Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 243 Marriage-in-law

Chapter 243 Marriage-in-law
Su Qingwan originally had no intention of going to Xilin Yongxuan’s appointment to view the flowers. She was busy with many important matters every day and had to go out to inspect her fiefdom and check the progress of field development and cultivation.

But walking around in the city, it is inevitable to run into Xilin Yongxuan. That day, Su Qingwan and her group returned from outside the city and were about to go to the restaurant for dinner when they ran into Xilin Yongxuan.

It seemed like an accidental encounter, but in fact it was a long-planned and carefully planned wait by Xilin Yongxuan. Seeing this, Xilin Yongxuan immediately and enthusiastically invited Su Qingwan to have dinner together.

Su Qingwan thought that the two parties were still negotiating a trade agreement, and if she appeared too indifferent, it might be detrimental to the advancement of cooperation, so she nodded and accepted the invitation.

Xilin Yongxuan had been eating, drinking and having fun in Huainan City during this period. He was already familiar with all the places in the city and led Su Qingwan to the restaurant with familiarity. Along the way, Qingyun and Luzhu followed closely behind, with vigilant eyes, like a hen protecting its chicks, always watching Xilin Yongxuan’s every move. Under their close surveillance, Xilin Yongxuan could not find any opportunity to say anything inappropriate to Su Qingwan. He could only chat with her about the customs and customs of Xilin and Huainan, and also took the opportunity to invite Su Qingwan to visit Xilin in the future. On the surface, the meal was still a happy one for both the host and the guest.

But in the following days, Su Qingwan unexpectedly “ran into” Xilin Yongxuan for several days in a row. How could there be so many coincidences in the world? Obviously, this was all done deliberately by Xilin Yongxuan.

Xilin Yongxuan dressed up carefully every time he met her. Although Xilin and Huainan were neighbors, their customs and clothing preferences were very different. Xilin Yongxuan specifically imitated the dressing style of Huainan men. With such care, anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was trying to please Su Qingwan.

No matter how slow Su Qingwan was, she realized that something was amiss. Recalling that when she was the Princess of Southwest County, Xilin Yongxuan had expressed his affection for her. Now that he was using the same old trick again, his intentions were clear.

Although Su Qingwan saw the clues, Xilin Yongxuan did not make a clear statement, so she didn’t want to break it up rashly, lest she be misunderstood as being sentimental. She wanted to maintain this lukewarm relationship, and she would be able to relax after the Xilin delegation left, but Xilin Yongxuan was obviously not satisfied with this alienation.

That day, Su Qingwan couldn’t help herself and took the initiative to say, “I’m engaged!”

“I know, it’s with the Regent!” Xilin Yongxuan said, and gave her a look that he thought was suave, directly exposing Su Qingwan’s disguise.

“How did you recognize him?” Su Qingwan was surprised. She thought she had disguised her identity cleverly enough, after all, she and Xilin Yongxuan were just ordinary friends before. Now that she was exposed in front of her, the atmosphere between them instantly became subtle.

“Princess, although you have changed your face, it is difficult to conceal people’s habits and preferences. I received you in Xilin and spent a whole month with you. We also frequently visited each other in the capital. I know all your little habits and preferences clearly.” Xilin Yongxuan explained.

“You’re just bragging!” Su Qingwan smacked her lips. Now that her identity had been exposed, it was much easier to get along with him. “The Southwest sent General Xiao Ning and three thousand light cavalry. Did this make you suspicious?”

Xilin Yongxuan raised the corner of his mouth and smiled lightly, without denying it.

When Su Qingwan played the role of the Princess of Southwest, she was indeed very responsible and deliberately distinguished her habits from her original self, which was difficult for ordinary people to detect. But she had too many flaws. She was skilled and experienced in governing Huainan, and it was obvious that she had experience in governing a city.

The only person who could skillfully apply the experience of governing border cities to Huainan, looking at the entire Dayuan, was probably the Grand Princess of the Southwest. Moreover, she acted too mysteriously, and she had the Southwest general and soldiers to rely on, so it was hard not to associate her with the Grand Princess of the Southwest. Xilin Yongxuan was not a fool either, and after several attempts, he naturally figured out her identity.

“The princess’s talent is unparalleled in the world. How could a woman who is as famous as the Grand Princess of the Southwest suddenly appear in Dawanruo without any news? After thinking about it, it can only be the same person!” Xilin Yongxuan supported his chin with one hand and looked at her with admiration, “It turns out that the princess’s true appearance is so… so beautiful that fish sink to the bottom of the water and geese fall to the ground.”

When Su Qingwan heard this, she was speechless for a moment. It was obvious that he was teasing her.

But she knew in her heart that Xilin Yongxuan didn’t care about her appearance in the past. For him, beauty and ugliness were not important. He admired her personality and way of doing things. As Qingyun said, he was a man who admired the strong. Xilin Yongxuan was very curious and couldn’t help asking, “You deceived Lu Jing like this. Does he know your true identity?”

“I don’t know!” Su Qingwan answered concisely.

“Oh, then you have to hide well. If Lu Jing finds out, this matter will be a big deal. He is now the regent, which is very different from the past when he was the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei. He holds great power and all civil and military officials bow to him. He is not someone Huainan can tease at will. If the princess’s identity is exposed, it may bring disaster to Huainan!” Xilin Yongxuan had an expression of watching a good show on his face. After all, the current situation of Huainan’s fiefdom is still very embarrassing, and the court has not yet made an official statement.

“You don’t need to worry about Dayuan’s internal affairs.” Su Qingwan smiled faintly, “You have stayed in Huainan for such a long time, it’s time to go back. Your sick elder brother is in relatively stable condition, but your younger brothers are eyeing your throne. The road to succession is full of dangers, you should worry more about yourself.”

Xilin Yongxuan knew in his heart that no matter whether she was the Grand Princess of Southwest or the Little Princess of Huainan, she was not destined to be with him. “When you were the Grand Princess of Southwest, I was attracted to you and showed my affection to you many times, but unfortunately you never responded to my feelings. To be honest, I am quite sorry. Princess, in terms of appearance, I am not bad; in terms of family background, I am a child of the royal family; in terms of character, I can also be called magnanimous. From the perspective of the world, I am a good match, but why can’t I move your heart?”

His tone was full of disappointment. If he could win the princess’ heart, it would be more glorious for him than taking over a city.

Su Qingwan and Xilin Yongxuan have known each other for many years and have a deep friendship. There is nothing to hide, so she said frankly: “The Huainan clan was tragically destroyed, and I only want to redress the injustice of the clan. When I was in the southwest, I worked hard to learn how to govern the border and control the military and politics, all in order to restore the glory of Huainan one day. For me, love is not the most important thing. You are indeed a good match, but unfortunately, I have no interest in love.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like loving. We can cooperate on the basis of interests and achieve a win-win situation, Princess!” Xilin Yongxuan understood her situation very well. If Su Qingwan was an ordinary woman raised in seclusion, she might have the leisure to talk about love, but she had experienced the destruction of her family since she was young, and the lives and injustices of her clansmen were like a heavy yoke weighing on her, so she had no time to care about her children’s private affairs.

“I have told you everything I should have said, why don’t you give up!” Su Qingwan looked straight into his eyes, “You are a little greedy. After all, you and I are not of the same race. As the saying goes, ‘Those who are not of my race must have different hearts.’ I don’t want Dayuan and Xilin to go to war again in the future, but…”

When Xilin Yongxuan heard this, he was delighted and felt that things had taken a turn for the better. He asked anxiously, “But what?”

“If you want to fight for the throne, I can lend you a helping hand!” Su Qingwan chuckled and said slowly, “There is a big difference between you being the emperor of Xilin and your brother being the emperor. Since we are talking about the binding of interests, why don’t we have a good talk?”

Xilin Yongxuan lowered his head and smiled. When he raised his head again, his eyes were already burning with the ambition to rule the world. “Although it is a pity that I cannot marry the princess, but if the princess is willing to help me, Xilin will definitely become the princess’s most loyal ally!”

Su Qingwan stretched out her hand and said, “Deal!”

Xilin Yongxuan patted her hands gently, completing Xilin’s high-five ceremony of alliance.

“Then will you marry Lu Jing?” Xilin Yongxuan was very curious about the complicated relationship between her and the Regent and couldn’t help asking.

“No!” Su Qingwan replied with a smile, “If the regent wants to marry the little princess of Huainan, all the civil and military officials in the court will become obstacles to him. If he still wants to continue to be the regent, he will not do this.”

She paused for a moment and joked, “If he is willing to marry into Huainan’s family, I can consider it!”

“Really? The little princess wants me to marry into Huainan?”