Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Master Nan asked Nan Fei if it was true, but Nan Fei remained silent. Duo Yi smashed Master Nan's treasured antique vase in front of Nan Fei.

The next day, Duoyi stopped Nanfei from leaving the house and demanded that he marry or get engaged to her.

From then on, everyone in the Nan family treated Duoyi differently, becoming polite yet indifferent. Duoyi felt wronged and angry, and cried her heart out while hugging Nanfei.

During that time, the Nan family waited for the Empress to arrange a marriage. Yuan Feng was in agony waiting for news at home.

Later, Nanhua returned to the palace and said that the Emperor had rejected the Empress's proposal. The reason given was that Nanfei was too young. They all knew the truth. The Emperor was leaving a way out for the princess.

Although it was a false alarm, Duoyi became anxious and uneasy afterward. She voluntarily withdrew from the Imperial Academy and stayed at home all day, sitting at the door waiting for Nanfei.

One day, her maidservant was not attentive enough. Duoyi flew into a rage and beat the maid half to death. The maidservant's family came to her door to make a scene, alarming the local government.

What was a trivial matter somehow became the talk of the town, with court officials seizing the opportunity to spread rumors that the Nan family, relying on the emperor's favor, treated their servants harshly. The emperor reprimanded Master Nan in court.

Duo Yi had completely lost her status in the mansion, and Nan Fei lost his temper with her for the first time. Duo Yi left the mansion in tears, and it was raining at the time.

When Nanfei found her, she was lying on the top of Jingling Mountain, delirious with a high fever. She said she could see the northern desert from the mountaintop and longed to go home.

Duoyi fell seriously ill and, upon waking, refused to eat, drink, or speak. Nanfei stayed by her side every day, personally attending to every need.

Nanfei announced to everyone in front of her: Duoyi is my savior and an honored guest of the Nan family. If any maid or servant offends Duoyi again, I will pay with my life.

The once lively and cheerful girl became melancholy and full of worries. She would occasionally ask Nanfei if he would marry her, but Nanfei never gave her a direct answer.

Thinking back carefully, Nanfei only mentioned marrying her when they first met; he never said it again, nor did he ever acknowledge it to his family. Like a prisoner struggling to survive, he made promises he took lightly, but she was the only one who truly believed him.

Duo Yi suddenly realized: "We're both going to be imperial sons-in-law, so why can't you be my imperial son-in-law?"

Nanfei remained silent.

Duo Yi asked in despair, "Do you like me?"

Nanfei remained silent.

Duo Yi cried and said, "Then take me home. I don't want to stay in Dongyang. I miss home, I miss my parents, I miss the northern desert."

Nanfei said, "You can't go back now."

Duo Yi asked, "When can you come back? Will you come back after you get married and have children?"

Nanfei calmly said, "We can go back after Batu dies, or after General Yuan pacifies the northern desert."

If Batu doesn't die, returning to Duoyi won't be a dead end, but a dead end. Death isn't scary; the despair of living a life worse than death is.

Duoyi was clever and quick-witted, and asked, "If General Yuan pacifies the northern deserts, and Dongyang establishes a governor's office there, can you marry me?"

Nan Fei nodded: "If you're not the princess of the Northern Desert, I can marry you. Duo Yi, I can't gamble away the entire Nan family and the Nan clan of Youzhou for you."

Duo Yi asked, "When will General Yuan pacify the northern deserts? Ten years, twenty years, thirty years..."

No one knows.

Duo Yi then asked, "What if the emperor wants you to be his son-in-law?"

Nanfei said, "That was all a joke by His Majesty. What if the princess marries someone she likes? If she doesn't have someone she likes, then she can choose from among the successful candidates. I won't participate in the imperial examinations before the princess gets married."

Duo Yi gradually smiled and regained some of her energy. She said, "Nan Fei, you won't lie to me again, will you?"

Nanfei replied irrelevantly, "There are noble families everywhere in the capital. If you fall in love with someone else, I'll have my parents arrange a marriage for you."

Duo Yi tugged at his sleeve: "No, I only like you."

Nanfei took Duoyi to the Wensi Academy. Nanfei would pick her up from the academy after school. If Nanfei wasn't at home, Duoyi wouldn't stay there either.

This matter should have been over.

One day, Master Nan rushed home, saying that Yuan Feng had requested an imperial decree to get engaged to Nan Fei. No sooner had Master Nan finished speaking than the imperial decree arrived.

The women of the Yuan family made numerous sacrifices and significant contributions to defending the northern border of Dongyang. The late emperor granted the Yuan family the right to choose a husband; any man chosen by the female general, regardless of marital status, would be married to by the emperor and become part of the Yuan family.

When Yuan Fengniang fell in love with her father, he was already engaged. When the imperial decree for their marriage was issued, the woman's family proactively broke off the engagement, and she hastily remarried. After the marriage, she was bullied by her mother-in-law, remained childless for several years, and ultimately hanged herself.

Duo Yi said Nan Fei promised to marry her. But marriage is a major event, decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers. The two children's words were just playful banter, and no one in the Nan family took them seriously. When the imperial decree came down, even if there was a marriage agreement, it had to be immediately nullified. Who could bear the heavy crime of disobeying the imperial decree?

Duoyi and Nanfei were dumbfounded. They were on guard against Princess Dongyang, but unexpectedly, a Cheng Yaojin appeared out of nowhere.

The entire Nan family was dumbfounded. Yuan Feng was Nan Hua's senior sister. Now that Nan Fei had married into the Yuan family, Nan Hua would have to call Nan Fei her brother-in-law, which would mess up the family hierarchy.

When Nan Hua arrived at the Yuan residence after hearing the news, Yuan Feng was having dinner with her father.

Yuan Fengniang had excellent judgment; her father was a Hanlin scholar at a young age, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and prose.

After marrying Yuan Fengniang, her father resigned from his official post and lived a secluded life.

After the woman he was betrothed to hanged herself, her father devoted himself to teaching Yuan Feng. Yuan Feng's mother disliked the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, finding them to be of no practical use, and sent her to Songyang Academy to study literature and martial arts.

Yuan Feng's father simply went to Chongyang Temple to cultivate in seclusion, and only returned when Yuan Feng went home.

The late emperor once commented on Yuan Feng's father: "He understands the ways of the world but is not vulgar; he knows the ways of the world but is too lazy to bother with them."

Yuan Feng's father advised Nan Hua like this: "You're getting close to the Crown Prince. If you become the Crown Princess in the future, you can't let Nan Fei become the Prince Consort. Nan Fei promised to marry Duo Yi. They're together every day, and as childhood sweethearts, they've developed feelings for each other over time. Who knows, one day they might actually consummate their relationship, and Nan Fei will become the true Prince Consort of the Northern Desert."

As long as Duoyi lives, the Nan family is in danger. If Dongyang wins the war in the northern deserts, all will be well. But if Dongyang loses, the emperor will retaliate against the Nan family, confirming their treason and collusion with the enemy—even the execution of their entire clan wouldn't be enough.

With Nanfei and Feng'er engaged, the court officials had no reason to slander the Nan family anymore, and the rumors in the streets naturally subsided. In time, Duoyi would either give up and return to the northern desert or marry someone else. The Nan family's crisis would automatically be resolved, and wouldn't it be a natural progression for your elder brother to be transferred back to Bianjing?

The Yuan and Nan families are considered a good match. Nan Fei's future is uncertain, but Feng'er, a second-rank general, is more than a suitable match for him. With the Yuan family as their backing, even court officials who criticize the Nan family have to give Feng'er some face.

As for how to address her, you are older than Feng'er, so let her and Nanfei call you "elder sister".

"The engagement is merely a temporary measure. In a few years, if Feng'er meets someone she likes, or Nanfei finds someone he likes, we can break off the engagement. It's a win-win situation; why would the Nan family have any objections?"

Yuan Feng's father rarely used his cunning, but he focused all his efforts on Yuan Feng's marriage. Nan Hua, being so young, was no match for Yuan Feng's father's combination of persuasion and coercion.

Nan Hua returned and repeated what he had said, deliberately emphasizing that the Yuan family could break off the engagement. The entire Nan family felt that they had indeed benefited from the engagement with Yuan Feng.

The Yuan family, who were not usually particular about details, made a grand spectacle of the engagement. The Empress served as the matchmaker, and the Emperor presided over the ceremony, making it a grand and spectacular affair.