The Shao family was beaming. After seeing off her old friend, she was eager to go to Shen Yuning's room, thinking only of finalizing this matter as soon as possible.
The Sun family quickly grabbed her mother - in - law. "Mother, think about it. Why did the Fourth Young Master Chen insist that his mother come to ask questions and made it clear that it had to be agreed by Shen Yuning?"
The Shao family was taken aback for a moment.
The Sun family quickly added, "Sister Yuning and the Fourth Young Master Chen have known each other for so long. They also had many interactions in Yun County. They weren't kids then, and both of them were sensible. I reckon that what Lady Chen meant today was that the Fourth Young Master Chen has taken a fancy to our Yuning, but Yuning may not feel the same way about him."
Only then did the Shao family come to her senses. After thinking it over, she frowned worriedly. "You're right. This child... this child. Oh, what's wrong with this child? I've watched the Fourth Young Master Chen grow up. Back then, I even joked with Lady Chen that if the Fourth Young Master had secretly crawled out of my belly, I'd decide on this marriage for Yuning. No, Yuning can't be allowed to act willfully. If she misses such a good marriage, I won't be able to find a better one for her."
The Sun family sighed helplessly. "Mother, you know Yuning's temper. If she's not willing, no matter what we do, as long as she's not willing, unless we force her, she won't marry into their family."
The Shao family opened her mouth, wanting to say that parents should decide on marriage. However, this was a matter of Yuning's whole life, and she didn't want to force the child.
The mother - in - law and daughter - in - law went to Shen Yuning's courtyard and patiently explained the current situation to her. They listed all the suitable young men in the capital. They talked until their mouths were dry and had to drink several cups of tea before they felt a bit better.
Only then did the Shao family state her purpose. She praised Chen Wenwei's good qualities and said, "You and he know each other well. You're very familiar with his character. If you miss this opportunity, there won't be another one. He values you so much that he specifically told his stepmother to ask for your opinion before coming to propose formally. From Lady Chen's attitude, she wants to finalize his marriage right away. If you don't agree, she'll find a suitable family for him. You should think it over carefully."
Shen Yuning sat woodenly in front of the table. Chen Wenwei. After all the talk, it was still him?
She knew his feelings, so she always tried to avoid him. Maybe it was because he wasn't the one in her heart.
But what exactly was love? She thought she didn't like Chen Wenwei, but then who did she like? Or was it really as she said, that she just hadn't met the right person yet and only wanted to travel around and find ways to change the Great Zhou?
Lady Chen wasn't in a hurry to get an immediate answer, so the Shao family didn't force Shen Yuning. She just told her to think it over.
The most important thing now was Xue Yuxin's grand wedding.
When Shen Yuning was with Xue Yuxin, she always seemed to be in a daze.
Xue Yuxin knew what was on her mind. She reached out and pinched her face. "In my opinion, the Fourth Young Master Chen is a good match. Sooner or later, you'll have to get married. Marrying him isn't a bad choice."
Shen Yuning hesitated and asked, "Elder Sister, if you weren't married yet and there was such a suitable young man, would you marry him?"
Xue Yuxin thought seriously for a while. A few years ago, after her reputation was ruined, the Tang family broke off the engagement, and the Zhu family wasn't in the capital. Her parents were just like this, introducing all kinds of young men to her, hoping to arrange another marriage for her as soon as possible.
Among them, there were probably some young men who were as suitable as Chen Wenwei was to Yuning, but she didn't like them.
At that time, she only had Zhu Bin in her heart. He was like a god who had saved her when she was in despair. How could she listen to others' advice?
Xue Yuxin came back to her senses and looked at Shen Yuning. "I've known for a long time that I like Zhu Bin, so I rejected other marriage proposals. What about you? Do you have a young man you like in your heart?"
...
On the wedding day, as a younger sister, Shen Yuning naturally stayed with her elder sister and would accompany her elder brother to send her sister off on her wedding.
Zhu Bin was already extremely handsome. Today, with his special dressing, the young girls who came to offer gifts were completely captivated. They quietly sighed that Xue Yuxin was really lucky. Such a young man with a good family background, appearance, and character had chosen this old girl with a ruined reputation.
However, Zhu Bin blushed and couldn't answer any of the antithetical couplets set by his elder brother - in - law Xue Yusong. When asked about his learning, he stammered and couldn't answer. Lord Chen from the Censorate saw that the nephews only knew how to ask scholarly questions to make things difficult for this honest military man from the Zhu family. How could this be?
So Lord Chen, regardless of his status as an elder, stepped forward and asked two questions about military strategies.
But Zhu Bin blushed and remained silent. For a moment, the military strategies that he could recite fluently couldn't be answered at all.
Lord Chen was speechless. He thought to himself that this child must be too happy to be normal. Look, he couldn't answer any of the questions and just kept smiling foolishly. Wasn't he crazy with joy?
In the end, Xue Yusong, as the elder brother, was afraid that the man his sister had chosen would be stopped at this level. He quickly pushed his friend Chen Wenpo and told him to go to Zhu Bin's side and help answer a few questions. Only then was the groom able to save a bit of his face.
Xue Yuxin didn't know what was going on outside. She just sat on the bed, her hands nervously clasped together.
Xue Yuxin's former close friends were all married and had children, so they couldn't come as unmarried girls to offer gifts. The ones around Xue Yuxin were all young kids who regarded Xue Yuxin as an elder sister but weren't very close to her.
Looking around, the most understanding one was still Shen Yuning, who had grown up with her.
Shen Yuning knew that Xue Yuxin was shy, so at this moment, she didn't make fun of her. She just quietly accompanied her in the room, waiting for the news from the wedding maid.
Although the two branches of the Xue family had fallen out, on this happy day, when the Second Branch of the Xue family came, the Shao family couldn't very well drive them away. She just told the side - branches of the Xue family and the relatives and friends of the Shao family to keep an eye on them and make sure that the Second Branch's family didn't cause any trouble.
Fortunately, Xue Yuxuan liked to have fun and was cold - hearted. After suffering from poverty and being looked down upon for half a year, although he still had some dissatisfaction with the First Branch, he finally knew how to pretend to be obedient. He even told his wife and daughter to please the First Branch's family and try to mend the broken relationship.
Since the last time she went to the Rural Princess Mansion to scold Shen Yuning but instead caused Shen Yuning to be adopted by Marquis Xue, Lady Xiao was completely disheartened and had a serious illness. When she woke up, she was completely listless. Not only could she not help her daughter cause trouble, but she couldn't even manage the affairs of the mansion. All the household management was handed over to Concubine Bai.
As for the younger sister Xue Yuhan, as soon as she entered the mansion, she went to serve the old lady. Even the gift she offered was a handkerchief embroidered by herself, which was sent through a maid with Shen Yuning's help.
There were rules for a girl's gift. It varied according to the relationship with the bride and the family's status. A handkerchief like this was usually given by someone with a very distant relationship just to应付 the situation.
However, when Shen Yuning saw the mandarin ducks embroidered with gold and silver threads on the handkerchief, she thought that Xue Yuhan must have tried her best to get such good silk and thread.
When she had a chance to visit her grandmother, she saw that Xue Yuhan was wearing a hollow gold hairpin and an ordinary silver pendant. She then understood that the Second Branch of the Xue family had really fallen.
However, even though the Second Branch was in decline, Xue Yujiao was still wearing a head full of pearls and jewels, dressed very华丽. She was wearing a red dress, with her chest pushed up high and her waist extremely slender. Even though her appearance was not as good as Xue Yuxin's, at first glance, she was still very eye - catching.
However, when the guests saw her, they were slightly stunned. After they recognized who she was, they just curled their lips and didn't look at her anymore.
Some gossips even went to Xue Yuxin to complain, saying that her second younger sister was trying to steal the limelight.
Xue Yuxin wasn't angry. She lowered her head and smiled softly under the red veil. "My second younger sister is the Rural Princess Shen. Even if she steals my limelight, it's probably because she's too beautiful and looks good in any makeup."
Shen Yuning rolled her eyes at her in annoyance, only to realize that since she was wearing a red veil, no matter how wide she opened her eyes, Xue Yuxin couldn't see her.
When the other noble girls heard the bride's good - natured joke, they naturally understood that the legitimate daughter of the Second Branch of the Xue family wouldn't cause any trouble for Xue Yuxin.
It was just an episode. With the help of the side - branches of the Xue family and the Shao family, Xue Yujiao couldn't even enter Xue Yuxin's courtyard, let alone cause trouble in front of her.
Shen Yuning followed the bride's sedan chair to the Zhu family to attend the wedding ceremony.
As soon as she arrived at the Zhu family, she saw Weirui standing at the door, waiting for her.
After Old Man Zhang passed away, Weirui followed Princess Jiayang to the suburban villa to spend the winter. After they came back, the aunt and niece hadn't seen each other. Now they finally met again thanks to Xue Yuxin's grand wedding.
Under the upbringing of Princess Jiayang, Weirui looked more dignified and mature. She used to be just a petite and charming girl, but now she looked like a proper young lady from a noble family.
She stepped forward and took her aunt's hand, whispering, "The Regent is here today."
Shen Yuning was stunned, and the smile on her face faded unconsciously.
It wasn't for any other reason, but in the court, the voices urging the Regent to marry a main and side concubine were getting louder and louder. After all, the late emperor only left the current emperor and the Regent as the two bloodlines of the royal family. The emperor only had the eldest prince as his son. Although the emperor's health was barely okay, he had been ill for so many years and probably wouldn't fully recover. It would be difficult for him to have more children in the future, but the royal family couldn't rely on just the eldest prince.
These gossips reached Shen Yuning's ears, and she always felt a bit unhappy.
After thinking it over and over again, she thought it was because she looked at the noble girls in the capital and felt that none of them seemed worthy of Xuanzhi.
However, there was always a feeling of uneasiness in her heart, and she didn't even know what was going on.