Chastised by her husband, Lady Wei felt a complex mix of emotions, yet she nodded:
"Please give our daughter some more time, my lord. I'll persuade her well."
Not wanting to come across as a man who sold his daughter for personal gain in front of his wife, Minister Wei let out a cold snort. Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he stormed off in a huff.
Once her husband was out of sight, Lady Wei ordered a maid to find her son outside the mansion. As evening fell and the sky gradually darkened, Wei Chengyang, as requested by his mother, took great care to avoid being seen. He quietly led his younger sister out of the mansion through the back courtyard and headed straight for the Prince Xian's Mansion.
Originally, Wei Chengyang didn't agree with his mother's decision. But to make his sister give up her infatuation, he had no choice but to comply.
Along the way, Wei Chengyang watched his sister, who had dressed up nicely for the first time in a long while but still looked haggard and emaciated. His heart ached.
He wanted to persuade her several times not to be so stubborn, for Qi Rong had never chosen her before, and it was even more unlikely now.
His sister was just humiliating herself by rushing to the Prince Xian's Mansion like this!
However, the words died on his lips. He knew his sister well. If she wasn't given a harsh dose of reality and rejected by Qi Rong face - to - face, she would never truly give up.
If things dragged on, she would only suffer more!
"Brother, what are you looking at? Have I become ugly recently? Or is this hairpin I'm wearing not nice?"
Seeing her brother staring at her intently without saying a word, Wei Xueming nervously touched her cheek. She was afraid that she didn't look good enough and that her Rong gege would dislike her later.
"You look perfect like this."
Meeting his sister's worried face, Wei Chengyang felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Just like when they were kids, he reached out and stroked the top of her head, comforting her:
"My sister is the best girl in the world. If someone doesn't like you, it's their loss."
Hearing her brother's words, Wei Xueming showed her teeth in a smile and instantly nestled into Wei Chengyang's arms. Her voice was timid as she said:
"But what if the one without taste is Rong gege?"
She knew this was her last desperate hope!
If she couldn't stay in the Prince Xian's Mansion, her father would send her to the palace, where she would have to face the man who made her life a living hell every day!
She grabbed Wei Chengyang's hand and pleaded desperately:
"Brother, you've grown up with Rong gege since childhood, and you're the closest to him! Please help me, okay?
"As long as you plead with Rong gege, he will surely let me stay in the Prince Xian's Mansion for your sake! I don't care about my status. Even if I'm just a maid in the mansion, as long as I can stay by Rong gege's side, I'll have no regrets in death!"
Looking at his sister's tear - streaked and humble face, Wei Chengyang's heart ached.
He didn't know how to tell his sister that although he and Qi Rong were friends, their friendship was limited.
Qi Rong wouldn't change his principles for anyone. Since he hadn't accepted his sister in the first place, he wouldn't make any concessions just because of his words.
That's why he had advised his sister to let go from the start, not Qi Rong.
"Promise me, brother! You know I'd rather die than enter the palace! It would be a living hell for me!"
Seeing Wei Chengyang remain silent for a long time, Wei Xueming hugged his waist and cried out in supplication until Wei Chengyang finally relented.
"Xueming, brother promises to help you, but I can't guarantee the result."
Wei Chengyang first prepared his sister mentally, worried that she might not be able to accept the final outcome and might do something drastic. Then he promised:
"If you're really rejected by him, brother hopes you'll be strong. If you don't want to enter the palace, brother will take you far away from the capital. As long as you live well, you'll surely let go of your obsession and meet someone suitable for you!"
Hearing Wei Chengyang's promise, Wei Xueming was overjoyed and immediately nodded:
"I promise you, brother."
Although she promised with her mouth, Wei Xueming felt deeply guilty towards her brother and mother. Because she had already made up her mind:
Even if she had to die today, she would die in the Prince Xian's Mansion, so that Rong gege would remember her for the rest of his life!
The Wei family's carriage traveled for a long time and finally stopped in front of the Prince Xian's Mansion.
Seeing that it was the young master of the Wei family, the guards showed great respect, for Wei Chengyang was one of Qi Rong's few close friends and often visited the mansion. The guards naturally knew him well.
On normal days, Wei Chengyang would be directly invited into the mansion's living room to wait. But this time, they stopped the two at the door.
"What do you mean?"
Wei Xueming was eager to enter the mansion and see Qi Rong. Seeing the guards blocking their way, her face instantly darkened.
Because in the past, the guards would never have behaved like this!
"Miss Wei, please calm down. Our madam has stipulated that anyone entering the mansion must register with the master in advance. Only after getting permission can one enter the mansion."
The guards replied respectfully and then led the siblings to a stone table at the door. They handed a brush dipped in ink to Wei Chengyang:
"Please sign your name and your sister's on this list, Young Master Wei."
The guards' series of actions made the siblings frown. But since it was a new rule in the mansion, Wei Chengyang signed his and his sister's names on the scroll without hesitation.
But because of this aloof rule, Wei Xueming's eyes instantly burned with displeasure. She frowned and stared directly at the guard:
"You said madam? When did the mansion get a madam?"
As far as she knew, there were only two concubines in the mansion. One was the lowly dancer Wushuang, and the other was an unremarkable old woman.
She wondered where this new madam had come from! How dare she block her way!
"What kind of power does she have to make decisions for your prince and block the prince's friends outside the mansion?!"
Wei Xueming's willow - shaped eyebrows shot up, and her face was full of anger. Coupled with her somewhat gaunt and bony face at the moment, she looked a bit mean. The guards could hardly believe that this was the Wei Xueming who was once hailed as the most beautiful woman in the capital!
Under Wei Xueming's aggressive questioning, the guards had to answer carefully:
"Our madam is the prince's newly taken concubine, the Princess Yongning."
Madam, concubine, Princess Yongning?
Wei Xueming looked blank, and her eyes instantly showed shock. She stared at the guard almost fiercely and grabbed the front of his collar tightly with both hands:
"Do you mean Yun Xi from the Prime Minister's Mansion?!"
Startled by Wei Xueming's rude behavior, the guard could only nod instinctively.
"What? It's really her!!"
Wei Xueming gritted her teeth, her eyes bloodshot, and her face almost distorted! Seeing this, Wei Chengyang immediately stepped forward and pulled the guard's collar out of his sister's hands.
"When did this happen? Why didn't I know?!"
Wei Xueming suddenly grabbed Wei Chengyang's arm and hysterically questioned him.
"It happened while you were at home. We were afraid you couldn't bear it, so we didn't tell you."
Wei Chengyang looked helpless, while Wei Xueming bit her lip so hard that blood oozed out.
During the time when she was suffering so much because of Yun Xi, that bitch had actually swaggered into the Prince Xian's Mansion and become Rong gege's bedmate!
For her, this was such a humiliation!