Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Chapter 117 Before the Palace Banquet

After listening to Xiao Lan's in-depth analysis of the situation, Qin Shixun fell into deep thought. He carefully recalled his few recent meetings with Wang Wanrou, his brows furrowing slightly. He scratched his head gently and muttered to himself in confusion, "But why do I still feel that Miss Wang has no affection for me at all? If she truly liked me, why would she so ruthlessly return every gift I carefully prepared?"

Standing to the side, Xiao Lan listened silently to Qin Shixun's complaints and confusion, pondering to herself. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind—Wang Wanrou's stepmother from her previous life! Before marrying Imperial Censor Wang, this stepmother had lived in the Imperial Censor's residence as Wang Wanrou's distant aunt. More importantly, she not only openly took the place of Wang Wanrou's birth mother but also controlled many of the household's complex affairs. Therefore, those returned gifts were very likely from this woman; after all, she probably didn't want to see Qin Shixun and Wang Wanrou develop any romantic entanglements.

“Young Master Qin,” Xiao Lan said with a smile, “in my humble opinion, with your temperament, you are likely to miss out on a good match.” She then gracefully picked up her teacup, took a sip of the fragrant tea, and continued slowly, “Even if that young lady has little affection for you, given your noble status as the heir of a prince and the grandson of Princess Tai’an, who in this world would dare to easily refuse your gift? Although you are a prince, given your reputation for being a womanizer, I don’t believe you would be completely unaware of this. You must know that there are many unimaginable sordid schemes within the inner quarters of the household!”

Qin Shixun listened to Xiao Lan's words and fell into deep thought, pondering them silently. He knew that even if Wang Wanrou truly had no affection for him, she would never dare to refuse the gift directly to his face. Nevertheless, he was still somewhat uncertain, so he asked Xiao Lan with a hint of doubt, "Fifth Imperial Aunt, what exactly do you mean by that?"

"Just as you thought! In my opinion, that Imperial Censor Wang probably has some kind of secret, messy affair. And, perhaps even Miss Wang herself is completely unaware of it! How about this, Your Highness, why don't you investigate what's going on and then help her? Maybe, Miss Wang will fall in love with you!" Xiao Lan was determined to help Wang Wanrou out of her predicament, but unfortunately, they had never met in this life. Fortunately, after her skillful persuasion, the Princess Consort had taken a liking to Wang Wanrou, and Qin Shixun also harbored feelings for her. Therefore, the task of exposing the true face of the so-called distant aunt of the Wang family naturally had to be handled by Qin Shixun. Although the prince's heir was considered a complete wastrel by the people in the capital, Xiao Lan knew very well that if he were truly a useless good-for-nothing, why would Yan Nanhui have taken him to the border to fight the enemy in his previous life?

As expected, after hearing what Xiao Lan said, Qin Shixun hurriedly bowed to the two of them to say goodbye, saying that he had other important matters to attend to. Then he rushed out like a gust of wind and disappeared from their sight in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Lan gazed silently at Qin Shixun's receding figure until it disappeared from sight, thinking to herself: I hope it's not too late in this life. I sincerely hope that Wang Wanrou and Qin Shixun can finally have a happy ending.

Just then, Yan Nan, who had been silent all along, turned his gaze to Xiao Lan and finally couldn't help but speak up: "Lanlan, stop focusing all your attention on that kid! You should at least pay more attention to me too." As he spoke, he pouted slightly, his eyes revealing a hint of grievance and dissatisfaction.

Xiao Lan turned around at the sound, and when she saw Yan Nan Hui's expression, she couldn't help but chuckle. This dignified Fifth Prince, already quite old, was acting like a child, acting all coquettish with her. However, despite finding it somewhat amusing, Xiao Lan still agreed, "Alright, alright, I don't care about anyone else. From now on, my eyes will only be on our Prince Su." As soon as she finished speaking, she gave Yan Nan Hui a sweet smile, a smile as radiant and captivating as spring flowers, instantly melting Yan Nan Hui's heart.

Who could have predicted that this slight smile would provoke Yan Nan Hui to pounce on her like a hungry tiger? He flashed forward, arriving before Xiao Lan in the blink of an eye, opening his arms to pull her tightly into his embrace. Then, Yan Nan Hui gently lifted Xiao Lan's delicate chin with his right index finger, a movement both gentle and provocative.

And so, their eyes met, their gazes mingling as if sparks were about to fly. Xiao Lan was forced to look up at Yan Nan Hui, and that one glance left her momentarily stunned. The man before her had a gentle, handsome face, flawless like a meticulously crafted piece of jade. His skin was as white as snow, translucent and smooth as mutton-fat jade; his high, straight nose added to his dashing appearance; his eyes were clear as water, bright as stars, deep and captivating like a clear spring, drawing one in completely; and his lips, slightly fuller on the upper lip and thinner on the lower, were perfectly shaped, with a subtle, almost imperceptible smile playing at the corners. Such handsome features combined to create a breathtakingly beautiful figure, like a celestial being stepping out of a painting.

However, what captivated Xiao Lan even more was that the eyes of this ethereal man were now completely filled with her reflection, leaving no room for anyone or anything else. Just as Xiao Lan's heart was fluttering, she suddenly felt a warm breath wash over her. Before she could react, Yan Nanhui's head slowly lowered, and the next second, his soft lips precisely covered Xiao Lan's cherry lips, completely sealing the words she was about to utter.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment, and everything around her became insignificant. Xiao Lan felt her mind go blank, and her body trembled slightly involuntarily. She wanted to struggle and resist, but her hands, as if devoid of strength, rested limply on Yan Nan Hui's shoulders. Gradually, she began to succumb to this passionate kiss, even forgetting to breathe…

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Nan finally released Xiao Lan with reluctance. Freed, Xiao Lan gasped for breath, trying to calm her wildly beating heart. She wondered to herself: She was someone who had experienced life and death and been reborn; she was no longer a naive young girl experiencing love. So why was a simple kiss so overwhelming, almost causing her to faint from lack of oxygen?

However, it was also Yan Nan Hui's fault. He came over without saying anything. Xiao Lan was just unprepared, not emotionally involved. Although Yan Nan Hui let go of Xiao Lan's mouth, he still held her in his arms. "Lan Lan, Mother Consort is due to give birth in two months. How about we get engaged after she gives birth?"

In reality, most marriages like Yan Nanhui and Xiao Lan's, where the Emperor himself bestows the marriage, don't involve an engagement ceremony; they are usually rushed into a wedding. However, just before this, when Xiao Lan left the capital to return to Jiangnan for the New Year, Yan Nanhui cautiously inquired about her opinion on marriage. Unfortunately, Xiao Lan did not agree to such a hasty marriage.

At that time, Yan Nan Hui was filled with suspicion and couldn't understand it at all. After some secret investigation, he was surprised to find that Xiao Lan had secretly sent people to investigate whether he had any illicit affairs with those courtesans. Yan Nan Hui was extremely heavy-hearted after learning this, because he had already confessed to Xiao Lan that he had never had any affair with any other woman. All the behavior he displayed was just a deliberate act for the Empress's sake, with the aim of making his mother's life in the deep palace a little more comfortable.

Yan Nan Hui couldn't understand why Xiao Lan lacked trust in him, and he was filled with anxiety, fearing that Xiao Lan's actions were an attempt to find some weakness in him and use it to annul the marriage. After all, the arranged marriage between Xiao Lan and Yan Nan Hui was originally a forced move, not Xiao Lan's true wish.

Just when Yan Nan Hui was at his wit's end, Qin Shi Xun came up with a brilliant plan for him—to first arrange the marriage! In this way, even if Xiao Lan had other ideas, she would certainly not be able to escape Yan Nan Hui's control. After all, with the Emperor's decree of marriage first and the formal engagement following, who in the world would dare to easily break off the engagement under such circumstances?

Therefore, Yan Nanhui had already made up his mind that he would get close to the beautiful Xiao Lan today, and take the opportunity to discuss the engagement with her. If he didn't act more assertively, this cute little rabbit he was about to win over might really run away.

Meanwhile, Xiao Lan, still somewhat stunned by Yan Nan Hui's sudden action, took a few deep breaths as if waking from a dream. After catching her breath, she asked, "Weren't we already betrothed by the Emperor? Why are we still engaged?" As soon as she finished speaking, Xiao Lan seemed to suddenly realize something important. She forcefully pushed away Yan Nan Hui's tightly embracing hands, glaring at him suspiciously and demanding, "Yan Nan Hui, tell me the truth! Have you done something wrong behind my back? Have you betrayed me?"

"Heaven and earth bear witness! I really didn't do anything!" Yan Nan looked at Xiao Lan anxiously. Seeing that she seemed to have misunderstood him, he quickly explained, "Didn't you tell me before that you didn't want to get married so soon? So my clever nephew gave me an idea. He said we could have an engagement ceremony first, so that our relationship could be settled without seeming too rushed. I thought about it carefully and thought it was a pretty good idea. And you see, my mother is going to give birth in two months, and there will definitely be a lot of things to do then. And your mother is probably about to give birth too, right? Getting married is a big deal, and there are so many things to prepare. If we start making arrangements for the wedding now, it will be too tiring! Why don't we hold the engagement ceremony after they both give birth smoothly? Then at the end of the year, I'll find an opportunity to discuss the specific details of the wedding with you. Isn't that a very reasonable arrangement?"

As Yan Nan Hui spoke, he carefully observed Xiao Lan's expression, afraid that she was still angry or would continue to misunderstand him. He saw the corners of Xiao Lan's mouth slightly upturned, a half-smile on her face, and Yan Nan Hui immediately felt uneasy.

However, Xiao Lan had a different thought at this moment. She couldn't help but chuckle to herself, thinking that this guy had gone on and on, but in the end, he still wanted to marry her this year! It was just that this man was really quite amusing, actually believing that women could immediately get out of bed and handle affairs after giving birth. Didn't he know that women need to rest and recuperate after childbirth? Especially for women of her mother's and his mother's age, the recovery time after another childbirth would probably be even longer! Thinking of this, Xiao Lan shook her head, but the smile on her face never faded.

However, Xiao Lan had no intention of explaining anything to Yan Nan Hui. She simply raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a half-smile, and said softly, "Your Highness, why are you in such a hurry to get married? Your brothers are all still unmarried!"

At this moment, Xiao Lan pondered to herself, based on the various trajectories she had experienced in her past life, that it wouldn't be long before the incomparably noble Crown Prince would encounter an unexpected calamity and perish. At the same time, the eldest prince, Yan Zhenquan, who had been enfeoffed as the Wing Prince, was also about to return to the capital. Therefore, if the wedding were hastily arranged now, there was a risk that unscrupulous individuals would seize the opportunity to accuse him of damaging the royal family's fortune. After all, Yan Nanhui still had three elder brothers alive, and even the Crown Prince had not yet married his Crown Princess; there was no way they should be in such a hurry.