Chapter 675 - 674: Truth or Lies?
"Pfft hahaha, a male concubine..."
The Crown Prince almost laughed to the point of falling over, the words "male concubine" were just too amusing.
And those noble young gentlemen and ladies were all stunned.
What did this Miss Xia just say?
That one sentence contained too much information.
Someone from Jianghu?
It’s said that people from Jianghu are generally rough and lack etiquette, but this Miss Xia was dignified, breathtakingly graceful, noble, calm, appropriately mannered, and there was nothing about her that suggested she was from Jianghu.
Being knocked unconscious by a fall from a horse, one should call a doctor, right? But she went to find a fortune teller, which sounds really laughable.
Using a male concubine to cure illness, now that’s even more ridiculous!
But the most shocking was the most crucial sentence.
Young Master Xuan was the male concubine bought to cure her? And he was purchased?
Did they mishear, or did Miss Xia misspeak?
How could Young Master Xuan, with such a noble status, be bought as a male concubine? Isn’t that a joke?
Huangfu Yuxuan’s face darkened instantly. He had anticipated that Xia Wenjin might deny it, so if Xia Wenjin denied it, he had a backup plan to make Xia Wenjin admit it in front of everyone.
But she admitted it.
She admitted it nonchalantly yet straightforwardly.
However, she did not tell the truth, but a mix of truth and lies.
Telling outright lies is easy to see through and exposing falsehoods is easy, but among nine truths, one falsehood often escapes doubt.
Apart from the male concubine part, everything else she said was true.
This not only dodged the trap he had set but also dragged him into a pit and stomped on him hard, yet the person who stomped him didn’t even get dirt on their shoes.
Noticing the strange glances from those around them, Huangfu Yuxuan’s face darkened slightly and he said, "Wenjin, why make such a joke, what male concubine, what are you talking about? You ran away the day before the wedding, don’t you want to admit that?"
Xia Wenjin smiled and said, "Young Master Xuan, I didn’t want to mention it originally, as my father handled it somewhat improperly. Moreover, fearing it would damage Young Master Xuan’s reputation, since you’ve brought it up, it’s better to clarify the matter!"
Hearing the word ’clarify’, Huangfu Yuxuan’s eyebrows moved. He was eager to see how Xia Wenjin could explain this matter clearly!
Xia Wenjin continued calmly and eloquently, without the slightest embarrassment: "At the time, I was unconscious, and my father spread the news around the nearby town, offering a great fortune to any person under twenty willing to bring their horoscope to the mountain and marry me to dispel bad luck. Many people from the town and the neighboring town flocked to volunteer. Ultimately, the fortune-telling blind man said that of all the volunteers, only Young Master Xuan’s horoscope matched mine!"
The Seventeenth Princess widened her eyes and looked at Huangfu Yuxuan: "Yuxuan, is this true?"
Huangfu Yuxuan gritted his teeth and said, "Of course, it’s not true!"
Xia Wenjin said indifferently, "Not true? Young Master Xuan, is there any falsehood in what I said earlier? Upon discovering your horoscope matched and could save my life, my father and the village elders warmly welcomed you back and offered you a thousand taels of silver, promising even more if you saved my life! Wasn’t that the case?"
Huangfu Yuxuan replied, "That was indeed the case!"
There was no need to lie; the situation at the time was more or less like this.
The difference was that the fortune-telling blind man was someone he had bribed beforehand, so only his horoscope could match.
Moreover, he had arranged for Pu Yangji to send Xia Wenjin’s horoscope to Gongyang Puyu in the Capital City for calculation.
With the calculations from Gongyang Puyu, confirming that Xia Wenjin was indeed the person, he had prepared to marry in peace.
If the news from Pu Yangji wasn’t as expected, he had planned a way to extricate himself. After all, at that time, he posed as a merchant’s son, and the people of Haotian Village did not know his true identity.
Xia Wenjin smiled slightly and said, "However, before you arrived, I was already awake. Upon learning that my father had bought me a male concubine, although I am a person from Jianghu, usually acting without strict adherence to small rules, I care about my reputation. How could I let a male concubine sully my good name!"
She glanced at the scowling Huangfu Yuxuan and said, "Hence, I left home and entered the Jianghu without meeting you. As I left, I left a note for my father, saying that regardless of whose son he is, becoming a male concubine must be a path taken out of desperation. Otherwise, who would disregard their reputation?"
Huangfu Yuxuan’s face darkened, and his eyes turned sinister and sharp as he said, "Xia Wenjin, what male concubine? Where did that nonsense come from? Your father sought a husband to be your protector!"
Xia Wenjin nodded and said, "You could say it like that. Ultimately, it was a man bought to the mountain. In my letter, I asked my father to give him silver and send him away! That’s the entire sequence of events. I believe my father must have explained this misunderstanding to you, thus annulling this so-called ’marriage’, yet now Young Master Xuan brings it up again."
The Crown Prince curiously asked, "This Miss Xia, your family certainly has some nerve, daring to buy an Imperial Grandson to be your guardian husband?" He chuckled and said, "Speaking of which, Yuxuan, weren’t you doing well in the Capital City? How did you end up in Jinzhou to become a guardian husband?"
Xia Wenjin chimed in, "That’s a good question, young master. My father is a Jianghu roughian, overly indulgent towards me, hence acts without timorousness. My father may be audacious but would never dare invite an Imperial Grandson to be my husband, not to mention, in our imagination, how could we expect an Imperial Grandson of the Haotian Village, let alone, Young Master Xuan self-proclaimed as the son of a merchant, leading to such a misunderstanding!"
She spoke eloquently, without hiding, each and every word amongst noble ladies stirred a desire to huff secretly, yet they found her gaze clean and open.
They couldn’t help but think, how would they handle such a situation if it happened to them? Probably just like Xia Wenjin, to protect one’s reputation by leaving entirely.
Moreover, didn’t Xia Wenjin leave a note asking her father to handle this matter? This seemingly was indeed a mere misunderstanding?
But could it be just a misunderstanding? If it indeed was a mistake, being regarded as a male concubine should be something Young Master Xuan least wanted to mention, and Xia Wenjin should be someone he resents greatly.
Yet, not only did Young Master Xuan not hate Xia Wenjin when he saw her, he even claimed Xia Wenjin as his unwed wife, obviously intending to continue this marriage.
In their minds, piecing together the present situation and indulging their imagination, they instantly deduced a twisted tale:
Young Master Xuan found the Capital City too dull and went traveling in Jinzhou, probably captivated by Xia Wenjin’s beauty. Hearing Xia Wenjin was unconscious and needed a male concubine to dispel bad luck, he intended to play the hero rescuing the beauty, willingly selling himself as a male concubine. Initially planning on winning the beauty, who knew that as soon as he reached the mountain, the beauty awoke. Xia Wenjin’s father wanted to send him off with silver, yet who is Young Master Xuan? Does he lack that bit of silver?