Chapter 4 It's best to marry into the same family as my sister.
The Grand Princess enjoys the Emperor's favor, and the furnishings of her residence are far beyond those of ordinary nobles, revealing exquisite craftsmanship and ingenuity in every detail.
Because it's ostensibly a flower viewing area, many flowerpots have already been placed in the yard.
To my shame, the Second Madam is fascinated by flowers and plants, but Yangqing is not very familiar with them and can only name a few of the most common varieties.
She followed obediently behind the second madam, listening to the ladies' pleasantries, her heart filled with anxiety.
When will Fifth Sister meet the young master of Minister Yun's family?
Although she said she would not marry Li Shangxuan for another three years, even Chu Ying, who only thought about eating, drinking and having fun all day, knew about their affair in the carriage just now. How could she not be anxious and upset?
Now that she's been given a second chance at life, she's determined not to repeat the same mistakes.
It seems that the Second Young Master Yun did not hold a very high official position in his previous life, but his harmonious family was a well-known story in the capital.
Most importantly, Rongyue is going to marry the eldest son. If she also marries into the Yun family, wouldn't the two sisters be able to stay together for a long time?
With that thought, she became even more determined, thinking that she must leave a good impression on Young Master Yun!
Now that the Chi family's daughter of marriageable age is Rongyue, most of the ladies are asking Rongyue questions and making conversation, so it's not a problem for Yangqing to take a break.
The second madam whispered to her, "After you accompany your sister to meet the young master, you can go and play with that girl from the Xu family by yourself."
She had just seen that her daughter's best friend had also come, and thinking that Yangqing had been sick for quite some time and hadn't gone out, she thought she should let her go out and get some fresh air with her friends.
Yang Qing said sweetly, "Thank you, Mother. You are so good to me."
But this good intention must be wasted. She has to stay with Rongyue, otherwise what will she do if she misses out on the second son of the Yun family?
No one dislikes hearing kind words, especially when the one saying them is their own slender youngest daughter. Although the second wife didn't say anything, the corners of her mouth still turned up slightly before she turned back to chat with others.
The noblewoman who had been speaking to her turned her gaze to Yang Qing, her eyes lighting up. "This must be the Seventh Miss, right? How old are you this year?"
Everyone in the capital says that Jiang Xianyi's daughters are all exceptionally beautiful, and seeing them today confirms that it's true.
Madam Mu only returned to Beijing with her husband this year. Having been away from the capital for more than ten years, she was naturally not very familiar with the young girls who were in their prime.
The second wife smiled and said, "That's right, she's seventeen this year."
Madam Mu quickly followed up, "What a neat and tidy appearance! Is she betrothed?"
Chi Yangqing pretended to be shy and lowered her head, but in her heart she was thinking, "Does this person also want to play matchmaker for her?"
The second young master of the Yun family is still a long way off, so having a backup option is not bad. She quickly pricked up her ears and listened carefully to their conversation.
The second wife said, "Not yet. I'm currently busy with her older sister's affairs. Yangqing is still young and is hoping to stay home with me for the next two years."
Madam Mu simply smiled and remained silent.
Nowadays, it's common for girls to get married at twenty. Families with a bit of power will keep their daughters until they're eighteen. If they marry them off too early, they'll probably be accused of not cherishing their daughters.
It's understandable that the second wife would say that.
Yang Qing was quite disappointed when she heard the two of them stop talking. She glanced at Madam Mu silently, secretly memorizing her name, thinking that she would find out more about how many eligible men the Mu family had and who she wanted to be a matchmaker for when she got home.
After listening to the second wife chatting with others for a while, the third wife finally arrived. She walked over quickly, gave the second wife a wink, and the second wife understood. She took her three daughters and took her leave. The others said a few words to her, but seeing that she seemed to have something to do, they did not try to persuade her to stay any longer.
Yang Qing felt a chill run down her spine, knowing that the Prince of Ning's heir had arrived. He was arranging for Rong Yue to meet him. She quickly composed herself and prepared to meet this unreliable prince. In her previous life, he seemed to have died right after the Emperor's birthday celebration, and she had never met him.
She never considered him as a potential brother-in-law. Although her parents weren't the best parents in the world, they wouldn't push their daughter into a fire just to curry favor with the powerful.
If he were ugly but hardworking, that would be one thing, but he has absolutely no redeeming qualities. What decent person could possibly be so heartless as to marry their daughter to him?
In his past life, his close friend Xu Pianran once described him in this way:
"It looks like a ball from the front, a ball from the back, and a ball from the side. If you comb your hair forward, your back becomes your chest. If you comb your hair back, your chest becomes your back."
Yang Qing had been amused and laughed heartily at the time, but now that she had actually met the Prince of Ning, she couldn't laugh at all.
...That's truly a terrible thing.
Although this young master is not as exaggerated as the ball, he is not far off. Rongyue is already slender, and if the two of them stand together, the Prince of Ning's son is probably three times as wide as Rongyue.
This marriage is absolutely not going to happen.
She secretly observed her mother and third aunt's expressions. The third aunt was very shrewd and perceptive; she only changed her expression briefly before saying nothing more, still smiling and cheerful.
My own mother didn't have such good manners; after her face darkened, she didn't say another word.
Even when others have questions, she only utters one or two words at a time, and anyone with eyes can see how dissatisfied she is.
Rongyue's expression was alright, still indifferent, and her disdain wasn't as blatant as her mother's.
Chu Ying seemed more like the daughter of the second wife. Her mouth gaped open in surprise for a long while. The Prince of Ning gave her several fierce and lecherous looks before Chu Ying came to her senses and hurriedly hid behind the third wife, afraid that the fat man might really change his mind and want to ask to marry her.
Since it was a royal residence, the Chi family couldn't go too far and could only let the young couple exchange a few words.
When Yangqing was sending her daughter off, she saw that the Second Madam's hands were trembling and her eyes were glistening. She whispered in Rongyue's ear, "My child, you've suffered so much. Just bear with it a little. Your mother will never agree to this."
These words were spoken with both force and tenderness, but Yang Qing wanted to laugh when she heard them.
She hadn't attended this flower-viewing banquet in her previous life, but she knew how resolute her parents' attitude was. They weren't worried at all that such a person would become her brother-in-law, and they even had the time to wonder how Sister Rongyue had met Young Master Yunchang.
The parents weren't very satisfied with this young master Yun Chang, as his family background was rather weak, unlike his two brothers-in-law who were more powerful.
Although the Vice Minister is now an official with real power, who can say for sure what will happen in the future?
With neither a noble title nor any family fortune, if his two children fail the imperial examinations, they will have to return to being ordinary citizens.
However, with the Prince of Ning's heir as a precedent and the Princess of Ning eyeing him covetously, Master Chi and his wife could no longer hesitate. They hurriedly went through the formalities of marriage and married their daughter off, fearing that the Princess of Ning might come up with another bad idea.
Chu Ying refused to associate with the Prince of Ning until her death, hiding behind the Third Madam and refusing to come out. Only Yang Qing and Lian Tang accompanied Rong Yue.
The Grand Princess's residence has a large pond filled with many colorful goldfish. In summer, the pond is even more beautiful when it is full of lotus flowers. But it is only early spring now, and the group will miss this magnificent sight.
However, with the Prince of Ning's son by his side, let alone the lotus leaves reaching the sky, even the Penglai fairyland scenery would probably not be able to be appreciated by many young girls.
They are right here by the pond. The Second Madam and Princess Ning are sitting not far away. They can see them as soon as they raise their heads, so there is no need to worry about avoiding any suspicion.
Princess Ning took in the Second Madam's unpleasant look, but showed no displeasure whatsoever. Instead, she talked about how Prince Ning had won the Emperor's favor and the benefits of being a member of the imperial family, rambling on and on without mentioning what kind of person her own son was.
She knew what kind of person her son was; if he wanted to marry a beautiful daughter-in-law, he wouldn't be a plus, but a minus.
At the lotus pond, Rongyue remained perfectly composed, but the Prince of Ning was not buying it. His thieving eyes kept glancing at Yangqing, which made her feel a chill. What was going on?
Being coveted by him is not a good thing. Yang Qing did not come with Rong Yue in her previous life, so naturally this kind of thing did not happen.
She was also a little confused. Rongyue was the most famous of the four sisters, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and had the best temperament.
The reason why the marriage had not been arranged for so long was because Madam Chi was too picky. She thought this family was acceptable, but that family was not quite right. Ideally, she would become the mistress of the house as soon as she married into the family, which caused the delay.
She felt resentful and horrified, but on the surface, she still had to answer the Prince of Ning's question. She forced a smile and respectfully replied, "I am the seventh in line."
"It's not appropriate to tell others my maiden name."
"It's not appropriate to publicize his age too much."
But the Prince of Ning's son was not only overweight, but also broad-minded. No matter how Yang Qing tried to evade the question, he kept pressing her for an answer. "Oh, what's wrong with that? Seventh Miss is so young, why is she acting like those pedantic scholars? Besides, even if you don't tell me now, without even leaving the Grand Princess's residence, anyone can easily find out your name and age. Why hide it here?"
He's so fat, his face is naturally chubby, and his already small eyes are squeezed into slits, making him look quite malicious.
Now, that lecherous gaze was constantly scanning her body, and the look in his eyes was no different from that of the Sixth Miss Chu Ying when she looked at jewelry. But at least her cousin Chu Ying had a pleasing face, while this young master looked like a greasy piece of fat. Yang Qing felt her scalp tingle.
Seeing her sister being interrogated repeatedly, Rongyue finally frowned and said, "Your Highness is too rude. A woman's given name is not something to be revealed to the public. Why are you being so aggressive?"
She was well-versed in literature and spoke with a natural air of neither arrogance nor servility. Ironically, it was this scholarly demeanor that the Prince of Ning disliked.
He himself was a playboy who only knew how to eat, drink, gamble, and womanize, and he looked down on those who were ambitious.
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