Da Rui, only unmarried girls can wear their hair loose in a bun; all married women must put their hair up in a bun.
Yu Wanwan still didn't get out of the carriage. Tinglan was beside her, helplessly patting her back to help her catch her breath.
"Miss, please be careful."
She now truly believes that all the anger her young mistress displayed at the Marquis's residence was an act.
Otherwise, how could she still be laughing like this now that her husband is asking to take a courtesan as a concubine without her consent as the legal wife?
Yu Wanwan waved her hand, her voice tinged with amusement and a playful tone.
"Of course I found it funny."
Xiao Tang didn't see it. The moment Yu Wanwan's voice rang out, Xu Qingzhou froze, lowered his head, and didn't react.
Yu Wanwan did see it, and her smile deepened.
Oh wow!
Has Xu Qingzhou made his official appearance?
Xiaotang was currently furious with Yu Wanwan and was only focused on trying to regain her momentum, completely ignoring Xu Qingzhou's reaction.
"I wonder what you found so funny, Madam? Would you like to share it with us?"
Before Yu Wanwan could utter a sound, Tinglan was already speechless.
"Who do you think you are, to dare ask our lady to share with you?"
Xiaotang's face turned pale, and she subconsciously cast a pitiful, pleading look at Xu Qingzhou.
Unfortunately, Xu Qingzhou just stood there with his head down, his face full of sorrow, and didn't look at her at all.
Xiaotang cursed inwardly, wondering if she had rejected him too harshly and hurt him too much.
Yu Wanwan gave Tinglan an approving look and patted her shoulder.
"It's not that it's anything unusual, but I just happened to hear what you said, and I couldn't help but wonder, if the position of the principal wife in a wealthy family were vacant, with the phoenix coronet and wedding gown and the power to manage the household all in your hands, I wonder if you would still uphold the old saying, 'Better to be a poor man's wife than a rich man's concubine'?"
Yu Wanwan's tone was not harsh, even nonchalant, yet it forced Xiaotang to retreat step by step.
Those who had been intimidated by her upright and righteous demeanor came to their senses and their gazes toward her changed, now carrying a hint of scrutiny.
"Better to be a poor man's wife than a rich man's concubine" sounds nice, but she doesn't even look at herself. Even if she wanted to be a rich man's wife, could she really do it?
Xiaotang's heart skipped a beat, but before she could refute him, Xu Qingzhou suddenly made a move.
He wiped his face, raised his head, pointed with his folding fan, and gave instructions to the servant beside him.
"Go, take all these betrothal gifts back!"
The servant was taken aback, hesitated for a few seconds, and still asked hesitantly.
"Your Highness, where should we take it back?"
Xu Qingzhou glanced at him with a cold look, then kicked him.
"Of course we'll carry it back to the Marquis's residence! Where else would we carry it?"
The servant was kicked innocently.
Everyone around them knows how infatuated this young master is with Xiaotang; who knows what tricks he's up to this time?
Despite his doubts, the servant dared not disobey and, after agreeing, directed the servants to begin carrying the betrothal gifts.
Xu Qingzhou didn't even glance at Xiaotang before walking towards the carriage.
Xiaotang's heart tightened, and she vaguely felt that something was out of control.
She rarely lost her composure and stepped forward.
"Young Master..."
The three simple words seemed to linger in her mouth for a while before being uttered, conveying a poignant and sorrowful tone.
Xu Qingzhou trembled upon hearing this.
Xu Qingzhou turned his head with a tense expression and glanced at her sideways.
"What is it?"
He still wore a charming smile, but his cold attitude was obvious to everyone.
Xiaotang was in a state of confusion, unsure of what had gone wrong.
She no longer cared about maintaining an image of being indifferent to fame and fortune; biting her lip, tears welling in her eyes, she spoke plaintively.
"What does Your Highness mean by this?"
Xu Qingzhou swiftly unfolded his folding fan, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"Miss Xiaotang, please don't look at me like that."
He tried his best to maintain the demeanor of a prince, a frivolous smile playing on his lips.
"I never force anyone to do anything against their will. Since you feel that my status as a concubine of the Marquis of Chengqing's son has humiliated you, and given my noble status, it is absolutely impossible for me to abandon my wife and marry a prostitute as my principal wife, then let's part ways!"
The words spoken were devoid of their former warmth, and were cruel to the extreme.
Xiaotang didn't expect him to say that, and tears welled up in her eyes. She looked so pitiful.
"World……"
Unexpectedly, Xu Qingzhou spoke first, cutting her off.
"Could it be that Miss Xiaotang is truly plotting to make me divorce my wife and turn to you as my wife, such a shameless idea?"
Xu Qingzhou looked surprised, her clear eyes fixed on her.
Xiaotang's face burned, and in an instant, it turned deathly pale.
With so many people watching, even if Xiaotang did have this intention in her heart, she couldn't just admit it like that.
She could only force a weak smile.
"Your Highness is overthinking this..."
Xu Qingzhou, however, let out an exaggerated sigh of relief and nodded.
"That's good, that's good!"
After saying that, he turned around and strode into the carriage in a few big strides, moving so fast that it was as if a dog was chasing him.
Seeing this, Xiaotang could no longer maintain her smile, and her eyes turned completely gloomy.
But then she began to wonder, who was sitting in that carriage?
Why did Xu Qingzhou head straight for the carriage?
Xu Qingzhou, on the other hand, had been cursing and swearing the whole way.
After dying of old age in the last world, he did not end his life completely as he had thought, but instead returned to the system space.
Being able to return to the system space means that his task has been completed.
Xu Qingzhou was bewildered and confused, but he didn't care at all about how the mission was completed. Instead, he immediately asked the system about Yu Wanwan.
Unfortunately, there was only one answer: the female supporting character was fine, and everything was normal.
Upon receiving the system's answer, Xu Qingzhou truly cursed. Before he could even utter a few curses, the system, enraged, banished him to the next world.
And so it turned out to be a chaotic scene.
Xu Qingzhou's memories of the previous world were very vague; he only had a general recollection, but couldn't recall any details.
Now that I've entered a new mission world, I can't even remember the memories in the system space.
In the words of the system, he is just an ordinary person. He has too many memories, which he cannot process, and this is not a good thing for him.
Xu Qingzhou was helpless; he was just an ordinary person and had no way to deal with the system's mysterious and unpredictable methods.
All he wants now is to rest and think carefully about how to proceed with his mission in this world.
However... the relationship between the original owner and the Crown Princess has not yet reached its lowest point. The Crown Princess is still willing to advise him, and the Marquis has not yet abandoned him. It should not be too difficult, right?
Thinking about it, Xu Qingzhou lifted the carriage curtain, a gentle smile appearing on her face.
"husband……"
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