Without her, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be used to it, so I haven’t been willing to let her marry all these years. If it weren’t for your sincerity and Shulan not being too opposed, I would want to meet you and see if this marriage could happen,"
A girl getting married should naturally be held in high regard. Although Ji Xinhe has been hoping for Shulan and Xiaoyu to get married over the years, when it really comes to discussing marriage, Ji Xinhe has to raise Shulan’s worth so that her husband’s family won’t look down on her after marriage.
Only with Shulan and Xiaoyu, who have been with her for many years, does Ji Xinhe put in so much effort. For other maids and servants getting married, they would only be given medium-sized dowries.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Liu Man hurriedly said, "I would not dare to take away the one Her Highness loves, but I am devoted to Miss Shulan and therefore begged my uncle to have the audacity to come and ask Her Highness. If I marry Miss Shulan today, I will cherish and protect her in the future, please rest assured, Your Highness."
Xin He listened and felt it wasn’t bad and nodded, "It’s good that you understand. Your parents are small-business owners, and you are dedicated to studying?"
Liu Man replied, "My family circumstances are not very good, and it’s already not easy for my parents to make a small living to support the family. I dare not eat free food at home and study for fame. Therefore, I have been working as an accountant in my uncle’s tea house, earning a little money every month to help ease the burden on my family."
Xin He smiled and nodded, "Not bad."
A filial and responsible child, Ji Xinhe thought there wasn’t much to criticize.
She wanted to meet him in person to see what his character was like and if he was worthy of Shulan’s trust for the rest of her life. It seemed that he was quite good.
"Alright, after a few days, I’ll send Shulan’s birthday characters to your home, and you can choose a good day for the marriage. Shulan has no objections to this marriage, so I agree."
Liu Man quickly said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Xin He smiled and said, "You may go now."
Manager Liu performed the ceremony to Ji Xinhe again before leaving with Liu Man.
Once the two had left, Xin He asked Xiaoyu, "What do you think?"
Xiaoyu replied, "Not bad, the man who can satisfy Her Highness must be good, so I, a mere servant, cannot find any faults."
Xin He smiled and said, "Perhaps it’s Shulan’s good fortune. I think this Liu Man is not ordinary, his future is immeasurable, which could be considered a good ending. Now that he took the initiative to propose marriage to Shulan, I believe he must have genuine feelings for her. As long as he doesn’t change his heart in the future, their life together should be good."
Xiaoyu replied, "Your Highness is right."
"However..." Xin He paused, "It’s too difficult to fully understand someone after just one meeting."
Xiaoyu laughed, "Your Highness, there’s no need to worry. Since this is Shulan’s own choice of marriage, she should worry about these things herself. As for Your Highness, just believing that he is a good man after seeing him once probably means that he really is a good man."
Xin He smiled and said, "Forget it, I won’t worry about this anymore. I’d rather think about how to prepare her dowry."
As they were discussing, hurried footsteps sounded from outside.
Xin He smiled and said, "Look at Shulan’s impatience. I merely glanced at Liu Man, and now she is already rushing in to ask about the result?"
Unexpectedly, Shulan hurried in and pulled the curtain aside, her face filled with anxiety, "Your Highness, there’s a terrible problem!"
Xin He’s expression changed, and her eyes grew cold, "What happened?"
"News from the capital - Le Yuanhou’s house is in trouble, Lord Marquis has been arrested by the imperial court!"
Xin He’s heart skipped a beat, she said sharply, "How could Lord Marquis be arrested?! Wasn’t he already taken away by our people?"
Long before realizing there was going to be a fallout between the imperial court and Yu State, Mu Houchu ordered the secret guards in the capital to secretly help Le Yuanhou leave without attracting any attention. Otherwise, how could there be any good outcome if he fell into the Emperor’s hands?
The Emperor would certainly not let go easily, and there would be people along the way from the capital to Yu State pursuing and trying to kill them. So Ji Xinhe specially arranged to take a long detour and sneak away, first heading to Qin State, which was relatively far from Yu State. Upon the calming of tensions, they would move from Qin State to Yu State. Meanwhile, the old lady in the Hou Mansion was too old to withstand the bumps and long journeys, so they would inevitably have to take it slow and walk carefully, preferring to take longer, more hidden routes and not rush their travels.
Having arrived in Qin State earlier this year, Ji Xinhe was relieved. Who would have thought that the people of Le Yuanhou Mansion had arrived in Qin State, not Yu State? As the Emperor’s real goal was to block their path to Yu State, he couldn’t catch them.
Moving from Qin State to Yu State would be much easier than before, since they would be far away from the capital. The situation in the court is now very chaotic, and the Emperor cannot focus too much on Le Yuanhou Mansion. If he cannot catch them, he would have to admit his failure eventually.
However, Ji Xinhe never expected that such news would come just when she was about to put her heart at ease and wait for her father and grandmother’s arrival!
"This news just came from the scouts. I don’t know the details, but I heard that Le Yuanhou was suddenly discovered by the imperial court in Qin State. Now, the imperial court has arrested him and the old lady, and the situation is critical..."
Xin He stood up with a "whoosh" and rushed out, "Where are the scouts?"
"In the outer courtyard..." Shulan hadn’t finished her sentence when Xin He’s figure disappeared.
In the outer courtyard, a scout was already waiting. Ji Xinhe arrived, and he solemnly bowed, "Greetings to Your Highness."
"When were Lord Marquis and the old lady arrested? Why were they arrested? How did the imperial court know they were in Qin State? Tell me everything in detail," Xin He ordered sharply.
The scout immediately replied, "Three days ago, but the news only arrived today. As for their whereabouts, we’ve always hidden them very well. The people accompanying them were their trusted secret guards, and no one leaked the information or cooperated with the imperial court. However, imperial court officials suddenly appeared and caught us off guard. After all, Qin State is still under the imperial court’s jurisdiction, and even though it’s far from the capital, they couldn’t escape once they were discovered. At present, Lord Marquis has been captured and is being escorted back to the capital."
Xin He’s face grew cold, and her eyes filled with ruthlessness. Clenching her fists inside her sleeves, she gritted her teeth, "Escorted back to the capital?"
This meant that no matter what, the fate of Le Yuanhou would be extremely bleak, as the Emperor would vent all his anger at Mu Houchu on Le Yuanhou.
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