At the same time, a girl of fifteen or sixteen came out of the private room next door. She was wearing a scarlet skirt embroidered with lilies and honeysuckle, and she looked dignified, noble, and proud.
Su Zhilan recognized this person. She was Wang Jinyao, the legitimate daughter of the Wang family. Her father was Shangshu Wang of the Ministry of Justice.
"Lancao, I asked you to come and remind me, why haven't you gone back yet?"
Wang Jinyao walked to the maid named Lancao and looked into the inner room.
When she saw that it was Su Zhilan, Wang Jinyao frowned unconsciously.
"So it's Miss Su. I'd like to kindly remind you that you are the Song family's daughter-in-law. When you speak or act outside, please don't bring shame to the Song family."
He looked condescending and looked down on Su Zhilan.
Then he murmured to himself and shook his head, "With such character and family background, how can he be worthy of my third cousin?"
Su Yuanyi wanted to speak, but was stopped by Su Zhilan.
At this time, several young ladies came out of the private room next door. They were obviously on good terms with Wang Jinyao, and they looked at Su Zhilan and her brother with disdain.
Su Zhilan was not unhappy, but took a few steps forward, walked to the door and asked Wang Jinyao.
"Sister is the daughter of the Wang family, so she must be of noble status. Her character and moral conduct are impeccable."
Wang Jinyao raised her chin slightly, not commenting on Su Zhilan's words. There was no need to be modest about this; it was a widely acknowledged fact in Beijing.
Then Su Zhilan asked again in confusion, "Why isn't my sister engaged to the King of Loyalty and Bravery?"
She had a baby face that hadn't grown up yet, and her tone of voice when she asked questions was extremely sincere, without any hint of sarcasm or ridicule.
Just simply asking.
But it was this sentence that made Wang Jinyao change her expression.
She and Song Hongshen had discussed marriage before. The Song family was willing, and so was she. However, her mother was not very happy about it, disliking Song Hongshen because he was born out of wedlock. Seeing the Wang family's hesitation, the Song family did not bring up the matter again.
Later, Song Hongshen returned victorious and was crowned king for his military exploits. Her mother then wanted to discuss marriage with the Song family again, but before she could even bring it up, the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness announced the marriage between the Song and Su families in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Wang Jinyao was unwilling to accept the situation, but no matter how unwilling she was, there was nothing she could do. The Song family's marriage was already decided, and she had no chance.
But if she was engaged to someone else, it would be fine, but how could the young lady from the third branch of the Su family be worthy of my cousin?
The more she looked at Su Zhilan, the more unwilling she felt.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Su Zhilan's quiet eyes showed confusion.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Isn't Madam Song Miss Wang's aunt? Why don't you talk to Madam Song and tell her that I have a flawed moral character? Maybe the Song family will cancel the engagement."
Su Zhilan was giving Wang Jinyao serious advice, but to Wang Jinyao, it sounded like sarcasm. She was saying that even if she was related to the Song family, it would be useless because she still couldn't marry into the family.
In reality, she was wronging Su Zhilan. Su Zhilan was eager for the Song family to break off the engagement. She even wanted to go out to sea with Su Shunci. She had made up her mind. She didn't know how to do business, but she knew how to build and repair ships. She could just give her some of the money her fourth sister earned.
Wang Jinyao was so angry that she blurted out, "Even if we're breaking off the engagement, you were the one who initiated it. A family like yours, the Su family, shouldn't have agreed to this marriage. You're overestimating yourself."
Su Yuanyi snorted, "What kind of family background is the Su family?"
Someone nearby scoffed and murmured, "Is that even a question? The entire family can't even produce a single person who can have a say in the court, let alone actual power."
Su Yuanyi clenched his fists, but he admitted that what these people said was true. Even if he were to graduate from high school in Japan, it would take him more than a decade, or even decades, to gain a firm foothold in the imperial court and bring the Su family into the center of power.
He made up his mind to study hard. As the heir of the Pingning Marquisate, he naturally shouldered the responsibility of revitalizing the Marquisate.
Seeing that he didn't say anything, the other ladies tried to persuade Wang Jinyao, "Sister Wang, why are you angry with them? Some people are still chickens even if they marry into a phoenix's nest."
Su Yuanyi was completely enraged upon hearing this. Just as he was about to stand up for his sister, he saw a man walking hurriedly over from a distance with a happy look on his face.
Su Yuanyi recognized the man as Lai Gui, a servant of the Su family.
Lai Gui ran out of breath, "Third Young Master, Fifth Young Miss, you...you should return home quickly. This is a great event, a huge event."
Su Yuanyi was puzzled, "What's the good news?"
The people around were also watching curiously, and someone said sarcastically, "What kind of happy event could the Su family have? It's just that the shop received some money, or the family farm had a good harvest."
Lai Gui took a deep breath and said, "His Royal Highness Prince Ning is the son of our Marquis. Third Young Master, please go back quickly. The palace is discussing the matter of His Royal Highness Prince Ning recognizing his ancestral home."
After Lai Gui finished speaking, Su Yuanyi and Su Zhilan froze in shock. Su Yuanyi thought, smoke is rising from the Su family's ancestral tomb, and the ancestors have appeared in spirit.
Not only the siblings, but everyone else present was shocked and looked incredulous.
Everyone knew Prince Ning was looking for his biological parents, but why was it the Su family? Was it true, or were they just making it up to get some advantage?
Su Yuanyi also asked, "Is this true? Has it been confirmed?"
Lai Gui nodded, "It's confirmed. The genius doctor, Mr. Zhou, performed a paternity test on Prince Ning and our Marquis in front of the Emperor. His Highness Prince Ning is indeed a descendant of the Su family."
Now, everyone looked at Su Yuanyi and Su Zhilan with only jealousy.
What kind of luck did the Su family have?
The one who felt it was most ironic was Wang Jinyao. As soon as she said that the Su family was of low status, the Su family's status was raised in an instant.
The few people who spoke earlier seemed to have been slapped in the face.
Su Yuanyi came back to his senses and asked Wang Jinyao, "Is the Su family's status now worthy of the Song family?"
Wang Jinyao was speechless. She turned around, flicked her skirt and went back to the private room. The others also left in shame.
Su Yuanyi shrugged at Su Zhilan, "We don't need to eat anymore, let's go back."
Su Zhilan turned around and went to the table to pack up her things. The door of the private room was not closed and was left open.
Su Yuanyi asked casually, "This Miss Wang seems to be attracted to the King of Loyalty and Bravery. What do you think?"
His original intention was to first talk to his sister about the inner chambers. A man of Song Hongshen's stature would undoubtedly be surrounded by beautiful women. He needed to teach his sister how to survive in the inner chambers.
He thought Su Zhilan would say something like, "Put on the airs of a lady of the house."
Unexpectedly, Su Zhilan smiled cunningly, "It's just right that she likes him. It would be best to persuade the Song family to cancel the engagement."
"Brother, if I cancel this marriage, can I go to sea with my fourth sister?"
Su Yuanyi patted her head and said, "What are you thinking about? If mother knew you were thinking this, she would tie you up immediately."
Su Zhilan didn't care either. She hoped that Wang Jinyao could fight for her dignity and make the Song family cancel the engagement tomorrow.
After packing up their things, the brother and sister walked out of the private room one after another.
In the private room opposite, Song Hongshen stood at the door, and through the gap in the window he could just see the corridor and the house opposite.
Mu Shan, the servant beside him, whispered, "Your Highness, you want to cancel the engagement. I see that the Fifth Miss Su seems to want to cancel the engagement too. Isn't this a perfect opportunity? Why don't you go and discuss it with the Fifth Miss Su?"
Song Hongshen's eyes were deep, and no one knew what he was thinking.
It took a long while before he spoke.
"Go back home."
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