I Wish to Marry Her

He stood up and bowed deeply to Zhao Yuanxun: "Fifth Miss Zhao is exceptionally beautiful, talented, virtuous, and chaste, which I greatly admire. I wish to marry her, and I wrote to seek my father's opinion. My father also greatly respects my uncle's character, and today he wrote to grant my request. Yunkai here today to earnestly request my uncle to entrust your Fifth Miss Zhao, to me. I will treat her with my life."

Happiness came so quickly that Zhao Yuanxun, who had already drunk some alcohol, felt a little dizzy.

It took him a while to react and help Fu Yunkai, who had been bent over, to his feet.

"Uncle?" Fu Yunkai looked at Zhao Yuanxun expectantly.

Zhao Yuanxun opened his mouth, feeling an urge to agree to the marriage. He felt that if he missed out on a good match, he would never find a better one for his daughter.

But reason stopped him from saying those words.

My daughter's words still echoed in my ears. She said she didn't want to get married, that she could make something of herself like a man, and that she didn't want to be confined to the inner quarters, fading away in the mundane details of daily life. She said if they didn't agree, she would move out.

"Nephew, I cannot agree to this matter right now. My mother dotes on Miss Xi, and I need to go home and discuss it with her." He used his mother as a shield.

Although Fu Yunkai was somewhat disappointed, he could understand.

"Of course." He nodded, then looked at Zhao Yuanxun with bright eyes, "Then do you think I should personally go and plead with her to let her see me as well?"

Zhao Yuanxun's heart skipped a beat.

If they hadn't seen Fu Yunkai in person, not to mention the old lady, even Lady Zhu would absolutely not have felt comfortable arranging her daughter's marriage like this. It would be better to take this opportunity to let them meet, and also let Miss Xi see Fu Yunkai again.

Thinking that it was dinnertime and Zhao Ruxi should be back from Beining, he suggested, "Then... how about we go now? Don't mention marriage. Just say I've been drinking, you're worried about me, and you want to take me home so I can also pay my respects to the old lady and madam."

Fu Yunkai was overjoyed, feeling that his strategy for winning over his father-in-law was absolutely correct.

"Please wait a moment, Uncle."

He turned to Chang'an and asked the waiter to come in. He ordered two bowls of strong tea, served one to Zhao Yuanxun, drank the other himself, and after finishing it, he chewed the tea leaves in his mouth. Feeling that the taste of alcohol was gone, he went to the empty private room next door to change his clothes, wiped his face, and secretly asked Chang'an to re-comb his hair.

After doing all this, he said to Zhao Yuanxun, "Uncle, let's go."

Seeing all that Fu Yunkai had done, Zhao Yuanxun was even Gao Xing.

Fu Yunkai was taking this marriage so seriously precisely because he valued it so much. It was clear that he genuinely wanted to marry Miss Xi.

"Let's go." He stood up.

Fu Yunkai quickly and attentively stepped forward to help him up. The two went downstairs together, got into the carriage, and went to the Earl of Suiping's Residence.

At this time, Zhao Ruxi had just returned from Beining.

The Zhang Family started moving the day after the contract was changed. They moved on and off for five days until they finally finished moving everything and handed the keys to her today.

Zhao Ruxi had checked on the place before returning and found it very clean. Apparently, the Zhang Family had their servants clean the house inside and out before handing over the keys.

She had already instructed Gao Weiqiang to find out where a good bricklayer could be found tomorrow, and to hire one to repaint the entire house, repair and paint all the doors and windows, and change any parts that were not to his liking.

After finishing these tasks, she returned to the manor and had dinner with the old lady, Lady Zhu, and Zhao Jingtai. While chatting with them, a maid came to report that the Earl had gotten drunk, and that Young General Fu Heir of the Marquis of Pingnan, had brought him back and wanted to visit the old lady and Madam.

When Zhao Ruxi mentioned Fu Yunkai's name, she recalled what Xiao Ke had once said and immediately felt a sense of foreboding.

Xiao Ke had said that Fu Yunkai to propose to her, but so much time had passed and he hadn't come. Moreover, she had offended the Wife of the Marquis of Pingnan at the birthday banquet of the old Princess of Prince of Zhennan, and Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu hadn't mentioned Fu Yunkai in front of her. She thought that the matter was over and didn't take it to heart.

Unexpectedly, Fu Yunkai actually entered the house.

The old lady was Gao Xing and instructed the maid, "Please come in quickly."

She turned to Zhao Ruxi with a smile and said, "Didn't Miss Xi you were going to teach your brother to draw? Let's go to your yard."

Zhao Jingtai had been hearing his father talk about Fu Yunkai a lot lately, praising how brave he was. The little boy naturally admired the strong, and he had long been very curious about this Fu Da.

He then pleaded, "Grandmother, please let me stay here. I want to see Fu Da. Father says he's very capable. I'll just sit here and not say anything; I won't get in the way."

"No. This is their first visit today, and they specifically asked to see your mother and me. It's not proper for you two siblings to be here. You should go back first. Next time, next time I'll have your father take you to see him. Be good, listen to me." The old lady coaxed Zhao Jingtai.

Zhao Ruxi originally wanted to stay here to prevent the newcomers from having ulterior motives and her family from being easily persuaded to agree to the marriage.

Hearing the old lady say this, she felt she couldn't stay any longer and could only tell Zhao Jingtai, "Let's go."

You can guard against it for a while, but not forever. Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu had just agreed to give her the freedom to choose her own marriage partner; now their time to be tested had come. If they readily agreed to the marriage, she would teach them a lesson in "rebellion."

Zhao Jingtai followed Zhao Ruxi out the door, turning back every few steps.

Seeing the siblings leave, the old lady eagerly asked Lady Zhu, "Tell me, what's going on with Young General Fu? Did he really bring the Earl back and then pay us a visit?"

Lady Zhu smiled and said, "We don't have that kind of face. I guess he's not here for us. Otherwise, it would be fine if he came to greet you, but why is he greeting me? Does he want to become the Earl's godfather?"

The old lady patted her daughter-in-law and scolded her playfully, "You little rascal, how can you talk about your own husband like that?"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law burst into laughter.

Unlike Zhao Yuanxun, who was so oblivious, they didn't even consider marriage until the proposal was out in earnest.

Ever since Fu Yunkai took the initiative to get close to Zhao Yuanxun and repeatedly invited Zhao Yuanxun to dinner, the old lady and Lady Zhu sensed that something was wrong.

Fu Yunkai isn't someone who's idle at home. Although he's not currently at the border, he's still responsible for recruiting and training new soldiers, so he's not exactly free. He doesn't have time to invite people out for drinks every day.

Moreover, Fu Yunkai had already made numerous military achievements at a young age, making him a prominent figure in the capital. He attracted attention wherever he went, and many people would invite him to drink. Not to mention, he was close friends with the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince, like brothers. How could he possibly drink with a strange middle-aged man every day?

Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious; there's no smoke without fire. Fu Yunkai's actions must have some ulterior motive.