A flicker of sorrow passed through Imperial Noble Consort Xi’s eyes, but she quickly suppressed it, her voice turning cold. “Xuanyuan Yi, you ungrateful wretch! I gave birth to you and raised you to adulthood, and this is how you repay me? For the sake of a divorced woman, a remarried woman, you won’t even let me stay in the palace. You are unworthy of being a son!”
He had heard these words from his mother no less than a hundred times, and by now, they had become routine, unable to stir even a ripple of anger in his heart.
Xuanyuan Yi replied calmly, “In any case, I have already decided to marry Xia Xing’er. I came here merely to inform you.”
Imperial Noble Consort Xi drew a sharp breath. “Since ancient times, marriage has been a matter of parental decree and matchmaker’s words. I oppose it, so you lack the parental decree. Do you still insist on bringing that wretched woman into our family?”
Xuanyuan Yi stood up and said coldly, “I have already requested His Majesty to issue an imperial marriage decree. Therefore, whether you agree or not is irrelevant. Even without a parental decree, it does not matter. We have the emperor’s Imperial Edict of marriage. Who in the world would dare gossip?”
Imperial Noble Consort Xi trembled with rage but could do nothing. Pointing a finger at Xuanyuan Yi, she stammered, “You… you…”
Before she could utter another word, Xuanyuan Yi had already turned and left.
Imperial Noble Consort Xi instantly deflated like a punctured ball, slowly collapsing into her chair as tears began to fall, drop by drop.
Nanny Fang watched her mistress in this state, her heart aching.
She was Imperial Noble Consort Xi’s wet nurse, having watched her grow up since childhood. Having no children of her own, she had long regarded Imperial Noble Consort Xi as her own daughter.
“Your Highness, please don’t cry. Your makeup is smudged, and you won’t look beautiful anymore.”
Her mistress cared most about her appearance and prized her face above all else. Nanny Fang knew exactly how to console her.
Upon hearing these words, Imperial Noble Consort Xi immediately stopped crying, though her anger remained unabated. She said bitterly, “Tell me, who am I doing all this for? It’s all for his own good! He is a fine prince, yet he insists on marrying a discarded woman, even going so far as to seek an Imperial Edict from the emperor. How will the world view him?”
As she spoke, she felt particularly aggrieved, and tears began to flow uncontrollably once more.
Her son always opposed her. If she told him to go east, he would surely go west.
He never listened to her words, letting them go in one ear and out the other.
She did not know what she had done wrong.
Before her marriage, as the youngest in her family, everyone had doted on her. Later, she met the late emperor and entered the palace with him. He, too, had cherished her like a precious pearl, and she had never suffered any grievances.
Only with her own son had she consistently faced setbacks.
She could not blame her son, so she blamed that woman instead.
“It must be that wretched woman using seductive tricks to bewitch my son, making him insist on marrying her and defy me for her sake.”
If Xia Xing’er knew Imperial Noble Consort Xi’s thoughts, she would surely cry out in injustice. She and Zhennan Wang had only played together as children and had not seen each other since growing up, okay? How could there be any talk of seduction? She was quite frustrated herself.
Nanny Fang knew her mistress was once again stuck in her stubborn thinking. Sighing inwardly, she still advised, “Your Highness, there is no need to grieve. His Highness has always been a man of his own mind. Since he has chosen her, she must surely have exceptional qualities, areas where other noble ladies cannot compare.”
Imperial Noble Consort Xi, hearing even her own wet nurse speak up for the other side, felt even more aggrieved. “What exceptional qualities could she possibly have? She’s just skilled at seduction, making my son disregard that she’s no longer pure and insist on marrying her.”
“This servant has heard that Xia Xing’er’s beauty surpasses all others. At that time, suitors came in an endless stream to seek her hand. I don’t know why the Marchioness later married her off to a fourth-rank military officer and even specially went to the Empress Dowager to request an imperial decree.”
“Moreover, she is still the daughter of the Marquis’s Mansion, and her second brother is a deputy general under the Prince’s command.”
Imperial Noble Consort Xi dismissed this with indifference. “Being the daughter of the Marquis’s Mansion doesn’t change the fact that she is a discarded woman, a twice-married woman.”
Nanny Fang continued wiping her tears with a handkerchief. “Since the Prince likes her now, let him marry her. No matter how beautiful she is, he’ll grow tired of looking at her after a while. Then you can bestow upon him two concubines or side consorts. I don’t believe the Prince won’t grow weary of her.”
Imperial Noble Consort Xi took Nanny Fang’s words to heart but still felt unsettled. “What you say isn’t wrong, but just thinking about her being divorced by a down-and-out family like the General’s Manor and then being married by my son—how am I supposed to face people after this?”
“Once she enters the household, you can set rules for her daily and have plenty of ways to deal with her. Besides, there are many methods to make someone disappear quietly. Why get angry over such a small matter? It’s not worth it.”
Upon hearing this, a flicker of ruthlessness passed through Imperial Noble Consort Xi’s eyes, but it was quickly replaced by complex emotions.
After pondering for a moment, she suddenly conceived a plan, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of her mouth. “Nanny speaks wisely. Since she wants to enter the Prince’s Mansion, let her come. This grieving one will make her understand that being a royal daughter-in-law is not so easy, and what it truly means to regret one’s actions! Have someone pack our things and inform the Empress Dowager. We are going to reside at the Prince of Zhennan’s Mansion.”
Little did they know that their plans would never come to fruition. Later, on the road to exile, they would have to rely on Xia Xing’er’s aid. Recalling their thoughts at this moment would seem utterly ridiculous, even making them wish they could turn back time and slap their foolish past selves twice.
Xuanyuan Yi stopped reminiscing and turned around, his sharp gaze fixed on Liuyun and Liuxing. “This imperial marriage decree was something I personally requested from His Majesty. Do the two of you have some objection to my decision?”
“We wouldn’t dare!” Liuyun and Liuxing said in unison.
They truly hadn’t known that this marriage was something the Prince had requested himself. They had thought it was bestowed by the Emperor to humiliate the Prince, their original intention being that the Prince wasn’t worth such a match.
Even now, knowing it was the Prince’s own request, they still felt that Xia Xing’er was unworthy of their Prince.
For the illustrious War God, the Prince of Zhennan, to marry a discarded woman was a disgrace.
Seeing their expressions, Xuanyuan Yi guessed their thoughts and said sternly, “Put away those petty notions in your minds. I know what I am doing. She is my future Princess Consort, the mistress of the Prince’s Mansion, your future lady. The attitude you show me, you will show her as well. If I discover you feign compliance while acting contrary, you know the consequences!”
Liuxing and Liuyun collectively shivered. They certainly knew the consequences. Having worked hard to transition from covert guards to open guards, they had no desire to be sent back for retraining.
“We understand, Your Highness!”
Xuanyuan Yi was finally satisfied. “Instruct Uncle Fu to take stock of the storeroom and prepare the betrothal gifts. I will personally go to the Changxin Marquisate tomorrow to deliver them.”
Uncle Fu had already taken the initiative to prepare the betrothal gifts from the storeroom as soon as the imperial marriage decree was issued.
The Prince of Zhennan’s Mansion was finally about to welcome its mistress. He had to hurry and make arrangements for the prince.