Jiang Xiancao turned around and saw a girl in a smoky blue dress walking towards him.
The girl's face was extremely outstanding. Unlike the bright and dignified beauties commonly seen in the capital, she was born beautiful and elegant, with a charming temperament. Her soft eyebrows and eyes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of light Jiangnan mist. Her figure was slender and graceful, and her whole body was beautiful, radiant and hazy.
When the queen saw her, she smiled and waved:
"Yu Shu, come and meet the Empress Dowager and the Ninth Prince."
Then Jiang Xiancao watched the girl named Yu Shu kneel down and salute.
A simple gesture of saluting, when she sits up, looks like an elegant dance.
The Queen Mother ordered the maid to help the girl up, and then gave the girl a seat. She then glared at Jiang Xiancao, who was still standing there in a daze, and said, "What are you still standing there for? Come to my side quickly."
Jiang Xiancao walked over with a smile. When she passed by the girl, she could feel the girl glanced at her quickly, and when she looked back, she lowered her eyes shyly. Such a gentle and soft posture could easily arouse a man's pity.
However, Jiang Xiancao could not develop any good feelings towards the girl.
It's not because her soul belongs to a woman, but because the girl gives her the feeling of a venomous snake pretending to be weak.
She sat down next to the Queen Mother, and the Queen smiled and said:
"Xiao Jiu'er, the girl over there is the legitimate daughter of the Chu family in Jiangnan, and also the niece of Marquis Wen Ning."
The niece of Marquis Wenning?
Jiang Xiancao suddenly remembered that although she had only stayed in the Marquis' Mansion for half a year and the Jiang family had never treated her as a relative, she had accidentally heard the servants talk about this cousin.
"Although Miss Chu isn't a noblewoman from the capital, the Chu family has a stronghold in Jiangnan. With so many generations of wealth accumulated, their wealth far surpasses that of ordinary wealthy people in the capital. If Miss Chu gets married in the future, her husband's family will be in for a treat. The dowry will probably take days and nights to unpack."
"The Marquis and his wife are trying to match the eldest son with Miss Chu, right? The eldest son is going to pursue a career in the government, and having more wealthy wives to support him financially would be a great help."
"Madam does have this intention, but it seems that the Chu family has other plans, and our Marquis is not in a hurry, so the engagement has not been finalized yet."
"Isn't it good enough to marry into the Marquis's mansion and become a young lady? Are the Chu family's standards so high?"
"Of course the Chu family has high standards. I heard that in recent years, the son-in-law of the Chu family has secretly visited the capital several times and met with many members of the royal family. If he has any intention of using the Chu family's wealth as a bargaining chip to marry his daughter to a prince, it's hard to say..."
Thinking back on this now, there was a hint of deeper meaning in Jiang Xiancao's eyes when he looked at Chu Yusu.
The Queen noticed Jiang Xiancao's look and smiled:
"Mother, in my opinion, Miss Chu is gentle, virtuous, and talented, and she is a perfect match for Xiao Jiuer."
The phrase "gentle, virtuous and talented" made Jiang Xiancao feel a little uncomfortable.
If she remembered correctly, the last person to be praised like this was Jiang Huaizhu.
The news that the Ninth Prince resisted the Queen Mother's arranged marriage because he loved the adopted daughter of the Jiang family caused a sensation in the capital, and the Queen was of course well aware of it.
Later, the Ninth Prince and Jiang Huaizhu broke up, which became the private talk of all the dignitaries.
Now that the Queen said this in front of the Ninth Prince, Jiang Xiancao really couldn't believe that she was really doing this out of kindness and wanted to arrange a marriage for the prince in her capacity as the legitimate mother.
The Queen Mother raised her eyes to look at the Queen, and after a moment's silence, she said:
"But I heard that the Queen's brother married Miss Chu's aunt as his second wife. Do you intend to introduce Miss Chu to the Crown Prince?"
The Queen poured new tea into the Queen Mother's cup, then stood beside her and said respectfully:
"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. I have no such idea. According to the custom of Dasheng, the choice of the Crown Princess should be decided by you. Since you have not spoken yet, I naturally cannot interfere. Moreover..."
As she spoke, her eyes fell on Jiang Xiancao, and the smile on her lips deepened:
"Also, the Crown Prince already has a concubine and two concubines in his palace, but Little Jiuer has already reached adulthood, yet he doesn't even have a maid by his side. Even if we're not in a hurry to appoint a principal wife, we should at least marry a concubine. Little Jiuer doesn't have a biological mother to help him with his affairs, so as his legal mother, I must of course be concerned about his marriage first."
Jiang Xiancao listened silently without saying a word.
Her overly quiet attitude surprised the queen.
In the Queen's view, Shen Tingsi had been spoiled by Emperor Yong and the Queen Mother. They showed no respect to her as their biological mother, either treating her coldly or simply avoiding her.
Wen Yi's birthday banquet is being held today. If the Queen Mother hadn't invited Shen Tingsi, this brat wouldn't have shown up at all.
Not to mention letting him hear her asking about his marriage. She had thought that Shen Tingsi would definitely leave with an unhappy look on his face when she said those words just now, but she didn't expect that he would be so patient this time, without any anger on his face.
That's strange.
She remembered what the prince had said to her, saying that Shen Tingsi was still arrogant in front of outsiders, but he could feel that Shen Tingsi's temperament was like a different person, and he even had the ability to win over Prince Zhan to his side.
This person is much more difficult to deal with than before.
The Queen narrowed her eyes slightly and heard the Queen Mother say:
"Xiao Jiuer's marriage is indeed on the agenda."
Then, the Queen Mother took Jiang Xiancao's hand and talked about some boring trivial matters without saying a word to her or Chu Yusu.
The queen's expression remained unchanged, but a gloomy look flashed in her eyes.
The awkward atmosphere was not resolved until Princess Wen Yi, the birthday girl, came to pay her respects to the Queen Mother.
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