Xia Zhuofeng looked at her with awe in his eyes. He couldn’t believe that such a young girl can be this selfless.
Xia Chunyu stared down lovingly at Yaoyao and said, “On the day I stood at the cliff you had fallen off of, I swore that I will never marry again in this lifetime. You’re my wife, Ye Jinxuan. You are my only wife. I will never take another woman because I already promised you my heart… and my life.”
Ye Jiayao saw the look in Chunyu’s eyes and started to get nervous. This dumb donkey’s planning something!
Chunyu turned to his father and kneeled down respectfully. He said, “Father, forgive me, but I will not divorce my wife. I can’t leave her and marry someone else. I am sorry for this disobedience, but I am willing to die for love. I will repay your kindness in the next life.”
Xia Zhuofeng turned to his son, shocked. What was he talking about?
Xia Chunyu then said to Helian Xuan, “Tell Little Jing and Qixuan that Yaoyao and I have accepted our deaths. Tell them not to cause trouble, it’s none of their business.”
Panicked, Xia Zhuofeng kneeled down, and begged the Emperor, “Your Majesty, I have always been loyal to you and the crown! I have devoted my life to the service of the palace. My ancestors once fought with you and your brother. I have guarded the border for decades and my loyalty has always been to my country. My son, Chunyu, has done the same service ever since he turned 16. He fought by my side and had achieved countless merits. Please be merciful, Your Majesty.”
Helian Xuan, not wanting to see his best friend beheaded, jumped in, “Please give this some thought, Your Majesty. Yaoyao and Chunyu clearly love each other. I believe that if the 7th Royal Highness is still here, he wouldn’t approve of you breaking them up. I know that you want to look after his daughter, but I also know that he valued true love the most.”
The Emperor looked at all the people in front of him and sighed. All the points they made were valid and if he proceeds with the punishment now, he’d just seem cruel.
“Alright,” he said, almost exasperatedly. “I won’t be killing anyone today. It was just all a test to see if these two are as solid as they claimed they were.”
Ye Jiayao resisted the urge to balk at the Emperor. Instead, she immediately lowered her head and said, “Thank you for your incredible grace, Your Majesty. I never doubted that you would show us mercy. How could you not? You are the wisest leader our empire has ever seen. To express my gratitude, I will pray for your well-being and success every day. I will research more good food to serve you. Again, I humbly thank you for your benevolence.”
Xia Chunyu and Helian Xuan gave her a side glance, awed at her talent for flattery.
The emperor shook his head imperceptibly. If it wasn’t for Liu Li, he would’ve been all for Ye Jinxan.
Xia Zhuofeng looked at her daughter-in-law, impressed at how well-spoken she was.
Meanwhile, their friends outside were beside themselves with worry.
“I can’t take this anymore. I need to go after them,” Helian Jing declared impatiently, making a move to rush in.
Su Yi stopped him with his fan. “Be patient, Little Jing. In this case, no news means good news.”
“Trust Susu, Little Jing. Everything’s fine,” Zhao Qixuan seconded. “But even if we think of the worst, do you think His Majesty will really kill Xia Chunyu? There is no way that your brother and his father will allow that.”
Helian Jing reasoned anxiously, “That might be so, but what about Yaoyao?”
“He’s right. They can’t do much of anything if the Emperor wanted to punish her,” Xia Chunfeng said worriedly.
“Stop thinking of the worst. We have to believe that they can handle themselves. Besides, I know without a doubt that Xia Chunyu will do everything he can to keep Ye Jinxuan safe,” Su Yi added.
Helian Jing bit his lip, unconvinced. However, he had no other choice but to sit tight and hope that everything’s alright.
Suddenly, Zhao Qixuan exclaimed, “They’re coming out! And with their head and limbs still attached!”
Helian Jing rushed forward and asked worriedly, “How was it? How are you?”
Helian Xuan blew out a relieved breath. “We’re good.”
“We’re alive,” Xia Chunyu answered, his face pale and beads of sweat dotting his forehead.
His father turned to him, aghast. “You’re an idiot. How dare you make those declarations? The next time you scare me like that, I will kill you myself.”
Ye Jiayao turned to her father-in-law and reassured him, “Don’t be mad, Old Lord. I will teach him to do better next time.”
Xia Chunyu scoffed. How dare she to talk to about him to his father like he was a dog to be trained?
Xia Chunyu’s father raised a brow at her. “Did you just call me ‘Old Lord’?”
“I… I don’t..” Ye Jiayao stammered awkwardly. “It’s just that things haven’t been officially settled yet so I didn’t think…”
The Old Lord rolled his eyes and said, “We all just witnessed my son’s willingness to die for you. I think we’re past all that formalities, don’t you?”
“Father…” Xia Chunyu cautioned, afraid that he’s making Yaoyao uncomfortable.
The Old Lord looked around and came to his senses. He couldn’t very well air out their affairs in front of other people, no matter how close they all were. “We’ll discuss this at home.”
Zhao Qixuan smiled, happy for his friends. “Congratulations, you two. You can finally live your truth.”
Ye Jiayao scratched her head abashedly. “I’m sorry that I lied to you guys for so long.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Zhao Qixuan assured her. “It was a pleasant surprise. Though I admit that I didn’t believe it at first when Little Jing told us.”
She then turned to Little Jing and said, “Thank you, Little Jing… for everything.”
Helian Jing smiled bitterly. “Just let us know if he steps out of line. We’ll help you straighten him out.”
Helian Xuan grabbed Little Jing in a headlock. “Stop meddling.”
Ye Jiayao shook her head with a knowing smile. If he steps out of line, I’ll take care of him myself.
Everyone was so busy celebrating their good fortune that no one noticed the pretty figure staring coldly at them from a distance.
In the Jing An Lord’s mansion…
As she poured the Old Lord’s tea, Xia You asked in concern, “My Lord, what did the Emperor say?”
Ever since she found out that Li Yao was Ye Jinxuan, Xia You hadn’t been able to rest easy. Liu Li might be a spoiled princess but at least if Chunyu marries her, the Xia family would be well compensated for their trouble.
The Old Lord sipped his tea and shook his head wearily. “Well, we all still have our heads…”
“So Chunyu’s staying with Ye Jinxuan?”
“There’s nothing else that we can do. They’ve already done the ceremony – they’re married by all accounts. Besides, she saved Chunyu’s life. How would people view us if we just turn her away?”
Xiayou looked troubled. “It’s just… Ye Jinxuan’s status is too low. Why can’t she just become a concubine? My Lord, she pretended to be a man! She has mingled around the common citizens, how can she be fit to be the Lady of the mansion in the future?”
“Don’t discount her so easily. I think that she’d make a really good lady of the mansion someday,” the Old Lord defended as he recalled how smartly his daughter-in-law handed the irate Emperor earlier.
His wife rolled her eyes.
The Old Lord smiled and patted her hand assuringly. “Chunyu is happy with his choice. And I approve of Ye Jinxuan. Her status is not important, it’s her character and abilities that matter.”
“That would be for me to decide,” Xia You huffed. “I will test just how good her character and abilities are.”
“Well, that can wait. I gave them permission to come home a bit later so that they can discuss the details of their make-up wedding by themselves. We’ve won His Majesty to our side, but that doesn’t mean that the Empress Dowager would have no objections.”
“Shouldn’t we invite the Ye Prefect to come? After all, Ye Jinxuan is the daughter of Yangzhou’s prefecture.”
The Old Lord shrugged, uncaring. “Why bother? They’re already married, we’ll just be having a make-up ceremony. Also, I heard that the Ye Prefect is not a good person. I think it’s best if we don’t let him know about this.
