However, they couldn't talk for too long. After Zheng Boyuan came out of the inner room, he saw that only Xu Rao was sitting at the table outside, guarding a lamp on the table, and he didn't know what she was thinking.
Seeing Zheng Boyuan and Xu Zhi come out of the inner room, Xu Rao stood up abruptly. At this moment, his feelings were actually quite complicated, but he couldn't help but slowly accept the fact that his daughter was about to get married.
Zheng Boyuan bowed deeply to Xu Rao, who nodded and said, "Please sit down first. Your aunt will go to the back to find something. Take it with you when you leave, and come back with it sometime so we can finalize the marriage agreement."
Zheng Boyuan agreed. Xu Rao thought for a moment and said, "Nephew Zheng, once your marriage with Xiao Jiu is settled, your future may be somewhat fraught with difficulties."
Zheng Boyuan said, "These nephews have already thought of it. As for what will happen next, we can only deal with it as it comes. However, it's not so easy for others to interfere under General Wei's command."
Xu Rao nodded and said, "It's best if you think about it that way."
Zhang Zhaoci and Granny Lu brought in a carved rosewood box. Inside were a jade pendant and a jade hairpin. Both items were of excellent quality and had a warm, smooth texture, clearly not ordinary.
Zhang Zhaoci said, "This hairpin was left to me by your mother back then. This jade pendant you are wearing was given to your mother by me, and your mother entrusted it to your uncle."
Zheng Boyuan found it somewhat amusing that Zhang Zhaoci spoke of things so convincingly, but considering that it concerned the girl's future, he had to make it sound so real that even he himself would believe it.
Zheng Boyuan took the jade pendant and carefully put it into his pocket, saying, "Uncle, Aunt, I have to rush back tonight, so I won't stay any longer."
Xu Rao said, "I'll send someone to escort you back. I don't know what the situation is like outside the mansion now, so it's always good to be careful."
Zheng Boyuan wanted to say no, but then he realized he didn't know what tricks the Third Prince was going to pull, so he simply stopped talking, bowed, and headed out.
Xu Zhi gently called his name and said, "I hope Brother Zheng will be careful on his journey."
With the matter settled, Xu Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Xu Zhi's expression, Zhang Zhaoci said to Xu Rao, "They say girls are outgoing, and it's really true."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi said shyly, "Mother, what are you saying? Don't you want me to marry Brother Zheng and become the Third Prince's concubine?"
Zhang Zhaoci said, "Become a concubine? I'd rather you cut your hair and become a nun than let you become a concubine. If you become a nun, I'll open a clinic next to your nunnery so I can visit you often. If you enter the prince's mansion, that's like stepping into a fire pit; it's a place that eats people."
Xu Rao frowned and said, "What are you talking about? There are so many of us, how can we let Xiao Jiu become someone's concubine? Don't panic when something happens, think it over carefully, and we'll always be able to find a solution."
Xu Raoren had barely settled down a few days before Xu Zhi began planning what embroidery to prepare as her dowry. The Third Prince even arranged for his head steward to discuss Xu Zhi's marriage with Xu Raoren.
Xu Rao hadn't expected the Third Prince to be in such a hurry. Putting everything else aside, just consider Xu Zhi's age—she's only thirteen! What was he planning to do by bringing a thirteen-year-old into the manor?
When Xu Rao received the head steward, upon hearing the purpose of the steward's visit, he felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to his head, making him dizzy and nauseous. He wished he could tear the smiling head steward in front of him to pieces.
The stewards of the prince's residence are ranked. To show respect for the Xu family, the Third Prince specially sent this head steward from afar. Xu Rao knew that the most tense moment had arrived. Suppressing her emotions, she said to the head steward, "Lord Zhu, what is the matter? The Third Prince's favor to my daughter is a great honor for everyone in the household, but my daughter has already been engaged long ago."
The head steward was a smiling tiger. Upon hearing Xu Rao's words, his face immediately darkened. He said, "Lord Xu, who in the capital doesn't know that your family sent your daughter to the capital to find a husband there? What, now that the Third Prince is coming to take your daughter into the family, she's already engaged?"
Xu Rao said with trepidation, "Lord Zhu, my daughter went to the capital because my grandmother was worried about her, and also because I had to stay in Ganzhou to guard the Emperor and couldn't fulfill my filial duties to my grandmother. So I had to send my daughter back to fulfill my filial duties to my grandmother in my place. As for my daughter going out with my aunts and uncles, it's because my daughter came to this city with us when she was young and longed for the customs and culture of the capital. That's why she often went out with us. Otherwise, why would my daughter come back to Ganzhou with us?"
At this point, Lord Zhu didn't say anything more. It was indeed the case. The Xu family's daughter was already thirteen years old. Instead of staying in the capital to find a husband, she came to this cold and harsh place with her parents. Either she was already engaged, or the Xu family had already made plans.
Lord Zhu softened his expression and asked with great concern, "May I ask which young master your daughter is referring to?"
Xu Rao said, "Alas, a few years ago, when our daughter was just born, my wife had already arranged a marriage. My wife and the late wife of the Marquis of Pingxi were close friends, and they had long wanted their children to be in-laws. Unfortunately, the first children of both families were sons. Later, my wife became pregnant again, and they agreed that if my wife gave birth to a daughter, their son would be our son-in-law. Later, my wife gave birth to a daughter, and the two of them finalized the marriage."
Upon hearing this, Steward Zhu from the Third Prince's residence asked in surprise, "How come I've never heard of this before?"
Xu Rao sighed and said, "Lord Zhu, I am a concubine's son in the household. Who knew me before I became an official? What about the nephew of the Zheng family? After the Marquis of Pingxi remarried, he never cared about the two children born to his first wife. Before the Marquis of Pingxi passed away, his first wife entrusted everything to her brothers in her maternal family. Even the betrothal tokens were entrusted to her brothers. It was only later, after the nephew of the Zheng family was adopted by his great-uncle, that the matter was handed over to the nephew of the Zheng family."
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