Chapter 28: Why Not Fake a Marriage? Part 2

Even as she said this, her eyes were still curved in a smile, her distant-mountain brows soft and beautiful. Xunqi stared at her, dazed, watching her crouch down to put on her socks. In that moment of crouching, the soft nape of her neck was exposed, so different from her usual cold sharpness.

“Come down.” Yan Zhi’an patted Xunqi’s shoulder.

Xunqi stepped off the bed in her shoes, her soles warm. She looked down at her shoes. Yan Zhi’an took a padded jacket from the maidservant. “The snow is heavy today, so mounted archery is canceled. You can review your lessons in your room. If you’re tired, rest.”

Xunqi looked up at her words. Yan Zhi’an paused slightly, looking at the child who was now almost as tall as she was. She was surprised to realize how much Xunqi had grown.

Growing taller meant growing up. And growing up meant she couldn’t escape marriage. Even if it weren’t the Sima Clan, it would be some other household.

For some reason, her heart ached with a nameless bitterness, along with a sense of loss. The child she had raised for a year would soon be leaving her.

But Xunqi still didn’t understand this devouring city. And Duke Dingguo had been an old fox for years. She was worried. Her Majesty was sending a lamb into the tiger’s den.

Yan Zhi’an’s worries were stirred up by Xunqi’s dazed expression.

After dressing, the two had breakfast together. Xunqi ate with her head down. Yan Zhi’an had things on her mind and felt full after just a few mouthfuls of congee, but she didn’t put down her chopsticks. Instead, she watched Xunqi eat.

If she could eat, she would grow fast. Over the past year, Xunqi had shot up in height, and she would grow even more in the future.

Yan Zhi’an had finally settled into the role of ‘mother,’ and now she was lamenting that Xunqi would soon leave her to find her own happiness. She put down her chopsticks and propped her chin on her hand, watching Xunqi. “Have you thought about your own marriage?”

“No. I want to be like Headmaster Yuan and the Right Prime Minister. I don’t want to marry.” Xunqi lowered her head to eat a shrimp dumpling, answering casually. “I don’t like men.”

Yan Zhi’an: “…”

“What did you say?” Her head throbbed. She felt like her world was collapsing. “Say that again.”

“I said I don’t like men. I don’t want to marry, and I don’t want to get married.” Xunqi repeated herself, swallowed the shrimp dumpling, and looked seriously at her mother. Her mother asked, “It’s too early in the morning for jokes.”

“I’m serious…”

“Stop talking. I need a moment.” Yan Zhi’an’s vision went dark. Doesn’t like men, doesn’t want to marry… Her Majesty would tear her apart.

She took a deep breath, pressing down the panic in her chest. “What’s wrong with men?”

“What’s good about them?” Xunqi countered. Her courage had grown—she actually dared to argue with her mother now.

Yan Zhi’an thought deeply. What was good about men? She pursed her lips, thinking hard. Xunqi widened her eyes at her, then rare as it was, spoke her true feelings. “The Madwoman said men are unreliable, so she told me to rely on myself. Look at me now—I have you. I don’t need to depend on a man to live. Why should I marry one? I work so hard because I want to control my own destiny, not depend on a man.”

For a moment, Yan Zhi’an found it hard to argue. She had to admit, Xunqi’s words were right. If Xunqi was just the Young Heir of the Yan Family, she truly didn’t need to depend on a man. Everything she had came from the Yan family, from her mother. Men really were useless.

Yan Zhi’an had once again picked up a rock and dropped it on her own foot. She held her forehead, thinking hard. No, she needed to go ask Shangguan Li what exactly she had been teaching her daughter.

Xunqi hadn’t finished eating when Yan Zhi’an stormed out of the residence, heading straight for the government office.

The Left Prime Minister arrived in a fury, scaring the officials below into quickly getting out of her way. After she entered the room, a thoughtful person even closed the door behind her.

The Right Prime Minister was puzzled. She reviewed her recent subordinates’ work and found no mistakes. Even minor errors wouldn’t warrant the Left Prime Minister coming to demand an explanation at dawn. Not knowing what had happened, she personally poured tea for her guest, all the while silently cursing the little brats under her command.

“What’s the matter with you?” After cursing her subordinates, she still put on a smile and asked the Left Prime Minister.

Yan Zhi’an pushed the tea away and asked directly, “May I ask the Right Prime Minister, what exactly have you been teaching Xunqi?”

“I teach her the same way I teach the Crown Prince. Did something go wrong?” The Right Prime Minister was confused. The other woman was furious, and she was completely in the dark. Thinking back to the last lesson, Xunqi hadn’t made any mistakes.

Yan Zhi’an covered her face, not knowing how to broach the subject. The Right Prime Minister grew anxious. “Did something happen to Xunqi?”

“Yes.” Yan Zhi’an said coldly. “Her Majesty has arranged a marriage for her.”

The Right Prime Minister’s expression changed at the news. She connected the dots and immediately understood. “It’s the Sima Clan, isn’t it?”

Yan Zhi’an nodded. “Yes. I asked Xunqi. I could refuse the Sima Clan. If she had a young lord she liked, even if it meant defying the imperial will, I would help her make it happen.”

“Don’t tell me the person she likes is too difficult to deal with?” The Right Prime Minister began to think as well. Over the past year, Xunqi had been diligent and hardworking. She truly hadn’t noticed any signs of romance.

But the Left Prime Minister’s next words made her sit on pins and needles. The Left Prime Minister said, “She said she doesn’t want to marry and doesn’t like men.”

The Right Prime Minister: “…”

The room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.

The Right Prime Minister unconsciously shifted in her seat, raised a hand to cover her lips, and coughed lightly. She then offered a perfunctory compliment, “That’s fine. She takes after you.”

“How does she take after me?” Yan Zhi’an frowned.

The Right Prime Minister said, “Are you married? Do you like men?”

Yan Zhi’an had no response. She took a deep breath and said helplessly, “So you’re saying I should get married myself, to set an example for her?”

“That’s an excellent idea.” The Right Prime Minister clapped her hands in approval. “You should try it.”

Yan Zhi’an slammed the table. “Shangguan Li!”

But Shangguan Li pointed out the flaw in her logic. “You yourself aren’t married and don’t like men. Why force her? Haven’t you learned the principle of ‘do not do unto others what you would not have done unto you’ until today?”

“I’m not forcing her. Her Majesty is forcing me.” Yan Zhi’an was caught between a rock and a hard place, trapped in a dilemma with no easy way out. “I refused Her Majesty yesterday, but she insisted. What can I do? I don’t want to force her. If she were truly my daughter, even if she never married, I wouldn’t force her.”

But she wasn’t her daughter. She couldn’t make decisions for her. After all, her birth mother was the sovereign, holding the power of life and death.

The two women looked at each other.

“Left Prime Minister, if you tell Her Majesty, she’ll only think you’re resisting and put the blame on you. But if you tell Xunqi and let her solve it herself, let Her Majesty see your helplessness. If you keep stubbornly shouldering this burden, you’ll only lose the emperor’s favor.” The Right Prime Minister advised earnestly. “Don’t take on the responsibility. If Xunqi causes a huge disaster, you and I can step in and fix it. But if it’s your mistake, who will save you? Does Xunqi have that ability? Besides, she’s about to turn fifteen. It’s time for her to go out and test herself.”

“Xunqi isn’t a caged sparrow. She grew up in the mountains, wild by nature, with her own cunning. Now that she’s been raised for a year, it’s time to let her out to show her abilities. Otherwise, we’ll never know her true potential.”

“Tell her Her Majesty’s decision, then let her figure out how to refuse it herself. If she brings the sky crashing down, the two of us will clean up after her. Being a teacher isn’t just about teaching lessons.”

The Right Prime Minister’s words were rooted in the fundamentals. If they only protected her, she would never grow up. They didn’t need a caged-sparrow Heir Apparent. They needed a capable, decisive Heir Apparent who dared to make trouble and dared to charge forward.

Yan Zhi’an was uncertain. She was afraid of hurting Xunqi, afraid of seeing her sad. But Shangguan Li wanted a qualified Heir Apparent.

She was dissatisfied and wanted to refuse, but the other woman continued, “I know. She’s your child, and you care for her. But if you don’t let go now, there will be more heartache later. Sima Xun is an old fox. Yan Zhi’an, are you a kind rabbit? If Sima Xun truly stands in opposition, with our two families combined, can we not take him down?”

Yan Zhi’an curved her lips into a smile—a ghostly, eerie smile. In that instant, the Right Prime Minister realized something. “You tricked me?”

“I never forced you to clean up after Xunqi.” Yan Zhi’an straightened her back, her neck long and elegant, a faint smile on her lips. “Your words have enlightened me.”

The Right Prime Minister shot her a displeased look, walked over, picked up the tea on the table, and poured it directly onto the floor. Then, fuming, she returned to her seat. “You should get married. Set an example for the child.”

“Why don’t you get married?” Yan Zhi’an mocked. “Do not do unto others what you would not have done unto you.”

“Left Prime Minister, I am merely her teacher. You are the one who leads by example.” The Right Prime Minister won that round.

Yan Zhi’an gave her a sidelong glance, suppressing her displeasure. She rose slowly to her feet. “I’ll have the Sima Clan host a plum blossom banquet. I’ll bring Xunqi along.”

“Before that, you should get married first.” The Right Prime Minister latched onto that point and wouldn’t let go. “Otherwise, you have no right to persuade her to marry.”

“Right Prime Minister, why don’t you get married instead? I’ll give you a mine?” Yan Zhi’an had a sudden idea, her gaze dark and calculating.

However, the Right Prime Minister wasn’t fooled. She sniffed disdainfully. “What would I do with a mine? If I truly liked men, I’d keep three or five of them. Why would I need to marry? After marriage, I’d just let a man drag me down?”

Yan Zhi’an was once again left speechless. She only said, “I’m curious if your elder sister is also this silver-tongued. I heard she’s never married either.”

“My elder sister?” The Right Prime Minister was reminded. Her expression changed at the mention. She stood up abruptly, meeting Yan Zhi’an’s gaze. “My elder sister once loved a woman.”

Yan Zhi’an held her forehead again, her breathing slightly heavy. She couldn’t help but sneer. “So that’s the root of it. What happened after?” She had nearly been made to take the blame.

“The two of them left. Where they went, I don’t know. And how she came to pick up Xunqi, I have no idea either.” The Right Prime Minister recalled the past. “My elder sister was always someone outside the rules. The rules of the mortal world caused her endless pain. The Xunqi she taught is probably the same.”

Yan Zhi’an was completely defeated. The Right Prime Minister continued offering terrible advice. “You should get married quickly to win this round. Otherwise, Her Majesty will split you in two.”

“You get married!” Yan Zhi’an wasn’t falling for it. She continued, “She’s seen too few men…”

“Yan Zhi’an, she’s been wandering since she was young. She’s seen more men than you have.” The Right Prime Minister cut her off. “Stop clinging to false hope. Look at yourself, then look at Xunqi. You might as well sacrifice yourself. Get married first, set an example. After she’s married, you can divorce.”

“Shangguan Li, you’re insane!” Yan Zhi’an shot back with sarcasm.

The Right Prime Minister said leisurely, “You don’t care about your reputation anyway. For the sake of the nation and the greater good, why not just fake a marriage?”