Before Lord Sima went to the Emperor to grant the marriage, Sima Yan seemed to have already imagined the scene of herself marrying Wei Xun.
She immediately stood up, wiped away her tears, and returned to her usual energetic appearance.
"But let me make it clear to you first." Lord Sima glanced at Sima Yan unhappily. "I am going to ask the Emperor to grant me marriage, but whether the Emperor agrees or not, whether the Seventh Prince agrees or not, is not my decision. So you'd better be mentally prepared. Don't make a fuss after being rejected."
"I understand! Don't worry! The Seventh Prince will definitely agree!" Sima Yan was very confident.
After all, she and Wei Xun had known each other since childhood. After all, she only asked for a concubine. Wei Xun would agree even if it was just for the sake of their past relationship.
The next day, after the morning court session, Lord Sima did not leave but stayed until the end.
The emperor also heard about what happened in Sima's house in recent days and felt sympathy for Lord Sima. When he heard that Sima Yan wanted to marry Wei Xun as a concubine, the emperor was surprised and sent someone to ask Wei Xun for his opinion.
Miss Sun, a daughter of a first-rank official, actually took the initiative to ask to be a concubine. Sima Yan was the first one.
Logically, the emperor should have refused.
He agreed to ask Wei Xun's opinion purely for the sake of Lord Sima's face.
Not long after, news came back from Wei Xun.
"What did you say?" the emperor couldn't wait to ask the attendant who had rushed back.
The attendant glanced at Lord Sima timidly.
"In reply to the emperor, the Seventh Prince said... said... he would never let Miss Sima enter the palace in his lifetime."
Not to mention being a concubine, even if it was just to be a maid, Wei Xun would not welcome Sima Yan.
After hearing this, the emperor was worried about Lord Sima and cast a worried look at him.
"In fact, I have already expected this result." Lord Sima said to the emperor.
Wei Xun, Ling Xiao and others have always respected him, and Lord Sima also understands Wei Xun's temper.
"The reason why I agreed to Yan'er's request and came to you to plead for mercy was, in the final analysis, to make Yan'er give up." Lord Sima smiled bitterly.
It is really sad to think that his fame was ruined by his own granddaughter.
"By the way, I came here today to discuss something with you." Lord Sima bowed to the emperor with both hands. "I am already old and I am powerless to handle the affairs of the court. Therefore, I would like to ask the emperor to allow me to retire and return home."
The emperor was stunned.
Lord Sima said so, because of old age. But the emperor is not a fool, how could he not know that he was because of Sima Yan.
"Lord Sima, there is no need for you to be like this." The emperor wanted to comfort Lord Sima.
"I have made up my mind. I hope Your Majesty will agree to it." Lord Sima's tone was indeed firm and he would not tolerate any rebuttal.
There was no choice but for the emperor to agree.
"I am afraid that Your Majesty and I will never meet again after this retreat. Please take care of yourself, Your Majesty."
After saying this, Lord Sima bowed deeply to the emperor again.
Watching Lord Sima leave, the emperor couldn't help but sigh repeatedly.
Sima was an old official in the court. He was upright in his official duties. All the officials, both civil and military officials, and the common people praised him highly. But such a clear-headed man had his reputation ruined in his later years.
"Eunuch Li."
The emperor shouted.
The eunuch in charge stepped forward and waited quietly for the emperor's instructions.
"How many thousand-year-old ginsengs are left in the national treasury?" asked the emperor.
"Your Majesty, there is still one left," Eunuch Li replied.
"Send it to Lord Sima."
…
Lord Sima's words were as good as gold. Soon, he left the capital with Sima Yan.
Ling Qingwan heard that Lord Sima had gone to the Emperor to plead for mercy on the second day after Lord Sima left.
She also heard that after Sima Yan learned that Wei Xun was unwilling to marry her, she broke down and threatened to hang herself in the room. Fortunately, she was rescued in time and saved her life.
"The biggest failure in Lord Sima's life must be his granddaughter." Nanny Park couldn't help but sigh.
When Lord Sima held his birthday banquet, he could never have imagined that the Yong'an Marquis Mansion would fall into decline so quickly.
"It's a pity that Lord Sima's son died young, leaving only Sima Yan as his own child. Lord Sima knew that this would not work, but he still helped Sima Yan do it."
Not to mention Lord Sima, even she was furious when she heard about these things. She wanted to open Sima Yan's head to see if it was filled with water.
She was wholeheartedly pursuing Wei Xun, but never felt sorry for her own grandfather and the reputation he had worked so hard to build.
"I heard that before Lord Sima left, the prince specially gave him several boxes of gold, silver and jewelry, but he did it secretly and didn't dare let Sima Yan know." Nanny Pu told Ling Qingwan.
Yes, if Sima Yan knew that Wei Xun had sent her something, she might think that Wei Xun was interested in her, and thus she would continue to pester Wei Xun.
Wei Xun stayed far away from the Sima family and actually helped Lord Sima.
At the same time, in the palace.
In the study, Wei Xun was reviewing documents.
The air around was quiet, and the servants all lowered their heads, not daring to make the slightest sound.
Everyone can see that Wei Xun is not in a good mood.
"Where is Lord Sima now?" Wei Xun suddenly stopped writing, looked up and asked.
"We should have arrived at Huaiguan." The attendant responded.
When Lord Sima left the capital, although Wei Xun did not personally attend his farewell ceremony, he sent someone to protect and escort Lord Sima all the way to the countryside.
Wei Xun was full of respect for Lord Sima.
He was an honest official and a decent person, a rare good official. When he was young, because of General Shen's relationship, Lord Sima often taught Ling Xiao how to be a good person. Wei Xun and Tan Hongbo would sometimes go to Ling Xiao to play, and they would listen to him.
Wei Xun had imagined countless scenarios of him seeing Lord Sima off when he retired and returned to his hometown, but he never expected that in the end he would not dare to appear in front of Lord Sima.
Even if he wanted to say something to Lord Sima, he would ask Tan Hongbo to convey it to him.
"Your Highness, don't be sad. This matter has nothing to do with you and it is not your fault." Lai Fu comforted Wei Xun.
"General Shen has a good relationship with Lord Sima. If he comes back and hears about this, I wonder if he will feel bad." Wei Xun couldn't help but sigh.
And Ling Xiao. Among these people, Ling Xiao was the one who received the most favor from Lord Sima.
"Where's Wanwan?" Wei Xun suddenly thought of Ling Qingwan.
Would Ling Qingwan feel guilty when she heard about this
After all, he, Ling Qingwan and Sima Yan were all involved in this farce.
"I don't know about this." The attendant answered truthfully.
Without Wei Xun's order, how could they dare to monitor Ling Qingwan
After Lord Sima left, it seemed like something was missing in the court.
After lunch, Ling Qingwan was about to return to the backyard when she heard the gatekeeper come to report that Zhang Shuying and Gu Zhi wanted to see her.
Ling Qingwan was a little surprised.
Last time at Lord Sima's birthday party, the three of them did agree to meet again. Ling Qingwan thought it was just a polite remark, but it turned out that Zhang Shuying was serious.