When Xiao Yunying sent the invitation to Chen Yuancheng, he was ill and couldn't express his feelings at the time.
He struggled with the decision for several days, but ultimately lacked the courage to watch her and another man get married, making an excuse that he was sick.
The day before her wedding, she had Chen Yuanyao send her a dressing table and a complete set of mother-of-pearl jewelry boxes in her own name.
The mother-of-pearl inlaid jewelry box was something he had been working day and night to finish in the past few days, but he dared not say that he made it himself, or even that he gave it to someone else...
He was afraid that Xiao Yunying wouldn't use it to avoid upsetting Luo Sheng...
In the days that followed, their relationship remained the same as before, with no significant changes.
Later, Xiao Yunying gave birth to a daughter after ten months of pregnancy.
On the day of the baby's 100-day celebration, Chen Yuancheng saw her holding the baby with a happy smile on her face, and he suddenly felt relieved.
He chose to hide his feelings and not express them back then, so he shouldn't regret it now.
She is happy now, and I shouldn't dwell on those feelings that I shouldn't, lest something unexpected happen and ruin her current happiness.
Because the baby's 100-day celebration was still during the national mourning period, they dared not hold a grand event. Chen Yuancheng sent his congratulatory gift and left without staying for a meal, lest he give others a handle to use against him.
He went back and thought about it for a few days, and then received a letter from his father saying that he wanted to move all his businesses back to the capital. He finally made up his mind.
His parents moved to the capital first, while he, Yuan Yao, and Yuan Xuan stayed behind, planning to settle all their assets before going to the capital.
Unexpectedly, during this time, his younger sister and that boy Wenren Jiajin grew closer and closer.
In Chen Yuancheng's opinion, Wenren Jiajin is a decent person, with good looks, education, and family background, making him a good candidate to be his brother-in-law.
His younger sister was not young anymore, and he hoped that Chen Yuanyao could find a husband she liked, rather than being forced into one by her family because of her age.
However, Wenren Jiajin has settled in Donglin City with his father and has no plans to settle in the capital in the short term. If Chen Yuancheng takes Chen Yuanyao back to the capital, the two will be far apart.
He was also worried about Chen Yuanyao living alone in Donglin City, so he wrote to his parents to explain the situation, and then stayed in Donglin City for another two years.
On this day, he was playing Go with Ling Qi in the pavilion, a game that Xiao Yunying had taught him, when Chen Yuanyao suddenly rushed over in a great hurry.
She slammed a letter in front of him: "Brother, Qingzhi is engaged. They will get married after the national mourning period."
Although men and women of marriageable age cannot get married during the national mourning period, they can secretly meet and exchange tokens to be considered engaged. Once the national mourning period is over, they can hold the wedding directly. Otherwise, if they wait until after the national mourning period to meet, they will be too old.
Chen Yuancheng's hand, which was about to place a piece, stopped above the chessboard: "Is that so? Which family's young master is he?"
"Who cares whose son he is? We're just picking the best of a bad bunch. Qingzhi doesn't like him anyway, so she won't be happy marrying him."
Chen Yuancheng placed a piece: "You're not her, how do you know she doesn't like it?"
Chen Yuanyao bit her lip anxiously. "Brother, isn't that obvious? She's liked you for so many years, how could she possibly have room for someone else in her heart?"
But she only dared to think these words in her heart, and dared not say them out loud.
Chen Yuanyao sat down on a stone bench and whispered, "Big brother, do you really not like Qingzhi? I feel that Qingzhi and Sister Yunying look somewhat alike..."
Chen Yuancheng turned to look at his sister, his eyes sharp and full of warning: "She is her, and Yunying is Yunying. You shouldn't compare the two of them; it's unfair to either of them."
"I misspoke," Chen Yuanyao said, lowering her head in apology. "I was just too hasty. I didn't want Qingzhi to marry a man I'd barely met."
Chen Yuancheng glanced at the letter on the table, then looked away without examining it closely: "You know, I asked her, and she didn't agree."
Two years ago, when Zuo Qingzhi pushed Chen Yuanyao away with her longsword, she was stabbed in the left abdomen.
The wound was very deep. The person was saved, but the doctor said that such a deep wound would definitely leave a scar.
A scar on a woman's body can have a significant impact on her marriage prospects.
If a person is unclean, they are likely to be disliked by their husband.
Chen Yuancheng thought about it for a long time, and finally asked Zuo Qingzhi if she was willing to marry him before Madam Zuo came to pick her up to return to the capital.
Zuo Qingzhi herself refused.
Chen Yuanyao overheard everything outside the door.
Chen Yuanyao muttered softly, "That's because Qingzhi knows you want to marry her to repay her kindness and to make amends, not because you genuinely like her."
Chen Yuancheng's face darkened: "Then what do you want me to do?"
Chen Yuanyao was a little scared of her older brother's dark expression: "I...I want to ask my older brother for some advice..."
As Chen Yuanyao spoke, she herself couldn't continue. What good ideas could they possibly have for this matter, and besides, they had no right to interfere?
Chen Yuancheng picked up a chess piece: "If there's nothing else, go back to your room and practice your needlework. You should calm down."
He paused for a moment and then said, "Burn this letter to avoid it getting out and causing any trouble."
"knew."
Chen Yuanyao left dejectedly with the letter, while Chen Yuancheng held the chess piece for a long time without making a move.
——————
Once the national mourning period was over, Chen Yuanyao and Wenren Jiajin began the wedding process.
They got married successfully in Donglin City seven months later.
When Chen Yuanyao returned to her parents' home three days later, she only exchanged a few words with them before running to Chen Yuancheng to complain that Zuo Qingzhi's wedding date was two months later than she had set. They had agreed in their correspondence that Zuo Qingzhi would come to Donglin City to attend the wedding, but she hadn't seen her yet.
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