The sickly son died young? After the marriage exchange, I will bring prosperity to his entire clan f

Du Mingxian imagined the scene and felt a little expectant. "Would all the princes have to make an appearance?"

Lord Wen glanced at her and said, “Yes, everyone has to step forward. Even the usually low-key Crown Prince will step forward. However, the Crown Prince is not in good health, otherwise he would not let the other princes cause trouble.”

Du Mingxian remained silent, only thinking that if she took Chuntao with her at that time, Chuntao might become a suspect if she glanced at her too much.

They played a game of chess, and the two ended in a draw.

Lord Wen was still somewhat unsatisfied, as few people could finish a game with him. He was quite surprised that Du Mingxian possessed such chess skills.

"One more plate, please."

"Father, you should rest for a while. I have official business to attend to this afternoon. You can play chess anytime. I'll head back now."

"Alright then, be careful on your way back."

"it is good."

After leaving the Ministry of War, Du Mingxian immediately locked herself in her room upon returning home and began drawing a map from memory. Because the map was large and required clear marking of certain areas, it took a long time.

Even as evening fell, Du Mingxian remained oblivious. It was only when Ke'er and Lian'er noticed that she had been locked in her room since returning that they became worried and knocked on the door, finally waking her up.

"What's wrong?" Du Mingxian realized she was a little hungry when she saw that it was already dark outside.

"Miss, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, I'm fine."

"That's good. Would you like dinner? We'll go prepare it right away."

"eat."

"Yes, slave, go and prepare now."

Du Mingxian didn't pay attention to Chuntao that night, but Ke'er would definitely remember to send food to her there. After dinner, she locked herself in her space again.

She spent two whole days drawing the picture, which was exactly the same as the one she had seen at Lord Wen's place. After finishing the drawing, she had some free time. Thinking about the upcoming Emperor's birthday celebration, she went to see the Second Madam.

Because Second Master Wen was born out of wedlock, he wasn't particularly favored by the old lady. However, for the sake of face, she still found him a wife from a family with some influence, not in terms of power, but in terms of wealth.

Madam Wen's family was a famous wealthy merchant family in the Jiangnan region, the kind that was extremely rich.

When Du Mingxian arrived, Madam Wen was looking at the account books. When she saw Du Mingxian, her attitude was much better than before. "Huan'er is here. Come and sit down. You guys go and bring up some good food and drinks for the eldest young lady."

"Greetings, Second Aunt." Du Mingxian gave a simple greeting before sitting down to the side.

Madam Wen looked down on Du Mingxian, but ever since she heard that Wen Shiyan was not Lord Wen's child, this girl who grew up in the countryside and was found outside became Lord Wen's only daughter, and her status immediately rose.

"Shiyan has never been to Second Aunt's place before. Is there something you need today?"

“My father asked me to come and find my second aunt. He said that I would be attending a banquet at the palace on the Emperor’s birthday, so he asked my second aunt to prepare two sets of clothes for me.”

Madam Wen knew about this matter. "Is this it? Your father really cares about this. He sent someone over to talk about it the day before yesterday. Your second aunt remembers this and will definitely prepare something good for you."

Du Mingxian frowned slightly. After she returned, the manor had prepared clothes, but none of them fit well. Every time clothes were sent, her second-class maid had to alter them before she could wear them. Could it be that they were planning to prepare the clothes for this banquet in the same way?

"Does Second Aunt know my height?"

"I don't know." Madam Wen shrugged. Seeing Du Mingxian staring at her, she suddenly understood. "Oh dear, all the famous tailors in the city have been busy these past few days. I'm just waiting for the master tailor. Once he arrives, I'll make it for you as soon as possible."

"This is……"

“Oh, it’s because I’ve taken over the household management. It just so happens that you’re getting married, so everything needs to be prepared. The tailors in the capital are not bad, but the skilled ones are already fully booked. I can’t let you use the less skilled ones, in case your father is not satisfied.”

"So after thinking it over, I wrote a letter to my family. There are master tailors there with excellent skills, so I wrote home as soon as possible. The old tailor should be on his way to Beijing now, and he will definitely make it in time."

Du Mingxian couldn't tell whether Aunt Wen was telling the truth or not, but she definitely had to handle this matter well. After all, Lord Wen could give her the power to manage the household, or he could not. "Then thank you, Aunt Wen."

"Don't mention it, we're all family, of course I want you to be happy."

Du Mingxian smiled awkwardly, and when it was almost time, she got up and left. As for the clothes, she wasn't in a hurry anymore and would just wait for Aunt Wen's arrangements.

After leaving Aunt Wen's courtyard, Chun Tao reminded her, "Miss, what if Madam Wen doesn't prepare clothes for you? This opportunity to enter the palace is very rare."

"Why is it so rare?" Chun Tao is trying to cause trouble in the palace.

Chun Tao's heart tightened, and she hurriedly explained, "Miss has never been to the palace before. Now that you have this opportunity, you should naturally go and see it. It would be good to broaden your horizons."

“That’s true, but since Father has entrusted this matter to Second Aunt, she will surely make the arrangements, so we don’t need to worry too much.”

Chuntao didn't say anything more.

Twenty days passed in the blink of an eye, and the first day of the new year was just around the corner. During this time, Du Mingxian continued to deliver meals to Lord Wen and occasionally play chess with him. Chun Tao kept a close eye on everything.

She hasn't done anything lately, and Ling Silang is also very busy. Du Mingxian felt he was too busy, so she didn't go to see him at night.

"Miss, have you heard? It's so lively outside right now. Because of the Emperor's birthday celebration, several countries have come to pay homage, and many people have come to the capital to celebrate. The streets are packed with people."

"No, I've been staying at home a lot lately and haven't been to the Ministry of War much, so I really didn't know. Why don't I go deliver food to my father today and take a look?"

Kerr was overjoyed. "Yes, yes, Miss must go and see!"

Chuntao stood silently to the side. She had been like this for the past few days, clearly showing her unhappiness on her face.

Du Mingxian initially tried to comfort her, but later she couldn't be bothered to look at her anymore and simply pretended that the person didn't exist.

Ke'er stepped forward and took Chun Tao's hand. "Chun Tao, let's go take a look together later. It's very lively outside."

"Okay." Chun Tao agreed, glanced up at Du Mingxian, and then silently lowered her head again.

When lunch was delivered, Ke'er and Chun Tao accompanied her. Du Mingxian sat in the carriage and got angry when she saw Chun Tao's face, but there was nothing she could do but endure it.

Suddenly Ke'er exclaimed, "Wow, Miss, they are princes!"

Before Du Mingxian could react, Chuntao reacted very quickly, immediately rushing to the window, "Let me see."