Chapter 62

After he finished his explanation, he asked again: “Is there any result with the jade ring?”

Cao An said: “There is. The jade ring was made from a piece of rough jade that was tributed by Nanzhao, and it was not owned by County Princess, but she asked for it from Shaohe State Princess.”

Lu Shi Qing was slightly taken aback when he heard this.

When he saw the jade ring in the Nanzhao military camp, he naturally guessed that it was given to Xi Ju by Yuan Ci Xian for the sake of his safety. Otherwise, the battle between the two armies would not end so easily that night, and his peace talks could not be done so smoothly.

But he didn’t know why a jade ring could make Nanzhao choose to cease fighting, and then he thought of Yuan Ci Xian’s story of how she and Xi Ju met for the first time by the bank Chunye River at dusk. Afterwards, he couldn’t help but outline seventeen or eighteen versions of romance story in his head. Until he came to a conclusion: this jade ring must be a token that Xi Ju gave her, and seeing the ring as if seeing the person, so he unconditionally agrees to her one request.

Fortunately, it turned out that he had too much imagination.

He thought for a while, sorted out the origin behind the tribute, curled his lips and smiled, “Got it. You go down and make another copy of the same hexagram and show it to the old lady.”

The next day, when Yuan Yi Zhi received the hexagram from the Lu family, he and Feng shi looked at each other and sighed.

Whether the birth chart was compatible or not, naturally it was not for the family to decide. After the two sides exchanged the birth chart yesterday, the Yuan family also sent people to do calculations, and the result was the same as the inauspicious hexagram that Lu Shi Qing got at the beginning: the man does not attack the woman, but the woman actually restrained the man.

When they got the inauspicious hexagram, the couple felt that the marriage might not work out. After all, even if Lu Shi Qing had the heart, there would always be elders in the Lu family’s side. How could the Xuan shi, who had always believed in Buddhism, allow such a daughter-in-law to enter the door? Unexpectedly, what the Lu family sent was clearly a harmonious and beautiful auspicious hexagram.

Although there were occasional deviations in this divination due to various factors such as weather condition, the horoscope of birth and date was an unchanging dead thing, so how could the black and white be reversed? The only explanation was that Lu Shi Qing changed the hexagram without authorization and deceived Xuan shi.

At this time, the couple hesitated. Lu Shi Qing’s meaning was already very obvious, it showed that he didn’t care about fortune and destiny, but as the people involved, how could they marry their daughter with peace of mind?

Yuan Yi Zhi asked directly: “Haven’t you told Ci Xian about this?”

Feng shi shook her head. That child was so happy yesterday, she couldn’t bear to bring bad news to her.

“Indeed, it’s better not to say anything.” Yuan Yi Zhi nodded and said, “Since this kid Zishu is determine, if we expose it then it’s like beating mandarin duck with a stick. The two of them has not yet married, so I will follow my original plan. Postpone the wedding date, and take a look first.”

The reason why Yuan Yi Zhi asked to postpone the wedding date yesterday was naturally not because of the so-called “hasty”. But the current situation of Great Zhou Dynasty was too complicated, and Lu Shi Qing, as the emperor’s most trusted courtier, actually controlled the court quietly, while secretly supported Zheng Zhuo. Such a day of licking blood on the tip of a knife was not over, and Yuan Yi Zhi could not be completely rest assured to hand over his daughter to him. But he was really moved by his sincerity and dedication, so he agreed to let them get engaged first.

Feng shi asked: “Yesterday, you didn’t know whether the hexagram was good or bad, but you still proposed to postpone the marriage, do you have other concerns? What’s wrong with this Lu child?”

Yuan Yi Zhi was silent for a while.

He had always been reluctant to talk about the court’s intrigue with Feng shi and his children. He was afraid that the more they know, the more dangerous it would be. Secondly, he was afraid that they would worry blindly and hurt their bodies. That’s why he had always behave like a stubborn old man with righteous blood and sincere red heart loyal-hearted, even looked foolishly loyal. But in fact, whether it was the political tricks played by the emperor, or the factions lined up in the court, he knew all about it. He was loyal to Great Zhou, but he was not completely inflexible.

Yuan Yi Zhi remained silent and still chose to conceal it, and lied: “It’s nothing, it’s just too hasty. We haven’t been in the capital for many years, and we don’t know the details of that child. For Ci Xian’s sake, we should observe more.”

After saying that, he sighed in his heart.

In fact, there was no need to observe any further. He had seen quite clearly how Lu Shi Qing treated Yuan Ci Xian. That being the case, he would never underestimate that child. The emperor afraid of him so much that it forced him to choose a wise master to side with, and Zheng Zhuo was indeed a rare one in the imperial family who actually had a heart for the common people, so he would give Lu Shi Qing a hand and fully supported the one he supported.

While he was thinking of this, he suddenly heard three knocks on the door. After asking, he found out that it was the brother and sister who had come.

Yuan Ci Xian and Yuan Yu pushed each other after entering the door, as if they wanted to say something but couldn’t speak, both forcing each other to speak first. In the end, it was the younger sister who pinched the elder brother’s waist hard and forced him to go forward.

Yuan Yu was stumbling forward, so he had to smile “hehe” at Yuan Yi Zhi and Feng Shi, and said, “Father and mother, Ci Xian and I have something to say to you.”

Over the past month, the brother and sister had wanted to talk to Yuan Yi Zhi several times about the court situation, discuss the future path of the Yuan family, and see if they could retell the absurd dream’s story into something he could accept and believe. This way he could have some precaution his heart, and not too ignorant and upright. But as soon as they opened their mouth, they would be ordered not to talk about political affairs.

Seeing that their parent would return to Diannan tomorrow, and the correspondence between them would be monitored by the emperor in the future, if they didn’t talk about it now, there would be no more chance. So the two of them mustered up their courage and prepared to try one last time.

Yuan Yi Zhi glanced at him and said, “Speak up if you have something to say, what is this humming and hawing thing?”

Yuan Yu thought to himself that he was humming and hawing because he was afraid of being beaten for speaking out. He looked at Yuan Ci Xian, and said tactfully according to the method of “saving the family in a roundabout way” that they had been discussed in advance: “Father, it’s like this. You don’t know, as early as when Ci Xian first came to Chang’an, Sixth Prince and Ninth Prince showed their interests to her. But at that time His Majesty’s attitude was very strange, it seems that he doesn’t want Ninth Prince to be too involved with Ci Xian, but wanted Sixth Prince to marry her.”

Yuan Yi Zhi raised his eyebrows.

Yuan Ci Xian continued: “Brother and I didn’t understand at first, but then we got the answer. This is because His Majesty loves Ninth Prince, but not Sixth Prince. With the prestige of our Yuan family, no matter which prince is involved with me, they will have to deal with the other princes’ jealousy. From the emotional point of view, Ninth Prince is already weak and sick, and His Majesty Couldn’t bear him to be mixed in those undercurrents. Looking from the court situation, his mother is a fourth rank concubine, his maternal relatives are very powerful, so they should put an end to any close contact with our Yuan family.”

Yuan Yi Zhi’s face became more and more ugly.

Yuan Yu stopped him with a smile: “Father, don’t be angry first, let Ci Xian finish.”

Yuan Ci Xian bit the bullet and continued: “But Sixth Prince is different. After the Crown Prince was disposed, Second Prince and Ping Prince each held half the sky, and His Majesty was worried that there would be another threat to pull him down from the dragon seat, so he wanted to make a superficial effort, pretending to support one son in order to balance these two forces. After all, historically only the triangle is the most stable. So he chose Sixth Prince to become this pawn, this shield.

“The reason is very simple. One is that Sixth prince’s maternal family is a down-and-out merchant, with weak strength and no backing. Two is that he doesn’t seek fame and fortune, has no ostentatiousness, and doesn’t win the hearts of the courtiers.” She paused here, “at least it seems so on the surface.

“As long as I make a marriage agreement with Sixth Prince, the courtiers, including Second Prince and Ping Prince, will naturally notice him, and the faction will naturally be divided. And if Sixth Prince really has bad thoughts, or reaches the point where he cannot be controlled, His Majesty can also use many methods to destroy this marriage.”

For example, in the previous life, she believed that the Jiang family’s trick also had the meaning of His Majesty. Otherwise, just relying on the Jiang sisters to cooperate inside and outside might not be enough to trick Zheng Zhuo. It should be that after he came out from the dark into the light that the emperor felt threatened, so he used the Jiang family’s hands to separate him from the Yuan family.

Yuan Yi Zhi frowned: “You brother and sister have gone rounds and rounds, what exactly do you want to say, just say it.”

Yuan Ci Xian smiled embarrassingly: “I want to say, father, look, His Majesty is afraid and wary of Second Prince and Ping Prince, controls and uses Sixth Prince, and protects and loves Ninth Prince. These princes, in fact, none of them is the real candidate for the crown prince in his mind. Then, who is left in the imperial family? Isn’t it Thirteenth Prince?”

Yuan Ci Xian breathed a sigh of relief after saying this. It was too unreliable to say directly that she dreamed that Thirteenth Prince would ascend the throne, and now she finally had a reason to justified her words.

Yuan Yi Zhi was silent for a long time and said: “It’s the uselessness of me as a father, still make my baby girl to think about these things all day long.”

She was relieved when she heard this: “Father, I’m so smart, thinking about these things doesn’t bother me!”

“Father understands what you said. Since you really worry about this, Father will not hide it from you anymore.” He then sighed. He originally wanted to prevent his children from participating in these intrigues, but Yuan Ci Xian’s analysis was so clear as if she had already been very involved in this matter. If he kept hiding it from her, he might put her in danger and go the wrong way.

He hesitated for a while, and finally seemed to have made up his mind. He glanced at Feng shi who had been silent on the side, and then said: “It’s true that His Majesty may intend to have Thirteenth Prince succeed the throne, but the court may not follow this direction. Even if he is revered as the emperor, there is something he cannot control, that is people’s hearts. According to the current situation, Father believes that the one who can win the hearts of the people is definitely not His Majesty, nor is it the young Thirteen Prince, but the Sixth Prince who’s being thrown at will as a pawn and a shield like you said.”

Yuan Yi Zhi’s words were very straightforward, which showed that his heart was for Zheng Zhuo.

Yuan Ci Xian suddenly choked in place, exchanged glances with Yuan Yu who was equally astonished, and was speechless for a while.

In this life, Zheng Zhuo obviously had nothing to do with her, why did the Yuan family still go down this road?

The next day, Diannan Prince and his wife set off to leave the capital. Yuan Ci Xian had no reason to go back to Diannan because she had already made a marriage arrangement with Lu Shi Qing, so she stayed.

After sending their parents out of the city, the brother and sister returned to Shengye Lane. As soon as they arrived at Yuan Mansion, they saw Cao An who was waiting in front of the gate. When he saw Yuan Ci Xian, he hurriedly came forward and said, “Lancang County Princess, Master asked this servant to bring you something.”

She was taken aback for a moment, then looked down at the golden invitation in his hand: “This is?”

Cao An smiled and said, “In four days, the 14th of Second Month is Sixth Prince’s birthday, and he invite Master and you to go to the banquet. You see, do you plan to go?”

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