coobybook Chapter 287 Forced
Chapter 287 Forced
Chapter 287 287 Forced
Faced with An Shihou's questioning, Ye Pianran felt a pang of disappointment, and even her tone turned cold.
"Father, look at how I looked back then, with a deep wound on my face, and all the gossip about me. The Ouyang family no longer wanted to be related to the Marquis's family through marriage and had already come to break off the engagement. Did you expect me to go and beg them to marry me? Our Anshi Marquis's family is a marquisate bestowed by the Emperor himself, and I am the legitimate daughter of the main wife. I can marry anyone in the capital. Why would I need to cling to the Ouyang family?"
Marquis Anshi felt somewhat embarrassed by what she said.
He did initially intend to leverage the Ouyang family to create a rivalry with the Gongsun family, but Ye Pianran's words weren't wrong. Although their Anshi Marquis family was no longer as glorious as it once was, they were still a noble family with marquis titles, and naturally didn't need to beg anyone for marriage. If they hadn't broken off their engagement with the Ouyang family, would the Fourth Prince have personally come to the Marquis's residence to propose marriage?
In any case, it was their Marquis's mansion that profited.
“At that time, you disregarded your parents’ wishes and acted willfully, which was truly unfilial. Your father said many hurtful things to you in his anger, and you should forgive him,” said Marquis Anshi. “However, marriage should always be decided by the parents. If you violate filial piety, you will be unacceptable to the world. You are your father’s legitimate daughter, and you must believe that your father will always love you and want the best for you.”
His insincere tone disgusted Ye Pianran, and the weighty label of "filial piety" placed on him only fueled her bad premonition.
What does that mean? Why is he bringing this up now?
"What exactly does Father want to say?" Ye Pianran asked, frowning.
"Do you know what happened in the palace yesterday?" Marquis Anshi recalled what he had learned, still feeling like he was in a dream. "Yesterday, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Sixth Prince all went to the palace to meet His Majesty and ask for the hand in marriage with the Marquis Anshi's daughter—that is, you. I could hardly believe it when I heard this news at court today!"
Although Ye Pianran already knew about this from Chunyu Yang, hearing it from Marquis Anshi now was extremely ominous. Sure enough, he then said:
"Ever since you broke off your engagement with the Ouyang family, I've wanted to find you another husband. I initially chose your eldest brother's classmate, Tong Zhu, but I never expected such news from the palace! The Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Sixth Prince are all princes; marrying any of them would bring wealth and honor. But I only have one daughter, and I can't divide her among three. After much deliberation, I believe the Fourth Prince is the best among the three. I will take you with me to the autumn hunt this time. However, no matter who wins first place in the autumn hunt, you must ultimately agree to marry the Fourth Prince and become his princess. Do you understand?"
Ye Pianran was startled, and a surge of rage instantly welled up within her. She stood up abruptly and declared fiercely, "I disagree! I will absolutely not marry the Fourth Prince!"
"You insolent fool!" Marquis Anshi slammed his fist on the table. "Is this a decision you can make yourself? Did you just ignore everything I said?"
"Father, please don't label your daughter as 'unfilial,' I can't bear that," Ye Pianran said with a cold laugh. "Father wants your daughter to be filial, but may I ask, have you fulfilled your duties as a husband and father?"
"You scoundrel! Who gave you the right to lecture me?" An Shihou raised his hand to strike Ye Pianran, but Ye Pianran was no longer the same as before. She simply stepped back slightly and avoided the slap.
"You actually dare to hide!" Marquis Anshi was so angry that his chest heaved violently, and he almost couldn't stand up. "You unfilial daughter, are you trying to anger your father to death?!"
"Father, give up! Even if I die, I will never marry the Fourth Prince!" Ye Pianran said coldly, her eyes like two icy glares, making Marquis Anshi feel a chill run down his spine.
"The Fourth Prince is a man of great talent and outstanding ability. What's wrong with him? If you marry him, you will become the mistress of the Nanping Prince's Mansion, and your child will be the heir to the mansion. What a noble status you will have. What are you dissatisfied with?" Marquis Anshi leaned on the table and questioned, "Do you know how many girls in the capital want to marry such a distinguished man as him?"
"What's wrong with the Third Prince or the Sixth Prince? Why the Fourth Prince in particular?" Ye Pianran retorted. "Is it because his power in the court can rival that of the Crown Prince, and he can offer the Marquis's mansion any benefits?"
Marquis Anshi's expression immediately changed: "What nonsense are you spouting? How dare a young woman like you comment on state affairs?"
"Then why is Father forcing his daughter to accept the Fourth Prince?" Ye Pianran sneered. "Father said that marriage is a matter of parental decision, but now it's all Father's idea. Why not ask Mother what she thinks?"
Marquis Anshi choked, feeling somewhat guilty, but then became angry again.
"Don't I have the right to make decisions in this household?"
“Father is naturally the head of the family, but if Father marries off his daughter without even asking Mother’s opinion, wouldn’t that hurt the bond between husband and wife and break Mother’s heart?”
Marquis Anshi's intention in marrying Ye Pianran to Chunyu Jing was to align himself with Chunyu Jing's camp, thereby removing Gongsun Zhan from his position as Left Chancellor and bringing Xu Pingyue and her daughter Ye Yingrou back to the Marquis's residence. If he had finalized the matter without consulting Gongsun Yuan, given Gongsun Yuan's intelligence, she would likely have immediately understood his intentions.
Thinking of this, Marquis Anshi gradually calmed down and coldly snorted:
"Even if I call your mother here, she will only agree with me. Someone, go and call the madam to the study."
Upon hearing that Marquis Anshi had ordered someone to summon Gongsun Yuan, Ye Pianran breathed a sigh of relief, only to find herself drenched in a cold sweat.
Her mother said yesterday that she would arrange her marriage, and she believed that her mother would not disregard her wishes and force her to marry Chunyu Jing!
They had just had a big argument, which made their already fragile relationship even more precarious. For a moment, the atmosphere in the study became extremely tense.
Marquis Anshi never expected that his eldest daughter, born of the principal wife, would one day oppose him like this. He didn't know when it started, but he found that her gaze towards him had suddenly become sharp, as if she could see through him, making him feel like he had nowhere to hide.
Could it be that she knows something?
The more An Shihou thought about it, the more convinced he became that Ye Pianran must have discovered something. He felt a pang of guilt, but his anger burned even more fiercely.
So when Gongsun Yuan entered the study, before she could speak, he preemptively rebuked her:
"Gongsun Lanzhi, look at the good daughter you've raised! Instead of behaving like a proper young lady, she's always showing her face in public and even disobeying her father in public. She doesn't act like a proper daughter of a noble family at all!"
Gongsun Yuan was inexplicably scolded like this, and her expression immediately turned cold. She said:
"I haven't even known what happened yet, and I've already been scolded like this. Your Excellency has quite the temper and is putting on quite a show of power."
Upon seeing her mother arrive, who spoke protectively of her, Ye Pianran's eyes reddened, and she called out aggrievedly, "Mother..."
To everyone's surprise, Gongsun Yuan didn't even glance at her, but instead stared coldly at Marquis Anshi, confronting him.