Cang Xuan dug his nails hard into his palm to keep himself from losing control on the spot.
Even though Su Qing said so, Cang Xuan still stood there motionless. He was reluctant to leave, and refused to do so.
Su Yuanyuan peeked at Cang Xuan from behind Su Qing. She only dared to take one look and then quickly looked away, afraid that she would not be able to resist throwing herself into Cang Xuan's arms and holding him tightly.
She tugged at Su Qing's sleeve. Su Qing understood her intention and was about to protect her and leave for the time being. Cang Xuan said, "As my adoptive father said, let's just pretend that nothing happened today. I'm still your adopted son. So tonight, I've decided to stay in the Prince Qing's Mansion, in the Junyi Pavilion that my adoptive father and mother prepared for me. Surely, adoptive father won't refuse this small request of mine, Yun Jian?"
No, absolutely not!
Su Yuanyuan was extremely anxious. She looked up at the sky and suddenly had an idea. She said to Su Qing, "Father, drive him out of the Prince Qing's Mansion!"
As she spoke, she wrote the character "Wang" on Su Qing's back with her finger.
Su Qing's mind raced, and he immediately understood. His face darkened, and he shouted, "Chen'er, Yuan'er, Sheng'er, come on!"
The four who had just separated a short while ago, at Su Yuanyuan's order, got back into the fight again. They gradually forced Cang Xuan towards the main gate of the Prince Qing's Mansion.
While dealing with them, Cang Xuan looked at the young girl and said hoarsely, "Do you really have to be so heartless and not even give me a single chance? Are all the words you said to me before, all the affection between us, just for nothing?"
Su Yuanyuan's hand hidden under her sleeve was trembling violently. She didn't dare to look into Cang Xuan's eyes, afraid that she would change her mind.
She raised her hand to her lips and whistled. Three half - human - tall black dogs sprang out from the bushes and pounced on Cang Xuan together with Su Qing and the others.
Turning around, Su Yuanyuan said, "Heiying, Heiye, Heifeng, don't let him step into the Prince Qing's Mansion even half a step. Only leave after you've seen him return to his own home!"
"Woof!"
Outside the Prince Qing's Mansion, the long betrothal gift procession was still patiently waiting for the order from the host family to carry the gifts in. The on - looking commoners around had never left. They waited patiently, craning their necks from time to time towards the closed main gate of the Prince Qing's Mansion, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Do you think the Prince Qing will accept the betrothal gifts from the Prince Cang and form an even closer relationship with the Prince Cang?" the commoners chatted merrily in the crowd.
"Why not? The Prince Cang is highly regarded by the Emperor. He not only serves as the chief assistant of the cabinet but is also conferred the title of Prince Cang. I think that sooner or later, the Prince Cang will be promoted to a higher rank. Only a fool would refuse!"
"I don't think so. If I were the Prince Qing, with only one daughter, I would never let her marry so easily. Think about it. The Prince Cang has only recognized the Prince Qing as his adoptive father for a short time, and now he wants to marry the Prince Qing's daughter. It's obvious that he has ulterior motives!"
The commoners were discussing heatedly when a man sent by the Wang family to gather information tentatively said, "The Prince Cang advocates holding an imperial examination on a large scale and recruiting talents widely, saying it's for the sake of giving everyone in the world a fair chance to compete. But the Prince Qing's Mansion has a sworn - brother relationship with him. The second and third sons of the Su family, as well as the Princess Fubao, all got the first place in the imperial examination. Could this be the Prince Cang's deliberate act?"
His words caught the attention of the commoners. Secretly delighted, he continued, "The Emperor listens to the slander of this villain, Cang Xuan, and has made the court in a complete mess. This imperial examination, which is said to be beneficial to the country and the people, is actually just a means for the Prince Cang to cultivate his own party and win over talents. The marriage between the two families today further proves this point!"
"The Prince Qing holds the capital's army in his hand. The second son of the Su family got the first place in the selection of the imperial guards. These are the two elite armies in Shengjing City. The Princess Fubao entered the Imperial College. There are the smartest scholars in the Great Chu in the Imperial College, which is equivalent to controlling the source of talents in the Great Chu first. If the two families really get married, the Great Chu will fall into the hands of this treacherous villain, Cang Xuan. He is planning to..." The man made a slashing motion across his neck with his hand.
The commoners immediately got goosebumps and looked at each other.
No way?
Could what this man said be true?
Just then, there was a commotion in the crowd: "It's open! The gate is open! Is the Prince Qing going to accept these betrothal gifts?"
To everyone's surprise, they saw the once - high - spirited Prince Cang, who had been riding on a tall horse, being driven out of the door by Su Qing and the three brothers of the Su family. He staggered a few steps. Although he was supported by his attendants, his back still looked a bit embarrassed.
After driving Cang Xuan out of the door, Su Qing pointed at his nose angrily and said, "You villain! I took you as my adopted son because I saw that you were orphaned and seemed upright. Who would have thought that after you recognized me as your adoptive father, you had such dirty thoughts and set your sights on your adoptive sister. From now on, I, Su Qing, will sever all ties with you. Don't you ever call me adoptive father again!"
Su Huaichen stood beside Su Qing with a cold face and said, "If I see you getting close to my sister in the future, I'll beat you every time I see you!"
Su Huaisheng spat in the direction of Cang Xuan and said, "Even if my sister never gets married, she will never marry a treacherous person like you!"
"Adoptive father, younger brothers, please listen to my explanation." Cang Xuan tried to step forward to explain. At this time, three more big black dogs ran out of the Prince Qing's Mansion and blocked in front of Su Qing and the others, barking wildly at Cang Xuan.
Cang Xuan had no choice but to take two steps back. He bowed deeply to Su Qing and the others with his hands clasped in front of him and said, "Thank you, Prince Qing and others, for taking care of me all these days." Then, he and his attendants mounted their horses and left with a considerable amount of betrothal gifts.
Afraid that he would come back, the three big black dogs chased after the horses, barking at Cang Xuan.
The commoners were stunned. They couldn't believe that things had taken such a turn.
The Prince Cang's proposal of marriage had actually failed?! Weren't the two families on very good terms? In the past two days, the Princess Fubao and the Prince Cang had even given free medical consultations together. They seemed to be a perfect match!
Just because of this incident, they had actually severed all ties and turned against each other?
After the main gate of the Prince Qing's Mansion was firmly closed and the figure of the Prince Cang had disappeared, the crowd was like oil in a hot pan, boiling with a "boom".
"Oh my God! The Prince Cang's proposal of marriage actually failed this time?!"
"The Prince Qing has even called the Prince Cang a villain. It seems that he really doesn't want to marry his daughter to him, right?"
"So, when looking for a wife, don't choose a girl who is the only daughter in the family. They are all so precious. How could they be easily married off?"
"Right, right. That's exactly the case."
The man sent by the Wang family to gather information was also dumbfounded. The development was completely different from what the master had expected. He had to quickly send this news back to the mansion to let the master know!