Wan Yan was back. Instead of going to the Marquis Mansion to look for Shen Yuning, he just invited her to a teahouse for tea and talked about the current situation in the southwest.
"Actually, the war isn't that serious. The Wuman tribe has always been dependent on the Great Zhou. The battle was so fierce last year because they were just doing the Second Prince's bidding. Now that our Great Zhou is stable, General Liang has captured four of their cities. They're so scared that they don't even dare to say a word, let alone go on a campaign. The Wuman king immediately sent a letter of surrender."
He chuckled and then whispered, "I heard from someone around General Liang that the Wuman king personally hosted a banquet for General Liang. But when he saw General Liang, who was extremely tall and imposing, the king fainted on the spot. In the end, it was the Wuman national master who stepped in to barely receive General Liang without being too impolite."
Shen Yuning was only concerned about Xue Yuxi, so she casually asked, "I've heard people say before that General Liang is extremely tall, but I've never seen him in person. How tall is he exactly? General Zhu is a very tall and strong man. How does General Liang compare to him?"
Wan Yan clicked his tongue a few times. "General Zhu is just a bit taller and stronger than ordinary people. General Liang... is more than a head taller than me. When he puts on his armor, he's as thick as four or five of you. He can pick up a tree as thick as this one around the waist and pull it out by the roots without even using a saw or an ax."
Shen Yuning was shocked for a while. She was even more worried about her younger brother Xue Yuxi and quickly asked, "Is a person like this extremely fierce?"
Seeing the worry between her eyebrows, Wan Yan asked, "Is there someone you're concerned about?"
Shen Yuning nodded. "To be honest, the young master of the second branch of the Xue family is my younger brother. We've had a good relationship since childhood. I heard that at the end of last year, he secretly joined the army with General Liang. We haven't heard from him since then, and the family is very worried."
Wan Yan frowned, thought for a while, and then shook his head. "Maybe I didn't pay attention usually or inquire carefully. But don't worry. This battle wasn't very big, and the Great Zhou won a crushing victory with few casualties. Your younger brother should be fine."
Shen Yuning sighed. "That's true, but my younger brother isn't capable. He's not been in good health since childhood. He's not the type to be a soldier and wield a sword. I'm not afraid that something will happen to him on the battlefield. I'm afraid that General Liang is too strict and fierce, and my younger brother will suffer."
Wan Yan didn't want to say too much and just comforted her, "Every young person has their own fortune. Since he decided to join the army despite his family's dissuasion, he must have thought it over carefully. If not, after experiencing this hardship, he'll learn his lesson and realize that it's better to stay at home."
Shen Yuning thought that with the situation of the second branch of the Xue family, it might be better for Yuxi to join the army.
In the middle of summer, General Liang returned to the capital in triumph and was named a fourth - rank general. He was extremely prestigious for a while, and there were legends about this new and brave general all over the capital.
Shen Yuning was sitting in the yard playing with Xue Xi while listening to Sun Shi chatting with her. "I heard that before General Liang became a bandit, he was just an ordinary country boy. The natural disasters in those years forced him to a dead end."
Sun Shi calculated and then said, "It's been almost ten to twenty years now. General Liang is already in his forties and still hasn't married."
Shen Yuning turned to look at her and smiled. "Do you want to be a matchmaker for him?"
Sun Shi's eyes lit up. "I have a cousin from my mother's family. She has a gentle personality. She was unmarried before, but her fiancé died when he went on a long journey, and she got the reputation of being unlucky for her husband. Now she's twenty - five and still unmarried. I'm thinking that if they're a good match, it would be a good marriage."
Shen Yuning sighed. "That's why it's so hard to be a woman. I've never heard of a man being so unlucky as to kill his fiancée, but I often hear that a woman is unlucky. Sometimes I think that even if it's true, if a man's life is so fragile, why should he blame others?"
Sun Shi didn't want to argue with her about this and just continued, "When I see your elder sister later, I'll talk to her and ask your brother - in - law to pass the message and ask."
Shen Yuning thought for a while. "But we still have to ask your cousin if she's willing. I heard that General Liang is extremely tall and imposing, which is quite intimidating. And he used to be a bandit. We don't know if he's ever bullied women."
Sun Shi laughed. "Don't worry about this. I've inquired about it. General Liang is an excellent man. Although he used to be a bandit, he only robbed corrupt officials. The property he robbed wasn't for his own gain but for the livelihood of the local people. I heard that there was a good subordinate under him who was beheaded by him with a big knife because he was greedy for women. A man like this will definitely not do such evil things as rape and plunder."
Shen Yuning nodded. "You're right. But since he was the leader of the bandits, why hasn't he married all these years? Could there be something wrong with his health?"
Sun Shi said again, "I've also inquired about this. There's a fellow - townsman of General Liang who has now become a commander of a thousand soldiers. He revealed the information. It's said that when General Liang was young, he had a beloved woman. Unfortunately, fate played a trick on him, and the woman married someone else and moved far away. Because he couldn't marry the woman he loved, General Liang was in a gloomy mood for a while. Later, he became a bandit and didn't sink into despair. After that, many people offered beautiful women to him, but he only remembered his beloved who was already married to someone else and never got married."
It seemed that Sun Shi had inquired about everything, so there was no need to worry anymore.
"He's really a loyal man."
Shen Yuning sighed. Such a loyal man might not be willing to get married obediently as others wished.
This time, her guess was right.
Sun Shi asked Zhu Bin to pass the message, and soon got a reply. General Liang said that he had no intention of getting married.
At first, Sun Shi thought that General Liang might be a bit self - important and felt that the daughter of the collateral branch of the Sun family wasn't of high enough status, so he refused.
Unexpectedly, a few days later, there was a rumor in the capital that General Liang had rejected the match - making proposals from many matchmakers. People speculated that he must be ill, perhaps impotent.
It was a bit strange to think that a tall and powerful man was like a eunuch in the palace.
Shen Yuning wasn't surprised for long. As the weather gradually got hotter, she successfully passed the exam to become a female official and was personally appointed by the emperor as a fourth - rank female official in the Ministry of Justice. Among the women officials in the same court as her, there was only one, namely Xue Yuxin, the current young mistress of the Zhu family and her elder sister.
However, Xue Yuxin passed the exam for a position in the Court of Judicial Review and got a sixth - rank position as a female judge. Besides the two of them having relatively high - ranking official positions, there were also some other good women who passed the exam for idle and rankless positions, adding a bit of color to the officialdom that was originally full of men.
So originally, Shao Shi had planned to send her mother - in - law and Yuning to the country estate to escape the summer heat. But since Shen Yuning had now become an official and, like the father and son in the family, needed to go to the court to meet the emperor from time to time and report for duty every day, the plan to escape the summer heat naturally couldn't be carried out.
Even if Shen Yuning wasn't around, they still had to be filial to the old people. Shao Shi thought that her mother - in - law was old and liked children, so she sent Xue Xi to the Muhui Hall.
However, every time Sun Shi went to pick up Xue Xi and take him back to the yard, she always felt something was strange. She said to her mother - in - law, "I think Grandmother is in a bad mood. I asked her a few questions today, and she just said that she didn't know if all the children in the family were okay. Mother, Yuxin is married, and Yuning is about to get married. They've both become female officials. Hao'er and Xier are still so young, and there's no need to worry. How could there be anything wrong with them?"
Shao Shi understood what she meant. Her mother - in - law wasn't worried about the children in the family who were doing well, but about those in the second branch who weren't doing well. She was too lazy to care about Xue Yujiao's character, but Xue Yuhan was a good girl who was just delayed by her elder sister.
Her mother - in - law was probably still worried about Yuhan.
The next day, Shao Shi sent someone to the second branch and said that the old lady missed Yuhan and asked Yuhan to accompany the old lady to live in the country estate for a while.
However, a message came from the second branch saying that Xue Yuhan was ill and couldn't go.
Shao Shi asked doubtfully, "Are you sure she's ill? It's been three or four months since I last saw that child."
The maid who came back to report nodded. "I don't know why, but the Second Lady actually asked me to go to Second Miss's yard today. Second Miss is ill, and Concubine Bai is still guarding by her bedside."
Hearing this, Shao Shi's doubts didn't decrease. "Is she so kind - hearted and willing to let Concubine Bai guard Yuhan?"
The maid nodded again, thought for a while, and then said, "Maybe Second Miss is seriously ill, and Concubine Bai is so sad that she looks haggard. Sigh..."
Sigh.
Shao Shi also heaved a heavy sigh.
General Liang's army was back, so naturally Xue Yuxi was also back. For the sake of Concubine Bai and Xue Yuxi, he still obediently returned to the mansion. But probably because he had an unpleasant argument with his father, he spent more time in the Wuma Department than at home.
Yesterday, when Xue Yusong came back, he told the family that Uncle had gone to the Wuma Department to scold Xue Yuxi and said that he had learned bad things from General Liang and was never at home.
Shao Shi immediately asked, "Since this child has chosen to pursue a military career, just let him develop well. He's not being a playboy like some pampered young men. Why stop him?"
Xue Yusong shook his head. "He still has the old - fashioned idea that a military career is not as good as a literary career."
Shao Shi muttered to herself. He himself hadn't achieved anything in the court and only got an official position thanks to his ancestors' merits. How could he have the nerve to teach his own son now?
However, Shao Shi didn't say these words. Since Xue Yuhan of the second branch was ill and couldn't go out, Shao Shi had no choice but to let Sun Shi take her son and daughter to serve the old lady and go to the country estate together.
She didn't go. Firstly, she had to prepare for Yuning's wedding. Secondly, although Yuxin was busy with official duties all day long, Shao Shi still thought that the most urgent thing for Yuxin was to get pregnant quickly and give birth to a big, healthy boy for the Zhu family.
She hummed a tune and bought some cloth, wondering whether to make an inner garment for Yuning or prepare a set of comfortable bed sheets for her.