Yun Xi took the letter from Shi Qian with a puzzled look. Then she unfolded it and quickly scanned the contents. Her initial surprise soon turned into shock!
"When did Father write this?"
Yun Xi stared intently at Shi Qian with burning eyes. She was eager to know under what circumstances her father could write such a letter that was like entrusting his daughter.
Shi Qian recalled carefully and answered seriously,
"I received this letter from Master about two months ago. So after seeing it, I rushed to the capital immediately."
"Two months ago?"
Yun Xi's eyes showed astonishment. Calculating the time, her father should still have been in Longchang and not yet returned to the capital. But why did her father anticipate that a great event would happen in the capital so early?
Did her father hear some news beforehand?
If so, why did he insist on returning to the capital?
Yun Xi's eyes were moist and her mind was in a knot. Her heart was filled with all kinds of questions.
What shocked her even more was that when her father knew the danger was coming, the first thing he thought of was to arrange a way out for her, rather than for himself!
"Elder sister, I want to read it too!"
Hearing their conversation, Yun Qi became curious. He took the letter from Yun Xi's hand and carefully read his father's personal letter line by line.
When Yun Qi read to the end, his face also gradually became strange. His eyes unconsciously lingered between Yun Xi and Shi Qian.
How could this be possible?
Why did Father anticipate that Elder Sister would be in a hurry to get married so early?
Moreover, in the letter, he even entrusted Shi Qian to "take good care" of Elder Sister and not let her marry anyone casually!
"What did your father say in the letter? You siblings should tell your grandmother quickly!"
Seeing that both siblings looked solemn and even showed a bit of strangeness, the old lady quickly urged them.
She came from a prominent family, and her maternal family was also a scholarly family. Although she could read and write, she was old now, with dim eyesight and poor hearing, so she couldn't read the letter anymore.
Hearing the old lady's words, Yun Qi first glanced at Yun Xi, then at Shi Qian, and carefully began,
"Grandmother, this letter was written by Father to Brother Shi. The general meaning is that if something happened to him, he wanted Brother Shi to marry Elder Sister to prevent her from acting impulsively... As for the other people in the Prime Minister's Mansion, Father said that they generally wouldn't be in danger. As long as we remained calm, we could safely get through the disaster."
Since Brother Shi received this letter two months ago, it showed that Father wrote this letter even earlier than two months ago!
"In this case, doesn't it mean that your father already vaguely anticipated his current situation? Why didn't he tell us about it in advance?"
The old lady also sensed something wrong and was full of anxiety on her face. She directly asked the question in her heart.
Regarding the old lady's question, Yun Qi was puzzled, Yun Xi was silent, but Shi Qian spoke up at this time,
"I think Master wanted to protect the Prime Minister's Mansion, so he didn't want everyone to know."
"Because the disaster Master encountered couldn't be easily solved by the other people in the Prime Minister's Mansion. If everyone made mistakes due to anxiety in a hurry, it would bring the disaster to others in the Prime Minister's Mansion, which would be counterproductive!"
Yun Sheng anticipated Yun Xi's actions because he knew his daughter's character very well. He was worried that she would use her marriage as an exchange to save him. Neither the Crown Prince nor Qi Rong was the right match for his daughter in his mind.
So he wrote a letter to Shi Qian in advance and indirectly entrusted Yun Xi to him, asking him to "take care" of Yun Xi!
As the saying goes, "All parents in the world are pitiful." Yun Sheng's love for Yun Xi was just like this.
Even though he knew he would be in trouble, he couldn't bear to let his daughter lose her happiness because of the loss of his protection!
Listening to Shi Qian's analysis, the three generations of the family fell into a long silence because they knew Shi Qian was right. Yun Sheng would indeed do so.
"How could he be so stupid? Does he think that if he sacrifices himself alone, we can live in peace? We are a family bound by blood!"
The old lady's voice was choked with sobs. Suddenly thinking that her son was suffering inhumane torture in the prison at this moment, but she, as a mother, couldn't do anything to help, she couldn't help but shed tears!
While wiping her tears, she beat her legs and blamed herself,
"If my legs could still walk, I could at least go to the palace gate to drum for justice! But now, although I have the title of imperial order, I can't even see your father!"
After Yun Sheng had an accident, the old lady had thought about ways to save her son. However, she couldn't walk well and couldn't enter the palace to meet the emperor in a sedan chair.
Therefore, even though she had written many letters to the Empress Dowager pleading for mercy, they were all returned intact.
It was estimated that those letters never even reached the Empress Dowager's palace...
"Grandmother, don't do this."
Seeing the old lady like this, a sense of desolation rose in everyone's hearts. Yun Qi quickly stepped forward and held the old lady's hand to stop her actions.
Yun Xi blinked her dry eyes, took a deep breath, and suddenly said to Shi Qian,
"Since Father has already agreed to my marriage, may I ask, Young Master Shi, would you be willing to act in a play with me?"
She had met Shi Qian once before, and at that time, the other party didn't mention this letter. It showed that he didn't intend to accept this marriage.
Now she planned to have a fake marriage to avoid being manipulated by others, but was opposed by her grandmother and younger brother. And Shi Qian took out this letter written by her father, which was like a timely help. She wouldn't misunderstand his intention because of this.
So she had to carefully ask the other party's opinion to avoid burdening him.
Meeting Yun Xi's bright black eyes, Shi Qian's heart skipped a beat. The corner of his lips unconsciously curled up into a gentle smile, and he stared deeply at Yun Xi.
"However, Master didn't allow me to act in a play with the Princess."
Hearing this, Yun Xi frowned slightly. For a moment, she couldn't figure out whether the other party was trying to decline politely or had some other meaning.
Seeing Yun Xi's silence, the old lady couldn't help but interrupt,
"What play are you still acting? Since there is the order of the parents, why don't you two really get married!"
"Your father is not here now. I'll decide this matter!"
Anyway, her son had said before that he would personally find a marriage for Yun Xi. Shi Qian was handsome, talented, and had a good family background. His character was beyond reproach.
Now standing together, the two of them looked like a perfect couple. They were pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at them.
If she had to choose, she also thought this young man was very much to her liking and she couldn't find any faults with him!
Seeing the old lady suddenly make a decision and push them into a corner, Yun Xi immediately looked anxious and quickly stopped her,
"Grandmother, don't put Young Master Shi in a difficult position!"
But before Yun Xi's voice fell, she heard a smiling voice beside her,
"I don't find it difficult."
Shi Qian's tone was firm, and his eyes were full of smiles, which left Yun Xi speechless and looking surprised.
"The Princess is extremely beautiful and rare in being both brave and resourceful. She must be the ideal lady that all men in the world dream of. It's my lifetime of good fortune to be able to marry the Princess as my wife!"
"I just don't know if the Princess finds it difficult in her heart?"