area51novel Chapter 117 The British Duke's Mansion
Chapter 117 The British Duke's Mansion
Chapter 117 The British Duke's Mansion
"I—we're not a good match."
Upon hearing Wang You's words, Minglan felt a complex mix of emotions.
There was excitement, joy, but also confusion and helplessness.
In the end, reason prevailed, and she lowered her head after speaking, worried that Wang You would see her emotions.
"I told you, I would persuade my parents to propose marriage to the Sheng family."
Wang You said, "I will arrange this matter, you don't need to worry."
"But it would be in the best interest of both the Wang and Sheng families for my cousin to marry my fifth sister. Besides, I am just a concubine's daughter and I am not good enough for my cousin."
Minglan raised her head and smiled, "Cousin, please don't joke with me."
"Don't you think that if we have to consider profit in everything, life will lose a lot of its joy?"
Wang You looked at Minglan earnestly and said, "I know everything you've said, and I will handle it well. If you're unwilling, then pretend I didn't say anything!"
He could sense that Minglan liked him.
This is completely different from Minglan's feelings towards Qi Heng and Gu Tingye in the original drama.
Minglan was willing to work with Qi Heng to try, mainly because she was moved.
Given Qi Heng's family background and character, his willingness to marry a concubine's daughter and even his willingness to set aside his pride and relentlessly pursue her is incredibly attractive to women.
Even someone as rational as Minglan was confused.
She later agreed to marry Gu Tingye, also because she was moved.
Of course, this is Wang You's opinion; Minglan's trajectory is now different from before.
Wei Xiaoniang is still alive; she also has a younger sister.
Minglan had to consider whether Madam Wang would hold a grudge against her because of this incident and take revenge on her stepmother and sister.
She was willing to gamble with Qi Heng because Old Madam Sheng was the only person she cared about in the Sheng family.
Given the prevailing social norms, no matter how jealous Madam Wang and Madam Lin were, they couldn't do anything to Old Madam Sheng.
But now, it's very easy for Madam Wang to deal with her stepmother and sister.
The Wang and Sheng families intend to form a marriage alliance, with the proposed partners being him and Rulan.
In Minglan's mind, he might be able to win over her parents, so the Sheng family wouldn't be able to refuse him, but Madam Wang would definitely hold a grudge against her because of it.
For the sake of her mother and sister, Minglan might not agree.
However, Wang You did not explain what he was going to do, nor did he mention the things that worried her. He just looked at Minglan.
If Minglan refuses out of consideration, he won't say anything more.
Minglan looked at Wang You, pursed her lips, and said, "I'll go check on Fifth Sister and the others playing Chuiwan."
3
Wang You looked at Minglan, who seemed to be fleeing in a panic, and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
However, I wouldn't say I felt particularly sad.
He wanted to marry Minglan because he felt comfortable around her. If he were to be sad because she rejected him, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
Just then, Minglan suddenly stopped and whispered, "Cousin, I'll wait for you."
After saying that, he jogged away.
Wang You watched Minglan's retreating figure as she ran away, a smile appearing on his lips.
He wasn't saddened by Minglan's lack of response.
But now that Minglan has responded, he is very happy.
"hey-hey."
Just then, a burst of laughter came from behind him, bringing Wang You back to his senses.
Wang Youyi turned around and saw Shi Tou grinning foolishly.
"What are you grinning about?" Wang You said irritably.
Stone scratched his head and said, "I'm happy for you, young master."
"Yeah?"
Wang You said calmly, "I think Xiao Tao is a bit silly. I'll talk to Sixth Sister later and make sure she doesn't bring Xiao Tao along as part of her dowry. Let's find her a good man to marry."
"Xiao Tao isn't stupid."
Stone instinctively refuted the first half of the statement, but when he heard the second half, he was dumbfounded. His mouth moved, but he didn't know what to say.
"Why aren't you smiling anymore?" Wang You asked with a smile.
"Young master, what wealthy family's daughter gets married without a dowry of maids?"
Shi Tou said anxiously, "Miss Xiao Tao is so loyal to Sixth Miss, how can we not let Sixth Miss take her along?"
"It was precisely because of her loyalty that she was able to marry into a good family early on. Otherwise, if she had come to the Wang family as part of her dowry, she would have only been assigned to one of the family's servants," Wang You said.
Upon hearing this, Shi Tou's face turned red with anxiety, but he didn't know what to say.
"alright."
Seeing that he was almost in tears, Wang You said, "I was just teasing you. I'm just curious, when did you take a liking to Xiao Tao?"
Xiao Tao isn't bad-looking, but she appears somewhat robust, which doesn't conform to current aesthetic standards.
In the Song Dynasty, slenderness was considered beautiful, and those who were thinner were more popular.
Many of the maids in the Wang family were just as beautiful as Xiao Tao, but Shi Tou didn't like any of them, yet he took a fancy to Xiao Tao.
"My mother said that strong and healthy people are good at giving birth."
Stone scratched his head, his face flushed, and his eyes darted away as he said, "And—and I think she's very pretty."
Ok.
Wang You finally understood.
He remembered that Shi Tou had said that he was only five years old when his mother passed away.
I reckon that's all he remembers about his mother.
Perhaps it was this sentence that changed his aesthetic views.
The women you usually come into contact with who look strong are mostly married women who do menial tasks.
Xiao Tao is a very special case; it would be strange if he didn't like her.
"Stone, I've seen through your young master long ago. This is part of the reason why I want to marry Sixth Sister," Wang You said, patting Stone on the shoulder.
Upon hearing this, Shi Tou was deeply moved and looked at Wang You with tears in his eyes.
"Young master—I—I—"
"alright."
Seeing that Shi Tou was choking up, Wang You said, "Don't say anymore. Once I marry the Sixth Miss, I will arrange your marriage."
Such words can only fool someone as simple-minded as Stone.
If he told Xiaoman anything, Xiaoman would never believe him.
As evening approached, Wang You and his companions returned to Bianjing City by carriage.
"Second brother, when I created opportunities for you before, did you say anything to Sister Minglan?"
Mu Jie'er looked at Wang You suspiciously and said, "Later, when I was talking to Sister Minglan, she kept getting distracted, and at noon she had a fever—"
She even burned the meat while grilling it.
"7
"I didn't say anything to her. She left not long after you left." Wang You shook his head, feigning ignorance.
"That seems to be true."
Mu Jie'er couldn't detect anything unusual on Wang You's face, so she had no choice but to give up.
That night, Wang You lay in bed, pondering how to get his family to agree to let him marry Minglan.
He was actually quite confident about dealing with his father and mother, but the only difficult situation was with Old Mrs. Wang.
Don't think that Old Mrs. Wang was reasonable just because she married Wang Da Niangzi off to Sheng Hong.
Men and women are completely different concepts.
The reason Sheng Hong was able to marry Madam Wang, and later Sheng Changbai was able to marry Hai Chaoyun, was because they both passed the imperial examinations with flying colors.
The title of Jinshi (进士) was the key to getting ahead.
It seems that Old Madam Sheng took Sheng and Sheng Changbai to the Wang and Hai families, and they were each chosen by one of them.
Only by becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) could they be considered for marriage.
Just like Wen Yanjing, before he even passed the imperial examination, Sheng Hong was already willing to marry his illegitimate daughter to him.
The book has its own house of gold, and the book has its own Yan Ruyu.
This is no joke.
Men could improve their social status and overcome the gap in social standing through the imperial examinations.
However, it's different for women; their status depends entirely on their maternal family's social standing.
Madam Wu said that a woman's marriage is a completely different story, and that only ignorant people care about social status.
However, we can assume that Liang Han did not have an affair with his sister-in-law's cousin and did not have a child with her.
Given that the eldest son of a concubine has shown signs of wanting to seize the title, would Madam Wu consider a daughter of a concubine?
She wanted Liang Han to marry Minglan, partly because she valued Minglan's abilities, and partly because Liang Han's actions couldn't be kept secret from families of equal social standing.
Those of equal social standing were unwilling to marry into the Liang family, while those of lower social standing offered little help to Liang Han.
Naturally, ability should be the first priority.
If it weren't for all those messy things, Madam Wu would definitely prioritize social status over character.
this is the truth.
Wang You's marriage to Ru Lan was a marriage between relatives, but what's the point of marrying a concubine's daughter from the Sheng family?
After much thought, Wang You couldn't come up with a good solution.
However, he wasn't in a hurry; Minglan wouldn't reach marriageable age until next year, so there was still time.
If there's really no other way, I'll just have to learn from Mo Lan.
Of course, it's impossible to actually do that. As long as outsiders see some physical contact between the two, Old Madam Wang will agree for the sake of the Wang family's reputation.
The Duke of England's residence, the drill ground.
The Duke of England smiled, stroking his beard as he watched his son and daughter sparring in the arena.
Lady Tang, the Duchess of England, came over with several maids carrying snacks.
"Stop competing, come and have some snacks and rest for a while."
"Mother, wait a moment."
Zhang Guifen replied, showing no intention of stopping.
Zhang Zheng had no choice but to continue sparring with his sister.
"What are you doing teaching martial arts to a young lady like yourself?"
Tang sat down next to her husband, somewhat displeased, and said, "She's almost of marriageable age, and she doesn't even know how to do needlework. She'll be laughed at to death when she gets married."
"Why learn needlework?"
The Duke of England scoffed, "What's the point of keeping so many embroiderers at home?"
"Whether you use it or not and whether you know how to use it are two different things. You don't want Fen'er to be disliked by her in-laws because of this, do you?" Tang said helplessly.
"At worst, I'll support her for the rest of my life," the British Duke retorted stubbornly.
"You—sigh—"
Mrs. Tang sighed, unsure of what to say for a moment.
They were a harmonious couple with a deep affection for each other.
The Duke of England was unwilling to take concubines, yet the couple had been married for many years and had only one son.
This made Tang feel very guilty, and she even advised her husband to take a concubine.
But the Duke of England refused, saying that it was enough for his son to have one son to carry on the family line and inherit the family business.
Mrs. Tang thought she was unlucky and would only have one child in her life, but she never expected to get pregnant again when she was nearly forty.
Even in ancient times, people knew that it was dangerous for older mothers to give birth, and the Duke of England advised his wife to give up the child.
However, Mrs. Tang always felt indebted to her husband and refused to comply no matter what.
At the time, many people secretly laughed at her, saying that she was like an iron tree in bloom, since the eldest son of the Duke of England was already married.
However, Mrs. Tang did not care. She was pregnant for ten months and almost lost her life, but gave birth to a daughter.
According to the average age in ancient times, this was considered having a daughter late in life, so the couple naturally cherished her very much.
As a result, when Zhang Guifen grew up, she preferred martial arts makeup to feminine makeup and pestered the Duke of England to teach her martial arts.
The Duke of England doted on his daughter and naturally wouldn't refuse, personally teaching her every day.
Learning martial arts is hard work, but Zhang Guifen has persevered.
"Fen'er will be of marriageable age in a few months, shouldn't we start thinking about marriage?" Tang said.
"When Old Zheng passed away, he asked me to take care of his two sons."
The Duke of Yingguo said, "Our two families have been friends for generations. His second son is quite good. We'll marry Fen'er to him after the mourning period is over in two years."
"I think what you really want is to keep Sister Fen here for another two years."
Mrs. Tang rolled her eyes at her husband, but did not object.
The two families are old friends and know each other well, so she felt at ease knowing her daughter was going to marry into the family.
Just then, a servant hurried over, bowed, and said, "Your Excellency, the Prince of Yan has arrived."
"What is Your Highness doing here?" The Duke of Ying frowned upon hearing this.
In the struggle for the heir apparent, civil officials, unless they held very high positions, were unlikely to be involved.
Even if you bet on the wrong thing, you can't kill all the people who support the other side because of it.
Apart from a few close confidants, the rest of the officials should not be given important positions.
But military generals are different; once they get involved, they easily arouse the emperor's suspicion.
Moreover, he is currently the top person in the military.
"My lord, why don't you just pretend to be sick and refuse?" Tang said.
"The Prince didn't even send a visiting card, clearly to prevent me from refusing. Now that he has come to my door, if I refuse to see him, I might incur his wrath. I should see him after all," sighed the Duke of Ying.
He was old and not afraid of the prince's wrath, but he couldn't help but think about his children.
With the government's stance unclear, no one knows who will ultimately prevail.
Why do most officials focus on the matter of choosing an heir?
On a grander scale, it was for the stability of the realm; from a more personal perspective, it was also out of fear that the undetermined heir would leave them, the ministers, caught in the middle.
For example, one prince was the eldest son of the legitimate wife, while the other was greatly favored by the emperor.
With the emperor delaying the appointment of an heir apparent, these two men, vying for the throne, will inevitably try their best to demonstrate their abilities and win over court officials to gain support.
Faced with their attempts to win them over, the court officials were caught in a dilemma: if they refused outright, they feared incurring their wrath.
After a new ruler ascends the throne, he may not necessarily purge all those who support him or his opponents, but he is very likely to retaliate against those who refuse him or his opponents.
After all, one can demonstrate their magnanimity, while the other makes them lose face.
This dynasty originally did not need to face this situation, but the emperor himself created it.
The Duke of England was thinking this way at the time; given his status, he couldn't participate in the succession struggle, and avoiding the Prince was the best course of action.
Whenever the Prince of Yan notified him in advance or sent him an invitation to a banquet, he always had ways to refuse.
Even if the Prince of Yan knew he was refusing, he could save face, and given the prestige of the Duke of Ying's mansion in the army, he wouldn't retaliate against him in the future.
But if Prince Chong comes directly to his door and he refuses to let him in, it will make Prince Chong lose all face.
If the Prince of Yong adds fuel to the fire, wouldn't the Prince of Chong hate him to death?
Tang was somewhat worried upon hearing this, but the Duke of Ying comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, he came openly and honestly, and I received him openly and honestly. There's nothing to hide, and the Emperor won't suspect me because of this."
"Um."
Madam Tang nodded and said, "My lord, please go quickly."
Upon hearing this, the Duke of England got up and walked outside.
Upon arriving at the gate, they saw Prince Chong and his son waiting outside.
Upon seeing the Crown Prince, the Duke of Ying knew something was wrong.
"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Yan."
Prince Chong was not yet the crown prince, but merely a prince of the county.
The Duke of England simply bowed slightly and said, "I was unaware of Your Highness's arrival and was unable to greet you properly. I hope you will forgive me."