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Qing smiled and said, "Let's talk about this later. Since you don't oppose it, I will definitely come to propose before leaving Yan Kingdom in a few days."
San Chun smiled in agreement, sent him out the door, and turned back to call for the maid to prepare some late-night snacks.
Before the door could be fully closed, a series of loud crashing sounds from outside caught her attention.
On a winter night, the sky was bright while the ground was dark, as if the cold air had blocked out the light. At that moment, two figures were engaged in a fierce fight in the darkness, making it hard to see what was happening.
After watching for a while, San Chun guessed that one of the figures must be Dong Dong, as there were not many who could match Qing in combat. She intended to go out and tell them to stop fighting, but then thought they might not listen to her anyway. So she simply grabbed a cushion, sat at the door, and rested her chin on her hands to watch.
Having never seen two skilled fighters duel before, she was curious about who would come out on top.
From a distance, Qing saw her like this and couldn't help but grit her teeth in anger. If she had known how heartless she was, she wouldn't have mentioned anything about proposals earlier. This annoying Girl pretended to like him so much, but her feelings were clearly superficial; otherwise, how could she be so happy watching him in danger?
And what about this big-eyed child? Where did she even come from? She really was a handful.
The courtyard was too dark, so San Chun went back inside to grab a candle and returned to continue watching. The more she watched, the more interesting it became; these two were evenly matched and fighting quite energetically.
Just as she was enjoying the spectacle, someone above her coldly asked, "Is it entertaining?"
"Yes," she replied instinctively but suddenly realized something was off. She looked up sharply and saw Zhong Xue's meaningful face.
"In my opinion," he said, "this fight isn't enough. Why not send up two swords?"
San Chun hurriedly shook her head; punches and kicks were one thing, but using blades would lead to bloodshed.
Zhong Xue looked at her as if someone had stepped on his face hard—he seemed furious, his nose and mouth twisted in displeasure.
He coldly asked, "What brings Gongzi Qiulan here?"
"Just chatting about trivial matters."
"Is it really that simple?"
"How complicated could Lord Jun think it is?" San Chun raised an eyebrow, knowing she couldn't reveal the matter of the marriage proposal; otherwise, she was sure he would strangle her.
Zhong Xue snorted and leaped forward to the two fighting in the courtyard. Whatever he said made them stop, and Qing angrily flicked his sleeves and walked away.
Dong Dong wiped his sweat and stepped up to San Chun, baring his teeth in a fierce expression. "You little Girl, did you deliberately bring someone to stir up trouble?"
As soon as he finished speaking, his leg was kicked hard by someone. Zhong Xue coldly said, "Is 'little Girl' what you call her?"
Dong Dong hurriedly changed his words, "Sister, please don't blame me."
Zhong Xue snapped, "Get lost."
"Understood."
Dong Dong hurriedly ran off, leaving only the two of them in the courtyard.
Every time San Chun was alone with him, she felt uncomfortable all over. She touched her nose and asked, "What kind of person is Dong Dong, and where did you find him?"
At this moment, Zhong Xue's expression had returned to normal; perhaps he had calmed down. He said lightly, "Dong Dong was once a flying thief, notorious for stealing and killing countless people. One day, while stealing in Wei Palace, he was caught by This Lord, and thus I took him in."
With Dong Dong's skills, he must have been a highly regarded thief, and for Zhong Xue to take him in must have involved some breathtaking methods.
He could intimidate Qin Wang into obeying him; he could help Qing regain his identity as a gentleman. What else was there that he couldn't do?
As night fell heavily, standing there like this wasn't suitable for either of them, so she asked, "Lord Jun, do you have any other business?"
This was clearly a dismissal. Zhong Xue smiled and suddenly asked, "Are you hungry?"
Caught off guard by his sudden question, she honestly touched her stomach. After chatting with Qing, she really was a bit hungry.
Zhong Xue took a few steps to the door and pulled out a large food box to bring inside. It turned out he had come here to deliver supper.
San Chun followed him without any dignity, watching as he placed dish after dish on the table.
In the State of Yan, everything is good except for one thing: here, one can only have two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, leaving one hungry at night and unable to sleep well. There is a kitchen in the courtyard, and usually, the maids can prepare some food, but with Madam Ju around, every time the maids start a fire, they inevitably have to watch the expressions of the main household members, and they usually cannot eat anything good. Unlike now, this table is filled with such exquisite dishes even if it’s just vegetable porridge.
Zhong Xue knelt down and teased her, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to chase me away?”
“Only after I’m full,” San Chun said as she picked up her chopsticks and began to eat heartily beside him.
Zhong Xue found her amusing; this was truly what he owed her before, and now it was time to repay it.
After finishing the late-night snack, before she could chase him away, he left on his own accord. Once outside, he naturally gave Dong Dong a good scolding. How could he run off without a trace when told to follow San Chun?
When asked where he had gone, Dong Dong refused to answer.
Zhong Xue knew his temperament well and didn’t want to make things difficult for him; he simply instructed him not to leave San Chun’s side.
Dong Dong obeyed. From then on, San Chun had become quite unfortunate; wherever she went, there was always a shadow following her that wouldn’t leave. San Chun felt like crying inside; several times in the courtyard, she nearly wanted to bang her head against the wall. She had asked Dong Dong to keep his distance multiple times, but he only replied with two words: “No way.”
The next day, Ju Rong called San Chun over and sighed several times before even speaking.
San Chun had never seen him like this and couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to Father?”
Ju Rong sighed deeply, “Your mother has returned and Empress Dowager Hua has arranged your marriage with Zheng Lan.”
Zheng Lan was nowhere to be seen; no one knew whether he was alive or dead. Empress Dowager Hua issuing such an edict was no different from making her a widow. Ju Rong also understood this well and sighed again, “Such a marriage is something I cannot decide for you. What do you think?”
What could San Chun say? She had planned to elope with Zheng Lan; it should have been a deep and meaningful love. But the problem was that she couldn’t even remember what he looked like now. Marrying someone who didn’t exist was truly difficult for her.
However, she could guess why Empress Dowager Hua did this; it must be because she didn’t want her to marry Yan Wang and wanted to push her aside.
Seeing her displeased expression, Ju Rong added, “If you are unwilling, I will push it aside even if I have to die.”
San Chun knelt down and said, “Father, I am unfilial and have caused you worry.”
Ju Rong pointed with his hand, "You are indeed unfilial. You left for two years without sending a word home, making your father worry endlessly." With that, his eyes became moist, revealing traces of tears.
This was the first time he had scolded her since returning home. San Chun felt deeply ashamed; it was true that she had been unfilial. After causing such a huge mess and running away from home, she had actually forgotten who her father was.
Ju Rong helped him up, saying, "Get up now, and do not let this old man worry in the future."
"Yes." San Chun gently wiped her tears. She was not someone who cried easily, but thinking of how much her father had worried for her made her tears fall uncontrollably.
After they talked for a while, suddenly a servant rushed in, shouting, "Master, it's bad! Something has happened outside; someone has blocked the gate!"
Ju Rong, angered by the servant's loudness, slammed the table and said, "What are you making noise about? Go out and report properly."
"Yes." The servant really ran out and then came back in, repeating what he had just said in a much calmer voice.
Ju Rong, still holding onto his anger, shouted, "Who is so bold?"
"Replying to the master, it seems to be the Vako People seeking marriage; they have started fighting."
Ju Rong was puzzled. Can one really fight over marriage proposals these days? He hurried out to check, while San Chun followed closely behind, wondering if the suitors were coming so soon.
Outside the door were indeed suitors, but not just one family; there were three families.
§
Senior Official Chen Xiong, riding on his horse, looked at the two marriage proposal parties that had arrived earlier than him and felt particularly uncomfortable.
He had been dragged out of bed by Yan Wang in the middle of the night. He did not know what had gotten into this king; instead of sleeping at night, he suddenly wanted to get married and had pulled him out early in the morning to propose to Ju Mansion.
He had been preparing the marriage gifts since midnight and had not eaten or drunk anything before rushing over. To his surprise… there were even people who arrived earlier than him?
The two marriage proposal parties collided with each other, crowding the already narrow street. The people from Ju Mansion would not let them in and insisted on reporting to their master, leading to a brawl among the three groups.
Chen Xiong pulled on the reins and observed for a moment. Realizing that he could not get through anytime soon, he jumped off his horse and bowed to a carriage behind him, saying, "Your Majesty, there is an obstruction ahead; I seek your instructions."
A hand reached out from the carriage, making a shushing gesture, then beckoned him to step forward a few paces.
Chen Xiong was reluctant; he was Ju Rong's Brother-in-law, and the two families were related by marriage. It was one thing to ask him to be a Matchmaker and tie the Red Thread, but why did the groom have to come along? Who had ever seen a wealthy family send someone to propose while the man followed behind like a shadow?
Fortunately, this king still had some sense of shame, hiding inside the carriage and not showing his face, so no one would recognize him.
After hesitating for quite a while, he finally walked closer. The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and Uncle Qi revealed half of his face, saying, "Go through the back door."
"Understood." Chen Xiong replied and directed the group to turn toward the back door.
Qi sat in the carriage, glancing outside from time to time, feeling as anxious as if his heart were on fire.
He hadn't intended to rush into this proposal; it was just that Empress Dowager Hua had been nagging him about marrying the Chief Minister's daughter. The Chief Minister was Empress Dowager Hua's brother, and his daughter You Zhi was Empress Dowager Hua's Niece.
He despised those who wielded power, especially women. A mere lady, given a bit of respect as an Empress Dowager Hua, thought she was truly remarkable. If it were his old self, he would have spat in her face out of anger, making her feel ashamed enough to want to die. But now he had calmed down considerably and didn't want to argue with a woman, so he chose to endure it.
However, what prompted him to act so quickly wasn't Empress Dowager Hua but rather a conversation between Zhao Country Prince Ji Xun and Qin Prince Qiu Lan.
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