Disappointingly, the "war" between Princess Chunhui and Feng Lanyin did not continue, as the Crown Princess was already being ushered in.
Li Shiyue spotted Xu Lingzi and the Crown Princess in the middle at a glance, stood up and went to greet them. At the same time, Princess Chunhui saw the Crown Princess, glared at Feng Lanyin, and watched helplessly as Li Shiyue went over first.
The farce was interrupted before it even began. Li Shiyue and Xu Lingzi led the Crown Princess and Princess Chunhui to the most spacious room, where several officials' wives, all of whom were of the second rank or above, were located. Yang Shi and her two sisters-in-law were also inside.
However, Madam Wei showed little embarrassment. Since there was no one around, she sat alone, listening attentively to the conversation of the various matriarchs. Madam Feng, Feng Lanyin's birth mother, was also present, her face warm as she spoke to Madam Yang. Unfortunately, Madam Yang's expression remained indifferent, showing little enthusiasm.
Li Shiyue was pulled aside for a while and then came out of the side room with Xu Lingzi. To be honest, apart from Madam Feng, all the other mistresses inside were very warm to Li Shiyue, including Madam Qin, the Grand Tutor.
Princess Chunhui held her head high with arrogance, not even glancing at Xu Lingzi and Li Shiyue, and left directly with her maid.
This is not surprising, given what happened before. Now that Princess Chunhui is no longer confined, it's good enough that Li Shiyue doesn't cause trouble. Expecting her to get along with Li Shiyue is probably a bit too much.
Even so, Li Shiyue and Xu Lingzi still curtsied, at least in terms of etiquette, so that no one would find fault with them.
"By the way, I had someone send the things Guo Xun gave you to Qingji Hall."
Neither of them expected that Xu Lingwan would block their path. Li Shiyue walked past Xu Lingwan and saw that Feng Lanyin had disappeared, so she breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that she would not have another chance to argue with Princess Chunhui.
Xu Lingwan seemed to have been specially dressed up today. She looked directly at Li Shiyue, scrutinizing her from head to toe, and her face showed a hint of stubbornness.
"My cousin is really clever. Not only did she manage to separate our family, but she also managed to hold a banquet at my brother's villa. I really underestimated you."
"If it weren't for you, my brother wouldn't have arranged my current engagement and set his sights on those纨绔郎子 (playboy young men) just to please the Prince of Yan."
She still had that childlike mindset, but before Xu Lingzi could say anything to her, Xu Lingwan glared at Li Shiyue, looking like she was about to cry. After saying that, she turned and ran away, leaving Xu Lingzi and Li Shiyue staring at each other.
"A-Wan is getting engaged? But she hasn't even come of age yet." Xu Lingzi instinctively wanted to call her "Shi Niang," but she swallowed the words back.
Li Shiyue looked in the direction Xu Lingwan had just left: "She meant that Xu Yunyang did this to curry favor with the Prince of Yan. Moreover, when the Xu family daughter chooses a husband, the first thing she values is not family background, but character."
This was something she had heard Old Madam Xu constantly repeat since she entered the capital in her previous life. But now, Xu Yunyang was her own brother, and for the sake of unrelated people, he didn't even care about his own sister.
Xu Lingzi's face was very unpleasant, and she was slightly indignant: "Even if we've separated the family, we still share the surname Xu. There can't be two Xus written with the same stroke. How can Second Uncle allow that?"
Let alone the current Vice Minister Xu, even Lady Liu, who has always doted on Xu Lingwan, would she be willing if Xu Lingwan's husband were incompetent? Not to mention that Xu Yunyang is her own brother, yet he treats his own sister like this.
Xu Lingzi's face grew increasingly grim. Thinking of Xu Lingwan's words, she felt even more disgusted with the second branch of the family: "What does the division of the family have to do with you? It was Xu Yunyang who made a mistake. It was his second branch that insisted on separating and refused to be included in the family genealogy. At the time, my father and mother tried to persuade them, but they were scolded and accused of being afraid that the second branch would rise up and steal the glory of the Duke's mansion, so they deliberately refused to separate completely."
"Fortunately, my uncle and aunt didn't insist, otherwise my good intentions would have been worthless in their eyes." Li Shiyue sighed, wondering which man Xu Lingwan would be betrothed to. It seemed to be related to the Prince of Yan.
In her past life, Xu Lingwan had caused her a lot of trouble, and in this life, she was going to retaliate in kind. But if it came to actually helping her without holding a grudge, Li Shiyue asked herself honestly, she still didn't have that kind of magnanimous heart.
However, today is her birthday banquet, and if Xu Lingwan wants to do something, she wouldn't mind making her famous today. Turning her gaze away, Li Shiyue took Xu Lingzi's arm: "Cousin, let's go find Wanyin and Awan first."
Qin Wanyin and Xu Wan were still in the same place. When they saw the two of them return, Qin Wanyin's eyes sparkled, and she rushed past Xu Lingzi into Li Shiyue's arms.
"My dear Yan Yan, you can't abandon me."
Li Shiyue was puzzled, and Xu Lingzi was even more so. They both looked at Xu Wan sitting under the eaves, not quite understanding what had happened.
"Fifth Sister is engaged and will marry next spring. Now, A-Wan's family has also chosen a match and is just waiting for the marriage proposal. Yan Yan, both of the Xu family's older sisters are about to get married, and you're the only one left to keep me company."
Qin Wanyin was only one day older than Li Shiyue, while Xu Wan and Xu Lingzi were the same age. Moreover, Xu Wan's father and ancestors were actually from a branch of the Duke's family. By the time of Xu Wan's father, the Vice Minister of Works, the blood ties with the Xu family were very weak.
However, the Duke of Rongguo greatly admired the abilities of the Vice Minister of Works, and from then on, the two families had more frequent interactions.
Xu Lingzi suppressed a laugh: "I'm afraid things won't go as you wish. My grandmother and mother are already looking for a match for Yan Yan. If you don't hurry up, you'll be all alone as an old maid."
Qin Wanyin looked at Li Shiyue as if she had been deeply shocked, and listened to Xu Lingzi's soft voice drifting past her ear. The meaning behind her looking at Li Shiyue was all too obvious.
Li Shiyue pulled her hand back and sat her down: "These things can't be rushed. I won't turn eighteen until next year, so we can't be too hasty."
The people of the Great Yong Dynasty were open-minded. Although the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues still existed, at least in terms of women getting married, no emperor had ever required them to be under sixteen. Now, the emperor was benevolent and issued a decree at the beginning of his reign that women could get married at seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen, without having to rush things.
Despite saying that, Qin Wanyin looked quite melancholy as she thought about how the three of them were about to settle down.
“But I don’t want to get married, because I’m not as comfortable at home. My cousin got married, and her husband’s mother was a complete troublemaker, turning a perfectly good life into chaos.”
Li Shiyue remained silent, after all, she also felt that since she was getting married, why not aim for happiness? She accepted Xu Yunci's feelings because her uncle and aunt were extremely open-minded, and Xu Yunci himself was not the kind of unreasonable or indecisive husband.
However, whether her uncle and aunt agree to her becoming Xu Yunci's bride is not her concern. If Xu Yunci is willing to do so, he will surely find a way to resolve these matters.
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