Apart from accompanying Gu Jue for a walk every evening, Shen Qianchen basically stayed in the Qianqing Palace and never went out.
On this day, Shen Qianhuang entered the palace early in the morning and told Shen Qianchen the good news with a smile on her face: "Second sister, mother and Uncle Pei's marriage will be scheduled at the end of the year."
When Shen Qianhuang said this news, her face was filled with a brilliant smile, and her radiance was awe-inspiring.
"That's good!" Shen Qianchen was also relieved, her eyes bright. She knew that her mother was gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, and once she made up her mind, she would not be easily swayed!
Although she knew it, the good news brought by Shen Qianhuang still made her overjoyed.
Shen Qianhuang also liked cats. She held the black cat on her lap and gently stroked the little fellow's fur while chatting with Shen Qianchen: "Mother was originally planning to embroider her wedding dress herself, but I stopped her. I asked her to just embroider a head cover for herself."
The black cat quite enjoyed Shen Qianhuang's service and squinted its lazy cat eyes.
"If we let mother embroider the wedding dress, we will definitely not be able to get married by the end of the year." Shen Qianchen nodded in agreement.
It's already mid-August, and there are only four months left until the end of the year.
With Shen Zhi's needlework skills, she certainly couldn't finish making a whole set of complicated wedding dresses in four months.
Talking about this topic, the two sisters couldn't help but smile at each other, feeling a sense of empathy.
Among the three of them, Shen Qianhuang is the only one who is good at embroidery. Shen Zhi and Shen Qianchen are not very good at needlework. When they occasionally make a piece of clothing, they are slow and their skills are mediocre.
"Have you chosen the design for mother's wedding dress?" Shen Qianchen thought for a moment and suggested with interest, "Why don't I draw the design for her?"
She is not good at needlework, but she is good at painting and can definitely design the most beautiful wedding dress.
"This is a good idea!" Shen Qianhuang's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly in agreement.
She was originally thinking about what gift she should give to Shen Zhi when she got married, and after being reminded by Shen Qianchen, she also had an idea. The gift is not about the price, but the thought behind it.
Shen Qianchen became more and more excited as he spoke: "I will ask the maids from the Clothing Bureau to go with you later and ask them to measure mother first."
Both sisters had smiles on their faces, and they had the best hopes for Shen Zhi in their hearts.
As children, they can't do much for their mothers, but hope that their mothers can live a better life. Their mothers are so good, and they deserve a better person to spend their lives with them.
The two sisters got together and discussed about the wedding dress. Black Cat didn't understand anything and looked at Shen Qianchen and then at Shen Qianhuang.
Shen Qianchen's mouth was dry after speaking, so he drank two sips of fruit juice to moisten his throat, and then changed the subject: "Big sister, mother must be very busy recently, right? If there is anything I can do for you, just tell me."
Shen Qianhuang smiled and said, "What is there for mother to be busy about? The one who is worried is grandma."
According to Shen Zhi, the wedding should be simple, as long as the relatives and friends of the two families get together and set up a few tables of banquets, but the wife of Duke Mu was the first to jump out and object. Therefore, Shen Zhi lost the right to speak on many matters concerning the wedding, and it was basically the wife of Duke Mu and Pei Linye who discussed it.
Shen Zhi also told Shen Qianhuang privately that her marriage with Chu Lingxiao was a concern for Lady Mu, who always felt sorry for her eldest daughter and wanted to make up for it, so Shen Zhi just let Lady Mu go.
"How is grandma?" Shen Qianchen asked following Shen Qianhuang's words.
"I went to my grandmother's house yesterday, and I saw that she was enjoying herself." Shen Qianhuang said jokingly.
Shen Qianhuang was a smart person. At this moment, she vaguely understood the hidden meaning in Shen Qianchen's words. She might be trying to find out in a tactful way whether Shen Zhi and Lady Mu, the Duke of Mu, had heard some gossip outside.
Shen Qianhuang pondered for a moment, then continued with a smile, "Yesterday morning before I went to my grandmother's house, I went to Yaming Tea House to buy their most famous sesame cakes and lotus root cakes. The sesame cakes happened to be sold out, so I waited in the tea house for a while. At that time, I heard a few scholars in the lobby discussing some recent government decrees. They expressed their opinions and it was quite lively, so I just listened to some of them."
"I don't really understand the imperial decree, but a few of them were making outrageous remarks, saying that the imperial decree was inappropriate and that they were losing the greater good because of a small one. In the future, the people of Da Qi might forget about propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame. When they were talking about it, a few Jinyiwei suddenly came. They not only checked the travel permits, but also disqualified two of the candidates from taking the imperial examination."
"The two candidates were still unconvinced and said they wanted to go and beat the drum to report to the emperor. The Imperial Guard said that since they had achieved fame, they should do their best to help the court. The court was short of people, and if they went home to help Da Qi increase its population, that would be their greatest contribution!"
As he spoke, Shen Qianhuang couldn't help laughing out loud, secretly sighing: These Jinyiwei are really vicious-mouthed, their words are extremely insulting, they are just short of saying that these two candidates should go home and have children instead of taking the imperial examinations to become officials!
Shen Qianchen also laughed along, his laughter was crisp.
She hadn't left the palace for the past few days, so she didn't know that such interesting things were happening outside. Now, after hearing what Shen Qianhuang said, she felt quite happy.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards patrol the capital and maintain order. Even if there is any gossip in the capital for a while, it should be quickly under control.
Mother just needs to be a happy bride! After a while, Shen Qianhuang stopped laughing, raised her glass elegantly and took two sips of fruit juice.
As soon as she stopped, the black cat started meowing impatiently to urge her.
Shen Qianhuang continued to touch the cat and went on: "When I was returning from my grandmother's house in the afternoon, I happened to meet Uncle Pei. Uncle Pei made a special trip to tell Mom that he was planning to buy a house and asked Mom where to buy it." Pei Linye bought the house for use as a wedding house.
Thinking of Pei Linye's gentle expression when he talked to Shen Zhi, Shen Qianhuang couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Grandmother also told her some details about how Pei Linye prepared for the wedding, and praised Pei Linye, saying that he thought of every aspect very carefully, and almost helped to take care of everything that the bride had to prepare. He also secretly gave silver notes to grandmother, saying that he would give it to her mother as a private fund.
Shen Qianhuang smiled slightly, stared into Shen Qianchen's eyes, and said seriously: "Caring and not caring are really completely different."
Pei Linye is really a good person, very different from their biological father!
Shen Qianchen drank another half cup of iced fruit juice without saying anything, but he sighed sincerely in his heart: Indeed.
In the past, during Shen Zhi and Chu Lingxiao's marriage, Chu Lingxiao never cared about what Shen Zhi wanted or needed, and never appreciated Shen Zhi's difficulties. He did not give Shen Zhi anything, did not pity her, only demanded and blamed her!
Shen Qianhuang and Shen Qianchen both saw this clearly.
Even if we put aside the fact that Shen Qianchen was given to Aunt Jiang, Chu Lingxiao has never been a qualified good husband.
Chu Qianhuang drank several sips of fruit juice silently, his eyes flashing.
Suddenly, she put down the white porcelain cup in her hand, looked at Shen Qianchen solemnly, and then revealed her real purpose of entering the palace today:
"Second sister, I came to see you today because I have one more thing I want to ask you about... I want to comb my hair myself."
The last four words were unexpected.
Shen Qianchen: "..."
Shen Qianchen blinked, somewhat confused as to why Shen Qianhuang would have such an idea.
She thought about it and remembered that Shen Qianhuang had just said that she went to Duke Mu's mansion yesterday, so she asked cautiously, "Did your grandmother mention your marriage?"
Shen Qianhuang pursed her lips and nodded.
She carefully considered her words and said slowly, "Even if grandma didn't mention it, I have thought about it a lot myself..."
The past three months had given her plenty of time to think about a lot of things, all kinds of possibilities, the future, the past, and hypotheses...
She pursed her lips and smiled. There was an indescribable feeling in her smile, a maturity far beyond her age.
A gentle warm breeze blew in from outside the window, bringing with it a hint of the fragrance of osmanthus.
A few bright red osmanthus petals lightly fell on Shen Qianhuang's sleeves.
Shen Qianhuang raised her hand to brush away the petals on her sleeves, and continued, "If it hadn't been for 'that incident', around the time of my coming of age, I would have been like all the noble ladies in the capital, with my mother choosing a marriage for me, and then I would have married off in style, taking care of my husband and children, and managing the household."
However, things are unpredictable, and the petals that have fallen from the branches cannot return to the branches again.
"Now, I don't want to." Shen Qianhuang spoke slower and slower, almost enunciating each word, his tone as firm as a rock.
Shen Qianhuang only said a few words, but Shen Qianchen understood a little and his eyelashes fluttered slightly.
To put it bluntly, it was all the fault of "that person" who once possessed Shen Qianhuang.
All the things she did as Shen Qianhuang, especially the fact that she almost married off to the Hao Kingdom as a concubine, have ruined Shen Qianhuang's reputation, so now those families in the capital who are of equal status will not ask to marry Shen Qianhuang.
Adding on to what happened to Chu Lingxiao, other people now probably view Shen Qianhuang as being a bit like “like father, like daughter”.
Even if some people wanted to marry the queen's sister for the sake of Shen Qianchen, the current queen, those people were just speculators. Shen Qianhuang was not willing to have such a marriage that was a compromise.
Shen Qianhuang thought about it and decided to comb her hair herself to stop other people from having the idea of having sex.
And she also has things she wants to do.
Shen Qianchen stared at Shen Qianhuang quietly.
6◇9◇Book◇Bar
They were born on the same day, so Shen Qianhuang would soon reach the age of 15, just like her.
Shen Qianhuang looks gentler and more silent than Chu Qianhuang before she was thirteen years old, but deep down she is still the noble and reserved eldest daughter of a marquisate, and she has her own pride.
The two sisters looked at each other quietly. They could understand each other's feelings without any words.
They are twins, so the second sister can understand her.
Shen Qianhuang felt a warm current flowing quietly in her heart. For the first time, she deeply realized this and said, "I want to open a girls' school."
Shen Qianchen: "..."
Shen Qianhuang's expression was firm and steady, and she stated her thoughts clearly: "In this world, women have a hard time. Obviously, women can also learn to read and write, manage the household and finances, and understand the law."
"The "Female Filial Piety Classic" also says: Women also have the nature of being smart and wise. It is not bad to cultivate it, let alone use it with your heart!"
"So, I don't need to get married."
In the past, these thoughts were vague and unclear in Shen Qianhuang's mind, but when she heard those scholars in the Ya Ming Teahouse yesterday saying contemptuously, "Women should observe the virtues of women" and "Women's virtue lies in their lack of talent", she suddenly became enlightened and felt that these scholars below were not as good as her.
If the Jinyiwei had not arrived at that time, she would have started a debate with those scholars.
Shen Qianhuang's eyes sparkled, brighter than the scorching sun outside the window.
Once she figured this out, Shen Qianhuang seemed to have broken free from the oppression of secular ethics on women and felt that marriage was nothing big.
She had been thinking about this matter yesterday, wondering how to talk to her mother. She knew that if she proposed to "comb her hair by herself", neither her grandmother nor her mother would agree, so she chose to come to Shen Qianchen, hoping to get some support from Shen Qianchen.
Shen Qianchen was still looking at Shen Qianhuang, his face showing no joy, anger, or any other emotions, his face was calm and motionless.
Shen Qianhuang sat there gracefully, allowing Shen Qianchen to look at her. Her bright eyes did not dodge or evade, silently declaring her determination.
"Meow!"
It was the black cat that broke the silence. It stretched on Shen Qianhuang's legs and jumped down lightly.
Shen Qianchen smiled, with the corners of his lips slightly raised. The smile spread from the corners of his lips to the corners of his eyes and eyebrows, and then to the bottom of his eyes, his eyes were full of smiles.
Sure enough, the real Shen Qianhuang and "that person" are completely different.
This is Shen Qianhuang, the daughter raised by her eldest sister and mother.
The girl in front of me is rational, intelligent, open-minded and strong. Even when she encountered such a setback that could overturn her life, she was not overwhelmed.
"That person" is impulsive, mean, narrow-minded, weak, and will do anything to achieve his goals.
Even her Yueying doesn’t like “that person”, but likes Shen Qianhuang!
This person, the "core" under the skin is different, he is a different person.
Shen Qianchen suddenly raised his hand and gently touched Shen Qianhuang's head, just like Gu Jue usually touched her head.
Shen Qianhuang: "..."
Shen Qianhuang was stunned, and felt something was wrong. She was obviously the elder sister!
Shen Qianchen patted Shen Qianhuang's head twice to comfort her, and said with a smile: "You don't have to comb your hair yourself."
"..." Shen Qianhuang's attention was diverted by Shen Qianchen's words, and she didn't care about being touched on the head for a moment.
Shen Qianchen tilted his head and smiled brightly. His cherry lips were rosy and plump in the sunlight. His face was more beautiful than the clusters of red osmanthus flowers outside the window. He had a breathtaking brightness and charm.
She grabbed Shen Qianhuang's hand and said seriously, "Big sister, don't worry, I will help you convince mother. It's up to you to decide whether to get married and who you want to marry."
Based on Shen Qianchen's understanding of Shen Zhi, she believed that Shen Zhi would agree.
Shen Zhi herself had experienced a bad marriage, and people like Chu Lingxiao had wasted fifteen years of her life. She could better understand the pain of a woman who couldn't marry well.
Moreover, Shen Zhi also knows the difficulties faced by Shen Qianhuang, so she will definitely agree.
"..." Shen Qianhuang opened her cherry lips slightly, shocked by Shen Qianchen's words.
Shen Qianchen grabbed Shen Qianhuang's hand even harder and emphasized, "But I don't agree with you combing your hair yourself."
"Self-combing is a shackle imposed on women by secular ethics. You don't need to put a shackle on yourself."
The word "shackles" hit Shen Qianhuang's heart like a heavy hammer, and she widened her eyes slightly.
She understands!
In folk culture, "self-combing" means never getting married, which is imposed on women by secular ethics. Should women get married or not? Why should they be controlled by these rigid ethics? !
Since she wanted to open a girls' school, break through the shackles of etiquette, and enable other women to read and write and broaden their horizons, she should have anticipated that this path would not be easy.
In the future, she will encounter many obstacles and various private discussions. If she wants to open a girls' school, she must have enough determination and not be bound by those rules and regulations.
"..." Shen Qianhuang lowered her eyes thoughtfully.
Shen Qianchen touched Shen Qianhuang's face with a smile, and continued to say: "It's up to you whether to get married or not. If you don't want to get married now, then don't get married. You can get married if you want to in the future. It's up to you to decide."
(End of this chapter)