The moment they heard the clan elders were forcing them to attend a matchmaking banquet.
Xie Mingxu immediately petitioned the Emperor to repair the Imperial Mausoleum. The task would take him three to four months, and he would only be able to return briefly for the New Year.
Xie Ming'an took it even further, insisting that a strange murder case had occurred in Shu State.
At a friend's request, he was heading to Shu State to investigate.
He wouldn't even be back for the New Year.
Before leaving, he monopolized Shen Ningning for two whole days, taking his little sister out for fun. He only departed yesterday.
With both of them gone, only Xu Jingxi was left.
He currently held no official post and was still waiting to graduate from the National Academy, so there was no escape for him.
So the clan elders simply cornered him, intending to settle his marriage first.
Crucially, both Xie Suzhi and his own father, Xie Dizhi, approved of the plan.
