Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress

Bi Lian wept, "Nanny, you need not console me anymore. I have been married to him for a full three years. I have held nothing back from him except my heart and liver. Yet, he has not consummated the marriage with me even once. He even deliberately went to the north to manage some business there to avoid me. He’s been gone for three years. Every time he comes back, he treats me as if I’m invisible. Do you know how people in the mansion gossip about me and mock me behind my back? Do you know how much it hurts? Nanny, my life is so bitter..."

The nanny cooed comfortingly, "Madam, you need not utter these dispiriting words. You’re Old Madame’s own niece, who in the household dares to be disrespectful to you? And if the young master doesn’t wish to consummate the marriage with you, it’s nothing serious. Old Madame gave him chambermaids and concubines, but he hasn’t favored any of them either, has he? It’s not just you. Why be melancholy?"

Madam Bi, comforted by the nanny’s words, felt a little better. After wiping her tears she sighed, "You do make sense, nanny, but my heart still feels uneasy. I don’t care about the other concubines. My only worry is how much longer do I have to wait? Although he is gentle in nature, I grew up with him and know that his gentleness is but a facade. In truth, he is the most stubborn of all. If he makes up his mind, even if there’s a knife on his neck he won’t back down. I’m afraid that even if I wait a lifetime, he may never come back to me..."

The words of Bi Lian terrified the nanny. Twelve years ago, she had taken young Bi Lian and fled from the old lady’s hometown in Tanzhou to reside in the Huo mansion. You could say she watched Huo Yuan grow up. She knew his temperament inside out. This child was always so stubborn that not even ten bulls could drag him back.

When he was thirteen, Ning Yuanchao, the child of Prime Minister Ning Jushan, once mocked him for being a vulgar businessman, covered with the smell of copper. Hence, he took a bet with Young Master Ning, wagering who would have higher literary talent and whose poem could move people more, in three years time.

Ning Yuanchao was the youngest son of Great Jin’s famous literary giant, Prime Minister Ning Jushan. He was extraordinarily intelligent from a young age and very much like his father. He was widely known as the Great Jin’s prodigy. He began his studies at four, could write poetry independently at six, and had become famous nationwide by twelve.

On the other hand, although Young Master Huo also studied from a young age, his family focused more on grooming him into a businessman. Hence, he wasn’t very proficient in literature.

Back then, when everyone heard that he had challenged Ning Yuanchao and that the loser would have to leave the capital forever, they couldn’t help but sigh at his ignorance and audacity.

He was meant to be the heir of the Huo family, but because of his youthful folly, he had jeopardized his future. Everyone knew that Young Master Ning was Great Jin’s famous child prodigy and talented poet. He had remarkable proficiency in poems and verses. And yet, Young Master Huo, who merely excelled in business knowledge, had dared to challenge him. And they were competing in poetry at that!

At that time, Huo Yuan’s father was still alive, and he was already considering raising another heir because of the grief caused by his son’s actions.

Subsequently, amidst everyone’s sighs of pity, Huo Yuan disappeared for three years. He only appeared again at the competition three years later.

On the day of the competition, countless people came to watch him compete with Young Master Ning. The site of the competition, Jufude Restaurant, was bustling with people. Even the street downstairs was packed. Some even started gambling on the outcome of the competition, but most people bet on Young Master Ning’s victory.