Chapter 66: Break the Legs

Li Zhi'an sent his parents away, only then remembering a major matter: with them gone, what was to be done about his marriage?

The position of Regent had not yet grown warm beneath him when he went to find Cheng Xi.

Unexpectedly, he saw his parents, who were supposedly already out of the city, bidding farewell to Cheng Xi. Seeing him arrive, his father hoisted his mother into the carriage, cracked a whip on the rump of the Jade Qilin Horse, and the carriage sped away.

Li Zhi'an:...

Cheng Xi met Li Zhi'an's inscrutable, astonished, and shocked face, and could not help but laugh out loud.

Cheng Xi laughed too brazenly; the moment she turned her head and saw Li Zhi'an's misty, vast-as-the-sea eyes looking over, she felt inexplicably guilty and reined in her laughter.

Under the sunlight, her eyes were as black as ink, wrapped in the remnants of laughter that had not yet fully faded; behind her, the ten-thousand-fold rosy clouds set off her face, making it look bright and charming.

"What plans do you have regarding Prince Jing?"

Listening to Li Zhi'an's question, Cheng Xi said without a second thought: "I have no plans. Since it is a proposal of marriage, I can naturally refuse."

Li Zhi'an nodded slightly, "I heard from my mother that you refused the Wangfu's proposal."

Cheng Xi nodded, "That day was just a joke; I have already made it clear to you, haven't I?"

"As far as I am concerned, it was no joke."

Cheng Xi:...

"Otherwise, shall I formally apologize to you?" Cheng Xi felt a bit of regret; had she known today would come, she would not have been so quick with her tongue that day.

"If you still wish to live a carefree life in Jindu, refusing the Empress Dowager's bestowed marriage is not a wise move. It would be better if you and I set a betrothal; then the Empress Dowager naturally cannot force it, and Prince Jing will also retreat in the face of difficulty."

Cheng Xi was naturally unwilling and was just about to speak when she heard Li Zhi'an add: "It can also be considered doing me a favor. You know that now that I have inherited the title, the Empress Dowager will inevitably keep a close watch on my marriage. You and I becoming betrothed is beneficial to both sides, isn't it?"

Seeing that Cheng Xi still did not speak, Li Zhi'an added another sentence, "Let us set a term of three years. After three years, if you have someone you like, we shall dissolve the betrothal. If after three years you do not have anyone you like, it will not be too late for us to marry."

Cheng Xi looked up at Li Zhi'an; his face was truly so upright that it made one unable to help but believe him.

It seemed there was indeed some logic to it.

Since it was beneficial to both sides, she could not be considered as taking advantage of Li Zhi'an.

"Then it is a deal," Cheng Xi said.

There was not the slightest abnormality on Li Zhi'an's composed face, "I heard that in these two days, the Empress Dowager has frequently summoned Prince Jing to the palace; I imagine it is for his marriage. I think our matter should be done sooner rather than later. How about I invite a matchmaker to call on you tomorrow?"

"... That works too." Although Cheng Xi felt it was too fast, Prince Jing and the Empress Dowager were indeed forces that had to be guarded against.

The next day, the Prime Minister's wife came to call, acting as a matchmaker for Li Zhi'an.

The Prime Minister's wife was silver-tongued, praising Cheng Xi and Li Zhi'an as if they were unmatched in heaven or on earth; in her mouth, this marriage was a match made in heaven, second to none.

Cheng Xi was struck with admiration; only after the Prime Minister's wife left with her birth date details did she feel her ears were finally at peace.

The Prime Minister's wife sat in her own carriage and let out a long sigh of relief. This marriage was settled; if it hadn't been, she feared her youngest son's legs would not be safe.

Li Zhi'an was truly too excessive. She did not want to act as their matchmaker and offend the Empress Dowager and Prince Jing; after all, as the Prime Minister's wife, she was very well-informed about news within the palace.

Who knew that this scoundrel Li Zhi'an was so dark-hearted and ruthless? With her useless youngest son fallen into his hands, what else could she do?

Before the Prime Minister's wife's carriage had left, she saw from afar that people from the palace were coming, so she immediately told the coachman to turn around and slip away in the other direction.

At a time like this, how could she run into the Empress Dowager's people? If she were to enter the palace, how would she face the Empress Dowager?

The people from the palace naturally failed to get the result they wanted, and the decree for the bestowed marriage was taken back.

If Cheng Xi had become betrothed to someone else, at most the engagement would have been broken, but because it was Li Zhi'an... even the Empress Dowager did not quite dare to provoke this god of plague.

The Empress Dowager was intent on kicking Li Zhi'an out of the Tongtian Division, and even used his inheritance of the Regent's title as an excuse to strike again. As a result, if Li Zhi'an were not to be the head of the Tongtian Division, his subordinates like Jiang Boyu were all shouting that they would leave with Li Zhi'an.

Now the matter was at a stalemate; the Empress Dowager only wanted Li Zhi'an to get lost, she did not want the stage of the Tongtian Division to collapse.

If everyone from the Tongtian Division followed Li Zhi'an away, then what use did she have for the Tongtian Division?

The Empress Dowager could only give up.

As a result, now that the marriage had also been snatched away by Li Zhi'an, the Empress Dowager was practically exploding with rage, yet she had no way to deal with it!

Prince Jing had also not expected it to be like this, having been snatched away a step ahead by Li Zhi'an; he could not help but show a look of disappointment on his face.

The Little Emperor watched from the side, his eyes cold, and said indifferently: "There are so many noble ladies in Jindu; that Cheng Xi is merely an orphan. Mother Empress can just pick a better one for Imperial Younger Brother."

The Empress Dowager not liking Cheng Xi as a daughter-in-law was one thing, but having her snatched away by someone else was another matter entirely.

Hearing the Little Emperor's words, the Empress Dowager could not help but say: "The Emperor should also restrain Li Zhi'an. Now that he holds a title and manages the affairs of the Tongtian Division, he cannot neglect one thing at the expense of another and delay the major affairs of the court."

How could the Little Emperor not know what his mother meant? It was nothing more than wanting to seize power from Li Zhi'an's hands. He pretended not to understand and said slowly: "Lord Li is doing an excellent job; Mother Empress need not worry."

The Empress Dowager:...

"If there is nothing else, the Emperor may return first," the Empress Dowager said with a wave of her hand. This son of hers was not at all considerate; he only knew how to poke at her lungs.

The Emperor rose with a grim expression and strode away.

A fake Prince Ke had died, and now a Prince Jing who had been wandering among the commoners had arrived; no matter which one it was, in his mother's heart, they were better than him, her own son.

Even though the Little Emperor no longer cared, he still felt hurt inside.

Why were there biased people in this world?

The news of Li Zhi'an and Cheng Xi's betrothal was spread by the Prime Minister's wife very quickly; she wished she could turn into a rooster, so that the whole world would know the moment she crowed at dawn.

She visited five, six, seven, or eight households in succession, finally spreading the news of the two being betrothed at the fastest possible speed, and finally retrieved her son, complete with all four limbs, from Li Zhi'an's hands.

The Prime Minister had long been waiting with a stick; the Prime Minister's wife had not expected that her youngest son had escaped Li Zhi'an's stick, only to fail to escape his own father's.

With a wail, she hugged her son, whose leg had been broken by his own father, and began to cry. What kind of sin had she committed?

Thinking of the hard work of these past few days, had she known it would all be in vain, she might as well have let Li Zhi'an break his leg, saving her the trouble.

"Cry! You still have the face to cry! You raised our son to be like this, and now you implicate me, his father!" The Prime Minister threw the stick heavily onto the ground and cursed with a dark face, "The Four Great Academies are holding early entrance exams; everyone in Jindu can go to test their talent rankings. The Right Prime Minister's son has outstanding talent; if he gets an excellent ranking this time, my position as Left Prime Minister will not be secure. Will you be satisfied then!"

The Prime Minister's wife was so frightened she forgot to cry; in that instant, she wished she could pick up the stick herself and break this wicked son's leg!