The Farm Girl's Charismatic Fortune-Chapter 362 - 358 This is the Will of Heaven

The Minister of Revenue listened to his daughter’s words and said only, "We’ll see what the Prince An Residence decides. If they want to retract the betrothal, it can only be the Prince An Residence that does it. If we were to retract the betrothal, that would be defying the imperial command and disrespecting authority."

Xuanyuan Jie was the Emperor’s own nephew and the Empress Dowager’s own grandson. It was most appropriate for him to speak with the Empress Dowager and explain the situation to retract the marriage.

Although defying the imperial command is disrespectful, family matters can always be discussed among ourselves. Moreover, marriage is a private affair. If it’s the Prince An Residence that retracts the betrothal, it can be considered a family matter.

Gao Yan also knew that they couldn’t initiate the retraction of the betrothal. The charge of defying the imperial command and disrespecting authority was not something their family could bear, and it would also offend the Prince An Residence.

If her father dared retract the betrothal, he could forget about being promoted.

The most important thing was that, with such an unexpected boon from heaven, her father was probably secretly thrilled, right?

This was a windfall they had chanced upon. If he were thinking of retracting it, her father wouldn’t be the Minister of Revenue, but rather the minor Chief of Honglu Temple.

The Minister of Revenue was always shrewd and calculating, keen on taking advantage of situations, while the minor Chief of Honglu Temple was one known for singing well, dancing well, and being adept at socializing.

Gao Yan thought of Xuanyuan Jie’s devastated appearance and felt somewhat assured he would likely seek to retract the betrothal.

He would go retract the betrothal, wouldn’t he?

She didn’t want to get married!

To get married and share one man with several women, and to help the man to take care of his entire household, how was that beneficial?

Not to mention the Minister of Revenue, the Minister’s wife was actually quite happy. Both sons of the Prince An Residence were quite fine, and the Prince An’s wife was personally chosen by the Empress Dowager as her daughter-in-law; her character was also very good.

She got along with the Prince An’s wife too.

It would be nice for the two families to become relatives through marriage.

Pity that her daughter didn’t like Xuanyuan Jie.

She could also tell that Xuanyuan Jie had feelings for Princess Wuyou.

But who in the entire Capital City didn’t know that Princess Wuyou was promised to the Ninth Prince?

She asked her daughter, "Did Princess Wuyou receive flowers from the Ninth Prince?"

Gao Yan, "Of course! The Ninth Prince even made another gold flower for Xuanbao, much larger and prettier than the one arranged by the Ministry of Rites."

Hearing this, the Minister’s wife thought the chances of retraction weren’t high.

The Prince An’s wife knew her son fancied Princess Wuyou, but now there was no possibility between her second son and Princess Wuyou.

As a mother, she naturally hoped her son would marry soon and move on from his past feelings.

She could understand; the Prince An’s wife had once praised her daughter greatly in front of her; she could tell she had her eyes on her daughter. But then, Princess Wuyou came back, and probably after gauging her second son’s feelings, there was no follow-up.

The Minister’s wife said, "If the Prince An Residence does not retract the betrothal, marrying their second son wouldn’t be too bad for you."

Gao Yan’s eyes widened, "Mother, what are you talking about? The second son fancies Xuanbao!"

The Minister’s wife, "It’s very normal for a man to have a first love before marriage. He likes Princess Wuyou, but he can’t fancy Princess Wuyou forever and cannot remain unmarried for life. Now that Princess Wuyou is betrothed to the Ninth Prince, it’s natural for him to set his heart straight. Besides, think about it, how many young masters in the entire Capital City can compare to him?"

"And if the Prince An Residence does not go to the Emperor to retract the betrothal, what will you do? Your mother still advises you to be prepared. This is the consequence of picking up that flower for no reason. Fortunately, it was the second son’s flower that you picked. If it had been the Prince’s, then what?"

Gao Yan couldn’t be bothered to talk more with her mother, "The second son will retract the betrothal."

"And if he doesn’t?"

Gao Yan did not speak; there was no way he wouldn’t retract.

~

At the Prince An Residence, after Xuanyuan Jie received the imperial edict, he prepared to enter the palace.

The Prince An’s wife grabbed him, "Where are you going?"

Xuanyuan Jie, "This marriage was a mistake. I did not give the flower to Miss Gao, and... she has already returned the flower to me. I am going to the palace to explain the situation to the Empress Dowager and ask the Emperor to retract his decree!"

Xuanyuan Jie also explained to the Prince An’s wife how the flower came to be in Gao Yan’s possession.

The Prince An’s wife, "You must not go!"

The Empress Dowager was always kind and understood things clearly. Moreover, because she dearly loved her grandchildren, Xuanyuan Jie entering the palace to request the retraction of the marriage would definitely result in the Empress Dowager agreeing to it.

But retract? What was there to retract?

Gao Yan had originally been the daughter-in-law she first set her sights on.

Now, it all came together by a fluke.

Of course, she also liked Princess Wuyou, but if fate would have it so, there was nothing she could do.

She had tried her best for her son, and the Empress Dowager had given him a chance.

But who could blame him for not finding someone to deliver the flowers and even losing them?

It was the will of heaven!

Moreover, the emperor must have already bestowed Princess Wuyou to the ninth prince by now, so her own son must absolutely not entertain any hopes.

That would be disrespectful to his own brothers!

And she felt this was a marriage ordained by heaven; otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence?

Xuanyuan Jie widened his eyes, "What does Mother mean? Not calling off the marriage, could it be that I must marry Miss Gao? I don’t even like her."

The Princess of Prince An Residence said, "Can you marry the woman you like?"

Xuanyuan Jie was silent.

Was this really his mother?

Wasn’t this like stabbing him in the lung?

The Princess of Prince An Residence said, "No matter what, this marriage cannot be called off. If you do, how will people view Miss Gao? Which noble family would dare marry her then? Miss Gao has done nothing wrong to you; don’t you harm her!"

Xuanyuan Jie was silent.

Although what Mother said was true, still,

"Wouldn’t it harm her if I don’t like her and marry her either?"

The Princess of Prince An Residence said, "Then start liking her! Just because you do not like her now does not mean you will not like her in the future."

Xuanyuan Jie was silent.

This was simply a failure to communicate!

The Princess of Prince An Residence continued, "Although you do not like her, you can at least show her the respect she deserves. She will not suffer when she marries into our family, but if she is rejected, she can only marry below her station, and after an imperial decree is issued to that effect, who knows what kind of life she’ll lead."

Xuanyuan Jie felt his head swell with frustration!

He and Gao Yan had played together since they were children; naturally, he hoped she would have a good future.

The Princess of Prince An Residence said, "Moreover, I do not agree to you calling off the marriage. You go and tell the Empress Dowager, and I’ll tell her too that the engagement won’t be called off. Gao Yan was originally the daughter-in-law I had my eyes on."

Xuanyuan Jie’s lips twitched, "Then Mother might as well marry her yourself, that way she’s still wedded into the Prince An Residence! I wouldn’t need to worry about her marrying poorly or living unhappily."

The Princess of Prince An Residence kicked him!

"Fine, go call off the engagement. Today you call it off, and tomorrow I’ll just randomly settle another marriage for you! You have to marry whether you like it or not. Whom you marry is irrelevant since you don’t care for any, so why not marry someone you know at least? Miss Gao is someone you recognize."

Xuanyuan Jie laughed bitterly, speechless. He returned to his own courtyard, needing to think of a plan.

The Princess of Prince An Residence understood her son well. Gao Yan was a good girl; she believed that one day her son would come to like her.

*

Ruo Family

Yan Jiaojiao, upon learning that Ruo Xuan had received flowers from Xuanyuan Que, and that they were exceptionally special, ran over with an unfinished wedding dress to see Ruo Xuan.

"Xuanbao, show me the flowers the ninth cousin sent you."

Ruo Xuan brought them out for her to see.

Looking at the lifelike Xuancao Flower, Yan Jiaojiao exclaimed, "Only the ninth cousin could craft such a realistic flower, you can even see the texture of the petals."

Ruo Xuan smiled, unable to deny this.

After admiring it, Yan Jiaojiao said, "Xuanbao, now that your marriage is set, let’s embark on our embroidery for the trousseau together!"

Upon hearing this, Ruo Xuan asked, "What should we embroider?"