The Head Madam couldn’t reconcile the amount of time or distance required for the trip, it was all too rushed and stressful for her, but still, she wanted to go.
She ranted and waved the letter around her three unmarried daughters, "This Xiaoqi of yours, she’s gotta be a damn troublemaker. Why on earth is she rushing to get married? It’s not like she did anything improper to cause trouble or is expecting a child, according to her letter."
The daughters are sweating bullets in their hearts, thinking that only their mother, in all her audacity, could say such things in front of her three unmarried daughters. Can’t blame her, though. With all the aunts in Jiangzhou and her father as well, aside from these three, she didn’t have any other confidantes to talk to.
The fourth daughter ventured, "That can’t be true, can it? Xiaoqi may be a bit off-kilter, but Zhou Fourth Master should be quite disciplined and orderly, shouldn’t he?"
The Head Madam snorted, "Even the most disciplined person would succumb to Xiaoqi’s bad habits if they spent a considerable amount of time with her."
She hadn’t forgotten how Xiaoqi, at an early age, had tempted Zhou Family’s noble young master into visiting the third floor when he had just arrived in Jiangning County. Xiaoqi had nearly given her a heart attack. She wouldn’t be surprised at all if there was a life and death situation before the Great Wedding.
The fourth daughter fell silent.
The fifth daughter softly whispered, "Xiaoqi really is unreliable."
The sixth daughter chimed in, "Indeed, she is."
"Well, let me write a letter first and ask her what the hell is going on. And then let’s get ready! If I’m not mistaken, considering the love of Duke’s wife for her son, she is likely to attend her youngest son’s wedding in Nanchu, isn’t she? Even if she doesn’t go, Duke Residence has to send someone, they can’t leave Zhou Family unrepresented." The Head Madam said while standing up to write the letter.
The three daughters glanced at each other, whispered to consult, and started writing a letter together. They knew that if each of them wrote a letter, Xiaoqi would only skim through them, she might even complain that there were too many letters to read, so they decided to write one together.
The Head Madam wrote very swiftly, her words were without deliberation, she directly questioned Su Rong if she was pregnant or had incited a killing, causing her to rush her wedding. She voiced her stress, about how the three other daughters had gotten married and yet she was left with three more, all of whom would be married by June after much haste. Handling wedding matters for half a year had left her weary, can’t she have a rest before attending Xiaoqi’s wedding? Regardless, she insisted on attending, it wouldn’t matter if she stayed for a year or even up to five years watching her have a child, she would be satisfied only after witnessing it.
At that moment, she forgot that her son was yet to be married and he even lacked a prospective bride.
In her family, daughters held more importance than sons.
She wrote a stack of questions, until everything she wanted to say or ask was done, and then she sealed the bulky envelope.
The fourth daughter, looking at the thick envelope cautioned the Madam, "Mother, elder brother is still not engaged!"
The Head Madam paused for a moment and then scoffed, "Why should I rush when he himself isn’t in a hurry? A man can marry an eighteen-year-old at eighty but for an eighty-year-old woman, her only match is an eighty-year-old. He should look by himself if he’s capable enough or wait for me to return from Nanchu and I’ll find him a match then."
The fourth daughter was speechless.
For a very long time, she suspected that Xiaoqi and her eldest brother had been swapped at birth. Xiaoqi was the real biological daughter of their mother, wasn’t she?
After sending the letter, the Head Madam decided to write another letter to Su Xingze, asking him whether he was planning to go to Jibei after battling or report to the Imperial Court instead. It would be inappropriate if he didn’t send off her sisters. She also asked if he would be able to attend Xiaoqi’s wedding in Nanchu, if it really was delayed by half a year, as she herself would be leaving in June.
She guessed her son would also want to witness Xiaoqi’s Great Wedding, after all, he never missed any of Xiaoqi’s birthdays from when they were young.
Writing a letter to Su Xingze was easy for her, she spoke her mind without indulging in superfluous words. She then thought a bit and wrote another letter to Su Xu, telling him that she would definitely go to Nanchu, and in her absence, they should invite a couple of aunts over to stay in the Capital City. It would be unfortunate if her daughters got married and there was no one in the Capital City when they wanted to visit their maternal home.
Having written three letters successively, the Head Madam is tired and her wrist aches. After laying down the pen, she decides to go back to her room and rest for a while.
Su Rong knew that Su Xingze was at the frontline, so the letter addressed to him was also sent there.
After the peace negotiations, the Crown Prince was preparing to return to the Capital City. He was arranging for Su Xingze, Xie Lin, and others to stay behind in the military to deal with post-war matters.
It was then that Su Xingze received Su Rong’s letter. After reading it, he rubbed his temples helplessly, wondering if he could attend the rushed wedding. The letter seemed to have casually asked him without intending for him to attend, but he actually wished to go.
He thought that his mother would definitely go. Xiaoqi’s letter mainly asked about his mother, knowing that both he and his father probably couldn’t get away.
Both the Crown Prince, Yan Huisheng, and the old Duke had received the letter. After reading it, the old Duke cursed, "What’s the rush for this brat?"
Just like the eldest princess, the old Duke was more sensitive to national affairs and first thought about how they could handle such a rush to get married? The Nanchu would be probably thrown into a state of chaos, wouldn’t half a year be too rush?
He held the letter and thought about going to find the Crown Prince.
Yan Huisheng had just finished reading the letter when he saw the old Duke coming with the letter, and he laughed instantly, "Did the old Duke also receive Zhou Gu’s letter?"
The old Duke nodded, and his beard bristled, "They plan to have a big wedding in half a year."
"They are in a bit of a hurry, probably because after the war is finally over, they want to quickly get married." Yan Huisheng could understand Zhou Gu’s perspective. He had gone to Nanchu with Su Rong, fighting side by side, and after surviving life and death, didn’t they want to be recognized by society?
The old Duke said: "Ah, your Highness, the war is over. I should retire. The troops handled by the Duke Residence can be handed over to Zhou Wei and his brothers. I want to rest ..."
Yan Huisheng straightened up, "Does the old Duke mean that you also want to go to Nanchu to attend the wedding?"
The old Duke immediately said, "I mean to retire."
Yan Huisheng stared at him and asked: "Not going to the wedding?"
"After retirement, it’s not impossible to take a break and walk around." The old Duke had been to Nanchu when he was young. A few decades later, his little grandson would live in Nanchu for a lifetime, and after death, he would likely be buried in the Imperial Mausoleum of Nanchu. As long as his old bones could move, why couldn’t he take a look?
Yan Huisheng was silent for a while, "Old Duke, I believe you can still serve the Imperial Court for another ten years."
The old Duke humbly declined, "Your Highness, I ask you, how was my performance in this war?"
"Great." There was nothing more to say but that.
"That’s it, I don’t want rewards, I just want to retire." The old Duke began to complain, "I have dedicated my whole life to the land and people of Daliang. Your Highness, you can’t be unkind. I am old, starting from last year’s twelfth lunar month, until the beginning of this year, I almost lost my life. You sympathize with the common people, can’t you sympathize with me? I don’t ask for anything else. My grandson has grown up and can handle things on his own, I should remove my heavy burden, right?"
Yan Huisheng was left speechless. He said after a long while: "Old Duke, at present, the Imperial Court is at a crucial phase of talent utilization. Even if you want to retire, can you at least delay it for a year or a half?"
"No delay, over ten years ago, I promised your aunt that once the Imperial Court stabilized and when you became capable of taking responsibility, I would take her out of the capital for a trip." The old Duke played the emotional card, "Crown Prince, you can’t forget the favor and be ungrateful."
Yan Huisheng froze, excellent. For his retirement, the old Duke even said such words as being ungrateful. What else could he say?
Could he say that he also wanted to go? But that was impossible, he could only do his duty as the Crown Prince.
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