Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

"If he really is the prince, he will have his own ideas and can make his own decisions about his life!"

In the slanting sunlight, a horse-drawn carriage with a bronze bell bearing the emblem of the Duke of Anguo's Mansion was rumbling along the long street. Xie's angry voice floated out from the carriage, then dissipated in the shouting of the vendors in the street buildings and stalls.

Inside the carriage, Mrs. Xie looked at her son who was listening to her son's lecture with his head bowed. She felt that the anger that had been accumulated in Jifu Palace for a day had finally found an outlet. Her eyebrows were raised and she slapped the small table in the middle of the carriage. "Your father and I both crawled out of that mountain of corpses and sea of blood. We have seen all kinds of storms. Your father worked hard to climb to a position above everyone else, just so that you would no longer be controlled by others."

"But now, it's just Cen Zhu who has made you lose your composure and hastily asked for an imperial decree, sacrificing both of your lives. It's okay that you are confused, but have you ever asked Xixi about her feelings?"

"Your request for an imperial edict seems to have saved her from danger and resolved her urgent need, but you two have very different personalities and have had many disagreements before. Over time, you will definitely have quarrels."

"Now that your father and I are still alive, there will naturally be no quarrel. But when we are a hundred years apart, she will be an orphan with no one to rely on, and the rift between you two will grow deeper. Whenever you argue, you must mention the matter of your requesting an imperial decree to save her today. You are in a superior position, and she endures humiliation. There is no friendship between husband and wife, but you still have to be inseparable because of an imperial decree. Do you really want to live your life like this?"

The more Xie spoke, the angrier she became. Her face was filled with grief and her breathing became more rapid. Lin Xi hurriedly brought her water and tea, patted her chest and back, and said in a gentle voice, "Aunt, calm down and don't hurt yourself. Cousin meant well today. Concubine Cen was rude and vicious. If you hadn't asked for the imperial edict, we wouldn't have gotten away with it. As for the engagement, you are a gentleman, and I admire you very much. I don't feel wronged."

Xie thought that Lin Xi said this just to comfort her. He Lanting was arrogant and had quarreled with Lin Xi many times before. Now he even asked for the imperial decree to grant marriage regardless of her wishes. Although it was to save her, the two of them had no friendship. She must feel bad about it. Xie immediately felt even more pity for Lin Xi.

"Xixi, you don't know that the most fearful thing for a couple is to feel guilty and compromise. You two could have lived well on your own, but now you are forced together because of this imperial decree. You are young and can't see it now. In the long run, he will inevitably have setbacks in his career and bad luck. When that happens, he will always say, 'If it weren't for you, I would have done this and that...' He said these most hurtful words. What can you do? You can only suffer."

Lin Xi's heart warmed. Not to mention in this era of male dominance and female inferiority, even in her era that advocated gender equality, situations like what Xie described often occurred.

Lin Xi knew that Xie really treated her like her own daughter, which was why she said this to her. She could not help but gently lean her head on Xie's shoulder, breathing in the scent of her mother, and said in a gentle voice, "I know my aunt's sincere heart, but I do have a connection with my cousin, and what you said will definitely not happen."

I don't know if Xie really believed it, but her emotions finally calmed down a lot. She stopped pointing at He Lanting and scolding him, but she didn't want to look at him either. When the carriage stopped, she lifted the curtain and wanted to pull Lin Xi out.

"Aunt, please go in first. You have been tired all day. Go to bed early. I will come to talk to you tomorrow." Lin Xi shook her head gently and politely rejected Xie.

Xie saw that the two had something to say, so she turned her gaze back to He Lanting, snorted, and gently instructed Lin Xi: "Then I will go in, and you should also go to bed early."

Lin Xi nodded obediently, and after watching Xie enter the Duke's Mansion, she said to the driver, "Uncle Qu, I suddenly remembered that I promised the old ancestor yesterday to buy cakes from Chunyu Tower for her. Can you please take me there again? I remember that Feng Ge'er also likes the osmanthus yogurt there, so I'll buy him one later."

Feng Ge'er is Uncle Qu's grandson. He is seven or eight years old and is at the age when he is greedy. He likes the snacks from Chunyu Tower the most. However, the things in Chunyu Tower are expensive. Even the simplest dish of pea yellow costs two cents of silver. Uncle Qu can only buy it for him once every one or two months. Driving the carriage is originally his job. Now Lin Xi is willing to reward him with a snack. How can he not accept it? He hurriedly said yes and urged the carriage to start again.

He Lanting has been avoiding Lin Xi's sight since he appeared in Jifu Palace today. When Xie scolded him just now, he just lowered his head and said nothing. He thought that everything would be fine after he got to the mansion, but Lin Xi actually sat back in the carriage. Now they were sitting face to face, and he had no way to avoid it. After a long silence, he finally raised his head and met Lin Xi's gaze.

"My cousin is finally willing to look at me?" Lin Xi's face was calm and her eyes were like water, making it impossible to tell her true emotions.

He Lanting was dressed very formally today, wearing a red crown and a tall hat, with an extraordinary demeanor. However, in this closed carriage, he seemed a little restrained due to his tall stature and long legs. Under Lin Xi's calm gaze, he seemed less imposing and more at a loss as to how to deal with his beloved.

"The marriage is only a temporary solution. I said that in Jifu Palace just to gain the trust of Your Majesty. If you don't want to..."

"I am willing."

Lin Xi's voice was very soft, just like the first peach blossom that blooms on a branch in spring, and a petal falls lightly. No one would notice it except the person who has been admiring the flower.

He Lanting didn't react for a moment, and continued to talk to himself, "If you don't want, you can still live in Xunchunyuan after we get married. Except for necessary occasions such as the New Year, I will never disturb you. You can take care of the trivial matters in the mansion if you want to. If you don't want to, you can let mother help you take care of it..."

Suddenly, he seemed to realize something, and his chattering finally stopped. He looked at Lin Xi uncertainly and asked again, "What did you say?"

Lin Xi did not avoid him, but locked eyes with him, with a little smile in her eyes, and said word by word: "I say, I am willing."

The osmanthus yogurt in Chunyu Tower is very sweet, just as sweet as when He Lanting knew Lin Xi's feelings.

In the Cangfeng Courtyard, He Lanting couldn't sleep for a long time. It was late at night and there was a noticeable chill in the mid-autumn wind. However, his heart was burning and he kept thinking about Lin Xi's words today.

In the carriage, the usually elegant woman smiled with her eyes bent and a charming smile on her lips, chanting the most beautiful love poem in the world, "I wish I were like a star and you were like a moon, shining brightly every night."

She said, Cousin, I do.