Feng Yuheng actually supported Xiangrong going back to Ji An Prefecture, she always thought that the matter between Xiangrong and the Seventh Prince was decided too much by Imperial Concubine Yun alone. If she had to judge who Xiangrong should pick between the two princes, she would definitely support her choosing the Fourth Prince. It was just that this girl was more stubborn when it came to this matter and also thought too deeply about it. Since it was like this, it would be better to give her more time and conditions to choose, taking this chance when the Fourth Prince had not given up and before the dowry arranged by Imperial Concubine Yun was sent into An Shi’s hands.
Xiangrong set off the next morning together with the person who delivered the letter. Bringing about the “effective medicine” Feng Yuheng found for her, she set off from Chun Palace, hurrying towards the west.
Feng Yuheng also came to Chun Palace to see her off together with Xuan Tianhua. When Xiangrong’s carriage was far away, she heard Xuan Tianhua say: “You sent my future Princess to another person’s side.”
She smiled without looking back, only saying: “Seventh Brother should thank me, no?”
Xuan Tianhua showed a troubled smile: “You are sharp.”
“That’s right! Because I am sharp, I can tell that even though you agreed to Imperial Concubine Mother’s arrangements, you are not willing.”
“Un, it is not considered willing, but not against it is also not fake, Xiangrong is a good child.”
“If you really like her, you would not say she is a child.” Finally, she looked at Xuan Tianhua, “Seventh Brother only sees Xiangrong as a child, right? Just like when she was ten years old, I asked you to look out for her and you only treated her as a child. It was like that in the past, and it is the same now.”
“In my eyes, she is a child, but she is a child whom one feels sorry for.” Xuan Tianhua said, “I know that how painful it is once an obsession forms in a person’s heart. That obsession could not be fulfilled and cannot go away, being stuck in the heart just like this. You cannot cross over the critical juncture of this obsession and cannot overcome the calamity of this obsession, so you cannot see any future hope and cannot experience the beauty of life. Being immersed in this for many years, a human’s mind will gradually fall apart. I have an obsession and forced myself to make it dissipate, but she cannot.”
“So you want to help her? But do you know that this way of helping her will not only be of no help, but will make her sink even deeper?” She asked Xuan Tianhua in confusion, “With regards to the marriage Imperial Concubine Mother suggested, what does Seventh Brother think?”
Xuan Tianhua could not help but laugh, “Since I nodded, I will protect her, if she is willing to sink into her obsession her whole life, I will give it to her. But if she is able to walk out of it from her own before that, then I will give her my blessings. Ah-Heng, it is not as bad as you think, actually regardless of who I marry in the future, it will all be the same.”
Feng Yuheng jolted, that was true, regardless of who Xuan Tianhua married, it would be the same. He would treat that woman well, very well, and would give the woman everything she wanted. With a person like this staying at her side, all her beautiful thoughts about men, about life, would become reality. This was Xuan Tianhua’s charisma. She knew, if Xiangrong married this person, she would be happy, just like what Xuan Tianhua said, being immersed in her obsession her whole life, there was nothing bad about it.
But, Xuan Tianhua has an obsession as well huh……
She did not dare to think about it any further, just like how Xiangrong was frequently not willing to think about the good points about Xuan Tianyi, she would feel more guilt the more she thought about it. Even though she had not promised anything before, it still resulted from her, so she would still feel sad about it.
From the capital to Ji An Prefecture, it was a 15 day journey, Xiangrong rushed through the night and reached in 11 days.
An Shi did not know about Xiangrong returning suddenly, but she heard the sound of the manor door opening on a rainy night. She was surprised that people would actually cause trouble in the middle of the night in Ji An Prefecture? Going to the front courtyard personally to take a look, she discovered that her own daughter had returned. But she did not know why Xiangrong rushed back in the middle of the night when it was raining heavily, only when she let her in did she hear Xiangrong ask: “I heard that the Fourth Prince contracted a serious disease, does Mother know if he has improved at all?”
An Shi was currently busy asking people to help Xiangrong prepare hot water for bathing, and she also brought over a dry towel to dry her hair which had become wet from the rain. The person who delivered the letter and returned with Xiangrong did not enter the courtyard, returning to the Fourth Prince directly. Ji An Prefecture was not large and An Shi was responsible for helping Feng Yuheng in taking care and managing it, so she naturally knew something about everyone’s situation. Xiangrong knew, the matter about the Fourth Prince could not be hidden from An Shi, that was why she asked.
But once she asked this, An Shi was obviously stunned, and asked in return: “The Fourth Prince contacted a serious disease? When was this? That’s not right! He came to visit me in the day and asked me for a number of embroidery samples, how could he have contracted a serious disease?”
“He’s not ill?” Xiangrong was stunned and did not care about An Shi was still drying her hair, grabbing An Shi’s hand and asking anxiously: “He’s really not sick? Mother saw this properly?”
An Shi told her: “Have you ever seen a sick person stroll around the streets every day?”
“But……” She suddenly realised that she had been tricked, and the acting skills of the person who tricked her was really good and she could not tell at all during the past few days. She sat in the chair in a daze, thinking about what she should do. Should she go to where Xuan Tianyi lived and give him a scolding, or return to the capital early next day? She remembered that before leaving Chun Palace, the Seventh Prince had told her, for some people and some matters, rather than keeping them in her heart and remembering them with concern, it is better to face them honestly, following her own heart and doing whatever she wanted. Therefore she returned to Ji An Prefecture, choosing to deliver the medicine to Xuan Tianyi and meeting him. But unexpectedly, that person tricked her, so how was she supposed to face the Seventh Prince with this?
Seeing Xiangrong in a daze, An Shi seemed to have made some accurate guessing, asking to probe for more information: “His Highness the Fourth Prince tricked you and said he was sick and asked you to return?”
Xiangrong nodded, “That’s right, he said he contracted a serious disease and wanted to see me. He even asked me to ask Second Sister for effective medicine.” As she spoke, she took out a small paper packet from the bag she carried with her, “This is medicine which Second Sister specially made, it was supposed to be used for treating the illness.” As she spoke, she unwrapped the paper packet, but opening it up to the end, she realised that there was no medicine inside, only a note. Xiangrong exclaimed with a “Ya” due to surprise, she had not touched this medicine packet during this journey. It was obvious that Feng Yuheng put in this note personally. She opened up the note and saw what was written on it: “The illness of the mind needs to be treated by medicine meant for the mind, it is so for His Highness the Fourth Prince, and for you, Xiangrong, as well.”
An Shi took that note, reading it for a while, she told her own daughter: “Second Miss is correct, child, as a mother, I have seen everything, how His Highness the Fourth Prince treats you, you know it clearly in your heart. So why can’t you realise this?”
Xiangrong asked An Shi in return: “Isn’t Mother against me associating with princes?” She remembered in the past, when she was infatuated with His Highness the Seventh Prince, An Shi had said these words to her.
But An Shi told her now: “His Highness the Fourth Prince is different, he is a prince who has lost the right to the throne, he is not tied down to anything, will not fight for the throne and will not have anything to do with court politics. He is willing to treat you extremely well, Mother will naturally be happy to see both of you being happy together.”
“No.” Xiangrong shook her head, the matter of Xuan Tianyi tricking her to come back formed a knot in her heart, “He will be happy and I will not be happy. The one taking the most space in my heart is still His Highness the Seventh Prince, this is a dream I had since young. Mother, if I do not fulfil this dream, it might be difficult for me to get rid of this mental demon in my life. Mother” she suddenly spoke happily: “Imperial Concubine Yun made a decision and facilitated the marriage between me and His Highness the Seventh Prince, Imperial Concubine Yun said, she will choose an auspicious day to personally come to Ji An Prefecture to give you a huge dowry and exchange the eight characters.”
“What?” This time it was An Shi who was surprised, she did not expect the situation to change like this, she asked Xiangrong: “All of this was not thought up by you, right?”
Xiangrong shook her head with a smile, “No, it is really not. His Highness the Seventh Prince has already agreed. When autumn comes, Her Highness Imperial Concubine Yun would probably come here! Mother, my dream is about to come true, are you happy for me?”
An Shi did not know what to say, with this kind of favourable turn, she should logically be happy for her own daughter. But for unknown reasons, as long as she thought of Xiangrong being together with His Highness the Seventh Prince, a strange sorrow would rise in her heart, as if she was going to lose this daughter, and she could not control it at all.
Xiangrong could tell that An Shi’s emotions were not right and asked anxiously: “Mother, what is wrong?”
An Shi looked at her, half a beat later, she finally asked: “If Mother has a feeling that you being with His Highness the Seventh Prince will cause you to lose your life in the end, would you still insist on this marriage?”
Xiangrong was stunned, “How is that possible? Why would it cost my life? His Highness the Seventh Prince is really good.”
“A feeling.” An Shi waved her hand in dismissal, her mental state was also messy, it was a feeling after all, but the hearts of mother and daughter were connected, her predictions related to Xiangrong were all accurate in the past. “I’ll just ask you, if it will really cost you your life, are you still willing?”
“I am! Of course I am willing!” Xiangrong said this determinedly, “Mother, I have never been this clear about what I want and who I want. In my life, the person whom I have been infatuated with since I was ten years old, I ask for Mother to approve of This Daughter’s wish!”
An Shi looked at her own daughter, suddenly not knowing what to say. That’s right! She had been infatuated with a person since she was ten years old, and now he was going to marry her. As a mother, shouldn’t she offer her blessings? But why could she not get rid of that slight worry in her heart? She felt that if she agreed, she would lose her own daughter very quickly, but her daughter said she was willing!
“…… Forget it, as long as you want to, Mother will agree.” In the end, she still chose to compromise, only reminding Xiangrong: “Since you returned, regardless of whether the Fourth Prince tricked you or not, go and meet him. I cannot stop you from marrying someone, but since you are going to marry, then you need to settle things cleanly before you marry, do not be unclear about things, it will be unfair towards His Highness the Seventh Prince.”
Xiangrong nodded, “Mother is correct, I will see him tomorrow.”
Successfully tricking Xiangrong into returning to Ji An Prefecture, tonight, Xuan Tianyi was very excited, to the point that he could not sleep, always wanting to sneak out to see Xiangrong. But the page boy at his side advised him: “Your Highness, you should sleep well and replenish your energy! When Feng Third Miss comes tomorrow, there will definitely be a huge quarrel, if you do not recuperate and build up energy, how can you out-argue her?”
Only then did Xuan Tianyi remember that he tricked her into coming back, nodding a few times and saying: “Right, you are correct. In front of outsiders, that girl puts up a weak appearance, but in front of me, she is always a fierce female tiger. Tomorrow, she is not here to visit me and will definitely come for a fight, I have to build up my energy, else I will really not be able to handle that lass tomorrow.”
Harbouring such feelings, Xian Tianyi entered the land of dreams, however, the next day, Xiangrong did not come……
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