Xiao Ping'an had a lot on her mind. She wondered if the princess had a good temper and if she could get along with her family.
In particular, he had been in the capital for over a year and knew that some princesses were difficult to get along with. When they were being willful and capricious, their mothers-in-law would have to pay their respects to them every day.
Although it's true that the princess is the ruler and the mother-in-law is the subject, and it's only right that they pay their respects to each other every day, she is still the mother of the prince consort, yet she is shown absolutely no respect.
Even the prince consort didn't dare to show the princess any displeasure; he had to coax her properly. Just thinking about this made Xiao Ping'an's face turn pale.
Now he can only pray that his beloved Princess Rui will be betrothed to him, and that even if she has a bad temper, she won't be too willful and capricious.
He let out a heavy sigh and then walked towards his own courtyard.
Xiao Qiangzi looked completely bewildered by his older brother's sigh. "Marrying a princess, isn't that a good thing? Why does he seem unhappy?"
Yao'er and Le'er exchanged a glance. Seeing their eldest brother's expression, it seemed that in the future, to avoid making things difficult for him, the two of them would have to behave themselves in front of their sister-in-law and not cause him any trouble.
It just goes to show that girls are indeed more thoughtful and can think of things that boys can't.
Inside the palace, Princess Rui'er was throwing a tantrum. She felt that her father, the emperor, had clearly promised that she would take a look at the third-ranked scholar during the Qionglin Banquet before bestowing a marriage upon her. However, the banquet hadn't even started yet, and the marriage had already been arranged. She was furious.
Consort Zhang quickly comforted and coaxed her, "Rui'er, you mustn't lose your temper. If your father finds out, he will be unhappy. Your father thinks the third-ranked scholar is too good and is worried that other young ladies will make a move too quickly, and then it will belong to someone else. Your father wants to keep the most outstanding one for you. You should thank your father."
Princess Ruier listened to her mother's words and took them to heart, and was finally less angry. However, it aroused her curiosity: just how good was the third-ranked scholar that her father was so anxious, worried that someone else would snatch him away?
"Mother, is the third-ranked scholar really that good? If he is that good, why isn't he the top scholar? I'm telling you beforehand, if he's not that good, I won't accept it. You know me, if he's not good-looking enough, then don't blame me for being unhappy."
Consort Zhang breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her little princess finally speak in a proper voice. She blamed herself for spoiling her; she worried that her bad temper would easily offend people in her husband's family, which would be disastrous.
Although no one dares to bully the princess's daughter, as the prince consort, if he doesn't like her and ignores her, he can't say anything. He's really destined to worry.
"When has your mother ever lied to you? Your father said that with his literary talent, he would have been more than qualified to be the top scholar. It's just that he's exceptionally handsome, which is why he became the third-ranked scholar. If he weren't handsome, how could he have become the third-ranked scholar? Don't you think so?"
Princess Rui'er felt that her mother was right; the third-ranked scholar was always chosen based on his appearance.
Of course, the selection would only be made from the top three in the palace examination. If the top three were not good-looking, they would choose the best among the worst. So, literary talent was definitely a must.
"Since that's the case, I'll let it go for now. If he really is that handsome, then I'll marry him. But, Mother, you must prepare a lot of good things for me. I've heard that the third-ranked scholar comes from a poor family and probably doesn't have much money. If he is indeed so handsome that he amazes me, I'll definitely make sure his family lives a better life. It's a way of showing my love for him."
Princess Ruier was not bothered by the subsidies at all. She had always loved beautiful people since she was a child, and all the servants around her had bulging purses because she would often reward them when she saw someone good-looking.
It can be said that the position of servants around Princess Ruier is very sought after, because the treatment there is good, and they are often rewarded.
Consort Zhang was aware of her daughter's problem; despite all the advice she received, her daughter wouldn't listen. Fortunately, after the Emperor's investigation, it was discovered that although the third-ranked scholar's family came from humble origins, they were not short of money.
"The third-ranked scholar's family is not short of money, so you can keep your good stuff for yourself."
"It's alright, Mother Consort has prepared it for me anyway, I'll need it sooner or later."
Even if the prince consort's family is not short of money, she can still keep more money on her for protection. After all, given her habit of frequently giving gifts, she is also very extravagant when it comes to spending money, and she never thinks she has too much.
"I understand, Mother will prepare it for you."
Consort Zhang felt exhausted. She didn't want to talk to her daughter anymore. She only had one daughter, and she would definitely use all the good things she had saved up as her dowry. However, thinking about her daughter's habit of giving gifts, she hoped that her husband would keep her in check after she went to the prince consort's house.
Fortunately, my daughter is only a little bit infatuated with boys, but she doesn't have any other flaws. She's also quite innocent, so I think the prince consort would like her.
Ruier had no idea that her mother was worried about her. Right now, all she could think about was how handsome the third-ranked scholar was.
Tang Baozhu and Li Jun spent the afternoon rummaging through the warehouse. They clearly thought the things in the warehouse were quite good, but when they thought about marrying a princess, they suddenly felt unworthy.
"My lord, do you think the princess is easy to get along with?"
Li Jun was keeping his wife company when he suddenly heard her call him "husband." He was quite surprised, because apart from when they were in bed, it was very difficult for her to call him "husband" at other times. She was just too shy to say it.
Hearing her call him "husband," his heart melted. He hugged his wife and whispered comfortingly, "Don't worry, if the princess is difficult to get along with, we'll have Xiao Ping'an move out and live with her in the princess's residence. We'll buy him a big house and give him some property, which will be a way of separating him from the family in advance. Whether the princess is good or bad, as long as they don't live together, there won't be any major problems."
Tang Baozhu felt quite useless for worrying about such things. Li Jun was right; if they couldn't get along, they should just separate. There was really no need to worry.
“You’re right. Let’s sort out the assets first. We’ll divide the family business among our two sons and two daughters, and let them handle the rest themselves. Anyway, the people around them are quite capable, so there’s no need to worry about them not managing the assets well.”
When Li Jun heard that his two daughters would also have a share, he did not refuse. He was just worried about his two sons, since in this era there was no such thing as daughters inheriting their parents' property.
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