The cousin is beautiful but ruthless.

Zhou Yurong arrived at the Marquis of Anping's residence the day after Shen Hanyu sought out Pei Du.

Xu Ying received him, and the two hit it off immediately, laughing and joking together, as if they had already agreed on everything.

This is the scene that Shen Hanyu saw when she was summoned.

Liang Fangrong followed behind her, hesitating every step, but finally sat down in the main hall.

When Zhou Yurong saw Shen Hanyu, a warm smile appeared on her face.

“Miss Shen, I have come here sincerely to propose marriage.”

Shen Hanyu remained silent, watching Zhou Yurong perform with great effort.

Liang Fangrong looked at the two of them and couldn't help but sigh.

Hearing Liang Fangrong sigh, Xu Ying came over and whispered to her, "Look, even someone like the Earl of Guangning is willing to be so kind to Hanyu, what else do you have to worry about? Even if Princess Xiao is domineering, she still has the Earl of Guangning to protect her."

Seemingly to verify Xu Ying's words, Zhou Yurong walked over and said gently, "Miss Shen, once you enter the manor, you will naturally understand my sincere feelings."

Only Shen Hanyu could understand the deeper meaning behind his words.

Shen Hanyu sneered: "No need, I will not agree to our relationship."

Seeing that Shen Hanyu was still like this, Zhou Yurong threatened in a low voice: "Your family has all agreed, what can you do? Look at your mother, she won't risk anything for you. Just go into my Guangning Marquis's mansion with peace of mind."

Shen Hanyu looked up at him: "Are you that confident?"

Zhou Yurong smiled. In his opinion, no one could stop him from doing this. Given Shen Hanyu's status, who would help her for no reason?

Shen Hanyu was unaware of the imperial edict; she was merely stalling for time until Pei Du came to her door.

Pei Du sent her a message saying he would come today, which gave Shen Hanyu some confidence.

Zhou Yurong sat back in his seat, no longer bothering to maintain his gentle demeanor, and coldly looked at Xu Ying.

"Madam Xu, I hope you can arrange this matter as soon as possible. It's just a concubine, and it'll be fine once she's brought in a sedan chair. Don't keep me waiting too long."

Xu Ying was even happier: "Don't worry, I will talk to Hanyu properly. The Guangning Marquis's Mansion is such a good way out, it's much more comfortable than the girls' school. Hanyu is a sensible person."

"Such a good way out, why didn't you leave it for your cousin?"

Shen Hanyu asked her a question in return, and Xu Ying's smile faded.

The two men faced off when the gatekeeper came to announce their arrival.

"Madam, the eunuch who delivers the imperial decree has arrived."

Xu Ying frowned. Why did the imperial edict suddenly arrive?

She welcomed the people in, and then called out all the people from the Marquis's residence to receive the imperial edict.

The old lady and Liang Chengxuan also came over and knelt down.

The eunuch opened the imperial edict and read its contents aloud.

"By the grace of the Empress Dowager, I hereby decree that Shen Hanyu, daughter of the Prefect of Suzhou, Shen, has long served diligently in her household and is now to be promoted to a higher position. She is of virtuous character, gentle and prudent in conduct, possessing a gentle and refined nature, with a quiet and upright demeanor, and a harmonious and graceful presence. She is skilled in etiquette, and is respectful and diligent in her duties day and night. The Empress Dowager is very pleased with this and hereby arranges her marriage to Pei Du, the Duke of Kaiguo. The relevant officials are hereby ordered to select an auspicious day for the wedding. This is my decree."

Everyone's minds went blank for a moment, especially Zhou Yurong, who slowly read out the two names above.

Why did Shen Hanyu, daughter of the Suzhou Prefect Shen, and Pei Du of the Founding Duke's Mansion, end up together? And why did they receive an imperial decree for their marriage?

With this imperial decree, Zhou Yurong's trip was all for nothing, and he could only swallow his anger.

He was furious, but dared not retaliate against the imperial edict.

The eunuch placed the imperial edict in Shen Hanyu's hand and looked at her kindly.

Shen Hanyu was also surprised; she hadn't expected Pei Du to actually request an imperial edict.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she held the imperial edict. Shen Hanyu gritted her teeth, feeling a surge of gratitude towards Pei Du.

Many eyes were on Shen Hanyu, with the most intense gazes falling on Liang Ruoyan, Liang Ruoxue, and Liang Ruochu.

They all thought Shen Hanyu could only become someone's concubine and be tortured to death, but they never expected that she could turn her life around and become the legal wife of the eldest son of the founding duke's mansion.

Does the Emperor's decree mean that Pei Du's status as the heir to the Founding Duke's mansion is set in stone and cannot be changed?

They each had their own thoughts and were preoccupied with their own affairs.

Everyone stood up, and before the eunuch could leave, it was quite lively outside the door. Pei Du rode a horse with an endless pile of betrothal gifts behind him.

He dismounted and went inside, knowing that the imperial edict had been delivered.

The moment Shen Hanyu saw Pei Du appear, her palms, which were holding the imperial edict, became slightly sweaty. This was due to nervousness, as she tried to figure out what Pei Du was thinking.

Xu Ying almost lost her composure. At her birthday banquet, she had said that the heir to the Duke's mansion might not necessarily be Pei Du. Now that the Emperor meant this, it meant that the position could only fall to Pei Du.

Miscalculated.

Xu Ying's mind was filled with this sentence.

The old lady stared at Shen Hanyu with her cloudy eyes. Over the years, she had misjudged her and allowed Shen Hanyu to do these things right under her nose.

Pei Du handed the betrothal gift list to Shen Hanyu.

"Look at these, they're all for you. Keep them safe. There are a few nice shops and a house in the suburbs of Beijing inside. You can decide what to do with them."

He spoke gently, giving Shen Hanyu ample face. All the betrothal gifts were to be used by Shen Hanyu and not given to anyone else, because he was marrying the daughter of the Suzhou prefect, not the Shen girl from the Marquis's mansion.

Shen Hanyu felt a warmth in her heart. She looked down at the list and was still quite surprised, even though she had been prepared.

"So much..." She wanted to ask where all this came from. Pei Mingjian looked down on her status, so he certainly wouldn't have prepared so much. Besides, Pei Du had only recently left the Duke's mansion.

As if sensing Shen Hanyu's confusion, Pei Du took the initiative to explain: "When my grandfather heard that I was getting married, he sent all these things, along with the house, land, and shops, last night."

Shen Hanyu was dumbfounded. No wonder Pei Du was doing so well after leaving the Founding Duke's Mansion; she hadn't considered things carefully enough.

Pei Du's mood improved when he saw Shen Hanyu looking so silly.

He glanced at Zhou Yurong, who was staring at him with a shifting expression in her eyes.

"What is the Earl of Guangning doing here?"

Zhou Yurong gritted her teeth: "I was going to ask that too, when did Young Master Pei and Miss Shen become so close?"

Pei Du smiled and said, "I fell in love with Miss Shen at first sight and have been thinking about her for a long time, so I asked the Emperor to grant me a marriage."

He spoke in a light, casual tone, as if he were simply saying how nice the weather was today.

But who doesn't know that the bestowal of a marriage was a privilege previously reserved for those who had made great contributions? And Pei Du was no exception.

It was at this moment that they remembered an old story: Pei Du's birth mother had a good relationship with Empress Wang, and Pei Du often visited the palace when he was young, and Li Jiangui also liked him very much.

When Pei Du grew up, he was given a token that allowed him to freely enter and leave the palace, which was enough to show his importance in front of Li Jiangui.

In the years since Pei Du's birth mother died, they had almost forgotten about it.