Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

Zong Xian's warm fingers caressed her pale cheek, but he only asked softly, "Would you be willing to stay by my side for the rest of your life?"

Having just been threatened by him, how could she dare say she didn't want to?

The girl said timidly, with a hint of ingratiation, "I am of course willing."

Zong Xian smiled with satisfaction: "That's right, since we've already been intimate, you can only follow me."

A woman's chastity and purity are of paramount importance. If she engages in illicit relations without a matchmaker, she will be condemned by everyone and forced to drown herself.

Even if Mingyi doesn't try to clear her name, she will still find it difficult to move forward in the future because of the damage to her reputation. In this world, it is already difficult for women to live.

Mingyi lowered her eyes, concealing the hatred in them.

"Remember what you said today, behave yourself, and don't make me angry."

After saying this, Zong Xian stood up. He did not intend to tell her about taking a concubine for the time being.

I'll give her a surprise later.

After saying that, Zong Xian let Mingyi go back.

The two had just had such a big conflict, and he just brushed it off so lightly. Mingyi felt uneasy, but she didn't dare to ask any further questions.

I returned to Shuangxu Garden.

Mingyi went to visit Granny Feng in the side room again.

Granny Feng, lying injured on the couch, saw her arrive and immediately asked anxiously, "Did you quarrel with the master, young lady?"

Mingyi sat down by the bed and comforted her, "It's nothing, don't worry, Granny. Let me check your injury."

Granny Feng was a little embarrassed because the injury was on her buttocks. "I already had Ning Shuang and Ning Xue help me apply the medicine. It's nothing serious."

What she called "applying medicine" was simply grabbing some random hemostatic herbs from outside and applying them.

After all, she was just a lowly servant, and the master would not go to great lengths to find a doctor for a servant.

Mingyi knew perfectly well what was going on, and frowned, saying, "I am the doctor. If you want to recover quickly, you should listen to me."

Only then did Granny Feng realize that Mingyi was knowledgeable in medicine. She was deeply moved and obediently spread out the affected area for her to see.

The servants who carried out the execution stopped, and although the injury looked severe, it was not actually broken. He would recover after a few days of rest.

Mingyi felt relieved and personally applied the medicine to Granny Feng.

What master would go to such lengths?

"You've treated me so well, young lady. I have no way to repay you."

"What are you saying, Granny? You suffered an undeserved calamity because of me. It is my incompetence that prevented me from protecting you. This is all I could do."

Mingyi first took the blame upon himself, and then affirmed Feng Mama's hard work in Shuangxu Garden.

With a few sweet words, he coaxed Granny Feng into giving him her heart and soul.

Mingyi sighed again, and seeing this, Granny Feng quickly asked, "Miss, is something troubling you?"

Mingyi shook her head, looking dejected. "It's nothing, I just miss home."

Granny Feng didn't know much about Mingyi's background, only that she lost her parents at a young age and had no one to rely on with her younger brother.

Originally, it was thought that the Zong family's power would be an excellent destination for Mingyi.

But now it seems that Master Zong is domineering and controlling, restricting her in every way, even dictating the time she can go out, let alone go home to visit her family.

This isn't treating her like a human being; it's clearly treating her like a caged bird.

After this experience, Granny Feng understood Mingyi's predicament even more, and felt so sorry for her that she could no longer tell her to stay in the Zong family mansion.

Mingyi forced a gentle smile and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I don't have much to do here anyway, and Ning Shuang and the others are taking care of me. Just focus on recovering, Granny. I'll be going now."

Ning Shuang happened to bring in the water and stepped aside to let her go first.

But Mingyi did not leave immediately after going out; instead, she moved around to the window and stopped.

Apart from Yuegui, the other four maids in Shuangxu Garden were all brought by Granny Feng, and they all obeyed Granny Feng's orders.

"Miss Ji is a good person, it's a pity that she was targeted by such a powerful and noble person... I just heard from the servants in the manor that His Majesty has already bestowed a marriage upon the Second Master, to a princess."

The speaker was Ning Shuang, and her words were full of sympathy and pity.

"Granny, do you think there will still be a place for our young lady in this mansion after the princess marries in?"

Ning Shuang once naively thought that Zong Xian would marry Ming Yi.

After all, he went to such great lengths to bring her back from Qingzhou, as if he couldn't live without her.

Only now have I come to realize the truth: the more powerful and wealthy a man is, the more fickle and ungrateful he is.

First he took in two beauties, and now he's preparing to marry his first wife. Who knows how many more women will line up to come in after that? If they keep putting their daughters down, they'll probably be completely forgotten in the end.

Granny Feng sighed softly and said, "From now on, let the young lady do whatever she wants. We just need to do our duty. In this Zong family mansion, the young lady is our mistress."

Granny Feng's words were telling Ning Shuang that she no longer needed to report every detail of Shuangxu Garden to that person.

Ning Shuang naturally agreed.

Granny Feng added, "Also convey my words to Caiyun and the others."

"Ning Shuang understands."

Outside the window, Mingyi raised the corners of her lips and walked away leisurely.

...

The news of Zong Xian's engagement to the princess spread quickly, causing a great uproar.

Zong Xian was already a close minister of the emperor, with immense power and prestige. With this marriage to the general's family, he was like a tiger with wings.

Once the die is cast, who in the court can challenge him?

After the morning court session, Wei Zhao made his way to the Empress Dowager's palace in a flurry of activity, taking many detours.

He and Zong Xian had long been at odds, and he absolutely could not stand by and watch Zong Xian grow stronger.

"We implore the Empress Dowager to intervene and persuade His Majesty to rescind his decree!"

The Empress Dowager remained calm, looking at Wei Zhao without any expression: "Zong Xian just wants to marry the princess, why should we stop him?"

Wei Zhao was taken aback, took a half step forward, and said in a serious tone, "But if he marries the princess, he will be tied to the General of the North, indirectly controlling 300,000 troops, which will have endless consequences!"

"So what?" The Empress Dowager smiled lightly, not caring much, and raised her hand to flick the silver incense sticks hanging from the side of the stove.

She then turned her gaze to the outside of the hall and said slowly, "My son is by nature suspicious. He is currently wary of your power, which is why he has given Zong Xian an important position to check you. But when Zong Xian holds a large army and becomes very powerful, the emperor will turn his attention to him and see him as a second you."

After a long pause, Wei Zhao finally said, "So, according to the Empress Dowager, should we just let it go?"

The Empress Dowager turned her gaze to him, somewhat impatiently: "What are you afraid of? If we rashly take action to break off the relationship now, we may easily get burned. It would be better to wait and see how things develop, and retreat to advance."

Wei Zhao's eyes darted around, and he slowly cupped his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty's insight is profound; it was I who was too hasty."

Once outside the palace, Wei Zhao's humility and respect vanished completely, leaving only a gloomy and cold expression.

A woman's perspective.

Waiting for the emperor to check and balance Zong Xian? There are too many variables, and it's a long way off. He can't afford to wait!

Zong Xian holds power. If he successfully forms a marriage alliance with the General's Mansion, he will have 300,000 border troops as a backing. By then, it will be too late to make a move.

Wei Zhao tightened his sleeves and walked out unhurriedly. If the Empress Dowager was unwilling to openly intervene, then he would find a way himself!

The Jingren Palace was quiet and still, with the fragrance of sandalwood wafting through the air.

Not long after Wei Zhao left, a handsome man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe entered the hall. When the palace servants saw him, they all lowered their heads in tacit agreement and did not stop him.

He went to the window, reached out from behind, and carefully encircled the woman's slender waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder and softly complained:

"Why hasn't the Empress Dowager summoned me lately? Is there something I've done wrong, Wang Shu?"

"presumptuous."

The Empress Dowager exuded authority without anger, and the man named Wang Shu immediately stepped back and knelt down, but he looked up at the most noble woman in the world with a pitiful yet ingratiating gaze through his peach blossom eyes.

If an outsider were here, they would be surprised to find that the man was handsome and had a striking resemblance to Fan Siyuan, the former third-ranked scholar!

There was a faint scratch on his face, which he had accidentally inflicted by a cat not long ago.

The Empress Dowager looked down at the scar, her brows furrowing and a hint of disdain in her eyes.

She said coldly, "Don't come to see me until you've healed that face."

Wang Shu subconsciously touched her face.

She left with a look of grievance and dejection.

...

Mingyi originally thought that she had angered Zongxian that day, and that a narrow-minded person like him would definitely detain her and not allow her to leave the mansion.

However, it does not.

He only said that once she recovered better, she could go out for as long as she wanted.

Mingyi was surprised that he was suddenly so easy to talk to, and even wondered if he was possessed by a ghost.

Later, she thought about it again and understood.

He must be in a good mood because he is preparing to marry the princess and form a marriage alliance with the general's family, so he has no time to pay attention to her.

Inside Baixianglou.

Fan Jing said worriedly, "He's about to marry the princess, what will you do? Will he let you leave?"

Mingyi, however, recalled the incident in the original novel where Princess Jianing died suddenly shortly after Zongxian married her...