Taking advantage of Lu Cheng's momentary lapse in attention, Tang Ze removed the mask from his face.

As Lu Cheng's good brother, he can testify that this was the worst beating Lu Cheng had ever received since he was seven years old.

Before the age of seven, Tang Ze and Lu Cheng were not familiar with each other, and Lu Cheng was not beaten much at that time.

Seeing Lu Cheng's bruised and swollen face, one could tell just how furious the Lady of Xuanping was.

Lu Cheng was glad he got a job in the city patrol. If he had to stay in the Marquis's mansion all day, his mother would have been annoyed with him and beaten him every few days.

When Yun Qi and Yun Lang returned to the capital, Prince Yanping and Tang Ze stopped going to the Yun family home. Lu Cheng also didn't go. He was beaten so badly that his visit wouldn't have frightened Old Madam Yun and the others. If he hadn't mentioned that Yun Qi was returning to the capital and that they had arranged to meet him at Shili Pavilion, his father wouldn't have let it go.

It practically saved his life.

After entering the city, Wei Huan said to Yun Qi, "We'll take our leave for now. I'll visit Old Master Yun again another day."

Yun Qi said, "What do you mean by 'temporary farewell'? Didn't we agree before we came that you would stay at my Yun family's residence?"

Wei Huan smiled and said, "This is too much trouble and inconvenience."

Yun Qi said, "We're brothers, so just treat the Yun family as your own home. Otherwise, it'll make us too distant."

No matter how Yun Qi tried to persuade him, Wei Huan refused. Yun Qi had no choice but to back down. "I have a three-courtyard villa in the west of the city. I occasionally stay there for a few days. It's quite elegant. If you don't want to stay at my Yun family's house, then you can stay at my little courtyard. You have to give me that face."

Unable to refuse Yun Qi's kind offer, Wei Huan followed Yun Qi's arrangement.

Yun Qi had someone escort Wei Huan to his villa, while he, Xie Jingyan, and Yun Lang returned to the Yun family.

On the way, Yun Qi briefly told Xie Jingyan about buying warhorses. In fact, when he arrived at the Wei family, Master Yun and Yun Lang had already discussed it with Wei Huan. Because of Yun Qi's presence, Wei Huan gave each warhorse a discount of five taels of silver.

Five taels is not much, but the court needs to buy six thousand horses, which is no small amount. Moreover, there are annual supplies, saddles, and various other miscellaneous items. Yun Qi's trip will save the court at least fifty thousand taels.

Since Wei Huan has given him so much face, Yun Qi will certainly do his best to be a good host when he comes to the capital.

They arrived at the Yun family's house while they were talking.

They dismounted and entered the mansion, heading directly to the Liushuang Courtyard where Old Madam Yun lived.

I could hear laughter and chatter coming from inside the courtyard.

Walking around the double-sided embroidered rosewood screen with peonies symbolizing wealth and prosperity, Yun Lang smiled and said, "I heard Grandmother's laughter in the courtyard. What was Grandmother laughing about?"

Madam Yun smiled and said, "Your cousin said you're of marriageable age, and she's asking your grandmother to find you a good match."

Yun Lang blurted out, "My marriage isn't in a rush."

Madam Yun said, "You'll be nineteen next month. Your father was your age and already has you. There's no rush."

Yun Lang said, "Grandmother, you should worry about my elder brother's marriage to my sister-in-law first, and also about Rui'er's marriage. My marriage is really not in a hurry..."

Shen Wan looked at Yun Lang and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Second cousin, you didn't even ask which family's daughter your grandmother was interested in proposing marriage to before you rejected her outright."

He didn't want to marry any girl, but since his cousin had said so, he had to ask her what she meant. Yun Lang asked, "Which girl?"

“Miss Tao, from the household of the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue,” Shen Wan said.

"..."

Yun Lang was stunned, and then her ears turned red.

He didn't speak, so Shen Wan said to Madam Yun, "If Second Cousin really doesn't want to, then..."

The words "forget it" were practically rolling off my throat.

Yun Lang quickly asked, "What? When will you propose marriage to me?"

Madam Yun, "..."

The Yun family, "..."

Who was it that just said they weren't in a hurry to get married?

This idea came about too quickly.

Feeling everyone's gaze fixed on her, Yun Lang felt extremely uncomfortable.

Madam Yun knew that Shen Wan's mention of arranging a marriage for Yun Lang was not casual. It turned out that her grandson had long been interested in the eldest daughter of the Ministry of Revenue official's family. However, neither she, the grandmother, nor Madam Yun, the second wife, knew about it. Yet, Shen Wan, a pregnant cousin who rarely left the house, knew everything. It made them seem incompetent.

Madam Yun looked at Shen Wan, her eyes asking how she had discovered it.

Shen Wan whispered a few words in Madam Yun's ear, then looked at Yun Lang and said, "If this marriage goes through, Second Cousin, you have to give me a set of custom-made jewelry as a thank-you gift for the matchmaker."

Yun Lang, "..."

Among the many young ladies from prominent families in Kyoto, the fact that the eldest daughter of a Ministry of Revenue official was mentioned in the marriage proposal already struck him as unusual and too coincidental. When Shen Wan mentioned the custom-made jewelry, how could Yun Lang not know that Shen Wan had discovered that he had given the eldest daughter of the Tao family the custom-made jewelry?

How did my cousin find out?

Yun Lang couldn't guess, nor did she dare to ask, so she quickly changed the subject away from herself.

Madam Yun asked Yun Lang, "Where is your father? Why didn't he come back with you?"

Yun Lang replied, "After my elder brother went to the Wei family, my father felt that it was enough for my elder brother to take charge of this matter, so he went to inspect the shops in the Northwest area. He probably won't be back for a few days."

Madam Yun said, "It seems that Rui'er's father will be the last to know about her engagement to the Marquis of Xuanping."

After a pause, Madam Yun said, "The Marquis of Xuanping's family wants to marry Rui'er as soon as possible. If he stays in the Northwest for a while longer, he may not even be able to attend his own daughter's wedding banquet."

The maids and servants tried to suppress their laughter.

Yunrui sat to the side, her face flushed with a rosy blush. When she saw everyone looking at her, she quickly changed the subject, "Where's my older sister? My cousin is here, why hasn't she come back yet?"

Madam Yun also found it strange. At this moment, a maid wearing a light blue dress ran in and said, "The eldest young lady has returned, but she doesn't look well. She was helped into the mansion by the young master."

Madam Yun said, "I went to the Chen residence yesterday and she was perfectly fine. Why does she look so pale today? If she looks pale, why did she come back?"

Feeling uneasy, Madam Yun got up and went out.

Not long after Madam Yun left, a maidservant rushed in, beaming, and said, "Madam, the eldest young lady is pregnant!"

Just as Madam Yun was feeling worried, she heard this good news, and her brows immediately relaxed.

Soon Yun Mo came in. Seeing everyone looking at her, she blushed terribly. Old Madam Yun asked with concern, "Severe morning sickness? Why did you come back?"

Yun Mo didn't speak, but Madam Yun spoke for her, "When she left the Chen residence, she didn't even know she was pregnant. She vomited from the bumpy carriage ride and only found out after seeing a doctor. At that time, the Yun family was only two streets away. The doctor said that Mo'er was just experiencing morning sickness and that it wouldn't affect the fetus, so she came back."

Mentioning Yunmo's morning sickness made Young Master Chen feel extremely uneasy.

There was no way around it; a certain gentleman was also in the Yun family, and as a model of doting on his wife, he even took her place to suffer from morning sickness.

As long as a certain lord is around, there is an invisible pressure, whether you are married or not.