Han Xiufen was hiding in the back of the crowd, not wanting to get involved in the fight in front.
Her eyes gleamed. "Your Majesty, it will be soon, very soon..."
The crowd immediately began to whisper among themselves.
"The imperial court requires widows to remarry, but I didn't expect the Duke of Wei's mansion to be so impatient, even rushing to find a husband for their widowed daughter-in-law?"
"This is a disgrace to our noble family."
"Haven't you heard? The Duchess of Wei abuses her daughter-in-law. What a family's ways."
The wife of the heir apparent of the Duke of Anguo, supporting her mother-in-law, the wife of the Duke of Anguo, smiled and said:
“Our Duke Anguo’s mansion has no tradition of mistreating daughters-in-law. Today is the Empress Dowager’s joyous occasion. I humbly request that you grant my second son a marriage in a dignified manner.”
Empress Dowager Wang became interested and said with a smile, "Tell me, which girl has that troublemaker Ziyu taken a fancy to?"
The Duchess of Anguo, with her gray hair and similar age to the Empress Dowager, enjoyed a high reputation. She answered on behalf of her daughter-in-law with a hearty smile:
"She's far away, yet right here in front of you—it's Su, sitting right next to you."
These words caused the entire room to freeze.
Duke Anguo's influence in the army was deeply entrenched and extremely important; he was not someone that ordinary imperial relatives dared to challenge.
Lady Anguo's words placed Su Wanwan under the protection of the Duke of Anguo.
Anyone who dares to continue speaking disrespectfully to her is going against the Duke of Anguo's mansion.
Empress Dowager Zhang and Xia Xueyi both felt a bit sour.
Su Wanwan is so lucky.
The imperial court had just forced widows to remarry, and she actually caught the eye of the Duke of Anguo's family.
The Zhang family once wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Duke of Anguo's family, but were rejected.
Needless to say, the Xia family was the only option for Xia Xueyi's younger sister, Xia Xueting, to arrange a marriage with Gu Ziyu, but the Gu family completely ignored her.
In the end, they could only arrange a marriage with the Wei State Duke's family, which had no real power.
Xia Xueyi had met Gu Ziyu, who was an arrogant and spoiled young master who actually took a fancy to a widow.
She had assumed that Su Wanwan, having been kicked out of the Duke of Wei's mansion, would only be able to marry a fool or a destitute man.
I never expected Su Wanwan could find someone even better.
Her gaze involuntarily fell on Su Wanwan's clothes and jewelry.
Su Wanwan's clothes looked understated and dignified, befitting her status as a widow, but they were made of kesi (silk tapestry).
It was clearly made by the Imperial Household Department; it was luxurious enough and made her skin look as flawless and translucent as white jade.
She wore few ornaments, but the lustrous pearl earrings and the pearl hairpin in her hair complemented each other perfectly, like the finishing touch on a painting, exuding a subtle air of nobility, and becoming more and more stunning the more you looked at her.
She was consumed by jealousy: "The Duchess of Anguo, the Anguo family has always been noble, and has been a trusted minister of several emperors."
"I am quite surprised that you have taken a liking to the Su family. The Su family is a widow who brings bad luck to her husbands and is not worthy of your family's status."
Su Wanwan: "..."
Xia Xueyi's words were really lacking in sophistication.
Although he stepped on Su Wanwan's foot, he was also criticizing An Guo for his poor judgment in giving his wife a good name.
No wonder she couldn't establish any authority among the wives of officials.
The Duchess of Anguo, with her excellent self-control, did not take it to heart, but simply smiled faintly:
"Wanwan is a good girl. If anyone is not good enough for her, it is our Ziyu who is not good enough for her."
Empress Dowager Zhang realized the inappropriateness in Xia Xueyi's words and gave Xia Xueyi a cold look.
Xia Xueyi suddenly felt both bitter and wronged.
Because some people said that Xia Xueyi was not worthy of the position of Empress, Empress Dowager Zhang never refuted them.
As a result, she lived a very cautious life in the palace, always having to be mindful of Empress Dowager Zhang's wishes, and her life was very stifling.
She often displays a sense of superiority in front of people of lower status than herself, mainly in an attempt to regain some self-confidence.
The Grand Princess of Yixing continued:
"Wanwan has been sensible since she was a child. When our mother was alive, she relied on her the most. Which of our families hasn't received her help?"
The "mother" she was referring to was the late Empress Dowager Zhou.
Princess Yixing's husband, Ma Cheng, was a womanizer and a troublemaker.
He was once punished by Emperor Xianzong with a beating and stripped of his official hat for having an affair with a maid. He was also imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice for skipping the morning court session without permission.
Several times, when sordid matters reached Zhou Shi's attention, Su Wanwan secretly sent someone to ask the Grand Princess of Yixing for her opinion and persuaded Zhou Shi to suppress the matter, thus saving face for the princess.
Ma Cheng got bored after a few of his antics and gradually calmed down. As the couple got older, their relationship actually improved.
Princess Yixing's daughter married Wang's nephew, and they could exchange a few words at Renshou Palace.
Lady Anguo wholeheartedly agreed:
"Who says otherwise? When it comes to being sensible and understanding, Wanwan is truly one of a kind."
Her tone was meaningful, but she didn't elaborate.
Empress Dowager Zhang's expression was rather unpleasant.
In her fury that time, she almost had Gu Ziyu beaten to death. The Gu family didn't say much afterward and even sincerely requested that he be punished.
The matter seemed to have been easily resolved.
Even now, this powerful family, which holds military power, has always maintained a distant relationship with her, the Empress Dowager, showing only superficial respect.
On the contrary, they showed great favor to Su Wanwan, the widow.
With the Grand Princess of Yixing and the Lady of Anguo taking the lead, the tone of the conversation quickly changed.
He kept praising Su Wanwan.
Some people are just agreeing, but most are genuinely sincere.
Either their own child had received a favor from Su Wanwan herself, or from the Su family.
Xia Xueyi felt terrible listening to the endless praise from the crowd.
Su Wanwan didn't move at all; she just sat there quietly, which earned her a lot of praise.
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