Chapter 556 Marriage Between Concubine-born Children

“Very well. Men, go invite Lord Guardian. Tell him to come and take his daughter away. As for our next step… Mingyu, look. My princess thinks that the man should take full responsibility,” Ao Chenyi said leisurely, casting a sidelong glance at the Third Prince with a languid expression.

Not only did Commandery Princess Xianyun hear her name mentioned, but she also heard Ao Chenyi using her words earlier to force the Third Prince. She felt a bad premonition and yet there was nothing she could say.

“We’ll go with the Princess’ suggestion.” Ao Mingyu was also looking at the Princess. His emotions were finally under his control, making his face expressionless as he bowed to her.

“Princess, Yun Li is already there. I’ll have to trouble you to take Yun Li away later. Look at what a mess my study turned out. Mingyu, don’t just bring anyone to my manor anymore. You’re lucky that it was just some other woman this time. It’d be troublesome if it were one of my concubines.”

Ao Chenyi said with a slight smile.

Yun Li? The Princess widened her eyes in astonishment. Her eyes were round as she gave Ao Chenyi a disbelieving look before turning toward Ao Mingyu.

How could it be Yun Li, her concubine-born older brother?

Yun Li of the Lord Peace’s Manor was a child of few achievements among his siblings. He had the handsome, aloof appearance befitting of a son of a n.o.ble family, but a book must not be judged by its cover. He was, in fact, a playboy that drew the contempt of everyone in the manor. Any woman near him who was prettiest in the slightest would inevitably be tainted by him.

However, he was a master at flattery, so the former Lord Peace was very fond of him. This was the same person that the Princess had to bow her head to before. For this reason, the Marquis’ Manor was even more upset with him.

Although he was favored by the former Lord Peace, the latter was too old to manage the household anymore. The current Lord Peace was the Princess’ father, who despised him. Thus, Yun Li was considered the black sheep of the Lord Peace’s Manor.

Out of a blue, he started getting close with the Third Prince a few months ago. It was as if he was the Third Prince’s advisor as he followed the prince in and out of places. The Lord Peace’s Manor didn’t pay him any attention. An unambitious concubine-born son like him could serve anyone he liked as long as he didn’t cause any trouble.

“Your Highness, why did Yun Li come to our manor?” the Princess asked incredulously.

“Mingyu brought him along. If you have any questions, you can ask him yourself later. Coming to my manor to find a woman is sure a novel idea. It looks like my harem has gotten famous for having many beautiful women.” Ao Chenyi stood up and flicking his large black robe. He went to the study, leaving behind everyone in the courtyard.

He sounded so sarcastic that not only did the Third Prince look chastized, but the other princes looked uncomfortable as well. It sounded as if they had come to the manor to hook up with the beauties in his harem. The only exception was Wen Xueran, the Princely Heir of Commandery Prince Min, who was smiling the whole time.

The constant smile on his face was enchanting, making it obvious that he was watching everything like a show. It was as if he hadn’t heard the meaning behind Ao Chenyi’s words.

To discuss this, one had to mention last night’s incident. It was said that a few men in black broke into Prince Yi’s Manor last night. After getting wind of the news, the Third and Fourth Princes came here to check the situation. Who sent those men? What were the results? To prevent Ao Chenyi from getting suspicious, they deliberately brought a few men with them.

The only reason Yun Li was allowed to enter was his ident.i.ty as the Princess’ cousin. Although his status was low, he was still related to her. It didn’t feel out of place for him to come in, especially when he was with the Third Prince.

The eunuch led them to the outer study. There was nothing unusual about this. Ao Chenyi would sometimes meet them in the Moon-embracing Tower, and other times in the outer study. Their conversation hadn’t gone very far before Yun Li started feeling uncomfortable. Ao Chenyi ordered his servant to bring him to one of the rooms in the wing to get some rest.

Who would have thought that they would hear the sound of impact from the room shortly after leaving? When they came over and kicked the door down, they saw Yun Li and Heng Yuwan hugging each other with their clothes disheveled…

Ao Mingyu was the one who brought him in. The matter occurred in Prince Yi’s Manor and involved its female guest. Ao Mingyu was thoroughly humiliated in front of everyone. He had stayed quiet earlier to avoid suspicion. Since it was the Princess who suggested the solution, he naturally wouldn’t object.

As for how the Lord Peace’s Manor would deal with Heng Yuwan, it didn’t have the slightest to do with him.

He was regretting it. How could the man he brought in casually pull a woman from Prince Yi’s Manor and actually dare to do anything to her? He didn’t know if he was just unlucky or if Yun Li was so unbelievably senseless and brazen. One couldn’t just do whatever one wanted to someone from Prince Yi’s Manor!

Of course, he didn’t feel sorry for Second Young Lady Heng at all. It was obvious that this woman came here to seduce Ao Chenyi. A promiscuous woman like her and Yun Li was a match made in heaven.

Seeing that Ao Chenyi had returned to the study, he was also too embarra.s.sed to stay here. He turned around and left with his men.

The rest left one after another.

Everyone felt just as embarra.s.sed to be present. After all, Yun Li had entered the manor with them. It was truly rare to meet someone as stupid as Yun Li. Although beauties were enchanting, he must have had a death wish to hook up with a woman in Prince Yi’s Manor. Of course, they were secretly glad at this too.

Fortunately, the woman involved wasn’t from Prince Yi’s harem or things wouldn’t just end so simply.

In conclusion, this incident had humiliated everyone. Each generation of Lord Peace’s Manor was getting worse than the one before it. Look at their descendants! How dare they let such people out and cause so much trouble! Everyone shook their heads and sighed as they walked out.

“Sister Xianyun.” At that moment, Yun Li was escorted out of the side room by a guard. He still looked disheveled. He was truly terrified. Earlier, he was resting when he felt the presence of a woman. When he opened his eyes and saw a beautiful woman, he instinctively grabbed her.

He was in such a thick post-sleep daze that he thought that he was in his own manor.

When he finally sobered up, he started trembling nonstop. Although he was lascivious, he didn’t want to lose his life over l.u.s.t. Seeing Commandery Princess Xianyun now made him feel like seeing a loved one. He let out a huge sigh of relief, looking animated.

The Princess looked at him with red-rimmed eyes and said coldly, “Take him away.” She turned around and left.

The incident at Prince Yi’s Manor left everyone so embarra.s.sed that no one spoke about it. Outsiders didn’t know what exactly happened and said that the second daughter of the Lord Guardian’s Manor and Yun Li of the Lord Peace’s Manor were engaged. Since it was a marriage between concubine-born children, no one suspected anything.

The issue was that Yun Li was too popular a figure. Few ladies from good families would be willing to marry him, resulting in him unable to find a fiancee for a long time. Everyone pitied Second Young Lady Heng for marrying such a man. It couldn’t be considered a good match.

Such news was circulated publicly, but the truth was a different story. Ao Chenyi had entered the palace the very same day and informed the Empress of the matter. He made it known that he wouldn’t get into an alliance marriage with the Lord Guardian’s Manor that could raise such a promiscuous woman. Naturally, the Empress was speechless after hearing this.

Thus, the matter of sending Heng Yuqing to Prince Yi’s Manor was sc.r.a.pped.

When servants from the Lord Guardian’s Manor came to pick up Heng Yuwan, Ning Xueyan had already sent Heng Yuqing home. It was Heng Yuwan who insisted on following Heng Yuqing to Prince Yi’s Manor despite the latter’s disagreement. The fight eventually went all the way to Lord Guardian. In the end, Concubine Yun said Heng Yuwan should tag along with her sister to Prince Yi’s Manor to broaden her horizons.

Lord Guardian only approved after being persuaded by Concubine Yun. Such a major incident couldn’t be blamed on Heng Yuqing. The humiliation was so great that Lord Guardian flew into a rage. Not only did he berate Heng Yuwan, but he also scolded Concubine Yun.

This was precisely what Ning Xueyan had planned for. Heng Yuqing’s mother was still ill, after all. If Lord Peace’s anger was directed at Heng Yuqing, her mother might very well lose her life in a fit of anger. That would have been disastrous.

Fortunately, the impact of the incident was greatly minimized. It also concerned the reputation of Prince Yi, Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and the Princely Heirs. Every one of the families was berated repeatedly, making it so that few people knew about Heng Yuqing’s lost reputation.

However, Heng Yuqing’s mother was gravely ill and she wasn’t interested in getting married in the first place. This allowed her to delay her marriage, which was what she needed the most.

After repeatedly thanking Ning Xueyan, she returned to the Lord Guardian’s Manor.

Commandery Princess Xianyun was the one who accepted the representative from Lord Peace’s Manor. It was one of her aunts, the Second Madam of Lord Peace’s Manor and Yun Li’s non-biological mother.

“Commandery Princess, Marquis said that you should take more responsibility for this matter. Although he was irresponsible, he was nonetheless a son of Lord Peace’s Manor. We can’t just let him be. If there are any good posts under the prince, please try persuading him. He was serving the Third Prince before, but after such an incident, the Third Prince will surely not want him anymore.”

The Second Madam of Lord Peace’s Manor shook the fan in her hand. She sounded like she was relaying a message to the Princess, pleading her to let Yun Li off, but her mocking expression said otherwise.

Of course, no first wife would feel comfortable having a concubine-born child gaining the favor of the former Lord Peace and getting ahead of her own son. Her sarcastic way of speaking was only to be expected.

“Aunt, please go back and tell Grandpa to forget about protecting Yun Li if he wants the family to prosper. I was forced to get married alongside a consort the last time. Would I have to be removed from my position as the princess because of him the next time?” The Princess stood in front of the window, looking outside with cold eyes.

Her voice wasn’t loud but extremely cold. This was her last compromise. If Yun Li wasn’t her grandfather’s favorite grandchild, she would have asked Ao Chenyi to lock him directly. She could at least gain Ao Chenyi’s favor that way, but she ultimately said nothing.

She took a deep breath and exhaled it again to suppress her anger.

She was also struggling in Prince Yi’s Manor. Not only did her family fail to help her, but even gave her more trouble. Although Ao Chenyi didn’t accuse her directly, she understood the meaning behind his words.

She endured it when he went to a t.i.tleless concubine on their wedding night! She endured it when he left her out in the cold here! She endured it when she wasn’t allowed to manage the household despite being the princess! She thought that as long as she moved forward step by step steadily, Prince Yi’s Manor would eventually belong to her.

But now, her family was still holding her back. Grandpa used to be wise but had become more muddle-headed as he aged. He treated a prodigal playboy as his treasure and even told her to get him an official post from Prince Yi. Thinking about this, she wanted nothing more than to kill that prodigal son who had humiliated her!

She wanted to wait but her family couldn’t anymore. Perhaps she needed to act soon…