Guanqing Garden is, after all, a separate garden, and after two days of playing there, we still had to return to the Duke's Mansion.
As soon as Li Shiyue entered Shousong Hall, she saw a small wooden table placed in front of the warm couch where Madam Xu usually sat, with a thick stack of drawing paper on it.
Just then, a gentle breeze blew in through the window, causing one of the drawings to land at Li Shiyue's feet. She bent down and picked it up; it depicted a handsome young man, and also indicated his background and age.
It looked like a painting of an emperor choosing his concubines. Li Shiyue covered her mouth and smiled faintly, then picked up the painting and put it back on the small wooden table.
"You're a little later than usual today. Did you get tired from playing around these past two days?" When she saw her coming, Madam Xu reached out a hand and pulled her to sit beside her, affectionately touching her cheek.
Seeing that she was wearing a light jacket today, he breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but smile: "These days, the weather seems to be throwing a tantrum, sometimes cold and sometimes hot. I think you must have caught a chill from the silk robe you were wearing the other day."
Li Shiyue wasn't embarrassed or annoyed. She hugged Madam Xu's arm and said, "You could feel it, could you? I didn't listen to you and obediently changed my clothes before I dared to come over."
The jacket she wore was made of silver-white satin with dark patterns, a spring garment suitable for the current season. Once it gets warmer, she should wear a silk robe.
She was spoiled rotten by Madam Yang. Seeing the beautiful and bright clothes, she couldn't help but put them on ahead of time. These past few days, she had been getting a cold, and when she returned to the mansion yesterday, she was scolded by Old Madam Xu.
Seeing that Madam Xu's lips were moving as if she was about to say something, Li Shiyue quickly picked up the paintings stacked on the wooden table and looked at Madam Yang with a questioning look and a hint of expectation.
"What is this? It's all paintings of young men."
Madam Yang understood her meaning, smiled and looked at Old Madam Xu, following her lead, she said, "These are all eligible young men in the capital."
As soon as Madam Yang spoke, Li Shiyue understood the purpose of these portraits of young men. Since the end of the first month of the lunar calendar, Madam Yang had been searching for suitable young men of marriageable age in the capital for Xu Lingzi, and she must have gone to great lengths to collect so many portraits.
Li Shiyue stared intently, each picture looking exactly the same, with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, making her eyes seem old and blurry.
Old Madam Xu was still holding a portrait in her hand. Seeing that she put it down and shook her head, she knew that she had mistaken it for something else. With a smile in her eyes, she deliberately asked, "What's wrong? Did you find one you like?"
"Huh?" Li Shiyue looked up, completely bewildered, glancing at the stack of portraits with a hint of difficulty, unable to understand the meaning behind Madam Xu's words.
Madam Xu, however, decided to tease her. Pressing Yang Shi to stop her from speaking, she deliberately said, "Jiaojiao is now seventeen years old (by Chinese reckoning). Although I don't want you to get married so early, it was my decision to wait until now to start looking for a match for Sixth Sister."
"If you have someone you like, why not pick them out? If they are truly of good character, I'll ask your aunt to keep an eye out for them another day. When you reach marriageable age, we'll prepare your dowry and send you off."
Li Shiyue finally understood that Madam Xu wanted her to get married, and her face turned bright red, as red as the fiery clouds at sunset.
She lowered her head, snuggled into Madam Xu's arms, and said angrily, "Grandmother is teasing me again."
She didn't use much force, so there was no need to worry about knocking Old Madam Xu over. Instead, her coquettish yet angry expression made Old Madam Xu laugh heartily, and Li Shiyue's earlobes and cheeks turned even redder.
When Yang reached out and pulled her out, her still-warm palm touched her cheek and it was burning hot.
"I said it was just to tease you, but I was also thinking about you. Putting aside outsiders, we're all family, and our husbands are handsome. Jiaojiao is so good, Mother, we shouldn't let good things go to outsiders."
"Today it's just me and your mother here. Your mother has always doted on you. Tell your aunt what you think of Qilang."
Yang spoke frankly and openly, without any intention of trying to curry favor with Li Shiyue. It was as if she wasn't talking about her own son, but genuinely valued Li Shiyue's thoughts above all else.
This thought made Li Shiyue even more shy, and she didn't even dare to raise her head. However, Madam Yang didn't force her, so she waited for her silently.
Li Shiyue looked up at Old Madam Xu, who was clearly waiting for her answer.
"Tell me, if you really don't like any, we'll look around outside and find one." Old Madam Xu held her hand, her eyes overflowing with affection.
Li Shiyue knew she couldn't avoid it today. If she said she didn't want to get married, her grandmother would probably keep it in mind. When an old woman has something on her mind, she is prone to depression, which is not good for her health.
She sighed softly, "My cousins are all wonderful."
If we were to discuss this in detail, both my fifth and seventh cousins were excellent people—one upright and the other gentle. Despite being a prince, my cousin never forgot her affairs and stood up for her on several occasions.
But she had no intention of getting married, and she didn't want to tie two unloving people together because of her. Her cousins were living, breathing people too.
Being kind to her doesn't necessarily mean treating her as a future bride.
Madam Xu had been looking on with hope, but when she saw that she only said one sentence and then said nothing more, her eyes seemed to show disappointment at not getting a satisfactory answer.
"If you were to choose a husband and become husband and wife, who would you choose?"
Madam Yang looked surprised, not expecting Old Madam Xu to ask even more bluntly than she had. She brought it up today because the Duke of Rongguo had mentioned it last night. Li Shiyue's marriage should be settled by now, and it wouldn't be good to let her suffer any injustice. It's always safer to rely on family.
First there was Xu Yunbo, the fourth son, and then Liu Shi sought to marry Li Shiyue for Xu Yunyang, but Old Madam Xu refused both. Clearly, neither of these two was ever on Old Madam Xu's list of potential husbands for Li Shiyue.
Therefore, the only candidates are her second and seventh sons, and Zhou's fifth son. Xu Yunyao has been close to Xu Yunci since childhood, and Yang could vouch for the character of these three young men with her own hands.
Therefore, she brought up this matter today, and her seventh son is definitely presentable, especially since he is her youngest son. Old Madam Xu dotes on Li Shiyue and may not want her to work as a matriarch.
She also had her own selfish reasons. Xu Yunci's new bride was more inclined to be a young lady from a noble family who was being trained to be a matriarch. No matter how good Li Shiyue was, she was ultimately worried that it would distract her eldest son from his studies.
Humans have seven emotions and six desires, so it's perfectly normal for Madam Yang to favor her own son.
Li Shiyue looked up, her cheeks still flushed, and looked earnestly at Madam Xu: "Do we really have to choose? Why don't we ask our cousins what they think?"
"If it's decided by my word, it's unfair to my cousins. What if they have someone they like? Wouldn't I become the villain who ruins their marriage?"
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