Noble Lady

"Imperial edict: Xue Chenyu, the eldest daughter of the Wu'an Marquisate, is gentle, respectful, frugal, gentle, kind, and obedient. During the dire drought in Lingnan, she disregarded personal gain and loss and devoted herself to public service. This is deeply gratifying to me. I now appoint her as the Princess of Anping County as a reward..."

When Xue Chenyu received the imperial edict, he was still a little confused.

Everyone in the Wu'an Marquis Mansion was caught off guard.

However, Mrs. Xue reacted quickly and immediately asked Uncle Fu to take everyone to have tea and snacks.

The eunuch from the palace also said with a smile: "Madam Xue, there is no need to be so polite. His Majesty heard about Miss Xue's good deeds and praised her highly."

Mrs. Xue responded quickly and handed over a silver note worth one hundred taels.

The eunuch put the money into his sleeve without changing his expression, and then followed Uncle Fu to have tea and rest.

As soon as he left, everyone in the Xue family rushed towards Xue Chenyu.

"Sister, you are so awesome! You will be the county lady in the future!" Luo Luo's eyes were shining.

"Yes, elder sister, you are the Princess of Anping County. So, you don't have to bow when you meet father in the future?" Xue Huai started talking nonsense.

Xue Chenyu slapped her unruly brother in the face when she heard this, "What nonsense are you talking about? The title of county lady is just an empty title, with no fiefdom."

"Even if I have a fief, I'm still your father. You're committing treason. If Mr. Lu hears you, he'll give you a beating."

Xue Huai was just joking. Of course he knew that the title of County Lord was an honorary one, but it didn't affect his joking nature.

"It's too sudden to confer the title of County Lady on her for no reason." Mrs. Xue was a little worried.

Xue Chenyu held her arm and soothed her, "Don't worry, mother. If His Majesty wants father to do something, he must give him some sweet benefits."

Mrs. Xue paused, remembering that when Marquis Xue returned home at noon, he said he was going to the northern border.

"What do you mean?" Is this a move by His Majesty to win people's hearts?

Xue Chenyu nodded.

The main hall was not a place to talk, so they took the imperial edict back and placed it on display, and then the mother and daughter returned to the backyard.

"Yu'er, tell me the truth, do you know something?" Mrs. Xue held Xue Chenyu's hand, fearing that she had something to hide.

Xue Chenyu shook her head. "Mother, since he went south to Lingnan in the middle of the year, and now he has sent father to the northern border, it's clear that His Majesty still wants to make use of father."

She acknowledged this.

Mrs. Xue nodded.

Xue Chenyu then continued, "But our dynasty has always valued civil affairs over military affairs. My father had previously made numerous military achievements at the border, and His Majesty had already sensed a crisis, so he transferred my father back to the capital despite opposition."

"Even if His Majesty still wants to use my father now, I'm afraid he doesn't want him to take over the military power again."

Madam Xue nodded again, "His Majesty doesn't want your father to take control of the military, but he also wants your father to willingly escort Prince Cheng to the northern border. Therefore, he wants to give our Wu'an Marquisate some benefits."

Your Majesty will not be happy if a military general who already has a reputation is promoted to a higher position.

But if he gave his daughter a title that was only nominal, he could have the best of both worlds.

In fact, it was not only a reward from the court for Xue Chenyu's donation of a large sum of money, but also a statement to Marquis Xue that the court remembered the contributions of their Wu'an Marquis Mansion, allowing him to travel north with peace of mind.

Mrs. Xue and Xue Chenyu looked at each other for a moment, and they understood each other tacitly.

But from this, a more difficult thing came -

If something serious had not happened, Your Majesty would not have used such means to appease Marquis Xue.

The fact that he did this showed that the journey to the North was not simple.

This means, "Your father will be in danger." Mrs. Xue said solemnly.

Xue Chenyu pursed her lips and then called Qiuhua.

She made a list and asked Qiuhua to go to Jishan Hall and buy all the medicines on it.

Mrs. Xue took a look and saw that either it was an external injury medicine with excellent healing effects, or a heart-protecting pill that could protect lives at critical moments.

There are also more than a dozen kinds of medicine that are hard to come by for others.

"It's better to be prepared for any eventuality." Mrs. Xue comforted herself.

Xue Chenyu said, "I'm still worried about just buying these medicines and letting Dad take them. Does Mom have any way to continuously transport the herbs and supplies?"

Madam Xue paused after hearing this. "You want a trade route that won't be interrupted by war?"

For businessmen, profit-seeking is an instinct. When encountering chaos, the first thing they do is to withdraw to protect their capital. If they withdraw too slowly, even people's lives may be in danger.

But her daughter asked her to face the challenge head-on.

"Yu'er, do you know how difficult and dangerous this is?"

Xue Chenyu nodded heavily, "Mother, I know. So we must be prepared to lose everything."

"But mother, my daughter must do this."

Madam Xue looked at her red eyes and couldn't help but lower her voice, "Are you worried about the court?"

Xue Chenyu nodded and said, "I'm afraid my father is in danger."

Madam Xue closed her eyes, and when she opened them again she smiled, "Look at me, I've lived for decades, but in the end I'm not as good as a teenage girl like you."

The mother and daughter looked at each other and smiled.

After that, they talked a lot more.

Regarding the mastermind behind the collusion between officials and bandits in Lingnan, as well as the people who targeted the Wu'an Marquisate and Datong Trading Company, they came to a unanimous conclusion: to a large extent, it was the Crown Prince and the Queen.

The Crown Prince was named after the Queen, not a legitimate son. If he wanted to secure his position, he would need more resources to win over the people.

The queen's mother's family also needs her to use a prince to consolidate her position, so many things make sense.

However, they only said these words in the house.

Once you walk out that door, just pretend you know nothing.

The night before leaving, Situ Zhen came to the Wu'an Marquis Mansion again.

This time he came with Xue Hou openly, but asked to talk to Xue Chenyu alone.

Mrs. Xue knew what was going on, so she gave them a chance to be alone.

"What does the prince want to say to me that requires him to avoid other people?" Xue Chenyu took a sip of tea and smiled faintly.

Situ Zhen sat down opposite her and also picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"I said that day that I want to marry you. If you don't agree, I will come every day." After he accepted that he was drunk and out of control, he said these words without any burden.

Hear the words.

Xue Chenyu smiled and said, "Didn't Persimmon just arrive?" What she meant was that he said he came every day, but he only came after half a month. That means - his words can be ignored.

"I have some other things to deal with, please don't be offended, Miss Xue." Situ Zhen also knew that he was in the wrong and did not force an explanation.

"Ah."

"But today, there's one thing I still need to make clear to you." Situ Zhen said seriously, "When I said I wanted to marry you, it wasn't drunken talk, but the truth from the bottom of my heart."

"No matter what you think, I will definitely let you see my sincerity."

Xue Chenyu looked at him in silence for a long time.

"Sir, can you help me keep the Marquisate? And promise to stick with us no matter what happens."

Situ Zhen blurted out, "As a family, we should advance and retreat together. Besides, Marquis Xue is my martial arts master and mentor, and his kindness is as great as the sea. If something happens in the Marquis's mansion, how could I stand by and watch?"

Then why did you abandon the Marquisate and protect yourself under such circumstances in your previous life?

The words came to her lips, but Xue Chenyu swallowed them back.

The past life is the past life, and the present life is the present life. Those things have not happened yet, so she naturally cannot use them to question others.

"Then, my lord, please let me see your sincerity."

Xue Chenyu stood up as she spoke. "The journey to the northern border is destined to be extremely difficult. If you can promise to bring my father back safely no matter what happens along the way, I will marry you."

Just with this one sentence, Prince Cheng's face was so full of smiles that his teeth were showing and his eyes were not.

He stood up excitedly and said, "I, I will never let anything go wrong with Marquis Xue! Believe me!"

"Well, I believe you." Xue Chenyu nodded slowly, "But you know, my lord, I've experienced a failed marriage, so I don't care what the other person says, I only care what they do."

Situ Zhen couldn't suppress his smile at all and was so happy that he almost jumped up.

If what he had said to Marquis Xue and Madam Xue before was to win their consent, it was a temporary victory.

This time, he got the consent of the real owner.

All is ready except for the opportunity!