"A marriage proposal?"
Zhan Xiaoli was somewhat surprised. Was he summoned today to be betrothed?
His parents would not interfere with his marriage, yet the Emperor wished to dictate his marital affairs?
"Yes, at your age, it is indeed time to arrange a marriage, and it is fortunate you have returned to the capital," Zhan Tianhong said with a smile.
Little Li had been raised by his fifth brother and Yun Shu. Seeing him now with his own eyes, he was even more certain that Little Li was exceptionally outstanding. Marrying his most beloved daughter to Little Li would create a closer bond, and there was nothing better than that.
"I have no intention of betrothing myself at the moment. I ask for the Emperor's understanding," Zhan Xiaoli refused directly, his expressionless face betraying no emotion.
Having witnessed the deep affection between his father and mother, he understood clearly that matters of the heart could not be forced. Unless he met the one person who would make his heart skip a beat, the one he felt was destined for him for a lifetime, he would rather remain unmarried.
However, being forced into a marriage now was absolutely out of the question.
Zhan Tianhong had not expected Zhan Xiaoli to refuse so plainly and directly, but he was not surprised.
At this moment, Princess Shunyi, who had been eavesdropping outside, could no longer bear it.
She pushed open the door and burst in.
"Look at me, don't you like me?" Princess Shunyi pointed to her own face. In the capital, if she claimed to be the second most beautiful, no one would dare claim the first.
Otherwise, so many people would not have gone to such lengths to win her favor.
She was confident in her appearance.
And he had rejected the Emperor's arranged marriage without a second thought.
Zhan Xiaoli's cold gaze swept towards Princess Shunyi.
That clear, indifferent, and thin gaze was no different from how he would look at a man.
He appeared completely unmoved by Princess Shunyi's beauty.
"No, I don't," Zhan Xiaoli replied decisively.
Princess Shunyi's eyes widened in disbelief. "Don't you think I'm beautiful?"
"No," Zhan Xiaoli replied, a hint of impatience in his voice.
The Princess Shunyi before him was truly rather ordinary in appearance.
Not only ordinary, but her temperament was also unappealing.
He could hear her thoughts, and she was far too self-confident.
Zhan Tianhong rubbed his temples helplessly. He understood his daughter well. "Shunyi, do not be rude."
"Father, he is the rude one! I like him, and he says he doesn't like me. So many people in the capital like me, why doesn't he?" Princess Shunyi could not understand. She refused to believe he had seen anyone more beautiful than her, otherwise, how could he be so indifferent upon seeing her!
He must be pretending!
Zhan Tianhong had been observing Zhan Xiaoli's expressions. From Princess Shunyi's appearance until now, he had not even blinked an eye. Even after Shunyi's successive questions, Little Li was clearly showing signs of impatience and disgust.
Could it be that this matter would truly not come to fruition?
...
Northern Frontier.
For the past few days, a sensational event had been circulating throughout the Northern Frontier.
No one had ever expected that the Lin family, one of the most arrogant among the three prominent families, would suffer such a disgraceful incident!
Not only were the five grandchildren of the Lin family severely beaten, but they were also thrown into a pigsty.
The pig farmers discovered them.
At first, they thought they were thieves and beat them severely with their dung-sweeping brooms.
It was only after the soldiers arrived that they discovered the five individuals had been acupoint-sealed, rendering them unable to move.
Initially, the five refused to admit who they were. However, the pig farmers believed they were thieves and mentioned that pigs had been stolen from their farm before, suggesting they might be the culprits. The soldiers also found their presence suspicious and decided to take them to the authorities.
Upon hearing this, the five impulsively revealed their identities.
This stunned both the soldiers and the pig farmers.
It also stunned the entire Northern Frontier.
Who dared to lay a hand on the Lin family?
And cause them such great humiliation?
In the end, almost the entire Lin family was mobilized to find the brother and sister pair, and their portraits were distributed.
Unfortunately, after searching for several days, the two had seemingly vanished into thin air, with no trace of them found. Nevertheless, the incident of the Lin siblings' humiliation continued to be a topic of gossip for people's leisure.
Lin Xiao, who was once so proud, had many suitors in the Northern Frontier, and even individuals from the other two prominent families had sought her hand in marriage and were engaged to her.
Now, because of this incident, people were secretly whispering that she smelled of pig manure, and marrying her would surely invite ridicule from the people of the Northern Frontier.
For a time, Lin Xiao was consumed by rage.
Her daily refrain was that she would find the brother and sister pair and would absolutely not let them off the hook. xxs壹贰
However, the people they sent out had searched numerous places and still could not find the individuals.
The head of the Lin family, fearing that the incident would further tarnish their family's reputation, gave up the search after a few days. He instructed Lin Ye and the others to stay at home during this period and not to bring further disgrace upon themselves.
Even though they were filled with anger and unwillingness, they could only suppress their desires and obediently stayed at home, not stepping outside their doors.
During these days of great upheaval, Yun Xiaojing and Zhan Xiaojun, the brother and sister pair, were staying in a mansion belonging to the Mi family.
The Mi family was one of the three prominent families.
The siblings they encountered that day were Mi Yunhua and Mi Yuner.
They strongly disliked the Lin family's conduct and also disliked the siblings Lin Ye and Lin Xiao.
From the wine house, the Mi siblings knew what Lin Ye and Lin Xiao were capable of. They had originally intended to secretly help Yun Xiaojing and the others, but they did not expect Yun Xiaojing and his sister to be fearless of the Lin family and retaliate so ruthlessly, catching the Lin family off guard and ultimately leading to their predicament in the pigsty.
After the four met, the Mi siblings invited Yun Xiaojing and his sister to their home as guests.
The siblings had come from the capital of the Northern Frontier for leisure and owned a mansion in this town. Currently, only they resided in the mansion, and it provided them a place to lie low and avoid the fallout.
Mi Yunhua would bring back news of whatever was happening outside.
Upon hearing that the Lin siblings were confined, Mi Yuner pouted and said, "I hope the head of the Lin family realizes that their family's conduct is truly improper and will restrain Lin Ye and the others in the future."
"They caused plenty of trouble in the capital. When has the Lin family head ever disciplined them? Sister, you are overthinking. In a few days, they will be acting recklessly again," Mi Yunhua said.
Mi Yuner became furious and stomped her foot. "Brother, can you ask Father to break off the engagement? I don't want to marry Lin Ye. Lin Ye is too selfish and opportunistic. If I marry him, I will eventually be killed by him, let alone..."
She secretly glanced at Yun Xiaojing.
She had never known what it felt like to be moved before.
But after seeing Yun Xiaojing's decisive actions in punishing the Lin family in the alley the other day, she realized she had fallen for him.
Mi Yuner had confided her feelings to Mi Yunhua a couple of days prior. Mi Yunhua knew his sister's feelings, but these past few days, he had been probing the identities of the brother and sister before them. They had only stated that they were from the Eastern Ning Kingdom, and their exact identities remained unknown.