Lady Mo led her entourage hurriedly to the front hall, while Su Yuanyuan looked at herself in the mirror.
The woman in the mirror had rosy cheeks and glistening eyes, clearly looking smitten.
Finally, finally, Brother Yunjian was coming to propose marriage. Su Yuanyuan's heart fluttered like a little rabbit hopping merrily. Picking up the ivory comb on the table, she carefully combed her hair.
When Cang Xuan arrived at the Prince Qing's Mansion with the matchmaker and gifts, he deliberately walked very slowly. The journey that should have taken only two sticks of incense to complete actually took him half an hour.
He did this for no other reason than to let all the citizens of the city and all the powerful forces know that he, Cang Xuan, was going to propose marriage to Su Yuanyuan, the legitimate daughter of the Prince Qing's Mansion and the Princess Fubao.
When Cang Xuan arrived outside the Prince Qing's Mansion, Su Qing and Su Huaichen had just returned from the Capital Military Camp. On the way, they had heard about this from the common people, so they had specifically waited outside.
The horse stopped outside the mansion. Cang Xuan dismounted, his cloak fluttering in the wind. He took two steps forward, clasped his hands in salute, and said, "Yunjian pays respects to my adoptive father."
Su Qing squinted and sized Cang Xuan up and down. Seeing that Cang Xuan was dressed even more grandly today than when he had come to recognize his adoptive father, he secretly nodded in approval, very satisfied with Cang Xuan's solemnity.
Just now, Su Qing had learned from Su Huaichen that the Wang family had come to propose marriage to Su Yuanyuan, and he had been so angry that he had punched a training stone in the Capital Military Camp to pieces.
Logically speaking, upon learning that Cang Xuan also wanted to marry his precious daughter, he should have been extremely unhappy. But perhaps due to the comparison with the Wang family and the fact that Cang Xuan had always taken good care of Su Yuanyuan, at this moment, he found Cang Xuan extremely pleasing to the eye.
"Come in," Su Qing snorted, flung his sleeve forcefully, and then turned around and strode into the Prince Qing's Mansion.
As this was a matter of great importance regarding Su Yuanyuan's marriage, Lady Mo, as well as Wei Linlang, Su Huayuan, Su Huaisheng, and others, had all been waiting in the main hall of the Prince Qing's Mansion for a long time.
Seeing Su Qing and Cang Xuan return together, Lady Mo first stood up and greeted Su Qing. She tidied up his clothes, which were a bit messy because of his hasty return, and then led him to sit on the main seat. Only then did she turn to Cang Xuan and said with a smile:
"Yunjian, you've made such a big fuss today and brought so many gifts. What's your intention?"
As soon as Lady Mo finished speaking, everyone present looked at Cang Xuan, nervously waiting for his answer.
Cang Xuan's gaze swept across the main hall imperceptibly. Not finding the figure he had been longing for day and night, he lowered his eyes to hide his emotions. Standing in the middle of the main hall, he clasped his hands and bowed respectfully to Lady Mo and Su Qing.
"Yunjian was an orphan since childhood. I grew up with Master Ziji Zhenren in the Ziji Taoist Temple on Zitan Mountain. I never knew what a family was like, nor did I know the feeling of being cared for by relatives. These days, thanks to the care of my adoptive father, adoptive mother, and my younger brothers, I've finally understood what a family and relatives are."
"Adop—" Su Huayuan was about to speak when Su Huaisheng pinched him. He let out an "ouch" and glared angrily at Su Huaisheng. "Third brother, why did you pinch me?"
Su Huaisheng winked at him, hinting for him to keep quiet.
Cang Xuan ignored this scene and continued, "And the reason why I've been able to have all this is entirely thanks to my younger sister, Su Yuanyuan."
"I first met my younger sister in the Qingyi Garden. Seeing her being pushed into the water, I couldn't bear to see a life pass away like this, so I stepped in to help. Unexpectedly, we had several more encounters later on. As time went by, the bond between us grew deeper and deeper. I was attracted by my younger sister's innocent, lively, smart, brave, pure, and kind nature. Before I knew it, her figure had taken root in my heart."
"I'm here today for no other reason than to ask my adoptive father and adoptive mother for my younger sister Su Yuanyuan's hand in marriage."
"I, Yunjian, swear by the Supreme Three Pure Ones that in this lifetime, I will only have Su Yuanyuan as my wife. I will love, cherish, and protect her for all eternity, never letting her suffer the slightest bit of harm or grievance. I will never force her to do anything she doesn't like. As long as she doesn't want to leave the Prince Qing's Mansion, I'm willing to become a son-in-law and serve my adoptive father and adoptive mother just like she does. If she wants to go back with me, she can visit her parents whenever she wants. By my side, my younger sister can always be herself, free and unrestrained, not restricted by worldly etiquette."
His sincere words deeply touched everyone present, especially Su Qing and Lady Mo, who knew his background.
He had grown up with Ziji Zhenren. Although he hadn't truly become a Taoist, the Supreme Three Pure Ones were the deities of heaven and earth. His swearing by the deities showed his feelings and determination towards Su Yuanyuan. If he ever broke his oath in the future, he would surely be punished.
But clearly, with his status, if he were to restore order and return to his rightful position in the future, he could marry as many concubines and secondary wives as he wanted, and countless women would be willing to throw themselves at him.
After Cang Xuan finished speaking, he remained in the posture of bowing with clasped hands and didn't get up. He didn't move a single muscle, which showed his determination.
What Lady Mo had been worried about was that her daughter would be wronged because of Cang Xuan's status in the future. But now that he had said so, she had no more concerns. So she turned her gaze to Su Qing, hinting for him to express his opinion first.
Su Qing suppressed his satisfaction with Cang Xuan, coughed twice forcefully, and pretended to be serious as he said, "Yunjian, I know you're not as ruthless, scheming, and deep - seated as the rumors say. You're resourceful, highly skilled in martial arts, and extremely talented. Throughout the entire Shengjing, even the whole Great Chu, there are very few people who can match you. There are plenty of people outside who want to marry their daughters to you or recruit you as their son - in - law, but I, Su Qing, am different."
Su Qing said seriously with a straight face, "I, Su Qing, only have this one daughter in my life. I'm afraid she'll fall if I hold her in my hands and afraid she'll melt if I put her in my mouth. Even if you swear by the Supreme Three Pure Ones, I still won't easily betroth my daughter to you."
Cang Xuan had long expected Su Qing's answer. He said, "Adoptive father can test me as much as you like. I will never back down."
"Good!" Su Qing shouted. He stood up, stretched his limbs, and said to Cang Xuan, "Since you said you'll love, cherish, and protect her for all eternity and never let her suffer any harm, then let me test your martial arts to see if you can protect her!"
After saying that, without waiting for Cang Xuan to react, Su Qing formed his palm into a claw and pounced on Cang Xuan.
Cang Xuan was also very quick. Just as Su Qing was about to grab the corner of his clothes, he used his light - body technique to dodge the attack. The two of them started to fight in the main hall. This made Su Huayuan exclaim in surprise immediately:
"Dad, you're breaking the rules! How can you fight with our adoptive brother before me!"
His eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up and pounced on the two of them. "If you want to marry my sister, you have to beat me first!"
Wei Linlang stared at them in disbelief. "Isn't this the one breaking the rules? Isn't this ganging up on one person?"
The next moment, Su Huaichen also stood up, flexed his wrists, and without saying a word, joined the fight.
If the eldest and second brothers were both in the fight, how could Su Huaisheng lag behind?
In the blink of an eye, Cang Xuan's "enemies" had changed from just Su Qing to all four members of the Su family.