The most explosive news in the capital was that Shen Xiangjun, the adopted daughter of the Xue family, had been personally chosen by the emperor to be the Regent's consort.
It was well - known that given the emperor's current health, it was still uncertain whether the eldest prince would inherit the throne in the future. Right now, the Regent wielded enormous power. Many noble families were desperately trying to marry their precious and legitimate daughters into the Regent's mansion.
Yet, it was this adopted daughter of the Xue family who had snatched this great opportunity, which really made people hard to accept.
Although Shen Xiangjun was the adopted daughter of the Xue family, she had once fallen into the merchant class and lived as a merchant's daughter for several years. No matter how you looked at it, her status seemed far from sufficient.
In contrast to the gossips outside, the Xue family remained calm.
Lady Shao was originally worried, but after hearing that the Regent was actually the younger brother that Shen Yuning had raised in the countryside, her worry faded away.
Lady Sun was still lecturing Shen Yuning. "This is the royal family, not an ordinary household. Don't be so careless, do you understand? You can be more casual at your natal home on weekdays, but once you enter the mansion, it's different. Don't always think about laws and regulations. Those are the concerns of your fathers and brothers. Your main task is to give birth to children for the Regent as soon as possible."
Before Shen Yuning could say a word, Xue Yusong rushed in happily at the door. Seeing Shen Yuning lounging lazily on the chair, he frowned unhappily. His serious expression was exactly the same as that of his father, Marquis Xue, when he was looking for someone with a straight face.
"Look at your appearance! You're so unruly."
Lady Sun was afraid that her husband would keep nagging, so she quickly asked, "Husband, do you have something to tell us? I see you're so happy. Is there some good news?"
Xue Yusong relaxed his brows and nodded, smiling at Shen Yuning. "The emperor ordered this morning that women can take the imperial examinations and enter officialdom just like men. And the selection of the first batch of female officials will be in two months. Father has already signed you up."
Lady Shao's mouth gaped open and she stammered for a long time before asking, "But, but, isn't Yuning going to get married? Why is she going to be a female official? How can she get married if she becomes a female official?"
Xue Yusong retorted, "Why can't a female official get married? I met Zhu Bin on the way. He was extremely happy and said he would also sign Yuxin up."
Lady Shao's mouth opened even wider. "What? What do you mean 'also sign Yuxin up'? Yuxin is not young anymore. Instead of thinking about getting married and having children at home, why is she going to be an official? Oh, all of you are going to make me mad!"
Xue Yusong quickly helped his mother sit down and patiently explained, "Mother, the times have changed. In the civilian world, women can hold up half the sky. You haven't been to the countryside to see. Now women are not only working in embroidery workshops. They're working in all kinds of industries. There are women in agriculture, industry, and commerce. Why can't there be women in officialdom? The emperor and the Regent strongly support women's careers. As his subjects, how can we be conservative?"
Lady Shao reluctantly agreed, but still thought that Yuxin and Yuning should get married and have children first, and then consider being officials.
Xue Yusong tried his best to persuade her, citing classics and wishing he could take out the new laws to enlighten his mother.
Shen Yuning sat there in a daze. That day, Xuanzhi said that if she wanted to be an official, he would make it happen. She didn't expect it to be implemented so soon.
Yes, Xuanzhi never just said things casually.
A sweet feeling welled up in her heart.
A few days later, the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department came, along with the chief maid beside the queen. They brought all kinds of rewards, came to take Shen Yuning's birth details, and presented the betrothal gift list.
Lady Shao watched this whole process and thought that usually, the exchange of birth details and the matching of the horoscopes should come first, and then the betrothal gifts would be sent. Did the Regent already assume that the two were well - matched?
In fact, the matching of horoscopes was just a formality. Whether it was the monks in the temple or the fortune - tellers in the countryside, they would always say nice things when matching horoscopes. Even if there were one or two minor mismatches, they could always find an excuse to say they were compatible.
The horoscopes of the royal family were calculated by the imperial astrologers. Presumably, it was not much different from other places.
The eunuch was very polite. After chatting with Marquis Xue for a while, he said, "The emperor is in poor health. The Regent lives in the Yuming Hall beside the Eastern Palace so that he can handle affairs at any time. In the future, the princess doesn't need to live outside the palace. She can just live in the Yuming Hall with the Regent."
Marquis Xue was stunned. Before, the Regent was unmarried, and since there was only the queen beside the emperor, it was appropriate for the Regent to live in the palace. But now that the Regent was going to marry a main consort, how could he still live in the palace?
Although he thought so in his heart, he didn't say it out. He had no right to comment on the affairs in the palace.
The eunuch smiled cheerfully again. "The emperor values Lady Shen very much. He originally wanted to confer a title on Lady Shen, but the Regent thought that Lady Shen was very capable and would surely earn her own merits as a female official in the future. She didn't need the empty title bestowed by the emperor. The Regent lived with Lady Shen for three years. He knows her personality best and is very considerate."
Marquis Xue, as an official in the court, had met the Regent many times. He had seen the cold - faced young man who was very mature in handling affairs at a young age. He never thought that the Regent could be so considerate, knowing that Yuning didn't like to rely on others and had planned everything for her.
Lady Shao originally thought that the Regent's refusal of the emperor's reward for Yuning meant that he was not very satisfied with Yuning. But after hearing the second half of the eunuch's words, saying that the Regent knew Yuning's personality well, she felt relieved.
After seeing off the eunuch and the maid, not long after, Xue Yuxin rushed in cheerfully and threw herself into Lady Shao's arms.
Lady Shao tapped her on the forehead. "You're so old, yet you're still as fond of acting coquettishly as your niece?"
Xue Yuxin muttered, "Mother doesn't like me anymore. Humph, now you probably only think about Yuning everywhere."
Lady Shao couldn't help but smile helplessly. Xue Yuxin had always been like this since she was a child. She always said that others favored Yuning. After all these years, she still hadn't changed her personality. But it was good that she said it directly. At least she wasn't the kind of person who secretly harbored jealousy.
Xue Yuxin then turned around and pinched Shen Yuning's face. "Oh, now my little sister is going to be the Regent's consort. Humph, it will surely shock those who used to look down on you. Later, people will say that you've turned into a phoenix from a sparrow."
Shen Yuning covered her face and wouldn't let her pinch. She mumbled, "Sister, my dear sister, if you keep pinching my face like this, you'll surely damage it. Don't you feel sorry for me?"
Xue Yuxin had gotten married and spent all day with Zhu Bin, who had grown up in the military camp. She had become much bolder than before and dared to say many things casually. She immediately said, "Tsk tsk, I won't feel sorry for you. Anyway, you're getting married soon. Let the Regent feel sorry for you."
As soon as these words came out, Shen Yuning's face turned red all the way to her neck.
Lady Shao was also dissatisfied. She glared at her daughter fiercely and pulled Shen Yuning to her side. "Don't listen to your sister's nonsense."
After joking, Xue Yuxin went to look at the betrothal gift list sent from the palace. The more she looked, the more surprised she was. "My goodness! What is the Regent doing? Is he going to empty the entire palace and give everything to Yuning?"
Lady Shao had only received the thick betrothal gift list before and hadn't had time to look at it. Hearing what her daughter said, she picked it up and looked carefully. There were five thick lists, filled with details. Just as her daughter said, it seemed that the Regent was going to move all the things in the palace to marry Yuning.
Xue Yuxin then pounced in front of Shen Yuning and pinched her face again. "You little minx, you're really capable. Tell sister quickly. What kind of magic did you use to make that noble young man miss you so much and be so generous?"
Shen Yuning blushed. That day, Xuanzhi said that as long as she wanted something, no matter how much it was, he would give it to her. Now she hadn't even said a word, and he...
It was simply absurd. Wasn't he afraid of the emperor's anger?
Seeing her sister's blushing face, Xue Yuxin thought that even she couldn't resist her charm. No wonder the Regent liked her so much.
The wedding was set for September. It wasn't very urgent. When Weirui came, she secretly covered her mouth and laughed. "I heard from the eldest prince that originally Uncle Xuanzhi wanted to set the wedding for May because there was a very auspicious day in May. But then he was severely scolded by the queen, saying that he couldn't wait to propose today and marry tomorrow. Finally, it was the emperor who forced him to change it to September."
Shen Yuning turned her head away, blushing and silent.
Weirui added, "I've always known that although Uncle Xuanzhi looks calm on the surface, he's actually an impatient person. Whenever you liked something before, as long as he got some money, no matter how late or tired he was, he would go out to buy it for you."
Shen Yuning spat at her. "Don't talk nonsense."
Weirui quickly said, "I'm not talking nonsense. It's true. Once you didn't feel well. It seemed that Uncle Er forced you to eat too much that day, and you had indigestion. You also had account books to look at at night and didn't have time to digest. It was so late. Uncle Xuanzhi was originally teaching me to read. When he heard that you didn't feel well, he immediately took me out to buy hawthorn cakes for you. The hawthorn cake shop was already closed that day, but Uncle Xuanzhi still dragged me a long way to the shopkeeper's house, woke him up, and asked him to open the shop and sell hawthorn cakes to us!"
Shen Yuning covered her ears and didn't want to listen. A sweet feeling welled up in her heart. So, even back then, so early, he had treated her so well.
When Weirui was about to continue, Shen Yuning covered her mouth. "Okay, you're so wordy. Why did you used to call him brother, but now you call him uncle?"
She originally thought that Weirui might say something like the situation was different now and that she should call Xuanzhi uncle from now on. But unexpectedly, Weirui just lowered her head and didn't say a word.
Shen Yuning turned her head and saw the twelve - year - old girl with a blush on her cheeks, as if in a daze.
Maybe the girl thought it was inappropriate to continue joking.
Shen Yuning thought to herself.
The spring scenery was infinitely beautiful. Her heart was filled with joy.