Su Huaiyuan had high hopes, but when he eagerly set out for Mingzhu Garden the next morning, he saw Su Huaisheng greeting Qin Wanrong in the garden. Only then did he remember that it was Su Huaisheng's turn to teach Su Yuanyuan these days.
Just thinking about Qin Wanrong instructing Su Huaisheng...
That simply wouldn't do!
Su Huaiyuan was extremely anxious. Without caring that Su Huaisheng and Qin Wanrong were in the middle of a conversation, he stepped forward and grabbed Su Huaisheng's hand, dragging him out.
Caught off guard and being dragged away, Su Huaisheng was first startled for a moment, then said warily, "Second brother, why are you here? Have you forgotten that it's my turn to teach Yuanbao today?"
Su Huaiyuan had indeed forgotten, but he wasn't going to admit it. Putting his arm around Su Huaisheng's shoulder, Su Huaiyuan said, "Third brother, I'd like to make a deal with you. Give this chance to me, and you can name your price!"
Su Huaisheng was as shrewd as anything. He crossed his arms and sized up his second brother from head to toe. "Second brother, do you look down on my skills and think I can't teach Yuanbao?"
Su Huaiyuan said anxiously, "When did I ever say I looked down on you? I just have a lot of questions about knife techniques to ask Miss Qin. So, will you do it? Give me a definite answer!"
Su Huaisheng was just bluffing, and Su Huaiyuan immediately revealed his reason. Suppressing his laughter, Su Huaisheng drawled, "Oh, so it's not for Yuanbao but for Miss Qin. I remember someone saying before that he would never take a second look at those delicate girls in Shengjing."
Su Huaiyuan was at a loss for words and defended himself, "Miss Qin is different from others. Don't be fooled by her being a weak woman; she has great wisdom. She can see that I..."
"Alright, alright. I'm not interested in your business. It's not impossible for me to give up this chance."
Su Huaisheng raised his finger. "As long as second brother clears the weeds in my yard for a year, I'll give this chance to you."
It was just clearing weeds. That was easy. Su Huaiyuan slapped his chest. "Third brother, don't worry. It's on me!"
After saying that, he rushed into Mingzhu Garden with his knife in hand.
Although Su Huaisheng gave the chance to Su Huaiyuan, he didn't leave. Instead, he stood outside the courtyard gate, stroking his chin and watching with great interest. Su Yuanyuan skipped over with her hands behind her back. Seeing the back of her third brother, she stepped forward and slapped his shoulder hard.
"Third brother, why are you standing outside and not going in?"
Su Huaisheng pointed into the courtyard and said meaningfully, "Isn't there a martial arts show to watch?"
So, the brother and sister watched together outside the courtyard gate. After watching for a while, Su Huaisheng suddenly said, "Yuanbao, you've helped second brother so much. Don't forget about your third brother."
After saying that, he blinked pitifully at Su Yuanyuan.
Su Yuanyuan laughed. "Third brother, don't worry. I naturally won't forget you."
In the afternoon, Su Yuanyuan and Qin Wanrong were lying on the small boxwood couch under the window, reading. One was sitting by the table, sewing an embroidery. They were talking about the matter of the Prince of Jin selecting a consort.
Su Yuanyuan only learned about this from the maids in the mansion. Especially when she learned that the person in charge of selecting the consort for the Prince of Jin was Cang Xuan, she couldn't help but raise the book in her hand to cover her lips, lest Qin Wanrong see the corners of her mouth curving up.
Brother Yun Jian is in charge of selecting a consort for the Prince of Jin? It didn't sound like an accident at all. It seemed more like Brother Yun Jian did it on purpose.
Could it be that Brother Yun Jian also knew that the Prince of Jin had falsely claimed to have taken her body, so he planned to take revenge on the Prince of Jin for her?
"I didn't expect that the Emperor would entrust such an important task as selecting a consort for the Prince of Jin to the Prince of Cang. But then again, it's said that he knows everything under the sky, can talk to the gods, calculate the past and present, and predict disasters. It's really the most suitable for him to be in charge of selecting a consort for the Prince of Jin," Qin Wanrong said softly.
Su Yuanyuan nodded in agreement.
Just imagining that scene made her find it funny. At this moment, there must be many portraits of young ladies on Brother Yun Jian's table, right? But as she thought about it, she got a little angry.
He could see so many portraits of women at once. He really had good fortune with women!
"Fortunately, you haven't reached the coming - of - age yet, Yuanbao. You don't need to participate in the selection of the consort of the Prince of Jin. You can rest assured," Qin Wanrong said with a smile.
Su Yuanyuan came back to her senses and asked with a smile, "Sister Wanrong, do you think it's not good to marry the Prince of Jin and be his consort?"
Qin Wanrong smiled and said, "It's not easy to be a noblewoman in the royal family. Moreover, His Highness the Prince of Jin has an unpredictable temper and has a disability. Even though the second young lady of the Pingyang Marquis Mansion was so good to him, she could never warm his heart. It's probably not going to be easy to marry into his mansion."
Su Yuanyuan said meaningfully, "Even so, I'm afraid there are still many people vying to marry their daughters into the Prince of Jin's mansion. After all, the Queen has fallen out of favor, and Concubine Tong is in power. The Prince of Jin has a bright future."
She said, "Sister Wanrong, guess, will your stepmother encourage your father to submit your younger sister's birth details?"
Qin Wanrong's hand that was threading the needle paused for a moment and said indifferently, "Whether she does or not has nothing to do with me."
Su Yuanyuan leaned over. "How can it have nothing to do with you? If your younger sister climbs up to a high - ranking family, won't the marriage with the Lin family fall through? The marriage contract between the Lin family and the Qin family is still valid. Maybe, by then, when you've cured your illness, the Lin family will agree to change the bride to you."
Qin Wanrong frowned tightly, thinking that Su Yuanyuan's words made a lot of sense.
She didn't want to marry into the Lin family, but she definitely didn't want to marry into the Prince of Jin's mansion either. But this matter wasn't up to her.
Su Yuanyuan blinked and said, "If you have other ideas, sister, I can talk to my adoptive brother and ask him to keep an eye on it."
Qin Wanrong tightly grasped the embroidery in her hand and finally nodded.
"Okay."
"However, this isn't a permanent solution," Su Yuanyuan blinked and said. "Sister, you'd better think of a way as soon as possible to find yourself a suitable husband and settle the marriage. That's the most important thing."
Qin Wanrong looked at the knee - pad in her hand and nodded. "Okay, I know. Thank you, Yuanbao."
...
In a blink of an eye, it was the fifth day since Qin Wanrong's short stay in the Prince of Qing's mansion. During these five days, she had been staying in Mingzhu Garden and not coming out. Yu Zhu couldn't enter Mingzhu Garden either. Every day, except for delivering medicine to Qin Wanrong on time, Yu Zhu didn't even get to see Qin Wanrong.
Gradually, Yu Zhu got used to it and was even glad that she didn't have to serve this sickly girl.
Today, as usual, she went to the side gate of the Prince of Qing's mansion to pick up the medicine. It was still the nanny beside the Young Mistress Qin. As soon as Yu Zhu saw the person, she showed a smiling face, flattered the nanny a few times, and then reached out to take the food box.
The nanny pressed her hand down. Her cloudy eyes stared fixedly at Yu Zhu. "It's been three days. How is the young lady's health?"