Ji Zhuo sighed, thinking that Gu Qinghuai's approach was no better than competing directly with him.
In that case, how could Lin Xihe easily forget him?
"It's okay, I won't ask anymore. Don't cry." Ji Zhuo comforted Lin Xihe. At this moment, he regretted that last time he only asked that she had no one else by her side. He should have also asked that she had no one else in her heart.
As for what Gu Qinghuai wanted to do, he felt he had to talk to Gu Qinghuai in person.
Ji Zhuo sat up from the bed again and gently pulled Lin Xihe, who was still crying, into his arms: "If you keep crying, you'll ruin your eyes and won't be able to see me and Tang Bao anymore. He's good to you, so I'll be even better to him. The day after tomorrow, I'll go to the palace to ask His Majesty to grant us a marriage."
"The day after tomorrow... isn't that too rushed? Your injury hasn't healed yet." Lin Xihe snapped back to reality.
Actually, she also hoped to marry Ji Zhuo as soon as possible, but she originally thought it would be at least two months later.
"This injury is nothing serious. I'll go to the palace looking like this, and His Majesty won't punish me anymore."
Ji Zhuo was even more afraid that if the time dragged on, unexpected changes might occur.
"Could the wedding date be set for two months from now?" Lin Xihe asked.
Ji Zhuo asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why?"
"I need to prepare properly; getting married is a big deal. I still need to choose my wedding dress and headdress," Lin Xihe said in one breath.
“Of course, I can’t possibly ask for a marriage decree the day after tomorrow and marry you the day after that. I originally thought a month would be enough, but since you want it later, let’s choose an auspicious day two months from now.” Ji Zhuo finally agreed.
"Well, shall we settle this between us, your mother..."
“My mother has no objection to this; she probably hopes you will become a disciple soon.”
After all, it's somewhat unusual for someone of Ji Zhuo's age to be unmarried.
Chu Yunni felt that she would be content to see her son get married in this lifetime.
On the third day, Ji Zhuo went to the palace early in the morning before Lin Xihe got up, and did not return until evening.
He returned saying that His Majesty had kept him to discuss matters, but in reality, he knelt in front of the Imperial Study for two hours before finally obtaining the imperial decree to grant him marriage.
Moreover, His Majesty has already spread the word that Gu Qinghuai voluntarily withdrew, and His Majesty has severely punished him by deducting his salary for a year. If it weren't for the special circumstances at the time, he would certainly have received a beating.
However, everyone in the court knew the relationship between the three of them. They simply assumed that General Gu was fickle and that Lord Ji remained devoted, so His Majesty granted the marriage.
A few days later, Ji Zhuo met with Gu Qinghuai in private, and then a house not far from General Lin's mansion quietly changed hands.
The buyer was Ji Zhuo's man, but the house was given to Gu Qinghuai to live in, so that he could secretly visit Tang Bao.
After receiving the imperial decree to grant her marriage, Chu Yunni immediately set a wedding date.
Lin Xihe expressed that she did not want to get married when the weather was too hot. After some discussion, the wedding date was set for the sixth day of the tenth lunar month, three months later.
Ji Zhuo felt that the time span was too long, but this day was an auspicious day and was extremely compatible with the two people's birth charts, so he had no choice but to reluctantly agree.
After staying at the Ji residence for eight days, Lin Xihe moved back to her own general's mansion.
As soon as she got home, she immediately summoned Xu Qi.
Before Xu Qi could even bow, Lin Xihe eagerly asked, "What are the arrangements for my brother? Is he still living in the original courtyard?"
"Yes, young lady, you told us not to invite your brother back, so we have been protecting him in secret."
Lin Xihe originally wanted to have someone inform her brother of her upcoming marriage, but then she thought that her brother might be in danger if he came back. Besides, she was not marrying Gu Qinghuai, and it would be too complicated to explain to her brother. So she simply asked about her brother's recent situation.
"How is his vision recovering?"
“We left Nanzhao shortly after the girl, and I don’t know the situation right now.”
Lin Xihe couldn't help but sigh. In this era without telephones or the internet, the transmission of information was extremely inconvenient.
Then, she suddenly asked curiously, "You left right after us? Why did your Third Prince suddenly go back?"
"I cannot say," Xu Qi replied crisply and decisively, without the slightest concealment or evasion.
"Furthermore, I have already written to the Third Prince to report the matter of the young lady being betrothed."
Lin Xihe was stunned when she heard this, and was so shocked that she couldn't speak.
How long has it been? Xu Qi has already written to Mu Ruoyan to complain again?
"Are you a primary school student? Why do you love tattle so much?" Lin Xihe clenched her fists in anger, not knowing what to say to Xu Qi for a moment.
Upon seeing this, Xu Qi immediately knelt on one knee and begged for forgiveness: "Please punish me, young lady."
"So you're accepting the punishment?"
"Your subordinate accepts the punishment!"
"Then you'll be punished by facing the wall for a month and are not allowed to leave the West Courtyard, unless I leave." After Lin Xihe finished speaking, she didn't care whether Xu Qi agreed or not, and assumed that he had accepted the punishment. She then turned around and left the main hall.
With about fifty days left until the agreed-upon date with Mu Ruoyan, Lin Xihe thought that if they waited until after the agreed-upon time to get married, Mu Ruoyan would come looking for her, giving her more confidence.
But every time Mu Ruoyan was mentioned, she felt very uneasy.
What unsettled her even more was that, just over twenty days after the Western Regions delegation returned home, Gu Qinghuai suddenly received an assignment to go to the Western Regions border. Previously, the emperor had arranged for Gu Qinghuai to receive the Western Regions envoys, knowing that he cared about the world and the common people, and intentionally wanted to let him see the wolfish ambitions of the Western Regions people, prompting him to volunteer to go to the Western Regions border.
This appointment came too hastily, leaving Lin Xihe worried all day long, her heart constantly in suspense, unable to settle down.
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