Chapter 021

Ruyang couldn't help but gently rub his temples and asked tentatively: "At your age now, hasn't the old lady Wen arranged a marriage for you yet?"

Zhan Yue paused and said, "Grandmother is interested in the daughter of Huguang Xunfu, Feng."

"Patrol of Huguang," Ruyang said with a calm look, "It's also a good job. Your grandmother cares about you more than I thought."

Zhan Yue lowered his eyes slightly.

The image of Old Lady Wen's half-white hair suddenly emerged in his mind. Thinking of his grandmother's meticulous care after his mother passed away, he leaned back slightly and spoke in a lighter tone: "Lord Feng has a nephew who is sixteen years old this year and wants to follow the path of the Jinwu Guard. Recently, I have been paying attention to this matter."

Zhan Yue did not finish the following words.

Noble families like the Anguo Duke or the Feng family generally do not follow the path of imperial examinations like the Pei family. The Jinwu Guards are close to the emperor, and it is glorious to speak of them. If they do well, their path to promotion is also brilliant, and it can be said that it is not easy to come by.

The Governor of Huguang was already a high-ranking official, and Zhan Yue was unwilling to marry Feng, but he could not offend Lord Feng for no reason, let alone disappoint his grandmother's kindness.

Although he could not form a friendly relationship with the Feng family, if he could help the nephews and nephews of Lord Feng, the Feng family would surely not have any unnecessary complaints when they knew about it.

Princess Ruyang saw that he was very thoughtful and determined to get Jiashan, so she said, "You have taken so much trouble to think of everything."

"But there is one thing." Ruyang looked at him, her lips trembled, as if she couldn't bear to say the next words.

Zhan Yue said, "I know."

"Aunt, I want to talk about my background." He raised his eyes, looked at the fire that was clearly extinguished, and spoke in a light tone.

Princess Ruyang felt pity and distress when she heard him say this. This child was the one Fu Shiyu had exchanged for his freedom for the rest of his life, so he should have a noble life.

Ruyang closed his eyes, then opened them again, as if he had finally made a decision: "Next month, the emperor will celebrate his 100th birthday, and I will also enter the palace."

She glanced at the slender Zhan Yue and said, "I will find a chance to mention this to His Majesty."

Zhan Yue's eyes moved, light and shadow alternating in his pupils, and he stared at Princess Ruyang.

Princess Ruyang was different from the well-maintained ladies in the palace. She was over 40 years old, her face was slightly old, with fine wrinkles around the corners of her eyes, but her face was always peaceful and calm.

This is his aunt.

One of the few people in the world who still cares about him.

Zhan Yue's lips moved: "Thank you, aunt."

"You don't have to thank me," Ruyang looked at him calmly, "Since you gave Jiashan the hairpin, you should have had this in mind."

Zhan Yue paused slightly when Princess Ruyang hit the nail on the head.

Ruyang didn't ask further. She said, "Your mother passed away early, so she probably didn't teach you these things. Auntie only has one thing to say to you: if you like her, sincerity is the most important thing, and don't use sneaky tricks."

"Do you think that once she wears the gold hairpin you gave her, she will be yours?" Ruyang looked at him and asked.

Zhan Yue pursed his lips.

Ruyang taught him, "It's one thing for me to mention it to His Majesty, but you still have to make it clear to Jiashan as soon as possible. I think she is a person with strong ideas. Not to mention whether His Majesty will agree to this marriage, even if His Majesty agrees, with Jiashan's temper, I'm afraid she will have to get his personal nod before she is willing to marry."

"Do you understand what I mean?" Ruyang asked him softly.

Zhan Yue frowned, but nodded: "Understood."

Seeing his sincere attitude, Ruyang finally breathed a sigh of relief. She said, "It's getting late, go and rest early. In a few days, you should return to the palace. You must observe etiquette in the palace."

Zhan Yue nodded: "Yes, I know."

He glanced at Princess Ruyang and said slowly, "Thank you, aunt, for worrying about me."

Ruyang smiled and said, "It's good to have a place where you can work hard. What aunt fears most is that she has no place to worry about you."

After knowing that Zhan Yue was happy with Jiashan, Princess Ruyang felt a little worried, but at the same time she also felt relieved.

At least, he still wants to have room for another person in his heart.

In this case, she was willing to speak up for him in front of the emperor.

As the concubine sister of Emperor Zhanghe, Princess Ruyang had lived in the palace for many years, but due to their blood relationship, her words were always more effective than those of others.

I hope this can really help this child.

Ruyang thought.

She went back to the inner room, originally wanting to see if Zhao Youze would kick off the quilt in the middle of the night. But when she got closer, she found that Zhao Youze was staring at her with a pair of big eyes, his gaze was simple, and his little hand was rubbing his chin, as if he was thinking about something.

Ruyang found this interesting and said with a smile, "What is Yuankang worried about? Is he waiting for his aunt to come back and tell you a story?"

Hearing her talking, Zhao Youze grinned, shook his head and said, "Nothing, I'm going to sleep now."

He half popped out of the quilt, his lips opening and closing: "Auntie, you should also go to bed early, and dream of Yuankang."

Ruyang smiled, and all the haze in her heart was swept away in an instant. She smiled and said, "Yes, you clever little boy."

After a few days, Zhao Youze finally finished copying the rest of the scriptures with great difficulty. He sorted out the papers and took the original scriptures to Jiashan's yard to report to her.

"I've finished copying, sister." Zhao Youze handed the stack of white papers in his hand to Jiashan. His handwriting was very neat, and it didn't look like it was written by a disabled child at all.

After flipping through a few pages, Jiashan couldn't help but reach out to wipe the sweat off Zhao Youze's nose. She said softly, "Yuankang is a good boy."

Zhao Youze climbed onto the stool and sat down. He said to Jiashan, "Sister, smell it. I used the hair oil my cousin gave me last night. Does it smell good?"

After Zhao Youze mentioned this, Jiashan realized that there was indeed a different smell on his hair. Thinking that it was just a child looking for something new, Jiashan didn't take it seriously and just said, "It's a little different from before."

She looked at him: "Yuan Yasu likes it?"

Zhao Youze scratched his face: "Not bad."

He paused for a moment and said with a smile, "Actually, I'm asking this on behalf of my cousin."

Jiashan was puzzled. She glanced at Zhao Youze and said, "That's strange."

Zhao Youze's eyelashes are black and long. He is born with fair skin. Whenever he blinks, his eyelashes are very prominent and look like a small fan.

He lowered his head, pondered for a while, and said like a little adult: "Sister, I have something to tell you, please think about it carefully."

If she had heard this in the past, Jiashan would probably not take it seriously, but now, she looked Zhao Youze up and down.

She whispered, "What?"

"My cousin and Commander Zhan both like my sister." Zhao Youze raised his head and said slowly.

The expression on Jiashan's face suddenly became very interesting. She narrowed her eyes slightly, turned around and looked at Zhao Youze carefully.

She opened her lips slightly and trembled, "What?"

Zhao Youze said to himself: "Master Xu once taught me a saying, 'A woman dresses up for the man who pleases her, and a man dies for the man who understands him.'"

He held his chin in his hand and said sincerely, "But I think this is too one-sided. Isn't this what men are like?"

"We have been in Changchun for less than a month, and my cousin has come three times." Zhao Youze held up three fingers and smiled at Jiashan, saying, "All three times, I was on my cousin's hair and smelled the scent of fresh hair oil."

In other words, Pei Yuantang would dress himself up well before each visit.

Zhao Youze said: "Also, the letter that my cousin wrote to my sister is also very suspicious."

When Pei Yuantang came a few days ago, he not only showed up, but also personally wrote a thick letter. The letter listed in great detail the names of all the potential husbands that Emperor Zhanghe had chosen for Jiashan.

Not only that, at the end of the list, there is also a list of all of them and each of their shortcomings.

Yes, there are only disadvantages and no advantages.

Jiashan now knows that the son of Marquis Qile likes to visit young prostitutes, the son of Earl Changle likes to brag and likes to find someone to write for him, and the prince of Duke Ying likes to collect beauties... Pei Yuantang specially noted at the end that it is very likely that this person will take a concubine in the future.

Anyway, it’s almost like saying it bluntly, these people are all newbies.

Without Zhao Youze's explanation, Jiashan also understood that there were too many strange things in this letter. She just didn't expect that Zhao Youze would be so thoughtful.

Ever since the conversation with Pei Yuantang that day, Jiashan had some doubts in her heart. Suddenly, Zhao Youze revealed them. Although she was shocked, she was not too surprised.

But, Zhan Yue.

What happened to Zhan Yue...

"What about Lord Zhan?" Jiashan looked at Zhao Youze with complicated eyes.

Zhao Youze said, "That night when I was staying in my aunt's yard, I heard her talking to Mr. Zhan. They thought I was asleep."

"Master Zhan said--" Zhao Youze's voice gradually lowered.

Jiashan raised his eyebrows and stared at him closely: "What did you say?"

Zhao Youze's voice was clear and he said in a serious tone, "He said he has a special liking for my sister."