Chapter 49: The Little Brat Who Turns His Elbows Out

"Ask that again." Li Zhi'an looked at Cheng Xi and spoke, his dark eyes perfectly serene.

"If I want you, will you give yourself to me?"

"I will!"

Cheng Xi:!

Having lived two lifetimes, this was the first time she had been rendered speechless by someone's retort.

A faint smile touched Li Zhi'an's eyes as he looked at Cheng Xi, but his tone was extremely serious: "Marriage is a major life event that requires the consent of elders. Your parents have both passed away, so you can make your own decisions. I, however, have parents living and cannot act on my own. Once I return and report this to my elders, I will immediately request a matchmaker to visit your home."

"Wait a moment." Cheng Xi interrupted him immediately, "I was only joking with you."

"Marriage is a major life event; how can one joke about it?"

"Li Zhi'an, you know clearly in your heart that I only wanted to make things difficult for you."

"A marriage between two families involves many trials. I understand; it is only right that you make things difficult for me."

Cheng Xi fell silent. She had only wanted to dig a pit for Li Zhi'an, never expecting to bury herself in it.

Li Zhi'an was a ruthless man; for the sake of face, he would even jump into a pit regarding his own marriage!

Ancient marriages emphasized the commands of parents and the words of matchmakers, and more importantly, a match in social status.

Although Cheng Xi did not feel she was lacking, in terms of family background and status, she was indeed not on equal footing with Li Zhi'an.

This man was doing it on purpose; he was intentionally trying to manipulate her!

Once Cheng Xi thought of it this way, she felt relieved. Isn't it just an arm-wrestling match to see who admits defeat first?

Could she really be afraid of him?

In any case, Li Zhi'an couldn't possibly actually hand himself over to her as a husband. She wanted to see who would be the one unable to step down from the stage in the end!

"Alright then, I shall wait for the matchmaker from the Wangfu to arrive." Cheng Xi revealed a guileless smile.

Li Zhi'an stood up, "Good. If there is nothing else, I shall return to the mansion to discuss our marriage with my parents."

He was acting quite convincingly!

Cheng Xi smiled, "I await the good news."

How could the Regent and his wife possibly agree to this marriage?

She would just wait to see Li Zhi'an make a fool of himself!

The Regent's Mansion.

The Regent Li Jian, upon learning that his wife had fainted again, rushed back from the palace. The Imperial Physician personally decocted the medicine, and he fed it to his wife one spoonful at a time.

The Regent's Consort woke up faintly, her eyes meeting her husband's gaze, which was filled with suppressed pain. She smiled softly, "You've returned?"

"Meiniang, how are you feeling now?" Li Jian helped his wife up and asked gently.

"Much better." The Regent's Consort coughed lightly and said, "You don't need to rush back every time for my sake; you know I won't die."

Li Jian's expression tightened, "Do not say such things again. I will find a way to cure you."

The Regent's Consort gripped her husband's hand. If there were a way, it would have been found long ago; why wait until today?

She was about to say something when she saw her son walk in with long strides. His face was dark, his brows sharp, and his peach-blossom eyes, which should have been alluring and affectionate, were currently clouded with gloom.

"Mother." As soon as Li Zhi'an entered the mansion, he learned that his mother had fainted again and rushed over. Only upon seeing her awake did he breathe a slight sigh of relief.

The Regent's Consort beckoned to her son, "You, you're just like your father. You know I won't die, so don't worry."

Li Zhi'an gritted his teeth. She wouldn't die, but every time she fainted, she only became weaker and in more pain.

Not wanting to bring up her illness again, the Regent's Consort looked at her son and asked with concern, "Why have you returned so early? Is something the matter?"

Li Jian's mood had also calmed down by now, and hearing his wife's words, he also looked at his son.

Li Zhi'an squeezed out a smile, looked up at his mother, and softened his voice, "Your son has taken a liking to a young lady and wishes to ask for Father and Mother's consent to take her into the family."

"Truly?"

"Is it that girl named Cheng Xi?"

The Regent and his wife spoke in unison.

The Regent's Consort glanced at her husband, then looked at her son, "Is that girl really named Cheng Xi?"

Li Zhi'an nodded, then looked at his father, "How did you know?"

The Regent scoffed, "That day in the palace, weren't you being all business-like and putting on airs with that girl? It was truly foolish. Now you want to marry her, but is she willing?"

Li Zhi'an looked at his father, "The marriage was proposed by Cheng Xi herself."

Li Jian:!

The Regent's Consort looked at her son, who was showing off and counterattacking his father, then at her husband, who looked as if the sky had fallen, and couldn't help but laugh.

"That is where you are in the wrong. Since you want to marry her, as a man of seven feet, you should have taken the initiative to speak. How could you let the young lady speak first? That is truly discourteous."

"This brat must have dug a pit for the girl." Li Jian undermined his son, "Meiniang, Cheng Xi is the girl who saved the Little Emperor that day. I mentioned her to you; do you remember?"

"Oh, it's her." The Regent's Consort remembered.

That day, her husband had returned and complained to her that their son deserved to be wifeless for a lifetime. So it was that little girl; it seemed her husband's eyes were indeed sharp.

A little girl her husband thought highly of couldn't be bad.

"Although the marriage was proposed by the girl first, the more that is the case, the more solemn we must be." The Regent's Consort said to her son, "Tell me which family this girl is from and who her parents are, so I can think about whom to invite as a matchmaker."

At the mention of this, the expressions of both father and son became somewhat subtle.

The Regent's Consort looked at them, "What is it? What did I say wrong?"

The Regent had naturally investigated Cheng Xi; he coughed lightly and looked at his son.

Li Zhi'an's expression did not change. There was nothing about Cheng Xi that couldn't be said; she was not the one in the wrong.

And so, he briefly recounted the grievances between Cheng Xi and the Zhenguo Duke Mansion.

"There is such a thing? A child without a mother is truly pitiful. That Cheng Zhouxing was unfit to be a father; losing his office and his life was his own doing!" The Regent's Consort said angrily, then looked at her son, "She has had a marriage engagement broken off; since you like the girl, you cannot let her be treated as a joke."

"I know, otherwise I would not have troubled you," Li Zhi'an said earnestly.

"Leave this matter to Mother to arrange."

"Yes." Li Zhi'an agreed; although his mother was frail, she was very strong-willed.

The Regent suddenly spoke from the side: "The Empress Dowager is holding a Polo Match, and I heard she specifically had someone summon Cheng Xi to the palace. Would you like to go into the palace tomorrow to watch the excitement, and also take a look at your future daughter-in-law?"

The Princess Consort of the Regent was indeed interested. "Really? Then I truly must go and see what kind of young girl could make my son lose his heart."

Li Zhi'an glanced at his father, then immediately said: "Father has court affairs to attend to; since I am off duty tomorrow, I can just happen to accompany you into the palace. Moreover, the Empress Dowager intends for me to compete against Yan Yu, so it would be difficult to decline."

The Regent:...

That little brat who turns his back on his own family!

The Regent ignored his son entirely, looked at his wife, and said gently: "I will accompany you tomorrow. Court affairs are there every day; naturally, you are more important."

Li Zhi'an looked at his father with a deadpan expression, then turned and walked away.

When it came to being shameless, he was still slightly inferior to his father!