allonlinenovel Chapter 424 Delay strategy
Chapter 424 Delay strategy
Yu Wan quietly slipped into the Yun residence through the back door.
Then they saw Madam Shen and Yunxi sitting in the hall, their faces as pale as paper.
Yu Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she instantly realized that Li Zhuoyue must have already threatened Yun Xi with the household registration.
Upon hearing the noise, Shen and Yunxi stood up simultaneously.
Shen unconsciously gripped her sleeves tightly, her fingertips turning white, and hurried towards Yu Wan.
Madam Shen said, "Yu Niang, take a look at this..."
Yunxi stood there, asking, "Does sister-in-law already know?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
Yu Wan nodded.
Yunxi let out a soft breath, slowly lowered her eyes, and unconsciously smoothed a stray hair behind her ear with her right hand. Her voice was very soft: "Li Zhuoyue is only using my household registration to threaten me now. If I don't comply, I'm worried he might even harm Mother..."
"I can't drag my mother down with me."
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen's face turned deathly pale, and she reached out to grab Yunxi's hand.
He said urgently, "Xi-jie, don't be foolish! Li Zhuoyue is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Even if you agree to his request, he may not let me go or give up."
Shen's voice trembled, her heart and eyes filled with worry and anxiety for her daughter.
Yu Wan glanced at Yun Xi, seemingly lost in thought.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Mother-in-law, Yunxi probably didn't mean that."
Yunxi's eyes lit up slightly as she looked at Yu Wan expectantly.
Yu Wan smiled and slowly said, "Since he hasn't affixed his official seal yet, it means there's still room for maneuver. We might as well pretend to accept the Li family's marriage proposal. It's just a marriage proposal; it's not like we can't back out."
Yunxi nodded hurriedly, indicating that she thought so too.
She could feign compliance with someone like Li Zhuoyue, but she would never actually become his concubine.
If things really come to that, she will do everything in her power to take him down with her!
Yunxi didn't voice these thoughts, but smiled and took Shen's arm, saying softly, "Mother, what my sister-in-law said makes sense. Let's agree for now, delay for a few days, and then slowly think of a solution."
Yu Wan also said, "Yunxi's household registration is currently in Li Zhuoyue's hands, and he can affix the official seal at any time, so we must keep him in check first."
Although Shen was full of worries, seeing that Yu Wan and Yun Xi had made up their minds, she had no choice but to nod in agreement.
But tears still welled up in her eyes: "It's all my fault, I wasn't good enough to protect you, which gave that villain an opportunity."
Yunxi hurriedly raised her hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of Shen's eyes and said softly, "Mother, how can this be blamed on you? It's Li Zhuoyue who is too despicable."
Yu Wan frowned, as if thinking of something, "Li Zhuoyue's actions probably have another purpose."
After she finished speaking, Yunxi suddenly looked up and met her gaze, her pupils shrinking.
She instantly realized another reason and murmured, "What my sister-in-law means is that he's testing me..."
"They're testing whether my brother is really dead!"
Yunxi felt a chill run down her spine. She had thought Li Zhuoyue was just blinded by lust, but she never expected him to have such thoughts!
Yu Wan did not respond to Yun Xi immediately, but nodded solemnly.
There was a brief silence in the room.
Shen listened to their conversation but didn't understand.
She was completely confused. "Test what? Didn't they already send someone to confirm?"
Yunxi took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
Yu Wan explained softly to Madam Shen, "Mother-in-law, Li Zhuoyue may still not believe that Yun Shang is 'dead.' The Prince of Qi is suspicious and may not believe it easily. He probably also suspects that Yun Shang faked his death."
"Li Zhuoyue's desire to take Xi'er as a concubine is most likely part of Prince Qi's scheme. The two of them probably also want to take this opportunity to test how the Yun family will respond to Yun Xi forcing me to become a concubine."
Concern leads to confusion; if Yun Shang reveals any flaws because of Yun Xi, the King of Qi will definitely seize the opportunity to make trouble.
……
King Qi did indeed want to take this opportunity to test whether Yun Shang was truly dead.
However, Li Zhuoyue had not mentioned this to him before.
When the King of Qi learned of this, one of his subordinates complained to him.
His subordinate, jealous of his high regard for Li Zhuoyue, sent him the news that Li Zhuoyue wanted to take a woman from the Yun family as a concubine, hoping to sow discord between them.
King Qi listened to him with a smile, then beckoned his guards and ordered them to beat him to death in public.
His smile was as warm as a spring breeze, but his bloody and ruthless methods served as a reminder to everyone that this was the consequence of gossiping behind people's backs.
After beating his subordinate to death, King Qi leaned back lazily in his chair, his slender fingers tapping lightly on the armrest. The gentle smile still lingered on his lips, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
He spoke lazily, "I don't want to kill anyone either, but as you all should know, I dislike meddlesome people the most."
The other subordinates in the courtyard were silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to make a sound, for fear that they might accidentally bring about their own deaths.
It seems that the prince's trust in the young master of the Li family is extraordinary.
When the Li family steward came to the door for the third time, Madam Shen suppressed her anger and humiliation and accepted the betrothal gifts.
The butler was somewhat surprised, but his face quickly filled with a fake smile as he relayed to Madam Shen with a grin: "Madam Yun, the eldest young master said that ten days from now is an auspicious day. Please prepare well and wait for your wedding in peace."
Shen forced out a stiff smile, a smile more painful than tears, but the hatred in her eyes burned like a raging fire, impossible to conceal.
Seeing Shen's reaction, the steward nodded inwardly.
That's right.
Although the Yun family was not of high social standing, they had enjoyed a period of prosperity. Now that Yun Xi, a respectable woman, was being forced to become a concubine, Shen Shi, as the mother, should feel disgust and hatred.
The steward returned and told Li Zhuoyue everything about Shen's reaction. Li Zhuoyue played with the newly acquired walnuts and chuckled, "It seems Yun Shang is really dead."
The butler blinked in confusion, not understanding.
Li Zhuoyue raised her eyes, glanced at the steward indifferently, and said, "Have someone clean up the small courtyard next to my house these next few days, and leave it for Concubine Yun who will be moving into the mansion soon."
The butler bowed and replied, "Yes, young master."
On the Yun family's side, Madam Shen was furious when she saw the betrothal gifts sent by the Li family, and she almost threw them out.
Fortunately, her last shred of reason prevailed, and she managed to suppress her anger.
She gritted her teeth, "What is this? Ordinary families would pay more than twenty taels for a concubine! Li Zhuoyue is deliberately humiliating Xi'er!"
Yunxi remained calm and unconcerned, gently comforting her, "Mother, don't be angry. It's not like I'm really marrying him."
Yu Wan also sympathized with Shen, saying, "Yes, Mother-in-law, Li Zhuoyue did it on purpose."
"Think about it, if Yun Shang were a little more impulsive, wouldn't he be too worried and lose his composure if he found out that his only sister was being treated so poorly?"
"That's exactly what Li Zhuoyue was planning."
Madam Shen kicked the betrothal gifts, which weren't even full in one box, and snorted coldly, "This method works on me, but it won't work on Shang-ge'er. They underestimate Shang-ge'er!"