“It’s absolutely true. If you don’t believe me, send someone to investigate. The one who looked exactly like her back in Jiangnan was a fake. I don’t know what method they used to make her look so much like her. I don’t know how they did it, given how skilled Physician Peng is.” Speaking of the one who looked exactly like her, Zhao Shu felt uneasy and was always afraid that someone else would come out and impersonate her.
The Empress Dowager pondered for a moment, then said, "Jiyun, send someone to investigate. Make sure they don't mistake the person for someone else." After she finished speaking, she turned to Zhao Shu and said, "Now that you're older, it's time to find a concubine for your father. I've always wanted to find one for him, but it's always been delayed. Plus, you're still young, so it's been put off until now."
Zhao Shu understood her predicament. The reason she hesitated to make a decision was that she was afraid of marrying the wrong person. The power of the Bei Zhong family was hard to guard against. If she married the wrong person, it would ruin the entire Yongwang Mansion and even the entire court.
She laughed heartily, "Grandmother should have arranged for Father to marry a concubine long ago. Ah Jun isn't a petty person. Does marrying a concubine mean that Grandmother will stop loving Ah Jun?"
"You," the Empress Dowager poked her forehead, "always talking nonsense. I've been thinking about this matter lately, but I feel there's no one suitable. You know your father is stubborn and won't listen to advice. I can't just find any girl and give her to him. That would not only harm him, but also be unfair to the girl."
In this day and age, it is truly rare to find such a wise and righteous mother-in-law. Zhao Shu couldn't help but think of the Wei family. With Wei Zhongshi dead, there would be no one to use her mother-in-law's authority to oppress her anymore. Thinking about it made her a little excited. In the future, when Wei Caitao retires and stops interfering in worldly affairs, will the Wei family still be a threat?
Moreover, it was Old Master Wei who sent Wei Tingsi to learn martial arts in the first place, so he was definitely on Wei Tingsi's side. Even if he wasn't, Wei Tingsi was the eldest son of the eldest branch of the family and a marshal. Who could possibly compete with him? Even if he abandoned the Wei family and moved out to live separately, he wouldn't be any worse off than any other family.
But was it a bit too early for her to be thinking about these things now? She realized this and blushed.
The Empress Dowager noticed that she was absent-minded. "I'm asking you a question. What are you thinking about so intently?"
"Ah, what did Grandmother ask me?" she asked quickly.
"I'm asking you which family's daughter you think is good enough to be your stepmother. You're getting old, so it's really hard to say. If I had known, I would have arranged the marriage when you were young, so you wouldn't have to lose face." As the Empress Dowager spoke, she was carefully examining a scroll of paintings in her hand.
Zhao Shu leaned closer to look and saw a beautiful woman in the painting, graceful and dignified, with a beautiful figure. "A daughter of the Huo family?"
"The second daughter of the third branch of the Huo family is fourteen years old this year. If we get engaged, we can wait until your father has pacified the north and the world is at peace before getting married. She will be about sixteen by then, which is just right." She was very satisfied. "Judging from her appearance, she is a woman who will give birth to many children."
Zhao Shu: ...Fourteen years old? She's already sixteen this year!
"Grandmother, this isn't a good idea. This woman's chin is too pointed; she looks mean and sharp-tongued. Let's find another one." She was very dissatisfied and started talking nonsense.
Seeing that she didn't like it, the Empress Dowager didn't force her. She picked up another one and unfolded it to look at it. "This one is good. She is plump and beautiful, and comes from a good family. She is fifteen this year. After the war is over, she will get married and won't look old. Judging from her face, she is a blessed person."
Zhao Shu leaned closer to look. Fifteen years old? A daughter of the Yang family. She had a grudge against the Yang family. Although they were cooperating now, a grudge was a grudge. They would still give each other the cold shoulder when they met in private. She shook her head. "How does she look like she has good fortune? Her face is so big, like a plate. She is not worthy of Father. Find someone else."
The Empress Dowager originally thought the girl was plump and pleasing to the eye and didn't think her face was big. But after Zhao Shu said that the grandmother and granddaughter were of the same mind, she also thought the face was big. She put down the portrait and picked up another one.
"This one is good. She has big, bright eyes and looks intelligent and cute. She is proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she also has excellent embroidery skills. She is fourteen years old. I heard that suitors have been flocking to her door. She has high aspirations and claims that she wants to marry the best man in the world."
A mother sees her son as good no matter what.
Zhao Shu couldn't bear to discourage her. With such high aspirations, she was willing to come to Prince Yong's mansion as a concubine? What a joke.
She organized her thoughts, “Grandmother, what’s so good about these women who are proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting and have high aspirations? They live a life as secluded as orchids in a secluded valley. Father is already a dull person. If we add another delicate one, wouldn’t it be even more dull? No, no.”
Things shouldn't happen more than three times, and this is the third time already. The Empress Dowager has finally realized that her beloved granddaughter simply doesn't like it. She puts the portrait down and says, "You still say you're not stingy? You'll always be the apple of your grandmother's eye, is that alright?"
Zhao Shu wasn't being stingy; she just felt they weren't a good match. They were all so young, while her father was already thirty. Thirty-year-olds are very mature, while teenagers aren't. The two of them couldn't connect at all. How could they be husband and wife?
If the Empress Dowager had heard of these remarks, she would have surely lectured Zhao Shu, saying that just because people get along well doesn't mean they can be husband and wife. Marriage is about living life together, about a long and steady relationship...
“Grandmother, Ah Jun thinks they are all too young. Let’s replace them with older ones.”
The Empress Dowager poked her forehead again, "Among those your age, there are only a few who haven't been betrothed. The eldest daughter of the Qiu family is going to enter the palace, as is the Yang family, and then there's Yan Ruyu from the Yan family. What do you think of her?"
"Then forget it." If Yan Ruyu were to enter the Yongwang Mansion, her life would be miserable. Just based on her adoration for Huo Baichuan, she wouldn't allow her father to suffer such injustice.
Speaking of the women who entered the palace, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Grandmother, who will be the Crown Princess?"
"The eldest daughter of the Qiu family is the most suitable, as the Qiu family's background is not as good as the Xie and Yang families."
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