Inside the study of the prefectural governor's mansion, portraits painted by Zhihua for the twins during their academic debate hung high on the wall. The prefectural governor was quite proud of them, as both his son and daughter were capable.
"father."
The prefect sipped his tea, looked at his rosy-cheeked little daughter, and smiled.
"What's wrong, Zixi? Did you come to see your father? Did you run out of pocket money?"
"without."
It was already dark. The little girl stuffed her cheeks full with air, then exhaled and said to the prefect...
"Dad, could you please not let my brother get engaged to any of my cousins?"
"Oh?" the prefect asked, closing the book in his hand.
This child usually doesn't care about these things, so why is he talking to me about them today?
"You don't like those older cousins who came?"
Sun Zixi nodded.
"I don't like it, but I heard Hou Xiangxiang say that cousins who get married will have a mentally challenged child."
The former Miss Cheng, now Hou Xiangxiang, as Madam has mentioned, is now studying medicine under Doctor Gu, who is a pillar of the medical profession in Beining and even Dayan.
The prefect frowned and coaxed his daughter back to her room to sleep.
The man then stood up and went to his wife's room.
"Zixi just told me...marriage between close relatives..."
“I’ve heard about this,” the prefect’s wife interrupted.
"Ziyang is still young. I didn't want to settle his marriage so early. It was your family that insisted on sending those nieces over. Sending them over is one thing, but today at the banquet in the manor, you spoke ill of their daughters in front of Madam He and Madam Cen. Do you think you've got nothing to do with your position as prefect?"
If it were anything else, it would be one thing, but now Fengyue Tower is the people's favorite. Not just anyone can do the job of defending the city. As the Prefect of Beining, the most important official in Beining, it is a disgrace for the Prefect to lose the people's support if his family members lead the way in speaking ill of Fengyue Tower.
The woman spoke sharply and sternly, her tone heavy, staring at the man for a long while without moving. Then the prefect thought for a moment and said...
"Never mind, I'll send someone to take them back tomorrow."
The woman nodded, and then continued.
"From now on, please don't interfere in Zixi and Ziyang's marriage."
The affection between the two had long since vanished when the man brought one concubine after another into the house. Today's events serve as a warning and a clear demarcation.
The man said nothing and left the room.
"Mom, why do we have to marry our cousin? There are so many people out there, why do we have to choose our own relative? Don't you feel uncomfortable?" the little dumpling lying in Cen Ang's arms asked.
"Because we know each other inside and out."
"And most importantly, it's about being well-matched in terms of social and economic status."
The little dumpling pouted, indicating she didn't understand. She used her hands to pull her legs apart and said...
Is being well-matched in terms of social status really that important?
"If two people can't even talk to each other, what's the point of getting married?"
“I don’t understand, but my mother and sisters all chose their own husbands, and I think that’s great.”
When it comes to love, you have to be willing to accept the consequences. It's better to be willing than to be willing. If you choose the right one, everything will be fine; if you choose the wrong one, you have to accept the consequences.
I can't afford to lose forever; I need to pull myself out of this misery as soon as possible.
Cen Ang smiled, straightened his daughter's legs, tucked them inside, and covered her with a thin blanket, saying...
"Little one, don't worry, go to sleep. You're going out to play with Xiangxiang tomorrow."
"Okay, good."
Wang Buyou has a deep understanding of the meaning of being willing. Now that his sweetheart has made their relationship public at home, he follows He Qingzhu wherever she goes. For example, when the Beining Fengyue Tower opens, as a good friend, he will definitely come to support her.
"Young Master Wang, why are you so free? Don't you care about the family business? Why do you have to come with me?" the young lady asked from inside the carriage.
"I'll go too. You're celebrating with Master Cen, so I should bring a gift, right?"
He Qingzhu rolled her eyes and lowered the carriage curtain.
She's not stupid. Wang Buyou's thoughts are written all over his face, but right now she really doesn't have those thoughts. All the family business is on her shoulders, and all the young lady has on her mind is making money.
"No manners at all," the young woman murmured in the carriage, then a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Master He, would you like to come out and ride with me for a bit? The scenery outside is quite beautiful!" A man dressed in elegant riding attire said from beside the carriage as he rode a tall horse.
He Qingzhu didn't even lift the curtain, and said from inside the car...
"Young Master Wang, hurry back to the carriage. Don't let him get heatstroke and I'll have to take care of him."
Wang Buyou whispered to the servant behind him.
"See? She's worried about Grandpa."
The servant nodded, signaling him to hurry back to the carriage. Was the young master so focused on business that he had absolutely no talent for matters of love and pleasure?
Who would invite their sweetheart out horseback riding on a scorching summer midday? It's only because Miss He doesn't mind; any other young lady from a prominent family would have already turned the young master away.
Congratulations, Madam Cen.
"May Fengyue Tower prosper in the future."
"Grand opening!"
Guests came in droves, and importantly, most of these ladies had been to the pleasure quarters of Pingyang County before, and now they had one in Beining as well.
"Long'er, next time your mom opens her business, you have to ask me to come with you again," Hou Xiangxiang said to Huo Xiaolong, holding a chicken leg in her left hand.
"What's wrong?"
"We don't need to go to class anymore, and we don't need to memorize medical books."
The little dumpling poked its nose and asked...
"Are medical books really that hard to memorize? Why do you always try to skip them?"
Miss Hou pulled a medical book, as thick as a brick, from her crossbody bag. The weight was so heavy that her fingers turned white; she had to use considerable force to hold it. Then she said to Huo Xiaolong…
"You were supposed to carry all of this, but I took it for you! I shielded you from this calamity!"
The little dumpling said that Hou Xiangxiang's little crossbody bag has become noticeably bulging recently, and that it's so thick.
"Why are you carrying this heavy thing? I've never seen anyone take it out and carry it around before."
"Smash someone!"
He may not be skilled in combat but has some knowledge of how to smash people, right? Huo Xiaolong doesn't understand, but he respects it.
At the entrance on the first floor, his godmother smiled radiantly at the visitors, while Uncle Zhao, while keeping accounts, would occasionally glance at his sweetheart.
very nice.
Fengyue Tower will definitely get better and better.
The room was exceptionally cool.
The air outside was scorching hot.
The prefect's wife also brought her twins to celebrate, and they held Cen's mother's hand, chatting intimately like sisters.
"Fengyue Tower is nothing but a brothel. Who knows what that young girl inside will look like when she grows up?"
"I guess she's just like those girls in those buildings, using her looks to please men."
Sun Zixi didn't think so. She looked at Huo Xiaolong, who was greeting her from the second floor, and smiled at him.
I had fought with her before and competed with her for Hou Xiangxiang, but after getting to know her, I found that she was a very good person and would protect me. When I was naughty and got stuck in a tree, she would open her arms and catch me from below.
It wasn't that Hou Xiangxiang found her, but that she took Hou Xiangxiang in.
Their beauty and good looks were merely the least noteworthy virtues of the women in the brothel.
"Huo Xiaolong!"
"You're here! Sun Zixi!"
"Mmm!"
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