Chapter 19： marriage

The Spring Banquet is held in the Royal Garden, where men and women sit separately and are separated by a wall.

After separating from Yu Huanchen, Yu Lingxi went to find an inconspicuous corner with the female relatives to sit.

At the same time, Prince Ning Tan climbed up the Qiongyu Tower with his hands behind his back, followed by a young **** in ocher clothes and jade belts.

"The scorched corpse of the young man found in the Colosseum did have the scars of a dagger on its chest. It must be the Seventh Prince."

The **** was pale and beardless, with a femininity that transcended age and gender, and said slowly, "No one in the world can threaten your position, Your Highness, why worry?"

Hearing this, Ning Tan snorted: "It's best. If I find out that **** is still alive, your eunuch's head should fall to the ground."

Hearing the word "eunuch", the young **** narrowed his slender eyes, and his smile remained unchanged: "Don't dare."

After a pause, he continued: "Also, the Empress asked my ministers to tell Your Highness that all the unmarried ladies in Beijing will be at the Spring Banquet today, and Your Highness can take this opportunity to choose a new Crown Princess. The Empress also said, Mrs. Yu The daughter of the general's family is very suitable..."

"It is impossible for anyone to establish a woman from the Yu family, let the queen mother rest from this concern."

Ning Tan climbed to the top floor of the Qiongyu Building, stood by the window, had a panoramic view of the seats for the female guests at the Spring Banquet, and looked at the group of gorgeously made-up women with disinterest.

His face was filled with irritability: "I've seen that Yu Xinyi before, and his appearance is average, and he's careless and not feminine at all."

"The Yu family holds the military power, so they have to get rid of them at the root. Otherwise, if they can't join His Highness, they will always be a threat."

As he said that, the **** looked towards a certain corner and squinted his eyes: "I heard that the Yu family still has a little daughter."

Ning Tan followed his gaze, and said disdainfully: "The eldest daughter looks like that, how can the younger daughter be any better? A girl raised by a reckless man in the military camp is as vulgar as I want..."

The complaint stopped abruptly, his eyes fell on the westernmost corner of the banquet, his pupils were slightly opened, and he looked dull.

Through the gaps between the flower branches, one can vaguely see the figure of a young girl with a slender waist. At first glance, the makeup is simple and unremarkable.

If it wasn't for the **** Cui An's reminder, he would have almost ignored it.

Now, if you look closely, you can see the breeze blowing by, the shadows of the flowers fluttering, and the outline of the girl's lower jaw that is faintly revealed is exquisite and unparalleled.

The hand that was placed on the table was even more slender and white like ice and snow.

The beauty is in the bones but not in the skin. Judging from the eyes of countless people in Ning Tan, such a woman must be the most beautiful in the world.

The **** took Ning Tan's obsession into his eyes, and said without a trace: "That is the girl His Highness just said, raised by a reckless man in the military camp."

Ning Tan's throat suddenly became dry, and he gave the **** a look.

The young **** immediately understood, bowed and said, "I will go down and make arrangements."

Yu Lingxi knew nothing about what was going on in Qiongyu Tower, and only quietly acted as the background for the female guests of Yingyan.

On the way, the queen and an old concubine showed up to socialize with the wives and noble ladies on behalf of the Tian family.

During this period, the queen's eyes searched, and she swept towards Yu Lingxi who was at the farthest corner.

Yu Lingxi hurriedly lowered her head and pretended to be drinking, avoiding her eyes.

After seeing the ceremony, the queen helped the concubine to leave, all the female guests breathed a sigh of relief, and the banquet returned to its original relaxed and lively atmosphere.

"Sui Sui, why are you hiding here? Let me find it for a while."

Tang Buli put on makeup for the first time, wearing a hazy lilac-colored skirt, with the cloak casually held in his arms, looked Yu Lingxi up and down and said, "Why are you dressed like this?"

"Isn't that bad?"

Yu Lingxi put her chin on her cheek and chuckled, "Could it be possible to dress up like a concubine and fairy like you, and catch a prince and grandson to be a wealthy son-in-law?"

"Unconscionable Suisui, you still make fun of me! My grandmother forced me to dress like this. It's so cumbersome that I can't even stretch my arms and legs."

As he said that, Tang Buli sat down next to Yu Lingxi, smiled and leaned over to bite his ear, "Let's talk about your wealthy son-in-law. I just passed by the garden next door and saw Xue Erlang looking for you everywhere."

This girl is good at everything, but she can't control her mouth and likes to mess with mandarin ducks.

Yu Lingxi had no choice but to say, "I'm too strong to drink, so I'll go first."

"Let's go together." Tang Buli just felt bored, so he got up and left the table with Yu Lingxi.

Yu Lingxi waited on the painted bridge for a while, but instead of Yu Huanchen, Xue Cen came.

Today, Xue Cen is wearing a moon-white brocade robe and a white jade crown with his hair tied up. At first glance, he looks as clear and bright as jade, reminiscent of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, quite eye-catching.

"Mr. Qingping Township."

He first bowed to Tang Buli politely, then looked at Yu Lingxi, with a faint and reserved smile in his eyes, and said in a gentle voice, "Just now His Royal Highness ordered to see this minister. He may not be able to finish the matter for a while, so let me see you off." Second sister returns home."

Tang Buli rolled his eyes between the two of them, and said with a smirk, "You guys are chatting, I'll go ahead."

After finishing speaking, he ignored Yu Lingxi's eyes and ran away.

Yu Lingxi had no choice but to nod her head and said, "Then, there is Brother Laocen."

Xue Cen rode in front of Yu Lingxi's carriage, looking back from time to time.

He waited by the bridge on purpose.

Ever since he heard from Tang Buli that Yu Lingxi had made a pair of boots for him with his own hands from the deerskin he had hunted in the spring, he had been fascinated by the whole banquet, and his heart wished that he could pass through the palace wall and fly to Yu Lingxi next door.

Xue Cen felt that there was no better woman than Yu Lingxi in this world, and there was nothing luckier than being in love with each other.

The carriage stopped at the gate of Yu Mansion, Yu Lingxi stepped on the footstool and got out of the car, and said casually: "Brother Cen, if you are welcome, please come over and have a sip of rough tea."

Xue Cen guessed that she probably wanted to find an opportunity to give away boots, so he invited her, and said in anticipation, "Okay."

Yu Lingxi was a little surprised.

It was originally just a polite remark, but Xue Cen didn't expect Xue Cen to be so forthright. But the visitor is a guest, since he wants to drink tea, it is not easy to drive him out.

The front door was open, and there were several gorgeously decorated horses parked outside the door.

Yu Lingxi only thought it was a distinguished guest and didn't pay much attention to it, but she led Xue Cen into the door, and saw two rows of palace servants standing in front of the vestibule, each holding a tray containing gold and silver hairpin ornaments, Jade, coral and other items are full of jewels and extremely luxurious.

These rewards came so suddenly that Yu Lingxi stopped walking with a sense of foreboding.

In the living room, both parents smiled reluctantly and politely sent an old **** in brocade clothes out.

Seeing Yu Lingxi, the old **** immediately put on a wrinkled smile, cupped his hands repeatedly and said: "As expected of a person who can make His Royal Highness fall in love with him, he really has both talent and appearance. Second Miss Yu, our family is here to congratulate you !"

Like a thunderbolt, Yu Lingxi and Xue Cen both froze in place.

Yu Huanchen galloped back on his horse.

Before the horse could brake its hooves, he got off the horse and strode quickly towards the hall.

Just halfway through the banquet, the crown prince and queen summoned him to the Wenhua Palace to inquire about his younger sister's age and marriage. Immediately, he sensed that something was wrong, and hurried back, but it was still a step late.

Donggong moved very quickly, and the hall was filled with gold, silver and jade ornaments for courtship.

But father and Xue Cen stood in the hall, both with dignified expressions. On the side, A Niang quietly pressed the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, her eyes were already red.

The atmosphere was extremely depressing, and the only person who was calm and calm was Yu Lingxi.

She is dressed in an extremely unremarkable way today, and she has never been in the limelight at the banquet, so she was selected by the prince, there are only two possibilities:

One is that someone deliberately introduced her to make the prince notice her; the other is that the Yu family holds military power, and whether she attends the banquet or not, the prince will ask her to marry her in order to consolidate his power.

Regardless of the possibility, the Yu family was forced to be involved in the party whirlpool.

"What do Sui Sui think about the current situation?" In the end, it was General Yu who broke the silence first.

Xue Cen and Yu Huanchen's eyes immediately looked over, especially Xue Cen's eyes were filled with unbearable worry.

"Father, I don't want to."

Yu Lingxi's eyes were calm, and she smiled slightly, "But if this is the only way, I would like to..."

"no!"

"No."

The voices of Yu Huanchen and Xue Cen sounded at the same time.

Yu Huanchen took a deep breath, walked over and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "Sui Sui, do you know why father is still unwilling to join the Eastern Palace faction? The prince is definitely not a pure and good person, not to mention he already has a side concubine , four concubines, and will have three thousand beauties in the future. The deep palace is in danger at every step, how do you deal with yourself when you marry in the past with such a temperament?"

"As long as the good girl is not willing, no one can force you to marry someone you don't want to marry."

General Yu lifted his robe and sat in the chair, with an awe-inspiring demeanor out of thin air, and said in a deep voice, "Now the crown prince is only interested. We still have a chance before the imperial decree of marriage comes down."

"But, you can't let Sui Sui die in suspended animation, can you?"

Madam Yu looked around at the rewards in the house, feeling heavy and uneasy: the future emperor wants to marry her daughter, how can he easily shirk?

If she faked her death, her daughter would have to hide in a remote place and spend her life incognito.

As a mother, how could she be willing?

"General Yu, Madam Yu."

Xue Cen broke the silence, "If you want to refuse the marriage without being honest, there is actually another way, but you have to wrong the second sister..."

"What is the solution?" Madam Yu asked immediately.

Yu Huanchen was clever, and quickly took over the conversation: "You mean, get engaged to my little sister before the imperial decree?"

engagement?

Yu Lingxi raised her head suddenly, what's going on?

She opened her mouth, but she heard Xue Cen say: "The king doesn't take away his minister's wife, that's all."

Madam Yu felt that this plan was feasible, and just about to nod her head, she frowned again: "But, where can we find a gentleman who knows everything and is also known as a wishful thinking..."

Before he finished speaking, General Yu and Yu Huanchen's eyes fell on Xue Cen.

With two heavy gazes, Xue Cen slowly got up as if he had made an important decision.

Knowing that this is a little bit of taking advantage of others' danger, and it is not a gentleman's action, but it is still difficult to conceal the direction of the heart.

If he doesn't stand up this time, he will regret it for the rest of his life.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated, took a step back, and knelt down under Yu Lingxi's surprised and complicated eyes.

He straightened his back, and solemnly said to the elders: "Xue Cen is delighted with the second younger sister, and is willing to marry her as his wife and protect her well in this life! Please, General Yu, please help me!"

…

The apricot blossoms outside Jinyun Temple are in full bloom.

Ning Yin stopped in her tracks, thought for a while, picked off a branch, and sniffed lightly at the tip of her nose curiously.

Yes, it was this smell, very much like the light fragrance that lingered in Yu Lingxi's sleeve robe.

Back in Yu Mansion, he followed the rice purchasing team into the corner gate, not making the guard named Qing Xiao suspicious.

Ning Yin glanced at the carriage parked outside the door for Yu Lingxi to go out of the house, and the corner of her mouth inadvertently twitched.

She has come back.

He glanced down at the deerskin boots under his feet, turned around and walked towards the hall.

The maidservants never knew that he was a celebrity in front of the master, they only thought that he was inspecting the safety of the mansion and did not stop him.

Turning around the corridor, I heard two sweeping servants whispering behind the rockery.

"You said, is our second lady really going to marry Xue Erlang?" a person asked.

"Probably yes. Someone came to the palace today and sent a bunch of things. At that time, the expressions of the general and his wife were not quite right."

Another person replied, "In my opinion, some prince and master in the palace must have taken a fancy to our young lady. The general and his wife couldn't bear to send their daughter to that place where people cannibalize, so they rushed to make an engagement for the second young lady. Anyway, Xue The family has long been engaged to our Yu Mansion."

The person at the beginning echoed: "That's right, Xue Erlang and our second lady are childhood sweethearts, and they are in love with each other. The only thing missing is this layer of window paper."

The noisy voice went away.

The smile in Ning Yin's eyes sank, and she stopped in her tracks.

In the front yard, Yu Lingxi and Xue Cen came out side by side through the peach branches and trees.

They didn't know what they said, a blush appeared on Xue Cen's fair face, while Yu Lingxi frowned and shook her head, as if worried.

Xue Cen took a step forward eagerly, speaking earnestly and earnestly, while Yu Lingxi sighed helplessly.

Under the spring sun, the gentleman and the clear beauty are so well matched and dazzling...

It was so dazzling that it hurt Ning Yin's eyes.

He squinted his eyes, and there was an unknown haze looming and surging in his indifferent eyes.

It turned out that the warm light that once pierced through the immortals in the world of desire did not only illuminate him.

The beautiful prey does not belong to him alone.

As he twirled the apricot blossom between his fingers, he suddenly let out a mocking sneer, then turned and left.

The wind blows the bamboo curtains under the porch, bringing a cool chill.

Turning the corner, his hurried steps gradually slowed down, and then slowed down, finally stopping in the shadows separated from the sun.

With a soft click, he clenched his fingers together and broke the apricot branch in his hand, like breaking a fragile neck bone.

"Xue Cen?"

Ning Yin's brows and eyes were hidden in the shadow of the bamboo curtain, her light-colored thin lips were slightly parted, and she said indifferently, "It's in the way."

Then let all the things in the way disappear from the world.