The old lady was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "Don't beat around the bush, just tell me what's on his mind. What is he thinking?"
Bai Chang could only reply, "Reporting to the old lady, it's like this... Last night, the young marquis was drinking with his friends and got a bit drunk before revealing it. It turns out the young marquis likes the Ding family's daughter, but... the young marquis said, how can such a sunny and beautiful girl come to the marquis's mansion as a concubine?"
Miss Ding is clearly simple-minded. If she were to enter the manor, she would either be bullied to the point of being unable to survive, or she would become cunning and scheming. In either case, the young marquis does not want to see her.
The young marquis is rarely home and cannot fully protect her. Even if he came home every day, he couldn't favor his concubine over his wife; that would cause distress for everyone. Since she knew this would happen, it was better not to start at all and just live in her imagination.
The old lady was stunned after hearing this, opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
She should have expected her son to react this way.
My son has always been self-disciplined to the point of being demanding, and focused to the point of being stubborn. Once he makes a decision, few people can change his mind.
The old lady pondered for a moment and asked, "Tell me, you've been following the young marquis for so long, have you ever seen him care about any other woman besides Ding Xuan?"
Bai Chang shook his head, "No more."
The old lady was shocked. "Not a single one?"
Bai Chang shook his head, "No!"
The old lady was stunned for a long time before letting Bai Chang leave.
That evening, the old lady invited the young marquis to dinner and subtly hinted that if he were to take a concubine, she would help take care of her and would certainly do so well.
But Bai Zhankai didn't respond to a word throughout the entire conversation.
Then, another month passed.
The old lady had collected another stack of portraits, and when her son came to pay his respects, she hurriedly took them out, saying, "Kai'er, take a look and see if there are any you like."
Bai Zhankai didn't even glance at the portraits. "My son's marriage is entirely up to his mother. He will marry whoever his mother likes, and the same goes for concubines. He will take whoever his mother likes."
The old lady resorted to her old tricks, advising the young marquis to choose someone he liked relatively well.
But no matter how much the old lady tried to persuade him with her emotions and reason, the young marquis just listened quietly without saying a word.
And so, another six months passed.
For the past six months, the old lady had tried to persuade her son every month, but Bai Zhankai never looked at the portrait again.
Finally, the old lady felt sorry for him and called the young marquis over. She said solemnly, "I have sent people to investigate the Ding family girl. She is the eldest in the family, with three younger sisters and two younger brothers. Just as you thought, the Ding family girl is kind and innocent. She never fights with anyone and takes great care of her younger siblings. Whether it is relatives or neighbors, they all speak highly of the Ding family girl."
Bai Zhankai appeared calm on the surface, but was anything but calm inside.
A year has passed since they first met, and he thought he would gradually forget her, but instead of forgetting her, he misses her more and more.
Sometimes he couldn't understand how he could miss someone for a whole year after just one glance, without even making eye contact.
It's alright during the day, I'm busy with official business.
As night falls and all is quiet, the various emotions that were easily ignored during the day begin to surface, and the smiling face in my mind becomes clearer and clearer, as if it is getting closer and closer.
After that, he started doing very shameful things.
For example, if he missed Ding terribly at night, he would go to the gate of the Ding residence and look at it for a while. Even if he saw that the black gate was tightly closed, just looking at it would make him content.
A curfew was imposed in the capital.
He had been caught by patrolling soldiers, but fortunately, he knew a few of the officers guarding the city, and they laughed it off and it was over.
"Kai'er?" The old lady's voice interrupted Bai Zhankai's reverie, "Would you be willing to marry that woman?"
Bai Zhankai's expression remained unchanged, but beneath the narrow cuffs of his sleeves, his long, strong fingers secretly clenched together.
"A son listens to his mother."
How could the old lady not understand her son?
“Alright, then this woman will be chosen. I had someone calculate her birth chart, and it matches yours…” The voice paused.
Bai Zhankai was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "How is it?"
The old lady frowned. "To be honest, the situation is quite strange. The fortune teller said that your birth charts are generally compatible, but there will be some ups and downs. He also said that you will be born together and die together. I don't understand this. Being born together and dying together are used to make vows, but I've never heard of anyone using divination to predict this."
Bai Zhankai suppressed his joy and regained his composure, saying, "If it's unlucky, then forget it. Let's find someone with an auspicious birth date and time, someone suitable for our Marquis's mansion."
Seeing her son about to start his stubbornness again, the old lady had a headache. "Who says it's bad to share the same bed in life and the same grave in death? If it's a blessing, can it be used as a blessing? Alright, I won't talk to you about this anymore. As long as I know you agree, that's enough. Tomorrow I'll send someone to ask. It's been a year, and I still don't know if the girl has found someone to marry."
Bai Zhankai lowered his eyes—no, he was staring at him.
...
Ding Mansion.
Madam Ding entered Luofen Pavilion with a look of surprise and delight, and a maid greeted her.
Madam Ding asked, "Where is the eldest daughter?"
The maid replied that the young lady was embroidering clothes in the attic.
Madam Ding hurriedly went inside, and sure enough, she saw Ding Xuan and her second sister Ding Ran embroidering their wedding dresses.
According to the customs of the Southern Chu Kingdom, a daughter's wedding dress can be embroidered by herself or by a professional embroiderer. For wealthy families like the Ding family, it would be perfectly acceptable to hire a professional embroiderer. However, Ding Xuan was sensible and thought that since she was idle anyway, and it would be good practice, she might as well embroider it herself, which would be more meaningful.
On the second floor of the attic, the two sisters stood by the window, bathed in bright sunlight. The sunlight shone on their fiery red wedding dresses and then reflected back onto the young girl's face.
The girl's skin was already delicate and smooth, and her complexion was much fairer than that of normal people. With a touch of rosy blush, she looked like a peach blossom in full bloom.
Madam Ding thought to herself, "No wonder she was chosen as the principal wife by the Marquis of Anning's family. Her eldest daughter's appearance is indeed outstanding."
Even though she, her own mother, kept a close eye on her every day, she still felt that her eldest daughter was even more beautiful than before, so beautiful that she couldn't take her eyes off her.
Ding Xuan put down her wedding dress and obediently asked her mother what had brought her here.
Madam Ding couldn't suppress a smile as she said that she had been chosen by the Marquis of Anning's family to be the principal wife of the young marquis who was both talented and handsome and had unparalleled martial arts skills.
Ding Xuan was startled and dropped the needle in her hand.
Then he sincerely asked his mother a question: "Is someone who is both talented and beautiful, and has unparalleled martial arts skills, lame or blind?"
Madam Ding was displeased: How could you curse someone?
Ding Xuan was puzzled: Since she was neither lame nor blind, why would so many noble ladies in the capital choose her? Her Ding family didn't hold any official positions.
Madam Ding ignored her, said a few words and left to attend to other procedures, because the Marquis's residence was quite anxious.
...
Ding Xuan first met her husband, the Marquis, on their wedding night.
The moment she lifted the veil and saw her husband's strikingly handsome face, she was completely stunned—she had heard that the young marquis of Anning was handsome, but she never expected him to be this handsome.
She instinctively reached out to the man's face, and Bai Zhankai instinctively grabbed her hand as well.
As the two intertwined their fingers, a woman's giggles came from the side.
From the wedding attendants and the ladies-in-waiting to the maids and servants, everyone burst into laughter—they'd never seen anyone hold hands so soon after lifting the veil. How eager were they? They really didn't treat them like outsiders.
Bai Zhankai pulled the woman's hand down before letting go, his expression indifferent—his facial expression control was always excellent.
Ding Xuan blushed – it seems her husband isn't blind, so… is he lame?
As he spoke, he looked down.
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