Bai Qingqing returned to Madam Qiao’s side. Consort Xian and the Princess Consort of Prince Ping were already gone.

Madam Qiao, too overwhelmed to care that others were watching, seized her hand with trembling urgency. “Did you get a clear answer? Did the Princess really say it? Heaven above, I nearly lost control just now. Do they think our Duke of England’s household is so easy to bully? Don’t be afraid—even without any imperial favor, no one can force you into anything!”

Madam Qiao might seem gentle now, capable of getting along with anyone in society, but years ago she had been far from mild-tempered.

Her daughter’s marriage, dictated by outsiders? Did they take her for someone who’d just sit back and swallow it? The Duke of England’s house wasn’t built on soft words and silence!

“It’s all right, Mother. The favor is real. But there’s something I hadn’t told you. I left halfway through the banquet because Lord Ning told me that the Princess Consort of Prince Ping had begged Consort Xian to ask the Emperor to grant a marriage decree between me and Fu Yi. The edict had already been drafted—just waiting to be issued after the festival. That’s why I rushed to beg Her Highness.”

“What right does she have!”

Madam Qiao nearly shouted, her fury so fierce that it drew stares from all around, but she didn’t care. Her chest rose and fell with ragged breath.

An imperial marriage edict!

Once issued, retracting it would be next to impossible.

No matter how unwilling the Bai family might be, once the decree came down, they would have no choice but to hold their noses and go along with it. Prince Ping had served alongside Bai Jinghuai in the army—he’d offer a few honeyed words, strike the right posture, and the Bai family would be forced to yield. The whole thing would go through under the guise of reluctant acceptance.

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This move from the Princess Consort of Prince Ping had been precise—and merciless.

Madam Qiao’s anger boiled over, each word grinding from between clenched teeth. “Yes, your father has ties with Prince Ping. But that doesn’t mean we’ll let them walk all over us! If he won’t stand up for you this time, he might as well go live with Prince Ping!”

Bai Qingqing: “…” It hasn’t come to that… Father doesn’t even know yet.

This whole wretched affair left the Bai family in no mood to enjoy the palace banquet. Madam Qiao’s cold, forbidding expression kept everyone at bay, making it—ironically—the most peaceful gathering they’d attended in years.

On the way back, Bai Yaoyao learned what had happened. She jumped up in the carriage in outrage. “Unbelievable! Absolutely outrageous! What, is her son so undesirable that he can’t find a wife on his own? So now she’s scheming every which way to trap you, Sister? Does she think our Bai family won’t push back?”

“Little ancestor, keep your voice down. It’s over now. The Princess helped me this time… and so did Lord Ning. If he hadn’t warned me, I’d have been sitting around waiting for that imperial edict to drop.”

In that instant, Ning Yan’s image underwent a total transformation in Bai Yaoyao’s heart. She clutched Bai Qingqing’s hand, eyes sparkling. “Sister, you’re absolutely right. Lord Ning is a good man. This—this whole thing—I approve.”

“…What thing? Approve what?”

“You being friends with Lord Ning, of course. Don’t worry—from this moment on, I’m officially on your side.”

Bai Yaoyao’s loyalty was ironclad. Whoever treated her sister well, she’d stand behind them without question.

“But I really didn’t expect Lord Ning to be so… thoughtful. Early in the morning, with all those carriages in the streets, and he managed to find you right away—just to tell you this? That’s…”

As she spoke, an enigmatic smile slowly spread across her face. It was as though she’d stumbled onto something big.

Sister’s marriage was being manipulated—what did that have to do with Lord Ning? He wasn’t exactly the type to go out of his way for others. Something fishy was definitely going on!