"I really don’t know what you’re thinking, Li Nan, why do I feel like I understand you less and less?" Xiao Bei sat directly in front of him, unable to help but say.
Li Nan partially lowered his eyes in a softly glowing fashion, but did not speak.
Xiao Bei leaned in and said, "You always appear so detached and unbothered, by right someone like you should be living quite comfortably, but I always feel like you’re not in a great mood. Are you hiding something? What do you want?"
Li Nan chuckled slightly, "What I want is to stay here."
"Huh?" Xiao Bei seemed to not understand for a moment, nor did he pick up the meaning, and appeared slightly dazed.
But then Li Nan suddenly stood up, looking with a somewhat solemn expression at a spot not far off.
Xiao Bei couldn’t understand why and followed Li Nan’s gaze. He saw a servant boy running hastily in the corridor, who was, judging by his direction, headed towards the inner courtyard.
Li Nan immediately stopped him: "What’s happened?"
The servant boy was panting, struggling to get his words out: "There’s trouble! The Imperial Edict for the arranged marriage is here!"
Xiao Bei’s face changed abruptly: "What arranged marriage Imperial Edict?"
Li Nan’s eyes narrowed slightly: "I’ll go with you and see."
Having said that, Li Nan turned and strode off. The servant boy closely followed.
Xiao Bei was a bit confused, but he felt a major event must have happened. So, without any negligence, he hurriedly followed them.
At this moment, Marquis Mu Houchu had already gone out early. Xin He, however, had an overbearing sense of apprehension the whole day as if something was going to happen, so she didn’t go out.
Until now, when she saw Li Nan and Xiao Bei hurriedly entering, her facial expression grew serious: "What happened?"
"The Imperial Edict for the arranged marriage has arrived," said Li Nan in a somber voice.
Xin He’s face turned slightly cold: "It indeed should have arrived by now."
Song Yalin had been missing for some days, and the Emperor had clearly timed the arrival of this edict to coincide with Song Yalin’s disappearance.
"What do we do now?" asked Li Nan with a hint of worry.
Xin He stood up and said coldly: "I’ll go and see."
"The Prince is not present currently. Will the princess receive the edict?" Li Nan stood stubbornly in front of Xin He, refusing to back down.
Xin He’s eyes grew cold as she looked at him: "Do you think the issue now is whether to receive the edict or not?"
The Emperor was not Duan Lan, he did not care if problems arose between Xin He and Marquis Mu Houchu. The fact that this arranged marriage was endorsed by the Emperor meant that the Emperor could no longer tolerate Marquis Mu. This marriage was bound to ignite the flames of war.
Whether to accept the edict or not, there was no difference!
The Emperor had perhaps never thought of letting Song Yalin marry into the Prince Pingyang Mansion. What he wanted from the start was the life of Marquis Mu!
So, the current situation might be more complicated than it seems.
Xin He said in a deep voice: "You usually handle matters in a calm and collected manner and don’t think this shallowly or single-mindedly. What’s got into you today? Instead of focusing on whether the arranged marriage should happen or not, you should consider the bigger picture."
Having spoken, she sidestepped Li Nan and left swiftly.
Li Nan stood there, slightly lowering his head, a trace of sadness in his eyes. He always took care of the bigger picture with a clear mind because it didn’t involve her.
But this time, for Xin He, the most important thing might be the Emperor’s jealousy and killing intent towards Marquis Mu; but, for him, the most significant thing happened to be this arranged marriage.
He didn’t care about anything else; he only cared whether she would be upset, that’s all.
Right now, Xiao Bei’s face has crumbled, cursing: "Arranged marriage!? The Emperor wants to arrange a marriage for my brother-in-law?!"
In a rage, Xiao Bei rushed directly towards the front hall.
Li Nan took a deep breath; indeed, there wasn’t much time for him to mourn. The most important thing right now was the Imperial Edict for the arranged marriage.
When Xin He got to the front hall, there was already an old eunuch sitting and sipping tea in a refined manner.
Seeing Xin He, the old eunuch’s eyes showed an unexpected flash of fascination, and he rose to greet her in a somewhat insincere manner: "The old slave is here to pay his respects to the princess."
Xin He looked at him indifferently, walking straight to the master seat to sit down, slowly saying: "You may stand."
The old eunuch’s initial fascination turned into a hint of respect seeing Xin He’s cold demeanor, even his playful smile faded: "Six years ago, I, the old slave, was fortunate to catch a glimpse of the princess. I’m afraid the princess may not remember, but seeing her now, the princess is even more beautiful than before."
She was only sixteen six years ago, which was undoubtedly the most beautiful age for a woman, seemingly innocent yet assertive. Six years later, she had matured, seeming even more charismatic and carrying a certain allure heavy in her eyes and brows.
Such a woman was indeed not surprising to have caught the eye of Marquis Mu.
Besides, the reports he got revealed the ostensibly reticent princess actually helped Marquis Mu quite a lot. She was indeed not an average woman.
Xin He faintly pulled a smile: "Considering the long journey you’ve undertaken to be here, I assume you’re not here for small talk."
The old eunuch laughed awkwardly, then held his tongue.
"The reason I’m here today is to read an edict. It’s an Imperial Edict written by His Majesty himself," the old eunuch explained seeing Xin He’s cold demeanor. With a squashed voice, he said: "I don’t know when Prince Pingyang will be back, it would be best to read the edict in his presence."
Xin He’s eyes didn’t shift in the slightest, but her demeanor grew even cooler: "Really? But I am a bit curious. Could you tell me in advance what His Majesty’s intent is?"
This eunuch, upon seeing Xin He’s bad attitude, intended to provoke her, so he snickered: "How could I know about His Majesty’s intent? But His Majesty has always cared a great deal about Prince Pingyang and has taken every issue related to the Prince seriously. Especially, the fact that Prince Pingyang has been married for six years now, yet he has not fathered an heir. That is a significant cause of concern for His Majesty..."
The eunuch, as he was speaking, snickered while staring at Xin He. He intended to see her make a distressed face.
To any woman having been married for six years without bearing a son was indeed the most embarrassing matter imaginable.
But who would have thought, Xin He wasn’t disturbed in the slightest. Instead, she casually picked up her cup of tea to take a sip, then lightly said: "And then?"
This indifferent attitude stopped the eunuch in his tracks, and he was astonished coming to terms with how Xin He was able to retain her normal composure despite the circumstances.
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