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Wei clan elders and the fifth prince's mother, Noble Consort Su have finally set an auspicious wedding date. It is the fifth day of the third month. A month from now, Yan Gen will be married off to the imperial family and he had been growing anxious because of it. Ever since he received the Imperial Decree of his marriage, he constantly have nightmares. It makes it hard for him to sleep.

Due to his lack of sleep, his frail body became sick. Noble Consort Su and the Wei clan elders became worried. They're considering to extend the date of their wedding for another month if he is to stay in his bed for long.

Yan Gen is happy, his sickness came at the right time for once and now he's wishing that his sickness will stay with him longer. Getting sick is better than getting married. The thought of getting married to a man is more sickening. It's true that he finds it hard to get attracted to women now a days but getting married to a man so fast is still unacceptable for him. He is yet to accept himself and process his sudden change of feelings.

“You should eat Xiaojie, you already skipped two meals. At this rate, you won't regain your health” Meigui tried to persuade him, Yan Gen simply turned over, burying his face on the pillow. “I love you Meigui however I don't want to hear your nagging” he pulled the blanket over his head “Don't you want to get married to the fifth prince?” A sudden anger surge up in his heart at the mention of the fifth prince “Who wants to marry that bastard!”

Meigui pursed her lips in silence when he suddenly raised his voice. Yan Gen groaned, his headache worsened for that reason. “You're dismissed...”

“Drink your medicine at least” She worriedly said and walked out of his chamber at last. Yan Gen glanced at the stinking bowl of medicine on the bedside table. He grabbed it and got up, staggering a bit in the process. When he reached the window, he pushed it open and poured the medicine. Feeling sorry for the doctor's effort of making it. Such a waste but he doesn't want to recuperate right now.

Early in the morning, Yan Gen was awaken at the sound of the loud instrumental music and the people's chattering. In a barely audible voice, like a pitiful kitten, he asked while holding his pounding head “What's going on?”

“They're celebrating here” Instead of a soft sweet voice from one of his maids, he heard a man's deep clear voice. Yan Gen lazily opened his eyes. Blinking at the light pouring in his chamber, he squinted his eyes at the familiar figure of a man sitting by the window, wearing a light blue robe, a white jade pendant hanging on his waist belt.

The morning light shone on his face, making him look like a celestial being. Yan Gen frowned, not at all effected by his visual, he's more annoyed by the loud noise and his intrusion. These guys are fond of trespassing his room. Didn't they know what privacy means?

“What are they celebrating for?” Wei Yuu smiled a bit “The result of my imperial examination” he said as a matter of fact, from the smug look on his face, Yan Gen can tell that he topped the imperial examination. It could be because he's truly talented or because of his connection. Either way, Yan Gen doesn't care. He has his own problems to deal with “Get out of my room”

“It's been a while since we've last seen each other and you're already driving me away” there was some kind of sorrow in his tone.

“Get out while I'm asking nicely” Yan Gen can feel the veins in his head throbbed in anger. “Dearest cousin... I'm here because I'm worried about you. Do you think your marriage will be delayed or be turned down just because you're sick?”

He slowly sat up on his bed, his bewitching misty eyes became sharp. It seems that Wei Yuu is here to change his mind. What does he know? So what if he can't stop his marriage? All he wants is to give him more time to think this through and maybe his mental damage will lessen. “Our clan is in a dire state. Prime Minister Li and the other high ranking officials are turning against us. Imperial Noble Consort Wei is running out of favor in the harem at the arrival of a dancer named Qiu Yue”

Yan Gen didn't reply, of course he perfectly knows that. It's just that...

“I don't want this, I want to go back” he mumbled under his breath. His eyes became glassy, on the verge of tears. They're only a bunch of fictional characters. How could they do this to him? Fictional characters...

That's right. Perhaps he's dreaming right now after his accident. A very very long dream so why does it matter if he married a man? He'll wake up soon enough and he'll treat the whole event as a nightmare. He doesn't belong here, he'll eventually go home. Yan Gen convinced himself.

Wei Yuu walked up to him, tucking a strand of hair behind his ears “Your wedding is being rushed. Them considering to extend your wedding date is a pretense, the wedding will proceed as planned despite your condition. The elders will drag you to your wedding, even if you have to crawl your way. The fifth prince is also being impatient, I doubt that he knew you're sick. The clan must have hide it from him else he'll came knocking on our gates in the middle of his duty”

Zhu Mingli is in a duty? Yan Gen doesn't know if the emperor and him is planning something. Perhaps it is only Zhu Mingli who's setting up a conspiracy. No wonder he didn't see him around.

Yan Gen keeps mum and Wei Yuu sighed “My marriage is also being rushed... tis perceptible the clan is anxious of our enemies. You have to hold your ground Lan-er”

He's not Wei Zhilan, why is he forced to do this and that? All this time, his effort in staying sick was for naught. “You need not to worry about anything else aside from your upcoming marriage. I'll take care of other things, once I rose in the imperial court and regain our footing. The fifth prince wouldn't dare to make you suffer any grievances”