Chapter Seventy-Four: Coming to the Door

  Xu Mingjin didn't know that Xuan Yuan Qi wanted to see her, and thought Xu Ruoyi really had something important to discuss, so she put down what she was doing and brought Yu Zhu along with the person Xu Ruoyi sent. When Xu Mingjin went in, Yu Zhu stayed at the door. This was Xu Ruoyi's request.

  Xu Mingjin entered the study and immediately saw Xuan Yuan Qi's leisurely gaze, instantly realizing she had been deceived. Suppressing her anger, she asked Xu Ruoyi, "Father, what did you call me here for?"

  Xu Ruoyi's heart was empty and she didn't dare look into Xu Mingjin's eyes, so she thickened her skin and said: "The young master wants to see you, accompany him and chat with him." She wanted to slip away.

  Xu Mingjin blocked him with one hand and said sternly, "Father, how can you let your daughter be alone in a room with an outsider? If word gets out, will your daughter still have a life?"

  "What are you worried about? I see who dares to be reckless in this capital city. You will marry me anyway, what's the big deal."

  Xu Mingjin said coldly: "I will never marry you."

  Xuanyuan said: "What I say counts, what you say doesn't count."

  Xu Mingjin sneered: "You're going to marry someone else soon, and you're still speaking so boldly here. Xuan Yuan Qiyue, aren't you ashamed?"

  "Don't tell me you don't know what's going on with that imperial edict!" Xuan Yuan Qi swore angrily: "I've already investigated clearly! This matter was caused by the Second Prince's people reaching the Emperor! Why did he want to do this? You tell me!"

  Xu Mingjin was shocked and took a step back. Although she had vaguely guessed it, on the day of their parting, he told her: "You don't have to worry, I'll take care of this matter, Xuan Yuan Qi will not bother you soon." But guessing is one thing, being proven is another.

  Xu Mingjin said coldly: "What does this have to do with me?"

  Xuanyuan Qiyue sighed and said, "Originally I didn't know his thoughts about you, but that day at the other villa, when I saw you both together, I had some suspicions. It wasn't until we were betrothed that I was completely certain of his thoughts. But let me tell you, this lifetime, forget about marrying him! I can offer you the position of secondary consort, and in his eyes, you don't even qualify as a secondary consort...!"

  Xu Mingjin was so angry that she turned around and walked away, but Xuan Yuan Qiyue grabbed her hand. Xu Mingjin struggled to shake him off, but couldn't. In a moment of desperation, she remembered that Xuan Yuan Qiyue was afraid of his siblings, Xuan Yuan Jinglin. She quickly shouted towards the door: "Princess Jinglin, come quick!" Xuan Yuan Qiyue was startled and lost focus for a moment. Xu Mingjin took advantage of this opportunity to pull her arm free from Xuan Yuan Qiyue's grasp and rushed towards the gate.

  Xuan Yuan Qi's eyes widened for only an instant, and Xu Ming Jin took advantage of the momentary distraction to break free. He then realized he had been deceived, and upon looking again at the entrance, he saw that Xuan Yuan Jing Lin was not there at all. He hastily reached out to grab Xu Ming Jin, but Xu Ruo Yi had already slipped away unnoticed.

  Xu Mingjin rushed to the door, and Xuan Yuan Qiyue hastily stretched out his hand to grab her, but was blocked by Yu Zhu. At first, Xuan Yuan Qiyue thought Yu Zhu was just an ordinary maid, but she dodged left and right, always standing in front of him, while Xu Mingjin had already walked far away. Xuan Yuan Qiyue secretly became anxious, his hands becoming more forceful, but Yu Zhu showed no fear at all.

  At this point, Xuan Yuan Qi realized that Xu Ming Jin's maid was actually skilled in martial arts. When did she have such a formidable figure by her side? Xuan Yuan Qi couldn't help but reevaluate Xu Ming Jin.

  Xu Mingjin saw Yu Zhu blocking Xuan Yuan's way, and hastily rushed to the Feicui Garden. She knew that Yu Zhu would be fine as long as she ran out, and Yu Zhu would take advantage of the situation to escape. Besides, she didn't believe it anyway - just a prince, daring to recklessly run amok in the Shangshu Mansion? She was too busy running with her head down to notice someone rushing over from ahead, and with a loud crash, the two people collided.

  "Ah!" "Ah!" The two people simultaneously let out a cry of pain. Xu Mingjin looked up to see that the person standing in front of her was Xu Mingxia. Xu Mingjin immediately thought of the person in front of her, who had been deeply in love with Xuan Yuan Qi's deceased wife, and it just so happened that she could use her to block Xuan Yuan Qi. She grabbed Xu Mingxia's hand and said: "Big sister, where are you going?"

  Xu Mingxia rubbed her sore head and said discontentedly, "Are you in a hurry to be reborn?" Xu Mingjin chuckled, and Xu Mingxia glared at her again, saying, "I'm going to my grandmother's place now. I just made some osmanthus cake and want to give it to her to try the fresh ones. These are freshly picked osmanthus flowers this year!"

  Xu Mingjin didn't care whether the osmanthus flowers were fresh or not, anyway it was already late November. She glanced at the maid behind Xu Mingxia and said, "Sister, may I have a word with you?"

  Xu Mingxia snorted, saying: "If you have something to say, just say it openly and honestly. Don't be sneaky and secretive again, I won't listen, don't dirty my ears!"

  Xu Mingjin was speechless. Xu Mingxia, apart from being slightly better on the day she was locked in the Buddhist hall, always seemed to be mocking her with a cold smile whenever they met. Now, she was even more vicious, slandering and scolding her. Xu Mingjin regretted it, not wanting to tell her that Xuan Yuan Qi Yi was in their father's study room.

  But then she thought of Xuan Yuan's words, and would rather hear more of Xu Mingxia's cold ridicule. Thinking of this, Xu Mingjin said: "Sister, this is a matter that concerns your lifelong happiness!"

  Xu Mingxia originally wanted to sarcastically remark on Xu Mingjin a few more times, but suddenly hearing what Xu Mingjin said, her facial expression slowly changed, and she ordered the maidservant behind her to step back. After everyone withdrew, she revealed an excited and suspicious look, hastily asking Xu Mingjin: "What did you mean by that sentence just now? Say it again!"

  "Xuanyuan Qiyue is now in Father's study." Xu Mingjin said calmly.

  Upon hearing this, Xu Mingjin's face lit up with extreme joy and he was about to head to the study when she suddenly turned around, glaring at him furiously: "I didn't even know about this matter, how did you find out?"

  Xu Mingjin smiled bitterly and said: "Because I was deceived by my father and escaped from there."

  Xu Mingxia listened and showed a look of envy, jealousy and hatred.

  Xu Mingjin knew she was being jealous, but what kind of jealousy was this? She wouldn't fall for Xuan Yuan's narcissistic ways.

  "If you don't go now, he might be gone." Xu Mingjin reminded kindly.

  Xu Mingxia glared at her again and then quickly walked towards Xu Ruoyi's study.

  Xu Ming let out a sigh of relief and hurried back to his own courtyard, instructing the gatekeeper: "When Yuzhu returns later, don't open the door for anyone who comes calling."

  She had just sat down when Jade Bamboo came back.

  Xu Mingjin asked worriedly: "Are you injured?" As he spoke, his eyes looked towards Yuzhu's body.

  "Miss, I'm fine." Yuzhu said: "I am no match for the young master, but I saw you running away, Miss. I thought you had already run far away, so I escaped back here. Besides, I am your senior maid, and when beating a dog, one must consider its owner!"

  Xu Mingjin burst out laughing.

  "By the way, on my way back, I saw Big Sister hurrying towards the study." said Yuzhu.

  Xu Ming said with certainty: "I know, she is the one I brought over."

  Bamboo suddenly enlightened.

  Xu Mingjin spent the whole day without leaving the hospital, eating, sleeping and reading, feeling extremely comfortable.

  In comparison, Xuan Yuan's life was utterly bleak. Describing it as a drunken haze would not be an exaggeration.

  The Empress Dowager Ping Xi looked at her son, who was drunk every day and didn't know what was going on. She felt both heartache and distress. However, she would never allow him to disobey the emperor's decree and marry Miss Xu Liu. No matter how good Miss Xu was, could she be better than the granddaughter of the Grand Minister? Moreover, disobeying the emperor's decree was a capital offense! The Empress Dowager had only one son, whom she had pampered since childhood, fearing that he would disappear if she didn't hold him tightly. If he were to go, it would be her death as well! The Empress Dowager always thought she was doing the right thing, but now, looking at Xuan Yuan Qi who hadn't eaten or drunk for several days, she couldn't help but feel some regret. If things continued like this, there would be no need for the emperor to execute him; he would torture himself to death. Thinking of this, the Empress Dowager felt a pang of heartache. She hated Xu Ming Jin, who had caused her son to become like this, with a hatred that knew no bounds.

  That Xu Mingjin is just a country bumpkin, even if Xu Shangshu has already made her deceased mother a legitimate wife, she has become a legitimate daughter. However, the rustic air that seeps out from her bones cannot be concealed! How can she let her son marry such a woman? Then the face of the Pingxi Wangfu will be completely lost!

  Being a wife is out of the question, but being a concubine might be worth considering. When she shared this idea with her son, he sneered and said, "She's not even willing to be a wife, let alone a concubine? Don't dream about it!"

  Princess Pingxi felt uncomfortable as soon as she heard this, what's the point of giving up? Xu Mingjin was only suitable to be a concubine! Wasn't she unwilling? Then she had to make her become that concubine! Princess Pingxi made up her mind and immediately said to her son: "If you really like that girl, then there is only one way to go!"

  Xuanyuan Qiyue listened to his mother's words, thinking of that sentence in his mind: If you really like that girl, there is only one way to go! He jumped up from the couch and said to Empress Pinghui: "Mother, I want to marry her as a concubine, and let Yang's daughter enter the palace on the same day. I will give her the glory of a legitimate wife!"

  The Princess Pingxi was so angry that she fell over backwards.

  Xuanyuan Qishan suddenly came back to life, his spirit lifted as he was about to head out. Princess Pingxi hastily grabbed hold of him: "Where are you going?"

  "I personally went to Xu's residence to propose to her."

  "Are you crazy?! Who marries a concubine and goes to propose in person?! Besides, it's already dark outside! Who visits someone's home at this late hour to propose?! She saw Xuan Yuan Qi Wei calm down after hearing her words, and only then did she put her mind at ease. Hurriedly pulling him back into his chair, she soothed: "Since you insist on doing things this way, tomorrow I'll personally send someone to the Xu household to propose. Are you satisfied now?"

  Xuanyuan Xie carefully considered his mother's words and nodded after a while.

  The Queen of Pingxi nodded in satisfaction and turned around to quickly wipe away the cold sweat on her forehead with a handkerchief.

  On the second day, early in the morning, Princess Pingxi came to see Xuan Yuan Qiyue, but unexpectedly, there was no one inside the house. Princess Pingxi was furious and hastily interrogated several maids who attended to Xuan Yuan Qiyue's daily life. The few people trembled with fear and said: "The young master left early in the morning and warned us not to leak out the news, otherwise he would beat us to death with a stick."

  Princess Pingxi was shocked: did this unfilial son really go to the Xu family to propose marriage on his own? She hadn't expected that her heartfelt advice yesterday would all be ignored by him. She was both angry and anxious, and hastily sent someone to the Shangshu Mansion to gather information.

  When the people of Princess Pingxi arrived at the residence of the Minister, Xuan Yuan Qiyue was being pestered by Xu Mingxia. As soon as they saw this, they were all shocked and lost their color. They had not expected that the sixth miss of the Xu family would be so shameless and promiscuous, openly flirting with the young master of their family in broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of everyone. Did she have no sense of shame at all? Several people made up their minds to report what they saw and heard today to Princess Pingxi when they returned. They didn't believe that after hearing about this matter, Princess Pingxi would still allow Miss Xu to enter the palace gates, not even as a concubine.

  At this moment, Xuan Yuan Qi was annoyed and said loudly: "Miss Xu, please restrain yourself!"

  The people sent by Princess Pingxi immediately exclaimed in surprise as soon as they heard the words "Xu Xiaojie" from Xuan Yuan's mouth: "Xu Xiaojie? Isn't it Xu Liu Miss?"

  Xuanyuan Qixi and Xu Mingxia heard the shout, turned around together, and Xu Mingxia was frightened by a few unfamiliar servants. She let out a sharp cry, then listened to Xuanyuan Qixi frowning and saying: "What did the empress send you over here for?" Her face gradually turned pale, how could this be! The scene where she had just entwined with Xuanyuan Qixi must have been seen by these servants. When they returned, they would definitely report back to Empress Pinghe, and if the empress thought she was a shameless person, she would be extremely disgusted with her. Then she wouldn't even be able to marry Xuanyuan Qixi as a secondary wife!

  In an instant, Xu Mingxia felt as if all her thoughts had turned to dust.