Chapter 54: The Big Picture Has Been Decided
Yun Xin saw a shadow of her past in Leah, but based on feelings alone, she was not sure that Leah was a good boy who could marry into the Byron family. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. biqUgE。 🔥 To do this, she tested Leah three times.
The first test was to ask Maier to take her out to play. Mel has an instinctive aversion to the impure ones, and the nearly one day spent with them is enough for him to see that Leah's heart is not clean. Even if Leah can perfectly hide the true purpose of her heart, Yunxin still has a second test.
In the second test, Yunxin waited for Mai and Leah at the gate of the Bluestone Palace, said "welcome home" to them, and invited Leah to a family dinner. It was a surprise attack, and even if Leah was thoughtful, she couldn't have expected it. Yun Xin had been watching Leah's reaction, and the tears she shed after hearing "Welcome Home" were real, and her loss of consciousness after that didn't look like she was pretending. Even if these are all Leah's disguises, Yunxin still has a third test.
And the third test, it's now. Yun Xin made a request to Leah in front of everyone, and the content of the request was very ambiguous, she said that she hoped that Leah would allow Ista, Lulu and Yu Mingli to marry her in the same month, and that Mai and Leah's wedding date was April 15, that is, Leah would allow Ista, Lulu and Yu Mingli to marry Maier in April.
In this way, the problem comes, April 1 is also the same month of marriage, and April 30 is also the same month of marriage. In other words, once Leah accepts Yunxin's request, the trio may marry Mel before Leah. As Yun Xin said, as Leah, Maier can't hold another wedding for two months after she and Maier get married, so as to highlight the importance that the Byron family attaches to Leah.
If Leah was still on the side of the Elt Kingdom, it would be absolutely impossible for her to accept Yunxin's request, because this was a matter of principle and she could never back down. Even if Leah had made some concessions, she would not have risked having a woman of lower status marry Mel before she did.
Once Leah nodded, the Byron family could logically let the three of them marry Mel first, and they would not offend the Alt Kingdom, because Leah accepted Yunxin's request, and it was already her intention to let these three marry Mel first, not the Byrens family, who were just doing what Leah wanted.
As long as Mel consummates her marriage to the three in April, it will give outsiders the impression that Leah is on par with the trio. Leah is the princess of the Kingdom of Elt, and her status is on par with the ordinary nobles of the Kingdom of Byrons, which is obviously a contempt, and the contempt for Leah is the contempt for the Kingdom of Elt. But the Elt Kingdom can't attack yet, because this is what Leah meant, so the pot has to be carried by Leah herself, and the Elt Kingdom can't complain about the Byron Kingdom, so it can only blame Leah. Because as long as Leah doesn't accept Yunxin's request, this thing will definitely not happen.
If Leah really fell in love with Myer, she would definitely give up the Alt Kingdom for Myr, even if she was hated by the Elt Kingdom, and even lost the right to inherit the throne. If she really thinks of herself as a member of the Byrons family, the so-called succession to the throne will not matter. Even if the Alt royal family deprives her of the right to inherit, she still has the right of first refusal de jure in law. If she really wants to be king, and the Byrons family has the strength to help her ascend to the throne, this is a ready-made casus belli.
Gray knew what Yunxin was going to do, so he didn't interject, and motioned with his eyes that Maier should not interject either. After listening to Yunxin's words, Maier roughly understood what her mother wanted to do. He knew that Yun Xin was forcing Leah to make a choice, and if she made the wrong choice now, she would be surrounded by even more severe restrictions. It's not that Yun Xin is ruthless, it's that Leah's performance in the first two tests is really terrifying. No one in the entire Byron family could read her mind, and in this case, how could they be reassuring about Leah?
It's a simple and brutal choice, choose either Mary or the Kingdom of Alt, and you can only choose one or the other, because they are opposites. Leah had to make a choice, she had no chance to escape, and she couldn't escape - in fact, she should have made a choice from the beginning.
After Leah came to the Bluestone Palace for the first time, her position became unfirm. She began to resist King Elt's orders, and stayed in the Bluestone Palace for no reason, doing nothing she wanted to do and should do. Before Leah came to the Bluestone Palace for the second time, she had already made up her mind to turn over the battle, but what was the result? She still didn't do anything.
If she really is on the side of the Elt Kingdom, she will not act until the Lend-Lease negotiations have begun. She needed children, so she had to actively seduce Myer, but she didn't. She invited Maier to dinner, but she did not act at all active, and disgusted Maier from the bottom of her heart.
After the flower basket incident, she simply put down all her thoughts and began to play flower arrangement, and she had a lot of fun. After Maier accidentally confessed, she fell without much resistance. Although she still says to herself that I don't love Mel, and even hate him very much, and she barely hates him to this day, this is just self-deception.
Leah never knew what she wanted - or rather, she knew what she really wanted, but kept running away from it. When she first came to the Bluestone Palace, she was seriously injured because Meier's wives deliberately showed affection and isolated her in front of her, and their behavior was indeed hurtful, but not to the extent of serious injury, it only made people feel angry; When Myer's children are on vacation, she sits by the window every day and watches her children play, forgetting to even get down to business, which is not in line with who she is and where she stands—both of which are enough to show what Leah wants.
Leah longs to be loved, to have affection, to have friends and lovers, and even more to family. Having lived in the El Noble Circle for more than twenty years, she is like a traveler who has been lost in the desert for more than twenty years. Her thirst for love, affection, friends, lovers, and family was greater than the traveler's thirst for water, and the Byrons family had exactly the water she needed most.
But now she still hasn't been able to recognize this. She began to contradict and began to struggle painfully, all eyes converged because of Yun Xin's last question, and the invisible pressure pressed on her like a mountain.
A quarter of an hour passed, the barbecue and drinks were not served, and the children waiting for the meat and juice were eager to see through it, but Shirley looked at Leah with great interest with her big bright and round eyes. She listened carefully to Yunxin's words, and although she didn't fully understand, she knew that Leah seemed to be about to become a new mother, and to become a new mother, it seemed that certain conditions had to be met.
Is she struggling?
While Kiki's attention was on Leah, Shirley quietly climbed out of her chair, walked around the table, and came to Leah's seat, gently tugging at the corner of her dress. Leah was taken aback by Shirley's behavior, and she stood up in a panic, looking nervously at Shirley with a puzzled expression, tilting her head to look at Shirley.
She had a deep impression of Shirley, and it was this child who took the initiative to talk to her more than three months ago. Later, Leah often saw her playing in the open space with the children, and knew that she was the head of the children, and was very interested in her.
She seems to be named Shirley?
Leah, who remembered Shirley's name, quickly calmed down and smiled relaxedly.
"Hmm, scared you?"
The clever Shirley pulled up the corners of her skirt and seriously apologized to Leah.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just wanted to say hi to you."
Shirley's appearance made all the adults present show shocked expressions, and Shirley's mother Kiki directly raised her heart to her throat, so nervous that she could barely breathe. She didn't want Shirley to be hurt in the slightest, and for now, Leah was still a dangerous person. If it weren't for the smile on the side holding her hand, she would have rushed out desperately and snatched Shirley back from Leah's side.
Being so seriously apologized by a child, even if Leah had many reasons, she had to put aside her thoughts and show the most sincere smile to Shirley.
"It's me who should say I'm sorry, I'm the one who scared you."
"Hehe, I'm not scared." Shirley smiled proudly and said, "Don't worry about me, I'm bold!" ”
Shirley's immature voice, and her appearance as a little adult, made Leah laugh. She forced a smile and tried to reach out and touch Shirley's head. At this moment, Mel's cough appeared, and Leah subconsciously looked over and found that Mel was looking at her with a polite smile.
"Leah, what's your decision?"
When Leah's hand fell, Kiki's hanging heart also fell. In fact, Maier didn't think that Leah would harm Shirley, he only did it because he noticed Kiki's face that was pale from being frightened. After this day's contact, Maier felt that Leah was not a bad person, at least she was not bad in nature, and such a person would not bear to hurt a child.
"Huh?"
Leah didn't expect Maier to ask in person, and from her perspective, Maier seemed to be curious to know what her decision was, but it turned out to be the opposite. In fact, Maier didn't want to force Leah to make a decision in this way, and wanted to give her a few days to think about it - but his mother and wives couldn't give him that chance. The reason why he said such things at such a time was only to prevent her from touching Shirley so that Kiki could reassure him, and this question was only a question that he had come up with on the spur of the moment and thought it was the most logical question for him.
When would a man care about a woman's choices? The answer is obvious. If a man has no interest in a woman, he cannot care about what she chooses, unless the choice affects his interests. After this day's contact, Leah felt that Mel was not a person who cared about profits, he cared more about people than interests.
In other words, Mel cares about her choice because he cares about Leah, who thinks so.
He cares about me...... He cares about me...... Maybe they care about me a lot...... Otherwise...... Otherwise, why would he ask me this question in front of so many of his wives?
Leah couldn't have thought that Maier was doing this for Kiki, so she rightfully misunderstood. After that, things are very simple.
"You...... What do you think I should do? ”
The moment Leah made a rhetorical question, Yun Xin showed a reassuring smile. When a woman is making an important decision, she asks for a man's opinion in front of everyone, which is enough to show the man's place in her heart. In other words, the moment Leah opened her mouth to ask about Myer, the big picture was decided.
"Uh, this...... You asked me suddenly, and I don't know how to answer......"
Mel didn't expect Leah to suddenly ask for her opinion, and her heart began to beat a drum. He thought Leah was begging him for a favor and giving her a few days of grace. But in this way, his Yunxin's plan will be in vain, and after this, he will definitely have to face Yunxin's anger, and his wives will also be very angry. So Mel can't let Leah do what she wants, she has to make a decision now.
"In my opinion, Leah's feelings are the most important thing, so no matter what you choose, I will support you."
Leah's feelings are the most important thing - it's not a polite remark, but the meaning that Mel wants to convey is completely different from what Leah understands. Mel wanted Leah to know that he would respect her choice, and even if she chose the Kingdom of Ayrt, Mel would not be hostile to her because of it. Leah heard that, but then another one, which was that Mel cared so much about her feelings.
He really cares about me...... What am I going to do?
On the one hand, the family who sold herself into the cage for her own interests, and on the other hand, her fiancé who cared about her feelings, put such a choice question in front of a normal woman, and she would most likely choose the latter. What's more, Leah is a girl who longs to be loved and cared for, and in this case, she can't choose the former.
Leah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, her gaze towards Yun Xin was extremely determined.
"Mother, just do what you say!"