Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 429 Postponement

Xu Xianglan never expected Li Chengyue to appear.

The moment she saw him, she went limp and felt a sudden ache in her wrist, causing her carving knife to fall to the ground.

Xu Shan never expected Li Chengyue to appear.

He pointed at Xu Xianglan in front of him and said, "Thank you, Lord Li. Please don't pay any attention to her. She has completely gone mad. She is engaged but ran away from home. But I really didn't know anything about her disguising herself as a man."

Xu Shan immediately tried to shirk responsibility.

He was afraid that Li Chengyue would come after him.

Li Chengyue scoffed, "You know nothing. I've known for a long time that she's a woman, so what? She's exceptionally capable, can help the Ministry of Works, and is a rare talent."

"And you actually want to marry such a talented woman to a fool? Where is your conscience as her father?"

Xu Shan was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that Li Chengyue would know that she was a woman.

"It is only natural for a daughter to marry. It is the parents' decision and the matchmaker's words. Even Lord Li cannot interfere in this matter." He still mustered up his courage and stood his ground.

"Moreover, if Lord Li needs help, I can do my best; it doesn't have to be her."

Xu Shan looked at Li Chengyue and added, "Unless Lord Li has ulterior motives." He deliberately steered the conversation toward matters of incest between men and women.

Even Li Chengyue cannot bear the responsibility and stigma of being mistaken for a couple who are adulterous.

Xu Xianglan was furious. "What nonsense are you talking about? Lord Li and I are completely innocent. Nothing has happened between us!"

"Why are you in such a hurry? I am your father, and of course I want to clear your name. All I need now is a word from Lord Li!" Xu Shan was hoping to rely on Li Chengyue. If he had such a son-in-law as a backer, wouldn't he rise to prominence overnight?

Li Chengyue couldn't help but sneer. He had seen far too many scoundrels like this when he was in the county government.

If it were an ordinary civil official, he might have swallowed his anger for the sake of his reputation.

But who is he?

He dared to directly drive the heir of the Marquis of Zhenning out of the capital, and even nearly killed him!

"I'll say it again, this woman is employed by the Ministry of Works and is not allowed to marry. Do you refuse to agree?"

Xu Shan pursed his lips. "She is my daughter, and I must consider her future..."

"Alright, arrest him and send him to the Dali Temple for interrogation." Li Chengyue ordered directly, "He insisted on taking away the people from the Ministry of Works' private workshops. Perhaps he has already contacted the Chu Kingdom to steal weapons secrets."

"Have the people from the Dali Temple investigate thoroughly. Do not release them without my order."

"Yes."

Li Chengyue's men immediately grabbed Xu Shan, pinned him down, and carried him away like a tied-up chicken.

Xu Shan was taken aback by Li Chengyue's direct order. "What? We can discuss this. What could I possibly have to do with the Chu Kingdom? Waaah..." His mouth was immediately gagged, and he couldn't utter another word.

Xu Xianglan peeked through the gap in Li Chengyue's arm and saw her father being taken away.

She didn't breathe a sigh of relief, after all, the Dali Temple and the State of Chu had been mentioned. "...Father is a bit confused, but he wouldn't collude with the State of Chu to betray the State of Qi." She still offered an explanation for her father.

Li Chengyue flicked her on the head and said, "You really don't have a brain!"

Xu Xianglan's forehead stung from the flick, and her dried tears flowed again.

"What are you looking at? Get in the car."

Li Chengyue captured Xu Shan and also stopped the carriage he had hired, ordering it to go directly to the Imperial Household Department.

Xu Xianglan didn't understand why she had to go there. "I haven't changed my clothes yet, I'm going back to get them..."

"What do you mean by 'change'? Go tell everyone at the Sculpture Festival right now that you are a woman, and your name is Xu Xianglan. Are you going to spend your whole life disguised as a man and unable to show your face in public?"

Li Chengyue looked at her with exceptional seriousness, "What men can do, women can do too."

"There is more than one Liu Yuechu in the world."

……

Xu Xianglan burst into laughter through her tears, overjoyed. "I must go and kowtow to the Duchess again. If it weren't for her encouragement, I wouldn't have dared to disobey today."

Li Chengyue chuckled softly and said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Liu Yuechu, who was genuinely grateful to Xu Xianglan, was secretly delighted.

Because the dirty tricks she gave Song Liu'er worked.

Originally, T.V. Soong had already completed the fourth carving, and it was still being praised and lauded by everyone.

Song Liu'er suddenly appeared and said with a low sarcasm, "You've spent your whole life sculpting statues of saints and Zhong Kui. If you're so capable, sculpt a Yan Kingdom deity statue that the Great Qi has never seen before. Only then can you show your skill. Otherwise, what's with all the arrogance?"

His words immediately silenced the room.

Song Ziwen was furious, but when he saw that it was Song Liu'er, he was speechless and couldn't say a word.

People thought he would have a fight with the head steward of the Liu family, but no one expected that Song Ziwen would not say a word, but would directly take a piece of fine wood and carefully carve the statue of the Yan Kingdom.

The statue was only half-carved when Song Liu'er finally produced a drawing.

“The one you sculpted is a sketch; this is the real statue.”

The deity in the picture is so lifelike that even the single tear in his eye, a tear of compassion for all living beings, is crystal clear and exquisitely realistic.

"Isn't this too difficult?"

"You're just making things difficult for me."

……

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, with most of the criticism directed at Song Liu'er.

Without saying a word, Song Ziwen put down the wood carving in his hand, chose a new piece of wood, and began to carve according to the image of the god in Song Liu'er's drawing.

Everyone was silent.

Firstly, no one expected that Song Ziwen would actually go and carve the statue of the Yan Kingdom;

Secondly, who is this person? How could Song Ziwen listen to everything he said without even offering a word of rebuttal?

Song Liu'er was both pained and hurt, but in truth, he wished Song Ziwen would argue with him a bit.

But T.V. Soong didn't say a word, and just kept carving all day without even drinking a drop of water.

They carved until nightfall, but Song Liu'er grew impatient and sent someone to deliver a message to Liu Yuechu.

Upon receiving this news, Liu Yuechu felt relieved.

"My move was really underhanded, but he brought it on himself, so let's just bear with it."

Although she had anticipated that Song Ziwen would carve a statue of the Yan Kingdom's deity, she hadn't expected him to offer no objection. If that was the case, it wasn't that he hadn't been paying attention to Song Liu'er's movements at all.

Perhaps they've been watching silently from the shadows all along, but simply refuse to show themselves.

But she didn't sympathize with T.V. Soong. What kind of good person would abandon their own son? There was no need to make the story too perfect, just to put her mind at ease.

She was happily enjoying the results of her underhanded tricks and was even thinking about whether to have a nice meal to celebrate in advance.

But the joy didn't last long.

The Ministry of Rites suddenly sent a message.

"The Imperial Household Department suddenly sent word that the final competition will be postponed. It's urgent, so I've come specifically to inform the Duchess."

"Why is it postponed?" Liu Yuechu was stunned.

The official from the Ministry of Rites touched his nose. "Because the Emperor of Chu is coming to Daqi in person to attend the grand event."