“You child, you, you, you, get up first.”
“We should discuss this matter slowly. This One is just afraid of wronging you.”
The Empress immediately spoke, giving the Emperor a look.
But Xie Qingran knelt and shuffled back two steps, kowtowing heavily again. “Your subject-daughter only asks to spend my life with Heir Xiao. I beg the Emperor and Empress to grant my wish!”
“Such deep affection is truly rare. We cannot bear to see you so distressed. Xiao Jue, what do you think?”
The Emperor raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Jue. It seemed like a question, but in truth, the matter was already more or less settled.
“Your subject only fears I will hold back the young miss of the Xie Family.”
Xiao Jue sighed, a headache coming on. He had originally thought the little lass would back down in the face of difficulties, but he never expected her to be in such a hurry to finalize the matter.
“With the Heir’s talent and appearance, it is I who am reaching above my station. How could the Heir possibly hold me back?”
“Could it be that the Heir despises me so much?”
Xie Qingran’s eyes reddened with grievance. Her watery eyes, shimmering like ripples, were fixed solely on Xiao Jue.
Xiao Jue had originally come to the palace this time to refuse this marriage. Now, meeting this gaze, he could no longer bring himself to utter words of rejection or difficulty.
“Emperor, don’t you know this child’s foul temper?”
“If he doesn’t speak, it means he’s willing.”
The Empress, terrified that Xiao Jue would say something he shouldn’t, directly finalized the matter.
“Since that’s the case, We shall be the great matchmaker. Empress, you must see to it that this matter is handled well!”
The Emperor slapped his thigh, and just like that, the matter was decided. Then, the Emperor rose and walked outside.
The Empress stared at the Emperor’s retreating back, knowing he was surely going to see the Imperial Concubine. A bitter taste filled her heart.
She looked at Xie Qingran. “You should understand the Emperor’s meaning. In that case, you two should get along well for a while. In three months, This One will issue the decree.”
The Empress was a woman, so she naturally knew what marriage meant to a woman. She thought she should give Xie Qingran one more chance.
Xie Qingran kowtowed in thanks, then rose with a smile and said, “Your Majesty, your subject-daughter would like to accompany the Heir for a walk.”
“Go on.” The Empress had been tired all day and was now mentally and physically exhausted. She really couldn’t hold on any longer.
Xie Qingran pushed Xiao Jue’s wheelchair and headed outside. She pushed him directly to the edge of a pond. With just a slight push, she could send him into the water. It was a very dangerous position.
Even Xiao Jue was surprised. He never imagined that this little slip of a girl, who had spoken so nicely inside, would change her tune the moment she came out and even threaten him by putting him in such a dangerous spot.
“Why does the Heir dislike this marriage?”
“Is my appearance so offensive to you?”
Xie Qingran circled around to the front of Xiao Jue, frowning at him in confusion.
“Heir, the current situation of the Zhen Guo Duke Manor is known to all. Don’t you need someone like me to manage the inner residence?”
“Your younger brother and sister are still small, but they have reached the age where they should be studying and meeting people. Shouldn’t there be someone at home to manage these things?”
Xie Qingran fired off a series of questions, staring intently at Xiao Jue.
“Didn’t you say you were deeply devoted to this Heir?” Xiao Jue asked playfully, as if completely unconcerned by what Xie Qingran was saying.
At these words, Xie Qingran was momentarily choked up, her face flushing red. Meeting Xiao Jue’s teasing gaze, she decided to throw caution to the wind. She sat down right beside Xiao Jue and said sullenly, “Heir, if I didn’t say that, how could the Emperor and Empress possibly agree to this marriage? If I didn’t say that, where would the honor of the Imperial family, the Xiao Family, and my Xie Family be?”
This took Xiao Jue by surprise.
He had thought Xie Qingran was a person of deep schemes, but he never expected her to be so straightforward.
“What do you want?”
Xiao Jue’s voice was hoarse and deep, yet it carried an indescribable sense of pressure.
“I want safety and peace. I’m about to reach the age where if I don’t marry, I will be convicted of a crime and implicate my family. But I don’t want to marry anyone else, only the Heir.”
Xie Qingran told the truth. She had carefully studied Xiao Jue beforehand. This man had fought on battlefields since he was young, so he was bound to be a highly suspicious person, wary of everything. Especially after falling from such a high position to his current state, his heart might even be somewhat twisted. Therefore, when dealing with such a person, sincerity was the ultimate weapon.
She took a deep breath and looked up at Xiao Jue. “Heir, actually, just like you, I have no choice.”
At this moment, the way Xie Qingran looked at Xiao Jue was like a ghost in hell gazing up at the mortal world—it was a look of longing, of pleading, and even more, of absolute determination.
Seeing this, Xiao Jue’s heart, which had been as withered as a dead tree, suddenly began to beat violently. He had never thought he would ever feel such a stir in his heart again. His brows knitted together tightly, and his gaze on Xie Qingran was complicated.
“I’ll consider it.”
Xiao Jue said coolly.
He turned his wheelchair around and left.
Staring at the ease with which he turned the wheelchair, Xie Qingran frowned slightly. Wasn’t this person already a cripple? That movement just now didn’t seem like something a cripple should be able to do.
Xie Qingran quickly caught up, pushed Xiao Jue’s wheelchair, and escorted him back to Chunqiu Palace. After bidding farewell to the Empress and promising to see Xiao Jue back to the Zhen Guo Duke Manor, she took her leave.
She could see that the Empress was mentally and physically exhausted, so before leaving, she gave the Empress’s head palace maid a folk remedy that would allow Her Majesty to sleep peacefully at night.
Outside the palace gates, Xie Qingran stared at Xiao Jue, then at the carriage before her. She took a deep breath, then actually bent down and lifted Xiao Jue into her arms.
“You! You…”
“How are you so strong?”
Xiao Jue looked at Xie Qingran in disbelief. He never would have thought that this girl, who looked so thin and weak, could possess such explosive strength.
“On the estate, I did everything myself.”
“So I’m not the delicate little lady you might think I am.”
Xie Qingran opened the carriage door and saw two little kids craning their necks to look over.
“Bro… brother?”
Xiao Yu was so scared he stammered, subconsciously hugging his younger sister. If this formidable and fierce woman really became his sister-in-law, would he and his sister have any chance of survival?
“It’s fine,” Xiao Jue replied faintly.
Xie Qingran gently settled Xiao Jue down, then handed two sachets, one to each of the children. They were embroidered with cute little rabbits.
“My name is Xie Qingran. Next time we meet, you must call me Sister Xie, understand?”
After leaving them with these words, Xie Qingran leaped down from the carriage and waved at Xiao Jue. “Take care, Heir!”