With Mr. Xiao's gratitude, and the satisfaction of having seen his beloved and having eaten and drunk his fill, Yun Yichen returned to the palace contentedly. He not only sent secret guards to guard the Xiao family, but also specially assigned people to keep an eye on the Xie brothers and sisters, so that he could take timely measures if they refused to give up.
The next day, Xie Zhuoliang took more than ten loads of gifts to the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. On the way, he met Xiao Jingkang. There was a Kyoto native among Xie Zhuoliang's entourage, who hurriedly came up to his master in a flattering manner and introduced Xiao Jingkang's identity.
The person in front of him turned out to be the little beauty's father. Xie Zhuoliang dismounted and stopped Xiao Jingkang, who was confused and didn't know what was going on, intending to build some relationship with him and flatter him.
"Our prince is in the teahouse in front and would like to invite you two over for a cup of tea." A man suddenly walked out from the crowd. He was dressed in the uniform of a guard of Prince Jing's Mansion and politely extended an invitation to Xiao Jingkang and Xie Zhuoliang.
Xiao Jingkang confirmed again that he really didn't know the young man opposite him, and followed the guard to the teahouse with full of doubts.
"Aren't you going to stay and say hello to your future father-in-law?" King Jing couldn't help but teasing his son when he saw him going through the secret door into the private room next door. This kid exuded joy all over his body after returning from the Xiao family. I wonder if he thought he had been recognized by the Yue family!
Upon asking, I found out that he had only spoken a few words to the little girl, and after eating the food she cooked, he was so delicious that he couldn't even tell the directions. He is so useless and brings shame to the palace. How could the wise and brave Prince Jing have such a stupid son!
"You entertain me first, I will definitely have another chance in the future." Yun Yichen had been laughed at by his family several times in the past two days, and he no longer cared. A man who is too thin-skinned will never be able to get a wife.
"Xiao Jingkang greets Prince Jing." Xiao Jingkang greeted Prince Jing according to the proper etiquette. This was a common trait among the Xiao family members. No matter how well-informed they were, they would always follow the rules when outsiders were around. Furthermore, Prince Jing and Xiao Jingkang had little in common. In his free time, Prince Jing enjoyed meeting friends, drinking tea, and discussing poetry and painting; while Xiao Jingkang enjoyed collecting various precious woods and flowers and wandering around when he had nothing to do. Their interests were completely unrelated.
"Xie Zhuoliang greets Prince Jing." Xie Zhuoliang wanted to leave a good impression on Xiao Jingkang and lay the groundwork for his next plan. He secretly looked at Xiao Jingkang and felt that he looked very ordinary. How could he have given birth to such an outstanding little beauty? Perhaps beauty takes after her mother, and maybe he would have a mother-in-law with lingering charm.
"I was drinking tea here and saw the two of you walking in the same direction, so I took the liberty to invite you to come over for a drink." Prince Jing glanced at Xie Zhuoliang indifferently. He had already made it clear that he would stand on the side of the Xiao family, but he still dared to parade through the streets and swagger to the Xiao family to cause trouble, not taking himself, Prince Jing, seriously at all.
"Who is this..." Are the Xiao family familiar with him? He looks like a drunkard and a womanizer. I wonder what he wants to do by going to his own house? Xiao Jingkang wondered.
"Let me introduce myself. I am the son of the mayor of Xuancheng and the next successor. Ever since I met the eldest daughter of your family, I have been attracted to her. Today I want to go and get acquainted with the family and meet the elders." Xie Zhuoliang tried his best to speak in a literary way. He knew that the elders liked modest gentlemen, as if only such men were trustworthy.
"When have you seen my daughter?" Xiao Jingkang stared at Xie Zhuoliang. What happened? When did it happen? He had never heard his daughter mention it.
"Just a few days ago, in the palace villa." Xie Zhuoliang ignored Xiao Jingkang's hostility, and his light words contained a lot of information.
"Master Xiao, there is no need to panic. Nothing happened in the villa." King Jing still felt that it was more appropriate to address him like that. He couldn't bring himself to call him Prince Xiao. He also had a daughter and could understand Xiao Jingkang's constant vigilance. What's more, Xiao Yao was too outstanding. If he were a member of the Xiao family, he would also be careful and on guard every day.
"So my daughter's coming back early that day and twisting her ankle was not just a minor accident as she said. Please tell me what happened, Your Highness." Xiao Jingkang asked King Jing about the whole story. He didn't want to deal with Xie Zhuoliang at all.
"Xie was at the scene at the time. Why didn't Sir Xiao ask me?"
"This is the first time I've met Mr. Xie. How could I possibly bother you?" Xiao Jingkang thought to himself, "This guy named Xie is so proactive, it's obvious he has no good intentions. It seems I was right to ignore him."
"You two didn't see the scene where the prince hugged Miss Xiao that day. Tsk tsk, it really makes people imagine a lot. At first, Xie thought that your two families had an engagement!"
Now it was Xiao Jingkang and King Jing's turn to be surprised. They both deeply understood what it felt like to be dumbfounded. The news was so explosive that it was hard for them to accept it for a while.
Yun Yichen next door cursed inwardly, "Damn it!" This Xie Zhuoliang was a villain. He wanted the little girl's father to hate him and make the Xiao family wary of him from now on. This trick was really insidious.
"Mr. Xie's words need to be verified, but my princess said when she came back that you scared the girl a lot. Miss Xiao left early because of you, Mr. Xie!" In order to destroy the relationship between the two families and discredit his son, King Jing did not hesitate to expose his past. He had to let Xiao Jingkang know what kind of person he was.
"I was struck by the beauty Miss Xiao the moment I saw her. Although my behavior was a bit rude, I had no ill intentions. Today I am going to your house to apologize and propose marriage." Xie Zhuoliang looked like a man who was willing to take responsibility and correct his mistakes.
Xiao Jingkang also came back to his senses from his shock at this moment. He analyzed the words of King Jing and Xie Zhuoliang and gradually figured out something. It must be that this man named Xie coveted his daughter's beauty and did something shameful.
Yun Yichen has never been the subject of gossip about women in Kyoto. He is a man of great self-discipline and integrity.
Comparing the two, Xiao Jingkang chose to believe Yun Yichen without hesitation. As for the matter of him having adopted his daughter, he would deceive Xiao Yu and coax Xiao Yuan after returning home and the truth would come out.
"Propose a marriage? Propose a marriage to whom?" Xiao Jingkang asked casually, but in fact, he was furious. He had never heard of a man who came to propose marriage with boxes of gifts. Fortunately, King Jing sent someone to stop him. Fortunately, it was him who encountered this today, not the grumpy old man. Otherwise, there was no way to predict the consequences!
"Of course it's for myself. Xie wants to marry the eldest daughter of the Xiao family."
"Master Xie hasn't married yet? It doesn't seem like it! Master Xie looks like a young, promising, and distinguished man. How could he have waited so long without getting married?" Xiao Jingkang asked with a smile, his tone full of concern. However, the underlying meaning of his words was open to interpretation.
"I am an upright person and I will not lie or cheat. I do have a wife and children at home, but this does not prevent me from liking Miss Xiao! And I promise to love her, take care of her, and let her be the most favored person in my yard." Xie Zhuoliang vowed. With the beauty's looks, it would be hard for her not to be favored. As long as she is knowledgeable and sensible, which man would be willing to ignore her?
"Mr. Xie, what makes you think we would give our daughter away as a concubine? I can tell you right now that this is absolutely impossible. Considering that you are a guest from afar, I will just pretend I didn't hear you say this. Please don't mention it again in the future.
Also, my father is old and loves his granddaughter the most. He must not hear about this. If he gets sick from anger, the person who caused him will become the Xiao family's biggest enemy from now on."
"I don't need to bother the old man. As long as Master Xiao is willing to seriously consider my suggestions, I will try my best to meet any conditions he wants, except for a title."
"Master Xie, there's no need to waste your time on my daughter and the Xiao family. Not to mention the disparity in family background and age, even without mentioning those, our family wouldn't agree simply because Xuancheng is so far from Kyoto. My daughter will be engaged soon, so if you're interested, Master Xie, you can stay for a drink."
"Being engaged, what is the other party's family background, and what can they bring to your Xiao family and Miss Xiao."
"We in the Xiao family only care about two things when choosing a son-in-law. The man must be wholeheartedly good to my daughter and willing to marry into the Xiao family. If he can't meet these two conditions, we will not consider him no matter how outstanding he is."
Prince Jing and his son listened to Xiao Jingkang's conditions and grumbled to themselves, "Are we going to let the Crown Prince and the Duke become live-in sons-in-law?" Not only would the two palaces disagree, but even the Emperor wouldn't agree. After all the planning the Xiao family had put in for so long, would the old man faint with rage when his last granddaughter married into Prince Jing's palace and another into the Lingnan Palace?
Although Prince Jing and Yun Yichen firmly believed that Xiao Yao would eventually marry into their family, they also sensed that the road ahead would be difficult. They quickly dismissed Xie Zhuoliang and decided to consider the old man's choice of grandson-in-law. It seemed the palace mistress would need to personally visit the Yuan family this time. Father and son thought that nothing could be more arduous and laborious than marrying their granddaughter. It was truly a difficult and arduous journey, filled with obstacles and thorns.
"Master Xiao, don't you care about the emperor's thoughts and intentions? Just a nod from you will bring countless benefits to the Xiao family and the men in the family. Don't you care about this?"
"If the emperor had agreed, Master Xie wouldn't have appeared near the Xiao family today! As for the benefits, our family has enough food and clothing, so there's really nothing else we want. If a boy wants fame and success, he should work hard on his own. Thinking of exchanging sisters for a better future is not something that the descendants of the Xiao family would do.
Thank you, Master Xie, there is no need to say more. My meaning reflects the meaning of all the Xiao family members. I have something else to do, so I will not accompany you any longer. Thank you, Prince Jing, for the tea. I will treat you to a drink another day. I will leave first today."
After bowing, Xiao Jingkang walked out of the private room without looking back. He was eager to go home and just wanted to find out everything about his daughter in the villa. How could he care about Xie?
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