It took Fu Rongchen a long time to realize what a hot potato he was holding, and his expression turned quite ugly.
He considered throwing it away, but then he thought that the girl would come back and ask him for it back, and if he threw it away, she would definitely make a huge fuss.
After much deliberation, he finally left with the sketchbook in his pocket.
As soon as he left, a head peeked out from inside the door; it was Shangguan Yanran.
A smile played on her lips. Fu Rongchen, that old-fashioned man, had absolutely no sense of romance.
Let's give him that picture book to help him get started.
Thinking of Fu Rongchen's ashen face, she couldn't help but laugh.
She felt a great sense of accomplishment from being able to tease Fu Rongchen.
"Yanran, what are you doing, peeking around like that?"
At this moment, Madam Shangguan's puzzled voice rang out from behind her.
Shangguan Yanran was startled and quickly turned around. "It's nothing, I just came back from outside."
"Then why don't you come in quickly?" Madam Shangguan had no suspicions.
"Oh, here you are." Shangguan Yanran, carrying the books, jogged over.
Shangguan Yanran glanced at the book she was holding and was not surprised.
She knew her daughter loved reading those kinds of books, but she never restricted or forbade her from reading them.
She felt that reading for leisure was not a bad thing.
"Why are you back so late today?" she asked.
"Her Majesty the Empress asked me to stay a little longer," Shangguan Yanran replied.
The mother and daughter walked a short distance inside and saw Shangguan Boyan there. Just as Madam Shangguan was about to go over, Shangguan Yanran suddenly said, "Mother, I'll take the books back to the room first, and then come back to have dinner with you later." After saying that, she ran away in a flash before Madam Shangguan could say anything.
"This girl..." Madam Shangguan looked at her daughter, who had already run far away, and felt rather helpless.
Shangguan Boyan walked over, peeked in the direction his daughter had run off to, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Madam Shangguan shook her head, then, remembering something, said with a touch of melancholy, "Yanran is of marriageable age; it's time to find her a husband."
Shangguan Boyan paused for a moment, as if he had never considered this question before, "No rush, it's not too late to arrange a marriage in two more years."
Madam Shangguan was amused and said, "She's already sixteen this year. If she stays for another two years, she'll really be an old maid."
Shangguan Boyan muttered, "So what if she's an old maid? It's not like we can't afford to raise a daughter. At worst, she can remain unmarried for life."
Madam Shangguan was both amused and exasperated. "How can you be like this?"
"What's wrong with me?" Shangguan Boyan retorted, unconvinced. He only had one daughter, and he couldn't bear to marry her off. Besides, his daughter was so wonderful that no one was good enough for her.
Madam Shangguan pressed her temples, knowing that he loved his daughter, but didn't she love her too?
She rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "I'm serious. Yanran is getting old. If we don't hurry up and find a suitable husband, it will be really hard to find one in two years."
Shangguan Boyan sighed, "I know, I know, I'll keep an eye out for suitable candidates."
"You must take this matter seriously and find a good husband for Yanran," Madam Shangguan instructed.
Shangguan Boyan frowned as he thought of something and said, "Although it is the parents' order and the matchmaker's words, if Yanran has someone she likes, that is also acceptable."
Madam Shangguan paused, then said uncertainly, "I don't think so?"
"You can try to find out what she thinks. If she does, we'll have to check on her for her," Shangguan Boyan said. Although he didn't object to his daughter finding a husband herself, he still needed to assess the other person's character.
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