Chapter 334: The General’s Mansion is Packed, and the Mood is Heavy

The birthday banquet left many people terrified and filled with doubts, but no one was more aggrieved than Prime Minister Gao.

Prime Minister Gao had lost face today. He would surely be the subject of ridicule among the court officials from now on.

Xiang Minghou and his party exited the palace gates. Luo Wen brought the carriage over, and they all boarded.

The Zhan, Gu, and Qian families also left the palace and boarded their carriages. The drivers all headed in the direction of the General’s Residence.

Late at night, the streets were deserted. After a few turns, they soon arrived at the General’s Residence.

Xiang Minghou stepped out of the carriage, holding Ye Qianning. He hadn’t said a word the entire time, and his expression was grim.

Ye Qianning knew what her father was thinking. If the marriage had been arranged with Prime Minister Gao’s family, there would have been plenty of ways to handle it. But extricating herself from a betrothal to the Crown Prince would be no easy task.

Dean Chen also wore a worried frown, wondering what the Emperor was thinking. Why would he betroth her to the Crown Prince?

"General, Young Miss," the butler said, opening the door.

Xiang Minghou and Dean Chen entered one after the other. Behind them, the CLIP-CLOP of hooves announced the arrival of another group at the General’s Residence.

The butler saw the crowd dismounting and hesitated, unsure whether to close the gate or leave it open.

"Everyone, please allow me to announce your arrival to my master, the General."

"We’re all old acquaintances, what’s there to announce? Move aside, move aside." Old Master Gu pushed the butler away and strode through the gate.

Zhan Yi entered as well, supporting Madam Zhan.

Qian Fu and Qian Fanji followed them in.

Xiang Minghou carried Ye Qianning into the main hall. "Ying Ge, take the young miss back to her room."

Ying Ge materialized.

"Dad, I’m not sleepy yet," Ye Qianning said, clinging to him without letting go.

"Go back to your room for now. Your father and the Dean have things to discuss," Xiang Minghou said in a low voice.

"Dad, don’t worry too much about the arranged marriage. I’m still little."

"I know, but go back for now." Xiang Minghou thought she was too young and wanted to shield her from certain matters.

Ye Qianning squirmed out of his arms and landed on her feet, but she didn’t leave.

Old Master Gu and the others arrived in the main hall.

Xiang Minghou was already vexed, and seeing the crowd only annoyed him further. However, after what had happened at the birthday banquet today, his animosity toward them had eased slightly.

"Regarding the Emperor’s decree, I’ll have the Imperial Consort sound out His Majesty’s thoughts tomorrow," Madam Zhan said.

"Thank you, Madam Zhan," Xiang Minghou replied with a nod. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"There’s no need for thanks. Pangtuan is our granddaughter. As long as it’s for her good, the Zhan family is willing to do anything."

Xiang Minghou pursed his lips and said nothing.

"If the betrothal to the Crown Prince can be annulled, let the little one join the Gu family. We aren’t officials." It would be much easier to handle things if she didn’t marry into the family of a court official.

"If the marriage can be annulled, I also think the Gu family is a viable option," Dean Chen chimed in, agreeing.

Xiang Minghou frowned, lost in thought.

Qian Fu didn’t argue. The children of officials held a respected status, but their marriages were not their own to decide. The Qian family had already learned this lesson the hard way. Now his son was repeating the same mistake, and he couldn’t let his granddaughter suffer the same fate.

"The Zhan family aren’t officials, either," Zhan Chi pointed out.

"The Zhan family is even more complicated than an official’s family," Dean Chen said, shaking his head.

"Gu Shuo is an Imperial Merchant. In a way, that’s a court official, too."

"Then tomorrow, I will tender my resignation as an Imperial Merchant to the Emperor," Gu Shuo declared.

Old Master Gu was both shocked and delighted. "Exactly! Resign. Any business that gets you entangled with the imperial family is trouble."

"Master, Dad, let’s not talk about the engagement for now. There’s still plenty of time. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it." Ye Qianning didn’t want them to worry themselves sick over it.

’Judging by how much Sang Qi hates me,’ she thought, ’he’ll probably find a way to annul the engagement himself when he grows up.’

Dean Chen nodded. "There’s no need to rush, but the sooner it’s annulled, the sooner we can rest easy."

"The Crown Prince probably isn’t happy about this either. If he wants to annul the engagement in the future, it’ll be much easier for him than for us. Let him be the one to figure it out." Ye Qianning had already made up her mind. From now on, whatever Sang Qi wanted, she would make sure to ruin it.

’If I play the part of the perfect villainess, even the Emperor himself will eventually come to regret this.’

"A punk like him isn’t happy about it? Please." Old Master Gu laughed in exasperation.

"...Old Master Gu, you should try to be a little more tactful." If anyone overheard words like that, it would undoubtedly cause a scandal. ’Then again, thinking back to how fearlessly Old Master Gu had acted in the throne room today, Ye Qianning still felt a shiver run down her spine.’

"I am being tactful enough," Old Master Gu huffed. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Why are you still calling me Old Master Gu?"

Ye Qianning glanced at her father.

Xiang Minghou gave a slight nod. Though they had parted on bad terms at the Immortal’s Drunkenness, Old Master Gu had been nothing but kind to Pangtuan from start to finish. There were probably few people in the world who would dare to contradict the Emperor so boldly in his own throne room.

"Great-grandfather," Ye Qianning called out sweetly, having received his permission.

Old Master Gu was overcome with emotion, so much so that tears welled up in his eyes. His large hand trembled as he stroked the little girl’s head. "Oh, my dear, my dear... wonderful! The Gu family finally has a little girl!"

Gu Shuo’s heart stirred, but he didn’t dare hope that the little girl would ever address him with a familial title.

"Pangtuan." Madam Zhan sniffled and walked over.

Zhan Yi followed close behind her.

Ye Qianning sighed to herself. ’Zhan Chi may be arrogant, but he’s all bark and no bite. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have followed me that day when I was trailing the maid from Changyang Prince Mansion.’

’First impressions really are important. Their attitude at the Immortal’s Drunkenness had truly displeased her. Despite everything that had happened since—even the proof of their blood relation—she still couldn’t bring herself to accept them.’

’But... she could feel the sincerity in the hearts of Madam Zhan and Old Master Zhan.’

"Grandmother, Grandfather." Out of politeness, Ye Qianning didn’t keep them at arm’s length.

"Oh, Pangtuan! My granddaughter!" Madam Zhan was already emotional, and hearing those words, she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She bent down, wrapped the little girl in a hug, and burst into sobs.

Zhan Yi’s eyes reddened. He hadn’t cried in half a lifetime, but seeing this scene, he found it hard to hold back. The final straw was seeing his wife crying her eyes out.

He simply squatted down, pulled both the large and small figures into his arms, and started crying as well.

"My dear wife! My granddaughter!"

Dean Chen was speechless.

Old Master Gu was at a loss for words.

’That rascal Zhan Yi...’ Old Master Gu thought. ’And here I was, actually getting emotional!’

Qian Fu didn’t know what to say.

’I’m so envious,’ he thought.

Xiang Minghou didn’t stop them. On the contrary, he felt a sense of relief. She couldn’t experience the love of elders in his Xiang family, but they could give it to her.

’They are connected by blood. This is how it should be.’

The rims of Zhan Chi’s eyes reddened as well. He sniffled, then shuffled over and squatted down. "Pangtuan... my girl."

...

Ye Qianning had only called out to them out of politeness. She never expected them to lose control like this. Squeezed in the Zhan family’s embrace, she could barely breathe.

"You, get away from her."

Zhan Yi was in the middle of his emotional moment when he saw his son pounce over. Without a second thought, he shoved him away.

"Dad?" Zhan Chi exclaimed, having been pushed to a sitting position on the floor.

"Don’t think we’ve forgotten how you treated our granddaughter at the start," Zhan Yi scolded. He then turned back to hugging his wife and granddaughter, getting emotional all over again.

Zhan Chi was filled with regret, yet at a complete loss for words.

’Have you forgotten your son now that you have a granddaughter?’

"Granddaughter, from now on, Grandma will never let you suffer the slightest grievance ever again," Madam Zhan sobbed, stroking the girl’s chubby little face.

"That’s right! Come home with Grandpa and Grandma tomorrow. If anyone dares to lay a hand on you, we won’t let them get away with it!"

Ye Qianning could finally catch her breath. She raised a small hand to wipe the tears from Madam Zhan’s face. "Grandma, don’t cry. Pangtuan hasn’t suffered at all. My mother and Fourth Granny adored me, and Dad adores me, too."