latelenovela Chapter 462 Si Jing'an's Thoughts
Chapter 462 Si Jing'an's Thoughts
After returning home, the second sister sighed deeply, "Life is unpredictable. In just a few years, everything has changed. But looking at their fate, it truly proves the saying, 'What goes around comes around.'"
Prince Ning said, "They brought this upon themselves, and what we should do is make good people live better lives."
The second sister nodded: "We must set up shelters in various places. Let's set off for our next stop tomorrow."
Prince Ning and his second sister traveled throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty. Many people learned of their identities and jokingly called them a divine couple.
As a result, Si Muyan's various shops have grown larger and stronger. In the past, merchants said that the Si family business was backed by the Marquis's mansion, but now they know that it is backed not only by the Marquis's mansion, but also by the current emperor.
Two years passed in the blink of an eye, and my younger brother turned twenty-one. Encouraged by his teacher, he participated in the imperial examination.
He actually came in third place!
As a result, the threshold of Si Muyan's estate was practically worn out by matchmakers coming to propose marriage.
The three daughters of the Si family had no interest in marriage, but this newly appointed third-ranked scholar was the future Marquis of Anle, and also His Majesty's younger brother.
Such a good marriage is hard to find even with a lantern.
The key point is that the third-ranked scholar was exceptionally handsome, reportedly even more so than the Marquis Si Xingzhi of yesteryear.
The ladies from various households booked the Si family's estate, bringing their daughters along. Ostensibly, they came for a visit, but in reality, they came to show Si Muyan the potential wife for her brother.
Si Muyan was both amused and exasperated, and called her underlings over to ask.
"You're all grown up now, at the age to get married. Do you have any thoughts on this?"
The younger brother blushed slightly, turned his face away, and said, "Not yet."
Seeing this, Si Muyan couldn't help but laugh: "If you say no, I will refuse them all. You are a young man, it's okay to establish your career before starting a family. After all, I, your older sister, will take the lead for you, and no one else can say anything."
The younger brother lowered his head and remained silent.
Si Muyan continued, "But when a young lady reaches marriageable age, she'll get anxious. Even if she's not anxious herself, her parents will be. And not all parents are like ours, agreeing to let us decide our own marriages and allowing me to do as I please and never marry. If their parents are old-fashioned and believe that marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers, then..."
Before he could finish speaking, the younger brother cried out anxiously, "Big sister, no...big sister, I...I have someone I like, but she...but she..."
Si Muyan said, "Tell me what's going on first."
The younger brother whispered, "She's a daughter from the maternal family of the Third Madam of Xuanping... her surname is Qiu. Her... her family background is too low. I'm afraid my eldest and third sisters won't agree, so..."
Xuanping Bo was the husband of Princess Heji and the eldest uncle of Du Shangge. However, Xuanping Bo only had two brothers with his mother. The third brother was not only born out of wedlock, but also suffered a brain injury from a young age and was raised by his two older brothers.
In such a situation, it was impossible to find a suitable woman. Later, the stepmother, who was also the mother of the Earl of Xuanping, found a daughter of a clerk in the county town where the Du family was from. She looked clean and honest and was a good girl, so she married her.
The county clerk wasn't even a proper official with a rank; in terms of status, he was indeed rather low.
Si Muyan thought about it carefully and remembered that Du Shangge seemed to have told her that there was a cousin living in the Du family who was not in good health, was young, and did not go out much.
If I remember correctly, that little girl just turned 18 this year.
Si Muyan asked, "How did you and her meet?"
The younger brother replied, “Last autumn, I went to a bookstore to buy books and met a child of about ten years old reading a book. I curiously pointed out a few things to him. Later, when I was about to leave, it started to rain. The child looked quite well dressed, but no one was there to pick him up. So I took him away in a carriage, and that’s when I learned that he was the young master of the third branch of the Du family.”
"On the way, he pointed to Miss Qiu holding an umbrella by the roadside... and said she was his sister. I...I..."
It turned out to be love at first sight.
The younger brother hurriedly said, "Big sister, she doesn't know. She never looked for me. I made up an excuse to go see her brother. The people in the third branch of the Du family are all nice; they don't know my true purpose. Big sister, I didn't have any other intentions, it's just...it's just..."
"Okay, I understand," Si Muyan said. "I'll have someone secretly investigate this girl's situation later before making any further plans."
The younger brother, sensing something was amiss, hurried to see Si Muyan.
Si Muyan said, "It's not even close to being settled yet, you can't ruin that girl's reputation. If it's not appropriate, I won't agree, and neither will your third sister."
The younger brother hung his head and said, "Okay."
Si Muyan arranged for someone to inquire and also invited Du Shangge to come over for a visit.
Du Shangge rarely gets a day off, and when she heard that Si Muyan was inviting her to play, she couldn't be happier.
She came running over and started complaining: "I used to think being a lady-in-waiting would be fun, but I never imagined it would be so tiring. I have to get up earlier than the chickens and go to bed later than the dogs every day. It's so exhausting."
Si Muyan laughed and said, "You can quit if you're tired. You've already had two children. If you really can't take it, just go home."
"How can that be! I finally became a female official, a fifth-rank official, the highest-ranking female official in the Great Zhou Dynasty. I have to set an example for them. How can I have a child and then go home to be a wife and mother?"
Du Shangge was filled with righteous indignation.
"If I start this trend, those women's husbands and families will all complain. They'll say that even Du Shangge chose to stay home and take care of the children, so why do you insist on going to court!"
Si Muyan was amused by her words: "You're absolutely right, it's rare to find someone with such awareness!"
Du Shangge said smugly, "That's right. My husband said something like that. I told him that if he didn't want his wife to continue being an official, we should get a divorce and he could marry a wife who was willing to stay at home. He was afraid of me, so naturally he didn't dare to mention it again."
"That's good, but didn't your mother or aunt try to dissuade you?"
Du Shangge shook his head: "My mother doesn't have time to care about me. My aunt used to try to persuade me, but every time she inquired, I was on duty. So she just felt sorry for me and sent all sorts of good things home. She would also take the children over to play every now and then."
She counted on her fingers: "Actually, I know that my husband's family treats me so well largely because of my good family background. But I don't want that. I hope that all women are treated well by their husband's family because they are capable of doing so themselves."
Si Muyan stopped smiling and said seriously, "Shangge, you are very outstanding, which is why you were able to become the highest-ranking female official in the Great Zhou Dynasty. I believe that with your abilities, you will do even better and rise in rank even faster."
After talking for a while, Si Muyan finally brought up the purpose of her visit.
"My brother told me that he met a young master from the Du family last year? You have a brother?"
Du Shangge nodded: "Yes, the younger brother of the third branch. He is in poor health, just like his sister, and rarely goes out. Oh, his sister is not from the Du family, but is the daughter of the third aunt. She has basically lived in the Du family since she was five years old."