Chapter One Hundred: Promise

  The empress dowager lost her smile. "Foolish child, where do you think I want to send you? It's not a marriage, and I don't have the right to see you off either."

  Get married?

  The Empress Dowager wants to help her get married?!

  Lin Zhaoyan was shocked.

  The Empress Dowager wants to make her a county mistress, so the object of this marriage must be of high status, otherwise she won't match him.

  But Ke Lin Zhao Yan was no longer favored in the Hou Mansion, and to outsiders, she was also the orthodox legitimate daughter of the hundred-year-old family, the Jian'an Marquis's mansion. Who could be worthy of her?

  It seems like it's only for princes and young masters.

  Lin Zhaoyan's first reaction was Xiao Qi.

  "Empress Dowager, I... " She was so scared that she even forgot the honorifics and hastily said: "I'm afraid I won't be a good match."

  The Empress Dowager smiled again, "I haven't even said who it is yet? You already know you're not worthy?"

  Lin Zhaoyan was momentarily stunned and lost his composure.

  Could it be Xiao Qi? What should I do if it's really him?

  That day he coldly warned still words are in her ears, she can't imagine spending the rest of her life with such a person.

  This man, in order to get what he wants, will stop at nothing. In his eyes, everyone is divided into two categories: usable and unusable. He has never had any sympathy, nor does he feel any shame in dealing with women.

  He only cares about what he can get in the end.

  He is so cold-blooded that he doesn't seem like a human being.

  She thought that if she had any interest conflicts with him in the future, he would definitely kill her without hesitation.

  "I..." Lin Zhaoyan decided that no matter what kind of sacrilegious crime she would be charged with, she would rather die than accept this 'arranged' marriage today. She absolutely could not marry Xiao Qi!

  The Empress Dowager, however, spoke before she did. "I want to arrange a marriage for you with the Crown Prince of Duanwang, whose territory is far away in Longxi. The journey is long and arduous, if you were to marry him and go there, it would be difficult for you to return to Shengjing again, isn't that starting a new life?"

  The empress dowager said, feeling more and more that this marriage was a wonderful thing to say. It can make Lin Si far away from the dispute, avoid unnecessary "chaos" in the future because of her, and also let King Duan tie with the court, he will do anything in the future to weigh carefully.

  Although she knew clearly that Duanyan would not do anything treacherous, it's always good to prevent problems before they arise.

  Lin Zhaoyan is completely 'cheated' this time.

  She stood frozen for half a moment before regaining her composure, "Crown Prince Dun?"

  It doesn't have to be Xiao Qi, anyone but Xiao Qi is fine. This was Lin Zhao's first reaction. Later, she carefully savored the empress dowager's words again. Since Prince Duan was in Longxi, did that mean she would have to spend her days there from now on?

  Longxi is located in a remote area with poor environment, and it's not a rich fief. It's said that Prince Duan was the son of Empress Dowager's archenemy back then, so he was given this godforsaken place as his fief.

  But she thought it was good, in the royal family, if you don't have the capital to fight for that high position. The less favored you are, the longer you live, after all, the emperor wants to win over the people and also needs to maintain family ethics. Generally, emperors who do not pose a great threat to the emperor will not be killed. Otherwise, the common people would rebel.

  Who wants a tyrannical ruler? When that time comes, it will be too late to learn from Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's rebellion.

  So, King Duan is like this 'heart' without great ambition. Very safe, really. Too safe.

  Moreover, the Empress Dowager has given her hand in marriage. As a sign of respect, it is impossible for the Crown Prince to go against her openly, so she doesn't have to worry about various palace intrigues and jealousy; as long as she can pretend to be demure and respectful towards the Crown Prince's son, that will do.

  That's what she wanted - a smooth journey.

  "Yes, Crown Prince Wang, by the end of this year, I will specially summon Crown Prince Wang and his family to come to the capital for worship, and I will also call you over. I will personally grant your marriage."

  Lin Zhaoyan still didn't understand why, but she finally believed that the Empress Dowager was really thinking of her.

  Her nose was a bit sour and she knelt down, choking: "Xiao 'girl' thanks Zhen Hou for her kindness, but doesn't know how to repay it."

  "What should I repay with? As long as you live happily, that is the greatest repayment to me."

  Lin Zhaoyan's nose was even more sour, but she didn't know what to say either.

  The Empress Dowager treats her so well, is it really just because she saved her that day?

  "All right, you can go now. Your grandmother and Seventh Sister have already sent someone to instruct them to wait for you outside the palace gate. I invited you into the palace just to tell you this, so it's good that you understand."

  Lin Zhaoyan nodded in agreement and slowly stepped down from the hall.

  Unlike before, this time's footsteps swept away the heavy oppression and brought lightness and longing.

  The yellow palace lanterns lightly sprinkle the corridors, the emerald green glass windows reflect each other's light, Lin Zhao Yan's slender figure is like a willow leaf in green silk embroidery and flower-patterned skirt, under the layers of lamp shadows, she is like a butterfly that has been dyed with ink, fluttering and dancing along the winding corridor.

  The red lacquer falls to the ground, the green bricks are laid out, under the moonlight, her figure gradually fades away.

  "That is the newly appointed mistress of Anyang County, the eldest legitimate daughter of the third elder master of Jian'an Marquis Manor."

  "She was the eldest daughter born to Liu for him, about the same age as my Heart."

  Under the moonlit pavilion, amidst the lush flowers and trees, a soft feminine voice drifted over.

  In an instant, a figure emerged from the side of the corridor. With the soft and dim light, it could be seen that it was a woman with a beautiful and clean face, who was none other than Wan Fei, the most favored imperial concubine in the palace.

  The "heart" in her mouth was her 14-year-old 'daughter' who had died.

  She stared blankly at the figure that was walking away, her heart aching with anxiety.

  If her daughter were still alive, she should be about this big now?

  It's time, living such a carefree and beautiful life.

  The fourth miss of Jian'an Marquis's manor was personally conferred the title of Anyang County Mistress by the Empress Dowager, and the seventh miss being summoned into the palace by the Empress Dowager became the most talked-about topic in Shengjing City.

  Everyone says that the Jian'an Marquis's estate is good at teaching daughters, and they have raised one after another to be knowledgeable and reasonable, elegant in appearance and intelligent in mind. For a time, the young ladies of the Jian'an Marquis's estate were lifted to a new height, even surpassing the daughter of Dong Chengxiang, who was previously the most sought-after.

  The threshold of the Jian'an Marquis's mansion, which was seeking a marriage alliance, is about to be trampled. Originally, those unmarried women who were not sought after and had to beg for a marriage arrangement have become hot commodities.

  The faces of several aunts in each house blossomed into smiles, all praising Mrs. Liu for knowing how to teach children.

  The Qin family was so angry that they vomited blood, and if they had known earlier, they would not have helped Ruolan arrange her marriage! Now that they have to choose, they can definitely choose a better one!

  Her eyes turned red with anger, and she secretly harbored a deep grudge against Liu's family.

  Mrs. Lin told Mrs. Liu that she wanted to transfer the ownership of Lin Xiang's property to her name, and although Mrs. Liu was extremely reluctant, she could only nod in agreement.

  Wan Yiniang was also fetched back from the village, she had lost a lot of weight and had an added frailty that made her look like a weak willow in the wind, it was hard not to feel pity and concern for her.

  Not to mention Lin Chen, even Old Lady Lin felt this punishment was sufficient.

  Lin Xing cried sadly and hugged Wan Niang tightly, refusing to let go.

  Only Liu and Lin Ruoyan were unmoved, silently cursing Prunella with the phrase "despicable woman's pretentiousness", secretly resenting her for not dying at the Zhuangzi.

  Lin Zhaoyan felt a few points of vigilance towards Wan Niang's arrival.

  Wan Niang is not a good master, she must be petty and vengeful. This time being locked up in the Zhuangzi for so long, although it's her own doing, she definitely doesn't think that way in her heart. She will think that Liu Shi and Lu Shi have wronged her and will definitely wait for an opportunity to take revenge.

  She has to be careful with her every move.

  Lin Zhaoyan did not tell Empress Liu that she would arrange her marriage to Prince Duan's son, and seeing that Empress Liu had not made any moves to speak on her behalf recently, she was even less anxious to express her attitude.

  She is no longer angry with Liu's family, but still doesn't want to take the initiative to speak.

  After several days, the Empress Dowager sent someone to bring Lin Xingyan into the palace.

  Lin Xingwen wore a light crimson cloud-patterned long dress with embroidered wood sorrel flowers on that day, her hair styled in a high cloud-shaped bun, fragrant cheek powder, and ink-dipped cloud temples. The golden silk red gemstone step-cut sapphire on her hair bun shone like blood drops in the sunlight, she was like a butterfly that had broken free from its cocoon, freely releasing her colorful splendor.

  The sun shines brightly like snow, the vermilion walls and green tiles of the imperial palace are resplendent, the carriages and sedan chairs come and go in a majestic manner.

  Lin Zhaoyan stood outside the big gate, watching her leave with a gentle sigh.

  This storm triggered by the death of Liu Gongzhu has just begun.

  Time slowly passed by.

  At a time when the entire capital was abuzz with discussions about this matter, the Xiao Wang Fu remained aloof and detached.

  The Xiao Wang Fu is very influential and naturally extremely busy. A small county main's appointment was nothing significant to them.

  As for Lin Xingyan being selected into the palace, they had long known that she was a person from the Jian'an Marquis's estate, so it didn't matter which young lady it was to them.

  The Xiao Wang Fu recently had an even more annoying big thing happen.

  The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, with a few shadows stretching across. The east courtyard of the Xiao Wang Fu is brightly lit.

  A strong gust of wind blew by, and a faint scent wafted through the air. Several maidservants knelt in front of the hall, shivering with fear, not even daring to breathe loudly.

  The Empress Xiao sat on the first black lacquered nanmu wood carved auspicious cloud 'intersection' back chair, wearing a bright red right sleeve with gold silk embroidery peony pattern sixteen skirts, her hair styled in a high chignon, her face delicate, skin as white as snow, a pair of sharp phoenix eyes staring mercilessly at the maid kneeling on the floor, the six-sided phoenix coronet inlaid with jade and seven treasures shining brightly under the candlelight.

  "Who exactly did it? Come out now, and I'll let you off with your whole body intact! Otherwise, chop you into pieces and feed the dogs!" She spoke slowly, her lips, which were beautiful to the extreme, uttering words that were ruthless to the extreme.

  Xiao Wangfei's ruthlessness was notorious, and there was once a maid who accidentally fell into Xiao Wangye's arms. Without asking any questions, Xiao Wangfei ordered someone to strangle her to death and throw her into the lotus pond.

  From then on, serving Xiao Wangye became a terrifying task, and no maid dared to have any thoughts about him.

  It is said that Xiao Wangfei once told Xiao Wangye that the love she wanted was clean and pure, and unwavering. If he couldn't do it, then don't marry her. If he married her, he had to keep his promise, otherwise she would die with him.

  Therefore, Xiao Wangye had never taken a concubine and was widely praised for it.

  Several maids were more and more afraid, and they all knelt down on the ground and started crying.

  Why did Zhao Yan think it was a marriage given by Xiao Da Shao?