Chapter 924: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 924: Envy, Jealousy, and Hatred Turned Bad (1)
Mo Yan didn't care about what others thought and couldn't be bothered to explain anything to a stranger. After politely sending Madam An off and happily accepting her family's congratulations, she closed the door and secretly enjoyed the imperial marriage edict on her own.
Xue Tuanzi, disturbed by someone's silly appearance, rushed out to seek attention, but Mo Yan easily subdued it with one hand and even blocked it from her mind.
After the excitement, Mo Yan began to ponder the origins of the marriage edict. She then took up her pen and wrote a letter to Xiao Ruiyuan, briefly mentioning the proposal from the Cui family. Her purpose was to tell him that, despite the imperial marriage edict, things were not settled. If she wanted to "climb the wall," there would still be many opportunities.
As she watched the dove flapping its wings and flying farther away, Mo Yan clapped her hands to dust off the nonexistent dirt and was about to return indoors when she saw a large eagle hovering in the air. The eagle spotted her too, and in the next moment, it dove down and lightly landed on her shoulder.
"Hiss, you damn featherhead, always doing this," Mo Yan grumbled as the eagle's strong claws dug painfully into her slender shoulder. She slapped its foot to signal it to get off.
"Chirp—" The eagle reluctantly loosened its claws and landed on the ground, lifting one leg to reveal a small mail tube tied to its foot.
Mo Yan's eyes lit up as she squatted down to take the letter out of the tube. After reading it carefully, she understood the reason behind the marriage edict and couldn't help but feel grateful to Chu Heng. As for why Emperor Hui'an had initially been unwilling to let her marry Xiao Ruiyuan, though the letter didn't explicitly mention it, she wasn't sure of the exact reason. However, she had already decided to assign the task of settling the border soldiers to Chu Heng.
What she wanted was merit. Once she accumulated enough merit, she could help Xue Tuanzi break free from the restraints of the Heavenly Dao and take it back to the modern world to reunite with the family that had raised her for over twenty years. That would be enough for her. As for her reputation, she didn't care. Marrying Xiao Ruiyuan would bring her fame and the people's favor, but that could become a death sentence. If she attributed the credit to Chu Heng, it would ease Emperor Hui'an's concerns and earn her the gratitude of the future ruler of the country, making it all worthwhile.
Additionally, by doing good under the Prince's name, she would gain advantages, and when there were "insufficient funds," she could ask the royal family for money without hesitation.
Having thought it through, Mo Yan wrote a letter outlining her plans and had the eagle deliver it to Xiao Ruiyuan, hoping he had any better suggestions. Then, she wrote a letter to her father, briefly explaining the marriage edict.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ruiyuan, while the eunuch was still on his way to the Mo family to proclaim the edict, was summoned back to the Wei Yuan Marquis' estate by one of the servants. In the presence of the grim-faced Xiao Xiong and the gloating Madam Wei, he calmly received the edict without revealing any emotion.
Xiao Xiong and Madam Wei didn't know that Xiao Ruiyuan had already been betrothed to Mo Yan, nor did they know that he was actually overjoyed. Seeing that his face showed no trace of happiness, Xiao Xiong coldly said, "You act like this in front of the Emperor too, receiving a wife from a peasant family. You've completely disgraced the reputation of the Wei Yuan Marquis' household. This is all your doing, you disaster."
No matter how much he resented his son, he didn't want a daughter-in-law with a lowly status, someone who would call him "father-in-law," which he found utterly humiliating.
Seeing that Xiao Ruiyuan was staring at the edict and said nothing, Madam Wei quickly stopped Xiao Xiong, who was about to burst into anger, and tried to comfort him with a satisfied expression. "Lord, this generation of the Marquis' family only has the heir and Qing'er, so it's rather thin. Now that the heir has a marriage, it won't be long before the household can flourish. This is a huge blessing! He's much more promising than Qing'er. Lord, please don't blame the heir. Besides, the marriage was ordained by the Emperor, and the heir had no say in it. Why be angry?"
(End of Chapter)
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