On the second day, after breakfast, Ye Guixue kept his promise and went to Xie Residence on Dongsi Hutong.
The Lady got up on time. After tidying up, she went to Su Rong’s courtyard to find her. As Su Rong was still in bed, she barged into the room and pulled her out of the quilt.
Without the Lady stealing her bed, Su Rong had a good sleep. Even though it felt a bit early, she wasn’t sleepy and obeyed to dress and get off the bed. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
After washing and tidying up, she followed the Lady to the front hall.
In the front hall, Su Xingze and the six young ladies of the Su Residence had been waiting for them early.
The Lady pointed at the six young ladies and admonished Su Rong, "Look at your sisters, then look at yourself. I’ve never seen you so lazy before. Didn’t you always get up on time in Jiangning County? Why are you lazy now?"
Su Rong had a good reason, "In Jiangning County, I didn’t need to think too much. Since I’ve come to the Capital City, I’ve become mentally exhausted every day. Don’t I need to have more rest?"
The Lady was stuck. It made sense, so she didn’t admonish her any further.
Su Rong sat down next to the Lady, and turned to Su Xingze to ask, "Big brother, are you also going to go shopping with us today?"
Su Xingze nodded, "I can’t leave Second Young Master Ye alone to accompany you. It’s my duty too."
Su Rong nodded.
The Lady was particularly satisfied, "Your big brother is much more sensible than you."
Su Rong didn’t refute this.
Su Xingze laughed, "It’s rare to hear Mother praising me, I nearly thought I wasn’t your son."
After all, he had rushed out of the Shen Residence to meet her after hearing that the precious concubine had sent someone to kidnap them last evening, but she had ridden in the carriage without showing her face at all, completely unconcerned about her son and not needing her son’s consolation.
The Lady hummed, "If you could get married earlier..."
"Mother." Su Xingze hurriedly interrupted her, "Let’s take care of my sisters’ weddings first. I’m in no rush."
The Lady also knew there was no rush. His prospects were limitless. The higher he climbed, the better his family background would be. Men could marry at thirty but the daughters of the family couldn’t wait, they needed to marry in their prime to find a good mother-in-law.
Su Rong also felt that Su Xingze was in no rush. To the Lady she said, "Mother, when the list is released, let the guards from our Residence go to check the list. Big brother shouldn’t go himself, in case he gets ’seized’ under the list, he will have to get married even if he doesn’t want to."
The Lady had heard of this. Every three years when the results of the Imperial Examination were announced, there were hooligans and guards sent from each major Residence under the list in the Capital City. They would forcibly take the good-looking scholars who topped the list back home and force them to marry their daughters. Every term, several couples would be formed in this way. As the release of the list was a joyous event, as long as no one was killed, His Majesty didn’t interfere, thus forming such a custom. If the scholars did not want to be seized, they had to protect themselves well.
However, these scholars, after studying hard for ten years, how could they bear not to go and see the list themselves when it was released? Weren’t those who were waiting like cats for mice caught as a result?
The Lady deeply agreed, "There’s no need to send the guards to check. We will go and have a look when the time comes. If Xingze doesn’t want to get married too early, he should stay at home and wait for news."
Su Xingze held his forehead, "Is it as serious as you say?"
Su Rong tutted, "Big brother, do you underestimate your own beauty and knowledge? How many people want you to be their prospective son-in-law? Several of the major gambling houses in the Capital City have opened betting pools and at least half of them bet on you to come first. I heard that many young ladies brought their own slaves and guards to personally rush into the battlefield to seize people. If you let your guard down, if you get seized, we will have a sister-in-law."
Su Xingze coughed lightly, "That’s enough. I won’t go out of the Residence when the list is released. Hurry up and eat. Second Young Master Ye will be coming soon."
As expected, not long after breakfast, Ye Guixue arrived at the Xie Residence.
The doorman came to report that Second Young Master Ye and others were waiting at the door, and the Madam, Su Xingze, Su Rong, and the six young ladies together left the Xie Residence.
Ye Guixue had already gotten out of the carriage, standing tall at the entrance of the Xie Residence, with Ya Qiuying next to him. Seeing the Madam and others coming out, Ye Guixue greeted each of them with a bow of his hand, and then introduced Ya Qiuying to the Madam, asking Ya Qiuying to give her respects.
The Madam looked at the young girl with a smile, she was extremely fond of her, "Oh, this young girl is so delicate, with such large eyes, just as likable as our Xiaoqi when she was young."
She pulled out a small box and handed it to Ya Qiuying, "Here, this is a birthday present from Grandma Su."
Ya Qiuying looked at Ye Guixue and after seeing him nod with a smile, she reached out to receive it, thanking sweetly, "Thank you, Grandma Su."
The Madam caressed Ya Qiuying’s little face with a hearty laugh, full of tender affection, "What a likable girl, Grandma likes you." Then, she took Ya Qiuying’s hand, "How about going in my carriage with Grandma Su?"
Ya Qiuying obediently nodded her head.
The Madam, leading Ya Qiuying, got into the carriage prepared by the Residence. Then she waved towards Su Rong, "Xiaoqi, you go with Guixue."
Su Rong hadn’t intended to squeeze in with the Madam and her sisters anyway, so she naturally got into Ye Guixue’s carriage. Seeing that Su Xingze was about to get into his own carriage, she also waved at him, "Big brother, come here, join us."
Su Xingze looked at Ye Guixue and Su Rong, and had no choice but to join them in the carriage.
Three carriages left East Fourth Hutong and headed towards the busiest marketplace in the Capital City.
In the carriage, after Su Xingze and Ye Guixue exchanged a few casual words, they started discussing scholarly matters. Su Rong was listening in, and she suddenly regretted sitting with them, she would rather listen to her sisters discuss their favorite powders and cosmetics than the educational discussions of the two men.
However, she didn’t deem it fit to interrupt them.
After quite a while, Ye Guixue noticed that Su Rong hadn’t spoken since getting on the carriage, seeming rather drowsy, and he leaned over to softly ask her, "Didn’t you sleep well last night?"
"I did."
Ye Guixue, who was incredibly smart, laughed and asked, "So, you find our scholarly discussion boring?"
Su Rong touched her nose, "It’s alright, you guys continue talking."
At that time, Su Xingze said, "Don’t mind her, she didn’t like reading when she was younger, and as she grew up, her dislike for learning grew even more. If not for her circumstances, you wouldn’t catch her with a book."
Ye Guixue couldn’t help but laugh, "Xiaoqi is smart, her memory is excellent, it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t study, and it’s even less of a problem if she doesn’t like it."
Su Xingze nodded, "That’s true, she’s lucky to have such a natural ability, otherwise she would really be uneducated."
Su Rong propped her chin up, wanting to refute that the term ’uneducated’ is used to describe spoiled sons from rich families, and as a girl, what was the point of having vast knowledge if not for being a princess? It wasn’t like she could become a high-ranking government official. However, considering the mischievous things she’d done growing up, she would certainly be labeled as spoiled, so she didn’t retort.
Su Xingze asked Ye Guixue, "Isn’t it true that Nanchu has schools for girls?"
Ye Guixue nodded, "Indeed, our majesty strongly advocated for the establishment of a royal female study program five years ago. Girls with a desire for knowledge in the country can enroll through examinations. Essentially, it’s to cultivate suitable people for the princess. After all, being a female herself, it’s much more convenient at times to have other females by her side."
Su Xingze had to admit at this point that the king of Nanchu had done a lot for Su Rong, praising, "The king of Nanchu really had a far-sighted plan. It must have been tough to implement initially, facing a lot of obstacles, right?"
Ye Guixue nodded, "Indeed."
After all, women’s status wasn’t high, and although Nanchu had precedent of a woman being the king, which was a higher status than women in Dawei and Daliang, it was only relatively speaking. Especially establishing a female study in Nanchu was a first, which had caused some opposition from the gentry.
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