"I've come from the border regions. I was originally sent by the young lady to check on how our future son - in - law is doing and why he has been lingering in Shengjing without returning. But I never expected..." Steward Meng drooped his eyebrows and eyes, looking displeased, and his tone was full of mockery. "The general has been living quite well in Shengjing. He even found a matchmaker to propose marriage to someone else?"
"General Li, what do you take Miss Meng of our family for? Our young master almost lost his life to save you back then!"
"The general promised to marry our young lady so that the Meng and Li families could form an alliance. Now, is General Li going to go back on his word?"
"If General Li has truly had a change of heart, he might as well just say so. Our young lady is still embroidering her dowry at home. Is General Li planning to confess his proposal to someone else on the wedding day?"
Steward Meng was born into the Meng family and was extremely loyal to them. Seeing Li Qilun insulting his young lady like this, he was filled with indignation.
Li Qilun's face flushed and then paled under his questioning.
"Steward Meng, I don't mean that. Of course, I'll marry Meng Wan. It's just..."
Before he could finish his explanation, Ji Yunqing interrupted him with a sneer.
"Just what? Could it be that what I saw today was all a misunderstanding?" Ji Yunqing said, looking at the boxes tied with red silk and the matchmaker dressed up gaudily. "This setup, isn't it a marriage proposal?"
At this, Ji Yunqing pretended to suddenly understand and asked Steward Meng in an exaggerated tone, "I'm not very familiar with the customs in the border regions. Steward Meng, could you clear up my doubts? Does this have some special meaning in the border regions?"
"Of course not!" Steward Meng was furious. He glared at Li Qilun hatefully. "General Li, although the Meng family's status is not as high as the Li family's, we shouldn't be humiliated like this. What's the meaning of your actions today?!"
At this point, Li Qilun's expression was extremely bad.
He turned to look at Wen Yu, who seemed to be out of the matter, and couldn't help but question her, "Did you have a hand in today's matter?"
Li Qilun had clashed with Ji Yunqing at her mansion last time.
Now, here again in front of her mansion, Ji Yunqing had come with people to cause him trouble.
They were determined to ruin his reputation!
"What do you mean, General Li?" Wen Yu pretended to be puzzled and covered her mouth in surprise, her voice full of confusion. "You suddenly came here with a matchmaker and blocked my door. I was just about to ask what you were thinking."
"I've already said that what happened between you and me is in the past. I told you not to dwell on it, and I won't marry you. Who would have thought that you'd find a matchmaker without saying a word."
"Even if you wanted to propose marriage to me, you should have gone through the proper channels at the Wen family. My father and brother are still alive. What's the point of coming directly to my door?"
"I'll just assume that you've forgotten these rules because you've been fighting in the border regions for too long, and I won't hold it against you. Besides, it seems that you still have an unresolved love affair in the border regions. How could you act like this?"
Wen Yu's voice was tinged with disappointment, and she shook her head and sighed as she spoke.
As soon as she said this, before Li Qilun could react, Ji Yunqing couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Today's incident was indeed a coincidence.
She did want to disrupt Li Qilun's marriage with the Meng family so that he could gain a reputation of ingratitude.
But she didn't know that Li Qilun would come directly to propose marriage today, nor did she expect that the people from the Meng family would come so quickly and just happen to catch this farce.
"Wen Yu, you've forced me into this." Li Qilun gritted his teeth and warned her in a low voice. Then he turned to Steward Meng and explained, "Steward Meng, today's incident is really a misunderstanding."
"The person I, Li Qilun, want to marry in a proper manner has always been Meng Wan."
"As for Wen Yu, I just felt pity for her because she became a widow not long after her marriage. And back when the Li family was in Shengjing, I had some connection with her."
"I came here today just out of our past friendship. I couldn't bear to see her spend the rest of her life as a lonely widow, so I came to offer a betrothal gift. But it's not for a wife. With her status, how can she be compared to Meng Wan? Naturally, Meng Wan will be my wife and she will be my concubine."
"Normally, I wouldn't have to make such a big deal for taking a concubine. But out of our past friendship, I wanted to give her some ceremony to show my respect."
Li Qilun spoke arrogantly, belittling Wen Yu to nothing in his words.
It seemed that in his heart, a woman who had lost her husband was lucky to be a concubine for someone else.
"General Li, your words are really funny. When did my sister need your pity? You're so kind to 'bestow' my sister as a concubine. How generous of you!"
As Wen Yanhe said this, he kicked at Li Qilun.
He didn't hold back his strength, and Li Qilun, caught off guard, was directly kicked to the ground.
"Brother Wen! What do you mean by this! I'm also an official of the court. How can you attack me for no reason?!" Li Qilun got up covering his chest, his eyes filled with anger.
"How have you become such a rude person? I used to consider you a close friend!"
Hearing this, Wen Yanhe's anger intensified. He gritted his teeth secretly and suddenly sneered.
Although his name was Yanhe (meaning gentle and harmonious), his personality was anything but gentle.
This guy dared to come and block his sister's door with a matchmaker, and still had the nerve to talk about being a friend?
"Li Qilun, out of our past acquaintance, I've already shown you leniency today." Wen Yanhe's expression was extremely cold. He looked at Li Qilun as if he were a dead object. "My sister is a daughter of the Wen family no matter when. Be your concubine? You really have the nerve to say that."
"Even if you want to propose marriage to my sister as your wife, you should go to the Wen mansion to discuss it. Who gave you the right to block my sister's door privately? If you ruin my sister's reputation, I'll definitely cut off your head!"
"In the past, when you knew my sister, I didn't say much. But now that your Li family has made a little military achievement, you really think you're something. How dare you talk to my sister like that."
"I'll make it clear to you today. Even if your Li family uses all their resources to propose marriage, they're still not worthy of my sister."
Wen Yanhe spoke very straightforwardly.
The words "marrying down" really hit Li Qilun's sore spot.
He glared at Wen Yanhe viciously, his face turning green and his expression ferocious. "Wen Yanhe, do you know what you're saying? I'm also an official of the court. Are you threatening me in public today?"
"If I tell the emperor about this, even if your surname is Wen, aren't you afraid of being dismissed from office?!"
If these words were said to someone else, they might really be scared.
But the person in front of him was Wen Yanhe.
Not to mention scolding a rising star like him, Wen Xun even dared to point at the emperor's nose and lecture him.
"Just go and file a complaint with the emperor. Do you think the emperor will dismiss me from office for someone like you?" Wen Yanhe mocked in an exaggerated tone. He sized Li Qilun up and down. "A guy like you still dares to have delusions about my sister. You're just a toad yearning for the flesh of a swan!"