The Lan Family could never agree to Lan Ningzhen marrying a young strategist from Qianling Town. Everything Xie Jue had was given by the Second Prince, and with just one word, the Second Prince could strip Xie Jue of everything. The Second Prince had once suspected that Xie Jue might be trying to climb up through Lan Ningzhen, but the spies in the estate inford him that Xie Jue was very indifferent toward Lan Ningzhen—he had no intention of clinging to power. Clearly, it was Lan Ningzhen being hopelessly infatuated.
The Second Prince actually quite liked his little sister-in-law and didn’t wish for her to marry any of his brothers, so he was rather pleased with the situation and didn’t interfere. However, upon learning the Lan Family’s intentions, he was extrely displeased, and this could even be counted as a warning to the Princess.
The Princess also understood his anger and sent a ssage to her family the very next day, conveying the Prince’s sentints. The Lan Family had always sided with the Second Prince and held him in high regard. However, tradition dictated that the Goddess should marry a Prince; if not another Prince, then what—share a husband with another woman? That certainly wouldn’t happen!
Lan Ningzhen would definitely refuse!
More than a month passed in the blink of an eye. In Beiman’s icy, snowy winter, most activities ceased, and people stayed ho to escape the cold. Even after the New Year, snowfall persisted, though the temperature rose slightly. The snow wouldn’t fully lt until April. Heavy snow would fall again in November, so Beiman could only farm from May to October. The flora and fauna were vastly different from those in Yanyang. After experiencing such a harsh winter firsthand, Xie Jue could finally understand why the Beiman King’s lifelong wish was to head south to Yanyang.
As the weather ward, despite the snow still blanketing the ground, interactions among the estates resud, and Xie Jue heard rumors about Lan Ningzhen being betrothed to Dugu Jing.
During the New Year, the Princess returned ho and must have conveyed the Second Prince’s sentints. Despite this, rumors of Lan Ningzhen marrying Dugu Jing were still spreading.
The Second Prince was furious and argued with the Princess in their estate. The Princess had a fiery temper as well and refused to indulge the Second Prince’s tantrum. Nobody knew where the rumors had originated, but the Second Prince’s unreasonably blaming her had crossed the line. The Princess refused to take responsibility for this, but the Second Prince’s nature was such that he couldn’t tolerate opposition. Once opposed, the two would inevitably quarrel.
Du Fang asked Xie Jue, "Lan Ningzhen is going to marry the Ninth Prince—you don’t have any thoughts about this?"
"None." The Second Prince would never allow Lan Ningzhen to marry Dugu Jing. Plus, the Sixth Prince might not want a Lan Family girl as a sister-in-law; this was a matter of tribal relations, and such decisions couldn’t be made lightly.
"Miss Lan likes you. How could she willingly marry the Ninth Prince? You’re just disadvantaged by having a lower status. If it were Xiao Jinghong, backed by the Chanyu Family, he might actually be able to marry Miss Lan."
"I don’t want to marry her either."
"Why? She’s such a stunning beauty. Who wouldn’t be moved by her? You don’t have any feelings for her?"
"A man with grand ambitions unfulfilled—how can he think of settling down?"
Du Fang, "..."
With that statent, Du Fang was left speechless, not expecting Xie Jue to have such profound resolve. Xie Jue thought to himself that the Second Prince would surely find a way to break off this marriage. He expected that he would be asked to co up with strategies again, but before the Second Prince could even approach him, he learned that Lan Ningzhen and Dugu Jing had gotten into a major fight in Fox City over a woman. Lan Ningzhen had beaten Dugu Jing black and blue, and Dugu Jing swore he’d kill Lan Ningzhen. The two had ford a complete grudge, even agreeing to fight again later. Lan Ningzhen had mocked Dugu Jing for being a child who hadn’t been weaned, saying he should go ho and ask his brother to take charge since he couldn’t beat her. Angered, Dugu Jing turned around and fought her again. This ti, Lan Ningzhen also suffered injuries. Both were left in a wretched state, and several bystanders attempting to diate were accidentally hurt in the chaos.
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