When Ji Yunqing returned to the mansion, he told Wen Yu the news that Li Qilun was about to lead his troops back to the capital. "You're being so stubborn now. Don't tell me you're still waiting to marry General Li? I heard you two almost got engaged before?" Ji Yunqing squinted at Wen Yu, his eyes full of inquisitiveness as if he had discovered some truth.
Hearing this, Wen Yu's heart skipped a beat.
They had been childhood sweethearts, knew each other well, and had once liked each other.
Li Qilun did hold a special place in her heart.
Moreover, both of them had been so drunk that they had lost their senses that time. So she didn't resent Li Qilun.
Seeing Wen Yu in a daze, Ji Yunqing became even more certain. Suddenly, he flew into a rage, grabbed Wen Yu by the neck, and roared, "Don't you see how dirty you are now? Li Qilun has made great contributions in this expedition. When he returns, he'll be a young general with remarkable military achievements!"
"You, a woman who has been married and served this prince, do you think you're worthy of him?"
"This prince advises you not to have any illusions. Now this prince is still willing to give you the title of a concubine. If you miss this chance, maybe in the future, you'll have to kneel and kowtow to this prince three times and nine times just to be a low - ranking concubine!"
Ji Yunqing used extremely humiliating words, as if Wen Yu was really no different from those women in the brothels.
Hearing this, anger flashed across her face. "Since I'm so dirty, what are you doing now, Your Highness? How do you know Qilun will mind?!"
Li Qilun did hold a special place in her heart, but she didn't have the idea of renewing their relationship with him. She said these words just to make Ji Yunqing feel worse.
Sure enough, as soon as she said this, Ji Yunqing began to exert more force with his hand.
Wen Yu was tightly strangled by him and felt it getting harder and harder to breathe.
But there was still a raging fire in her eyes, and her eyes were full of unyieldingness.
"Wen Yu! Are you really forcing me?"
Ji Yunqing was so angry that he even abandoned his self - reference.
He laughed out of extreme anger. Suddenly, he was silent for a moment and then said, "Now, this prince can still give you the title of a side concubine for the sake of your being the daughter of the Wen family. So, are you still not willing?"
"Aren't you about to get married? You're going to welcome a twice - married woman as a side concubine before your wedding. Aren't you afraid of offending the family of your future princess?" Wen Yu said with difficulty. With each word she said, the hand around her neck tightened a bit more.
She almost felt like she was going to suffocate.
Fortunately, Ji Yunqing still didn't intend to kill her. Just when she was about to faint, he let go.
"So, you're worried about this?" A faint smile appeared in his eyes. It seemed that Wen Yu's words had pleased him a bit. "You should have said you cared about this earlier. It would have been easier. This prince doesn't necessarily have to get married."
"If you can give this prince an heir, this prince isn't opposed to letting you sit on the position of the princess."
As Ji Yunqing said this, his eyes suddenly softened.
He looked at Wen Yu lovingly and gently stroked the red mark on her neck.
"This prince knew you couldn't have no feelings for this prince in your heart." His tone was a bit complacent, as if he had completely grasped Wen Yu's thoughts.
Hearing this, she just spat and said disdainfully, "Your Highness, are you thinking too much? Or can Your Highness leave the entire inner courtyard empty for my sake?"
"Wen Yu, don't push your luck." Ji Yunqing frowned and scolded in a low voice.
No matter how much he liked Wen Yu, he couldn't really leave the entire inner courtyard empty for a woman.
Now that he was still a prince, he could be a bit more willful.
But in the future, he was bound to ascend the throne. How could he give up the harem for Wen Yu?
This was not what a wise ruler would do!
"After all, you just can't do it. I've also said that I'll never share a husband with others!" Wen Yu sneered mockingly, her tone resolute.
These days, Ji Yunqing had been very restrained in bed in order to win her over and hadn't used his favorite methods.
But now, not only did Wen Yu not soften her attitude, but she also seemed a bit more spoiled.
He stared at the beautiful woman in front of him with a cold look in his eyes, and the cruel thought in his heart suddenly rose.
"Since you don't listen to kind advice, this prince can only deal with you in his own way!"
"If you were a proper concubine in this mansion and this prince's future princess, perhaps this prince's future princess would still have to treat you according to the rules. But if you were just a woman with no status who took away her husband's attention..."
"What do you think she would do to you?"
"However, this isn't something you should worry about now. This prince has wronged himself too much these days. It's time for you to make up for it."
—
After he was satisfied, Ji Yunqing slowly and carefully dressed himself.
When he was about to go out, he ordered the maid in a voice that Wen Yu could also hear, "Go and find some sheer veils. From now on, she's only allowed to wear these."
Wen Yu was lying limp on the bed. Fortunately, the room was dark enough. Even if she only wore sheer veils, the wounds on her body couldn't be seen clearly.
This made her feel a bit less humiliated.
Although the matter of Lady Liu hadn't had much real impact on Ji Yunqing, because Ji Yunyi had deliberately publicized it among the people, Ji Yunqing's reputation had been greatly damaged.
The simplest way to restore his reputation was for him to get married. As long as people could see that the princess was living well, the matter of Lady Liu could be easily covered up.
After all, it was quite common for men to have some amorous affairs.
Ji Yunqing's mother had always had a good impression of the second daughter of the Minister of War. She had mentioned it to Ji Yunqing several times before, but he had always evaded it.
After this incident, he had no reason to refuse anymore.
Their wedding was set on an auspicious day two weeks later.
On the day of the third prince's wedding, Li Qilun returned to the capital ahead of schedule and happened to catch up.
After Wen Yu heard the news, she originally thought about whether to take a risk and go out of the room directly to ask Li Qilun for help.
Just as she was about to try, she suddenly saw the barrage of comments flash by.
[The female lead still wants General Li to save her? How funny. She killed Pei Shen but still wants to rely on the male lead.]
[She doesn't know yet, does she? Back then, General Li didn't fail to propose marriage in time. He did it on purpose. He just didn't expect Pei Qing to get ahead of him.]
What did this mean?
The action that Wen Yu was about to call Xun Ying froze instantly.
Li Qilun had deliberately not come to propose marriage back then?
Why?
Back then, Li Qilun had gone out to fight with his father. In order to wait for him to come back, Wen Yu hadn't even thought about getting engaged for half a year after she came of age.
You should know that most noble girls in Shengjing got engaged before they came of age and got married on a good day after they came of age.
Wen Yu was also a well - known beauty in Shengjing. There were originally a large number of people coming to propose marriage, but it was her own persistence that allowed her to delay getting engaged for so long.
But after Li Qilun led his troops back to the capital, Wen Yu had wanted him to propose marriage quickly, but he was then sent by an imperial edict to suppress bandits.
The Wen family couldn't bear to see her wasting her time anymore, so they betrothed her to the Pei family.
She remembered that when she got engaged, Li Qilun had even cried loudly and constantly regretted that he hadn't proposed marriage earlier.
But why did the barrage say he had deliberately not come?
Wen Yu had a feeling that Li Qilun liked her. The Wen family's status was not low. On the contrary, the Li family was a rising family.
The Li family couldn't have hesitated because of the Wen family's low status!