Chapter 324 - The Long-Awaited Marriage Between You Yuecheng and Ling Mingyan (1/2)

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 fl.u.s.tered.

“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 ident.i.ty 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 embarra.s.sed 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 embarra.s.sed to refuse him.