Emperor Zongwen’s edict arrived not long after Mo Xuetong returned to the manor.

The edict declared that Princess Anping was demure and virtuous. The Emperor has bestowed marriage upon her and the eighth prince, King Xuan. They were to be married after a date was picked.

The edict had come suddenly and it was completely unexpected by Mo Huawen even though he knew that Emperor Zongwen had the intention of letting Tong’er marry Feng Yuran. They had communicated about this in private but Mo Huawen was biased against Feng Yuran and he also felt that since Mo Xuetong was in mourning, the Emperor would not bestow a marriage so soon. However, he did not expect the edict to come so quickly, and he was flustered.

“Eunuch Liu, when does His Majesty think the marriage should be held?” Mo Huawen almost could not smile and he asked lead eunuch, Eunuch Liu, worriedly.

“His Majesty says that it should be as soon as possible. Sir Mo, as you know, King Xuan is hurt and still has not recovered. The wedding would be an auspicious event and might help his injuries heal.” Liu Xi smiled and placed the imperial edict in Mo Huawen’s hands respectfully.

An auspicious event? Mo Huawen’s smile grew bitter.

Indeed, he had heard that King Xuan had been unconscious ever since he was injured. He needed the blessings of an auspicious event. Mo Huawen felt resentful that his beloved daughter would be married just to create an auspicious event.

Everyone knew that King Xuan was badly injured and it was still unknown whether he would even regain consciousness. If he did not, his daughter would be as good as a widow.

“Eunuch Liu, my daughter is still mourning her mother. Do you think we can…” Mo Huawen asked carefully with a smile.

“No! Sir Mo, I heard that your eldest daughter married a few days ago. Furthermore, if anything were to happen to King Xuan, can anyone take responsibility for that? His Majesty is very worried about this.” Liu Xi objected decisively, his expression going hard. Emperor Zongwen had a hard time sleeping and eating recently. If anything were to happen, the Qin Kingdom would be thrown into chaos. Eunuch Liu saw Mo Huawen’s worried frown and comforted him.

“Sir Mo, don’t worry. Princess Anping is born into great fortune and her birth dates are well-matched with His Highness’. She will bring great fortunes to her husband. His Majesty has had the imperial astrologer do the calculations and the two are a match made in heaven.”

The Emperor had already gotten the imperial astrologer to do the calculations. What else could Mo Huawen say? He was speechless as he accepted the imperial edict. He stood up and said with a smile, “Eunuch, please give me some pointers.”

“King Yan’s and King Chu’s weddings will be held in a month. His Majesty said that it would be troublesome to have it on two days, so they will be held together.” Liu Xi said with a smile. His Majesty had said that it was imperative that the marriages of the three princes be settled on the same day. Furthermore, he heard that King Xuan had done some things in secret when His Majesty mentioned about bestowing marriages.

King Xuan might be able to regain consciousness in a month.

Mo Huawen heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that the marriage would not be taking place immediately. After he sent Liu Xi off, he sat in the study alone to think. There was still one more month. If King Xuan were to recover, the marriage would be a good one. Other than being a little profligate, Mo Huawen had not heard that the prince had any bad habits of hitting women. Tong’er was a quiet person and all she had to do was to hold on tightly to the position as the main consort.

With Mo Huawen and Fu General Manor around, King Xuan would give them some face and not make things difficult for Tong’er.

If King Xuan were to die before the month was up, then the marriage would not happen. Since Xuetong had not married the man, the Emperor probably would not ask Tong’er to be the prince’s widow. Tong’er was still young. If that happened, Mo Huawen would send her to Cloud city and in a year or two, when others forget about the incident, he would then find a good family to marry her.

They did not have to be high-ranking officials or wealthy. All they had to do was treat Tong’er well. With him around, no one could even think about bullying Tong’er.

Mo Huawen’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly when he thought of that. One month, there was still at least one month for things to happen. Whether King Xuan would survive depended on his fate.

Mo Huawen suddenly thought of You Yuecheng. You Yuecheng wanted to marry Tong’er. That was plain to see. He had even used Luo Xia’s identity to threaten Mo Huawen. If You Yuecheng did not get to marry Tong’er and if he were to spill the beans, the results were not something Mo Huawen could afford to bear. The struggles of the imperial family had never been black and white.

He did not want to know what happened back then. He just wanted to protect his young daughter.

You Yuecheng’s cold and sharp face appeared in his mind. A person like that would not be persuaded to back away with a few simple words.

Mo Huawen had to think of a way to talk things through with You Yuecheng. Furthermore, he must not make You Yuecheng angry lest he spilled the beans! Mo Huawen was put in a very difficult place and he felt that Tong’er’s marriage had been troublesome. He did not even eat dinner as he was deep in thought. Then, he asked Xu Yan to cook for him personally and he ate some food for dinner.

After he pushed the food away, he started worrying once more.

“Old Sir, are you worried about Tong’er’s marriage?” Xu Yan asked gently as she cleaned up. She visited Mo Xuetong earlier and found out a little about You Yuecheng. The imperial edict had come today bestowing marriage upon Tong’er and King Xuan, then, Old Sir had become worried. She thought Mo Huawen was embarrassed to speak with Mingguo Manor.

“Old Sir, if it is about the Marquess of Mingguo, then you do not need to worry. Even if you were to agree, he cannot marry Tong’er.” Xu Yan smiled, holding her hand to her lips.

“You Yuecheng had said that he was going to marry Tong’er, is this not true?” Mo Huawen asked in confusion. He would not tell her how You Yuecheng threatened him. He only told her that You Yuecheng liked Tong’er very much and would not marry anyone else but her and that was why he was embarrassed to refuse him.

“Old Sir, you did not go out at all today and I fear you do not know something interesting about Marquess Mingguo.” Xu Yan smiled thinly and praised Mo Xuetong for being smart secretly. Mo Xuetong had sent her with the message because she knew that Mo Huawen would be so worried he would not be able to eat.

Unlike Mo Huawen, Xu Yan got along well with Mo Xuetong and wanted her to marry well. At least her children would have backing in the future. She would naturally be Mo Xuetong’s ears outside and help to send Mo Xuetong’s messages along.

“You went to Peony Gardens today. Did anything happen?” Mo Huawen’s heart skipped a beat and he frowned. He recalled getting Tong’er to dress up nicely before going out so that they could meet in private. If Tong’er liked You Yuecheng as well, then the matter would be settled. He would send her birth dates over to You Yuecheng in a couple of days then.

However, he did not expect the imperial edict to come right after Tong’er returned to the manor. Tong’er not only had to marry King Xuan to bring about blessings, but the marriage also had to be completed in a month or so. The agreement he had come to with You Yuecheng in private was useless now. Did You Yuecheng hear something in the peony gardens and do something?

“Old Sir, The First Miss of the Ding General Manor likes the Marquess of Mingguo. You know that right?” Xu Yan covered her smile with her handkerchief.

This was an embarrassing matter, especially since it involved Ling Mingyan, who was the eldest legal daughter of the Ding General Manor. She followed a man around day in and day out. The Ding General Manor was known to be the Empress’ family and the ladies from the family were all elegant and gentle. However, Ling Mingyan was not.

She had not only dared to chase after You Yuecheng, and she ran after him for many years. This had resulted in her marriage being held up.

What happened today was a coincidence as well. There were two ladies whispering to each other in the peony flowers talking about how much they liked You Yuecheng. However, Ling Mingyan, who was walking by overheard them. She flew into a rage there and then and slapped the girls. One of the girls was from a family of martial artists and was also someone with a temper.

How could she bear it being slapped by someone and then being called a little slut? She fought with Ling Mingyan. The two tore at each other’s clothes and not even their maids could stop them.

Then, You Yuecheng appeared to stop them. While they jostled about, Ling Mingyan was pushed into the lake beside them. Ling Mingyan was still the eldest legal daughter of the Ding General Manor. If anything were to happen to her while You Yuecheng was there, the two families would certainly get into an argument. You Yuecheng had no choice but to get her from the lake personally.

No one knew if Ling Mingyan’s clothes had been loosed in the fight or if they had loosened due to her struggles in the water. In any case, when You Yuecheng finally saved her from the lake, most of her shirt had already fallen off her, revealing her red undershirt. You Yuecheng’s hand was pressed firmly on her chest…

After this, the Mingguo Manor could not even say that nothing happened. Everyone had seen You Yuecheng and Ling Mingyan hugging with their clothes in disarray. How could he not marry her after this? As such, the families were negotiating their marriage. You Yuecheng’s interest in Mo Xuetong was nothing compared to the faces of both families.

“As such, Old Sir, don’t worry. The Marquess of Mingguo will not come to ask for Tong’er’s hand again.” Xu Yan laughed when she thought about what happened. Mo Xuetong described it to her vividly and even lamented that Ling Mingyan had finally gotten what she wanted after so long.

She thought it was so too.

The Ding General Manor had waited a long time for his long-awaited marriage.

However, some people’s plans were destined to be messed up. They could not sleep at all that night.

King Yan’s Manor.

“Your Highness, please tell Her Majesty what happened. Ling Mingyan tore off her clothes herself.” You Yuecheng’s face twitched as he gritted his teeth. He never thought that that stupid woman who was Ling Mingyan would frame him and that he would be tricked.

“Yuecheng, since this matter…” Feng Yulei, King Yan, was in a difficult spot as well. After all, he was not the Empress’ biological son. There were some things he could only hint at. Previously, Her Majesty had agreed to let You Yuecheng marry Princess Anping to increase power on her side. However, now that something like this happened, if You Yuecheng did not marry Ling Mingyan, the entire Ding General Manor would be embarrassed, as would the Empress.

“I do not want to marry that woman.” You Yuecheng said coldly. If he were not a nobleman and could not scold a woman, he would not have been able to control himself. He had never thought that Ling Mingyan would be able to pull him into her plots. He was so angry he gritted his teeth. Even that stupid woman dared to plot against him.

“First Miss Ling might not be a good match, but you would have the Ding General Manor as your backing. Yuecheng, it would only bring you benefits in your future path towards officialdom.” Feng Yulei comforted him. He did not want You Yuecheng to marry Ling Mingyan either. While the First Miss of the Ding General Manor was passable in terms of appearance, she was useless. A good political match had been ruined by the stupid girl. King Yan was not in a good mood.

Despite so, He was with the Empress. Since the Empress had this intention, there was no use of him begging her. Nothing was set in stone yet, and he still needed the Empress and the Ding General Manor to back him. He would not really make things difficult for them. It would not be to his benefit if he were to make the Empress angry. When he thought of how he still had to butter up to the Empress because of Ling Mingyan, King Yan could not control the angry expression on his face.

You Yuecheng understood as well, but he could not bear the anger he felt. He paced around with a grave expression, looking as if he were going to blow up. In the end, he managed to push his anger down. He gritted his teeth, and then smiled coldly, revealing his sharp white teeth, saying, “Since this plot did not succeed, I do not feel good at all. But if I don’t feel good, she wouldn’t either.”

Feng Yulei paused for a moment and looked at You Yuecheng in confusion. Suddenly, a guard ran in. He bowed at Feng Yulei and then said to You Yuecheng, “Your Excellency, the manor sent someone for you. They said that there’s a fire in your study and everything in it has been burned to ashes. Please return to deal with it.”

“What did you say?” You Yuecheng’s expression was mutinous. His eyes glinted scarily as it had never before. He did not even bid Feng Yulei farewell before he hurried outside.