Sister Jin and Hai Tang, along with Mo Yun, Mo Lei, and Qing Qing, stood behind the two.
Everyone knew that He Changli would come to propose to Mu Jin today, and they also knew the princess wanted to test He Changli. So, apart from those who were out on missions, everyone else gathered outside the main hall, eager to see what kind of difficult question the princess would pose.
Before long, He Junyuan, his wife, and their two sons arrived with the betrothal gifts, and first respectfully paid their respects to Long Xuanmo and Yang Mengchen.
"Mu Jin has been with me for many years," Yang Mengchen said in a relaxed tone. "Although officially she is my servant, in truth, she is dear to me like a sister. I am not concerned about how much the betrothal gifts are. However, without testing you, I won’t be at ease, and you won’t know to cherish her, which I’m sure you understand?"
The princess was approachable but also extremely intelligent. He Changli did not know how she was going to test him and sweat broke out on his forehead in nervousness.
He Junyuan was a bit worried, but since both the Prince and the Princess were present, he couldn’t say much and could only encourage his eldest son with a look.
"Don’t be nervous. The question is very simple. After all, I too hope that Mu Jin will marry a husband who will bring her happiness."
The more Yang Mengchen spoke, the more nervous He Changli became, and even Mu Jin, who stood behind Yang Mengchen, was sweating for him.
Sister Jin laughed and said, "Princess, please pose the question. If we delay any further, I’m afraid He Changli will become even more nervous."
"Since Sister has spoken, I won’t be hard on you," Yang Mengchen declared generously. "’Rules of Male’ is too cumbersome; you just need to recite the ’Three Obediences and Four Virtues’ for men. It’s a very simple seven sentences. When you can recite them, I will marry Mu Jin to you."
As her words fell, everyone inside and outside the hall was dumbfounded.
"Rules of Male"? The ’Three Obediences and Four Virtues’ for men? Such a thing really exists in this world? If this isn’t a challenge, then what is?
Instantly, everyone looked at He Changli with sympathy. Marrying a wife was not an easy matter, and marrying a good one was even more difficult.
He Junyuan, his wife, and their younger son, He Changjie, also looked at He Changli with concern and encouragement.
The ’Three Obediences and Four Virtues’ for men?
It was then that He Changli actually calmed down. His mind raced rapidly; the ’Three Obediences’ for women were to obey the father before marriage, the husband after marriage, and the son after the husband’s death, and the women’s virtues were ’feminine virtue,’ ’feminine speech,’ ’feminine appearance,’ ’feminine work.’ Could the ’Three Obediences’ for men be: "Obey the mother before marriage, the wife after marriage, the daughter after the wife’s death?"
The audience couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and the hidden guards almost fell out of their hiding places.
Yang Mengchen had just sipped some tea and coughed a little by accident, so she began to cough lightly.
Long Xuanmo quickly reached out to gently pat his wife’s back, helping her to breathe easily. His lips twitched slightly, and he looked at his wife with a hint of reproach. How could she be so careless?
Yang Mengchen smiled at Long Xuanmo, her smile clearly conciliatory. Seeing him displaying helplessness and indulgence, she then turned to look at He Changli: "As one of the Prince’s esteemed subordinates, your mind indeed works fast. Although you did not answer correctly, your creativity was impressive. Now, continue with the ’Four Virtues’ for men."
They’re all wrong! The crowd grew even more excited, wanting to hear how He Changli would explain the ’Four Virtues’ for men, and even more curious to know what the Princess meant by the ’Three Obediences and Four Virtues’ for men.
"The ’Four Virtues’..." After thinking for quite a while, He Changli still could not answer: "Princess, may I humbly request permission to go back and ponder this further?"
Yang Mengchen nodded: "You may."
The He family hastily bid their leave.
Everyone else dispersed, but they were all excitedly discussing the three obediences and four virtues for men. The men who aspired to marry Hai Tang and the others all felt a perturbed connection, wondering how the princess would make things difficult for them when their time to propose came.
Back in their bedroom, Long Xuanmo asked his beloved wife with a smile, "If He Changli had continually failed to answer and backed out, what would you have done?"
"If he can’t even do something as simple as reciting seven lines, I certainly wouldn’t feel assured entrusting Mu Jin to him."
"Simple? Go ask who in the world knows ’Rules of Male’ and the three obediences and four virtues for men?" Long Xuanmo shook his head, then suddenly his expression froze, "Ah Jiu, this couldn’t have been written by someone from your time space, could it?"
Yang Mengchen maintained her composure, "No one has composed literary works like ’Rules of Male,’ but most people are aware of the three obediences and four virtues for men. I also mentioned them to you before. You didn’t ’accidentally’ leak them to He Changli, did you?"
"Of course not." Although Long Xuanmo sympathized with his subordinate, he cared more about his beloved wife.
Yang Mengchen suddenly remembered what Long Xuanmo had said when he proposed to her and looked at him with puzzled eyes, "Wende, I remember you once said you knew a thousand and one secrets to doting on your wife. Where did you learn them from?"
"That..." Long Xuanmo stammered and couldn’t answer, turning his gaze away from his wife as a faint blush appeared on his usually indifferent face.
Reaching out to turn Long Xuanmo’s face towards her own, Yang Mengchen stared unblinkingly into his eyes, not allowing him to look away.
After a long mutual gaze, Long Xuanmo was the first to surrender, whispering a few words into his wife’s ear.
"So it was Jiang Zhongxun who gave you that bad idea. Just wait until I have the chance to ’return the favor,’" a gleam of mischief shone in Yang Mengchen’s eyes.
Long Xuanmo hurriedly agreed, "Ah Jiu, however you want to deal with him is fine by me." Between a beloved wife and a brother, of course, the wife is most important.
Yang Mengchen felt slightly more at ease.
At that moment, far away on the frontier, Jiang Zhongxun sneezed several times in succession. He thought he had caught a chill, little knowing that his best friend had betrayed him for the sake of love, which later caused him to suffer no small amount of misery—this would come later.
For several days in a row, He Changli did not seek Yang Mengchen. Everyone speculated whether he had taken the hint and backed off from marrying Mu Jin.
Meanwhile, whenever He Junyuan saw Yang Mengchen, he either gave off an air of wanting but failing to speak, or he kept sighing repeatedly. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Yang Mengchen turned a blind eye; for one thing, she certainly wouldn’t go back on her word and for another, Prince Yu and Princess Yu had taken Princess Mingxin back to The Capital. She and Long Xuanmo, along with Yang Chaoyi and his wife, found time to visit Prince Mansion with Yang Cheng’an.
Yang Cheng’an and Long Ruoshui were mutually attracted to each other, and their elders were very satisfied. Yang Mengchen and Long Xuanmo, along with Prince Yu, agreed to meet with the Emperor the next day. The Emperor was happy to see it happen, and immediately decreed their marriage, setting the date for the third day of the third month of the coming year, with the Ministry of Rites overseeing the wedding.
In the meantime, Yang Mengchen found an excuse to invite Lu Ningshuang and her brother to visit Prince Mansion. After meeting Lu Ningshuang, Yang Chaoyi and his wife were very pleased, especially upon learning of her plight, they felt even more sympathetic and repeatedly reminded Yang Chenghong to treat her well.
Yang Mengchen asked Princess Ning to act as the intermediate and formally proposed marriage to the Lu family on their behalf. The two families exchanged betrothal gifts and tokens, and the wedding was set for the eighteenth day of the second month.
With three weddings approaching for the Yang family, Liu Xiuyun and Shen Qiulan naturally became very busy. Many other female relatives came to help, and the Yang family was endlessly grateful.
One day, after hearing Birdy’s report, Yang Mengchen walked into the study with a serious face, wrote a prescription, and instructed Hai Tang and the others to go to Apricot Forest Hall to prepare a large quantity of the required medicinal herbs. After that, she went to find Yang Cheng’an, and it just so happened that Long Ruoshui and a few others were also there.
"What is Ninth Sister doing going to Dan Yang County?" Not just Yang Cheng’an but also the others looked at Yang Mengchen with puzzled eyes.
"A smallpox outbreak has been discovered in Tieling Village in Dan Yang County, and many people have been infected." Yang Mengchen did not hide anything, "The County Magistrate, Hu Sheng, is actually planning to burn the entire village. I must go to treat the people of Tieling Village and prevent Hu Sheng from committing such atrocious acts."
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