Reborn as a Hatrack in the Mystical Land-Chapter 722 - 179: Shamelessness
After that junior from the National Guardian General Residence spoke, he provocatively glared at Yue Minzhi.
"What’s wrong with proposing? My elder brother and Miss Long Rui have had a marriage arrangement since childhood. Although there were misunderstandings before, the arrangement was never formally dissolved. With one being an unmarried man and the other an unmarried woman, and with Princess Long Xue arranging the marriage, how can you say they’re not a match," Yue Jinghua, ignoring her elder brother’s restraint, blocked the people from the National Guardian General Residence.
One of the conditions Yue Jinghua agreed to in order to go to Shang Kingdom and provide aid was the arranged marriage between the National Guardian General Residence and the Duke Mansion. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
When the people from the National Guardian General Residence heard this, they did not show any shame; instead, they were arrogantly dismissive: "Nonsense, what rank is my General Mansion, and what rank is your Duke Mansion? Not to mention, your Duke Mansion owes our General Mansion a huge debt. Dreaming of marrying the pearl of our General Mansion, aren’t you afraid of collapse under the burden?"
Upon hearing this, Yue Minzhi’s face turned crimson with embarrassment.
Earlier, Yue Jinghua went to Shang Kingdom, concealing it from both her own mother and him, and also secretly sought a marriage from Princess Long Xue without his knowledge. Distressed, he wanted nothing more than to immediately go to Shang Kingdom to bring his sister back, but Princess Long Xue had tasked him with maintaining order in the Imperial City, and he couldn’t leave. He also did not dare to disclose the full situation to his mother.
When the imperial edict of the arranged marriage first came down, no one was happier than their mother, Lie Rou, who immediately prepared the traditional gifts and went to the National Guardian General Residence to propose marriage.
After the death of Long Jiuzun, as Long Ao was away and had not returned, the affairs of the National Guardian General Residence were temporarily handled by Long Rui’s Second Uncle, General Long Fang.
Lie Rou hastily sent the matchmaker and the betrothal gifts, but no sooner had they entered the door than they were intercepted by the tiger-like servants of the General Mansion, who beat the matchmaker severely and threw her out of the mansion.
The betrothal gifts were also smashed to pieces, and Long Fang even ordered his people to spread the word that if anyone from the Duke Mansion dared to come again, they would cripple whoever came. This scared all the matchmakers in Wohua, and no one dared to propose on behalf of the Duke Mansion anymore.
Princess Long Xue intervened several times, but she was frightened by the firm resistance of the wife of the mansion who threatened crying, causing disturbances, and even hanging herself, so she did not dare to mention the matter again.
After Yue Jinghua fully understood the situation, she snorted coldly: "It’s just a debt, how could my Duke Mansion fail to repay. Long Fang, you want money, right? Send the lackeys from your General Mansion over, and our two families will sit down and clear the accounts, paying whatever is owed."
When Long Fang heard this, he didn’t believe that the Duke Mansion could really repay all their debts at once, and immediately sent the mansion’s accountant to the Duke Mansion to settle the accounts.
By half a day, the accountant from the General Mansion actually brought back an astonishing amount of Dark Pills, genuinely repaying more than ninety percent of the Duke Mansion’s debts.
The Duke Mansion also promised that the remaining ten percent of the debt would be repaid within a month.
With this development, everyone in the General Mansion was surprised, even Long Rui, who had been locked in her room and not allowed to go out these past days, heard about it from her maid.
She was greatly surprised, but also extremely delighted.
With the debts between the Duke Mansion and the General Mansion settled, it also meant that the biggest obstacle between her and Yue Minzhi had vanished.
However, she did not know that on the day the accountant brought back the substantial debt repayment, Long Fang had put out the word, announcing that the General Mansion had a young lady of age and was now seeking a worthy son-in-law throughout the city, "I don’t believe that in the vast Imperial City of Wohua, we can’t find someone more outstanding than Yue Minzhi. You should know my Ruru is young and beautiful, and moreover, a renowned Dragon Rider. There are numerous talented men pursuing her, as many as fish crossing a river."
After the death of Long Jiuzun, the position of Commander of the Imperial Guard which he held also became vacant.
Long Bai Ren, son of Long Fang, has long coveted that position. In earlier years, due to Long Jiuzun’s presence, they had no means to succeed. However, after Long Jiuzun’s death, the Long family father and son thought it would finally be their turn, only to be unexpectedly thwarted by the newly emerged Yue Minzhi, who snagged the position to their great advantage.
Frustrated, the father and son vented all their resentment on Yue Minzhi and Duke Mansion, stubbornly refusing any marriage proposals from the Duke Mansion.
As soon as the news spread, Yue Jinghua sneered several times, disbelieving that anyone in the Wohua Imperial City would dare to marry Long Rui.
The news of Long Rui seeking a marriage partner caused a huge stir throughout the city.
It was well known that Long Rui was of high status, and the General Mansion was a pillar of the community. To put it bluntly, this marriage was a ticket to ascension for the entire family. Whoever married Long Rui could leap from a common carp to a dragon and ascend to wealth and prominence.
Some of the city’s high officials also began to think, trying to forge a connection with the General Mansion.
Under his father’s instigation, Long Bai Ren thought of Ji Yun, the son of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Ji Jie. After returning to the Imperial City, Ji Yun successfully bonded with a Flying Dragon. He was prominent and talented and had previously pursued Long Rui, making him a highly suitable candidate.
He immediately invited Ji Yun for a drink, subtly probing into his intentions.
Ji Yun did attend the banquet, but as soon as the marriage between the Ji Family and the General Mansion was mentioned, Ji Yun’s face showed clear distaste. After perfunctorily drinking a few cups, he hurriedly excused himself.
"What’s with Ji Yun? He was head-over-heels in love with Ruru before, but as soon as we talk about marriage, he starts to back out," Long Bai Ren, out of options, reluctantly suppressed the idea of forming a marriage alliance.
Ji Yun, heavily dispirited, returned to Ji Residence, only to see an old horse pulling a dusty carriage, stopped at the alley in front of his residence.
He had just walked in when a smiling face peeked out from the carriage.
Although the visitor was all smiles, the eyes sharper than a knife intimidated Ji Yun, making his knees go weak.
"What are you doing here? I, young master, have already declined the marriage proposal from the General Mansion," Yue Jinghua, naturally the one sitting in the carriage, reminded Ji Yun of the inexplicably deceased Long Jiuzun as soon as he saw her.
When he was in Fandi Port, he had witnessed the "Pure Yang Breathing" incident between Yue Minzhi and Long Rui and had long recognized the deep bond between the two.
Though he fancied Long Rui, he also knew that a coerced melon is not sweet. Moreover, Duke Yue Minzhi from the Duke Mansion was akin to a lethal harbinger of doom. Offending him could bring countless bad fortunes.
"It’s no wonder, Brother Ji, you truly understand the greater good. With that, I’ll save my breath. Rest assured, the incident where you compromised your integrity to save Brother Qing the other day, I will never divulge to a third party," Yue Jinghua said with a mischievous grin.
Upon hearing this, Ji Yun almost fainted in anger. If this got out, his reputation as the young master of the Ji Family would be utterly destroyed, "If you dare speak of it, I’ll never let you off!"
"If you wish me to keep it secret, that’s fine too. I have another matter that requires the help of Brother Ji and Brother Qing. All you have to do is let slip what happened in Fandi Port while drunk," Yue Jinghua narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing briefly. In her eyes, a small player like Long Fang was simply beneath her notice.
