TFWYH – Chapter 678 Ziqian’s Thoughts

The Marquis Wenxuan and his wife shared a deep and loving marriage. Together they had three sons, leaving no room in their hearts for Yu Ziqian and his mother.

Mother and son lived in a shabby little courtyard, struggling to get by.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family enjoyed a harmonious and happy life, seemingly forgetting that the two of them even existed.

Yu Ziqian desperately wanted to make something of himself. Day and night, he studied tirelessly, hoping to astonish everyone through the imperial examinations.

However, this year’s examination was packed with talented scholars, including the exceptionally gifted and handsome new Top Scholar, Ling Yu.

Among so many outstanding candidates, Yu Ziqian was completely unremarkable. The knowledge he had once been proud of seemed insignificant compared to theirs.

Without question, he failed the examination.

Yu Ziqian remained depressed for a long time. The more he thought about it, the more unwilling he was to accept his fate. He certainly didn’t want to spend his entire life as a nobody.

Fortunately, Pan Xingyao—the second daughter of the Yong’an Marquis’s Manor and the former Princess Yong’an—had always been deeply infatuated with him.

In the past, Yu Ziqian wouldn’t even have spared a glance for someone like Pan Xingyao. Though he was born of a concubine, he still had his pride.

But this failure in the examinations dealt him a severe blow.

His mother spent every day frowning and worrying.

The father he admired most harshly criticized him, claiming he hadn’t worked hard enough.

The Marchioness of Wenxuan merely looked indifferent, as if she had expected this outcome all along.

All of it filled him with growing resentment.

So when Pan Xingyao hinted for the Nth time that she wanted to marry him, he agreed.

Even without her former title as Princess, she was still the second daughter of the Yong’an Marquis’s Manor.

The Yong’an Marquis had only two daughters. The elder daughter was already ruined, leaving only the younger one.

If he married Pan Xingyao, even if he couldn’t claim all of the Yong’an Marquis Manor’s wealth and connections, he could surely gain at least half of them.

Why continue struggling through the imperial examinations?

The only thing troubling him now was that the relationship between the Yong’an Marquis Manor and the Wenxuan Marquis Manor wasn’t merely strained—it was beyond repair.

If Marquis Wenxuan learned that he wanted to marry Pan Xingyao, he would definitely never agree.

And so, Yu Ziqian set his sights on Yu Ziqing.

Although his elder brother was a notorious playboy who often seemed unreliable, Marquis Wenxuan was still willing to listen to him from time to time.

With that thought in mind, Yu Ziqian brought Pan Xingyao to seek him out.

He wanted Yu Ziqing’s help.

The two brothers and Pan Xingyao arrived at a teahouse.

Inside a private room, Yu Ziqian stammered through his request.

Yu Ziqing was initially stunned.

Then he laughed out of sheer disbelief.

Panicking, Yu Ziqian quickly said,

“Big Brother, Xingyao and I truly love each other. I’m serious about this.”

Shaking his head with a smile, Yu Ziqing cast a teasing glance at the blushing Pan Xingyao before looking back at Yu Ziqian.

“And exactly how do you expect me to help you?”

Thinking his brother had agreed, Yu Ziqian’s eyes lit up.

“Father has always listened to you. As long as you’re willing to speak with him properly, he definitely won’t oppose my marriage to Xingyao.”

“Have you overestimated me? Who gave you the illusion that Father listens to me?”

Yu Ziqing looked at him as though he were an idiot.

What was the Yong’an Marquis?

A lackey of the First Prince.

And the Wenxuan Marquis Manor belonged firmly to the Second Prince’s faction.

What did that make them?

Political enemies.

Yet his dear little brother was sitting here telling him he wanted to marry the daughter of a political enemy and asking him to plead on his behalf.

What kind of pig-brained thinking was that?

Had all those years of studying turned him stupid?

Or was it a case of his cerebrum being underdeveloped while his cerebellum never developed at all?

Still, he was his younger brother.

Yu Ziqing considered himself a fairly decent elder brother. Even though Yu Ziqian was a concubine-born son, he had never deliberately made things difficult for him.

“This is one favor I can’t help with. And I’d advise you not to bring this up to Father either. Otherwise, he really will stop caring about you altogether.”

Having said that, Yu Ziqing stood up, preparing to leave.