Chapter 68: My Zijin Says It Is Not Suitable to See Blood Today

After the reading was finished, the Eunuch gently rolled up the imperial decree and respectfully handed it to Jun Zijin. Jun Zijin took the decree and bowed gracefully:

"This daughter accepts the decree and thanks His Majesty for his great grace."

When she raised her head, her gaze swept calmly over Jun Yiyi’s twisted, angry face and the Lady’s venomous eyes. At this moment, the mother and daughter were seething with hatred, yet they were still struggling to feign magnanimity in front of everyone. Jun Zijin raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Wait!" a loud shout came from the kneeling crowd.

Jun Zhidie stood up. Regardless of the occasion, she rushed straight to Quan Aoyu, pointed at Jun Zijin, and said:

"Your Highness, you don't know yet, do you? Second Sister was abducted by thieves yesterday. We searched for her in the mountains all night. She is likely no longer pure."

Lady Li was startled, but she did not stop Jun Zhidie. It was a fact that the second girl had been abducted by thieves; she was not afraid that the Crown Prince would not believe it.

The Lady and Jun Yiyi exchanged a look; there was a good show to watch.

Zhou Yiniang held Jun Shuyan tightly, preventing her from acting rashly.

Cold sweat streamed down Jun Zhengming’s head. He cursed inwardly, wondering if this idiot wanted to die. Jun Zhidie did not know about this god of slaughter, but he did.

Quan Aoyu’s expression darkened as he stared at Jun Zhidie for a long time.

How could Jun Zhidie withstand being stared at like that? In an instant, a shy blush spread across her face. She lowered her head bashfully, not daring to meet those eyes again, and began to fidget in embarrassment.

After a while, Quan Aoyu asked:

"Who are you?"

"This young woman is the third daughter of the Jun household, born of the primary wife," Jun Zhidie said bashfully.

"Slap her mouth," Quan Aoyu said flatly, shifting his gaze away.

Several matrons from the honor guard immediately stepped out, pinned Jun Zhidie down, and slapped her across the face.

Quan Aoyu did not even look at her again. He walked straight to Jun Zijin, pulled her toward him, blocked her eyes with his body, and said softly:

"Don't look!" From now on, he and this girl were an engaged couple; he was protecting her with full justification—who dared to say otherwise?

Having received a slap, Jun Zhidie saw Quan Aoyu protecting Jun Zijin so fiercely and was unwilling to let it go. She shouted:

"Your Highness, everything I said is true! Everyone present can testify!"

Lady Li was terrified. She scrambled up from the ground to cover Jun Zhidie’s mouth, begging for mercy:

"Your Highness, please spare her! The Third Young Lady was searching for her Second Sister in the mountains last night. She caught a chill from the cold wind for half the night, and her mind is muddled from the fever, causing her to babble nonsense. Please, Your Highness, spare her."

Jun Zijin sneered. Even while begging for mercy for Jun Zhidie, Lady Li did not forget to emphasize that she had been abducted by thieves in the middle of the night.

Quan Aoyu and Jun Zijin exchanged a look, and he said dotingly, "How to deal with it is up to you."

Jun Zijin tilted her head slightly: "Let it go for today. It’s bad luck to see blood on such a good day." Although Jun Zhidie was indeed courting death, she did not want to see blood today.

"As you command." Quan Aoyu raised his eyebrows, turned slightly, and said to the matrons:

"My Zijin says it is not suitable to see blood today, so don't beat her until she bleeds."

Hearing this, Jun Zhidie felt a secret joy, thinking she had escaped a disaster. However, the matrons did not let her go and slapped her a dozen more times before stopping.

Jun Zhidie was beaten until she was dizzy and disoriented; she couldn't even cry. Her ears were buzzing, and she felt as if her teeth had loosened. As soon as she was released, she collapsed to the ground. Her face was bruised and swollen high, yet not a drop of blood had been shed. Those who came from the palace had plenty of ways to torture people; they had a knack for hitting—they could knock out a mouthful of teeth with a few slaps, or leave someone in agonizing pain with a face swollen for days, all without a single drop of blood flowing out.

Lady Li was scared out of her wits. It took her a long time to recover, then she lunged forward to embrace Jun Zhidie and burst into loud sobs.

Jun Zhengming dared not let the mother and daughter of the second branch cause any more trouble. Fearing that he would anger Quan Aoyu and bring disaster upon the entire Jun household, he quickly ordered: "Quickly take the Second Lady and the Third Young Lady back!"

Although no one knew why that terrifying god of slaughter, who made people tremble at the mere mention of his name, had recently acted out of character and seemed to be in a rather good mood—sometimes even inexplicably revealing a faint smile on his usually taut, frost-like face—who could guarantee that this ruthless god of slaughter wouldn't suddenly lash out?

Quan Aoyu’s cold gaze swept over the two of them, and he shouted coldly:

"For the sake of my Zijin, I will let you off easy."

Lady Li dared not make another sound and helped Jun Zhidie away.

The Lady and Jun Yiyi had watched a good show and were secretly pleased that the second branch had suffered, finally venting some of their frustration. However, they were even more confused as to when the Crown Prince and that slut Jun Zijin had become so familiar. Jun Yiyi was furious that Jun Zijin had seduced the Crown Prince behind everyone's back, and she glared fiercely at Jun Zijin.

Quan Aoyu glanced at the others who were still kneeling, his gaze landing on Jun Zhengming:

"Minister Jun, I will spare you for the sake of your diligence in searching for Zijin. Get up; don't just stand there on the ground. I have brought betrothal gifts today."

After Quan Aoyu finished speaking, he ignored everyone else, took Jun Zijin by the hand, and walked toward the front hall of the residence as if he were familiar with the place.

Everyone was stunned again. What? Bestowing a marriage and bringing betrothal gifts? No wonder there were so many carriages covered in red silk behind him. But the usual process after a marriage bestowal involved a series of essential steps: sending betrothal gifts, inquiring about the name, choosing an auspicious date, formalizing the engagement—only at the formalizing stage would gifts be sent—requesting the date, and the wedding procession.

But this Crown Prince was too willful. Not only did he come in person to read the decree, but he also sent the betrothal gifts with such great fanfare. This move by the Crown Prince was likely unprecedented. The items in front were being moved into the Jun residence, while the carriages behind were still arriving in an endless stream. At this point, except for the calm Zhou Yiniang and Jun Shuyan, Jun Yiyi could no longer feign magnanimity. The Lady grabbed Jun Yiyi tightly and whispered a reprimand: "Are you crazy? If we offend the Crown Prince now, we won't have a good end." Jun Yiyi deflated, tears welling in her eyes, and could only watch helplessly as box after box of betrothal gifts were carried into the residence.

Jun Zhengming ordered the servants to invite the Old Lady, then followed Quan Aoyu into the front hall and ordered tea to be served.

Ever since the Old Lady heard the good news, the smile on her face had never ceased. As soon as she entered the room in her wheelchair, her gaze fell upon Quan Aoyu. She looked him up and down, as if she could never get enough of looking at him.

While staring intently at Quan Aoyu, the Old Lady kept nodding to herself, muttering, "Good, good, my second girl has good fortune."

Facing the Old Lady’s eager gaze and actions, Quan Aoyu appeared very calm and composed, not feeling the slightest bit annoyed or impatient at being scrutinized this way. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a gentle smile as he sat there quietly, letting the Old Lady admire him.

Jun Zijin clicked her tongue and winked at Quan Aoyu. Being good-looking is really something.

As if he had heard Jun Zijin’s inner monologue, Quan Aoyu raised his eyebrows, his gentle eyes carrying a hint of a smile.

Seeing these two shameless people flirting in front of everyone, Jun Yiyi wished she could stand between them so that Quan Aoyu’s gentle gaze would fall on her instead.

How could the Lady not know what her daughter was thinking? She patted Jun Yiyi gently. Jun Yiyi pouted and turned her head away, refusing to look at them anymore.

After watching for a long while, the Old Lady said with satisfaction:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, I ask for nothing else, only that you treat my granddaughter sincerely in the future and do not let her suffer any grievances."

Quan Aoyu said with a solemn expression:

"Old Lady, please set your heart at ease! Zijin saved my life. In this life, even if I were to fail everyone else in this world, I would never fail her! No matter what hardships or obstacles we encounter in the future, I will never let her suffer harm or grievances. I am willing to exhaust all my efforts to give her the most beautiful things in the world."