Guan Zhiyi looked at Madam Guan in front of her in extreme shock: "Mother, what did you say? Madam Qin, the uncle of the state, is here to propose marriage?"

"Yes, Uncle Qin's carriage hasn't even gone far yet. This isn't just a verbal engagement, but a real proposal to confirm the marriage. They've even given us a token of engagement. Your father and I have already agreed, so you can just wait and get married."

Guan Zhiyi frowned and said, "Mother, if something is out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on. How could the Qin family marry me for no reason?"

"Even Old Madam Lu could arrange a marriage between her eldest grandson and you..." Madam Guan said, "Why is it impossible for the Fifth Master of the Qin family?"

Guan Zhiyi said, "Mrs. Lu was obtained through my daughter's scheme. The Qin family has never seen my daughter, so why would they suddenly come to arrange a marriage? I don't know what kind of person Master Qin Wu is."

Madam Guan smiled and said, "Master Qin Wu's mother met him once. He was very handsome. He was a little older, ten years older than you, so he is exactly twenty-six. He lost his wife before, and he waited for her for a year before getting engaged.

Master Qin Wu only has two concubine daughters and sons, and no legitimate son. If you marry him, you will be the wife of the fifth branch of the Qin family, and you can just enjoy your life in the future. This marriage is better than your elder sister's.

Master Qin Wu and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are not much different in age. They have been good friends since childhood. When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince inherits the throne, your good days are still to come!"

The more Guan Zhiyi thought about it, the more she felt something was amiss. Could there really be something fishy about such a pie that fell from the sky?

…

Prince Qi’s Mansion, in the study.

Lingling woke up early in the morning and was very excited about going hiking, but unfortunately the weather was not good and the autumn rain kept falling for an hour.

Lingling was extremely disappointed and said in Lu Ze's arms, "Daddy, why can't we climb the mountain when it rains?"

"It's raining and the ground is slippery and it's easy to fall down the mountain. Let's wait until the weather clears up before climbing."

Lingling said, "Then Daddy, please teach me how to draw a portrait. I want to draw a portrait of my mother!"

Qi Yuning, who was looking at the account book, looked up at Lu Ze and asked, "Why did you draw me when I was missing teeth?"

Lu Ze said, "I remembered it and drew it."

Lingling got out of Lu Ze's arms and ran to the side to get the rice paper and brush. "Daddy, draw."

Lu Ze held Lingling's hand and wrote a stroke on the rice paper.

Lichun hurriedly approached Qi Yuning and whispered, "Princess, the Qin family went to the Guan family to propose marriage."

Qi Yuning raised an eyebrow and looked at Lichun. Lichun said, "It's Master Qin Wu and Miss Guan Liu."

Qi Yuning put down the account book in his hand and said, "How could Guan Zhiyi be engaged to the Fifth Master of the Prince's Mansion?"

Lu Ze raised his eyes to look at Qi Yuning, "Princess Qi, what do you mean by this?"

"It won't be long before Prince Lu will call Miss Guan Liu his fifth aunt."

Qi Yuning said, "The Qin family and the Guan family have just gotten engaged."

Lu Ze was stunned.

Qi Yuning said, "Fifth Master Qin is the Crown Prince's cousin. He manages the Imperial Guards of Shengjing City and has 50,000 soldiers under his command. He is a military commander at the feet of the Emperor. He has a promising future and a quiet harem. He only has a concubine's son and daughter whose aunt has died. This is truly a very good marriage."

Lu Ze sneered, "It's indeed a good match."

Qi Yuning's fingers were carelessly playing with the small golden abacus beads beside her, and she said puzzledly: "Old Madam Lu has been suppressed by her daughter-in-law, a princess of noble birth, all her life. Now that she is old, she doesn't want to be suppressed by a granddaughter-in-law of noble birth, so she arranged a marriage between you and Guan Zhiyi.

What do you think Lady Qin is after marrying Guan Zhiyi? Is it because she's a virtuous and capable housekeeper? That's impossible."

Lu Ze said, "Princess, my grandmother only got engaged to Guan Zhiyi to repay her for saving her life."

Qi Yuning ignored Lu Ze's self-deception and said, "If there really is a noble family that is interested in the virtue of the Guan family's daughter, Guan Zhiyi should marry a young dandy son of a noble family like her fourth brother-in-law, or a bastard son of a marquis like her fifth brother-in-law.

"Master Qin Wu has no shortage of young, virtuous, and noble daughters to choose as his concubines, so why would he choose Guan Zhiyi?"

Although Lingling said that the throne would not belong to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the future, no one could say for sure now.

The prince trusts the Qin family very much. The Qin family's military power is approaching that of Prince Qi's Mansion. The Qin family is very powerful in the court and the country. It is a time when flowers are blooming and the fire is boiling.

Master Qin Wu is not an incompetent person from a noble family. On the contrary, he holds the military power of the capital and is the closest cousin of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

This marriage is weird no matter how you look at it.

Lu Ze asked, "Why does the county magistrate care so much about other people's weddings?"

Qi Yuning said, "What do you mean someone else's family? I don't want to call Guan Zhiyi my fifth aunt in the future!"

Lu Ze chuckled when he heard this.

Qi Yuning frowned slightly when she saw Lu Ze smiling, secretly hating herself for speaking too quickly. Didn't what she said just now mean that she had tacitly agreed to marry Lu Ze?

Qi Yuning no longer paid attention to Lu Ze, nor did she think about Guan Zhiyi becoming Mrs. Qin Wu, and continued to look down at the account book.

Lu Ze also continued to teach Lingling how to draw portraits.

The silence didn't last long before Lu Baozhu's voice came from outside.

"Don't stop me!"

"Princess, you cannot go in. Please wait, we will go and report to you."

"I have something to ask your Princess Qi, why are you stopping me?"

Qi Yuning, who was inside the room, couldn't help but hold her forehead with her hand. She looked at Lu Ze and said, "Your family in the Princess' Mansion are really well-educated. Lu Baozhu has come to the palace ten times, and seven or eight of them she just barged in."

When Lu Baozhu broke into Qi Yuning's room, she saw Lu Ze with a sullen face. "Brother, you're here too?"

Lu Ze frowned and said, "Baozhu, how dare you trespass into someone else's palace?"

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