The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

Hua Sirong agreed with Shen's words, but, "Unless I marry into a merchant family again, no matter which family I marry into, people will inevitably bring up my background."

My aunt was only saying it for my own good.

I just wanted to marry into a scholarly family. Even if I couldn't live a comfortable life, the children I had could improve our social standing.

Boys could openly take the imperial examinations, and girls were no longer labeled as "merchant's daughters."

Suddenly, Madam Shen felt a pang of guilt towards Hua Sirong. If it weren't for the Shen family and her dowry, her third sister wouldn't have hastily married the merchant's husband.

Rongjie, born to the third sister, would not be branded as a merchant's daughter from birth.

In a moment of impulse, Shen actually agreed to Hua Sirong's request.

"Alright, the capital city is full of scholars, and it's not easy to find one who is good at everything. But with your requirements, Rong-jie, I'm afraid you'll be overwhelmed by the choices."

Hua Sirong lowered her head shyly, "Thank you for your concern, Aunt."

Madam Shen waved her hand, "I'll show you the list after I've picked out some suitable ones. If there's someone suitable, your aunt will arrange for you to meet. Don't worry, your aunt will carefully choose a husband for you."

Although Hua Sirong didn't understand why Shen had suddenly changed her attitude, she naturally had no choice but to comply since the matter was in her favor.

Life went on uneventfully, and before they knew it, the wedding day of He Zhizhang, the heir of the Marquis's mansion, was approaching.

The entire Muqing Marquis's residence began preparations half a month in advance, after all, he was the first young man in the Marquis's family to get married, and also the future heir of the Marquis's family.

Even the old lady, who had long been out of the public eye, personally oversaw many details to ensure everything was perfect and that no mistakes would occur on the day of the prince's wedding.

Hua Sirong used to think that Qingwu Courtyard was remote, but these days she feels that she can see servants coming and going every day outside Qingwu Courtyard, and it is a busy scene.

The flowers and plants throughout the entire manor were specially trimmed, even those in the Green Grass Courtyard were not spared, and even the old lady's cat did not escape the fate of having its fur trimmed.

This shows how much importance the entire Marquis's mansion attached to this marriage.

Everyone's face was beaming with joy, as if they themselves were the ones getting married.

After all, he was Hua Sirong's cousin, and she, as his cousin, was genuinely happy for him.

However, when she saw the invitation sent by Yimei Garden, she was at a loss.

Tomorrow is my eldest cousin's big day, and my aunt will definitely be very busy tonight, so it's not good for her to disturb her at this time.

He could only discuss it with the maid who delivered the invitation, saying, "My status is inconvenient, so I will have to disappoint my aunt and cousin's kindness by not attending the banquet with them tomorrow."

"As for the wedding banquet at the manor, I'd like to order the kitchen to send a table to my Qingwu Courtyard, so I can share in the joy." The intention to refuse couldn't be clearer.

If it were Shen's head maid who came to deliver the wedding invitation today, she would surely have given Hua Sirong a good talking-to and said countless good things about Shen.

They subtly and overtly told Hua Sirong to be sensible.

But the one assigned the task today was a rather dim-witted little girl.

He is inflexible in his actions, repeatedly emphasizing that he is just a messenger, doing as Sister Wenqin instructed, and that he can't help with anything else.

"Then I'll ask Granny Wang to go with you to Yimei Garden, find Miss Wenqin, and tell her about the seriousness of this matter, is that alright?"

The young maid shook her head and refused, "The young master is getting married tomorrow, and the ladies around the madam are all extremely busy."

"If Sister Wenqin hadn't been too busy, the task of coming to Miss Biao's courtyard wouldn't have fallen to a lowly maid like me who sweeps the yard."

Well, that doesn't make sense.

But Hua Sirong still remembered what happened on the day she entered the girls' school.

These days, when Chunyan and Granny Wang were walking around the mansion, they overheard something and it spread among the servants that she was carrying bad luck.

Otherwise, how could the young ladies of the manor, who had always been peaceful, have gotten themselves punished by the teachers and nannies on her very first day of school?

Some people also mentioned the incident involving the eldest aunt, He Zhiying, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which has now been confirmed against Hua Sirong.

Hua Sirong didn't want to bother Madam Shen with these matters. Since Madam Shen didn't care, either it was just something circulating among the servants in private, or someone close to Madam Shen was suppressing the matter.

As for why the Shen family knew about it but deliberately ignored it?

Hua Sirong didn't think so, after all, the Shen family was already preparing to arrange a marriage for her.

If you have such a bad reputation, how can you say you're a good family?

What good could the Shen family, who acted as matchmaker, possibly gain?

So, seeing that the little girl was unyielding, Hua Sirong still firmly called for Wang Mama and followed the little girl to Yimei Garden.

It doesn't matter whether you go to see Madam Shen, or her favored attendants Wenqin and Wenhua, or Granny Zhang and others, as long as her message is conveyed.

After all, she doesn't know what kind of person her future sister-in-law will be.

If she's unlucky tomorrow and something happens, she'll be accused of something.

She doesn't want to take the blame now, so the best way is to hide in Qingwu Courtyard and not go anywhere.

Unfortunately, plans cannot keep up with changes.

The message brought back by Wang's mother was that Hua Sirong would definitely attend the wedding banquet. However, since Hua Sirong had some reservations, they would do the same as during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and set up a separate table for her in a side hall.

"Did Aunt give these instructions, or did you ask Qin?" Hua Sirong asked.

Mother Wang shook her head, "I went to Yimei Garden and waited for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, but I didn't see a single person who could make a decision."

Later, I met the third wife of the household, Madam Jin, who said that she was also in charge of the banquet arrangements.

She can make the decision, but the young lady still has to go out and can't stay in Qingwu Courtyard anymore.

Hua Sirong was also helpless. "Fine, I'll stay on the other side by myself. If we behave ourselves, nothing will happen."

Mrs. Wang nodded in agreement, "Young girls love to join in the fun, they'll definitely want to see the bride. If the girls stay put and don't cause any trouble, nothing bad can happen."

The young lady attended the wedding of the Marquis's heir. After that, she was able to go out and socialize at banquets and similar events.

Therefore, Madam Wang did not approve of the girl continuing to hide in Qingwu Courtyard. Only after receiving Jin's words did she happily return to report to Hua Sirong.

The following day, the Marquis's heir was married, and guests arrived in droves for the banquet.

Although the Muqing Marquis's family was not as powerful as their ancestors, they still had some influence in the capital. Shen was a sociable woman, and there was also a Consort Zhaoyi in the palace.

Therefore, the Shen residence had quite a few guests that day. The servants in the entire manor were stretched to their limits, and many were temporarily drawn from the shops on the estate.