Ling Yufei stroked her neck, still bearing the mark of the white silk from that day.
Prime Minister Ling came in and glanced at her. He felt both heartache and anger. Lady Ling had been rebuked by Concubine Jia in public, which was already a warning.
But he saw his daughter looking utterly listless.
He had few legitimate children. So far, he and his wife only had a son and a daughter. Ling Yufei was his only legitimate daughter.
Now that she had done such a disgraceful thing, it was also the consequence of his and his wife's spoiling her since childhood.
"Feier, you..."
"If Father has come to admonish me, then please don't mention it," Ling Yufei said with dull eyes. "I will marry no one but Prince Yu in this lifetime!"
Prime Minister Ling was extremely angry. "You only think about Prince Yu, but you've become the laughingstock of the whole capital!" He had thought this daughter was intelligent, but now he saw how stubborn she was.
He looked at her helplessly. "Prince Yu and his wife are deeply in love. Even if you marry into his mansion, you'll only be a side character." Why bother? With the prestige of the Ling family, she could choose any young master from the families of court officials.
But Ling Yufei only had her heart set on Prince Yu, and she had spread all these rumors everywhere. This forced Prime Minister Ling to abandon the idea of finding a husband for her.
Her eyes instantly turned red. "I beg Father to grant my wish! I only want to be his wife in this lifetime, even if... I'm just a concubine."
"If I could see Zhongli Mingye every day, it would be worth dying for!"
"Ridiculous! A daughter of the Ling family becoming a concubine? How could you even think of such a thing!" Prime Minister Ling was furious, but he also felt heartache for his daughter.
He could only wave his sleeve and leave, not noticing the flash of determination in Ling Yufei's eyes.
That night, Ling Yufei's personal maid found her trying to take her own life again. Lady Ling couldn't bear it anymore and had to plead with Prime Minister Ling.
"For the sake of our daughter, please grant her wish, my lord."
The next day after the court session, Prime Minister Ling had a private audience with the emperor.
The emperor looked at him helplessly. Prime Minister Ling had always been honest and upright, and he never took sides in the court. He was deeply trusted by the emperor. Now, for the sake of Miss Ling San, he was actually kneeling there. The emperor was quite surprised. "Parents who love their children will plan for their long - term future."
"Lord Ling..."
"Your humble subject begs... Your Majesty to grant my wish! My daughter is deeply infatuated. Now, only by marrying into Prince Yu's mansion can she preserve her innocence."
The emperor's face darkened. He knew about Zhongli Mingye's feelings for Song Jinyu. Now... if he issued an imperial edict to let Ling Yufei enter Prince Yu's mansion,
... If Zhongli Mingye got the support of Prime Minister Ling,
He heard Prime Minister Ling say that his daughter didn't care about the title and was willing to be just a concubine. Thinking of this, the emperor verbally agreed to this matter.
Prime Minister Ling had spent his whole life protecting himself, but now he had to lower his head for his daughter. The emperor couldn't help but be a bit sarcastic. Did Ye'er really not want to fight for that position?
Or was he just biding his time?
He knew very well that among his sons, in terms of strategy and scheming, Zhongli Mingye was actually the most outstanding, but he never fought for anything and never did anything out of line.
So... it would be good to use Ling Yufei to test him.
After getting the emperor's oral order, Prime Minister Ling let out a sigh of relief.
Then he frowned again. It was so ridiculous! The legitimate eldest daughter of the prime minister's mansion was actually willing to be a concubine in Prince Yu's mansion!
He had originally thought that the emperor would show mercy and at worst, she would be a side princess. Who would have thought that the emperor didn't think of this aspect and just went with the flow. Ling Yufei's title as a concubine was now set in stone.
However, Prime Minister Ling thought that there was still room for maneuver. He could only talk to Zhongli Mingye and perhaps be able to strive for the position of side princess for Ling Yufei.
He Yi was listening to Concubine Jia and Concubine Shu talking about this matter. She was so angry that she stamped her feet. "This is simply too much! Ling Yufei is really shameless!"
"He Yi... Your fourth brother doesn't know about this yet."
"It will be too late when he finds out! Why did Father agree?" He Yi was anxious. Song Jinyu was only from a prefect's family, while Ling Yufei was the legitimate daughter of the prime minister's mansion.
Concubine Shu smiled. "My daughter - in - law is not simple."
Such a graceful and intelligent woman would surely know what to do. It's just... she hoped that it wouldn't affect their relationship.
In the Ling Prime Minister's Mansion, except for Ling Yufei, who was in a good mood, Prime Minister Ling and his wife both had cold expressions on their faces. After all, it was really a disgrace for their daughter to enter Prince Yu's mansion as a concubine with the status of the legitimate daughter of the prime minister's mansion.
"Don't be so anxious, Mother."
"I only ask for a chance. Once I enter the mansion, how can that low - status princess still hold her position firmly?" Ling Yufei said confidently. Her beautiful eyes were full of calculation as they flitted about.
Lady Ling looked at her and increasingly felt that Ling Yufei was just like herself when she was young. Prime Minister Ling had once been the top scorer in the imperial examination.
In order to win the top scorer's favor, she had forced her father to scheme against the Ling family.
And Concubine Jia, who had originally intended to form a marriage alliance with the Ling family, had accidentally entered the palace as a concubine. Concubine Jia had a gentle personality. Originally, Lady Ling and Concubine Jia had been good friends in their boudoir days.
Now, a similar thing was happening to her own daughter. Lady Ling felt that it wasn't so unacceptable to use any means necessary to achieve happiness.
She was just a girl from a prefect's family!
Once she added a few more fires to the situation, Ling Yufei might not just be a concubine. Ling Yufei secretly thought and became complacent. She was already eighteen years old. How could that fifteen - year - old princess compare to her in charm?
Song Jinyu looked at Zhongli Mingye with a frown. "You're just like someone waiting for a hare by the tree!" In the past, it was always her senior brothers who caught the rabbits, and she only had to eat.
Now, they had been busy for several hours, but they hadn't even seen a trace of a rabbit. Zhongli Mingye was also very helpless. He had never caught a rabbit on the battlefield before.
Finally, with the help of the steward of the estate, they caught one. This could be considered their harvest.
At noon, they ate the braised rabbit meat very contentedly. "..."
Zhongli Mingye looked at the rabbit meat in front of him thoughtfully. "My love... Eat more meat." His expression was strange. Song Jinyu pursed her lips and looked at Zhongli Mingye, not understanding his meaning.
"Eating more meat will help you gain weight..."
He leaned closer to her with a naughty smile. "Otherwise, it'll be uncomfortable." Uncomfortable? Uncomfortable?
What on earth was this?
Seeing his ill - intentioned look, Song Jinyu frowned. "You..." Sure enough, under that good - looking appearance, there was an unrivaled essence of a hypocrite.
She silently swallowed the rabbit meat and thought about how to turn the tables.
But for now, he was standing there, tall and handsome, and there didn't seem to be any flaws she could attack. Zhongli Mingye felt a bit nervous under her gaze. He gently pinched Song Jinyu's cheek. "Has all the meat gone to your face?"
His eyes fell on a certain beautiful part of her chest, as if he wanted to see through her.
"..."
Song Jinyu reached out and covered his eyes. "If you keep looking... I'll dig out your eyes!" She felt inexplicably shy.
Fortunately, they were full, so they got up and went out for a walk to digest the food.
But her mind was still thinking about what he meant by "uncomfortable".