Xu Lin, who was far away in Quanzhou, had just received the imperial decree of his promotion, but he felt no joy at all. Every night before bed, Xu Lin would pick up the letter from Princess Jinyi and read it carefully. Ten days later, the brand new letter was rubbed by Xu Lin until it was hairy.
After returning to the palace, Princess Jinyi stopped leaving. She had come to understand that she might not be able to stay there for much longer. Now that she was old enough to get married, the deep palace that she once hated began to feel more at home.
But being in the palace meant fighting. One day one princess would come over to gossip, and the next day another princess would cause trouble. After Empress Jing'an punished them, things would quiet down for a few days, but then they would start all over again.
It was not until the snacks sent by the Eighth Princess caused Princess Jinyi to vomit and have diarrhea that the Emperor sent all the unmarried princesses to the Zongzheng family outside the palace, and stated that when they reached the age to marry, they would only be given dowries according to the rules.
When Princess Jinyi recovered, Empress Jing'an brought up Xu Lin's story. She first said that the Marquis's Mansion had been looking for a match for him, and when she saw Princess Jinyi's expression suddenly changed, she said that Xu Lin had rejected her proposal, and then she talked about Madam Sheng coming to the palace to ask Empress Jing'an for a marriage.
Staring at the little wooden figure on the table, Princess Jinyi fluttered her eyelashes and said, "Daughter, I am interested..." The last two words were spoken as lightly as a mosquito's voice.
Seeing Princess Jinyi's shy expression, Empress Jing'an embraced her and said, "If you like each other, I will arrange a marriage for you. But you are still young. You must be at least 29 years old before you can get married, understand?"
Princess Jinyi blushed and said in embarrassment, "Mother, do you know everything?"
Hearing Queen Jing'an's laughter, Princess Jinyi buried herself in Queen Jing'an's arms, too embarrassed to raise her head.
That evening, the Emperor learned that Princess Jinyi's chosen consort was Xu Lin, the second son of the Yongyi Marquis and the prefect of Quanzhou Prefecture. He stroked his beard and said, "He's a good match, but he'll have to return to the capital in the future."
Back at the Yongyi Marquis's residence, receiving a letter from Xu Wen, they learned of their older son's misdeeds. The Marquis' wife, recalling her meeting with Princess Jinyi, expressed her delight at the match, and the Marquis exclaimed, "A fine young man!" He wrote to Xu Lin overnight, urging him to treat the princess well and avoid any further misconduct. The Marquis' wife then wrote a one-page letter, urging Xu Lin to take good care of himself, and mailed it along with the Marquis's letter.
Before the Lantern Festival, the Yongyi Marquis family came to Beijing to attend a palace banquet. This was the first time in more than ten years. The Marquis family also had a mansion in the capital, and Xu Wen had arranged for people to clean it early in the morning and wait for the guests to arrive.
Sheng Huairen did not attend the court that day, but took a special leave to go and meet the Yongyi Marquis and his family. After seeing his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Sheng Huairen immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying: "My son-in-law pays homage to Master Taishan and Master Taishui."
The two men didn't move, and accepted Sheng Huairen's greeting straightly. Sheng Ting waited for Sheng Huairen to finish his greeting, then went over to pull Sheng Huairen up. However, when he pulled him up, Sheng Ting's hand was so strong that Sheng Huairen almost cried out.
As expected, after settling down, Sheng Ting found another excuse to give Sheng Huairen a beating.
At the Lantern Festival banquet, the eunuch announced the imperial decree. It was the Empress's imperial decree granting marriage, marrying her beloved Princess Jinyi to Xu Lin, the second son of the Yongyi Marquis.
Marquis Yongyi accepted the imperial edict granting the marriage on Xu Lin's behalf and knelt to express his gratitude. Several high-ranking officials, who had long been planning but hadn't yet gotten their wish, offered congratulations but cursed inwardly.
The princess's wedding ceremony would have taken a year or so to prepare, and the agreed wedding date was after Princess Jinyi's double ninth birthday, which was not inappropriate.
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