Luck Reliant Beauty – CH 114

Chapter 114: Cui Zi Xuan Proposes

Back in her room, Jiang Mi was still restless. She thought for a moment and decided to return to the Jiang Mansion to explain the situation to the Three Mothers and ask for their opinions.

So, Jiang Mi went out again.

Shu Capital was quite bustling today, with a constant flow of traffic. Jiang Mi’s carriage got stuck in the street.

Jiang Mi was preoccupied and did not notice this. When she noticed the carriage had not moved for a while, she lifted the curtain to ask what was wrong. Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from behind, “Ah’Mi!”

It was Fan Yuxiu was voice!

Ever since she’d slapped the Emperor of Shu, Jiang Mi had not contacted her former friends to avoid implicating them. Seeing Fan Yuxiu running towards her without any hesitation, Jiang Mi was deeply moved.

Fan Yuxiu was riding a horse. She squeezed next to Jiang Mi, met her bright eyes, gave a few instructions to the people behind her, and then climbed onto Jiang Mi’s carriage, sitting beside her.

Fan Yuxiu pulled Jiang Mi’s arm, making her face her, and whispered, “Ah’Mi, I heard that the leader of the Southern Tang is really your former elder brother, Jiang Wu?”

Jiang Mi nodded.

Fan Yuxiu, however, did not seem pleased. She frowned and said, “If he’s your elder brother, why did he ask His Majesty for your hand in marriage?”

Jiang Mi smiled and said, “Elder Brother probably did it to protect me.”

Fan Yuxiu looked up, stared at Jiang Mi for a moment, bit her lip, and suddenly said, “But I heard that your Elder Brother has a fiancée in the Southern Tang!”

Jiang Mi was startled.

Before Jiang Mi could decide whether to be happy or unhappy, Fan Yuxiu continued, “And I heard from Elder Brother that when Li Wu proposed to His Majesty, he did not say he would make you his principal wife!”

Seeing Jiang Mi’s bewildered expression, Fan Yuxiu bit her lip and said, “How could Li Wu do that? Marriage is so important to a woman! He and you are siblings. Even if he wanted to protect you, he wouldn’t have to marry you himself. Besides, he already has another wife!” She paused, then said seriously, “Ah’Mi, ever since I saw your Elder Brother again, I feel like he’s a completely different person… Think about it carefully. Does he really want to protect you, or does he want to ruin you?”

Jiang Mi was speechless.

After a while… Jiang Mi lowered her eyes and said, “I will ask around.”

“You should ask around,” Fan Yuxiu said. “I don’t know if I’m seeing things, but I always feel like you’re carefully trying to please your elder brother, as if you’re afraid of angering him… Ah’Mi, this concerns your entire future; this is not the time to be confused!”

Fan Yuxiu had come specifically to meet Jiang Mi. After warning her, because Jiang Mi was now someone the Emperor of Shu disliked, Fan Yuxiu did not want too many people to notice them together, so she mounted her horse and rode away.

After Fan Yuxiu left, Jiang Mi kept thinking. After a while, she decisively said, “Back to the embassy!”

“Yes!”

This time, Jiang Mi waited until night deepened and no one was seen in Li Wu’s room before going to find him.

She arrived at the door. Jiang Mi knocked on the door and called out, “Brother, are you there?”

A moment later, Li Wu’s indifferent voice came through, “Yes.”

Never before had Jiang Mi listened to Li Wu’s voice so calmly. She looked up, letting the wind blow through her hair, thinking to herself, “Since our reunion, Elder Brother has never been truly gentle with me, not even when speaking!”

Thinking this, she slowly pushed open the door and entered.

Li Wu was sitting on the tatami mat, perusing bamboo slips. Hearing Jiang Mi’s footsteps, he did not look up, and Jiang Mi noticed that his brow furrowed slightly.

Jiang Mi slowly walked to the opposite side of Li Wu and sat down gracefully.

After a while, Jiang Mi whispered, “Brother, why do you want to marry me?”

Li Wu ignored her.

Jiang Mi raised her head, looked earnestly at Li Wu, and said in a trembling voice, “Brother, this is very important to me!” She paused, then said, “Your answer is very important to me!”

Jiang Mi had always been a gentle person, almost obedient to those around her. Even when Li Wu was still Jiang Wu, she always relied on him. Even with servants like the Three Mothers, once Jiang Mi realized they genuinely cared for her, she always did her best to fulfill their requests, no matter how difficult they were!

This personality trait of Jiang Mi was formed after her mother became seriously ill. As a child, Jiang Mi, spoiled by her parents, was sometimes willful. But when she was eleven, she ran away from Wu City with her friends without telling her family, causing her mother to search for her in the pouring rain, catching a cold that eventually became chronic and led to her death. From that moment on, Jiang Mi carried a deep-seated resentment. She always felt that if she had obeyed her mother and had not run away, causing her to be frightened and catch a cold, her mother would not have died, and she would not have become an orphan.

It could be said that, given Jiang Mi’s personality, when she acted tough in front of Li Wu, she was usually preparing for the worst.

Li Wu slowly raised his head.

By the flickering candlelight, he gazed at the beautiful young woman bathed in its glow. After a moment, Li Wu put down the bamboo scroll, crossed his arms, and said coldly, “You want to know why I’m marrying you?”

Jiang Mi whispered, “Yes!”

“That’s a good question,” Li Wu said irritably. “The reason is simple: my Prince’s Mansion is vast; supporting one more person is no problem at all!”

Jiang Mi lowered her eyes and said in a hoarse voice, “Elder Brother wants to protect me, so we don’t need a formal marriage…”

Li Wu sneered. He said mockingly, “No formal marriage? You mean, take you back as a Little Sister? And then find you a suitable Lord to marry?”

Jiang Mi looked up at him.

Her eyes were glistening; clearly, what Li Wu said was exactly what she meant. Upon realizing this, Li Wu’s expression darkened. He said sarcastically, “You want to go back to the way things were? Forget it; such a thing is impossible!”

Seeing Jiang Mi stubbornly staring at him, Li Wu’s expression grew even more somber. After a while, he picked up a book and said impatiently, “You are Xu’s daughter. I’m already being generous by giving you food because of your beauty. To pamper you like a little sister? Do you deserve it?”

…

Jiang Mi stood up and turned to leave. As she reached the door, she leaned against it and glanced back at Li Wu.

Although she had always refused to admit it, she now understood that this man sitting by candlelight, with his dignified face and cold expression, was completely different from her elder brother. Her Elder Brother had a kind face and a gentle smile, but this man before her did not… This man always looked at her with impatience, and he always spoke to her with restraint!

…

Just as Jiang Mi stepped out of the room, several Southern Tang envoys strode towards her. Jiang Mi had only taken a dozen steps, reaching the shade of a camphor tree, when she heard a voice report to Li Wu: “My Lord, Cui Zi Xuan requests an audience!”

Cui Zi Xuan?

Jiang Mi quickly turned around.

From inside the room, Li Wu’s voice suddenly turned angry; he roared, “What does he want? I will not see him!”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Just then, a clear and leisurely voice rang out from the doorway, “Is Li Wu here? Cui Zi Xuan requests an audience!”

The voice said, “Requests an audience,” but as soon as it faded, everyone saw Cui Zi Xuan stride in, surrounded by a dozen guards.

Cui Zi Xuan’s steps were hurried, completely unlike his usual composed demeanor. As he drew closer, Jiang Mi, standing in an inconspicuous corner under the shade of a tree, noticed that his black robe was stained with mud, a corner of the sleeve was torn, and he had lost a considerable amount of weight. His dark circles were very prominent, and his eyes, set against his handsome face with its bluish stubble, were strikingly bright!

This travel-worn appearance of Cui Zi Xuan was something none of the people present had ever seen before.

As soon as Li Wu stepped out of the room, he was confronted by Cui Zi Xuan’s appearance.

Li Wu burst into laughter. After a while, he mocked, “What’s going on? How come Young Master Cui has become as thin as a withered flower and as filthy as a drowned chicken in just a few months?”

Among the Southern Tang members, quite a few were at odds with Cui Zi Xuan. Hearing Li Wu’s words, they also joined in the laughter.

Many people laughed, and occasionally someone remarked, “Everyone says that even on the execution ground, Cui Zi Xuan would be elegant; it’s rare to see him so disheveled.”

Cui Zi Xuan paid no heed to their mockery. He strode up to Li Wu, bowed deeply, and then Jiang Mi heard Cui Zi Xuan’s hoarse yet solemn voice say, “Elder Li, I, Young Master Cui, have come in haste, visiting you late at night, to ask for your sister’s hand in marriage!”