Chapter 30 Suitable Marriage Partners
Upon hearing this, Xiao Ling waved his hand and said, "No, the Crown Prince is returning to the palace. Maybe next time."
Xie Yunyu couldn't wait for the two of them to leave.
He then saw the two off at Tianxing Tower, and only turned back after watching the carriage drive away.
Looking dejected, he went back to his room.
The servants had already tidied up the place and brought out some new tea and fruit platters.
Seeing Xie Yunyu's dejected expression, Gu Yu cautiously asked:
"My wife, I thought you two were having a good chat, so why are you unhappy again?"
Xie Yunyu slumped onto a chair nearby, looking dejected.
"He said he absolutely had to marry me."
Gu Yu's face lit up with joy: "Isn't that great?"
This prince comes from an excellent family and is handsome; which unmarried young lady in the capital wouldn't want to marry him?
"Your young lady doesn't want to marry him."
Gu Yu never understood this at all: "Why, Miss?"
"Because marrying him would be too much trouble, and I'd have a lot of problems for the rest of my life."
Gu Yu was even more confused by this: "Trouble? What trouble could there be?"
"Then you'll be the Princess Consort, who would dare cause you trouble?"
"The eldest princess, the emperor, the empress, the concubines, and members of the royal family..."
Putting everything else aside, what can I do if the Eldest Princess deliberately tries to control me?
Gu Yu agreed, realizing that no one could be offended.
After thinking for a moment, she said, "Then let's not marry him. Let's look at other women, maybe someone without a mother-in-law."
Xie Yunyu listened, glanced at Gu Yu, and praised her:
"Your idea is very forward-thinking!"
Gu Yu listened to the praise and continued, "Ideally, it should be an orphan."
There are no mothers-in-law or great-grandmothers above, and no sisters-in-law in between; it's best if you can be the head of the household as soon as you enter the family.
Xie Yunyu reached out and picked up a red date, throwing it at Gu Yu on the head.
"Silly Guyu, what kind of partner is that?"
In the capital, any family that is a suitable match for ours is a prominent and influential one.
Gu Yu, perhaps enlightened by the red dates, suddenly had her eyes light up, scratching her head as she continued:
"Miss, you know what, there really is one."
Xie Yunyu looked at Gu Yu in surprise.
Gu Yu hurried over, her eyes shining, and said, "That's Du Zhengming, the Vice Minister of the Dali Temple."
He had no parents, no brothers or sisters.
After saying that, he lowered his head and said, "People say he has a tough fate and brings bad luck to his family."
Otherwise, why would he be the only person in his family? People say he has weak ties with relatives and is cursed by fate.
Upon hearing this, Xie Yunyu remembered that there was indeed such a person in the capital.
Du Zhengming is from the Du family in the suburbs of Beijing, which is a large family.
Du Zhengming was a member of a collateral branch of the Du family. When he was young, his parents went out and were caught in a flash flood, and both his parents died.
At a very young age, he had to live with his grandparents.
Du Zhengming was intelligent from a young age and could learn anything quickly, but unfortunately his family was poor and could not afford to send him to school.
His grandfather then went around borrowing money from his relatives.
Later, his grandfather died, and he and his grandmother depended on each other for survival.
My grandmother died less than two years later.
He was all alone at the age of twelve.
Because studying was like a bottomless pit, and those two years were filled with bad luck, no one around him could help him.
In order to continue his studies, he went alone to the head of the Du family at the time.
The head of the Du family was serving as the Vice Minister of War at the time, and he was stopped in the street at his own gate.
After hearing Du Zhengming explain his demands, they brought him into their residence and treated him well.
They tested his knowledge and discovered his exceptional talent, which sparked their interest in him.
He immediately contacted the clan elders and asked the clan to provide financial assistance to him.
The following year, Du Zhengming stepped down and made great strides forward.
Three years later, he was selected as the second-best scholar in the imperial examination and caught the emperor's eye.
After spending a year in the Hanlin Academy, he was appointed by the emperor to work in the Dali Temple because of his quick wit and keen observation.
In just seven or eight years, he rose to the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
However, this person was successful in his official career but unsuccessful in his love life.
When he reached marriageable age, the head of the Du family asked his wife to personally select potential spouses for him.
With Madam Du involved, nothing was impossible; everything went smoothly.
It is said that the fifth daughter of Cheng Shaoyin of Jingzhao Prefecture was also interested in Du Zhengming, and the two exchanged betrothal gifts.
Originally, the two were supposed to get married smoothly in six months.
However, just one month after their engagement, the fifth daughter of the Cheng family suddenly fell into the lotus pond and drowned.
The marriage proposal naturally fell through.
Another year passed, and Madam Du arranged another marriage for Du Zhengming, this time with the daughter of a military general.
As expected, an unexpected incident still occurred.
The two had been engaged for only three months when the girl went on a picnic, startled her horse, fell off, and died.
From then on, rumors circulated in Beijing that Du Zhengming was a jinx to his wives.
After two failed marriages, Du Zhengming is almost twenty years old, but he has been rumored to be a jinx to his wives.
As a result, even fewer girls from good families would be willing to marry him.
Du Zhengming felt guilty for having been engaged to two good girls who had died.
From then on, he stopped talking about marriage and devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work.
As a result, his career progressed rapidly, and he was promoted steadily.
Last year, at the age of twenty-five, he took up the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Actually, he's not bad-looking; he has the appearance of a handsome young man.
However, he was serious and cautious, rarely smiled, and always had a stern face, as if everyone owed him money.
But because of her reputation for bringing misfortune to her wife, no one in the capital dared to propose marriage to her, and the marriage has been delayed until now.
After carefully reviewing Du Zhengming's story in her mind, Xie Yunyu found that it was indeed as Gu Yu had said.
If I were to marry him, it wouldn't be bad; at least there wouldn't be so many problems after marriage.
There are no parents-in-law above, and no brothers or sisters-in-law below.
All you need to do is get closer to the head of your own family; it's not like you live with them every day.
Besides, Du Zhengming is already the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, a local official, so the head of the family wouldn't interfere in his private affairs for no reason.
The more Xie Yunyu thought about it, the more she felt that if she had to get married, Du Zhengming would be a very good marriage prospect.
He then said to Guyu, "Hmm, not bad."
We should keep an eye on this person; he does meet my criteria.
Gu Yu, somewhat worried, said, "Miss, this Du Shaoqing... he's a jinx to wives..."
Xie Yunyu chuckled and said, "A wife-killer? I'll think about that and see."
Gu Yu replied, "Oh."
The two had a meal at Tianxinglou.
The servant was served a banquet that had just been developed, and its name was surprisingly "Heroes' Banquet."
Xie Yunyu looked at the menu: Zhang Fei Beef, Cao Cao Chicken, Diao Chan Tofu, Plum Wine, Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moon, Whose Jade Flute Plays the Falling Plum Blossoms, A Gentleman's Good Match Soup...
Xie Yunyu looked for a long time before realizing that the first part was from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, while the second part was Huang Rong's meal from The Legend of the Condor Heroes...
He then looked up and asked the servant, "Who arranged this menu?"
"Second Young Master".
Xie Yunyu laughed and said, "It blends in quite well."
Could this be the earliest fusion dish, a combination of the Three Kingdoms and The Legend of the Condor Heroes?
The servant explained, "It's mainly because the two plays, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Legend of the Condor Heroes, performed in our building are extremely popular."
The customers were so captivated by the story that they insisted we provide the lyrics: "On the night of the bright moon over the Twenty-Four Bridges, whose jade flute plays the falling plum blossoms?"
After thinking it over, Erlangjun decided to hold a banquet for heroes.
Xie Yunyu tried them one by one, and they tasted pretty good.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they headed home.
...
When Xiao Ling returned to his residence, he saw the servant who had brought the gifts and asked:
"Why are you guys the ones delivering things lately? Why aren't Wenlan and Wenmo coming anymore?"
The servant was sent by the eldest princess, but he shook his head and said:
"This servant is unaware; we are merely following the orders of the Princess."
Xiao Ling waved his hand, dismissing the person.
After returning, the two relayed Xiao Ling's question to the Grand Princess of Jinyang.
The eldest princess sighed upon hearing this.
I tossed and turned in bed all night, unable to fall asleep.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com