Chapter 92 - Marriage and Loyalty (1/2)
Ms. Liang made a slip of the tongue and regretted.
She had said what she shouldn’t say. Shi Junhe was looking at her and obviously waiting for her to continue.
She sighed deeply. “It is Third Princess’s decision.”
Shi Junhe was astonished. “Why?”
It was the marriage of the Zhao Family and the Shi Family, and Third Princess Mo Yuzhen never cared about the affairs of the imperial court. Why did she get involved in it all of a sudden?
Ms. Liang was helpless. “Now there is no outsider. I don’t mind telling you, Duke Shi. It’s not a secret that my husband works for Third Prince, and he has to listen to his order. Even if there is grievance, we have to bear with it.”
Shi Junhe nodded to show that he understood it. “But His Highness is always reasonable. What’s more, if the Zhao Family’s fame is ruined, it won’t do good to you and him, right?
Who would be so idle as to do something that would hurt others but do no good to themselves?
Ms. Liang couldn’t speak out her difficulty and was resentful. “If your niece didn’t offend Her Highness and make her angry to take action, how would we be embarrassed today?”
Shi Junhe was speechless. He was clear about Shi Baojin’s character. She was arrogant and bossy. She wouldn’t show mercy if she got the upper hand, but she was not brainless. How could she have offended Mo Yuzhen?
“I don’t know!” Ms. Liang said coldly and put the blame on Shi Baojin. “But Her Highness personally came to ask my husband. And His Highness dotes on his sister. My husband didn’t dare to refuse.”
Mo Yuzhen told them to delay the wedding and left them no room to hesitate.
Shi Junhe showed a sad face and asked, “Is there no way to change it? If it was really Baojin’s fault, I will tell her to apologize to Her Highness. Maybe…”
Ms. Liang waved her hand in a hurry. “Don’t do that! Her Highness said that we can’t tell anybody that it has something to do with her. I told you and I have broken the rule. If she knows it, she would skin my husband alive.”
Ms. Liang regretted telling Shi Junhe, but he raised his eyebrows and suddenly laughed. “Madam, what are you talking about? Since you have told me the truth, I might help you. Why do you still try to hide something?”
“…” Ms. Liang laughed shyly and found that Shi Junhe was not dull even if he was a warrior, so she tried to please him. “Duke, you are right. To be frank, only you can do it.”
Shi Junhe frowned. “Why?”
But Ms. Liang thought he was playing dumb. “Everybody knows that your little daughter is clever and adorable. She is Her Highness’s good friend. If she can say something nice to her, maybe it will work.”
And she knew that Shi Baojin had a fight with Shi Qingxue before the spring outing dinner and then Mo Yuzhen comforted Qingxue, so she suspected of the reason why Mo Yuzhen took action against Shi Baojin suddenly.
Of course she was not foolish as to think that Shi Qingxue had incited the princess to get involved in it. After all, if the news spread, both the Zhao Family and the Shi Family would be embarrassed, and Shi Qingxue didn’t look like that unreasonable.
Shi Junhe concealed his smile and then responded indifferently, “My daughter Qingxue is on good terms with Her Highness, but how can we comment on a princess’s decision?”
Hearing that Shi Junhe was unwilling to help, Ms. Liang got angry and said with sarcasm, “I thought you care about your niece, but you just look on and do nothing when she is in need.”
Shi Junhe was completely indifferent and wasn’t provoked by her words. Ms. Liang didn’t want to offend him, so she didn’t say more about it. She said, “Duke, since you can do nothing, I won’t disturb you. Goodbye!”
Ms. Liang left, and Shi Junhe was still sitting in the main hall. He frowned and was lost in thought. After quite a while, he suddenly said, “She has gone. Why don’t you come out?”
Shi Qingxue who was hiding behind the screen had to walk out. Seeing Shi Junhe’s grim face, she explained in a hurry, “Father, I swear that it has nothing to do with me. I didn’t tell Yuzhen to do that. I learned it just from Madam Zhao.”
She was solemn, as if she told the truth.
Shi Junhe was angry but wanted to laugh. He peered at her. “So you didn’t know that Her Highness planned to help you deal with Baojin?”
“Eh…” Shi Qingxue was aware that she was like a rabbit and couldn’t fool her father, an old fox, so she had to admit, “Yuzhen saw that I had a conflict with Baojin before the spring outing dinner. She believed that Baojin had rocked the boat and said she would do something to her.”
She had expected Mo Yuzhen to take action, but it was beyond her expectation that she would do it so soon.
Shi Junhe was helpless. “You knew that Her Highness would do something. Why didn’t you advise her not to?”
Shi Qingxue took it for granted and answered, “Why would I advise her? Yuzhen considers everything for me, but Baojin always makes things difficult for me. Should I hurt someone who cares about me for an enemy?
Sorry, I can’t do something immoral like this.”
“How dare you! Listen, what are you saying?” Shi Junhe frowned with displeasure. “That’s your cousin. How does she become your enemy?”
Qingxue sneered and swallowed back her complaints.
She had wanted to tell Shi Junhe what Shi Baojin had done to her, but at the last minute, she chose not to.
It was not that she was afraid that Shi Junhe didn’t believe her, but she didn’t want him to be sad for it and know that he had a brother who wanted to harm him and fought for the hereditary official position and a vicious niece who wanted his daughter to have a ruined reputation…