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His fleet spends most of its time at sea; over the years, if there are Merfolk, he must have encountered them once or twice.
"But Yiling said she has Merfolk blood, and it seems there's verifiable evidence of it."
They have a family genealogy.
"You believe what she says? Besides, royalty, auspicious omens, background—these are all things that come up."
Gu Wanning suddenly realized, "Fabricated to inflate their own value?"
"Um."
"I see." Gu Wanning laughed. "Then I'll make up a compelling backstory for myself too."
"Your background is impeccable."
Gu Wanning: That's true, she always forgets how incredibly powerful her father is.
"I'll return the pearl to her tomorrow. You were never going to marry her anyway, and I feel guilty for accepting something for nothing."
"Keep it. It's really good stuff, and she offered it to me willingly." Xu Weibei didn't take it to heart. "I guess she's trying to get close to me. Let's wait and see."
Of course, it's not for the purpose of romance.
There will always be some conflicts and interests between countries.
Gu Wanning nodded and said, "Then I'll put it away for now and see."
To be honest, she couldn't see through Yiling at all.
Maybe she's just too stupid.
Gu Wanning didn't make things difficult for herself; she left the things she didn't understand to others and to time.
She still did what she could within her capabilities.
She told Xu Weibei about her Second Concubine's younger brother's wedding.
This matter was just mentioned, and Xu Weibei wanted to go but was refused by Gu Wanning.
Moreover, Xu Weibei felt that Gu Wanning was so focused on helping others that she neglected him, which naturally made him unhappy.
"Why is the wedding taking so long?" he complained.
Gu Wanning retorted sarcastically, "Who can compare to the Marquis, who only has to greet people with a dark face? Moreover, the Marquis is capable and hardworking; he has one wife and four concubines entering the house on the same day, which has become a popular topic of conversation..."
Xu Weibei: We've lost! We've lost!
Don't give a woman the chance to bring up the past, or she'll really dig up everything.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Xu Weibei changed the subject.
"Rongrong wants to ask about the matter of donating official positions."
"Donating official positions? That was so long ago, it doesn't exist anymore."
The emperor disliked this kind of thing very much.
However, in previous years, the national treasury was truly empty, and even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice, so the emperor tacitly approved of this.
However, all that was released were titles; there was no real power or salary.
"Oh. Then I'll tell her not to get scammed," Gu Wanning said.
The Second Concubine had it tough. Considering her younger brother was a commoner, which might make her future sister-in-law lose face in her family, she thought of buying him a "nominal" position.
They had already agreed on the money, but then she became suspicious and came to ask Gu Wanning again.
Luckily I asked, otherwise I would have avoided a loss.
"Why is she bothering with all this useless stuff? The Shi family has already married their daughter off to a merchant; what face do they have left?"
This is clearly selling their daughter.
"You can't say that. Rongrong just wants her sister-in-law to have face so that she can live a good life with her brother in the future."
"Shi Xun is a muddle-headed person. The Emperor only appointed him because of his loyalty back then; otherwise, he would never have become a vice minister."
"No matter what, I'm still out of my league."
The next day, Gu Wanning personally went to tell her Second Concubine the news, urging her not to be deceived.
The Second Concubine thanked her, but disappointment was evident in her eyes.
Gu Wanning comforted her, saying, "The Shi family girl knows your feelings and will appreciate them."
My Second Concubine was so busy with this wedding that she was exhausted and worn out.
"Yes." Second Concubine said happily when she heard her mention her future sister-in-law, "She's so thoughtful; she even asked someone to find out my measurements and made shoes for me."
Gu Wanning smiled and said, "This is a good thing."
This is actually perfectly normal.
However, since the other party was marrying down and following the rules, the Second Concubine was clearly quite satisfied.
The Second Concubine sighed, "Now that my brother is married, my biggest worry is finally over."
She pulled Gu Wanning and her Third Concubine into the house for tea.
Gu Wanning smiled and said, "Don't be so polite. Everyone at home is so busy. We're here to help, not to cause trouble. Come on, Manager Jin, let us have some work to do."
Second Concubine laughed heartily.
It was clear that she was genuinely happy.
"Could you and Hua Ying help me check if the seating arrangement for the guests is appropriate? In this kind of occasion, with so many people and so much chatter, there's bound to be some oversights."
The Second Concubine wanted everything to be perfect, but she also knew that some people would definitely be dissatisfied with things like seating arrangements.
Such things are commonplace at any wedding or funeral.
"I know most of it," said the Second Concubine. "We're easy to deal with our guests, but we're afraid of neglecting the wedding party."
Gu Wanning didn't really understand anything.
However, the Third Concubine learned a lot during the years she spent with the Grand Princess.
After all, the Grand Princess was known for her love of organizing all sorts of things and hiring people to host various banquets.
After finishing her sentence, the Second Concubine went to attend to her duties, leaving a maidservant to serve her.
The Third Concubine was the main person in charge, Gu Wanning listened as she asked the maids about the identities of the people on the list.
At Gu Wanning's table, she sat in the head seat, followed by the bride's female relatives, who were said to be Miss Shi's aunt Madam Yu.
Third Concubine hesitated for a moment, "Is it customary for aunts to accompany their husbands to the wedding? I've never heard of such a custom before."
The maid whispered, "The young lady also said that things are a bit different from usual. But she also said that everything will be based on the arrangements made by our in-laws."
"Hmm." The Third Concubine nodded. "Then, whose wife is this?"
When arranging seats, in addition to considering age, one must also consider social hierarchy.
When it's difficult to arrange seating, it's best to have everyone sit separately.
"Yes, they say they sell sesame oil," the maid said, blushing slightly. "But the young lady instructed that no one should be negligent. She also said, 'Every family has a few poor relatives; every family has its downfall.'"