Marriage (Third Rectification)
In Huichun Hall, a young woman was looking down at the woman in front of her while checking her pulse.
She was wearing a bamboo green and purple embroidered magnolia and cloud brocade double-breasted skirt. Her hair was tied up in a simple single bun, and she wore a purple jade and gold hairpin. A few strands of hair were exposed on her forehead, half covering her eyebrows and eyes.
"Miss, the old lady asked you to go back home now!" The maid ran all the way over. She was panting and her voice was very hurried.
The young woman was Shi Yanqing.
She did not get up and leave, but continued to quietly feel the beating of the woman's pulse. Under her fingertips, the pulse flowed like water.
Shi Yanqing's originally calm expression suddenly showed a hint of smile. She raised her eyes, looked at the woman gently, and said softly: "You just said that you often feel anxious and eat more than the average pregnant woman."
"That's right." The woman nodded repeatedly.
Shi Yanqing smiled faintly: "You are pregnant with twins, so it is normal to feel anxious and chest tightness occasionally. Naturally, you eat more than women who are pregnant with a single baby. So, I will prescribe a prescription for you to maintain your pregnancy. After you finish it, see if your anxious and chest tightness will be better."
The woman was a little surprised. She supported her waist and slowly stood up, and her belly, which was less than four months old but already round, became visible.
Shi Yanqing handed the written prescription to the woman and reminded her to take care of her health. The woman took the prescription and thanked him repeatedly.
After everyone left, the maid who had spoken earlier came forward and whispered, "Miss, something's happened to the Zhou family. Prime Minister Zhou has committed some crime that has angered the Empress, and the Empress has ordered all officials in the Zhou family to be demoted!"
Yan Qing was putting away the pulse pillow, paper and pen on the table when she suddenly stopped. She looked up at the panicked maid, then glanced at the few people around before asking, "Has this matter spread?"
The maid shook her head: "It was the old lady who asked me to tell you, young lady."
After hearing this, Shi Yanqing had a rough idea in his mind.
She slung the medicine bag over her shoulder, stood up and left Huichun Hall, heading towards Shi Mansion.
Five years ago, the retired emperor fell seriously ill and could not recover, so he handed over power to the crown prince. However, the crown prince listened to the slander of treacherous ministers and secretly killed people to extract their blood to make an elixir.
When the fourth princess discovered this, she presented the evidence to the emperor. The retired emperor was furious and deposed the crown prince, making the fourth princess the crown princess.
At that time, Prime Minister Zhou was a minister who stood on the side of the Fourth Princess. How could he have angered the Empress and caused his entire family to be demoted?
Shi Yanqing had no idea what the hidden story was, nor could he judge who was right or wrong. He could only suppress all the guesses in his mind and hurried back to the Shi Mansion.
After she returned to the Shi Mansion, she went straight to the Begonia Courtyard, walked through the cobblestone path lined with peach trees, and came to a bamboo courtyard.
In the small pavilion in front of the courtyard, there was sitting an old lady with white hair and a kind face. She was Shi Yanqing's grandmother and the current head of the Shi family.
Seeing her grandmother waiting for her in the pavilion, Shi Yanqing's eyes softened a little. She straightened her slightly messy skirt before stepping forward to greet her.
"Grandma, be well."
"Come, sit down and talk to Grandma."
Shi Yanqing saw her grandmother waving her hand, motioning her to sit on the round stool next to her.
At this time, there were only the grandfather and grandson in Haitang Courtyard, and the maids were guarding outside.
On the way back home, Shi Yanqing roughly guessed why her grandmother had called her back, and was the first to speak: "Grandmother, did you know about the Zhou family's trouble in advance?"
Madam Shi sighed and shook her head, "What happened at the morning court had no foreshadowing. It was your third brother-in-law who sent someone to tell me right after he left the court, asking me to make some preparations in advance."
After saying this, Madam Shi paused and continued, "Yanqing, you've been incredibly intelligent since childhood. I'm sure you've guessed why Grandmother called you here. As long as you say you don't want to, Grandmother will go to the Zhou family and cancel this marriage, even if it means sacrificing her reputation and ruining her future."
"I would never let the daughter of the Shi family suffer. If your parents were still alive, they would do the same as your grandmother."
Shi Yanqing looked at Madam Shi's expression full of love and worry, curved his eyebrows, and his gentle face became lively.
She raised her hands and held the old lady's wrinkled hands, her tone gentle yet firm: "Although I didn't grow up by my grandmother's side, I also understand the love I have for you."
"Grandmother, don't worry. The Zhou family is now disliked by the Empress and has become a den of wolves and tigers. Although I have never met Zhou Hanzhang and don't know him at all, men in this world are often passionate. For a woman, marrying is a gamble. It doesn't matter who she marries."
"In the past, the Zhou family was prestigious, and officials from the Zhou family were in charge of all six ministries. Now, the Zhou family officials have been banished from the capital, and their power has fallen. I am marrying them out of sympathy for our past. They will only treat me well and show their gratitude to our Shi family."
"Besides, I've heard that Zhou Hanzhang is handsome. He studied with his grandfather in Qingshan since he was young. He rarely interacts with others and has a very simple mind. If my granddaughter marries him, I think I can have some control over her."
After she finished speaking, a hint of surprise flashed across the old lady's eyes, as if she didn't expect that the young granddaughter in front of her would say such a thing.
But she soon revealed a relieved smile, and said with some emotion: "Since you have made up your mind, I will send someone to the Zhou family to arrange a date for the wedding."
"It's just that grandmother doesn't want you to suffer, so she's giving you another ten thousand taels of silver as a dowry. Just consider it as your grandfather's kindness and compensation. Your grandfather passed away long ago, but he arranged this marriage. I thought it was a good idea before, but now it's... Oh, no more, no more. Go back and rest. I'll go back to the house and scold your grandfather."
"Then Yanqing will help you into the house." Shi Yanqing stood up, reached out to hold the old lady's arm and sent her back to the house.
She waited until the door was closed before turning around and leaving.
Outside Haitang Courtyard, the maids greeted Shi Yanqing when they saw him come out.
Shi Yanqing paused, turned around and gently instructed Madam Shi's personal maid, "Grandma is talking to Grandpa in the side room. Remember to remind her to have lunch in a quarter of an hour."
"Yes, I've made note of it."
As the night deepens, the bright moon rises above the clouds, and the moonlight falls on the ground like a veil. The stars twinkle faintly in the sky, and everything is quiet and gentle.
Under the windowsill, Shi Yanqing was concentrating on copying an ancient book, which recorded many ancient medical methods. After reading it carefully, she gained a lot of insights and gains.
She remembered that day, after she had talked with Madam Shi, when she went to Huichuntang for consultation in the afternoon, some scholars on the street were already talking about how Prime Minister Zhou had angered the Empress and was demoted.
The incident happened suddenly, and everyone was initially unbelievable. After all, Prime Minister Zhou and his family were usually polite and well-behaved.
However, no one in the court pleaded for them, and everyone could only believe this fact. They also secretly wondered whether Prime Minister Zhou was two-faced and a hypocrite.
On that day, Madam Shi sent someone to deliver a message to Prime Minister Zhou, which was about setting a date for the wedding.
But Prime Minister Zhou refused outright, claiming that it was just a verbal agreement between the fathers of both parties and no tokens had been exchanged, so the old lady should not take it seriously.
The person who went to deliver the message was Madam Shi's personal maid. When she came back to reply, Shi Yanqing happened to be there, so he also heard the conversation.
However, this marriage was arranged because of a life-saving favor and could not be easily cancelled. Prime Minister Zhou felt guilty for having implicated his son due to his own affairs, and after receiving a letter from the old lady, he finally agreed to the marriage.
After the three books and six ceremonies were completed, the wedding date was set for the seventh day of July, which was the day before the Zhou family left the capital, and tomorrow was that day.
At noon, the sound of suona, gongs and drums came from outside the mansion. The wedding procession, all dressed in festive red, stopped at the gate.
Shi Yanqing was supported by Old Madam Shi's arm and walked out of the mansion.
She held up the wedding fan in front of her face with both hands, wore an exquisite and beautiful phoenix crown on her head, and wore a red wedding dress embroidered with phoenix patterns in gold thread, and appeared in front of everyone.
Through the red veil of her wedding fan, she saw a tall and straight man with an extraordinary temperament walking towards her with steady steps, getting closer and closer.
"Yanqing, if you encounter problems that you can't solve in the future, or if you are wronged in the Zhou family, you must not hide it from grandma. You must tell grandma. Do you understand?"
The slightly choked voice of the old lady came from the side. Although the voice was small, Shi Yanqing heard it clearly.
She did not grow up in the Shi Mansion, so even if she left the Shi Mansion and married into the Zhou family, she did not feel any reluctance.
But when she heard the old lady's words, she couldn't help but feel a little bitter. She wanted to say something to comfort her grandmother, but she saw Zhou Hanzhang stopped in front of her.
So she could only swallow those words of comfort and said simply: "Grandma, please take care of yourself. Yanqing will remember this."
After he finished speaking, Yan Qing extended his hand to Zhou Hanzhang, who helped him into the wedding sedan chair. They left the Shi Mansion to the sound of music from the wedding procession.
The wedding day should have been festive and lively, but when Yan Qing entered the Zhou Mansion, he found it was very quiet and the atmosphere was solemn.
In the lobby, Zhou's father and mother were sitting in front of the hall. Although they had smiles on their faces, Shi Yanqing could vaguely sense the worry and anger deep in their eyes.
The worry should be towards her and Zhou Hanzhang, but what about the anger?
Shi Yanqing was thinking, but suddenly heard an extremely arrogant voice coming from the left.
"Tanhua Lang, today is your wedding day, why didn't you invite me? Are you afraid to see me, or do you think you shouldn't have ruined my poem at the Plum Blossom Banquet that day?"
As the voice appeared, a purple-clothed dandy walked up to Shi Yanqing and Zhou Hanzhang with a provocative smile on his face, looking as worthy of a beating as he could be.
Shi Yanqing understood in her heart, it seemed that this was the person who made Zhou's father and mother angry. But how could this person be so stupid as to dare to make trouble on her wedding day.
"Why are you so scared that you can't speak?" The purple-robed dandy laughed loudly, and whispers were heard from the crowd watching the ceremony nearby.
Seeing this situation, Shi Yanqing's originally calm eyes darkened. When he was about to speak to defend Zhou Hanzhang, he was amused by what he suddenly said.
Of course, she was amused in her heart.
"I'm wondering... who you are?" Zhou Hanzhang's tone was a little confused, and his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he really couldn't remember who this person was.
The purple-robed dandy was so angry at Zhou Hanzhang's words that her face turned red and she opened her mouth to curse.
But Shi Yanqing interrupted, his usually gentle voice now solemn: "Sir, today is the wedding day of me, Shi Yanqing, and Zhou Hanzhang. You are slandering my future husband for no reason. Are you trying to make an enemy of me and the Shi family?"
"Shi family, Shi Yanqing!"
The purple-clothed playboy was shocked when he heard this. He had not carefully inquired about who Zhou Hanzhang's wife was before. When he heard this name, his face immediately turned pale and fear was filled in his eyes.
It's terrible. If his father knew that he had offended Shi Yanqing today, he would probably break his legs. Thinking of this, the purple-robed dandy immediately opened his folding fan to cover his face, not daring to say another word, and hurriedly left the place.
Seeing the troublemaker retreat in fear, the Shi family relatives in the crowd also suppressed the urge to stand out and support him. They looked at each other and smiled in tacit understanding.
Father Zhou heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and a smile returned to his face. He raised his arm slightly to signal the matchmaker standing on the side to sing the lyrics and continue the three bows ceremony.
"Bow to Heaven and Earth!"
"Bow to your parents twice!"
"Husband and wife bow to each other!"
Shi Yanqing and Zhou Hanzhang bowed one by one according to the instructions. When they bowed for the last time, Shi Yanqing suddenly thought in his heart.
This is her husband. If he dares to betray her in the future, she will make him childless!
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