The next morning, Liu and Xu Lingwan packed their bags and headed to their ancestral home in Fengxi. Before leaving, Liu was helped by Xu Lingwan to Shousong Hall. Old Madam Xu didn't say anything, but before the mother and daughter left, she had Granny Chang take some things over, saying they were dowry prepared for Xu Lingwan.
Li Shiyue followed beside Yang Shi. Liu Shi was no longer as fierce as before. After all, she had been given sleeping pills by the He family for many days, and her body was so weak that she could only get out of bed with the help of others.
She was dressed in plain clothes, and tears welled up in her eyes as she boarded the carriage. Xu Lingwan stood in front of the carriage, bowed slightly towards Yang Shi and Li Shiyue on the steps at the entrance, and then turned and got into the carriage.
In fact, the mother and daughter's belongings had already been mostly taken away, and the two large trunks following the carriage were mostly purchased with money from the Rongguo Duke's Mansion.
Watching the carriage procession gradually disappear into the distance, Madam Yang withdrew her gaze and led Li Shiyue toward the inner courtyard.
"You did a great job."
Yang spoke suddenly, her gaze calm, with a hint of relief as she looked at Li Shiyue, who had followed beside her.
After all, they all share the surname Xu. If the Rongguo Duke's Mansion turns a blind eye, there is a risk that someone with ulterior motives might take the opportunity to do something detrimental to the Rongguo Duke's Mansion and Chonghua Palace.
It would be better for the Xu family to take the initiative and play the victim in front of the officials. However, Madam Yang did not expect that it would be Li Shiyue who would speak up, and she felt quite ashamed. She had actually thought that Li Shiyue held a grudge against Xu Lingwan and would not speak up to help.
It seemed that she was judging others by her own petty standards, but when Li Shiyue saw her bring it up, she didn't show any arrogance: "It was you who taught me to have a long-term vision. If I'm doing well, it's because my aunt taught me well."
Yang was taken aback, and a smile curved her lips. She nodded repeatedly and pulled Li Shiyue up, saying, "Okay, I understand why Erlang approves of you."
Seemingly surprised by Yang's words, Li Shiyue's cheeks flushed slightly. Yang did not mention Xu Yunci again, feeling that it was better for Xu Yunci to talk to Li Shiyue about some things himself.
"By the way, the Wei family will be sending people over in a few days. Where do you think would be a suitable place to accommodate the guests?"
The fourth branch of the family lived next door and moved out of the Duke's mansion, but the third branch did not; the whole family still lived in the Duke's mansion.
The vacant courtyard was previously the residence of the second and fourth wives. Since it was Wei's maternal home, if it was appropriate to arrange for them to live in these two places, Yang would not have asked her; it would have been unnecessary.
Besides these two places, the Rongguo Duke's Mansion also has vacant courtyards, but since it is unknown whether the visitors are young men or young women, arranging accommodations is indeed a bit troublesome.
“Since they are from my third aunt’s family, if they are female relatives, it is acceptable for them to stay with my third aunt. If they are young men, the front yard should also be cleaned.”
Li Shiyue thought about it. The Wei family members wouldn't stay long, and there was no reason for them to have a separate Chengyu Pavilion like she did. She could still be proud of this, after all, Old Madam Xu really doted on her.
The Wei family did not reside in the capital, so Madam Wei eagerly awaited their arrival. According to her, the Wei family member who came this time was her niece, named Wei Yujie.
The Wei family held low-ranking official positions and had been away from the capital for many years. Their purpose in coming to the capital was to find a good marriage for this Miss Wei through the Wei family. In other words, the Wei family wanted a son-in-law from the capital.
The place where they lived was next to the Wei family's house. It was a fairly spacious courtyard, where the Xu family often entertained visiting female relatives.
After giving the instructions, the maids tidied up the place again, and it became a cozy little courtyard.
Li Shiyue saw this Miss Wei at Shousong Hall. She was dressed simply, with only a silver jade butterfly hairpin in her hair, adorned with two delicate light-colored velvet flowers.
This was the first time Li Shiyue had ever seen such velvet flowers. She was so engrossed in looking at them that when she came to her senses, she met Wei Yujie's scrutinizing gaze.
"What are you thinking about? This is Wei's cousin, she's a year younger than you."
Madam Xu's voice pulled her back to reality. Seeing that Madam Yang and Madam Wei were looking at her, Li Shiyue smiled shyly and said, "Please forgive me, Cousin Wei. I've never seen the velvet flower in my cousin's hair before, and I've been looking at it for a while."
Wei Yujie reached out and touched the velvet flower on her hair bun. After a moment of surprise, she smiled and said, "I made this myself when I had nothing else to do. If the county princess likes it, I have more. It's nothing valuable. I'm glad the county princess doesn't mind."
After saying that, she looked at Li Shiyue again. She had been very curious about this cousin who had come to the Duke's mansion. Now she was the county princess. She was going to marry into the Rongguo Duke's mansion. She was really lucky.
Wei Shi had a smile on her face all day, and when she heard Li Shiyue praise her niece, her smile deepened, as if she herself was being praised.
"This child is skillful and can make small toys. As long as Yan Yan likes them, that's good."
Wei Yujie looked puzzled, as if she didn't understand who the "Yan Yan" the Wei family was talking about was.
Sitting to the left of Old Madam Xu, Madam Yang smiled and explained when she saw the doubt on her face: "Yan Yan is the nickname of the County Princess, given by the Emperor. We are all family, so Yan Yan doesn't call us, the elders, County Princess. We all call her by her nickname. Calling her County Princess would be too formal."
Wei Yujie looked at Li Shiyue with understanding and said, "I see. It was Yujie's fault. From now on, I will call Yan Yan Cousin, just like everyone else."
"I'm glad you like it."
Li Shiyue smiled slightly, not appearing particularly friendly. She just felt that when Wei Yujie smiled at her, the ambiguous emotions in her eyes were quite obvious.
It was as if they wanted to get something from her, with a very clear purpose.
Wei Yujie settled down in the Duke's mansion. She was much quieter in comparison. She often took the little toys she made to Chengyu Pavilion. If she couldn't find Li Shiyue, she would simply go to Shousong Hall, where she was sure to see Li Shiyue.
On that day, the Duke of Rongguo opened the ancestral hall, and Wei Yujie and the Wei family came together. The four branches of the family were also present.
In the center of the ancestral hall stood a table with a marriage certificate in neat handwriting. Li Shiyue and Xu Yunci stood on either side of Old Madam Xu, walked to the table, and wrote their names.
This move also served to inform the Xu family that the position of the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest branch of the family had been decided.
"My whole family is here today, and I also have something to announce."
Duke Rongguo stood up and picked up the sandalwood box beside him. Instantly, everyone's attention was drawn to it, wondering what precious things were inside that made Duke Rongguo handle them so carefully.
When they took it out, they saw that it was a bright yellow imperial edict. The Duke of Rongguo saw the surprise on everyone's faces. Apart from Xu Yunci, who remained calm, even Li Shiyue could not hide her surprise.
Could it be that the Xu family has been promoted again? Besides Xu Lingyu marrying into Chonghua Palace, there is also an imperial edict issued to the Xu family.
"Xu Yunci, heir of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, and Li Shiyue, Princess of Yichang County, are hereby decreed by the Emperor—"
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