latelenovela Chapter 463 Qiu Nanzhi
Chapter 463 Qiu Nanzhi
Du Shangge explained the situation of the third brother: "The third uncle's health is not very good, and neither is the younger brother. The eldest aunt often says that she doesn't know what's wrong with the third branch of the family, but none of them, big or small, are in good health."
Si Muyan said, "But I heard from Xiao An that your little brother is very intelligent."
Du Shangge thought about it carefully. Before she got married, she liked to have fun and was impulsive, so she didn't have much contact with the sickly men in the third wife's family. After getting married, she became much more composed, but when she went back to her parents' home, she would only exchange a few pleasantries and they weren't very familiar with each other.
On the contrary...
"By the way, my aunt sent my younger brother to the Lin family to study as a tutor. She also praised him, saying that he was intelligent, but it's a pity that his health is not very good."
He was in poor health, so it was inconvenient for him to attend school. However, the Du family had no children of school age who needed to study, and being a family of military officers, they did not hire a private tutor.
Actually, the child was in poor health. Even if he succeeded in his studies, he would only have a good reputation and would definitely not be able to become an official in the court.
Si Muyan nodded: "Your aunt is kind-hearted. But you said your third branch of the family has a cousin?"
“Yes, her name is Qiu Nanzhi.” Du Shangge took a piece of fruit and ate it while saying, “She has already come of age. When I went back to my parents’ home a while ago, my third aunt came to me and asked if I had any suitable candidates. She said she wanted to find a husband for Nanzhi in the capital.”
"You need my help?"
Du Shangge laughed: "You don't know, my third aunt comes from a small place, her family has no officials, she's just an ordinary person. My eldest aunt is a princess, where could she find a good family with a lower social standing?"
Si Muyan asked, "Then you'll be able to find it?"
Du Shangge explained, "There's a clerk in the military headquarters who has several sons, one of whom is a frail scholar. My third aunt somehow heard about this and decided to act as matchmaker..."
Si Muyan raised an eyebrow. It was fortunate that she had asked that question, otherwise her little brother's sweetheart would have become someone else's wife soon.
Although Du Shangge was usually carefree, he finally realized what was going on and asked curiously, "Mu Yan, you invited me here not to ask about my little brother, but to ask about my cousin Nan Zhi, right? What, does someone with you have a crush on her too?"
After saying that, she got up and looked into the courtyard.
Just then, I saw Yu Meng following Si Yunxia out.
She pointed at Yu Meng: "I remember this maid, she has an older brother, you wouldn't happen to be..."
"Her brother is already married."
Si Muyan quickly interrupted her haphazard matchmaking.
"It's just that when I returned to the capital a while ago, I saw your cousin on the roadside. She looked very pretty and charming, and I became quite interested in her, so..."
Du Shangge's eyes widened: "You...you don't want to get married...you...you actually have this kind of hobby?"
Si Muyan glared at her angrily: "If you keep talking nonsense, I won't dare to associate with you anymore."
After his initial shock, Du Shangge chuckled sheepishly, "I... I just misunderstood for a moment."
Si Muyan said, "I was just curious and asked a few more questions. I originally invited you here because I missed you. Since you miss me so much, then I won't ask any more questions."
Du Shangge quickly begged for forgiveness, then laughed for a while before saying, "Although I am not very close to my cousin Nanzhi, we are still familiar with each other. She lives under the roof of the Du family, so she is exceptionally well-behaved and obedient, and never causes trouble. Perhaps because she and my younger brother are both in poor health, she usually enjoys tending to medicinal herbs."
After thinking about it, she said again.
"When I have some free time, I'll bring her here to play, and you can help me take a look at her."
When Du Shangge returned, he told Princess He Ji about it.
"Third Aunt's idea is to find an ordinary family for Cousin Nanzhi to live a good life. But Cousin's health isn't very good, and she has to take medicine all year round. If it's really the one Third Aunt has her eye on, wouldn't the couple both be sickly after marrying into the family?"
Princess He Ji nodded: "You're right. Speaking of Nan Zhi, she's not a proper girl in our household. She'll be in an awkward position when the elders pass away. It's hard for an ordinary family to make ends meet when things aren't going well."
Du Shangge quickly said, "That's what I think too. Since Mu Yan mentioned her, she must have something in mind. Maybe she's showing it to one of her managers. Nan Zhi's future will definitely not be too bad. It just depends on whether she minds or not."
When Aunt Du found out, she wasn't dissatisfied at all; she was extremely grateful.
"I was originally worried about Nanzhi's marriage. My brother and sister-in-law are honest and simple, with no real ability. If she went back, she could only marry an ordinary person, and I'm afraid she wouldn't even be able to afford medicine. That's why I was thinking of keeping her in the capital. If she could marry the steward of the daughter of a marquis, she wouldn't have to worry for the rest of her life. Why would she care about whether he's a merchant or not?"
Du Shangge laughed and said, "If Third Aunt is willing to think this way, then next time I have a day off, I will bring my cousin Nanzhi along. Why don't I bring my younger brother along too? I heard that Si Jing'an praised my younger brother's knowledge, so I'll bring him over to let Mu Yan see him as well."
Aunt Du was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes. She came from a small town and married a sickly illegitimate son. Although the Du family was kind and treated the third branch of the family well, they were still not very worldly-wise.
Now that her niece's son has gained the favor of the Marquis's daughter and heir, she can be considered extremely fortunate.
When the appointed day arrived, Aunt Du held Qiu Nanzhi's hand and carefully instructed her, "Although Miss Si is a merchant, she is still the daughter of a marquis and His Majesty's own sister. You must be obedient when you go, and don't displease them, understand?"
When Qiu Nanzhi heard that they were from the Si family, her face turned slightly pale, but she didn't say anything and obediently agreed.
Upon arriving at the estate, Si Jing'an also arrived. They exchanged greetings, showing no sign of anything amiss. He simply took Du Xiaodi aside and tested his knowledge.
At first, Du was a little nervous and reserved, but after a few times, he became more lively and answered the questions fluently.
Si Jing'an was very satisfied. He nodded and glanced at his eldest sister, only seeing Qiu Nanzhi's profile. The girl was too thin and appeared somewhat hazy.
He glanced at it once and immediately looked away.
Du Xiaodi was still a child after all. He had been sitting for so long and it was his first time visiting such a village, so he was very excited.
Si Jing'an then stood up and said to Si Muyan, "Elder sister, I'll take Du's younger brother for a walk around."
"Go."
Qiu Nanzhi did not answer from beginning to end. She sat obediently next to Si Muyan with her eyes lowered and rolled up her sleeves to brew tea.
Si Muyan smiled and said, "Your tea-making skills are quite good. Have you studied it before?"
Qiu Nanzhi said gently, "Thanks to my cousin, my aunt hired a female tutor for her to teach her flower arranging, tea making, music, poetry and other arts, and Nanzhi also learned from her."
Du Shangge blushed and then burst into laughter: "I used to feel guilty, thinking that my aunt had gone to so much trouble to hire the best female tutor for me, wasting both money and effort. But now that I think about it, it's a good thing my cousin learned it, so it wasn't a waste at all."