Chapter 428: Chapter 424: Marquis Changshou Residence_1
 

Yingbao glanced at Wen Hengyin who was standing not far away and said to her brother, “We can’t decide on this.”

Her master would never agree to her marriage with Wen Hengyin, because his grandfather was the Imperial Physician, and her master didn’t want his miraculous elixir to be used by the Wen Family.

Moreover, her master was different from before. Now he was the Emperor, and he also knew some of her miraculous abilities.

So she could marry Wei Family, which had no background, or a low-born officer, but she could not have any involvement with those aristocratic families, which included Zhong Chuyan, Zhou Hao, Zhang Min and others.

It was even more impossible for the large families in Beijing, including the family of the Four Concubines. These were founding heroes with profound backgrounds. She, a county princess with miraculous abilities, who was not the biological daughter of the Emperor, might be disdained by the Emperor regardless of which family she married into.

For instance, Zhong Chuyan was a descendant of General Zhong and held command of hundreds of thousands of troops in the northwest, with a large number of martial generals following him. If she married into the Zhong Family, it would certainly alert the Emperor.

Zhang Min’s father was a great scholar who had been the prefect of Jingzhou. Now he had returned to Beijing, but had not contacted their family even once. It seemed that Prefect Zhang was a cautious man who didn’t want to catch the Emperor’s attention before his son got married.

Zhou Hao was even more impossible. Since she was made a county princess, she had become his semi-daughter. Zhou Hao, the only nephew of Zhou Wuchang, had recently been appointed as the Commandery Prince of Han Mountain, so he obviously couldn’t have any involvement with her.

Thus, after careful consideration, Yingbao thought Wei Zhan was the best option.

Her position now had made her marriage not just her own personal matter, a slight mistake could ruin the whole Jiang Family.

Jiang Jie was silent for a moment, as though he had also figured it out. He spoke in a low voice, “Wei Zhan is not bad either, Sis, at last you can get married.”

Yingbao:….

What did he just say?

She glared at her brother and said to him, “If you have nothing to do on the third day of the new year, please invite Zhang Min’s entire family and Zhou Hao to our house as guests. On the fourth day invite the Luo Family and the Wu Family, then on the fifth day invite your colleagues.”

“I know.” Jiang Jie knew the ways of the world. He personally drafted the list of gifts for the New Year celebrations, so he didn’t need his sister’s guidance.

Yingbao just reminded him, and then returned home with a few Palace Maids.

The next day, the imperial edict of marriage didn’t come. They didn’t know whether it was because the Emperor was too busy and had delayed it.

Chunniang kept looking out from under the eaves in excitement for a long time. She didn’t see anyone coming from the palace, but instead saw the steward from the Marquis Changshou’s Residence.

The Marchioness Changshou, Madam Wang, had personally written an invitation letter, inviting Yingbao and her mother to a banquet in the Marquis Residence on the fifth day of the New Year, saying it was her 40th birthday.

Chunniang didn’t know what to do, so she came to her daughter for advice, “Baobao, Marquis Changshou has sent an invite, shall we go?”

“Marquis Changshou, of the Xiao Family?” Yingbao thought for a moment: “Let’s go.”

Why not? She would take this opportunity to understand the plot of the main characters up close.

She always felt that the peace of these recent years was only the calm before the storm.

Chunniang actually didn’t want to go, but if she didn’t, she wouldn’t feel at ease about her daughter going alone to the banquet.

“Our family has no relations with Marquis Changshou’s family, and we don’t have any reference for gifts. What should we send?” Chunniang asked.

Yingbao: “Ask Meixiang about this.” She herself didn’t know what kind of gift would be most appropriate.

Then she called Meixiang over. Under the guidance of this senior Palace Maid, they chose a pair of longevity brocade pictures.

Now Yingbao was a county princess whose rank was one level higher than a Marquis. Therefore, the gift did not need to be too expensive, a token of good will was sufficient.

On the morning of the fifth day, the steward of Marquis Changshou’s Residence came to call on them again.

This was a matter of courtesy, so Yingbao didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

By noon, she was dressed neatly, and she and her mother climbed into the carriage.

Four palace maids stood on both sides of the carriage, accompanying them to the Marquis Changshou Residence.

By that time, many noble ladies and their daughters had already arrived at the Marquis Residence.

Their ranks were not high, some even unsealed, and they all stood to greet Yingbao when she arrived.

The Marchioness Wang greeted them, taking the hands of Chunniang and Yingbao, and seated them in the main seats.

Yingbao surveyed the assembly and saw that none of the ladies were related to the Emperor’s consorts. She guessed that those who were willing to visit the Xiao family were probably old friends and relatives from the past.

After some polite small talk, everyone started their individual conversations. Madame Xiao turned to Yingbao and said, “I’ve been wanting to visit the County Lady and Jiang Anren for a while, but given our family’s peculiar circumstances, I didn’t dare to disturb.”

“Ah, the last time Chengyu came back home, he insisted on going to your house, but his second older brother punished him and did not let him go out for a month. Today, when he heard that the County Lady is coming, he was overjoyed.”

Chunniang laughed and said, “I was wondering what happened. We had plans to hang out, but then you didn’t come. That day, I had already prepared the fruit juice they both love.”

“You have been too kind.” Lady Xiao sighed, “The Marquis’s mobility is currently limited, and the second son is in control of everything at home. Chengyu is naughty and often annoys his second older brother, so he gets punished regularly.”

Chunniang said, “Children are often naughty. My two are still mischievous to this day.”

After chatting for a while, Lady Xiao suddenly lowered her voice and said, “A few days ago, the Emperor arranged marriages for both of my sons. The wedding is set for the twentieth of the first lunar month. Both sons will retrieve their brides on that day.”

Yingbao blinked, looking at Lady Xiao, quietly listening to what came next.

Madam Xiao said, “Although the marriage matters are handled by the Department of Household Affairs, we still have to prepare at home. My second son let Han Yueniang – a woman temporarily residing in our residence – handle everything about his wedding chamber. I don’t know what he was thinking.”

Chunniang frowned and asked, “Where is Han Yueniang’s husband? Why hasn’t he taken her back?”

“He was taken to Jin Country by barbarians,” replied Madame Xiao, “and has been missing ever since.”

The barbarians had taken the former emperor and empress along with other noble officials to Jin Country – they were probably never coming back.

So, Han Yueniang, in essence, was a widow. It was unimaginable that Xiao Chengjun would allow a widow to arrange his new wedding room, instead of his own stepmother, who was the marchioness.

While Madame Xiao felt bitter, she was also resigned.

Why should she care about these troublesome affairs of the residence?

The Marquis Changshou Residence, which supposedly held a lot of prestige, was essentially a cage. Not only were there spies sent by the Emperor to monitor every move, but she couldn’t even send letters to her own family.

Fortunately, she knew the Jiang Family’s mother and daughter who had recently become well-known in Beijing. She could talk to them, so when she saw this pair of mother and daughter, she couldn’t help but vent out all the melancholy that had been bottled up in her heart for so long.

Yingbao curiously asked, “Who will Xiao Mo and Xiao Chengjun get married to?”

Madame Xiao replied, “One is the daughter of Zhang, the Sima, whose father is an Earl. The other is a girl from Song Sima’s home.”

Although Sima Zhang’s official position wasn’t high, his family was noble, and his daughter, being promised to Xiao Mo, was certainly no disgrace to him.

Song Sima was also influential, but none of his sons were successful. However, his only daughter was extremely beautiful and quite a match for Xiao Chengjun.

Yingbao looked thoughtful.

As Xiao Chengjun was getting married, how should Chen Tiantian be arranged?

After thinking for a while, she couldn’t resist her curiosity and finally asked, “Marchioness, I don’t mean to be rude, but is Chen Tiantian the concubine of Xiao Chengjun?”