After Cui Yun'er finished speaking, she noticed that Su Xuerong's expression was very calm, without the slightest hint of surprise.

“Ah Rong…”

Su Xuerong suddenly laughed: "Really, what's the rush? Anyone who didn't know better would think you wanted to marry him."

"Pah! Who wants to marry that heartless man!" Cui Yun'er shouted angrily. "He went to Tongguan to fetch his family and came back all the way here. I don't believe he didn't know that Xiang Shi was the wife his mother had arranged for him!"

"He actually went back to Hangzhou and pretended to come and make you wait for him?"

"Wait for what? Wait for him to get married, have children, and come to you with his baby asking for New Year's money?"

Hearing Cui Yun'er's string of angry words, Su Xuerong pulled her aside and comforted her, "Don't be angry, it's not worth getting angry at yourself!"

Looking at her nonchalant expression, Cui Yun'er said irritably, "Look at me, I'm more anxious than the emperor!"

Su Xuerong said calmly, "There's just something I don't quite understand..."

"What?"

"Tell me, why is Madam Xiang in such a hurry to marry her niece to Ling Qingxue before he goes to Shu?" Su Xuerong asked sarcastically. "Does she think her son is so incompetent that he will never come back from Shu?"

"Who knows?" Cui Yun'er said indignantly.

Su Xuerong frowned slightly: "Perhaps on the way from Tongguan to Hangzhou, Ling Qingxue did not take the initiative to mention my existence to his mother. He wanted to take things slowly..."

"But so what?"

"If that's the case, there might be another reason why Madam Xiang is in such a hurry to arrange his engagement."

Cui Yun'er was stunned: "What's the reason?"

Su Xuerong gently traced circles on the rim of the teacup with her hand: "Do you think there is someone who hopes I won't marry Ling Qingxue? So, when Madam Xiang and the others were defending Hangzhou, did they reveal my information to her early on?"

Otherwise, how can we explain Madam Xiang's hasty and somewhat absurd actions?

Cui Yun'er was taken aback: "Could Chen Siyi be hiding in Hangzhou? No, no, she was captured by Xu Songnian a long time ago, and even with all her abilities, she can't come back for the time being..."

She suddenly froze: "Oh right, there's one more person who really doesn't want you to marry Ling Qingxue! I completely forgot about her!"

Fang Ningzhu never expected that her efforts to secretly deliver Su Xuerong's message to Madam Xiang would end in vain!

When Fang Ningzhu learned that Madam Xiang had betrothed her young son, Xiao Xiangshi, to Ling Qingxue, she felt like a joke!

Moreover, Madam Xiang acted extremely quickly. This morning, as soon as Ling Qingxue left, she brought Xiao Xiangshi to the Prince's Mansion and asked Cuishi to act as matchmaker.

It was too late for her to do anything!

Su Xuerong hurriedly pulled Cui Yun'er back: "Don't be impulsive. It really was her. She didn't gain anything. It's no use for you to teach her a lesson. Madam Xiang is probably determined to make Ling Qingxue marry her niece."

Marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers.

Now that Ling's father has passed away, Madam Xiang is fully capable of making decisions for Ling Qingxue.

"Then what are you going to do?" Cui Yun'er asked, somewhat dejected. "Even my cousin is willing to resort to self-inflicted suffering so that you can marry him smoothly."

Su Xuerong sighed: "What can we do then? We can only disappoint your cousin..."

"you……"

Just as Cui Yun'er was about to say something, she heard Su Xuerong say, "I'm planning to find a husband for my daughter-in-law!"

"What?"

Cui Yun'er jumped up in fright: "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not joking," Su Xuerong said seriously. "I've already asked my parents to make the arrangements."

Since the plan is to have a son-in-law marry into the family, the elders' judgment will naturally be better than their own.

"Having learned my lesson this time, I will never let myself fall in love again..." Su Xuerong suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile. "In the future, I will only find someone to settle down with, raise Yuan'er, take care of the elderly until their death, and as for love and romance, I can give them up."

Cui Yun'er stared blankly at her, a sudden pang of sadness gripping her heart: "Now that you've said that, I feel even more uncomfortable."

"Most women in the world are like this. My meeting and getting to know Ling Qingxue can be considered a wonderful fate. As for how this fate will end, I have no regrets."

Su Xuerong remained completely calm.

Compared to her previous life, she was already very grateful for the people she met in this life.

Perhaps fate is fair; it gives you a second chance at life, but it doesn't guarantee that everything will go your way.

She is already content.

Cui Yun'er didn't see the disappointment in Su Xuerong's eyes, and sighed softly: "Then what kind of person do you want to marry into the family?"

Su Xuerong thought for a moment: "At least it will put my parents at ease."

"Appearance, family background, wealth?"

"None of that matters."

Cui Yun'er: "..."

Does that mean any man will do?

Su Xuerong smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about this for me. You should think about yourself."

She was really curious about who the future Marquis of Wuwei would be.

Half a month after Ling Qingxue went to Shu, the Prince's Mansion celebrated Cui's fiftieth birthday.

Officials in Hangzhou Prefecture were actively preparing congratulatory gifts for the Cui family.

Items that are too expensive may be considered bribery, while items that are too cheap may offend people.

All the officials' wives racked their brains.

As expected, Su Xuerong, who had just been adopted as a goddaughter, was also a guest at the banquet that day.

Madam Cui glared at her nephew angrily: "Look what you've done! You wanted her to marry Ling Qingxue as your sworn sister, but Madam Xiang's niece beat you to it. Now I can't even get out of it!"

She didn't want Su Xuerong to attend her birthday celebration, but since the whole of Hangzhou already knew that she was her adopted daughter, she had to make her come even if she had to hold her nose.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!