90 Then Damn It, You Marry Her (1/2)
The word reverberated inside the suddenly silent room like a shot.
War.
The capital's safety and future was again put on the line.
Xiang Yun was as shocked as they were.
”W...war?” she stammered. ”He can't be serious. He's not that stupid.”
”Apparently, he is,” An Ning said dryly.
”My father can be a nut sometimes. But deep down he really does like me. It must be my mom who's doing this. Bitch,” Xiang Yun said, shocking her listeners.
”You don't have an er, good relationship with your mother?” the emperor delicately asked.
”She's actually not my mother.My biological mother, I mean. She married my dad when our real mother died. I think she drugged him or something then pretended she was pregnant. My dad of course believed her. He's an honorable man and this bitch was only sixteen at that time,” Xiang Yun's voice was so casual it was hard to believe she was actually airing her family's dirty laundry in public.
”But why does this...bitch wants to start a war with Yuqui?” Mu Xing asked, perplexed.
”The whore probably wants something out of it,” Xiang Yun's casual mention of a cursed word amused An Ning so much that she laughed.
”You know, I initially thought you're one of those pure white lotus girls whose mouth would melt if they said a curse word but I guess I was wrong. You're one tough cookie as it turns out,” An Ning complimented.
”I don't suffer fools gladly, you see,” Xiang Yun casually accepted the praise. ”I've always known what kind of people my family are, even my sisters, since I was five. My father is a foolish man but he's not the type who can be deranged on his own, if you know what I mean. He needs stimulus and the bitch is good at that.”
An Ning again laughed.
”Are you really serious about pursuing your education here in Yuqui?”
”I have all my valuables transferred here six months ago,” Xiang Yun was so casual and so blase about it that she again left her listeners speechless. ”I even bought a house near the district under my own name. My family doesn't know, but I've been quietly amassing wealth since I realized my beauty was only going to give me grief. My father loves beauty and he's proud of the fact that my sisters have all married such exemplary men of wealth and talent. Makes him believe he's a good dad, you see.”
The casual yet derogatory summary of her father's character and failings again left Xiang Yun's audience stumped.They looked at each other, dazed and confused. Xiang Yun was so young, how can she be this spot on when it came to her own family? And so frankly and brutally honest about her conclusions.
”Your beauty gives you grief?” queried Kang Jun, who looked at her like she was a moron.
”I see you like beauty,” Xiang Yun said, showing her contempt by dismissing his words. ”I probably would, too, if I were an ordinary person like my sisters. Don't get me wrong, I love my siblings but I know they're practically airheads.” In the background, An Ning snickered joyfully. ”But I'm not like them. I like other stuff like science and math and alchemy and magic. I also enjoy cooking. I'm rich because I know stuff. They're not. I don't depend on anyone, unlike them who has dad and now their husbands to take care of them. I can run away, even go to the moon if I want, and I wouldn't starve.”
”A girl after my own heart,” An Ning approved. ”But there's still the problem of why your stepmother wants this war and how to stop it.”
”Nobody can stop it. Not once the bitch makes her mind up and tells my dad. She's like a dog that way.”
”So, what do we do now?”
”I don't want to make trouble for Yuqui so I might as well kill myself because I will not go back.”
Xiang Yun again left her audience speechless.
”You can't!” Mu Xing cried. ”I mean, it would be a sin.”
”I don't believe in any of that stuff,” Xiang Yun shrugged casually. ”I'm dead anyway if they succeed in taking me back. My dad will marry me off to this old man. I'll have my first child when I turn sixteen. And after that, just a hell hole of a life to get through everyday in complete misery. No. I'm too rebellious for that. So, might as well kill myself and get it over with sooner.”
She looked so resolute yet somewhat naive that instead of pity, she instead awakened some kind of chivalry in their hearts. How can a young and beautiful girl like her chose death so casually as if it was just a choice between going left or right? But then again, for someone with Xiang Yun's weird mindset, a life of domesticity was indeed hell on earth. If she couldn't live the life she wanted then she wouldn't give anyone else the satisfaction either of living her life for her.
”Your majesty...,” Mu Xing was staring at the emperor with a complete look of panic on his face. The appeal though was there, insistent and yes, desperate.
”I don't see how...,” the emperor said, looking helpless. ”Maybe if we talk to your father...,” he added, looking hopefully at Xiang Yun.
Xiang Yun smiled somewhat pityingly at him.
”He won't change his mind.”
”Maybe there is a small chance,” An Ning suddenly said. ”A window, if you will. I don't know if it will work though since it's something you're averse in doing.”
”You mean?” the emperor said, staring at An Ning with something like awe.
”That's what I mean,” An Ning agreed, smiling at him.
”What? You mean what?” Mu Xing asked, totally without a clue.
”A marriage. Xiang Yun must get married.”
Her suggestion left some of her audience with their mouths hanging open. It was totally unexpected of what they expected the empress to say. Xiang Yun was running away so she wouldn't have to marry anyone and yet she's telling them Xiang Yun has to get married so her crazy fool of a father would stop hounding her and issuing war threats against anyone who harbors her in safety. So, which was it?
An Ning read the confusion on their faces and laughed.
”I don't get it,” Kang Jun said.
”But I don't want to get married,” cried Xiang Yun.
”Marry who?” asked Mu Xing with a frown.
”Now, that's the right question to ask,” An Ning nodded approvingly at him.
”Yes, dear mother, who is this young girl going to marry?” Gu Sheng asked, sitting back in his chair.
”What about you?”
The question literally left all of them, except An Ning, totally nonplussed.The emperor was so shocked at the unexpected he stared at his stepmother with his mouth open.
”Him?” Mu Xing squeaked. ”Why him?”
”Why not him?” An Ning asked, smiling. ”Between the three of you here, Little Gu is, I think, the best qualified suitor for Shao Wu.”
”But...” Mu Xing again said.
”Are you insane?” the emperor asked, glaring at his stepmother. ”I don't want to marry her! You said yourself, I'm too young. Besides, I don't want to marry anyone.”
”Why not? You have to, sooner or later,” An Ning argued.
”I prefer later. Later!” the emperor emphasized. ”I don't have anything against you, young lady, but...no. I absolutely refuse.”