Fu Chen was not the eldest son of the Marquis of Guangping. Among the legitimate sons, he was the only legitimate son. He had an older half-brother who was both literate and martial, and it was said that he had already taken up a post in one of the Six Ministries.
Although his official rank is not high, the eldest son of the Fu family has secured a good marriage and will receive much assistance. If Fu Chen continues to fail, the Guangping Marquis's mansion may very well change its master.
Moreover, Xu Yunci also learned that the Lady of Guangping Marquis and the birth mother of this young master Fu had been at odds for many years. If Fu Chen could really get the help of a powerful in-law, the Lady of Guangping Marquis could hold her head high even in the inner quarters of the Marquis's mansion.
Looking around, which family's daughter could be more noble than the Crown Princess's younger sister and the youngest legitimate daughter of the Rongguo Duke's mansion? To put it bluntly, being associated with the Rongguo Duke's mansion meant having the Chonghua Palace as a backer. Even if the Marquis of Guangping wanted to favor that mother and son, he would have to think twice about the consequences.
It must be said that Lady Guangping's wishful thinking was truly far-sighted.
But nobody's a fool; there's no reason for someone to wait and be schemed against.
“Cousin, are you really not interested in Fu Chen? After all, you’ve known each other since childhood. If you’re sure about him, then ask your brother to think of a way.”
Li Shiyue's outward concern was genuine; she was truly worried that Xu Lingzi might develop feelings for someone as unambitious as Fu Chen, and repeat the mistakes she made in her past life.
In contrast, Xu Yunci appeared calmer, but he also wanted to know Xu Lingzi's answer, and he had to hear it from her own mouth.
Both of their gazes fell on her. Xu Lingzi smiled faintly, tilted her head to look at Li Shiyue, and asked in return, "Why do you think I'm attracted to Fu Chen?"
Li Shiyue thought for a moment: "Childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree, should be the happiest and most intoxicating memories."
Xu Lingzi shook her head: "Childhood sweethearts are not entirely accurate. When I was eight years old, the Guangping Marquis's mansion had already moved to Luling. The two families have not had any contact for many years, and I have never met the fourth son of the Fu family."
“Friendships before the age of eight can be called childhood sweethearts, but after that, those little feelings have long since dissipated. If I were to live with those feelings, wouldn’t it be worse than death?”
Li Shiyue breathed a sigh of relief and almost jumped up, grabbing Xu Lingzi's hand: "So, cousin doesn't like that fourth son of the Fu family anymore."
Xu Lingzi nodded helplessly, watching as Li Shiyue's eyes crinkled into crescent moons with joy.
She's not the type to confine herself to one side. If they've been together for over a decade, it's possible she might develop feelings for the fourth son of the Fu family.
They hadn't been in contact for over a decade and had long since become strangers. She wouldn't even give him a second glance if they were on the street, so how could he have fallen for her?
Moreover, both her second brother and Jiaojiao said that Fu Chen was of bad character, and that he tricked a good family's daughter into getting pregnant and then refused to take responsibility. Such a person was uneducated and only knew how to live a life of pleasure by relying on his ancestors' inheritance. He was definitely not the kind of gentleman that Xu Lingzi liked.
Li Shiyue was overjoyed to hear Xu Lingzi's clear thoughts. She had been worried and afraid these past few days, fearing that Xu Lingzi, though seemingly lively, was actually still a girl with a childish temper.
If she were to fall in love, knowing these things would inevitably cause her heartbreak. Fortunately, Xu Lingzi is very intelligent and sees through everything.
“But how should we explain this to my aunt?” Li Shiyue looked at Xu Yunci. She was still worried that her aunt might be deceived by the Lady of Guangping Marquis, but Yang’s attitude just now didn’t seem to be.
But there was still some worry, after all, the secrecy over the years was only revealed after Xu Yunci used a lot of resources to secretly investigate and piece together the facts.
"Don't worry, I'll go and talk to Mother. Sixth Sister is my own sister. Since I know this, I have no reason to let my sister marry the wrong person."
Xu Yunci's gaze was calm, as if he were talking about something very casual. He naturally knew what was going on, and with him speaking, Li Shiyue finally felt completely at ease.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard. Chang Shun looked flustered. He and his brother had served Xu Yunci since they were young. Although Chang Shun was not as steady as Chang An and was more lively and active, he rarely acted so rudely unless something serious had happened.
He walked in and saw that Xu Lingzi and Li Shiyue were both there, and the words he was about to say suddenly stopped.
Li Shiyue and Xu Lingzi understood and were about to get up when they heard Chang Shun speak through Xu Yunci's gaze: "The Earl of Yunyang went there and made a scene at the Minister of Rites' residence, saying that he wanted to accuse Miss Biao of disrespecting her elders and that he wanted to seek justice from the Emperor."
For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became tense, and Li Shiyue could even hear her own heartbeat, which was thumping loudly in her ears.
Her own father went to the Ministry of Rites to cause trouble at the Minister of Rites' residence, wanting to accuse her of disrespecting her elders.
The series of messages nearly made Li Shiyue's legs go weak. Her face was filled with disbelief as she hurriedly looked at Xu Yunci.
Xu Yunci clearly hadn't expected that the Earl of Yunyang would be so defiant, daring to cause a scene at the Ministry of Rites' residence. It was obvious that someone had sent a message to the Xu family.
Tomorrow is the day that the Earl of Yunyang is to leave the capital by imperial decree. Why did he suddenly cause such a commotion and even go to the residence of the Minister of Rites?
"You all go and keep Grandma company first, I'll be right back."
As Xu Yunci was about to get up, he added with concern, "Don't let Grandmother know about this yet, lest she get upset again because of the Earl of Yunyang."
As he passed by Li Shiyue, he stopped and looked at her with a puzzled expression. It turned out that Li Shiyue's hand had grabbed his sleeve.
Her eyes were slightly red, whether from anger or fright, her eyes were red and moist, like a startled rabbit.
Clinging tightly to Xu Yunci's sleeves, refusing to let go, she sniffed and said, "I'll go with you, cousin, let me go with you."
"Jiaojiao?" Xu Lingzi's brows furrowed with worry as she looked at Li Shiyue with complicated emotions.
She took two steps forward, trying to pull Li Shiyue's hands back, but Li Shiyue dodged her. She sighed helplessly and advised, "Why do you have to see your heartless father? He doesn't treat you like a daughter, do you really think you can treat him like a father? He's about to sue you."
“Let me go. I know what my cousin said and what she was worried about, but I’m going today. There are some things we should talk about today, so that Father won’t go back to Yunzhong County and then try to frame the Duke’s Mansion.”
Li Shiyue refused to let go, her eyes reddening and pitiful, yet her gaze was so resolute, as if she wouldn't let go until Xu Yunci agreed.
She stopped speaking and stared straight at Xu Yunci, her resolute gaze gradually turning into one of expectation. Xu Yunci swallowed back the "no" that was on the tip of his tongue.
"Very well, you may come with me."
Xu Yunci didn't look at Xu Lingzi's shocked eyes, and still agreed.
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