On the day of Chen Yuxing's coming-of-age ceremony, Prince Xiang's palace came to propose marriage with great fanfare.
The reason why it was so lively was not because of the huge gifts given by Prince Xiang’s Mansion, nor because of the noise made by the musical instruments and singing, but because of what the people who came were carrying in their hands - live chickens, live ducks, and live fish!
Feng Yuheng collapsed first!
In this life and the next, she was not afraid of guns, artillery fire, natural disasters, poisonous insects and snakes, but she had a fatal weakness: she was afraid of anything with wings, especially chickens.
When she encountered a sudden attack by a goshawk a few years ago, she looked calm on the surface, but she was scared to death in her heart, but at least it was only an eagle, not a chicken. Now, eight live chickens were brought in by twisting their arms, and she couldn't control herself for a moment, and with a cry, she hid behind An.
An was also startled by her, but then she reacted and asked in surprise, "Second Miss is afraid of chickens?"
Feng Yuheng's face turned pale, "Duck, ducks are afraid too."
An was still puzzled. She had never seen the second young lady afraid of this thing when she was a child. But when she looked at the big roosters, they were all glaring and their combs were standing up. They looked really fierce. Even Xiangrong was a little afraid to look at them. She understood. So she quickly adjusted her position to protect Feng Yuheng.
Wang Chuan and Huang Quan were both speechless. It was so embarrassing that the young lady was afraid of chickens! They wanted to express their contempt with their eyes, but they saw Feng Yuheng's face was pale. The cat behind An had its eyes tightly closed and even its ears covered. They had no choice but to stand on both sides of An and block it more tightly.
In ancient times, the six rites of engagement were called "Nacai", which were Naming, Naji, Nazheng, Qingqi, and Qinying. When Feng Yuheng was engaged to Xuan Tianming when she was a child, these six rites were performed very seriously. Later, when they returned to Beijing, Madam Zhou came to give the big betrothal gifts again, and everything was done according to the etiquette.
However, today it was Chenyu's turn, so everything was not so elaborate. The two families only exchanged the engagement cards beforehand, and the rest of the procedures were kept simple.
Although they said that everything was kept simple, the Feng family never expected that Prince Xiang's Mansion could be simplified to this extent.
The betrothal gift was delivered by the butler of the palace. Although Madam Zhou who came to the Yu Palace when the betrothal gift was delivered was also a butler, this butler was different from the butler. Madam Zhou was a first-rank imperial concubine and could enter and leave the palace. What was this person in the Xiang Palace? At best, she was at the same level as He Zhong.
Feng Jinyuan was a little embarrassed, and then he listened to He Zhong reading the gift list to them: "The Prince Xiang's Mansion is betrothing the eldest lady, with 1 live chicken, 8 live ducks, 8 live fish, 100 eggs, 20 kilograms of brown sugar, 20 kilograms of vermicelli, 4 sets of clothes for four seasons, 120 steamed buns, and 50 jars of daughter's red wine!"
No more!
Feng Chenyu's face was also distorted, but this time she was more rational. She took the initiative to walk between the old lady and Feng Jinyuan, and then gently comforted the two of them with one hand each. Then she took the initiative to speak and asked the housekeeper of the Xiangwang Mansion: "Excuse me, Uncle housekeeper, was this betrothal gift personally ordered by His Royal Highness the Xiangwang?"
Feng Chenyu was extremely beautiful, especially when she was smiling and in a calm mood, she was the most radiant. The housekeeper of the Xiangwang Mansion actually knew that such a betrothal gift was too shabby. Not only was Miss Feng the eldest daughter of the current left prime minister, she also had such a stunning appearance, and she deserved the most generous betrothal gift. However...
He smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Your Highness is seriously injured, and the betrothal gifts were prepared by the princess."
Just this one sentence is telling the Feng family that this is the intention of Princess Xiang. It is understandable for a woman to help her man send betrothal gifts to other women. So the Feng family should not feel too aggrieved when the betrothal gifts are prepared like this.
Chenyu was really relieved, and Feng Jinyuan and the old lady's expressions were not so ugly. No matter what, this was a jealousy between women, which was inevitable. If Chenyu married in the future, whether she could turn the situation around would depend on her own ability.
After the betrothal gifts arrived, the Cheng sisters took over the rest. Although the gifts were humble, they were also the most common in ordinary families. Chenyu was a concubine's daughter, so she could not be treated according to the standards of a legitimate daughter. No matter what, the most important thing was to arrange the marriage.
The Cheng sisters accepted the betrothal gifts and invited the butler to have tea. However, the butler said he had to go back to report, so they did not stay long and left in a hurry.
Cheng Junman smiled and said to Feng Jinyuan, "Master, do you think we should add more to the eldest lady's dowry?"
Feng Jinyuan didn't say anything, but the old lady snorted angrily and said, "What else is there to add? I think we gave too much. After all, there is also a set of gold headwear. That alone is more valuable than all the items sent by Prince Xiang's Mansion!"
Chenyu's face changed slightly. She was really afraid that the old lady would take that thing back, so she quickly took over the conversation: "That is not considered a dowry, grandma, just think of it as a reminder for your granddaughter. After all, mother... After all, there is nothing left by Shen. Consider it your granddaughter's request to your grandmother. No matter how successful you are in the future, you will remember your grandmother's kindness."
She had said so much, what else could the old lady say? She just sighed and said nothing more.
At this time, Feng Yuheng finally came out from behind An, and her face still looked bad. An quickly asked someone to change her tea, and then comforted her softly.
I thought that since the betrothal gifts had been received and the coming-of-age ceremony had been held, it was almost time to leave. There was no shelter in the open space in the front yard, the sun was blazing, and the air was stuffy. Han felt that it was too hot and asked the servants to keep fanning her.
But at this moment, Feng Jinyuan suddenly flicked his sleeves again, and helped the old lady back to the main seat and sat down again. Everyone frowned, knowing that there must be something else to say. So one by one they stopped whispering and cast their eyes towards the main seat.
It was Feng Jinyuan who spoke, but before he finished speaking, he cast his eyes towards Xiangrong. Just one glance made Xiangrong shudder violently, and she subconsciously leaned towards Feng Yuheng, with fear revealed on her face without disguising it.
Feng Jinyuan was annoyed at the fact that his third daughter was so close to Feng Yuheng, but now that the two of them were standing together, they looked about 50% similar.
He calmed his mind, spoke softly, and then said, "Chenyu is coming of age today, and her life is settled. The Xiang Palace and our Feng family have already agreed that the wedding will be five days after the coming of age ceremony." He looked at Chenyu as he spoke, "But I'm afraid the wedding ceremony will have to be simple."
Chenyu sighed quietly in her heart. Although she was mentally prepared, she still felt a little unhappy when she heard her father say this in person.
But in order to successfully marry into the Prince Xiang's mansion, she had secretly warned herself to endure no matter how harsh the treatment was. Therefore, whether the wedding took place or not was no longer that important to Chen Yu now. What she wanted to accomplish was something, not the so-called face.
Chenyu took a step forward and saluted Feng Jinyuan, saying very considerately, "My daughter understands that the current situation in the court is unclear, and the Feng family should keep a low profile and must not cause any more twists and turns because of my daughter's marriage. What's more, Chenyu is a concubine, and His Royal Highness Xiang Wang also married a concubine. My daughter only needs a sedan chair to be carried into Xiang Wang's mansion, that's enough."
Feng Jinyuan looked at Chenyu's stunning beauty, and he was unwilling to give up. He really felt guilty towards his daughter. But what he wanted to say now was not about Chenyu, so he just nodded and continued with what he had just said: "The marriage of the eldest daughter of the mansion... Ah Heng was also arranged long ago. Speaking of it, Ronghe and Fendai have not yet discussed marriage."
After these words came out, Xiangrong's fear became even more intense, and Fendai was also somewhat unwilling. She originally had a marriage, but was forced to cancel it by the Feng family. Now that her two elder sisters were engaged to the prince, what should she do?
The girl hoped that Feng Jinyuan would change his mind and reconsider her marriage with the fifth prince. She looked over eagerly, but found that Feng Jinyuan didn't even look at her, and his eyes were still on Xiangrong.
Xiangrong's body tensed up, as if she was waiting for the verdict, and even An became nervous. She knew that the Feng family might only rely on the third prince. In the current situation, one prince could not protect the Feng family, so they had to make more preparations. So... who would Xiangrong marry?
Daughters are delicate guests, raised to marry into a good family and help the mother's family. What's more, a concubine's daughter should be the one to charge forward at this time. She is called a daughter, but what's the difference between her and a tool?
"Today..." Feng Jinyuan's voice started again, and he said word by word: "Today, in addition to Chenyu's coming-of-age ceremony, Xiangrong's marriage has also been arranged by the family."
"No!" Suddenly a rejection voice came out, it was Xiangrong's subconscious voice, like a madman, shouting non-stop: "No! I don't want to get engaged!"
"Nonsense!" The old lady was angry. "Which daughter doesn't get engaged? Which daughter doesn't get married? Parents' orders and matchmaker's words, how can you say yes or no? Don't you think the Feng family will support you forever?"
Seeing that the old lady was really angry and what she said was not light or serious, although she was unhappy, she also understood that it was Xiangrong who lost her composure first, so she quickly stood up, pulled Xiangrong, and said nice things to the old lady and Feng Jinyuan: "Old lady, please calm down, master, please calm down. The third young lady is still young and can't accept this for the time being. She lost her composure a little." Then she pulled Xiangrong and signaled her to apologize quickly.
But Xiangrong was confused, thinking that the Feng family was going to arrange a marriage for her, but she didn't want to get married, or in other words, the marriage arranged by the Feng family was definitely not the one she wanted to marry. What should she do? What should she do?
She subconsciously cast her gaze towards Feng Yuheng, her eyes full of tears.
Feng Yuheng looked at the girl, and the memories of the original owner's childhood came flooding back. At that time, she was practicing calligraphy in the pavilion, and the girl, with two buns on her head, was hiding behind a stone and watching from afar. Her little face was chubby, like a porcelain doll. Also, her grandfather Yao Xian came to visit her and brought a lot of good things. She was indifferent at that time. She knew that there was a pair of little eyes looking at her eagerly, but she never thought of sharing the snacks in her hand with Xiangrong. Also, when the Yao family fell into trouble, the three of them were driven out of the house. Before leaving, An grabbed Zirui's collar, avoided the eyes and ears of others, and stuffed a handful of silver into the child's clothes.
All these memories came flooding back, and Feng Yuheng understood immediately that the original owner's instinctive thoughts existed in this body. This thought wanted her to help Xiang Rong, and the original owner liked this sister.
But... Feng Yuheng frowned and looked at her for a long time. Just when Xiangrong felt that there was hope of turning the situation around, she saw Feng Yuheng shook his head slightly...
...
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