Noble Lady

Yumei took a deep breath and said, "Junior Master, you may have underestimated people's prejudices. The tongue is a knife that kills without bloodshed."

"Not to mention, the trend of emphasizing literature over military power is prevalent in Shengjing these days. A third-rank marquisate earned through military merit is nothing to the aristocratic clans. It's even more noble than a seventh-rank Hanlin editor."

"Besides, after the young lady's divorce, she will be remarrying. If she were to marry you, she and the Marquisate would be faced with a crisis as severe as a tsunami."

"The young lady is probably worried that the Marquis' Mansion will be implicated by her, and she's also worried that the prince is acting on impulse. Under the pressure of the imperial power, wouldn't the young lady be even more embarrassed?"

The little girl actually called him Prince?

Upon hearing this, Situ Zhen looked at Yumei with an ambiguous expression: "I didn't expect that in just a few months, you have made so much progress."

She was a girl with outstanding talent and could learn things quickly, but from childhood to adulthood, no matter what she was asked to learn, she always did it perfunctorily.

He is unwilling to think seriously or go into details about anything he does.

At first, she was the one who kept saying that if you love someone, you should pursue them bravely, and status is not a problem. She has only been with Xue Chenyu for a few months, but now she speaks so clearly and logically, like a completely different person.

Yumei: "...I will grow up too. Besides, if Junior Master-Uncle stays with the girl every day, it will be hard not to be influenced by her."

"She has done so many things, even things that she was not sure would happen, she was willing to give her all. Junior Master, don't you think this girl is a truly remarkable person?"

"A girl who is so considerate of others would definitely not want to cause trouble for others."

The little girl's soft voice came into Situ Zhen's ears with the night wind, and suddenly a flash of inspiration came into his mind.

He understood what method he had to use to narrow the gap between them.

"Little girl, you have done a great service today. Junior Master will thank you another day."

As he spoke, Situ Zhen pinched her face lightly and then quickly disappeared into the night.

Leaving Yumei confused and bewildered: What I said can be considered a great achievement?

What she didn't know was that her dear junior uncle had gone to the palace to ask for permission to go south.

Later, when disasters hit large areas in the south, he was in charge of disaster relief in the worst-hit areas.

Because of him, the imperial court was able to respond in time, and with Xue Chenyu's food and Datong Trading Company's generous support, the number of casualties was almost negligible compared to the previous life.

Datong Trading Company quickly became the top merchant in Dasheng. The private schools it sponsored for poor children to attend free of charge also cultivated many future pillars of society.

But that’s another story.

……

The next day.

Xue Chenyu heard the news that Prince Cheng had received an imperial decree and was going south on official business.

She was stunned for a moment when she heard the news, and the silver chopsticks in her hand fell to the ground with a clang.

"Miss, are you okay?" Yuzhu quickly picked it up.

"No." Xue Chenyu forced a smile.

In that moment of distraction, she regretted speaking to him like that yesterday.

But after regretting it, she was more glad that they were not from the same world. Perhaps it was better to cut off contact like this.

Although my father is the martial arts master of Prince Cheng, his status as a military commander is questionable; and he is a descendant of a royal family and a favored child of heaven.

Even if he was willing, His Majesty, Prince Cheng, and the Queen Mother in the palace would not agree to him marrying a remarried woman.

It’s also good to turn the page here.

In the following days, Xue Chenyu had no time to be sentimental.

First, Ji Minrou now openly began to manage the He family's winery. She stayed at home to take care of her pregnancy and asked the manager to come to the mansion to report every day.

As busy as the mistress of the house.

He Ruyi came twice more, each time looking for Ji Minrou. The two cousins ​​whispered to each other for a while and then went back.

He Minzhi also went to Zuixianju regardless of rain or shine.

The good news is: he got the silver from nowhere and finally got to see Bai Xiruo as he wished;

The bad news is: because someone wants to redeem Bai Xiruo, the price of her redemption has increased to 20,000 taels.

He Minzhi, who couldn't even come up with 15,000 taels before, was even less likely to raise 20,000 taels.

So he came to Furongju several times without giving up, trying to force Xue Chenyu to hand over the money through threats and inducements, but after one, two, and three times, he was driven out by Yumei.

And he could never enter the gate of Furongju again.

This caused him to have no choice but to curse at Furongju in vain.

Xue Chenyu sat in the corridor, listening, and commented seriously: "You know what, educated people are really good at scolding others, without even using any dirty words."

……

During the time that He Minzhi was persistent and unyielding in making trouble, Du Jingyuan and Chen Mingxuan's marriage was also settled.

The two families didn't know whether they were afraid of more trouble or what, but they quickly completed the "Nacai" and "Wenming" processes and went directly to the "Naji" and "Nazheng" stages, which meant giving the betrothal gifts and getting engaged.

After choosing a date for the engagement, Du Jingyuan personally delivered the invitation and said solemnly, "You must come when the time comes."

She was wearing a moon-white dress today. Normally, she always felt that she was not white enough and refused to wear this color. But looking at this skirt today, she felt that she was quite elegant.

Could it be that people feel good when they are happy?

"What? Aren't you afraid that I'll steal your limelight if I go there?" Xue Chenyu asked half-jokingly.

Du Jingyuan immediately recalled the embarrassing incident when Xue Chenyu attended her coming-of-age ceremony, but she despised her for wearing a brocade dress and stealing all her limelight.

"...Xue Xiaoyu, didn't you say that the past is over? Why are you still bringing up old things?"

Xue Chenyu covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and the mockery in her eyes was too obvious.

Du Jingyuan finally reacted: "Okay, Xue Xiaoyu, you're making fun of me again! I'll tickle you to death!"

As he spoke, he started to scratch Xue Chenyu.

Xue Chenyu is ticklish, and they have known each other since childhood, so they know each other very well.

The two of them started to laugh, and each of them was tickled by the other and laughed so hard that they couldn't control themselves at all.

The soft couch was also messed up by the two of them rolling around.

Seeing this, Yuzhu and Dujuan quickly moved all the things away.

half an hour.

They themselves were so exhausted that they lay on their backs, gasping for breath.

Her hair was in disarray, and her jewelry was scattered everywhere.

"It's all your fault. Yuzhu worked so hard to comb my hair into a bun early in the morning."

Du Jingyuan couldn't help but roll her eyes: "You talk as if Du Juan didn't get up early in the morning and work hard to comb my hair."

Du Juan looked calm, but she was also panicking in her heart: "No, girl, you just comb your hair and tie it up casually. You are too tired to comb your hair carefully. You are nothing like Miss Xue, who looks like a fairy every day."

Receiving her gaze, Du Jingyuan glared at her and said, "Don't expose my secrets!"

Dujuan nodded obediently.

Xue Chenyu took a deep breath before getting up and letting Yuzhu comb her hair again.

Du Jingyuan also sat aside and asked Du Juan to comb her hair.

Yumei hurried up to tidy up the couch.

"Ayuan, you're getting engaged soon. Does your mother have anything to say about the dowry?"

"There's no explanation..."

Having said that, Du Jingyuan curled her lips, looking a little lonely.

"She came to see me yesterday and said that when she married into the General's Mansion, her dowry seemed generous, but in fact, the General's Mansion has been in recession in recent years, and her dowry has been used up. Some of the money she got from poor business has also been sold off."

"Besides, I have two older brothers and a younger brother. She doesn't need to take care of the illegitimate children. Dividing the remaining dowry into four parts is a stretch."

"My eldest brother is already married, so when the time comes, I can only give some to my second and younger brothers from their two shares."

Xue Chenyu frowned, "What does your mother mean by that?"

It would be a stretch to divide the dowry into four parts, so why not just divide it into three parts? Doesn’t that mean you don’t want to give her a dowry?

And even give some to her. How could the general's wife say such a thing?

If Du Jingyuan were to marry like this, not only would outsiders gossip about her, she herself would be unable to hold her head up. Aren't they afraid of being criticized by the General's Mansion by doing this?