When I returned to the Hengwu Courtyard from the main courtyard, Yunzhi was already waiting at the door. Seeing Wen Ye, she asked, "Miss, do you want to take a rest for a while?"
It was past noon, the time when she usually woke up in the morning. Wen Ye walked into the house, half-closed her eyes and yawned silently, then nodded: "Yeah, I'm still a little sleepy."
Yunzhi stepped forward to help Wen Ye take off her coat, and then said, "Madam, you are not responsible for punishing the young lady, right?"
Wen Ye raised her eyelids and said, "I didn't do anything wrong, why is mother punishing me?"
She sat back in front of the dressing table and let Yunzhi help her take off her hairpins and loosen her bun. She continued, "Mother was just concerned about my marriage."
Yunzhi paused for a moment, and couldn't help but feel a little worried: "Which company did Madam choose this time?"
Taozhi knew most of Wen Ye's past, while Yunzhi knew a small part. For example, she did not hide the fact that she had ruined his marriage with Master Liu, who had made his concubine pregnant during the period of national mourning, from Yunzhi, who was a very serious person.
Yunzhi was now afraid that she would meet a second Liu family.
Wen Ye lowered her eyes and looked at the round, delicate and young face in the mirror. What a waste it was that she had to enter the grave of marriage at such a young age.
"It hasn't been decided yet." She sighed, "My mother said she would shortlist some candidates and let me choose one from them."
Taozhi came into the room with tea and happened to hear Wen Ye's words. She immediately laughed, "Why is it that a girl's marriage is like the emperor's selection of concubines?"
Wen Ye glanced at her, quietly relaxed his slightly stiff shoulders, and said nonchalantly: "Yes, when the time comes, you, the eunuch Tao, will have to help take a good look~"
Taozhi put down the tray and immediately felt ashamed: "Miss, you are bullying me again!"
Yunzhi also curled the corners of her lips and turned to Taozhi and said, "No matter who tells you to speak, you always think before you think."
Who in this courtyard can win an argument with these girls? After so many years, Taozhi still only cares about food and not beatings.
Taozhi snorted, poured a cup of tea for Wen Ye, and passed it to her, "But young lady, it seems that the lady is determined to find a husband for you this time."
Taozhi, who has been brainwashed by Wen Ye for many years, now no longer believes that women must get married.
Wen Ye lowered her head and took a few sips of the sweet tea. She had eaten a lot of refreshing side dishes in the morning and was a little thirsty now.
After finishing her tea, she said slowly, "Yes, so the time has come."
Taozhi didn't respond, "When is it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the house.
Wen Ye was just about to lie down for a nap when a figure appeared at the door.
It goes without saying that it was her aunt.
The Wen family mansion was expanded from three courtyards, so it was more spacious than many other Beijing official homes, and every girl in the mansion would have her own small courtyard after she turned ten.
Of course, with the exception of legitimate children, the courtyard they will live in in the future is usually determined before they turn one year old.
Before the age of ten, Wen Ye lived with Aunt Chang in Xi Cui Yuan.
Wen Ye has lived in Hengwuyuan for ten years.
Wen Ye sighed and raised his hand to let Yunzhi and Taozhi leave first.
Yunzhi moved a soft stool for Aunt Chang to the bedside before closing the door and leaving.
Aunt Chang took a few steps forward and asked anxiously before she even sat down, "What did the Madam say?"
His sparkling eyes were always fixed on Wen Ye, not allowing her to be perfunctory in the slightest.
"Of course, it's as Auntie wishes." Wen Ye was really sleepy at the moment. She raised her hand to stop her yawn. "Mother said that she will choose a husband for her daughter in a few days."
When Aunt Chang heard this, her eyes suddenly warmed up and she said "OK" several times. She raised her hand and stroked Wen Ye's soft hair: "In the blink of an eye, you have grown up so much."
Wen Ye responded calmly: "Well, thank you for your hard work in the past."
It's no wonder she's so calm. Ever since her three marriages were called off, Aunt Chang has been saying these words three to five times a month.
Wen Ye had become numb from what he heard and couldn't make any additional reaction.
Aunt Chang burst into tears and smiled happily, "You are my daughter, I should take good care of you, what's so hard about this."
Wen Ye sighed inwardly as his sleepiness was disturbed. His eyes, which had almost squinted into a slit, opened up again, watery and extremely innocent at first glance.
Wen Ye looked at Chang who was so happy for her. Her sleepy eyes became clearer. She suddenly asked, "If I get married, when you come to Hengwu Courtyard again in the future, you will only be able to face the flowers and plants in the courtyard. Can you bear that?"
Aunt Chang's eyes were blank for a few moments, and she could not see anything but honesty. She said, "There is also your younger sister. Besides, Madam has always been kind to us. When you return home three days after your marriage, we will be able to meet. In the future, when our two families have children or get married, there will always be visits. As long as everything goes well for you in your husband's family, Aunt Chang will be happy with whatever she does."
Wen Ye was stunned for a moment: "..."
She looked at Aunt Chang, who looked to be only 28 or 29 years old, and had to admit that there was some truth to the saying "fools have good fortune".
Wen Ye recalled the days before Aunt Chang became pregnant with Wen Ran. She saw Second Brother Wen growing up, but his grades were always at the bottom, causing Wen's father and Shen a lot of headaches.
Wen's father's generation suffered the disadvantage of having few brothers. He only had one biological brother, who was not fond of studying. Now he lives in his hometown in Suzhou, Jiangnan, guarding the ancestral home and the shops and fields there.
By the way, maintain relations with the Wen family's branches.
Therefore, when it came to his own sons, Father Wen hoped that the two brothers would be able to work together in officialdom in the future. Who would have thought that the second son was a naughty one.
After forcing him several times, Wen's father saw that his second son was useless, so he discussed with Shen and decided to have another son, either a legitimate or illegitimate one.
Shen was also troubled by her second son at the time, so she agreed with Wen's father's idea. However, she was already looking for a child for her eldest son and really didn't have the energy to give birth to another one.
It is not certain how much affection Shen has for Father Wen, but if she were allowed to marry again, Wen Ye estimated that she would still choose Father Wen.
Compared to other families, at least Wen's father would respect Shen's ideas, and he would not be the kind of man who would favor his concubine and kill his wife, or be blinded by lust.
Some even dislike concubines who like to compete for favors.
He might have some common problems among men of this era, but under limited conditions, Wen Ye felt that her father could be ranked among the top five in Shengjing City.
At first, Shen was unwilling to have another child, so she discussed giving Wen's father a concubine. However, Wen's father rejected her idea.
At that time, another concubine, Bai, was still alive in the mansion. With this previous experience as a lesson, Father Wen really didn't want any more trouble in the backyard, so he chose one from the other two concubines.
Not long after, her aunt became pregnant and gave birth to Xiaowu after ten months of pregnancy.
Originally, Father Wen was somewhat disappointed, but he never expected that not long after his younger sister was born, Second Brother Wen suddenly became motivated. Although he shifted his focus from imperial examinations to martial arts, he eventually put away his naughty thoughts.
The ancients were very superstitious. In addition, my younger sister looks very much like her father Wen. After a year of enlightenment, her grades have been getting better and better. She is no worse than Wen Cong'an, the eldest son in the mansion who had the most promising future.
In the words of Mr. Xuetang, it is a pity that I was born into a daughter's family.
Shen felt that her second son had suddenly become sensible, which was due to Wen Ran's reasons. In addition, Aunt Chang had only grown older over the years, but her mind was still as simple-minded and deceptive as when she was in her teens.
Shen was still very tolerant towards a concubine who did her duty.
Perhaps, the only stumbling block is her.
Wen Ye thought back to this and realized that she had been too carefree in the past few years, but Shen rarely criticized her, and it was not because of the absence of her younger sister and aunt.
Well, at worst I can just steal less cakes from my younger sister's room and play less tricks on my aunt.
After all, they are blood relatives.
Wen Ye sighed again and looked back.
Aunt Chang has already said that she plans to save any good fabrics that the Madam finds in the future for her future grandchildren to make small clothes and shoes.
Wen Ye shuddered slightly. She couldn't let her aunt continue talking like this, otherwise she would not only be urged to get married, but also to have a baby.
"Aunt, my younger sister went to school?" Wen Ye stopped Aunt Chang's fantasy in time and turned the topic to her younger sister.
Aunt Chang then stopped and said, "Today is your sister's day off, have you forgotten again? But the teacher left some homework for her, which was a bit difficult, so he didn't let her come."
The school in the mansion has been open for many years, and now there are only Cheng'er, younger sister Wenran, and the eldest and second grandsons of Madam Wen's brother from Shen's natal family.
It takes more than two quarters of an hour to walk to Xi Cui Yuan where Aunt Chang lived. Wen Ye lived in Xi Cui Yuan when she was young and had to get up at dawn every day. She never wanted to recall the pain she experienced in her life.
Fortunately, she was "stupid" from the beginning. For the same homework, the other two girls in the mansion could answer it in an hour, but she needed three days.
Gradually...Father Wen no longer had any expectations of her. Mrs. Shen would not care as long as she behaved herself and was a good girl of the Wen family. Only then did her life start to get better.
At this moment Wen Ye blinked and wondered whether to tell the truth.
Seeing her expression, Aunt Chang tapped her head helplessly and said, "If you were half as steady as your younger sister, I wouldn't be so worried."
Sometimes, Aunt Chang would wonder why they were sisters but at two extremes.
She has the same appearance and brain as him, and she gets a headache when she reads.
The other one was so competitive that there was no similarity between him and her, except that he was her son.
Wen Ye said casually: "I also read for half the night yesterday."
Aunt Chang was shocked and couldn't believe her ears: "Really?"
Wen Ye looked sincere, "Of course, if you don't believe me, go ask Yun Zhi."
She actually watched it for half the night.
Aunt Chang really believed it now. If Wen Ye asked her to ask Taozhi, she would have suspected that the master and servant had colluded in advance.
But Yunzhi, this girl, never lies about such things.
Feeling sorry for her daughter who had to study for half the night and get up so early in the morning, Aunt Chang did not stay with Wen Ye for too long.
She, who had always disapproved of Wen Ye's "sleeping in", did not stop him this time. She even happily took over Taozhi's work and personally put down the gauze curtain for Wen Ye.
Wen Ye lay contentedly in the soft quilt, closed her eyes comfortably, and finally got some sleep.
After instructing Taozhi to take good care of Wenye, Aunt Chang walked out of the bedroom, passed by the small kitchen in the yard, and caught a glimpse of Yunzhi busying herself in there giving instructions.
After thinking for a while, I walked in.
In addition to the two personal maids Yunzhi and Taozhi, the Hengwei Courtyard also had a cook and three maids to do chores.
All the concubines of the Wen family were prepared in this way.
Yuanzhi saw Aunt Chang and asked, "Aunt, is there anything you want to tell me?"
Aunt Chang smiled and said, "You girls studied for half the night last night. You can have pigeon soup for lunch today. The money will be taken from Xi Cui Yuan."
Aunt Chang was a concubine and received ten taels of salary a month, which she usually spent on her two daughters. Any money she could not spend was saved to be used as dowries for her two daughters in the future.
Yunzhi understood Aunt Chang's purpose and her expression suddenly became strange.
"Aunt, do you agree that the fourth young lady should read those books for half the night?"
Aunt Chang didn't notice the inconsistency in Yunzhi's words. She was just happy that Wen Ye knew how to work hard.
Although it was a little late, he did inherit some of his father's academic ambition.
Aunt Chang said, "Yunzhi, you should pay more attention to your daughter. Studying is a good thing, but she doesn't have to stay up all night."
Yunzhi was silent.
She thought of her daughter's bookshelf with the "Four Books" and "Five Classics" in new covers, and looked at Aunt Chang, who had a look of relief and distress on her face.
She just wanted to say one thing: Aunt, you have been deceived again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
