Chapter 98: Arranging a Marriage Is Not Easy

Li Ruoxian politely welcomed Xiao Gongye into the courtyard and seated the host and guest. Qiao Zhen brought three cups of tea and withdrew.

"Cheng Furen, I have something to say to Xi'er." Xiao Gongye said directly.

"Her junior sister is not here; she has already left."

Xiao Gongye frowned slightly. "Where did she go?"

Li Ruoxian took a sip of tea and smiled faintly. "She did not say."

Xiao Gongye hooked his lips into a smile. "Can a lie like this fool Madam Cheng?"

"It cannot fool me." Li Ruoxian raised her chin, her gaze provocative as she looked at Xiao Gongye. "I clearly do not want to tell you where she went."

"Cheng Furen, this is between me and Xi'er; you should not interfere." Xiao Gongye was not provoked into anger, his tone calm and composed. "Among fellow disciples, we should look out for each other."

A glint flashed in Xiao Gongye's eyes. He smiled. "Cheng Furen, these empty words are unnecessary. How will you tell me Xi'er's whereabouts if not through lies?"

"If not empty words, then tell the truth." Li Ruoxian placed her teacup heavily on the table. "I do not want you, this notorious and dissolute young master, to use this opportunity to harass my junior sister."

"I have no private dealings with them. Accidental encounters are treated with courtesy, with no trace of illicit affection. Matters concerning the reputation of everyone, Cheng Furen, be cautious in your words and do not slander." Xiao Gongye had been famous in the martial world for years. He was both civil and military, supported by the Holy Garment Sect. People in the jianghu addressed him respectfully as Xiao Gongye, praising him as young and promising, with boundless future.

"No illicit affection? Xiao Gongye, do you feel guilty saying that? The Tian family from Luoyang and the Dark Blade Sect have sent people to the Holy Garment Sect to ask your father to marry two daughters to one husband. If there were no illicit affection, why would the young ladies take the initiative to visit? This matter is known throughout the jianghu. It is just that my junior sister does not know about it. What do you think? You want to deceive and coax her, marry her into your family, and have three wives serving one husband, enjoying the blessings of polygamy?" Li Ruoxian's face turned frosty, her voice cold. "The marriage matters of the Tian and Xiao families, my father has already refused. There is no such thing as three wives serving one husband."

Disgust flashed in Xiao Gongye's eyes. He would never marry those two foolish women who stared blankly at him and drooled.

"Xiao Gongye, I do not want to say much nonsense. You have too many women around you. I do not want my junior sister to suffer in the future, crying all day with tears. Please do not harass my junior sister. Let us part ways now. After that, do not meet again."

"Cheng Furen, you have no right to stop me from seeing Xi'er." Xiao Gongye had a difficult time expressing himself. His appearance was handsome, his manner free and easy. These years, he had captured the hearts of many young ladies, but he had always treated them with utmost propriety, maintaining a certain distance. Unfortunately, those young ladies pursued him eagerly. Clearly, he was self-respecting and clean, but Li Ruoxian accused him of lusting after women and not knowing self-love.

"I will stop you from seeing my junior sister. I will never tell you where she is." Li Ruoxian angrily picked up her teacup. "Xiao Gongye, please leave."

Li Ruoxian saw the guest off. Xiao Gongye could not stay dead set not to leave, so he stood up and bowed. "I bid you farewell."

Cheng Ruozhi saw that Li Ruoxian had no intention of seeing the guest off and hurriedly rose to see Xiao Gongye out. He quickly caught up to him and whispered, "Xiao Gongye, Nineteenth Aunt is my mother's junior sister. She pities Nineteenth Aunt, which is why she is so picky with you. Please do not take it to heart and do not blame her."

"I understand. I will not blame her." Xiao Gongye's gaze turned slightly. "Young Master Cheng, do you know where your Nineteenth Aunt went?"

Cheng Ruozhi looked back and smiled. "Nineteenth Aunt went to the capital."

Xiao Gongye bowed. "Thank you for the information."

Cheng Ruozhi saw Xiao Gongye off, returned to the hall, and asked puzzledly, "Mother, why did you deliberately make it difficult for Xiao Gongye?"

"Men like Xiao Gongye, spoiled by the doting eyes of women who love him, look down on women who come to their door. They want to pursue them repeatedly, endure many hardships, and only after many trials can they embrace the beauty's return and cherish her well, treating her as treasure in hand. For the future happiness of your Nineteenth Aunt, I, this virtuous and gentle person, have to act as the villain and deliberately make it difficult for him."

Cheng Ruozhi was stunned, unable to help but say with a mix of tears and laughter, "Mother, you must not go too far, otherwise it will backfire and you will mess it up. If Xiao Gongye does not come to propose, it will be troublesome."

"If he is scared away by my making it difficult, it will not be a big deal. Your Nineteenth Aunt has no such intention toward him. If he has feelings for your Nineteenth Aunt, he will not be scared away. He will find your Nineteenth Aunt in every possible way and let her marry him. If..." Li Ruoxian snorted coldly. "Because he was alone for a few days, he wants to take responsibility and marry your Nineteenth Aunt. There is no need for that."

"He taking responsibility to marry Nineteenth Aunt is only right. Why not let him?"

"He has no feelings for your Nineteenth Aunt. He will definitely take in new people later. When seeing the new one, he smiles, and the old one cries."

Cheng Ruozhi's expression changed slightly. "Mother, I... I just told him that Nineteenth Aunt went to the capital."

"Ah? Oh, you child, how smart once, muddled once. I did all this planning in vain. How am I supposed to make it difficult for him?"

"Mother, why do we not also pack our things and go to the capital to intercept Xiao Gongye from seeing Nineteenth Aunt and continue making it difficult for him." Cheng Ruozhi suggested.

Li Ruoxian smiled. "This will not be necessary. I am not really stopping them from meeting. Xiao Gongye will send Wei Xiaolin back to Nanjing. When he goes from Nanjing to the capital, your Nineteenth Aunt might have already left the capital. Even if she has not left, finding her in such a vast capital will not be easy. Moreover, your Nineteenth Aunt is going to Taihu Lake to watch the sword discussion; she will not stay long in the capital."

"Mother, then let us also pack and go to Taihu Lake. We take sedan chairs; they are slower than carriages." Cheng Ruozhi smiled.

"Very well, let them pack. We will go to Taihu tomorrow." Li Ruoxian smiled.

On this side, Li Ruoxian and her son were packing to go to Taihu Lake. On the other side, An Yi was in a carriage that had already left Zhengzhou city.

With the careful care of Shan Gu and the others, An Yi did not need to worry about anything. Occasionally, when she got bored sitting in the carriage, she would get off and ride her horse for a stretch.

After two months of bumpy travel, they were finally approaching the capital. The long journey, combined with the scorching heat, made it unbearable. That day, as dusk was approaching, with half an hour left to the nearest town, Shan Gu stopped the carriage by the roadside, preparing to eat dinner and then hurry to the city.

Fang Rong picked three stones and branches by the roadside, built a stove, lit a fire, and moved the pots, bowls, and pans from the carriage to start cooking.

An Yi sat on a small wooden stool under the tree, gently waving a fan.

Suddenly, rapid horse hooves came from far to near. Shan Gu frowned. "On the downhill road, rushing the carriage so fast, not afraid of accidents?"

This road, though an official highway, was built along the mountains with significant undulations. One slip and it would be an accident, which was also why they had traveled slowly today.

Shan Gu's words had just fallen when a carriage rushed down from the high slope. An Yi stood up and, staring intently, gasped. There was no one driving the horses on the carriage.

Another round of horse hooves, five horses chasing down from the high slope. The mad horses dragged the carriage and ran wildly past An Yi and the others, dust flying everywhere.

The leading horse had a black-clothed young man sitting on it. He wildly whipped the horse, urging it to hurry. He quickly caught up with the carriage, rode alongside the mad horse for a distance, leaped, jumped onto the back of the mad horse, grabbed the reins, and used all his strength to stop the horse.

The carriage was about a hundred steps from An Yi. The other four also caught up. The young man said to the carriage interior, "County Princess, this subordinate wants to get in."

An Yi heard the words "County Princess" and her eyes brightened.

The young man in the carriage urgently shouted, "County Princess, wake up, wake up."

An Yi narrowed her eyes. An opportunity had come. "Shan Gu, let us go see if they need help?"

Shan Gu accompanied An Yi as she walked over there. The young man in the carriage said, "Quickly go tell the Grand Princess that the County Princess has fainted."

Grand Princess!

A shallow smile flashed on An Yi's lips. Those in the imperial family, their gains came without effort.

Two guards rode back hurriedly. Two others stayed by the carriage, controlling the horses and worried it would go mad again. Seeing An Yi approach, they asked alertly, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"I am a physician. May I ask if you need help?" An Yi asked.

The two guards showed joy. One shouted toward the carriage, "Leader, there is a female physician here. Let her help check the County Princess' pulse, what do you think?"

"Let her come up." The person inside said.

An Yi walked to the carriage edge, about to get on, but froze. The black-clothed young man in the carriage was none other than Li Guyu.

"What is there to be dazed about? Hurry up and come help check the County Princess' pulse." Li Guyu said displeasedly.

An Yi saw that he had not recognized her and breathed a sigh of relief, lowered her head and got on the carriage. Besides Li Guyu, there were three girls in the carriage. The one in the middle, about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing an osmanthus-colored printed cross-collar top and a pink-red long skirt, with a dark yellow complexion, should be the County Princess.

"County Princess, she has been frightened excessively. As long as she drinks two doses of calming medicine, she will be fine. However, she has a stomach problem and often has bloating and distension. Food does not digest well, and she also has urinary issues. Abdominal pain when urinating, and often constipation." An Yi finished checking the pulse and withdrew her hand.

The maid holding the County Princess' hand brightened her eyes and said urgently, "You said correctly. Can you treat it?"

"This illness is not hard to treat, but the County Princess has been ill for a long time without healing, which really makes one feel strange." An Yi said, slightly frowning.

"Because... because... because..." The maid looked at Li Guyu, stammering, not daring to speak directly.

"Wait for the Grand Princess to come and say." Li Guyu said.

An Yi originally wanted to wake the County Princess first. Hearing this, she decided to wait for the Grand Princess to arrive before saving her.

After a while, the Grand Princess arrived in a carriage. Li Guyu got down from the carriage.

The Grand Princess was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old. Under the maid's support, she climbed into the carriage. Seeing her fainted daughter, her eyes reddened, and she hugged her. "Ruo Ruo, my poor child, it is all mother's fault. Mother should not have taken you out."