Chapter 535
Chapter 535
Not far away, Li Zhiwei and Jiang Yuanrang stood side by side.
One looked charming and lovely, the other graceful and handsome.
Even though Zhang Yanchu didn't want to admit it, he had to concede that the two of them standing together were indeed a well-matched pair.
"Young Master Li, you don't need to take this matter to heart." Wen Xiu lowered her head, feeling a dull ache in her chest.
Although she had always known that her family background was awkward and that she could hardly hope for a good match, she hadn't expected that when she was genuinely looked down upon, it would still sting so much.
"You—you don't want to marry me?" Jiang Yuanrang looked at Wen Xiu, feeling a heaviness in his own chest as well.
He had originally thought this was simply a one-sided wish of his brother-in-law and sister, which was why he had refused the arrangement.
After all, he felt that Wen Xiu might not be accustomed to life in Lucheng if she went with him.
He didn't want to put Wen Xiu in an unfair position.
But then, thinking that Wen Xiu might have to marry that Third Prince, Jiang Yuanrang felt a reluctance bubbling up inside him.
Jiang Yuanrang felt that a woman as good as Wen Xiu shouldn't be sent off for a political marriage.
He also felt himself unworthy of her, and for a moment, didn't know how to put it into words.
When his words finally left his mouth, he felt both nervous and somewhat embarrassed.
"I know that my status is humble and I am not worthy of Young Master Li." Wen Xiu gave a self-deprecating smile.
"Young Master Li, you don't need to concern yourself with this matter. My elder brother was merely looking out for me—his anger has nothing to do with you." Wen Xiu thought of how Jiang Yuanrang had wanted to speak with her alone, so she added another sentence.
"If we're talking about humble status, then it is I, Jiang, who am the humble one. I know I have little talent and am unworthy of you, Miss Wen. But if you don't wish to marry the Third Prince of the Qinling Kingdom, I am willing to enter into a false marriage with you."
After thinking it over, Jiang Yuanrang felt this was the most reasonable solution.
"Young Master Li, do you even know what you're saying?" Wen Xiu looked at Jiang Yuanrang in disbelief.
How was she supposed to respond to that? A false marriage?
In this capital, once two people were married, no one cared whether it was real or fake.
And if she later divorced, would her reputation still be intact?
Could it be that this Jiang Yuanrang wanted her to live out her life in solitude forever?
With that thought, the look Wen Xiu gave Jiang Yuanrang turned rather sour.
"What I mean is, I am willing to marry you." Jiang Yuanrang also knew that his earlier words were rather unfair, but what he'd wanted to express was his wish to help Wen Xiu.
"Young Master Li, I do not need your charity." Wen Xiu's tone was now stiff, a heaviness in her chest.
She wasn't so desperate that she had to have him.
"I don't want to marry!" Wen Xiu said without a second thought.
"No!" The thought that Wen Xiu might marry someone else—that Third Prince of the Qinling Kingdom if not him—filled Jiang Yuanrang with resistance.
"Young Master Li, do you live by the sea that you must manage such a wide stretch of affairs?" Wen Xiu shot a look of annoyance at the now anxious Jiang Yuanrang.
She couldn't quite understand what he was trying to do.
He didn't want to marry her himself, yet he wouldn't let her marry anyone else.
He really was managing far too much.
"Is Miss Wen rejecting me?" Jiang Yuanrang looked at Wen Xiu with a bitter taste in his heart.
He thought to himself, could this woman actually want to marry that Third Prince of the Qinling Kingdom?
"If you don't want to marry me, there's another way." Jiang Yuanrang thought that as long as Wen Xiu left the capital, and the Third Prince couldn't find her, then perhaps he wouldn't marry her after all.
"What way?" Wen Xiu looked at Jiang Yuanrang with some confusion.
She knew that what her elder brother had proposed wasn't a certainty—only a possibility.
If Jiang Yuanrang's method was feasible and could help her avoid this disaster, that would naturally be the best outcome.
However, both Zhang Yanchu and Wen Xiu were grasping at straws in their panic, since Xu Heming had long since told Zhang Yanchu that they did not fear the Qinling Kingdom.
"Why don't you come back to Lucheng with me?" Jiang Yuanrang looked at Wen Xiu with a serious expression.
"Ha, Young Master Li, you want me, an unmarried young woman, to go back to Lucheng with you?" Wen Xiu, who was usually good-tempered, couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
At this moment, Wen Xiu felt that this Jiang Yuanrang really had some nerve—he wouldn't marry her himself, yet he wanted her to lower herself and leave with him.
Did he have any sense of propriety at all?
"I know it's not proper, but it's not just us—my sister and the others will be going too. It's not as if I'm taking you back alone." Jiang Yuanrang looked at Wen Xiu anxiously and said quickly.
"I'll think about it." Wen Xiu frowned, looked at the flustered Jiang Yuanrang, gave a light hum, and turned to walk back toward the courtyard.
Wen Xiu wasn't about to put on a warm face toward someone who gave her the cold shoulder.
"Don't worry—I can leave first. Later, I'll set out together with my sister, so no one will misunderstand anything between you and me." Afraid that Wen Xiu might refuse, Jiang Yuanrang quickly added.
"Quite thorough thinking. What, are you so eager to have me go to Lucheng with you?" Wen Xiu turned back, eyeing Jiang Yuanrang with suspicion.
Seeing him look at her so anxiously and flustered, Wen Xiu found herself wanting to tease him a little.
"I don't want you to marry the wrong man." Jiang Yuanrang looked at Wen Xiu with concern and said in a low voice.
Wen Xiu glanced at Jiang Yuanrang, said nothing, and sat down directly beside the others.
"I am willing to marry him." Wen Xiu ignored the expressions of those around her and stated plainly just as Jiang Yuanrang was about to approach.
Jiang Yuanrang was stunned.
The "him" Wen Xiu referred to—was it the Third Prince?
Or was it him?
For a moment, Jiang Yuanrang looked helplessly toward his sister.
But Li Zhiwei gave Jiang Yuanrang not so much as a glance—instead, she looked at Wen Xiu with some puzzlement.
"Sister Wen, if you don't want to, that's fine too." Li Zhiwei felt that her elder brother, with his wooden head, might really not deserve Wen Xiu.
"I think he's actually quite a good man." As Wen Xiu said this, her eyes deliberately strayed toward the startled Jiang Yuanrang.
"What's that look on your face? My sister's willingness to marry you is a blessing you've earned over several lifetimes!" Zhang Yanchu said with indignation, looking at the reluctant Jiang Yuanrang standing behind.
"I..."
Jiang Yuanrang couldn't quite hide the expression on his face—he'd thought Wen Xiu didn't want to marry him.
"Sister, let's go back." Seeing Jiang Yuanrang like this, Zhang Yanchu tried to pull Wen Xiu away.
"I didn't mean I didn't want to—I just feared I might be doing Miss Wen an injustice."
Jiang Yuanrang, afraid that Zhang Yanchu might misunderstand again, hurried to explain.
"Hmph!" Zhang Yanchu gave a cold snort at these words, but the look on his face softened a little.
At least the fellow had some self-awareness—he really didn't deserve his sister.
"Sister Wen, are you truly willing to marry my elder brother?" Seeing the tense atmosphere, Li Zhiwei looked somewhat uncertainly at Wen Xiu and asked.
They had wanted to form a marriage alliance, not pick a quarrel.
If things got unpleasant over this, how could she continue to associate with Wen Xiu in the future?