After Eunuch He finished reading the imperial edict, the rewards from the empresses in the palace also arrived. After the Second Prince properly accepted these rewards, he ordered someone to take the little grandson away.

After that, the female and male relatives sat down at their tables separately. The second prince greeted the male relatives, while the second prince's wife Duan Jianing was responsible for greeting the female relatives.

Zhou Qiongyue was the princess of a royal family, so of course she sat at the table for princesses of royal families. Next to her was Princess Yongchun.

Everyone's status was high enough, so the meal was very harmonious.

Until Zhou Qiongyue and Yuan Bohua said goodbye hand in hand, they did not see Xie Zixin. Zhou Qiongyue guessed that she was under house arrest by the second prince.

Zhou Qiongyue saw Marquis Xuanping and his wife today. The smiles on their faces seemed a little forced, especially that of his wife. Anyone could tell that she was unhappy.

But it's understandable. Concubine Xie not only failed to win the position of eldest son, but also gave birth to a daughter. Seeing Duan Jianing's position as the principal wife becoming more and more stable, it's strange that the Xuanping Marquis's family is happy.

However, Zhou Qiongyue was also very happy that Xie Zixin gave birth to a daughter. She even ate half a bowl of extra dinner when she heard the news, and walked around in the yard for a long time before she felt better.

After attending the full moon banquet of the second prince's eldest son, Zhou Qiongyue turned her attention to the four maids around her.

The four of them were already quite old, and Zhou Qiongyue hadn't mentioned their marriage in the past two years because she didn't know what the drought would eventually become. It would be better for them to stay by her side than to have them marry off and suffer!

Now that the drought is over, it's time to consider this matter.

So the weather was just right that morning, neither too hot nor too cold, with a little sunshine. Zhou Qiongyue had someone set up a small stove in the yard to make tea, while she sat beside it and ate some snacks and fruit.

Zhou Qiongyue called the four maids around her over and said with a smile, "Find a seat for yourself!"

Gulan and the other three had some guesses about what the princess wanted them to do, so they all smiled and sat down at the bottom position.

Gu Yu even sat down next to the small stove very naturally and started to make tea and roast food directly, with a lively look in his eyes.

Seeing that everyone was seated, Zhou Qiongyue got straight to the point. "The four of you have followed me since childhood, and I have never considered forbidding you from marrying. Tell me if you have someone you like! If so, I will make the decision for you."

As soon as Zhou Qiongyue finished speaking, Gulan and the other three shook their heads.

After a moment of silence, Gulan spoke first: "Princess, I don't have anyone in my heart, and I don't want to get married."

She had already made up her mind that she would always be by the princess's side. She did not want to marry and serve her husband's family. She also had no relatives, and no one else could make decisions for her except the princess.

The princess has always been open-minded and would not force her, which means she can make her own decisions.

"Princess, I do want to get married, but I don't want to serve my parents-in-law or deal with all kinds of relatives. How about you choose an orphan for me?"

Guju is usually a straightforward person, so she is not shy when talking about these things.

Gu Mei couldn't help but retort to Gu Ju's wild idea, "You'd better not get married. Where can the princess find such a person for you?"

Gu Ju laughed and retorted, "I don't ask for much success, as long as I can give birth to a child. At worst, I can still serve the princess with the child."

Zhou Qiongyue was afraid that the two of them would go off topic, so she quickly said, "You two, stop arguing. I'll look around for a bit. I think there should be something there!"

Zhou Qiongyue thought about Gu Ju, who usually looked thick-skinned. She had never expected her to be so forward-thinking. In this day and age, she even agreed with the benefits of marrying an orphan.

Gu Mei was even more direct. "Princess, I don't have a sweetheart, but I do have a crush on someone. How about you, Princess, help me match them up?"

As soon as Gu Mei said this, Zhou Qiongyue, Gu Lan and the other two stared at Gu Mei in surprise.

"Who?" Gulan was very surprised. She had the best relationship with Gumei, and she had never found out who Gumei liked.

Zhou Qiongyue was also very curious, so curious that she didn't even eat the snack in her hand, waiting for Gu Mei to speak, "Tell us quickly!"

Gu Mei didn't hesitate and said bluntly, "It's Fang Fu who is beside the prince."

"I'll ask for you when the prince comes back." Zhou Qiongyue agreed immediately. As far as she knew, Fang Fu was not married yet.

Gu Mei and Fang Fu were definitely a perfect match, but she still had to ask the prince and Fang Fu for their opinions.

Zhou Qiongyue looked at Gu Yu, who was still immersed in watching the fun, and asked, "What about you, Gu Yu?"

Gu Yu was silent for a while before she spoke: "If I said that I wanted to marry a scholar or a juren, would the princess think that I was dreaming?"

Gu Yu has had this idea for a long time. It can be said that this has been her fantasy about her husband since she was old enough to understand.

Her parents and brother are all popular figures around the Crown Prince's wife. They are powerful, but the whole family will be worried as soon as the master makes any move.

She didn't want to live like this for the rest of her life, she wanted to try other options.

Zhou Qiongyue thought about it and felt that the Gu Yu family should not be short of money, so marrying a scholar should not be a problem.

"You have to choose carefully. Ask your family to help you keep an eye out for it! If you want to marry a scholar, you still have to look at the situation of his family."

Zhou Qiongyue didn't want to marry Gu Yu and support a large family.

As the ancient saying goes, "If you can find a suitable one, marry. If you can't find a suitable one, don't marry. When the time comes, I and Sister Gulan will be your companions."

Seeing that Gu Yu was unwilling to marry anyone other than a scholar, Zhou Qiongyue quickly tried to comfort him, "Don't worry, I can't guarantee a successful candidate, but there are so many talented scholars out there, I'm sure I can find one for you."

Zhou Qiongyue wanted to persuade Gulan one last time, "Gulan, would you like to reconsider?"

It’s not that Zhou Qiongyue insists on persuading Gulan to get married. The main reason is that the childbearing age for women in this era is very short, and the risks of giving birth are particularly high when they are older.

This means that if Gulan regrets it in the future, the price will be very high.

"Don't worry, Princess! I won't regret it." Gulan has been alone since she was a child, and she suffered a lot when she was not serving the princess.

She had grown up in the Cheng'en Marquisate over the years and had seen a lot of messes. The Crown Prince's wife was capable and had a good relationship with the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince still took in several concubines.

It was difficult for her to trust people, and after seeing all this, it became even harder. So she thought it would be good to stay by the princess's side. When she had a young master, she could serve him.