Mrs. Zheng was naturally happy for her sister about Shen Yue's behavior. If it was someone else today, the person who saved you would have to be responsible for your life for the rest of your life, which would make anyone uncomfortable. Or if it was a married man who saved you today, your sister would have to become a concubine. However, it was Shen Yue who saved her, the son of General Zhenbei and the vanguard general of the Northwest Army, so her sister did not feel wronged.
When Chen Yue returned to the Ye Mansion, Chen Qiu and Ye Chen were already waiting for him in Qiuchen Courtyard. Naturally, Mu Qing told them everything.
"Brother, I heard that you have already found a sister-in-law for me?" Chen Qiu looked at Chen Yue and teased him. She said that her brother's marriage was not a problem, it was just that the fate had not come yet. Although this fate made people a little unexpected and uncomfortable, it would be a good marriage if it could be successful.
But… my brother doesn't seem very happy. He's a rough-hewn man from the northwest, but if he saves someone, he'll be forced to be responsible for the rest of their life. Luckily, she's a beautiful woman. What if she was ugly? Or a married woman? Would he be saving someone or getting himself into trouble?
Shen Yue suppressed the unhappiness in her heart and said to Shen Qiu with a smile: "That's good now. You don't have to worry about the task that mother gave you anymore, and I don't have to compete with mother in wits and courage when I go back."
Chen Qiu looked at his brother, and suddenly the good impression Fang Yu had on him disappeared. "Brother, you don't have to be so wronged. I still don't believe that saving someone would be a mistake. In the capital, there are many men and women walking together during the spring outing season. The Great Yin Kingdom is not open-minded, but it is not to the point of marrying someone just because you put your arm around their waist."
"Qiu'er, the Fang family is different from other families." Ye Chen grabbed Chen Qiu's right hand and played with it.
"Why?"
"The Fang family is a prominent family that rose from the previous dynasty. It has been almost two hundred years now. They believe in chaste and heroic women, and this has ensured their prosperity for a hundred years. Even now, the women of the Fang family are allowed to go out, while in the previous dynasty, they really could not leave the house. Not to mention meeting outsiders, even their own fathers and brothers had to talk through a partition. They didn't do it for outsiders to see, but this is what they demand of themselves and their family members." Ye Chen told Chen Qiu and Shen Yue, the two siblings, what he knew.
Fortunately, I was born late. If I was born in the previous dynasty, wouldn’t Chen Qiu be thrown into a pig cage for being out in public at the age of twelve?
"It's not that I don't want to. Miss Fang is a good person. She comes from such a beautiful family, so I don't lose out." Shen Yue suddenly said this.
"So, brother, should I go to the Zheng Mansion tomorrow? Or do the Fang family have someone in Beijing? Did Madam Zheng tell us where we should go to propose marriage? Or do we need to go to Jiangnan? After all, proposing marriage to the Fang family is the proper etiquette. We also have to write a letter to Mom and Dad. It seems Mom has to come back."
Shen Yue took a sip of tea, then thought for a while before saying, "The Fang family has a cousin in Kyoto. Let's go there tomorrow to meet the Fang family first. We can make specific plans after meeting the Fang family first."
It seems that this is the only way now. The man’s only relative in Kyoto is his sister, and the woman has only one cousin in Kyoto who cannot make the final decision. This marriage still has some time to go, so let’s take it one step at a time.
After dinner, Chen Qiu asked Madam Xiao about going to the Fang family tomorrow.
Madam Xiao thought for a moment and said, "A marriage requires six rituals: the betrothal ceremony, the question of marriage, the good news, the betrothal gift, the request for the date, and the wedding. Your eldest brother and Miss Fang have secretly decided to spend their lives together. For a family like the Fang family, I doubt they will go through all six rituals. Whether Miss Fang can marry into the Fang family is still a question. We'd better wait until we meet the Fang family tomorrow to make a final decision."
Madam Xiao paused, thought for a moment, and then continued, "If they are serious about this marriage, we will complete the six rituals and naturally become in-laws. If they don't intend to acknowledge Miss Fang as their daughter, we can still let her marry in with honor. On the big picture, it will not lose the Shen family's respect. On the small picture, the Shen family will value Miss Fang. If she marries, she will surely be filial to her parents-in-law and work hard to support her husband. It will only benefit the Yu family."
Shen Qiu wrote them down one by one, and the next day Shen Qiu and Shen Yue went to visit this cousin of the Fang family.
It was a small courtyard, but it was clean and tidy, and filled with the scent of books. Ye Chen had told Chen Qiu that this cousin of the Fang family was a poor scholar. Scholars could donate money to get an official position in Dayin, but this cousin of the Fang family felt that it would bring disgrace to scholars, so he was still taking the imperial examination, but he had failed four times in a row.
When he heard that the visitors were the children of General Zhenbei, and that the daughter was even the wife of a duke, he realized that the nobility of the aristocratic family was fully displayed in this cousin.
Shen Qiu and Shen Yue had already drunk two full pots of tea, but looked outside and still saw no one.
"This Fang Mansion is really big. I haven't come here in such a long time. Brother, was it Madam Zheng who came here yesterday?" Chen Qiu spoke only in a voice that could be heard by the two of them. Fortunately, they were both martial artists with good hearing and could hear even if the words were spoken softly.
“Yes, Mrs. Zheng came out here when I left yesterday.”
"It seems that they think we have done something wrong and are leaving us hanging." Chen Qiu snorted coldly and moved his buttocks which had become numb from sitting.
It would have been fine if she didn't move, but as soon as she moved, she felt that she had to go to the toilet. After thinking about it, she waved and asked the maid from the Fang family to take her to the toilet. If the master left them alone for a while longer, she would suffocate to death.
Chen Qiu and Shen Yue drank four pots of tea before the cousin from the Fang family showed up. During this time, although the brother and sister were angry, they never thought of getting up and leaving.
After all, he came to ask for the girl's hand in marriage. If they didn't care about Fang Yu's fate, they wouldn't have to come to Fang's house and would not have suffered this humiliation. However, after considering it, they decided to save him to the end.
"Aren't General Shen and the Duke's wife here with us? What's the matter?" Isn't this asking knowingly? If they didn't know their purpose, why would they invite them in? If they didn't know their purpose, even the nobles wouldn't dare to be so neglectful.
"Uncle Fang" Shen Yue and Shen Qiu stood up and performed the ceremony of juniors. Uncle Fang did not avoid or refuse and accepted the ceremony. Since he regarded himself as a junior, he should accept the ceremony.
"Uncle Fang, I think the wife of the Dali Temple Minister came to tell you yesterday that my nephew wants to marry Fang Yu, a daughter of the Fang family...."
Before Shen Yue could finish her words, her uncle from the Fang family raised his hand to stop her. "I have already separated from the Fang family and have already passed the third mourning period with Fang Yu's parents. I really can't make the decision. It would be more practical for you to go to Jiangnan and propose marriage to the Fang family in person."
Shen Yue had been patient all morning, and was completely enraged by this. "You can't make the decision, so you leave us alone all morning? This is how you show off your nobility? Is this how you scholars show off your status?"
Chen Qiu felt her brother's fury and was about to explode with anger. She pulled Chen Yue, stood up and straightened her dress, "Since Mr. Fang can't make the decision, then we brothers and sisters will go to Jiangnan. It's just a few more steps. Mr. Fang, we won't disturb you anymore. We'll take our leave." The word "Mr. Fang" made Fang's cousin blush.
Shen Yue and Shen Qiu didn't salute again, but just left.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
