Her words were firm and resounding, echoing through the hall like thunderclaps.
They struck at people's hearts, splashing drops of blood and tears.
This slender and delicate woman showed more backbone than many of the men present. Even under the imperial authority, she did not flinch. The ministers who had just been shouting that Yun Xi was selfish and only concerned about her own love affairs while ignoring the well - being of the common people now hung their heads in shame.
Gazing at Yun Xi, who was kneeling upright in the main hall, Yun Weisheng's eyes were red.
No one knew better than him the cruelty of the battlefield.
Those vivid lives that had left one by one, the severed limbs, the stinking and torn flesh...
He thought that only he remembered those deep - seated hatreds that could never be erased even in the next life.
But he never expected that his daughter, who had been raised in the boudoir, also remembered them all the time.
Moreover, she did not hide her feelings among the royal relatives and high - ranking officials in the hall just because she was a nobody.
Having such a daughter, what else could he ask for!
"Your Majesty,"
Walking up to Yun Xi's side, Yun Weisheng knelt on one knee with a fist in his hand and said,
"Just as my daughter said, I also beg Your Majesty to choose another worthy person."
"Xiao Xi is right,"
Qiao Yan stepped forward from behind. With an indignant look on her face, she bowed and echoed,
"Your Majesty, you are a wise and unparalleled emperor. Princess Yun must not marry the Seventh Prince. Please reconsider this matter."
Seeing Qiao Yan so loyal and coming out to speak for Yun Xi, Liu Jingyue, Yun Qi, and even Su Zhongjie and others also stepped forward and unanimously opposed the marriage alliance proposed by Zongzheng Fengyi.
Emperor Zhaohuan seemed to be lost in thought. He neither agreed nor refuted.
Unexpectedly, so many people came out to speak for Yun Xi. Yi Zhen was extremely unhappy. She clenched the sleeve in her hand until it was all wrinkled. Just as she was about to speak again, she heard Zongzheng Fengyi let out a disdainful sneer, saying,
"What Miss Yun said is indeed true. But nine out of ten soldiers of the Great Yin Dynasty died at the hands of our Yingguo soldiers. In turn, weren't most of our Yingguo soldiers also killed by the soldiers of the Great Yin Dynasty?"
"Precisely because the common people suffered during the war between the two countries, I came here to propose marriage in order to promote peace between the two countries. Since I can let go of my hatred, with Miss Yun's righteousness, why can't she?"
"Moreover, every wrong has its culprit. Those who advocated the war and led the troops were all from my second brother's faction. I have always been in favor of peace and opposed to war. If Miss Yun marries me, it will bring benefits to both countries. I can also get justice for your grandfather's matter."
Fine! For every word she said, Zongzheng Fengyi had a hundred to refute. It seemed that he had been well - prepared.
Turning to look at the Seventh Prince, Yun Xi did not answer him immediately.
She had already refused so firmly, but Zongzheng Fengyi still persisted.
It was impossible that he liked her so much. Then why did he insist? There must be something fishy going on!
But what could it be?
Yun Xi's mind raced, but she couldn't figure it out.
So she simply kowtowed heavily to Emperor Zhaohuan and said straightforwardly,
"Your Majesty, there are many brave, resourceful, and talented women in the world. I also know that I am not some celestial beauty. I don't have the charm to make the Seventh Prince fall head - over - heels in love with me at first sight and insist on marrying me."
"But the Seventh Prince's repeated insistence makes me suspicious."
"I have a way to test the truth behind the Seventh Prince's insistence on marrying me. If the Seventh Prince is truly innocent and sincere in his proposal, I am willing to kowtow and apologize to the Seventh Prince for my small - mindedness. But if the Seventh Prince has other motives under the guise of proposing marriage, then the Seventh Prince..."
Yun Xi turned her head slightly, and a flash of sharpness passed through her eyes as she glanced at Zongzheng Fengyi from the corner of her eye:
"Must give me a satisfactory explanation."
"What do you say? Is the Seventh Prince innocent?"
The hall instantly fell silent.
Everyone's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. On the one hand, they were curious about how Yun Xi could figure out the truth, and on the other hand, they were waiting for Zongzheng Fengyi's answer.
Even Emperor Zhaohuan leaned forward with interest and asked,
"Oh? Tell me how you plan to test it?"
Just as Yun Xi was about to answer, Zongzheng Fengyi stepped in first and said leisurely,
"Miss Yun, think carefully before you speak."
"If your method fails to prove anything or gets it wrong, I will make you... my Seventh Princess."
Yun Xi was taken aback.
She was taking a gamble, betting that Zongzheng Fengyi had other motives.
But what if she was wrong?
Yun Xi turned her head and looked at Yi Yuan in the distance. Their eyes met, and she could see the unconditional trust in his eyes.
After a moment's thought, Yun Xi didn't respond to Zongzheng Fengyi. She just said,
"I think everyone here knows the Immortal Maiden Manping. She once helped me during the Ye family incident. I have visited her privately many times, and we have a good relationship."
"The immortal maiden pitied me for being naive in the past, for being easily deceived by others with just a few words. So she secretly gave me a treasure..."
As she said this, Yun Xi pulled out the bamboo - shaped wooden pendant that Shen Zhou had returned to her from her neck, untied it, and held it up high for everyone to see. Without blushing or hesitating, she lied,
"This is the wooden pendant."
"Don't look down on this pendant. The immortal maiden said that this was a gift from the Great Master Qingyi when she was a child. They met her parents who were about to part ways. At that time, she was young and her Taoist skills were still shallow. The Great Master Qingyi was afraid that she would be deceived, so he gave this to her to help her distinguish people's hearts."
"The immortal maiden said that if one day I want to distinguish the truth of others' words, I just need to tie this object around the other person's wrist myself, draw a talisman on their wrist with my finger, and silently recite the incantation she taught me. Then when I ask the other person the question I want to know, all their true thoughts will appear in my mind."
Slowly scanning the hall, Yun Xi's eyes fell on Zongzheng Fengyi. Half - challenging and half - serious, she said,
"If anyone doesn't believe me, I can test it on someone right now to prove the authenticity of this treasure."
"But the Seventh Prince can rest assured. I won't ask about any of your secrets. I will only ask about the truth behind why you insist on marrying me. This is just a small test. The Seventh Prince... surely won't be too scared, right?"
The whole hall was in an uproar again.
Everyone present was unable to practice Taoism and had no chance of obtaining the mind - reading ability of the Immortal Maiden Manping.
But if they could have such a treasure like Yun Xi, then finding out all kinds of secrets of their opponents, the military affairs and strategies of other countries, or even the cultivation methods of high - yielding rice seeds would be as easy as taking something out of a bag!
In the past, when they heard about Manping's mind - reading ability, they could only envy her. But today, Yun Xi's move made it seem that this mind - reading ability could fall on anyone present. Many ministers immediately started to scheme in their hearts, staring at the cheap wooden pendant in Yun Xi's hand with greedy eyes.
Those who knew that Yun Xi was the Immortal Maiden Manping watched her spout nonsense and saw the others looking at the pendant like hungry wolves. They almost burst out laughing on the spot.
But Yun Xi ignored everyone else. She stared directly into Zongzheng Fengyi's eyes and kindly asked him again,
"Seventh Prince, dare to take the test?"