Ten years had passed, yet neither of them bore many traces left by the years.
Jiang Chenghan remained as handsome and upright as ever, only his brow now carried a more steady and weighty presence. Because of his high position, he had gained an extraordinary and imposing aura that made people not dare to look down on him.
Yan Jingshu, on the other hand, seemed to be more favored by the passage of time than Jiang Chenghan. It was as if time had stood still on him—his delicate eyebrows, rosy lips, and gentle, smiling eyes remained peaceful and serene, exactly as they were when the two first married, a sight Jiang Chenghan could never get enough of, without the slightest change.
Yan Jingshu was writing with serious concentration. It wasn't until he had filled an entire page with characters that he straightened up, let out a soft sigh, and then turned to look at Jiang Chenghan beside him. He met Jiang Chenghan's eyes, which had been watching him all along, and couldn't help but smile slightly.
Just as he was about to say something, suddenly a maid announced her presence from outside the door.
Yan Jingshu and Jiang Chenghan exchanged a glance, both somewhat puzzled by the interruption. When Yan Jingshu was restoring ancient texts, he required complete quiet and could not be disturbed casually, so under normal circumstances, the servants would not come to report matters at this time. It seemed now that something major must have happened for them to come at this moment.
"What is it? Come in and speak," Yan Jingshu said, putting down his brush and walking toward the outer hall.
Jiang Chenghan also put down the ink stick and followed Yan Jingshu out of the study.
"Master, Furen, the official matchmaker Zhao Bingren has come with gifts requesting an audience. She says she is sent by the Thirteenth Prince to seek the hand of the young master for... for the position of secondary consort."
After the maid finished speaking, the room fell into silence. The smiles that had been on Jiang Chenghan and Yan Jingshu's faces vanished, replaced by dark expressions, and neither spoke a word.
A good long while passed. It wasn't until the maid, having waited without any instructions, timidly raised her head to look that Jiang Chenghan finally said in a deep voice, "...Furen and I understand. Have someone properly entertain this Matchmaker Zhao. Furen and I will go to see her shortly."
"Yes," the maid hurriedly nodded, bowed, and withdrew.
"The Thirteenth Prince..." Yan Jingshu's beautiful eyebrows had long been furrowed, his face full of anger. Then, unable to suppress the fury in his heart any longer, he slammed his palm heavily on the table and said with resentment, "We've already refused several times. Now he actually sends a matchmaker to our door with great fanfare and gifts. Does he intend to force us?"
Jiang Rongjia was now sixteen, the age to discuss marriage. Although he was a shuang'er, his character, appearance, talent, family background, and bearing were all outstanding in the capital. Therefore, over the past two years, there had been no shortage of those wishing to propose marriage, including many from prominent families.
However, Yan Jingshu knew that Jiang Chenghan hoped Jiang Rongjia would marry after twenty. Although he didn't know why, after asking Jiang Rongjia's opinion and finding he agreed with Jiang Chenghan's idea, he had let this intention be known.
The flowering period of a young girl was precious, and few could wait four years, let alone since Yan Jingshu had no intention of securing a match for Jiang Rongjia in advance. Although it was a pity, they had no choice but to give up.
However, while some made clean breaks, others persisted and refused to let the matter drop. Among them, the one Yan Jingshu disliked the most was the Thirteenth Prince's pursuit. But unlike other families seeking marriages for their own or their friends' daughters, the Thirteenth Prince had taken a liking to Jiang Rongjia and wanted to take him as a secondary consort.
The Thirteenth Prince had initially appeared to be a decent man. However, after the Tenth and Fourteenth Princes encountered misfortunes in quick succession, as the only remaining prince, believing the throne was firmly within his grasp, he stopped hiding and gradually revealed his true nature.
Within the walls of his princely residence, countless absurd and outrageous incidents were rumored to have taken place. The stories were so widespread that even Yan Jingshu, who seldom ventured beyond his own home, had heard numerous accounts of these scandals.
Originally, these matters had nothing to do with them. Who would have thought the Thirteenth Prince would set his sights on the Jiang residence, on Jiang Rongjia's head?
Although Yan Jingshu had chosen to marry himself, he had no intention of compelling Jiang Rongjia to follow the same path—particularly not into a union with someone of the Thirteenth Prince's character. Furthermore, Jiang Rongjia had personally expressed no desire to marry. Thus, they had refused from the very beginning.
But the Thirteenth Prince had never given up. After that, whether through the Duke of Anguo's residence, the Commandery Prince of Rui's residence, or even directly approaching Jiang Chenghan, he had caused Yan Jingshu and Jiang Chenghan endless annoyance.
And today, the Thirteenth Prince actually directly dispatched a matchmaker with gifts to their door, thoroughly angering Yan Jingshu and Jiang Chenghan.
Jiang Chenghan's face darkened, his expression becoming as impenetrable and still as deep water. But seeing Yan Jingshu, in his anger, had actually slapped the table hard, he quickly stood up and walked to his side, taking his hand. Seeing the palm already bright red, he couldn't help but frown. While gently rubbing it for him, he said, "Don't be too angry, be careful of harming your health. Don't worry too much about this matter. I knew long ago that the Thirteenth Prince would not give up easily. I have discussed this with Uncle and the Prince of Chuxiang, and we already have a plan to deal with it. We will absolutely not let that Thirteenth Prince have his way. In a moment, you can just send that matchmaker away directly. There's no need to worry about anything."
Yan Jingshu listened, and his expression softened somewhat, but he still wore a slightly worried frown. "The Emperor is seriously ill. The Thirteenth Prince is now the only prince and has been ordered to supervise the state affairs. Although he hasn't been named Crown Prince, he already holds the substance of the heir apparent. If we offend him, and he ascends to become Emperor, what should we do then?"
The current Emperor was advanced in years, already in the twilight of his life. He had been bedridden and ill for a long time, powerless to handle court affairs. As a member of the Inspectorate, Jiang Chenghan knew this all too clearly. This was also the reason the Thirteenth Prince was so arrogant now.
Not to mention that the Thirteenth Prince was still just a prince—even if he were to ascend the throne and become emperor in the future, if he wanted to lay a hand on his child, he would have had to ask whether he agreed or not. Having spent decades between the border and the capital, fighting desperately, all he sought was to protect his family's lifelong health and safety. If he couldn't even do that, then he would have lived all these years in vain.
No comments:
Post a Comment