Favoring a Hidden Mistress? Engagement Broken-Chapter 66 - 64:

The young girl looked worried, making Pei Yuqing chuckle.

He gently held her hand that was resting on the small table, and said warmly, "Convincing your father to let his daughter marry me is my job, you don’t need to worry about that."

His words made it seem she was desperate to get married.

Xie Wanqing felt a bit embarrassed, raised her eyes to glare at him, and huffed, "Then I’ll leave everything to you."

"Okay," Pei Yuqing nodded with a smile, "Leave everything to me, all you have to do is not change your mind."

As long as this girl doesn’t change her mind, no one can stop him from marrying her.

The man who was reluctant to talk about marriage last night is now more devoted to the marriage than anyone else, making Xie Wanqing couldn’t help but tease him, "Is this a change of heart, or have you stopped pretending?"

"..." Pei Yuqing smiled slightly and said helplessly, "Just think of it as me not pretending anymore."

He admitted it openly, leaving Xie Wanqing with nothing much else to say.

She lowered her eyes to look at her held hand, not asking him to let go, as they sat together holding hands.

The carriage first stopped at the entrance of the Marquis Xuanping Mansion, and Xie Wanqing was about to get off. She tugged her hand and smiled, "It’s time to let go, haven’t you held it long enough for half an hour?"

Pei Yuqing, teased by her, felt a bit embarrassed, but he did not let go. Instead, he squeezed her palm and said, "Wait for me, I’ll soon be over to visit your parents."

Xie Wanqing said, "My father may not be home today."

Pei Yuqing released her hand and smiled gracefully, "He will be home."

"..."

She should not have said that. Even if her father is not home, with this man’s information network, finding someone would be easy.

She glanced at the youth leaning against the carriage wall with a radiant smile, and got off the carriage on her own.

......

Brocade Hall.

Mrs. Zheng was talking with her sister-in-law, Mrs. Liu, in the room. When Xie Wanqing entered, she was first stunned, then surprised.

She hurriedly stood up and held her daughter’s shoulders, examining her from head to toe, and said, "Did something happen?"

The daughter who just left the house for a short stay at another courtyard yesterday appeared in front of her early today.

Even Aunt Liu looked a bit anxious, "Wanwan, why are you back? Where’s Ru’er?"

"You two don’t worry, nothing happened, Rurou is still at the other courtyard, I’ll go to accompany her this afternoon," Xie Wanqing bowed and greeted them, speaking slowly, "I temporarily returned to the Capital to handle some matters."

Some matters to handle...

Mrs. Zheng frowned slightly. A single young woman, not the mistress of the house, with no engagement to prepare for marriage, what matters could she possibly need to handle?

Mrs. Liu assumed the mother and daughter had private matters to discuss, sensibly stating she had things to attend to in her room, and took her leave.

Once Aunt Liu left, Xie Wanqing leaned against her mother and sat down, yawning wearily, said, "Mother, please don’t ask yet, what the matter is, you’ll know soon. I didn’t sleep well last night, let me rest a bit."

Seeing her daughter appeared normal, as if there was no major issue, and withholding information, Mrs. Zheng didn’t follow up, instead lightly tapped her forehead, "If you want to rest, go to your room, this old body can’t bear your weight."

Being so grown-up, Xie Wanqing was embarrassed to sleep in her parents’ bed, and immediately upon hearing this, she stood up, instructed the servants to prepare a sedan, and returned to her own courtyard.

Mrs. Zheng watched her daughter’s cheerful figure, shook her head with a smile, and said to her confidante nanny, "I’m curious to see what matters are worth coming back for."

Nanny Li, while massaging the mistress’s shoulders, speculated, "Maybe she found something intriguing at the farm, deliberately brought back to honor you."

Our girl’s light carriage returned first, and the cargo horse-drawn carriage is still on the road.

Mrs. Zheng thought for a moment, felt that’s likely the reason, given her beloved youngest daughter is always so considerate.

Feeling comforted, a sense of anticipation arose.

After a while, instead of waiting for the ’matter’ her daughter mentioned, her husband, returning from duty, arrived.

She glanced at the time outside, surprised, "Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be back for lunch?"

Moreover, the sun is merely halfway through the sky, this doesn’t seem to be the time to be finishing duty.

With such hot weather, Xie Shu stopped returning for lunch half a month ago.

Either dining with colleagues at a restaurant near the government office, or having servants deliver meals at set times.

Upon hearing his wife’s question, Xie Shu, cleansing his hands and face, laughed and explained, "Received an invitation suddenly, a guest will be visiting."

......

Duke Pei Mansion, main courtyard.

"Did I mishear..." Princess Duan Yang remained stunned for a moment, suddenly grasped her loyal nanny’s hand, anxiously confirmed, "Changqing actually decided to marry?"

"You didn’t mishear, Your Highness!"

Nanny Zhou also looked excited, "Our Young Master indeed said so, he wishes to marry the eldest daughter of the Marquis Xuanping Mansion."

"The eldest daughter of the Marquis Xuanping Mansion..." Princess Duan Yang repeated, eyes brightened, "Quick, open my private treasury, prepare some grand gifts, wait for the Prince Consort to return..."

The master and servant duo were overwhelmed with joy, Princess Duan Yang completely abandoning her usual composed and dignified demeanor, issuing a chain of instructions to the left and right servants.

Seeing her mother in such a state, Pei Yuqing sighed lightly, reached out to pour her tea, and said softly, "Overjoy can hurt one’s heart, please mind your health, dear mother."

The Princess found herself, realizing her son was still beside her.

She looked at her handsome and elegant son, unable to suppress her smile, "Why the sudden change, just a few days ago, you were still..."

She continued, shaking her head with a smile, "Never mind, realizing it now is best, after all, how can a man not have a family? Besides, your heart condition hasn’t flared for years, how will it affect marrying?"

Not mentioning afar, even in the Capital City, several noble gentlemen live with medicinal concoctions, yet they still wed, take concubines, and propagate offspring.

Her Changqing, although having a heart condition, isn’t weak enough to need constant medication, and grows up to be such a vibrant figure, in terms of lineage, appearance, and talent, even marrying her brother’s princess wouldn’t be out of reach.

Yet he always found reasons against marrying, dragging out as such an ideal young man until age twenty-seven, with youth fading.

...Xie family’s eldest daughter seems to be sixteen or seventeen this year, wondering whether she dislikes her Changqing’s age being too old.

Within a few words, Princess Duan Yang’s maternal thoughts already jumped to proposing marriage.

Thinking if she might be too impatient, perhaps first letting acquaintances from both families send hints, she then heard her naturally calm eldest son’s voice.

Pei Yuqing said, "Soon, I shall visit the Marquis Xuanping Mansion to meet Marquis Xie and his wife, requesting them to betroth their daughter to me." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"..." Unexpectedly, her son, always firmly rejecting marriage, once relenting, became impatient to this degree, Princess Duan Yang paused, she’s quite eager for quickness.

However...

She hesitated, "Suddenly visiting, isn’t it too rushed?"