Only now did Prince Jing realize that this woman could be so unreasonable. He came to her for help, not to listen to her reasoning. Why couldn't he reason with this woman?
He was, after all, a prince. If Mei Lanyi married him, it would be considered a high-status marriage. So why did he seem to become such a bad person when it came to Jiang Jiuniang?
He knew that in Jiang Jiuniang's eyes, he had always been the good-for-nothing, but he had changed a lot, so why was Jiang Jiuniang's attitude towards him getting worse and worse?
You know perfectly well that's not what I meant!
In his anxiety, Prince Jing forgot to refer to himself as "this prince." The man in his twenties was now acting like a seven or eight-year-old child, his neck turning red.
“I knew you didn’t mean it that way, and I genuinely wanted to help you, so I asked you if you knew where you went wrong. But you didn’t think you did anything wrong, and you didn’t even admit it, so I didn’t know what to say.”
At first, Jiang Jiuniang wanted to help, since they were all in pairs and only Prince Jing was pitiful. She thought she could help if she could, but he didn't understand. Even after she pointed it out, he wouldn't admit it, and she instantly lost her enthusiasm.
Anyway, she wasn't doing this because she had nothing better to do than help him, since she wasn't a matchmaker.
Seeing that she looked serious and wasn't deliberately making things difficult for him, Prince Jing realized he had misunderstood and was momentarily embarrassed.
"Well... even if it was my fault, so much time has passed, what can I do now? At worst, I'll just treat her better in the future and make it up to her, right?"
Jiang Jiuniang's face scrunched up in disbelief. What did she mean by "we can always make up for it later"?
Let's keep things separate. Is it so easy to make up for the damage done?
So, Teacher Jiang started the class.
Have someone bring paper and pen, write down the key points, and let him memorize, understand, and correct them...
Prince Jing was so overwhelmed by what he saw that he didn't know what to say for a moment.
Kang Chengzhi only said that he came to see her once, and she helped him take care of everything. She didn't say that he had to learn these things!
In his mind, if he liked something, he would just ask for it. Even if the other party was Mei Lanyi, he could ask the imperial decree to grant them a marriage, and the Mei family would have no room to resist.
But he didn't want to use that method. He wanted Mei Lanyi to marry him willingly, like the Lu and Qin families, where they truly liked each other and were together voluntarily, rather than through coercion.
So, he tried every day to catch up with her, but she wouldn't even look at him.
That's how they finally found Jiang Jiuniang after a long and winding journey. Then, they were forced to tell her that if she wanted to win a girl's heart, she had to pay this much price.
He couldn't quite grasp all that he had learned at once, so he went back to calm down and made an excuse to run away.
Jiang Jiuniang didn't force it too much, after all, there always has to be a process of acceptance.
If he can accept it, there might still be a chance. If he can't accept it, then he shouldn't even think about having any sweet love. If the emperor just randomly bestows a marriage upon him, there will be plenty of people scrambling to marry him.
After leaving, Prince Jing did not return to his residence, but went to the palace to talk to his mother, Consort Zhao, about the matter.
Recently, her son has been lingering around that girl from the Mei family. Consort Zhao had heard about it long ago and was looking for an opportunity to ask him about it when he took the initiative to come to the palace.
Prince Jing took the initiative to say, "I have taken a liking to her, but she has some misunderstandings about me. I want to explain things to her, but she won't give me the chance."
What he didn't mention was how he made things difficult for Mei Lanyi during the time she was attending to him while he was ill.
Therefore, Consort Zhao had a preconceived notion that Mei Lanyi was deliberately putting on airs and trying to keep her son in suspense.
"What's so difficult about that? I'll just have the Emperor bestow a marriage upon you. Imperial decrees are hard to disobey, and I don't believe the Mei family would dare to openly oppose the royal family."
Consort Zhao didn't take it seriously. She thought she was just a woman, and if her son liked her, he could just take her. Why bother with all this trouble?
If Prince Jing hadn't witnessed the interaction between Lu Baichuan and his wife, he would have thought the same thing: she's just a woman, why should a prince like him go to such lengths to please her?
Having witnessed beautiful marital relationships and having heard so much from Jiang Jiuniang today, he strongly rejected his mother's suggestion, saying, "Mother, this is not my intention. I want her to enter my Prince Jing's mansion willingly, not out of necessity."
With just one sentence, Consort Zhao's expression changed drastically. Her son was so concerned about a woman? Did that mean that if the woman was cunning, she could easily manipulate her son?
Her thinking reflects the thinking of everyone in this era: women are merely appendages of men and not worth taking seriously at all.
Even though Consort Zhao herself was a woman.
If her son is so devoted to a woman, then his downfall is not far off.
Her son is now the most promising of all the princes, and he must not be ruined by a woman.
This woman must not be allowed to live.
Soon, she had an idea. Holding her son's hand, she smiled and said, "Why don't we hold a banquet and invite all the ladies and noblewomen in the capital to attend? Then I can help you find out her attitude and persuade her."
Prince Jing did not answer immediately, but only asked, "Will she come?"
"She definitely will. After all, Mother is the Dowager Consort, so she has to give Mother face. Didn't you say you wanted to explain things to her in person? Then you'll have a chance."
Consort Zhao gently coaxed him. She knew her son's temperament best and knew he could be fooled with a little coaxing.
Once the banquet is held, she can take the opportunity to choose a suitable princess for her son, and then teach Mei Lanyi a lesson for daring to play her son for fools. She'll see what happens to her.
Prince Jing was unaware of his mother's plans and thought it would be great to clear up the misunderstanding by meeting her at the banquet.
After careful consideration, he felt that Jiang Jiuniang was right. He should admit his mistakes, and he really liked her. Apologizing to the person he liked was nothing. He hoped that she could forgive him.
"Alright, then I'll have to trouble Mother Consort!"
Prince Jing ate at Consort Zhao's place before leaving. He was in a good mood when he returned, thinking that with the help of Jiang Jiuniang and his mother, he would surely win Mei Lanyi's heart soon.
He instantly became proud again, saying that there was no woman in this world he couldn't handle.
Little did he know that after he left, his mother, Consort Zhao, immediately arranged for her trusted confidantes to investigate the details of her son and Mei Lanyi's relationship during that time, as well as who Mei Lanyi had been in contact with. They wanted to find out all the details before taking any action.
"Your Highness, His Highness will be angry if he finds out, won't he?"
The trusted nanny by his side was a little worried. After all, she knew Prince Jing's temper. If he found out he had been deceived, he would probably make a huge scene.
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