Chapter 17
After staying for a while, I went home.
Sure enough, two days later, Zhixia brought a booklet over.
Looking at the page about Zhou Pinshan, I couldn't help but frown.
"Let's go to my brother's place."
I handed the booklet to my brother, who took a look at it and couldn't help frowning.
"You go back first, I'll talk to An Yan."
"Okay." It's really not convenient for me.
At dinner that evening, my brother explained the situation to me, and sure enough, An Yan burst into tears. Who could have imagined that someone so seemingly well-educated and polite would actually be involved with his cousin? Perhaps their families didn't approve, so the two of them had already gotten married.
An Yan forced himself to go through the selection process with his brother, leaving only two candidates. One was Jiang Zhiyao, the eldest son of the Ministry of Works' doctor. His family was small and simple: his mother had only one master, a younger sister, and two younger brothers. His grandparents were being cared for by his eldest aunt in their hometown. Doctor Jiang was the youngest in the family and was humble and honest. His master was also a kind man.
Jiang Zhiyao is eighteen years old this year. He is also very talented and famous. It is said that he will take the imperial examination this year. He has not yet been engaged, probably because he wants to wait until the exam is over.
The other is the eldest son of the Minister of Personnel, also nineteen this year. His lack of engagement is due to mourning. The family also has a legitimate son, who is younger. Back then, the master of the family was infertile, so he sent two concubines to serve the master. This eldest son of the illegitimate son had been raised under the master's name until five years ago, when the master finally became pregnant and gave birth to a legitimate son.
Although this put him in an awkward position, the eldest son of a concubine was a very upright person. After all, he was raised by his master, and the master still loved him. He was also looking for a suitable person to marry. He had already announced that after the marriage, the family property would be divided, and the eldest son of a concubine would receive 30% of the family property, which was already the maximum he could get. The average amount was 10%.
In this way, she can be the head of the family after marrying him. Moreover, the eldest son of the concubine is also very motivated and I heard that he is also good at academics.
After listening to my brother, I thought about it and said, "Why not wait a little longer until the exams are finished? It doesn't have to be from the capital. There may be excellent people from other places."
"An Yan thinks so too. I guess we have to get over it first." said the brother.
"Alright. I believe An Yan can convince the Lord."
Sure enough, there was no further movement from Su Shijun except for him occasionally feeling a little worried.
My father must have known some information, so he didn't ask any more questions. He would just take An Yan with him when he had occasional gatherings.
Since the engagement, the Third Princess and her brother had not seen each other again. Although there was no strict rule of not seeing each other before the wedding, it was still cold in the spring and no one was going out. Besides, the Third Princess had no reason not to visit.
In April, after the sacrificial festival, the weather started to warm up, and the young people in the capital began to go out.
Look, today the Third Princess is the host and has invited young people she knows in the capital to fly kites together.
Although everyone understood that the real purpose was not to drink, it was a good time for travel after all, and since the Third Princess did not say that people could not be brought along, everyone invited their relatives and friends to join them.
As a result, when everyone gathered at a large royal farm close to the capital, it was really crowded.
Some people really want to come and have fun, while others want to come and make friends. Everyone introduces themselves to each other and says hello, and the atmosphere is quite harmonious.
The Third Princess's subordinates were busy but not chaotic. While the event was beyond their expectations, they weren't unprepared. Most of those who wanted to fly kites brought their own, and the variety and color were truly dazzling.
For those who came with their own companions and did not want to fly kites, we also prepared pitching pots, quchang flowing water, chessboards, easels, etc.
I looked at the Third Princess standing next to my brother and said, "Brother, I saw Qiu Fei and the others. I'll go over there."
My brother glanced at the group of friends who were waving at me and said, "Go play." He turned to Anyan and said, "Anyan, go play too."
After saying goodbye to the Third Princess and taking a few steps, I faintly heard her complain to her brother, "An Lan is too attached to you. She's already grown up."
It made my mouth twitch twice.
Of course, my friends didn't let me go either. "An Lan, you're simply your brother's big tail. What are you going to do when the Third Princess marries your brother?"
The group of people fought together, unable to bear to part. However, since they were all going to be married, they still had to behave respectably.
In addition to me, those who were already engaged were also cheered by everyone, and their faces turned red.
The third princess and her brother left the bustling crowd. I turned my head to glance at the attendants who followed them, and continued chatting with my friends.
Back to her brother, the Third Princess was walking with him in the garden. Perhaps out of shyness or something else, she remained silent.
My brother might not be used to such silence, or he still had the gentleman style of his previous life in his bones, so he took the initiative to break the silence.
"Are you busy lately?"
The Third Princess quickly replied, "Not bad."
She had said something, but she didn't know where to start. The Third Princess, perhaps feeling hopeless about herself, closed her eyes.
The elder brother couldn't help laughing, and the third princess even stuttered, "I...I..."
My brother took over the conversation and said, "Don't worry about work. Maybe we can do something we like in the future, like traveling. The last time I came back with Lanlan, we were in a hurry and there were still some places we hadn't visited."
Perhaps because she wanted to be her brother's ideal wife, the Third Princess worked diligently and diligently at court and in her office. Fortunately, her elder sister also understood her younger sister's character, otherwise she would have misunderstood her as wanting to replace her.
My brother didn't want such a misunderstanding to happen, and even the thought of it was unacceptable. After all, once cracks and doubts were established, they could never be mended.
Even if the Emperor's aunt and the Crown Princess didn't mind, and even liked it, what about the Crown Princess?
The Third Princess was stunned when she heard this and stopped in her tracks. "I thought you would prefer me to be more capable."
The third princess is also straightforward, which is also a rare quality about her.
Her brother also stopped and followed her. "You are a capable person in my eyes. You don't need to work hard or change."
The elder brother thought about it and said, "I don't need a powerful wife, you should know that."
Yes, if my brother really wanted to fight for power, he would not have rejected the princess in the first place.
After saying that, the elder brother walked straight ahead and said, "I'm going to go over to the kite flying area and take a look. You can go and do your work for a while."
We also have to give the Third Princess time to entertain other people, after all, many relatives have come.
The Third Princess stood there, watching her brother walk away, thinking about what he had just said. After a long moment, her eyes lit up and she giggled.
The Third Princess didn't turn around and leave until she saw her brother talking to An Yan.
The third princess talked with the visitor from the Crown Princess's family for a while, and then went to the family of the royal relatives.
From time to time, you can hear bursts of noise and play over there.
Lunch was a buffet and everyone just had a simple meal.
I've already had two glasses of wine. It's been ages since I last saw my friends, and I'm not the only one busy; everyone is busy. We're not kids anymore.
Everyone was a little excited for a moment, but Zhixia was anxious and kept reminding me to drink less.
I felt like she was going to complain to her brother in the next second, so I slowed down. Of course, I thought she was too nervous. After all, the wine prepared for this kind of occasion was fruit wine, which tasted quite light.
I've been known to drink strong liquor. Of course, everyone present has, too. After word got out about what happened on the battlefield, my family's liquor business boomed.
I submitted my distillation method to Auntie Emperor. Auntie Emperor was delighted and probably silently credited me with a merit. Of course, it's very expensive, as it's all made from grain, and we can't over-brew it.
Just as I finished my second glass of wine, someone came looking for Zhixia. Zhixia's face changed a little. She hurried back and whispered in my ear: "Master, the Xuanhua Marquis's family is missing, and the third princess is also missing."
Everyone couldn't help but look at me. I put down my glass and apologized, "I have something to take care of. Let's have fun first. I'll excuse myself for a moment."
Since they were all acquaintances, they all told me to go ahead and asked if I needed any help.
I politely declined and left.
As I hurried along, I asked, "Does my brother know?"
Zhixia whispered, "The situation is unclear, and I haven't informed Master Bian yet."
"That's good, don't tell my brother." I avoided my brother and went to the backyard.
Lin Xue was there too. He knelt down and apologized, "Master, please punish me. I lost someone over there."
The eldest son of the Marquis of Xuanhua has been under constant surveillance. There are many people here today, and it is not convenient to send too many people to the royal courtyard. If you miss a moment, the person will disappear.
I asked her to get up. "Finding someone is important. Team up in pairs and go look for them separately. No matter if it's Zhao's side or the Third Princess's side, just keep an eye on them."
About a quarter of an hour later, someone came to report, "Master, the Third Princess has been found. She's in Jingxiu Pavilion."
I quickly went over, but the door was closed. I couldn't help but frown, "Is the Third Princess the only one in there?"
"Yes, the Third Princess locked it, but we heard her voice."
Not seeing the Third Princess's guards, I went up and knocked on the door: "Sister Chenxi, I'm An Lan, are you in there?"
There was a sound from inside, like the sound of something banging against a table or chair. "An Lan?"
The third princess's somewhat hoarse voice came out.
"Yes, it's me, sister, what's wrong with you?" Before I finished speaking, the door was opened.
"Come in yourself." The third princess leaned against the door with disheveled clothes.
I slipped in and quickly scanned the room. There was no one else there.
"Send someone to call the imperial physician, quietly." The third princess was panting, with a knife in her hand. Fortunately, there was no bloodstain.
I quickly asked Zhixia to go, and told Linxue to quietly find the third princess's guards and brother.
I know what kind of drug it is. Since nothing happened, it’s better not to hide it from my brother.
After a while, the Third Princess's guards arrived first. I stood outside while the Third Princess gave the guards some instructions, and they left.
The third princess moaned unconsciously, her lips were bitten until they bled, her hands were clenched into fists, and veins were bulging.
I paced nervously in front of the door, and finally saw the imperial physician and others jogging towards me.
I stopped the ceremony and quickly pulled the doctor to the side of the third princess.
The imperial physician was taking the patient's pulse, and it happened that her brother had also arrived. Lin Xue probably gave a general explanation. The situation was special, so her brother only brought Kong Qing and followed Lin Xue quickly over.
The Third Princess was in a state of disarray. Seeing her brother, she couldn't help but reveal a look of helplessness and grievance. Her expression was somewhat ferocious.
I could sense the doctor's hesitation, so I urged him, "What's going on? Please prescribe medicine quickly."
The imperial physician stammered, "Your Highness, the person who took the drug was a strong aphrodisiac. There is no complete cure. It can only be solved by having sex." As soon as he said this, everyone around him fell silent.
"What if we try to resist?" The Third Princess said in a hoarse voice.
"Your Highness, resisting it will cause irreparable damage to your body, and may even affect your offspring in the future," the imperial physician shook his head.
This is already a conservative statement, and it is not certain whether it will work in the future.
Everyone fell silent again, and a muffled groan accompanied by blood escaped from the corner of the Third Princess's mouth.
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