Chen Wenwei was stunned for a moment and subconsciously defended himself, "I've grown up with Yuning since childhood. We're like siblings..."
"That's not real siblings," Zidu said firmly.
Shen Yuning looked up at the side profile of the man in front of her. The familiar feeling came over her again. Every time she saw Zidu before, he always gave people an elegant and gentle impression. But today, seeing him so cold and stern, for a moment, she seemed to see Xuanzhi again.
She subconsciously reached out her hand. "You..."
Zidu reacted quickly and dodged her outstretched hand. However, his tone had softened. He asked softly, "What does the Lady of the Township mean by this?"
Shen Yuning took a deep breath. It turned out that Zidu was just a very particular person. Things like boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven, and even if they were like siblings, they were not real siblings. Xuanzhi was not such a particular person. He even learned massage techniques on purpose to massage her.
She bowed again. "Sorry. I don't know why, but every time I see you, sir, I always seem to see my late younger brother."
Zidu pursed his lips and didn't say a word. He turned around and walked behind Zhu Bin.
Zhu Bin scratched the back of his head and followed with a word, "Um... Lady of the Township, please accept my condolences."
Shen Yuning nodded with a smile. She didn't ask Chen Wenwei or Xue Yusong to see her off. She got into the carriage and left by herself.
After she left, Chen Wenpo walked over. He sized up his younger brother from head to toe and asked, "You've refused so many marriage proposals arranged by mother. Is it all for her? If so, I'll talk to our parents later. Yuning is a good girl. Our parents like her."
Hearing this, Xue Yusong was also quite happy. The daughters of the Xue family, whether they were biological or not, all had bad luck in marriage. The grandmother always worried about Yuning, afraid that she would not live well. If she knew that Yuning would marry into the Chen family, a family they knew well, she would surely be very happy.
However, Chen Wenwei shook his head helplessly. "Brother, please don't matchmake blindly. Sister Yuning... doesn't have that kind of intention."
Chen Wenpo disagreed. "It's up to the parents' order and the matchmaker's word. Later, I'll ask mother to find someone to ask Yuning's elder brother."
Only then did Chen Wenwei answer honestly, "I once... confessed my love to her actively, but she rejected me."
Chen Wenpo wondered, "Yuning rejected you? Her status is different from before. Even though she was granted the title of Lady of the Township, it's just an empty title. With the family background of the Chen family and your talent, if she rejected you, where could she find a more suitable young man?"
Chen Wenwei sighed. "Second brother, you're wrong. How could Yuning be the kind of person who only cares about family background? Don't mention this again in the future. We mustn't tarnish Yuning's reputation."
Chen Wenpo didn't try to persuade him anymore. Forced love won't be sweet. He actually thought that Yuning's stubborn character was just like the little girl he used to know.
Maybe because the weather was so nice, Zidu's tense lips relaxed. He comforted Chen Wenwei, "Lord Chen is a pillar of the court. Moreover, a real man needn't worry about not having a wife. I believe Lord Chen will meet a more suitable person."
After thanking Zidu, Chen Wenwei said, "However, it's not easy to change one's feelings for the person one loves. Yuning isn't married yet. I think as long as I'm more considerate, one day she will see my good points and accept my feelings."
Zidu's just-relaxed lips tensed up again. He said coldly, "Lord Chen is not young anymore. You shouldn't waste your good years."
Chen Wenwei smiled and didn't want to say more. "My elder brother can take care of the matter of carrying on the family line. I don't need to worry about it. By the way, are you two going to enter the palace?"
Only then did Zhu Bin have a sense of presence. He nodded and replied, "We're going to visit the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace."
The Zhu family was the maternal family of the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was in poor health. If the Zhu family stayed in the capital, they would visit the Crown Prince in the palace from time to time.
After the two entered the palace, Chen Wenwei asked with a puzzled look on his face, "Second brother, Brother Xue, which family does that Mr. Zidu belong to? Why haven't I seen him before?"
Chen Wenpo whispered an explanation, "He's the nephew recognized by the Heir of the Zhu family when they were in the army. As for which family he really belongs to, no one knows. Now his household register only records his name, and he vaguely uses the surname Zhu..."
He looked around and whispered to his friend and younger brother again, "I heard that he's the illegitimate son of the Heir of the Zhu family. Alas, the Heir of the Zhu family is really pitiful. His two biological sons are gone. It's not easy for him to find this illegitimate son, but the battlefield is ruthless. His face was disfigured. Even if he tries his best, he has no hope in the officialdom."
Although he said so, he was also glad that the Zhu family was a military family. That Mr. Zidu could pursue a military career. He didn't need to have a good-looking face.
Hearing this, Xue Yusong also sighed, "Judging from his exposed chin, he seems to be a good-looking person. He may not be much worse than Wenpo back then."
When he was young, Chen Wenpo was the most famous young man in the capital. He was as handsome as a celestial being. Xue Yusong compared Zidu with him. Naturally, he thought that Zidu was a top-notch young man in terms of both figure and temperament.
Hearing his friend's praise, Chen Wenpo's peach blossom eyes showed a smile. "Even though Mr. Zidu has a disfigured face, he's still an outstanding person. I've heard that there are countless people proposing marriage to Zhu Bin and Mr. Zidu in the Zhu family."
Chen Wenwei quickly asked, "Countless? Are there really families that don't mind his disfigured face?"
Chen Wenpo nodded. "I've heard that this battle was a narrow victory, thanks to this Mr. Zidu. If it weren't for his disfigured face, which might scare the Emperor, the Zhu family should have asked for a high-ranking general position for him. However, the marriage proposals for him are not from high-ranking families..."
Not from high-ranking families meant that low-ranking families wanted to climb up to the high branch of the Duke Zhu's Mansion.
Chen Wenwei lowered his head and didn't ask anymore. Since the birth of the Emperor's eldest grandson nine years ago, who was very much loved by the Emperor, the situation in the court had changed a little. Originally, the Zhu family was a general's mansion. The Zhu family only did things to defend the country. They never participated in the disputes in the court. Therefore, most of the people who wanted to marry into the Zhu family were from the clean and honest faction.
Now the status of the Zhu family was so high that the court officials had good plans. If they could marry into the Zhu family, they would have all kinds of connections with the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace and the Emperor's eldest grandson. If they couldn't marry Zhu Bin, it would be good to marry that mysterious Mr. Zidu.
Forget it. Their Chen family was just a noble family with military merits. They didn't have any other ambitions. There was only a concubine sister left in the family, but she was also spoiled and grown up. There was no need to do other things for the sake of their future.
A few days later, the Ministry of Revenue announced that they were going to compile a new code of laws to speak up for women. Women would be allowed to set up their own households after they reached the age of adulthood, and they would also be allowed to divorce their husbands without the consent of their natal families.
When such news came out, it naturally caused discussions from all sides. Some people thought that it was natural for women to focus on their families and regard their husbands as their heaven. Once the laws were changed for women, wouldn't it be a mess?
Others thought this was a good idea. Girls were doted on in their own families. Why should they be bullied and oppressed after they got married?
Most people didn't show any reaction, as if these policies from above had nothing to do with them.
The matter of compiling the code of laws hadn't been settled yet, but the Ministry of Punishment had first set a law that it was not allowed to deliberately abandon babies. This matter was supervised by the Ministry of Revenue and was conveyed layer by layer. All state and prefectural governments, down to the village heads and neighborhood heads, must strictly enforce it. There should be no more cases of abandoning babies or killing babies after illegal births.
Although this measure was for all babies, how could the common people not know? Nine out of ten cases of harming or abandoning babies in the folk were about baby girls. And baby boys were only abandoned because they were sick.
It happened to be the season when the lotus flowers were in full bloom at the end of June and the beginning of July. Shen Yuning received an invitation from Princess Jiayang, inviting her to the villa to enjoy the lotus flowers.
This Princess Jiayang was the Emperor's elder cousin. When she was young, she had a bad marriage. The man she married was good-looking, but he was a black-hearted person. He secretly gave the princess a sterilization drug, so that she couldn't have children. Then he openly took the woman he kept outside into the mansion. Princess Jiayang raised the children of her enemy for several years before she knew the truth.
When such a thing happened to the daughter of the royal family, the previous Emperor was very angry and confiscated the whole family property of the princess's husband. However, after this, Princess Jiayang was heartbroken and never remarried. She secretly kept a few lovers. Although it was said to be a secret, any smart family knew about it.
Shen Yuning remembered that when she was a child, when she heard about the story of Princess Jiayang, those noble ladies always took her as a negative example. They said that although Princess Jiayang had a noble status, she was not a decent person. Even if she was angry, since she couldn't have children anyway, she should have recognized the children and disposed of the children's mother. Why did she make such a big deal out of it and make the whole family of her husband die unjustly? They also said that she was not decent and actually learned from the princesses of the previous dynasty to keep lovers. It was really disgraceful.
At that time, Shen Yuning secretly whispered to Xue Yuxin that Princess Jiayang was really brave. As a girl, she should dare to love and hate. How could she just let others bully her?
Princess Jiayang's invitation was not only for Shen Yuning. Almost every family of ladies, young men, and girls in the capital received one. Now that she was older, she was no longer interested in love affairs. She only kept two considerate lovers in the mansion and sent the others away.
Like other older women, Princess Jiayang also liked to matchmake. From time to time, she would hold a banquet and let the eligible young men and girls meet each other through the water pavilion curtain. Then she would let the mothers of the children sit together to drink tea and watch plays to see if their personalities were compatible.
Now Princess Jiayang sent an invitation to Shen Yuning. Firstly, Shen Yuning was a Lady of the Township personally granted by the Emperor. Secondly, she had always liked Yuning, this smart girl. And since Shen Yuning had spoken up for women and she herself had been a victim, she fully supported Shen Yuning's actions. She thought that Shen Yuning had done something that she didn't even dare to do and was a person worthy of making friends with.
On the day of enjoying the lotus flowers, Shen Yuning arrived at the princess's villa early. The carriages of various mansions were already parked at the door. Shen Yuning's carriage was just an ordinary one and was very inconspicuous. It was parked at the last hitching post. She had to walk a long way after getting off the carriage.
She wasn't in a hurry and walked forward slowly. The Xue family also had such a villa before. At that time, if she could come to the villa with her grandmother and aunt, she would be extremely happy. She thought that such a rural place was much more relaxing than the big capital.
But now when she came here again, she didn't have that kind of feeling at all. She had stayed in the countryside for more than five years. She no longer thought there was anything special about the countryside.
Just as she walked to the gate of the villa, she saw two women at the door turn around and look at her.
One of them showed a sneering smile. "Oh, isn't this the second girl of the Xue family?"
The other one laughed even louder and pushed her friend. "You're wrong. The second girl of the Xue family now is Xue Yujiao. It's no longer her."