Chapter 28 Okay, I agree
This one sentence made Qingwu's words turn into silence. He was speechless for a moment, and his heart felt as if it was being pulled violently, and it was in unbearable pain.
She knew that she had not grown up with her mother, and the relationship between her and Xi Qingtong was not as deep as hers, but Qingwu had never thought that Mrs. Zheng would say such a thing?
Qingwu thought that her loss was a pain that her mother could never talk about in her life. Her mother would feel sorry for her growing up away from home and feel guilty for half her life. But now her mother just talked about it lightly.
It even seems to be a matter of course.
Because she grew up in the countryside and was used to a hard life, should she continue to live a hard life? Because her sisters were spoiled, should they naturally inherit wealth and glory?
Qingwu's gaze involuntarily turned to behind Mrs. Zheng. The twin sisters were crying on the table. She had felt pity when she saw this scene just now, but now she felt it was ironic. It turned out that she was the one who should be pitied.
"Sister, does she agree?"
Qingwu's voice had become dry. Without asking her to answer, Madam Zheng had already answered for Xi Qingtong.
"Qingtong is naturally willing. How can she serve the deposed crown prince when she has never touched water?"
Not only was the prince deposed, but he also broke his leg after falling from his horse. Naturally, the people who followed him to the palace had to take care of him.
Xi Qingtong didn't raise her head and continued to cry. This look was a tacit agreement. Qingwu felt that she was extremely hypocritical and sneered, "Have you asked father and elder brother about this plan?"
If my mother and sister make such a ridiculous suggestion, will anyone else agree?
After she finished speaking, the room fell silent. Seeing the guilty look on Mrs. Zheng's face, Qingwu finally breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, the door behind her was pushed open, and Xi Qingbai, the eldest son of the Xi family, walked in.
His face didn't look good, and he had obviously heard everything outside. When he met Qingwu's pleading eyes, he slowly turned his eyes away.
Seeing this action, Qing Wu's heart sank, but he still asked unwillingly, "Brother, don't you have anything to say?"
She thought that her eldest brother was a scholar, how could a scholar agree to such an outrageous thing?
But Xi Qingbai just stood silently behind Mrs. Zheng, his attitude was clear.
The defenses in Qingwu's heart slowly collapsed. She looked at Xi Qingbai, tears falling drop by drop. She knew that her elder brother also preferred the twin sisters, but Qingwu felt that he was a scholar who valued etiquette and morality. She just hoped that he could say something fair, but he didn't even say a word.
Xi Qingbai felt sorry for her when he saw this. He just wanted to take a step forward, but the girl behind him grabbed his hand.
When he turned around, he saw Xi Qingtong's red eyes. He raised his foot halfway and then slowly lowered it. His eyes moved between two identical faces and finally fell on Xi Qingtong's face.
When Qingwu was missing, Xi Qingbai was only six years old. He didn't remember much about the time when both of his sisters were alive. Although they were both his biological sisters, the one he loved most since childhood was this one.
Seeing this, Qingwu's last bit of hope was completely gone. She looked at the three people in front of her and felt that she was naive and foolish. She only now understood her position in their hearts.
But she refused to admit defeat. She wiped the tears from her face vigorously and said stubbornly, "Even if you all agree, it's useless. My husband won't agree."
As long as Song Yunhe is not willing, it will be useless even if the three of them are willing.
How could Song Yunhe agree to this? What man would abandon his wife for another married woman?
Qingwu thought about this and felt more confident.
Just at this moment, another person came walking in the rain, and his heavy footsteps revealed his anxiety. Song Yunhe took off his raincoat and threw it under the corridor. He walked straight into the door without even wiping the rain off his face.
It was only after he had paid his respects to the emperor that he was shocked to hear that the crown prince had been deposed and demoted to a commoner. He was panicked at the time and worried about how Qingtong would cope. Coincidentally, he met the servants of the Xi family as he walked out of the palace. He got on the carriage without thinking and completely forgot about his wife who was waiting for him in the Zhuangyuan Building.
Now when he came to Xi's house, he saw Qingwu was there too. He paused for a moment, but still couldn't help but greet Qingtong first.
"Qingtong, are you okay?"
Hearing this, Qingwu, who was full of confidence just now, trembled instantly. She watched her husband walk straight towards the twin sisters as if he didn't see her, and kept comforting her.
"Qingtong, don't be afraid. Even if the crown prince is deposed, I will protect you and help you."
When Xi Qingtong saw Song Yunhe coming, she immediately threw herself into his arms and cried, "Cousin, my life is so miserable..."
The two of them hugged each other as if no one was around!
Qingwu's heart trembled violently. She stared at the scene in front of her in a daze, unable to speak for a long time.
Without asking her to guess, Madam Zheng said, "Yunhe and Qingtong have been childhood sweethearts, and their relationship is extraordinary. If Qingtong hadn't been personally chosen by the Emperor as the Crown Prince's concubine, she would have married Yunhe. Qingwu, please agree to the change! I beg you, mother!"
Qingwu knew that Song Yunhe lived in the capital and often interacted with the Xi family when he was young, but she didn't know that such a thing happened. But even if they were childhood sweethearts, what did it matter?
She lost her composure and spoke loudly, "We have been married for three months, Mother! This marriage was arranged by Father."
No matter who Song Yunhe had a better relationship with in the past, he is now married to her.
However, Xi Qingtong, who was crying in Song Yunhe's arms, looked at her and pleaded, "Sister, please help us. My cousin and I are actually in love! If it weren't for the emperor's order, I wouldn't have entered the Eastern Palace... Sister, I beg you..."
She begged desperately, but Qing Wu ignored her. She just looked at the man hugging her and asked in a trembling voice, "Song Yunhe, is what she said true?"
The light green peony was still in his hair, but he was holding his twin sister in his arms. Looking at the peony that looked particularly beautiful after being soaked with rain, Qingwu felt only irony.
Song Yunhe's back stiffened at this question. He didn't dare look at Qingwu for a moment, let alone answer. However, Xi Qingtong didn't want him to escape. Looking at the red robe in front of her, she raised her voice and said:
"Sister, why do you think your cousin won't consummate his marriage with you? Because all he has in his heart is me."
Since Song Yunhe didn't express his opinion, she started with Qingwu. She, Xi Qingtong, was a noblewoman whose fame had spread throughout the capital at a young age. How could she waste her life with a commoner? She was destined to be paired with a third-place scholar like her cousin.
This sentence solved all of Qingwu's doubts. Three months after their marriage, no matter how she tried to show her affection, he always avoided her, saying that the Spring Examination was more important. It turned out that these were all his excuses.
At some point, a layer of mist appeared in Qingwu's eyes again. She was already 90% convinced in her heart, but she still looked at Song Yunhe stubbornly, hoping to get a negative answer from him.
Was everything she had done before really in vain? Did he really have no feelings for her at all? She could clearly feel that, at least for a few moments, the way he looked at her was different.
"Song Yunhe, is what she said true?"
The man facing her stiffened his back, but after a moment he said softly, "Yes, I have always admired Qingtong."
The mist instantly condensed into tears and fell down. In his vision blurred by tears, Qingwu saw Xi Qingtong's face that was exactly the same as his own.
Everything seems to be self-evident.
An imperial decree assigned the twin sisters to the prince, so Song Yunhe compromised and chose himself who was exactly the same as her.
Xi Qingtong is a beautiful woman in the capital with both talent and beauty. She is just a girl who grew up in the countryside. Xi Qingtong and him are childhood sweethearts, and she is just a substitute.
Now that there is an opportunity to exchange, how can he not be tempted?
"So, you choose Xi Qingtong."
Song Yunhe was also very surprised. He originally only planned to take care of Qingtong and had never had such a bold idea. But after listening for so long, he also knew what Madam Zheng and Qingtong meant. They wanted Qingtong to be exchanged with the Qingwu sister.
The moment Song Yunhe realized this, he was unwilling. However, when he saw his cousin crying in his arms, he fell silent. This was the person he had admired for many years. Now that he had the chance to fulfill his wish, should he really not seize it?
It was unknown how long it took before he was finally willing to look at Qingwu, but all he said was about the person in his arms.
"Qingtong has only learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry and songs since childhood, and can't afford to live in poverty. Qingwu, you are an excellent cook and also know medicine..."
The implication was very clear, Qingwu was crying and couldn't say anything.
Seeing that her son-in-law also agreed, Madam Zheng took advantage of the situation and advised: "Qingwu, these are things that I have forbidden you to do before. If you and your sister switch places, you can do whatever you want."
Looking at her mother who was trying her best to get her to agree to the exchange, Qingwu's tears dried up bit by bit, which made her feel very disappointed.
Her mother attached great importance to propriety and rules. When she first returned to the Xi family, she was forced to learn rules and etiquette, and learn the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. At the same time, she was not allowed to fiddle with herbs or practice martial arts to keep fit, as she disliked that those were not things that wives of officials should learn.
Now her mother, who attached great importance to propriety and rules, asked her to do this "unruly and dishonorable" thing just for her other daughter.
How could she refuse? What was the point of refusing?
If I refuse, I will have to spend my life with a husband who has someone else in his heart, endure my biological mother's lifelong resentment, and endure the interference of my twin sisters, then it would be better to -
"Okay, I agree."
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