"...... Well, that's true."
Wei Shuxuan looked up and clearly saw the faint smile on Xin Zizhao's face. She blushed a little, but her eyes couldn't leave his face. In fact, it seemed quite nice to be with this cold and aloof man all the time...
"What's wrong with you?" Xin Zizhao's voice sounded like a distant whisper beside her ear.
"Ah?" Wei Shuxuan snapped back to reality in a flurry and shook her head. "It's nothing."
"I saw your face was so red. I thought it was because it's too sunny here and it made your face red."
Wei Shuxuan didn't know if Xin Zizhao was just making an excuse for her or if he simply thought she was just sun - flushed.
"Yeah, maybe the sun is too strong."
Xin Zizhao seemed a bit surprised that Wei Shuxuan admitted it so straightforwardly.
"Do you want to go in and have a look?" They had been standing in front of the Wei family's mansion gate for some time.
"Okay, let's go in and take a look."
Wei Shuxuan also wanted to see what the environment was like where the original body had always lived.
The Wei family's mansion was not as grand as the Long'an General's Mansion. Instead, it was simple and unique. From the furnishings inside the house to the plants and trees, one could tell the elegance before it was deserted.
"I heard that General Wei Tu didn't like overly exaggerated house layouts. Instead, he preferred the layout of a literati's house, with the house filled with flowers and plants, giving a feeling of small bridges and flowing water."
Speaking of which, the Wei family was indeed a bit different from the Long'an General's Mansion. The Long'an General's Mansion looked more like a general's residence, while the Wei family's house seemed like the home of a calligrapher or poet, emphasizing elegance and uniqueness.
"I quite like the environment here..." Wei Shuxuan walked onto the marble small bridge over the river.
Xin Zizhao looked at Wei Shuxuan's somewhat absent - minded face, not knowing what was going on in his mind.
Fortunately, they had called a few servants to follow them when they came out. Xin Zizhao asked those servants to help Wei Shuxuan clean up the house together. It was filled with dust and cobwebs inside.
It took them a long time to clean the mansion up a bit. Xin Zizhao looked at the slightly darkening sky. "It's getting late now. Let's go back to the palace first."
Wei Shuxuan also looked up at the outside. The bright sunlight was gradually dimming into the last glimmer of twilight in the sky. It was really getting late. "Okay, then let's go back first."
After the incident with Nuhachi last time, Concubine Jie didn't dare to act against Xin Zizhao and Wei Shuxuan casually now. She could only wait for a while. Nuhachi had been imprisoned in the sky prison by Emperor Jinzheng. Xin Zizhao advised Emperor Jinzheng to spare Nuhachi's life for the time being, but no one should know that he was still alive.
"Zizhao, what's your idea?" Emperor Jinzheng only asked such a question.
"Your son just hopes that no one will die unjustly. Father, you don't want to wrongly kill anyone again, do you?" Xin Zizhao skillfully threw the question back to Emperor Jinzheng.
"Yeah, I don't want to either. I feel really sorry for General Wei Tu and General Long'an. The person I'm most sorry for is General Wei Tu. My original intention was not to kill them, but I didn't expect..." Thinking of the tragic massacre of the Wei family, Emperor Jinzheng couldn't help but feel heart - stricken. "I didn't kill Boyi, but Boyi died for me!"
"How about General Long'an?"
"Zian has gone back and told General Long'an. Although General Long'an is very happy that General Wei Tu has been cleared of his charges, he still seems to be angry with me and refuses to return to the court no matter what."
The first time Xin Zizhao met General Long'an, he thought he was a very troublesome and stubborn old man. However, Xin Zizhao had already expected General Long'an's attitude. He didn't expect General Long'an and General Wei Tu to have such a good relationship. Then, if they wanted to annul the engagement that Wei Shuxuan and Ge Zian had since childhood, wouldn't it be extremely troublesome?
Seeing Xin Zizhao completely lost in thought, Emperor Jinzheng asked him, "What are you thinking about, Zizhao?"
"...... It's nothing."
"What do you think if I bestow a marriage on you and Wei Shuxuan?" Sometimes Emperor Jinzheng just wanted to tease his cold - faced and cold - hearted son.
"For this, Father, you have to ask Wei Shuxuan herself. It's not that as long as your son is willing to marry, she will be willing to marry."
After getting along for this period of time, Xin Zizhao knew very well what kind of personality Wei Shuxuan had. She would never force herself to marry someone she didn't like just because of the imperial order. But... did Wei Shuxuan really not like him? If the answer didn't come from Wei Shuxuan's mouth, he didn't know what the real answer was.
However, his intuition told him that Wei Shuxuan liked him, but he didn't know what she was worried about, nor did he know if she was really willing to give up her freedom and be caged with him in this gilded cage.
"Nonsense! My son is so outstanding. Who wouldn't be willing to marry you!" Emperor Jinzheng frowned.
"Father, marriage requires mutual affection between two people. If one party is forced, they won't be happy after marriage. Your son doesn't want both himself and Wei Shuxuan to be unhappy. Please think twice, Father!" Xin Zizhao pleaded with Emperor Jinzheng.
"I know. I will think it over carefully."
Actually, Xin Zizhao didn't really care whether Emperor Jinzheng bestowed a marriage on him and Wei Shuxuan or not. He was more concerned about annulling the engagement between Wei Shuxuan and Ge Zian so that he could make Wei Shuxuan like him without any worries.
"If there's nothing else, your son will take his leave first."
"Okay, you may go."
Emperor Jinzheng also had a bit of a headache. He didn't know how to make up for what Wei Shuxuan had lost. After all, he was largely responsible for the current situation of the Wei family. After much thought, he still thought that bestowing a marriage was a better option. He could also tell that Wei Shuxuan should like his fifth son.
"Should I call Wei Shuxuan here to test her attitude?" Emperor Jinzheng began to struggle with this question. After thinking for a while, he decided to call Wei Shuxuan to the imperial study to test her attitude.
So, he told the little eunuch beside him to go to Fenghe Palace to find Wei Shuxuan.
The little eunuch quickly came to Fenghe Palace. When he explained his purpose to Chief Eunuch Li, Chief Eunuch Li told him that Wei Shuxuan had been called to General Long'an's mansion by the general and was not in Fenghe Palace now.
"...... Well, then this servant will go back and report to His Majesty. Thank you, Chief Eunuch Li."
"You're welcome. Take your time, Eunuch."
The little eunuch returned to the imperial study and told Emperor Jinzheng that Wei Shuxuan had gone to General Long'an's mansion.