Chapter 356: Lose Control

　　“Marriage alliance? With who?” Elder Zong Ye was dazed.

　　Suddenly, he understood everything when he saw Situ Xingchen’s expression. “With you?!”

　　Situ Xingchen lightly nodded. “Father does have this intention.”

　　Elder Zong Ye was beyond shocked. Country Xing Luo and Country Yao Chen previously didn’t interact much. Why do they suddenly want to have a marriage alliance? He is even thinking about marrying off Situ Xingchen?

　　“What is your father thinking? Rong Jin isn’t outstanding, and from what you said just now, he’s also petty and incapable. He doesn’t deserve you!”

　　Even if it wasn’t Rong Xiu, it should be another handsome and talented lad. How could it be Rong Xiu?

　　Situ Xingchen seemed not to care and said, “After all, he is Country Yao Chen’s Crown Prince, and he can’t be completely useless after making it so far. Perhaps you’ve underestimated him. Besides, even though this matter hasn’t been confirmed, Father is very insistent on it. He must have his reasons, right?”

　　“Anyway, I just don’t approve of this!” grunted Elder Zong Ye. “If it really becomes true, won’t you have to stay in Country Yao Chen in the future? Since Rong Jin did so many ridiculous things, it proves that he’s not capable of doing great things!”

　　“Even though he’s still the Crown Prince now, he might not be able to stay in that position for long. Xingchen, don’t worry. When the lad comes tomorrow, I’ll definitely stop this marriage. With me around, your father won’t dare to force you!”

　　Situ Xingchen’s eyes were evasive. “Elder Zong Ye, I know that you’re doing this for my own good, but I said so many things to you today… Actually, I want you to agree to this marriage tomorrow.”

　　“What?! You really want to marry Rong Xiu?” Elder Zong Ye looked at Situ Xingchen in disbelief. “Y-you can’t be throwing a tantrum because Rong Xiu is marrying someone else, so you want to marry his brother, right?”

　　Situ Xingchen chuckled. “You’re thinking too much. Why would I do such a thing? I really approve of this. You also know that not many people knew about this before. If this matter is suddenly brought up, many people will object to it. But if you say that you agree to this, then the others definitely won’t say anything else.”

　　Elder Zong Ye had a distinguished status in Country Xing Luo. As long as he spoke up, the matter would be successful.

　　“I… Xingchen, have you really decided?”

　　“Yes.”

　　Elder Zong Ye looked at Situ Xingchen’s determined expression and couldn’t help but sigh. “Okay then! Since it is so, I’ll agree!”

　　Situ Xingchen smiled with deep meaning. “Thank you, Elder Zong Ye.”

　　…

　　Country Yao Chen, the palace.

　　The sky was dark, but the Empress and Rong Jin were still discussing something in the room.

　　“You’re going to Country Xing Luo tomorrow. This marriage alliance must go through.” The Empress looked very stern. “This is your best chance. If you miss this, god knows how long you’ll need to wait.”

　　Rong Jin nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry, I’ve already contacted Situ Xingchen through mail, and there won’t be any problems.”

　　The Empress relaxed slightly, leaned against the chair, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face. “That’s good. I previously told you to find ways to know her better, but I didn’t expect it to be so smooth.”

　　Rong Jin also smiled in an arrogant manner. “Everyone said that Situ Xingchen is Country Xing Luo’s brightest shining star and that countless people have proposed to her ever since she came of age, but she did not agree to them. I originally thought that she would be difficult to approach, but I didn’t expect just a letter to…”

　　“Perhaps she was already interested in you before.” The Empress sized up Rong Jin up and smiled. “To women, romance is very unpredictable.”

　　Everyone said that Situ Xingchen was very picky, but an accomplished person like Rong Jin could very easily make her heart falter.

　　Originally, Rong Jin did not feel much for Situ Xingchen, but of course it would boost his ego when an outstanding all-rounder beauty liked him.

　　Precisely because of this, his attitude toward this marriage took a huge change.

　　Previously, he was still rather reluctant. But upon thinking how he could see Situ Xingchen the next day and settle their marriage, he was somewhat expectant.

　　“Anyway, you did great in this matter. Next time, we need to settle this as soon as possible. As long as we confirm this marriage agreement, your Crown Prince position is secured.” The Empress sighed, “This way, even if your father knows about Zhen Zhen, we have something to back us up.”

　　Rong Jin asked worriedly, “Have we still not found her?”

　　“There’s no news at all. It’s as if she has completely disappeared into thin air.”

　　If it weren’t for the peace in the palace, she would almost think that Rong Zhen was dead. However, it was clearly not so.

　　Rong Zhen was just secretly hidden at some place, but they couldn’t find her after such a long time.

　　The Empress didn’t know how she spent the past few days in fear and anxiety.

　　When Emperor Jiawen previously said that he wanted to visit Rong Zhen, he was delayed by the sudden letter from Country Xing Luo.

　　She later guessed that the letter’s content was related to the marriage alliance. This was because Emperor Jiawen rescinded Rong Jin’s punishment not long after, and he seemed to be nicer to Rong Jin.

　　“You’re leaving tomorrow, and your father had even specifically asked Zhen Zhen to send you off, but I stopped it. Your father will be busy with you and Situ Xingchen, so he can’t care about Zhen Zhen for now. But he already has his suspicions, so we can’t keep this matter a secret for long. As long as you quickly settle the marriage, your father won’t do anything to us when he considers the pros and cons.”

　　Rong Jin nodded. “I understand.”

　　…

　　Prince Li Mansion…

　　Rong Xiu sat in the study and was writing something.

　　Yu Mo and Yan Qing waited at the side.

　　The crystal, octagonal lamp shone on Rong Xiu’s jade-like face.

　　He looked down, and his long eyelashes cast a faint shadow at the bottom of his eyes. It was like a light mist in the moonlit night—clear and distinguished.

　　After some time, he finally stopped writing.

　　Yu Mo and Yan Qing were energized as they looked up.

　　Rong Xiu picked up the thing he wrote, looked at it, and placed it on a square, crystal-clear jade piece.

　　When the two items touched, the square jade suddenly glowed.

　　It turned out that the jade was inwardly concave, and there was a shallow water stream.

　　When that item touched the water, it immediately melted and became a few waves of light on the water surface.

　　The light disappeared after a while, and the water recovered its initial calmness as it gradually seeped into the insides of the jade and disappeared.

　　One look at it, and it seemed to be an ordinary jade piece without anything special about it.

　　Rong Xiu pushed that item forward and said lightly, “Send this back.”

　　Yan Qing stepped forward and carefully picked the item up, but at this point, he saw a golden glow suddenly appear on Rong Xiu’s long and white fingers.

　　He exclaimed in shock, “Master—”