Mother, Someone Has Come to Ask for My Hand

It was almost Wushi, the time to leave the yamen. Zhao Ruxi did not return to the yamen, but went directly to Lady Zhu's house in the main courtyard for lunch after arriving home.

Originally, Lady Zhu planned to stay with her daughter for a while before returning to Gusu. After Kang Shilin and the others left, Zhao Ruxi persuaded her to go. However, Lady Zhu was worried about her daughter and lingered there.

In her view, even though Zhao Ruxi was capable and resourceful and had established herself in the government office, she was still ultimately an unmarried, young, and beautiful woman.

If anyone harbors any wicked intentions and tries to climb over the wall in the middle of the night, even if they are caught by the guards before they even reach the outside of the wall, it will still damage Zhao Ruxi's reputation.

But her situation is completely different here. Even if someone climbs over the wall, as long as they don't get into Zhao Ruxi's room, it won't affect Zhao Ruxi's reputation.

So after much thought, she decided to stay.

Anyway, her son is at the academy, and her husband has a large group of servants in Gusu, so it doesn't matter if she's one more or one less.

Zhao Ruxi glanced at Lady Zhu and decided to tell her about her marriage after dinner, so as not to upset her and make her lose her appetite.

Whether Lady Zhu was pleasantly surprised or shocked upon hearing the news was beyond her control.

Half an hour later, the mother and daughter put down their chopsticks, and Zhao Ruxi said, "Mother, let's go to the garden pavilion. I have something to tell you."

Before the imperial decree was issued, it was not advisable to let too many people know about this matter, lest it cause unexpected trouble. Therefore, Zhao Ruxi planned to tell Lady Zhu without the help of the servants in her household.

Lady Zhu looked at her suspiciously. "What important matter requires us to discuss it in the pavilion?"

When the mother and daughter usually talked, even if it was something they didn't want the servants to hear, they would only talk inside the house, with their trusted maid standing guard at the door. It was never serious enough to require them to talk in the pavilion.

It's the height of summer now; stepping outside brings a wave of heat, and the sun is blazing. The pavilion is built in the middle of the pond, making it a breeding ground for mosquitoes. So, since the beginning of summer, Lady Zhu has absolutely stopped going out in the middle of the day, and she certainly wouldn't be so crazy as to go to the pavilion to feed the mosquitoes.

"Just come with me," Zhao Ruxi said, standing up.

She turned and instructed, "First, have someone take some mosquito-repellent herbs to the pavilion to fumigate it, then bring a large umbrella to shield the lady from the sun."

The maids immediately responded and busied themselves with their tasks.

Lady Zhu glanced helplessly at her daughter, then got up and walked to the pavilion under the blazing sun.

When they arrived at the pavilion, the maidservants who had come running over had already fumigated the pavilion.

The pavilion is built on the water, where a cool breeze keeps it from getting too hot; it's surrounded by blooming lotus flowers, making for a beautiful scene.

However, neither Zhao Ruxi nor Lady Zhu were in the mood to appreciate the scenery.

Zhao Ruxi instructed her servants, "You may all leave and wait on the shore."

After everyone had left, she said to Lady Zhu, "This morning, His Highness Prince of Qi came to Nanyang. He specifically asked me to accompany him for a walk in the fields. Before leaving, he told me that he wanted to marry me as his Consort of the Prince of Qi."

Lady Zhu had worked up a sweat walking over, and was wiping her brow with a handkerchief when she heard this. She loosened her grip, and the handkerchief was blown to the ground by the wind, falling into the pond in an instant.

Lady Zhu didn't care about the handkerchief; she grabbed Zhao Ruxi's arm and asked urgently, "What did you just say? Say it again!"

Zhao Ruxi had no choice but to repeat what she had just said.

Lady Zhu swallowed hard. "Prince of Qi?"

Zhao Ruxi nodded.

"The Fifth Prince?"

Zhao Ruxi nodded again.

Lady Zhu released her grip, looked at Zhao Ruxi, and remained speechless for a long time.

Zhao Ruxi felt a little uneasy and softly called out, "Mother."

She had a weak bond with her parents in her past life; they died in a car accident when she was in college. As a result, she is nearly thirty and still unmarried, with only her aunt worrying about her marriage prospects.

After transmigrating to the Great Jin, Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu treated her extremely well. Lady Zhu, in particular, allowed her to experience deep maternal love once again.

She hoped to receive Lady Zhu's blessing regarding her marriage to Xiao Lingyan, and did not want the marriage to cause unhappiness for everyone.

"Do you... disagree?" she asked.

Lady Zhu snapped out of her reverie and looked at her daughter with a complicated expression, "It's not that I disagree. My daughter is so outstanding; she could easily become an empress, let alone a princess."

At this moment, she was very glad that they were in the pavilion, and that the nearest maid was more than ten feet away, so she could say these words without any scruples.

Zhao Ruxi remained silent, waiting quietly for Lady Zhu's "but".

"But didn't you say that the struggle for the throne among the princes is fierce? Didn't you say you wanted to stay away from them and not get involved in any faction's struggle? If you marry Prince of Qi, won't you be in danger?" Lady Zhu's eyes were full of worry.

Zhao Ruxi blinked, not answering Lady Zhu's question, but instead asking, "Do you disagree with my marriage to him? If you disagree, then I'll just refuse him directly. Anyway, I haven't agreed yet. I told him I need to come back and discuss it with you before I can give you an answer."

"No, no, no," Lady Zhu hurriedly waved her hand.

If Zhao Ruxi were to directly say she wanted to marry him, Lady Zhu would definitely be Gao Xing.

Marrying the Prince of Qi would mean being drawn into a power struggle, living in constant fear and with her life in danger. This contradicted what Zhao Ruxi had originally said. If Zhao Ruxi insisted on marrying him, she would inevitably have to re-evaluate Zhao Ruxi's character.

But now that Zhao Ruxi says she wants to refuse, she suddenly feels reluctant.

This is a princess consort, such a noble status. Don't you see how extraordinary the Dowager Princess of Zhennan and the Princess of Zhennan were in the Great Jin Dynasty? Among so many wives of high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital, who would dare to offend them? And they were still princess consorts. Zhao Ruxi married Xiao Lingyan, so she is a princess consort, which is even higher than the Princess of Zhennan.

Moreover, as I said before, her daughter is so outstanding—first-rate in terms of background, talent, appearance, character, and temperament. Now that even the prince himself has come to propose, she refuses to marry him. Does she expect her to marry one of those good-for-nothing sons from noble families?

The respectable sons of noble families, all around Zhao Ruxi's age, are engaged. If they miss out on the Prince of Qi, what good families can they find?

Even if you find someone, would they dare to marry you?

His Highness Prince of Qi personally came to propose marriage, but was directly rejected. If they were to marry Zhao Ruxi, wouldn't they worry about incurring Prince of Qi's wrath? Who would dare to marry her?

She disagreed. Was she really going to just watch her outstanding daughter become an unwanted old maid? This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Your mother is just worried about your safety. If you marry him, you won't be in any danger. Your mother will Gao Xing for you, so why would she disagree with this marriage?" Lady Zhu said.

When Lady Zhu was still the Lady of the Marquis, she had seen Xiao Lingyan at the New Year's banquet. She remembered him as a very handsome young boy, better looking than any of his older brothers. What was most remarkable was his gentle and polite nature, which earned him praise from many people.

Several years have passed in the blink of an eye. That little boy of eleven or twelve years old must have grown into a handsome young man of seventeen or eighteen.