As Prefect Qi knelt, his four sons followed suit behind him. The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes as he observed the Qi father and sons. Just as Prefect Qi was about to speak, the Crown Prince laughed heartily and bade them rise.
"Prefect Qi, you're too timid—can't take a joke."
Prefect Qi stood up, wiping sweat from his forehead while bowing. Your subject is anxiety."
Back at the Prefectural Residence, the Crown Prince sat in the highest seat while a group of dancing girls gracefully entered, holding pipas. Among them, a woman in fiery red dance attire stood out, her porcelain-white face enchanting and delicate. Her slender, captivating eyes gazed affectionately at the Crown Prince as she spun gracefully, mesmerizing him completely.
Prefect Qi cast a discreet glance at the Crown Prince, masking a faint sneer at the corner of his mouth with a sip of tea.
After the dance ended, the Crown Prince pointed at the red-clad dancer and asked, "What is your name?"
Hong Ling glanced briefly at Prefect Qi before lowering her head to reply, "This humble servant is Hong Ling."
"What a fitting name for you, Hong Ling." The Crown Prince stood and approached, helping her up. Hong Ling lifted the hem of her skirt and followed him to sit in the main seat.
"Prefect Qi, I'm taking this woman with me. I'll make sure to credit you for this."
"I dare not claim credit," Prefect Qi hurriedly stood up. "It is her fortune to serve the Crown Prince."
Satisfied, the Crown Prince nodded and turned to his four sons. "Since I've gained a beauty, I shouldn't forget your sons. I can arrange marriages for them."
Qi Ji stood up, knelt with a sweep of his robe, and said, "Your Highness, this subject already has a wife."
Qi Mo and Qi Xun also rose and knelt. "We are already engaged as well."
The Crown Prince then looked at Qi Heng, who knelt and said, "This subject only wishes to achieve merits and build a career."
"Building a career doesn't mean you can't marry." The Crown Prince thought of a candidate—the Seventh Princess, daughter of Consort Zhen, a weak and incompetent princess.
"I find the Second Young Master Qi and the Seventh Princess quite compatible. How about I report to His Majesty to arrange a marriage?"
Qi Heng's expression changed. "Your Highness, this subject has no intention of marrying."
The Prefect was shocked and quickly knelt. "To be honest, Your Highness, this second son of mine is also engaged. The betrothal gifts have already been delivered."
The four sons were stunned, all turning to look at their father. Even Qi Heng was taken aback—how could he not know about his own engagement?
The Crown Prince looked displeased. "Prefect Qi, how dare you deceive me? I won't let this slide!"
"This subject wouldn't dare," Prefect Qi said. "Some time ago, I was pursued by assassins and was saved by villagers from Yong’an Village. A life-saving grace deserves abundant repayment. I discussed with them to form a marriage alliance between our families. Qi Heng personally delivered the betrothal gifts a few days ago. If Your Highness doesn't believe it, you can investigate."
Qi Heng turned to look at his father. Prefect Qi gave him a meaningful sidelong glance, and Qi Heng cooperatively lowered his eyes, clasped his hands, and bowed.
"What my father said is true. This subject is engaged to Miss Jiang."
The Crown Prince eyed the father and son suspiciously. "Prefect Qi, would you really let your son marry a peasant girl? Are you fooling me? If you don't want me to arrange a marriage, just say so. How dare you try to deceive me!"
"This subject wouldn't dare deceive the Crown Prince!" The Qi father and son bowed low. Prefect Qi continued, "The ninth of next month is an auspicious day. I will hold the wedding for my second son and sincerely invite Your Highness to attend."
The Crown Prince threw his head back and laughed heartily, telling the accompanying officials, "Look at this—he'd rather marry a peasant girl than a princess. Fine, I'll stay and see what kind of peasant girl the Prefectural Residence's Second Young Master is marrying."
Whether true or false, Prefect Qi had already declared in front of the Crown Prince that this marriage must proceed.
After seeing off the Crown Prince, Prefect Qi summoned his four sons to the study and gravely instructed them.
"Find a matchmaker to formally propose to the Jiang family. Have the birth characters matched with their third daughter. Do it quickly, and don’t let the Crown Prince notice."
Qi Ji asked incredulously, "Father, are you really going to let Second Brother marry a peasant girl? This is too demeaning for him."
"Would you rather he marry the Seventh Princess?" Prefect Qi commanded, "Go now!"
"Don’t go!" Madam Qi stormed in from outside, and the maid promptly closed the door behind her.
"Husband, our Heng’er cannot marry a peasant girl. I’ll speak to the Crown Prince and say Heng’er was already betrothed to my niece. This peasant girl doesn’t count."
"Foolish woman!" Prefect Qi rebuked sharply. "What do you take the Crown Prince for? Going back on your word in front of him—do you want to bring ruin upon our entire Qi family?"
"Regardless, I won’t allow Heng’er to marry a peasant girl," Madam Qi insisted, her eyes reddening. "It’s too unfair to my son."
Prefect Qi scolded, "This concerns the lives of everyone in Qi Manor. You only think of your son’s grievances, but have you considered that if our family is executed, your son won’t even have the chance to feel wronged!"
Madam Qi muttered under her breath, "You just want our son to repay your debt of gratitude."
"This marriage has nothing to do with gratitude. It’s forced by circumstances—do you understand?" Prefect Qi explained wearily, glaring at her fiercely.
Madam Qi staggered and collapsed into a chair. "Must he really marry that peasant girl?"
As she thought of the peasant girl, an image of someone crude, ill-mannered, and greedy came to mind. The more she dwelled on it, the more she felt her son was being wronged.
"Mother," Qi Heng called out to her. "I am willing to marry her. Miss Jiang has been implicated because of our Qi family. When she enters our household, I hope you won’t make things difficult for her."
"What implication?" Madam Qi snorted lightly. "As a peasant girl, marrying into our Qi Manor is a meteoric rise. She’ll be laughing in her dreams."
Qi Heng gave a faint, self-mocking smile.
"Mother, we are the ones begging her to marry into Qi Manor. If she refuses, our family will be executed for deceiving the sovereign. At court, many are watching us, eager to bring Father down. You must not cause trouble at this critical moment and give others leverage to harm our family."
Madam Qi paled, frightened by her son’s words. "How could it be so serious? I don’t believe it. You must be trying to scare me, right?"
Prefect Qi warned her, "I advise you not to meddle. Welcome your daughter-in-law properly. The Crown Prince will attend the wedding. If you dare cause any trouble, I won’t spare you!"
Madam Qi looked defeated, her straight posture slumping abruptly as she dabbed her tears with a handkerchief. "My poor son."
Late at night, the four brothers returned to their respective rooms.
Back in his room, Qi Ji recounted the matter to his wife, Liu Shi, who looked astonished. "Is Father really going to let Second Brother marry a peasant girl?"
Her tone held a hint of schadenfreude. As the daughter of the County Magistrate of Yun County in Ruyang Commandery, she was outranked by the noblewomen betrothed to the third and fourth brothers, who would likely not respect her as the eldest sister-in-law once they married in.
She had always thought Second Brother, with his high standards, would marry a noble lady, but he was being matched with a crude peasant girl.
"Will Second Brother agree to this marriage?"
"What if they disagree? We can't gamble with the entire family's lives." Qi Ji removed his outer coat, wearing a moon-white robe as he sat on the couch reading.
Liu Shi sat opposite him and remarked sarcastically, "That peasant girl is truly blessed—she's leapt to prominence overnight by becoming the Second Young Madam of the Prefectural Residence."