Wang Wentian was only seventeen years old when he left Wangjing City. According to the military law of the Great Chu, he could only be given a title after he had made military achievements. However, the emperor was grateful for the Wang family's loyalty for generations, and Wang Wentian's father had died on the battlefield, so he directly conferred a title on Wang Wentian. As a result, Wang Wentian became the youngest general since the founding of the Great Chu.
But Wang Wentian is already twenty-four years old this year, seven years older than Wei Rusu.
The emperor once wanted to arrange a marriage for him, but Wang Wentian said, "The country is not stable, the northern border has not been recovered, and a grown man has no intention of getting married." So it has been delayed until now.
Even now, it was the old general, Old Master Wang, who threatened to die, saying that he must see Wang Wentian get married before he died, and that the Wang family must have an heir. Only then did Wang Wentian relent and agree to get married.
Wei Rushu's father, Duke Wei, was grateful for the Wang family's generations of loyalty, and valued Wang Wentian's personal ability and character, so he took the initiative to mention this matter to the emperor. The emperor was pleased and personally issued an edict to arrange the marriage between Wang Wentian and Wei Rushu.
"Ah? If you get married, won't you have to go to the border with him?" Xie Wanting said.
Wei Rushu nodded. "Even if I go to the border, I can still endure this little hardship. That's not what I'm worried about."
"Then what are you worried about?" Shen Liyue asked.
Wei Rushu twisted her handkerchief, not knowing what to say.
It's not proper for unmarried girls to get together and discuss men's affairs, but she has nowhere to talk about these things, and it's uncomfortable to keep them in her heart.
Shen Liyue saw Wei Rushu's embarrassment and patted the back of her hand gently: "It's okay, you don't have to say it if you don't want to."
"No." Wei Rushu bit his lip.
Chen Liyue understood and told Lian Dong and the maids to leave and stand at the door to watch over it, making sure no one got close to the room.
When only the four sisters were in the room, Wei Rushu finally spoke.
"I heard that before General Wang left Beijing, he had a crush on a woman and they were almost engaged. But then Wang Wentian went to the Northern Frontier, and the matter fell through. I don't know why, but the woman still hasn't married."
"I heard that General Wang hasn't married yet because he's waiting for that woman. So I..."
Chen Liyue understood as soon as she heard it. Wei Rushu was worried that Wang Wentian already had a beautiful woman in his heart. Women like them naturally have no shortage of wealth and glory, and they just want a devoted lover.
"Is there such a thing?" Xie Wanting was surprised. "If they were really in love, wouldn't they have been together for so many years, one still single and the other still married?"
"I can't figure it out either. Maybe there is some unavoidable reason?" Wei Rushuo said.
But if that were the case, Wei Rushu would be very pitiful.
If Wang Wentian had already made up his mind with someone else, why would Wei Rushu bother getting involved in this mess?
Wei Rushu couldn't tell these words to anyone else. If she told her mother, her mother would only worry with her. After all, it was the emperor who arranged the marriage, and there was nothing she could do except cry. Her father valued the loyalty of the Wang family and Wang Wentian's character, and didn't care about matters of love at all.
Chen Liyue didn't know what happened to Wang Wentian and Wei Rushu later, because at this time in her previous life, she had already married into the Yong'an Marquis's Mansion and lived in seclusion in the mansion. Her mother-in-law asked her to set rules every day, so she really didn't know much about what was going on outside.
"What if it's Wang Wentian and that woman...what should you do? After all, it's a marriage chosen by the emperor, and you can't refuse it even if you want to." Xie Wanting said.
This is exactly what Wei Rushu was worried about.
Even if this marriage is destined to be a foregone conclusion, at least Wei Rushu wants to be a sensible person. She doesn't want to marry in a daze and then be kept in the dark and live her life in a muddle.
"Don't worry too much. I'll go back and ask someone to secretly find out for you." Xie Wanting said.
At this time, Lu Yun, who had been sitting next to him and listening silently, said, "Don't ask, I know about this."
The three of them looked towards Lu Yun. Lu Yun curled her lips and said, "The woman Rushu mentioned should be Xu Qi'er, the daughter of the Minister of Works, right?"
"I used to be good friends with Xu Qi'er, and I also know about her relationship with General Wang."
Lu Yun told everything he knew.
"The Wang family guards the border all year round and doesn't have many relatives in Wangjing City. So when the old general sent him to Wangjing City, my father placed him with Concubine Xu, now Concubine Lian, to be raised by him."
"Minister Xu is Consort Lian's brother. Back then, he was the Minister of Works. He has a daughter, Xu Qi'er."
"Empress Lian was unable to have children, but she loved children dearly. When she saw Wang Wentian and Xu Qi'er when they were young, she loved them both, so she asked Minister Xu to send his daughters to the palace to play often."
"They were still young at the time, without any distinction between men and women, so Wang Wentian and Xu Qi'er grew up together during those years. They could be considered childhood sweethearts."
Having said that, Lu Yun secretly glanced at Wei Rushu's face, afraid that she would be unhappy.
Seeing that Wei Rushu looked calm, Lu Yun continued.
"I heard all this from my mother. By the time I could remember, they had grown up. I didn't have many playmates in the palace, so I became good friends with Xu Qi'er."
"Xu Qier mentioned Wang Wentian to me before. At that time, she was also very happy when she mentioned Wang Wentian."
"Empress Lian saw that Xu Qi'er and Wang Wentian were interested in each other and wanted to ask the Emperor to grant them a marriage. She was even about to write to the old general to ask his opinion, but then news suddenly arrived from the northern border that Wang Wentian's father had died in battle."
"Although Wang Wentian grew up in Wangjing City and had seen his father only a handful of times, he had always admired him. Furthermore, his father had died in battle, and the old general was old. He couldn't leave General Wang alone to guard the northern border, so he volunteered to take over his father's legacy and continue guarding the border in his father's place."
"Then what about Xu Qier?" Xie Wanting interrupted and asked.
Lu Yun said, "Wang Wentian didn't discuss his decision to go to Northern Frontier with Xu Qier, but that was his mission, and he thought Xu Qier would understand."
"Then what?" Xie Wanting asked.
Lu Yun said, "Before Wang Wentian left, he asked Xu Qi'er if she would be willing to go with him if he went to the Northern Frontier."
Lu Yun paused and continued, "But Xu Qier said she didn't want to."
"Wang Wentian then asked her if she was willing to wait for him to take over Northern Xinjiang and return victorious, if she didn't want to go there."
"But Xu Qi'er said that a woman's life is the most precious. If Wang Wentian insists on going to the Northern Frontier, then forget about it between them."
"When Xu Qi'er told me this, there wasn't much regret on her face. She's always been someone with clear goals. Having grown up in Wangjing City and witnessed the splendor and wealth of the imperial palace, there was no way she'd go to the Northern Frontier and suffer alongside Wang Wentian."
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