Adhere to the gentleman's principles

Chapter 160 Gambling on Conscience

The next morning, sunlight poured into the room through the window, illuminating the entire house. The Yuan residence was peaceful and tranquil, but in this seemingly calm atmosphere, a dispute was unfolding.

Yuan Xinghui was half-kneeling beside Yu Yunqiu, her eyes full of pleading. She tightly grasped the corner of her grandmother's clothes and whispered, "Grandma, I really don't want to get married! I want to spend more time with you and Dad. Please, don't let Granny Liang come to propose marriage to me again, okay?"

Yu Yunqiu looked at her beloved granddaughter and could not help but feel helpless. She sighed and said earnestly, "Xinghui, do you know how difficult life is now? If a woman does not marry, how can she survive in the future? Besides, you are about the same age as Jun Ning, and she has already been betrothed. How can you fall behind?"

Yuan Xinghui's eyes welled up with tears after hearing her grandmother's words. She lowered her head and murmured to herself, "But... Grandma, I really don't like Liang Wuxie! He has bad behavior and is stupid and slow-witted. I hate him from the bottom of my heart. How can such a person be a good match for me?" After saying that, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

Yu Yunqiu felt distressed when she saw this. She knew her granddaughter was stubborn and it would be hard for her to change her mind once she made up her mind. But as an elder, she had to consider Yuan Xinghui's future. So, she gently patted Yuan Xinghui on the shoulder and comforted her: "Child, love can be cultivated slowly. Maybe after you get to know Liang Wuxie, you will find that he has his merits. Besides, marriage is a big matter, it is decided by parents and matchmakers, we can't do whatever we want."

At this moment, Liang Wuxie and Pingding Hou were on their way to Yuan Mansion with generous gifts. Yuan Song personally went out to greet them and invited them into the mansion.

As soon as she entered the house, Yuan Xinghui happened to run into Liang Wuxie, and she immediately turned around and was about to leave. "Stop! You have no manners, turning around and going into the inner room when there are guests." Yuan Song scolded.

Old Lady Yuan at the side quickly grabbed Yuan Xinghui's hand and motioned her to sit down first. At this time, Liang Wuxie, with a big smile on his face, walked into the room and saw Yuan Xinghui, and he was secretly delighted. He first bowed to Old Lady Yuan and said, "Hello, Grandmother!"

Then he turned to Yuan Xinghui and called out affectionately, "Hello, Sister Xinghui!"

Even though she didn't like Liang Wuxie in her heart, out of courtesy, Yuan Xinghui still stood up and responded with a forced smile on her face: "Hello, Uncle Liang, hello, young marquis." However, from beginning to end, Liang Wuxie's eyes never left Yuan Xinghui.

Marquis Pingding continued, "Aunt, this is a small gift from your nephew, please don't despise it. I have been thinking about you ever since your Yuan family, Marquis Guangping's Mansion and General Zhao's Mansion all moved back to Pingliang. After much observation, I felt that today was an auspicious day, so I came all the way from Yangzhou and brought my son to visit you." After saying that, he did not forget to ask his son behind him to greet the Yuan family.

The elders gathered together to discuss family and national affairs, but at this moment, in the garden, Liang Wuxie approached Yuan Xinghui with a flattering face.

He grinned and showed a flattering smile: "Sister Xinghui, it has been a long time since we last met! I wonder how you have been doing in Pingliang during this period of time?

Alas, I heard from others that you were so heroic and outstanding on the battlefield in Liangzhou. I really admired and envied you! In fact, I have always longed to fight on the battlefield like you, but unfortunately my father always said something like "I am the only son in the family" and refused to let me go to the battlefield..."

Hearing this, Yuan Xinghui sneered and said, "Young Marquis, you are of noble status, so you don't have to take risks like me to kill the enemy~ But speaking of your childhood... you were able to scheme against and bully Li Ziyan, the son of the Marquis of Guangping!

Who knows if you will suddenly change your mind and push me into the pack of vicious dogs? After all, I am not as good at martial arts as Li Ziyan!"

After hearing what Yuan Xinghui said, Liang Wuxie lowered his head in embarrassment. He muttered to himself: "Those were just stupid mistakes I made when I was young and ignorant... I have already apologized to Li Ziyan, and I will never do something like this again from now on. Please believe me..."

"Has it changed? If so, why did you trick Ning Yi into the deep forest and let those playboys tease her? If Li Ziyan hadn't happened to pass by, wouldn't Ning Yi have become an unclean person!

In addition, you actually burned the examination papers of Wen He and Li Ziyan, and falsely accused them of not being interested in learning. What's more, when you were young, you once said that you, Young Marquis Liang, looked down upon a woman like me who was neither male nor female. What's going on now?"

After saying this, Yuan Xinghui took another step back, looked at Liang Wuxie with a firm gaze, and said slowly: "I, Yuan Xinghui, have always valued friendship, and you know this very well."

Liang Wuxie didn't dare to look up at Yuan Xinghui at this time. He responded in a low voice: "Xinghui... I was indeed very foolish in the past, but I will never make the same mistake again from now on."

Facing Liang Wuji's confession, Yuan Xinghui just smiled slightly, then stared into his eyes and said softly: "I believe you will not make mistakes again in the future, but the gap between us is too deep, and we are not a good match."

Upon learning that Liang Wuxie was coming to Yuan Xinghui's house to propose marriage today, Xiao Xuantang was extremely anxious. He immediately put down his work and rushed to Yuan's house without stopping. As soon as he stepped into the gate of the mansion, Yuan Song came up to him, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Your Highness, Prince Qin, why did you suddenly come to the mansion?"

Xiao Xuantang stepped forward quickly, helped up his future father-in-law, and said anxiously: "Oh, I heard that General Yuan wanted to arrange a marriage for my beloved daughter, and I was very worried, so I came here to check. I wonder what kind of person this young Marquis Liang is like, and what his family background is like? I hope General Yuan will give me some advice." His words revealed his concern for Yuan Xinghui.

Yuan Song saw this and understood a little. He smiled and replied, "Your Highness, don't worry. The Liang family and my Yuan family are old friends. The young Marquis Liang is also a handsome man, gentle and elegant. He is a good match for my daughter."

As they were talking, the old lady Yuan on the side had already seen through everything. She smiled and interrupted, "The young people have something to talk about, so they all went to the garden. Zhu'er, quickly lead the way for His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin." After saying that, she did not forget to cast a meaningful look at Xiao Xuantang.

Xiao Xuantang understood what she meant and quickly waved his hand, saying: "Thank you for your kindness, old lady. However, I have been to Yuan Mansion many times and know the location of the garden, so I will not trouble Miss Zhuer. General Yuan, Marquis Pingding, you guys chat first, and I will go find Miss Xinghui." Before he finished speaking, he could not wait to walk towards the garden.

Arriving at the garden, I saw Yuan Xinghui and Liang Wuxie fighting fiercely from a distance. Yuan Xinghui used deadly killer moves in every move, and was obviously determined to defeat Liang Wuxie. Liang Wuxie kept dodging Yuan Xinghui's attacks, looking a little embarrassed.

Seeing this, Yuan Xinghui stopped what she was doing and shouted angrily: "Liang Wuxie, what the hell are you doing? I'm fighting with you, but you just keep dodging!" After that, she launched an attack on Liang Wuxie again.

This time, Liang Wuxie did not retreat, but tried his best to meet Yuan Xinghui's challenge. The two fought back and forth, and it was hard to tell who was better. Finally, at the critical moment, Yuan Xinghui made a beautiful comeback and successfully subdued Liang Wuxie.

"You lost!" Yuan Xinghui looked at Liang Wuxie who was lying on the ground proudly, "Go back and tell your father that I will never marry you! If you can't even beat me, what qualifications do you have to marry me?" Her eyes were full of determination and confidence.

Xiao Xuantang's mouth curled up slightly, and he was secretly glad in his heart. He stepped forward, clapped his hands vigorously, and said in a loud voice: "Excellent shooting skills! You are worthy of being the daughter of General Yuan. As the saying goes, a tiger father will have a dog daughter!"

Yuan Xinghui walked lightly to the weapon rack and threw the spear in her hand lightly, and the spear returned steadily to the rack. Then, she turned to face Xiao Xuantang, knelt on her knees, performed a standard etiquette, and said, "Greetings to His Majesty the King of Qin."

Liang Wuxie saw this and quickly knelt down to pay his respects. Xiao Xuantang saw this and quickly raised his hand and said gently, "Everyone, stand up. No need to be polite." However, his eyes never left Yuan Xinghui, as if he was firmly attracted by something.

Liang Wuxie naturally understood what Xiao Xuantang was thinking, so he deliberately coughed to break the awkward atmosphere and asked, "Your Highness, Prince Qin, I heard that His Majesty has just woken up, and you should be staying in the palace to serve him. I wonder why you have time to come to my home?"

"Young Marquis Liang is well-informed. I am a free-spirited person and will wait until my father is safe before leaving the palace, right? But young Marquis, I remember that Marquis Pingding was a fierce general who could sweep away the enemy army! His martial arts skills were amazing."

Xiao Xuantang raised the corner of his mouth slightly, looked at Liang Wuxie with a half-smile and said: "However, today's meeting has greatly disappointed me. The young marquis's martial arts are so... It is hard to imagine that a hero like Pingding Marquis would have such a mediocre offspring. But it's okay, since we meet today, and I happen to have nothing to do, why not have a competition with the young marquis. How about it?"

Liang Wuxie secretly complained in his heart. How could he not know what Xiao Xuantang was planning? But he was stubborn by nature and hated being provoked, especially in front of so many people. So, he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! Let's compete!"

Before he finished speaking, the two men were ready to fight. Liang Wuxie took the lead and used all his skills to perform all the moves he had learned. However, facing a master like Xiao Xuantang, these moves were obviously not enough. Soon, Liang Wuxie was kicked to the ground by Xiao Xuantang.

"Oh my, I always like to use all my strength in a competition. Is the young marquis injured?" Xiao Xuantang asked hypocritically, his eyes full of teasing.

Liang Wuxie covered his chest and coughed violently. Yuan Song and Liang Zheng, who heard that Xiao Xuantang would compete with Liang Wuxie, and Yuan's old wife Yu Yunqiu came. Liang Wuxie staggered to his feet and did not dare to look Yuan Xinghui in the eye. He walked straight to Liang Zheng, "Dad, let's forget about the marriage between Xinghui and me. I don't have the ability to protect Xinghui. Uncle Yuan, your nephew should not harm a good girl like Xinghui." After saying this, he looked at Yuan Xinghui with a complicated and regretful look.

Yuan Song also looked at Yuan Xinghui, and then saw Xiao Xuantang beside him. He also understood that Xiao Xuantang liked his daughter.

Li Ziyan, who had returned to the prison at this time, said to Zhou Aoyang, Lin Muchen, and Xu Wenhe outside the cell, "His Majesty has brought forward the time. Your case will be heard the day after tomorrow. Don't worry. Jun Ning's incident was an accident. Fortunately, it's nothing serious."

Li Ziyan interlocked his fingers and rested them on his chin. "These evidences cannot completely clear me. We need someone." The three looked at Li Ziyan, and Li Ziyan's eyes were already determined. "I want to bet on Xiao Zhengchu and Qin Zhuoyuan. I want to bet that Xiao Zhengchu is definitely not a fool, and I also want to bet on the conscience in Qin Zhuoyuan's heart."

"Can you bet on success?"

"Yes, I believe in my uncle's ability. I just need a little bit of Qin Zhuoyuan's conscience, and I also think Qin Zhuoyuan is magnanimous."