A Mother-in-Law Sizes Up Her Son-in-Law

"There are definitely dangers," Zhao Ruxi said. "To gain honor and prestige, one cannot simply take without giving. Even the Princess of Zhennan is not as carefree as she appears on the surface. She has many things to worry about."

She glanced at Lady Zhu: "However, Prince of Qi is the second son of the Imperial Concubine. It's impossible for brothers in their faction to fight each other. The Cen Family will only support one prince in the struggle for the throne. Therefore, it's unlikely that Prince of Qi will personally participate in the struggle for the throne. At most, he will assist his elder brother, Prince of An."

Upon hearing this, Lady Zhu, who was still conflicted, immediately shifted her mindset.

She smiled happily, "Then there's no problem. If you think he's a good match, then agree to the marriage."

Now she was worried that Zhao Ruxi would disagree. Before Zhao Ruxi could speak, she quickly said, "Mother has met His Highness Prince of Qi. I remember that his appearance was among the best of all the princes, and he was also a very good person. At that time, many noble ladies wanted to marry their daughters to him."

At this point, she looked somewhat puzzled. "He must be seventeen or eighteen by now, right? Why isn't he engaged yet?"

In recent years, she has attended fewer banquets and is not very well-informed about news in the capital. She vaguely heard that several princes got married and were granted titles of nobility last year. As for the Prince of Qi, she knew nothing.

This thought made her heart tighten—the Prince of Qi of Qi was already seventeen or eighteen; there was no way he wouldn't be engaged. Could there be some problem?

"Yes, he's eighteen, and still not engaged," Zhao Ruxi said. "He told me that he's never been satisfied with the marriage arranged for him by the Emperor and the Imperial Concubine. Yesterday, the Emperor mentioned me and thought I was a good match for him. He immediately realized it was a great idea. He said he's always admired my talent."

She lowered her head, twisting her skirt in a shy gesture. "So he made a special trip to confirm things; to see if I was willing. If I wasn't, he wouldn't force me. He said marriage is about fate. Both people have to be attracted to each other and have mutual affection, that's what fate is."

Upon hearing this, Lady Zhu immediately understood how a mother-in-law would look at her son-in-law.

"The Emperor also thinks you two are a good match? What's rare is that he didn't ask the Emperor to issue a decree directly, but instead made a special trip all this way in this sweltering heat to seek your opinion. It shows how thoughtful he is," she said cheerfully.

She looked at her daughter. "What do you think of this marriage?"

Although she asked the question, she actually knew Zhao Ruxi's attitude in her heart.

Her daughter, Zhao Ruxi, is sixteen years old, but she seems completely clueless when it comes to romance. When people talk about who's interested in her or who's proposed, she doesn't know anything about blushing or being shy; she just says no and then launches into a long, logical analysis. Zhao Ruxi's reactions always leave her and her mother-in-law both amused and exasperated.

But what's wrong with my daughter now? She's actually feeling shy, and she didn't immediately say no.

It's clear that her destined marriage has arrived.

"I... I feel alright." Zhao Ruxi lowered her head slightly, twisting her skirt until it looked like pickled cabbage. "His attitude was very sincere."

Lady Zhu slapped her thigh. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's agree to it right away!"

As if remembering something, she quickly asked, "Where is he now?"

"He was afraid of putting me in a difficult position, so he returned to the capital first. He left a guard here, saying that if I had an answer, I should write it in a letter and give it to the guard, who would then deliver it to the capital."

"Oh dear, this child is so thoughtful. He doesn't want you to answer in person because he's worried you might be unwilling but too afraid to say it; if you wanted to agree, he's worried you'd be shy and embarrassed to say it. So he asked you to write to him. This child is so considerate."

Lady Zhu completely embraced the role, a typical mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, growing more and more fond of him, even calling him "children."

Normally, how could she dare to call a prince "child"? Even if he really was a child, it wouldn't be appropriate. Apart from members of the royal family, no one would dare to treat her as an elder to a royal child.

But things are different now; this is her son-in-law. Now that they're married, he'll have to call her "Mother."

Thinking about it this way, Lady Zhu was so happy she didn't know what to do.

Zhao Ruxi, however, was the complete opposite of her mother. Her face showed no joy, only worry. "But I'm worried my master won't agree. He's seen too much royal infighting and has never been keen on us being associated with the royal family."

Upon hearing that Kang Shilin disagreed, Lady Zhu frowned.

As a mother, she had been extremely worried about her daughter's marriage. Now that her daughter had finally found a good match, she was very Gao Xing about the thought that Kang Shilin would come out to obstruct it.

However, Kang Shilin had done a great favor for Zhao Ruxi and the Earl of Suiping's Residence. Without him, no matter how talented Zhao Ruxi was, she would not be valued by the Emperor and the court as she is now. Without him, the Emperor might not have even considered marrying Zhao Ruxi to Prince of Qi.

But having gone through the psychological process of "the mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law and liking him more and more," if she were to tell him now that the marriage was not going to happen, even if the other party was Kang Shilin, she would want to get angry with him.

She said, "Why don't I go to the capital right now and have a proper talk with your master?"

Zhao Ruxi shook her head. "That's not good."

She said, "Anyway, I haven't agreed to Prince of Qi's proposal yet. Perhaps I should write a letter now to ask my master's opinion? He really disagrees, I..." She bit her lip, "... I'll just refuse Prince of Qi then."

"That won't do," Lady Zhu immediately rejected the suggestion.

"Mother, please listen to me," Zhao Ruxi grabbed Lady Zhu's arm, her face pleading. "Please listen to me. Let me ask Master first. If he doesn't agree, we can discuss it further. Is that alright?"

Lady Zhu rolled her eyes, then nodded and said, "Alright, write the letter and Liu Quan deliver it."

Zhao Ruxi continued, "You must not tell anyone about this except Grandmother and Father. If it doesn't work out, and others find out that I rejected Prince of Qi, it will surely cause a huge uproar in the capital. Everyone is already very dissatisfied with me becoming the top scholar, and if you know that I didn't even look down on a prince, who knows how they will ridicule me."

Lady Zhu felt a pang of anxiety, realizing even more strongly that she couldn't refuse this marriage proposal. Otherwise, not only would her daughter be ruined for life, but she would also become the public enemy of all the noble ladies and young women in the capital.

So, the man they've all been so desperate to marry, Zhao Ruxi doesn't even look at. Everyone's bound to say she's got a death wish. Who will Zhao Ruxi marry in the future? Who would dare marry her?

She patted her daughter's hand. "Don't worry, I know what's important. Hurry up and write the letter; you have to go to the yamen soon. Give it to me when you're done, and I promise Liu Quan will deliver it to Mister Kumu properly. You'll see a reply by noon tomorrow."

Zhao Ruxi nodded obediently. "Okay."