In the northwest, after Liu Yanqing read the letter, he didn't think about going to the capital. The journey to the capital was too long, and there was actually no point in going there, and it would cost a lot of money along the way.

It’s not that Liu Yanqing doesn’t want to go, but the reality is so difficult.

"Just send someone to take the gifts to the capital," Liu Yanqing said. "The journey is too expensive."

"Okay." Lin Xiaowan hadn't considered going to the capital. They still had their property to look after, so how could they leave without a care? If they went, it would probably take more than two months, which would affect spring planting, which would be bad.

Living in the northwest, they couldn't affect others, and couldn't expect others to help them. So they had to work hard and manage their own property, not just wait for the big families to give them things.

"I originally thought you were planning to go to the capital." Lin Xiaowan really thought so.

"No." Liu Yanqing shook his head. "What's the point of going to the capital? It's too far away. If we go, they may not have time to entertain us. We'll just stand by and it won't make any difference whether we're there or not. We can't just show up and see what's going on. We still need people to take care of these things at home."

Even though Liu Yanqing is not very good at work, he understands this point.

They have to take care of their families and their work in the fields.

If they asked someone else to help look after it, who knows how they would do it. It would be safer for them to take care of these things themselves. They didn't make much money in a year, so they couldn't afford to waste time.

There are several people in the family, and there will be more in the future. Liu Yanqing doesn't dare to think about the days when his family has no money.

Liu Yanqing knew that the Cen family didn't have much money. They spent money lavishly and had almost spent all the money they had hidden. This led to the Cen family's current life being not so good, and they had to work harder.

The Cen family still had to hand over a lot of things to the court, unlike the Liu family in the past. Their branch did not commit such a big mistake, so they did not have to hand over more things to the court.

"I'm not stupid." Liu Yanqing said, "I'm not going to go just because someone says something good about me. That's impossible."

Liu Yanqing thought that if it was a place that was closer and could be reached in a few days, then they would go. The key was that it would take a long time, so it would be difficult for them to go.

"If you have an idea, that's fine," Lin Xiaowan said. "Time flies! My younger sister is getting married soon. We've been here for almost four years now."

"Almost." Liu Yanqing nodded. "In the past few years, everyone has had enough to eat and enough clothes to wear. It's all pretty good."

Shiyuan Village is almost as prosperous as the town. In a year or two, Shiyuan Village will be called Shiyuan Town. Many people have moved here. They are not exiles, but people who come to share in the so-called good fortune. They just think this is the place where Princess Rongning developed the culture medium, so they think this place is good.

Even though Princess Rongning stayed in the town for a long time, they were still willing to come to Shiyuan Village.

Liu Yanqing wondered whether they should buy more land, build some more houses and shops, and maybe they could make some money.

In the town, Liu Fang learned that Liu Yulian was going to get married, so she wanted to go to the capital.

"My younger sister is getting married, so we should go to the capital." Liu Fang said.

"..." Zhen Wenzhe knew that his wife was obsessed with the capital, and she thought about the capital every day.

"Don't worry, I will never say too much in front of my younger sister." Liu Fang was really frightened by what happened to Liu Yuqin. The Marquis of Jingning broke off the relationship with Liu Yuqin, and Liu Yuqin left the capital.

Liu Fang didn't dare to be like Liu Yuqin. She had never been as brave as Liu Yuqin since she was a child. Before Liu Yuqin got married, she dared to talk about changing her name, but Liu Fang didn't dare to talk about changing her name at all.

There are so many things that Liu Fang dares not do. After seeing what happened to Liu Yuqin, she dares not to do anything more.

"Isn't it said that the capital is good?" Liu Fang said, "When we get there, we can send our children to a good college. There aren't that many good colleges in the northwest."

Zhen Wen Ze did want to go to the capital. He had saved some money and would buy a house there. He would then teach and earn some money. Zhen Wen Ze also knew that teaching alone wouldn't earn him much, so a few years ago he partnered with someone to buy a shop in the capital and open a restaurant.

Zhen Wenze didn't care much about the restaurant's operations, only about dividing the profits. He also had someone buy a shop, which he could rent out to make some money.

Once they arrived in the capital, they could buy some land farther from the capital. They didn't need to buy expensive land; they could buy cheaper land, and they didn't mind the distance from the capital. As long as they could earn enough to live on it, that was enough.

"My younger sister has become a princess, and I'm not crazy. I can't always compare myself with her." Seeing Zhen Wen Ze remained silent, Liu Fang wondered if there was anything else she hadn't said. "My younger sister's dowry should be huge, and I can't say much. All the things in the Marquis' Mansion are her own earnings, so she deserves the most."

Zhen Wenze looked at Liu Fang in disbelief. When did Liu Fang finally understand these principles? You know, Liu Fang always felt that she didn't get enough, and she often complained at home that those people weren't good enough to her.

"What are you looking at? Can't I think it through?" Liu Fang thought that it was because Liu Yuqin had offended Liu Yulian that the Jingning Marquis' Mansion severed ties with Liu Yuqin.

From this, we can see how important Liu Yulian is in Jingning Marquis Mansion. Liu Fang thought that what others said was not as important as Liu Yulian, but her relationship with Liu Yulian was not very good, so it was useless for her to go forward and please Liu Yulian.

But Liu Yulian did not break off the relationship with her. Liu Fang thought that as long as the relationship was not broken off, her family would move to Beijing and she might be able to get some benefits.

"I'm not the second sister." Liu Fang said.

"Then pack up your things." Zhen Wenzhe originally planned to go to Beijing in one or two years, but now he has decided to go this year.

Zhen Wen Ze wasn't afraid of being ignored. Sometimes being ignored didn't matter; as long as others knew they were relatives, that was enough. Furthermore, Zhen Wen Ze knew he couldn't get into the research institute, and he also knew he wasn't likely to be very successful in other areas, but he could let his children stay in Beijing.

It would be nice to wait until our children's generation is better off.

Zhen Wen Ze only hoped that Liu Fang had truly thought it through and would not make any wrong moves again, otherwise they would have to return to the northwest in disgrace.

"Fourth brother, are you going back?" Zhen Wen Ze asked, "They should also give gifts to the princess."

"Then go and ask." Liu Fang understood what Zhen Wen Ze meant.

After Liu Fang got married, she gradually understood some things. She knew about interpersonal relationships and that it was always good to have relatives around. Although the people from the main house were not in the northwest, Liu Fang knew that Zhen Wen Ze was kind to her mainly because of the Jingning Marquisate and Princess Rongning.

Those people outside were nice to her and they also had a relationship with Princess Rongning.

Liu Fang didn’t think her family could bring her much before, but after getting married, she gradually realized how important her family was.

When Zhen Wenze arrived at the fourth house of the Liu family, Lin Xiaowan and Liu Yanqing had just finished preparing the gifts. Liu Yanqing was still thinking about going to the town or the provincial capital to see if there were any caravans heading to the capital.

"You're going to the capital." When Liu Yanqing learned that Zhen Wenzhe and the others were going to the capital, he was a little surprised. "Are you planning on not coming back?"

"I don't necessarily mean I won't come back." Zhen Wenze said, "There are still some things here."

Zhen Wen Ze had to leave himself a way out, so that he wouldn't be unable to stay in the capital and return.

"It's up to you." Liu Yanqing said, "If you're going to the capital, please help us deliver the gift for my younger sister."

"Sure." Zhen Wen Ze couldn't refuse. He came here just to ask the people from the Fourth House if they had anything to take to the capital. "You're not going back to the capital?"

"No." Liu Yanqing said directly, "We have taken root here. If we really want to go, we will wait until the children grow up and then go with them."

"Alright." Zhen Wenze hoped that the Liu family's illegitimate children, namely the fourth branch, would stay safely in the northwest. Although the fourth branch's members didn't stay in the capital, they had also reaped many benefits in the northwest.

The fourth branch of the Liu family also has some places in Shiyuan Village, which is mainly due to Princess Rongning. Liu Yanqing is Princess Rongning's half-brother, and everyone in Shiyuan Village knows this. Later, the people in Shiyuan Village were also informed of this.

"It's not bad for you to go to the capital. It's prosperous." Liu Yanqing joked, "Just don't be blinded by it."

Liu Yanqing thought about how Lin Xiaowan always told him not to be blinded by outside affairs. He thought that he would never be blinded by outside women. Those women were with him, so they must want money. Unlike him, he was with Lin Xiaowan, who also took care of the household affairs, which was equivalent to Lin Xiaowan giving him money.

Liu Yanqing thought he wasn't that stupid. Who would be so foolish as to give money to someone else, unless that person had a lot of money? Liu Yanqing thought that he only had so little money, and Lin Xiaowan always found out about his hidden money. He decided not to look for money from others.

"You guys go ahead." Liu Yanqing said, "If you miss us, you can send some small things to our children occasionally."

Liu Yanqing didn't think that the Zhen family would give them more things. They thought that it was okay for the eldest wife to give more gifts, and they didn't think too much about it for others.

Zhen Wenzhe had long known Liu Yanqing's character. Liu Yanqing was not a very capable person, but he knew how to adapt to the times.

"If you have any questions, you can also write to us." Zhen Wenzhe said politely.

These people are like this, polite on the surface.

In reality, neither of them thought about what the other would actually do.

In the capital, Liu Yulian was embroidering her own wedding dress. She started embroidering the wedding dress after returning to the capital.

In fact, before the Liu family was raided, Liu Yulian also had embroidered a wedding dress, but it was lost along with the raid. When Liu Yulian was in the northwest, she had other things to do, so she didn't embroider the wedding dress.

After arriving in the capital, Liu Yulian began to embroider whenever she had time. She still wanted to wear the wedding dress she embroidered. Her embroidery skills were at the highest level, and her embroidered wedding dress was no worse than those made by other embroiderers.

Liu Yulian specially selected good materials and dyed the cloth herself to make beautiful red cloth.

The wedding gowns of the Daliang Dynasty were mostly bright red, while some previous dynasties had green wedding gowns. The colors of wedding gowns also varied in different dynasties.

The red cloth dyed by Liu Yulian is beautiful in itself, and with Liu Yulian's embroidery, the wedding dress is naturally even better.

When Princess Zhaoyang came over, she saw Liu Yulian embroidering a wedding dress. She couldn't help but sigh that their little sister was really capable. She wondered what Rongning couldn't do.

Even though Rong Ning also said that she couldn't do this or that, Princess Zhaoyang still felt that Liu Yulian knew a lot.

"Your wedding dress is more beautiful than the one I wore before." Princess Zhaoyang said. Her wedding dress was prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not embroidered by her herself.

The embroiderers employed by the royal family were good at embroidery. Princess Zhaoyang did not think that her original wedding dress was bad, but that the wedding dress made by Liu Yu was better.

"Sewn stitch by stitch." Liu Yulian said, "In this life, I should only get married once, and I don't want to regret it."

No matter how busy Liu Yulian was, she would always find time to embroider her wedding dress.

Liu Yulian didn't want to wait until she was old and regret not having a better wedding dress. She wanted to marry beautifully, even if it was a dress she could only wear once, she wanted to make it beautiful.

"That's right." Princess Zhaoyang nodded. "There's no need to always think about other things. You should also take care of yourself."

Princess Zhaoyang liked this about Liu Yulian. She never changed her lifestyle just because she was appointed director of the academy. Some people change after becoming officials, claiming they have important matters to attend to.

Those are just excuses. Those people don't want to meddle in what's happening in their backyard, nor do they want to look at people of low status. They also want to keep raising their own value.

"This wedding dress can be passed down as a family heirloom." Princess Zhaoyang said.

"That's not good. Of course the bride has to wear a new wedding dress. There's no way she can wear my old wedding dress." Liu Yulian said, "This wedding dress can't be kept for very long. Even if it's well preserved, it will eventually break down."

Liu Yulian thought that she could find a way to preserve the wedding dress for a longer period of time, but it was unlikely that her descendants would use the wedding dress she had worn.

"That's not necessarily true. It's an honor to wear your wedding dress." Princess Zhaoyang said, "Just wait, someone will definitely think so in the future."

“…” Liu Yulian didn’t know how to respond.

"How much is left to be embroidered?" asked Princess Zhaoyang.

"There is another sleeve." Liu Yulian said.

Liu Yulian originally thought she might have to wait another year, so she didn't embroider much before, thinking she'd take her time. But the wedding was set for March, and as a result, Liu Yulian still hasn't finished embroidering her wedding dress.

"Then you'd better hurry up," Princess Zhaoyang joked, "Don't wait until the day of your wedding to finish the embroidery."

"We still have more than half a month left, which is plenty." Liu Yulian said, "I've been going to the research institute less often recently. I need to get ready first."

Fortunately, there was nothing particularly urgent at the research institute, otherwise Liu Yulian would really be too busy.

Liu Yulian looked at the wedding dress in her hand. If this wedding dress was really to be passed down, she would probably give it to her daughter. But why was she thinking about this now? Liu Yulian's cheeks were a little hot.

At the Duke Cheng's Mansion, He Xiyuan was also packing up his things. He had to move some things to the Princess Rongning's Mansion first. Although they would stay at the Duke Cheng's Mansion for a while, it was still a short stay after all, so there was no need for them to leave so many things here.

He Xiyuan also made several new sets of clothes. He thought that since he would live under the same roof with Sister Lian in the future, he must not dress too sloppily.

It is said that women dress up to please themselves, and the same goes for men.

In order to win favor, the women in the backyard all dressed up beautifully.

He Xiyuan thought about the closeness between him and Sister Lian, and how many people were attracted to her. Even if other men were not with Sister Lian, he could not let them outshine him.

"Is everything packed?" Old Madam He came over from time to time, and she felt that she had to keep an eye on it personally and not let her grandson do anything stupid at this time.

It would be bad if He Xiyuan was not prepared by then.

Even though they were all in the same capital, it would be convenient for them to travel back and forth. But Old Madam He didn't want Princess Rongning to think that He Xiyuan didn't know how to organize things. They had to let Princess Rongning see that He Xiyuan was reliable.

"Don't bring those old clothes that don't look good." Madam He said, "You should also be more careful and not look too rough."

"It's almost cleaned up." He Xiyuan said.

"That should be about right. You don't have so many things." Madam He said, "The new house is ready, and the furnishings at the princess's residence are also ready. You don't have to worry about anything."

Old Madam He felt that this was not like marrying a wife, but like marrying into the family. Sometimes she felt that it would be better for He Xiyuan to marry into the family, but of course, she just thought about it and didn't say much.

Princess Rongning is so good. Old Lady He thinks that if it were her, she might let Princess Rongning find a son-in-law.

He Xiyuan looked at Old Madam He. He felt that his grandmother's eyes looked strange.

"Wait until you marry... wait until you get married." Madam He quickly changed her tone, blurting out what was on her mind. "Don't think you can rest easy just because you're married. Men tend to become bad when they have money, and women who are too outstanding are also often coveted by men."

"Don't worry, my grandson will never turn bad." He Xiyuan said.

"The places that shouldn't be broken really can't be broken." Old Madam He looked around, feeling a little embarrassed. She moved closer to He Xiyuan and whispered, "They say women should serve men well. Men, too, should know how to serve women well, understand?"

“…” He Xiyuan was a little confused about what his grandmother was saying.

"You are among those who have passed the imperial examination and have achieved the third place. A third place means someone with a good-looking face." Madam He said, "Even the Emperor approves of your face, understand? Use it more often."

Madam He was almost shaking her arms, telling him: Use your face more to seduce your wife, understand?

In Madam He's view, men are human beings, and women are also human beings. Men like those delicate women. But women, on the other hand, should like men to treat them well, to coax them more, and to pamper them more.

"Be more masculine." Madam He emphasized, "Don't be weak and timid. Women also need support. No matter how strong a woman is, she still wants to be a little delicate."

Madam He thought that she had said so much, and if He Xiyuan still didn't understand, there was nothing she could do. She couldn't let He Xiyuan watch the women in the brothel to please men. It was different for men to please women.

"You can't go to places with fireworks." Old Madam He said again, fearing that He Xiyuan would be stupid enough to run over there.