Even so, it doesn't really help. The closer the time gets, the more anxious I become.
Even though he still wanted to refuse to see her, the thoughts deep in his heart were so easy to control. Why did he have to be in his current state? Apart from anything else, just thinking of Xiaocao's hopeless waiting was enough to suffocate him.
Moreover, he was not here for the Liang family. What happened to them had nothing to do with him. He was here just to "keep an appointment" - the place where Huang Huangcheng originally lived was more than a hundred miles away from the imperial city. The meeting time was the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. There was no specific time, and it would still be in time to set off tomorrow. However, he was anxious and anxious in his heart, and it was difficult to calm down, so he simply set off early - whether or not to meet Xiaocao was one thing, but going to the place where they used to live was a must.
There, he holds the most beautiful memories of the past twenty-one years.
Even if Xuan'er went, the Wen family would not let her go alone, so he was still worried. This worry was not so strong when Xiaocao was alone before. It seemed that the higher the social class, the greater the risk factor.
Jin Wenjie found that Master Wei was distracted again. There was only one person who could make him like this, Tsk!
Wei Tingyu turned around and looked at Jin Wenjie, "You go back."
Jin Wenjie raised his eyebrows, "Does this mean that you are not going back?"
"I have some personal matters to attend to, so I won't be here for the last three days."
Of course, since I'm preparing to go out, I have to arrange things properly. Besides, I don't have much to do recently.
Jin Wenjie was very curious and wanted to gossip a little, but Wei Tingyu didn't give him the chance.
Jin Wenjie wanted to continue following Prince Wei, but he had to continue guarding the emperor's door tomorrow, so he had no choice but to return to the imperial city with his head hung, looking back every few steps, looking pitiful, really like a large dog abandoned by its owner.
Wei Tingyu was unmoved and didn't even look at Wen Xin. Wen Xin drove the carriage towards their predetermined destination.
Because there was enough time, the carriage went at a moderate speed. Wei Tingyu sat quietly in the carriage, not knowing where his mind was wandering.
Of course, Wen Xin would not be the only one traveling along the way. After all, this trip would last at least two or three days. If Wen Xin was the only one traveling along, no one else would agree. However, in order to avoid attracting attention, they all went their separate ways. Except for a few who followed nearby, the others went ahead.
According to Xiaocao's plan, she will travel tomorrow, which is a little tight, but there is more than enough time. Her travel plan is about three days, so she needs to see all her patients in turn today.
It's all normal stuff, nothing surprising.
However, this thought did not last long. When he was at the Dingbei Prince's Mansion, he first met Princess Changning. This was because Princess Changning took the initiative to go out to greet him, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Xiaocao was a little strange and shining.
"What's wrong with the princess?" Xiaocao asked with a little confusion.
But after asking this question, I seemed to lose control a little, and saying that there were no accidents seemed like a slap in the face.
"Sister Xuan, are you going to marry into the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion and become my sister-in-law?" Princess Changning looked a little excited. "I know there are many people who want to be my sister-in-law, but I don't like any of them. If it's you, Sister Xuan, I would definitely agree."
Princess Changning felt that Xiaocao was a bit heartless because she was so ruthless when she treated Prince Dingbei. However, after the old concubine explained everything to her in detail, her feelings towards Xiaocao changed. Now that she knew her grandmother wanted to marry Xiaocao to her brother as his concubine, she didn't have so many thoughts. However, in her opinion, no one could be more suitable to be her sister-in-law than Xiaocao, so she was naturally happy.
Xiaocao was a little stunned when Princess Changning said the first sentence. No, what is going on
"Princess, I don't know about this. Who told you about this?"
"Ah?" Princess Changning realized belatedly that she might have "gotten into trouble". It sounded like her grandfather and brother didn't seem to have informed the Wenren family yet. She hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer.
Seriously speaking, Princess Changning was only fourteen years old. She lived in absolute comfort in the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion without the twists and turns of other wealthy families' mansions. In addition, because she had little contact with the outside world, she was essentially much simpler than other girls of the same age. She was closer to the teenage girls in Xiaocao's previous life. Xiaocao naturally did not make things difficult for her and changed the topic in just two sentences.
However, Xiao Cao still took Princess Changning's words to heart. If nothing else, at least the old concubine should have this intention. What prompted the old concubine to have such an idea? Xiao Cao was puzzled.
Even so, when Xiaocao met King Dingbei, her mood remained calm.
In comparison, Mu Bei was not so calm. He could remain calm in the face of thousands of enemies, but when it came to the love affair between a man and a woman, he was like a boy who had just begun to fall in love. He had difficulty controlling his emotions and was at a loss.
The last time his grandmother mentioned marrying Xiaocao, he felt very uncomfortable facing Xiaocao afterwards. Fortunately, even if Xiaocao noticed it, she didn't think about it too much, so he was slightly relieved. But today was different, as his little sister actually brought it up.
When Xiaocao was checking Mu Bei's injuries, she felt the stiffness of his body. She had encountered this situation before and thought that he still didn't like direct contact with the opposite sex, so she spoke softly to him to relax. Now, she probably found the crux of the problem, so this time she didn't say anything and just concentrated on completing her work.
It didn't take much time, but Mu Bei was sweating all over.
Mu Bei carefully observed Xiaocao's expression, which seemed to be no different from the past. He felt relieved, but also a little frustrated and disappointed. Did the lack of reaction mean that he also...
"Fourth Miss..." Mu Bei spoke hesitantly.
"Hmm?" Xiaocao looked up at him.
Mu Bei opened his mouth several times, but it was difficult to say the words. Facing Xiao Cao's quiet eyes, he suddenly felt that if he didn't speak today, he might not have the chance to speak in the future. "What Chang Ning said before..."
"Well, Your Highness, don't worry about it. I didn't take it seriously." Xiaocao was not surprised that Prince Dingbei knew what she said to Princess Changning so quickly. After all, every time she came to Prince Dingbei's mansion, she was greeted by his "attendants", every time.
"No," Why didn't she take it seriously? Mu Bei naturally wanted her to take it seriously, "Changning said, is it possible? I mean..." Mu Bei seemed a little incoherent.
Xiaocao's eyes turned visibly cold, "I thought that this might just be the old concubine's intention. Even if we mentioned it to the prince, he would not agree. The prince's deep love for the princess is well known, but is his deep love so short-lived?" She knew that with his status and the situation of the Prince of Dingbei's Mansion, he must remarry, but the "heartlessness" of the Prince of Dingbei still lowered Xiaocao's originally good impression of him.
Mu Bei didn't expect this to happen, and he immediately became anxious. "Fourth Miss, it's not like that..." Mu Bei tightly grasped the armrests of the wooden wheelchair. Because of excessive tension, the blue veins on the back of his hands were prominent. He was not a good speaker when it came to military matters, but now he had to make it clear. Perhaps he should be thankful that Fourth Miss Wenren was different from ordinary people and could wait for him to speak calmly and rationally. "Fourth Miss, no matter from which aspect you talk, you are admirable and worthy of praise. You should also understand my situation. After the mourning period is over next year, marriage will definitely be on the agenda. Comparatively speaking, I am also the most familiar with you..."
Having said this, Mu Bei stopped talking abruptly, and even wanted to slap himself hard. Look at what he was saying.
However, Xiao Cao's expression softened a lot, and even looked a little amused. "Your Highness, what you mean is that since you have to marry her anyway, why not marry someone you are familiar with and know relatively well?"
—No! Mu Bei wanted to refute, but looking at Xiao Cao's expression, he couldn't refute it at all. It was obvious that compared with his betrayal of his feelings for Guang Si so quickly, the fourth Miss Wenren accepted this statement well.
Mu Bei felt like something was stuck in his throat, and he felt extremely uncomfortable, but he still managed a far-fetched smile and continued with her words, "It's very abrupt to say this, I hope the young lady won't blame me. Grandmother originally wanted to mention it to the Wen family right now, but she was worried that other families would marry the young lady. I don't think it's appropriate, so I want to wait until next year." Mu Bei tried his best to restore some favorability for himself, "I didn't want Chang Ning to let it slip today. So, I just asked the young lady if Mu Bei has the honor."
It's no wonder that Mu Bei asked Xiaocao directly. In his opinion, Xiaocao was different from other girls. Although marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words, for her, it would be difficult to succeed without her nod. If she nodded, there should be no problem from the Wen family.
"Your Highness has loved the wrong person. I don't plan to get married." No matter what the reason was, Xiaocao made the decision right away.
"Why?" Mu Bei was quite excited. "If the fourth young lady marries into the Dingbei County Prince's Mansion, you will remain the same as before. If you like medicine and want to save people and cure diseases, no one will stop you. - I can also assure the young lady that there will never be anyone else around you." From what she did with Guangsi, we can see that she is a sentimental person. Any man who is fickle and promiscuous will never catch her eye. Mu Bei is self-sufficient. On this point, he can completely keep himself clean.
Mu Bei had said so. From Xiao Cao's perspective, there seemed to be no reason to refuse. However, "To be honest, Your Majesty, I have been married before."
Mu Bei was stunned. This answer was really unexpected. But on second thought, there were not many unmarried girls of 18 years old. Moreover, Mu Bei also caught the key word "in the past" in Xiaocao's words, which meant the past. Either she was divorced or her husband was gone. The possibility was very high. The fourth girl was a sentimental person. If nothing unexpected happened, she would not abandon her husband even if she returned to the Wenren family.
Mu Bei quickly adjusted his mentality, "That was in the past. He's not here now, right?" He said this very skillfully.
Xiaocao was a little speechless. She thought that after she said this, King Dingbei would give up the idea. After all, he was of noble status and could have any woman he wanted. Why must he have a "widow" like her
Mu Bei understood Xiaocao's expression and smiled gently, "I am just a widower now. Does the fourth lady dislike me?" The implication was that they were all the same, so who would dislike whom
Xiao Cao laughed. In the feudal dynasty, if it was an ordinary person, it was normal for him to not be picky because he couldn't get a wife. But for the nobles, there were so many people waiting in line for them to choose. It was rare for the King of Dingbei to maintain this mentality and give enough respect to women. From this point of view, the King of Dingbei was indeed a good candidate for a husband. "Your Highness, you are joking."
"Then, how about you think about it, Miss? I don't care about your concerns. Besides, compared to Madam Wenren, she is also very concerned about your lifelong affairs. Maybe she said that she would let you make your own choice, but in her heart she probably still hopes that you can have a home. I am not very impatient to deal with other people, but there must be a mistress in this palace, so you can just consider it as fulfilling my wish. And you can rest assured that Grandmother will not mind. You know, she likes you very much."
He clearly had a good impression of her, yet he had to say something like "deal" to solve each other's problems. However, Mu Bei knew very well that this should be the only way he could "impress" Xiao Cao.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Cao still shook his head, "Sorry, Your Majesty."
Xiaocao had made up her mind not to marry again, but if her parents had a strong desire and there was a good candidate, Xiaocao might still marry. However, in her opinion, Prince Dingbei was a good candidate, but Prince Dingbei's Mansion might not be. A very crucial point lay in the old concubine. She knew that the old concubine liked her, but this liking was initially based on the fact that she saved herself, the Prince Dingbei, and indirectly the Prince Dingbei's Mansion. Apart from these, even if the old concubine liked her, it would be limited.
Moreover, the old concubine is not a person who is suitable to be an "old woman". She attaches too much importance to the Mu family. When nothing goes wrong, it may be all good, but if something goes wrong and as a daughter-in-law, if her position is inconsistent with the Mu family, she will undoubtedly be abandoned by the old concubine. Although thinking about these things now is simply asking for trouble, it is a matter of a lifetime, and there is nothing wrong with thinking more about it.
Besides, this wasn’t the real reason why Xiaocao refused. She had to meet someone in two days. What on earth was he…