The Decision
After being strictly disciplined by the Old Madam Duchess of Wei, she dared not say such things again. She only whispered about it to her best cousin in the mansion, but the Daya sent by the old lady to monitor her overheard it and reported it to the old lady.
The Old Madam Duchess of Wei immediately summoned her over, gave her a severe scolding, and punished her by making her kneel in the Buddhist hall for an hour and then copy several volumes of Buddhist scriptures.
Upon hearing this, the Wife of the Duke of Wei said to her mother-in-law, "Mother, what do you think should be done about Miss Xuan's marriage? She's already sixteen. Either the engagement is called off, or she gets married. We can't delay any longer; a decision must be made."
She didn't want to keep her niece at home any longer, lest she bring trouble upon herself.
"Let's get married," the old lady decided.
Xiao Lingyan had not been engaged, so each prominent family in the capital kept one or two eligible daughters, hoping that the royal family would take notice of them and appoint them as the Consort of the Prince of Qi.
Later, Zhao Ruxi was chosen as a princess consort, and the emperor and the imperial concubine did not intend to appoint any concubines for Prince of Qi. Only then did these noble families arrange marriages for their legitimate daughters.
After being rejected by Xiao Lingyan and hearing that he was engaged, Qi Xuan had no choice but to let her family arrange a marriage for her.
However, because of this incident, she did not agree to the marriage with the family she was engaged to in her previous life. Madam Qi was also proud, so she arranged for her to marry a young master from a family of similar status to the Duke of Ying and the Duke of Weiguo. The wedding was scheduled for late March.
Unexpectedly, a coup occurred in the New Year. Although the family that was engaged to Qi Xuan was not raided, all those in high positions were demoted.
The young man's father was demoted to a very poor province in the west with a border, serving as its prefect; while he himself was only a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), and because his family was involved in the struggle for the throne, even if he passed the imperial examination two years later, the emperor would suppress him and send him to a remote and impoverished county to serve.
Seeing her future husband's family like this, Qi Xuan made a scene and said she didn't want to marry him, and the second wife also had the intention of breaking off the engagement.
The Duke of Wei's Residence formed a marriage alliance in an attempt to strengthen themselves. The family that married Qi Xuan will not rise to prominence for three generations, and will not only fail to help the Duke of Wei's Residence, but may even drag them down.
Therefore, the old lady has been hesitating recently about whether or not to break off the engagement with Qi Xuan.
Hearing that Qi Xuan, despite her guidance, was still so unreasonable and dared to say anything, she was very angry and suddenly felt that it was quite good for her granddaughter to marry her fiancé.
Perhaps it would be a good thing for the Duke of Wei's Residence to follow their husbands to serve in remote areas, far from the capital.
"Get her married on time, according to the original schedule," the old lady said.
"Yes, Mother." The Wife of the Duke of Wei was very Gao Xing.
At the Earl of Suiping's Residence, Lady Zhu personally received Auntie Yu and spoke with her for a while. Then, she asked Matron Ruan and Matron Zhou to accompany her while she hurriedly went to the Old Madam's courtyard to find out how her daughter was doing after her marriage.
Zhao Yuanxun returned home half a month before the wedding and is still at home, preparing to set off for Gusu with his mother, Lady Zhu, and Zhao Jingtai in ten days.
"... Anyway, there are only two masters in the manor, His Highness and I. His Highness originally preferred peace and quiet, and there weren't many servants in the manor to begin with. Now that I've brought these people with me as part of my dowry, there's no one else. And since His Highness is ill, naturally no one dares to disobey me."
As soon as Lady Zhu entered the house, she heard her daughter's words.
Seeing Lady Zhu enter, Zhao Ruxi smiled and called out, "Mother."
The old lady, still uneasy, asked, "Aren't there any old nannies in the manor? Like the wet nurse of Prince of Qi?"
These kinds of servants are the most difficult to deal with. Because they nursed their masters, they treat them like their own sons and find fault with the new mistress in every way, especially when the mistress's background is not as good as their master's.
If Xiao Lingyan had such a wet nurse, she must be an old one from the palace. Noble Consort Cen would be worried about her son living alone, so she would definitely send a wet nurse with him to take care of his life.
These elderly people in the palace are even more difficult to deal with.
"His Highness's wet nurse is indeed still alive," Zhao Ruxi said. "However, a couple of years ago, His Highness said he had grown up, so he gave his wet nurse a sum of money and also helped her nephew, letting her go back to her hometown to enjoy a comfortable life with him."
"His Highness does neglect her; he sends someone to check on her every year and gives her some money and gifts. So, my nephew wouldn't dare mistreat the old lady. Now, the old lady is living a very comfortable life."
This is what Xiao Lingyan did at the beginning of his transmigration.
At that time, he not only replaced the eunuch who was with him, but also sent his wet nurse back to her hometown.
His wet nurse naturally refused, wanting to stay in the capital and wait for him to establish his own residence before going with him to the Prince of Qi's Residence to enjoy a life of luxury.
But Xiao Lingyan insisted on doing so, Noble Consort Cen was naturally happy to send the wet nurse away.
You see, if such a wet nurse uses her emotions to manipulate the prince, or is used by others to harm the prince, she would be a great scourge. It's better to get rid of her as soon as possible.
Hearing this, both the old lady and Zhao Yuanxun breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing her youngest son also let out a long sigh of relief, Lady Zhu felt both annoyed and amused.
Zhao Yuanxun asked, "Now that you're married, will the Emperor and Prince of Qi still allow you to serve as an official?"
Perhaps for the old lady and women like Lady Zhu, if Zhao Ruxi successfully married Prince of Qi, and if Prince of Qi recovered his health and treated Zhao Ruxi well, and if Zhao Ruxi could give birth to a son smoothly, then their lives would be complete. Whether she became an official or not was irrelevant.
But for a man like Zhao Yuanxun, who is somewhat career-minded, Zhao Ruxi is far from enough.
If it were any other woman, it would be understandable. But a woman like Zhao Ruxi, who became the top scholar in the imperial examination and achieved outstanding political results in just half a year as an official in Nanyang, should not stay in the inner palace. Instead, she should return to the court to serve, so as not to waste her talent and ability.
Of course, only broad-minded men like Zhao Yuanxun, Kang Shilin, Wu Huaisi, and Peng Guoan, who were close to her and appreciated her talent, would think this way.
Those men who look down on women and oppose women's involvement in politics are hoping that Zhao Ruxi will settle down and stop causing trouble.
"I don't know about His Majesty. Prince of Qi said it's up to me. If I want to go out and take up an official post, he will not only not stop me, but will support me. If I only want to stay at home, he will let me have my way," Zhao Ruxi said.
Upon hearing this, smiles appeared on the faces of the three elders of the Zhao Family.
Although Xiao Lingyan's paralysis worried them greatly, his affection for Zhao Ruxi completely made up for his poor health.
Compared to a healthy man who indulges in philandering and causes his wife heartache, they would rather have a son-in-law (grandson-in-law) like Xiao Lingyan.
"So what do you think?" Zhao Yuanxun asked again.
"His Highness is not in good health right now. If I go out and wander around, there will inevitably be too much gossip," Zhao Ruxi said.