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Chapter 208 : Bestowing Marriage (1)

The sky was grey and overcast.

Zisu looked at the sky covered with dark clouds and said, “If it’s going to rain heavily on this big day, then it will be too much….” Today was the Second Miss’ wedding day. Zisu didn’t expect to see dark clouds this early in the morning.

Yuxi said, “If it rains heavily, it will be better.” If it rained heavily, it would stop soon and would not affect the wedding.

Before the guests had finished their breakfast, it started to rain outside. The rain was not heavy. It was like an ink painting, deep and light, and like silver threads scattered all over heaven and earth. Nearby scenes were covered in a veil, like a fairy’s skirt, and distant ones were hazy, like in a fairy mist.

When Yuxi looked at the weather, she realised that the rain would not stop for a while today. She wondered why it was raining for both Yuru and Yujing’s wedding.

Qiu Shi had never bothered with Yujing’s marriage. She left everything for Ye Shi to handle while becoming an arm-flinging shopkeeper herself. Only today, she could be seen entertaining guests.

Half-past shishi, the groom came over to collect the bride. No one from the State Residence made things difficult for Seventh Young Master Song. They just allowed him to pick up the bride and go on very smoothly.

After sending Yujing away, Qiu Shi breathed a long sigh of relief. “Finally, this scourge has been married off.” There was no need to look at this eyesore anymore.

Those around her who heard what she had spoken bowed their heads, treating themselves as if they were deaf.

After the wedding, there were many follow-up matters to be dealt with. Qiu Shi didn’t care with them either as she threw these matters to Ye Shi.

Since Qiu Shi had ignored these matters, it was even less likely that Yuxi would even be bothered with them. All this time, she had been peacefully reading in her courtyard.

When Yujing returned to the house on the third day after her wedding, Yuxi, her meimei, had to go and greet her. Not only Yuxi but so did Yuchen and Yurong, who had arrived at the Main Courtyard.

Not long after they waited, Yujing brought her new husband to the residence. Today, Yujing dressed luxuriously in a splendid red dress with a complete set of jewellery inlaid with gems. The necklace she wore on her neck had an emerald in the middle, the size of an egg. Such Yujing was threateningly wealthy to the people of the State Residence.

Of course, it wasn’t wrong for a married girl to dress in such a rich way as this was the only way to tell her maiden’s family that she had a good life. But the smugness on Yujing’s face made the people present feel a little speechless.

They were the young misses of the State Residence, not ordinary people. Although they were now a bit down on their luck, they had seen many good things. The few people present, not to mention Yuchen, had no idea how many good things they had in their hands and who among the others did not have a set of jewellery with precious stones in their hands. By doing so, Yujing had truly fallen into the lower class. It was the Seventh Young Master Song that surprised Yuxi a little. He was very ordinary-looking, but he looked and felt like a nice person to get along with. Yuxi muttered in her heart; this was the only lucky part about Yujing’s marriage. [+]

When Yujing entered the parlour, she didn’t see Duke Han nor Qiu Shi, and her face turned a little ugly. When she returned home, her parents did not even show up. How could she tolerate this?

Duke Han was at home that day, but he was not interested in greeting the Seventh Young Master Song, who was just a brat to him. He had asked Master Shizi, Han Jianming, to take care of the matter for him. As for Qiu Shi, she was so disgusted with Yujing that she didn’t care whether Yujing was looking good or not.

Old Lady Han was not like Qiu Shi, who would act according to her temper. However, she was uncomfortable seeing such a dazzling look on Yujing’s face. After Yujing had given her gifts to everyone, she then asked a few questions and excused herself of being tired, leaving the follow-up matter to Ye Shi.

Since Ye Shi was a married woman, she could only entertain Yujing if she had to. Therefore, the Seventh Young Master Song Dynasty could only be hosted by Han Jianming.

When Yuxi saw this situation, she immediately left the scene.

Yuchen then came out and invited Yuxi to go to Tingyun Pavilion. “Si Meimei, I’ve just received spring water from Lingshan Temple this morning. Do you have time to taste the tea together?”

Yuxi smiled and nodded in response. “Okay!” Yuchen knew very well that she wasn’t even a big tea drinker. For Yuchen to invite her to go and taste some tea, it was because she just wanted to talk to her. Yuxi wondered why Yuchen liked to talk to her so much?

There was a reason for Yuchen to go looking for Yuxi. This matter was also related to Yuxi. “Si Mei, Lady of Taining has been secretly inquiring about your news recently.” If the Lady of Taining inquired about Yuxi openly, Yuchen would not have especially told Yuxi about it. However, the Lady of Taining asked for Yuxi’s information from top to bottom, making people feel very strange.

Yuxi let out an ahh and asked, “What is she doing asking about me?” This was really puzzling. She didn’t have any intersection with Marquis Taining, let alone offend anyone from Lady of Taining’s residence.

Yuchen was also surprised when she got this news. “Think about it again. Did you have any contact with the Second Master Chen?” Apart from this reason, Yuchen could not find another explanation.

Yuxi found it unimaginable. “I did meet with the Second Master Chen before, but those were all coincidental. The first two, we just greeted each other. Only on the third meeting did he tell me that he wanted to exchange experience in playing the flute with me.” After saying that, she explained the situation where their three meetings occurred to Yuchen.

Yuchen was also surprised and told Yuxi, “As far as I know, not to mention people who are unfamiliar to him, even those who are particularly close to him will say that Second Master Chen speaks very little. Even at home, he doesn’t talk much.” Hence, it was bizarre that such a person would take the initiative to speak to Yuxi. No wonder Lady of Taining had someone prying into Yuxi’s news.

Yuxi wondered, “Even so, the Lady of Taining shouldn’t be prying into my news in private.” It was fine to pry them openly and honestly instead. Such behaviour made Yuxi feel uncomfortable.

Yuchen asked softly, “Did you know that the Second Master Chen had been kidnapped back then?” Yuxi was not very well-informed of the outside world, which was why Yuchen asked her this question.

Yuxi nodded and said, “I heard Shiya talk about it, but she was not clear how it happened.”

Yuchen retold the exact process to Yuxi. Chen Ran’s kidnapper back then was not genuinely aiming for the Chen family’s money, but because the Marquis Taining had captured his parents. The other party demanded that the Marquis Taining let his family go, and he would release Chen Ran. As a result, Marquis Taining used a trick to capture this man, but he did not expect the man to kill himself upon being arrested. Naturally, no one knew where the man had hidden Chen Ran.

Yuxi did not expect there would be such a story. “Then, how was Chen Ran rescued afterwards?” What the Marquis Taining had done could not be said to be wrong; it was natural to treat enemies by cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots. If not, there might be others who would be harmed in the future.

Yuchen said, “It wasn’t the people of the Chen family who saved him. He escaped on his own. As for how he escaped, no one knew. At that time, everyone in the Chen family thought he was dead. I heard that when he came back at that time, there was not a single piece of good flesh on his body which made him too horrible to look at.”

This Yuxi did hear Zhou Shiya mention. “Shiya told me that Chen Ran had not spoken much ever since he returned to his home.”

Yuchen nodded and said, “Yes. Not only did he not speak to them, but he was also cold to everyone in the Chen family. It is to this day that he is relatively treating everyone in the Chen family indifferently as well.”

Yuxi commented, “I think the situation back then must have been very complicated.” As for the truth, only Chen Ran and the people of Marquis Taining residence knew about it.

Yuchen was not interested in finding the truth about the kidnapping. She wondered, “Chen Ran is very cold in nature, so it’s strange that he would take the initiative to talk to you.” After saying that, she glanced at Yuxi thoughtfully, wondering if Chen Ran had fallen for Yuxi. It was not impossible. Yuxi’s appearance and talent were all good enough. Thus, it was not impossible for Chen Ran to have a crush on her.

Yucheni’s eyes made Yuxi’s heart shiver. “San Jie, what kind of eyes are you giving me? I’ve met Chen Ran three times in total. I’m not a pretty girl, so how could he have taken a fancy to me? Moreover, the first time I met him in the back garden of the Marquis Taining’s residence, Chen Ran didn’t even look at me directly. How could he have taken a liking to me, right?”

Yuchen asked, “Si Mei, in case Chen Ran actually likes you, what are you going to do?” Chen Ran was known for his cold nature in the capital, but he was so impressed with Yuxi that Yuchen did not believe Yuxi when she said he did not have that kind of intention. [+]

Yuxi looked at Yuchen with some surprise and said, “San Jie, marriage is a matter of parents’ orders and matchmakers’ words. If Chen Ran has a crush on me, his parents must have invited the official matchmaker to propose to me. However, this is impossible. I think Chen Ran was just in a bad mood at that time and was only teasing me!” Yuxi said this on the surface, but she didn’t think so in her heart. It was impossible to say that Chen Ran had taken a fancy to her. It wasn’t that she had an inferiority complex, but she just knew. If he did, he would have asked a matchmaker to come to her door to propose marriage.

Yuchen laughed a little and did not continue to speak about this topic anymore. She instead talked to Yuxi about the tea ceremony. Yuxi didn’t have a deep understanding of the tea ceremony, except for the things she learned from Teacher Song that day. But Yuchen wasn’t looking for guidance either. She just wanted an audience. There was no way around it. Geniuses could be lonely, isolated and need a place to vent. Moreover, Yuxi was a good listener.

A few days later, on this day, Yuxi was reading in her study. Kufu suddenly called out loudly from outside the door, “Come out quickly, Miss. There is great joy in the residence.”

Yuxi put down the «Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government» in her hand and walked out, asking, “What is the great joy?” For Kufu to be this excited, this happy event must not be small.

Kufu blushed as she happily informed Yuxi, “Miss, my Lord has been promoted to two levels in a row, and now he is a third upper-rank assistant minister.”

Yuxi was a bit surprised. How could he be promoted two levels in a row without any good reason? When Er Ge had been promoted two ranks in a row, he had made an outstanding achievement. But a civil official was not like a military official. It was not uncommon for a military official to be promoted two ranks in a row if he had achieved enough merit. Civilian officials, on the other hand, were all ranked according to seniority. Unless they were of an amazing calibre, they could jump through the ranks. Han Jingyan was unquestionably not one of these talents. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been a fourth-ranking official until now.

After thinking about it for a while, Yuxi could guess why Han Jingyan had been promoted two ranks in a row. It wasn’t that Han Jingyan had a good record in politics but that he had taken advantage of Yuchen’s light. The Emperor would probably bestow Yuchen a marriage, but Han Jingyan’s official position was too low. It would not look good for a fourth-ranking official’s di daughter to be a prince’s fei. To save face, the Emperor gave Han Jingyan the promotions.

There was a reason why Yuxi thought so; in her previous life, Han Jingyan had also been promoted to an official position before Yuchen’s sanctioned marriage. But then he was promoted to one rank, not two, and the official position was not very good. There was no telling why this life would be different. What Yuxi didn’t know was, it would be just as well that the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel was feeling unwell and had retired to his hometown, leaving his position vacant. Thus, the Emperor had given Han Jingyan this favour for the sake of his son. Yuchen was given a year to be married in her previous life. By then, the vacancy had already been filled. So naturally, there was no good position to give to Han Jingyan.