The head of the Red Mansion

When girls get together, they have endless things to talk about.

Tan Chun had long disliked the Mei family.

Because her aunt Xing's niece Xing Xiuyan married Xue Ke from the second branch of the Xue family, Baoqin often came over with her sister-in-law.

The old lady didn't like her much because of Aunt Xue and her stepmother, but Tan Chun, Jia Yue and Bao Qin got along very well. Whenever she came, they would take her to the East Mansion to play.

I heard that she made friends with a girl from Zhenzhen Kingdom, and the girl even wrote a poem for her. Even her aunt was curious and invited her over to take a look.

Since we're friends, I naturally want the best for her.

The Mei family has been turning a blind eye all along, only taking advantage of her being an orphan and a merchant.

When the sisters talked about it in private, they all felt sorry for her.

Meanwhile, Jia Yue also came over to play with her older sisters. She grew up with them, and she would cry for several days after each of her sisters got married.

Now that her third sister is talking about other people, Jia Yue is running around especially frequently.

Li Qi and Li Wen also knew this little sister. After they met, Jia Yue smiled very happily when she heard them talk about Baoqin. "I know about this. It was Sister Bao who asked the Empress to act as matchmaker."

"Is the Empress involved in this?"

Li Qi and Li Wen were unaware of this, and were quite surprised to hear it. "Tell me quickly."

"Hehe, third sister, it's not that I didn't want to tell you, I only found out recently myself."

Jia Yue grabbed her sister's hand, which was about to accuse her, and said with a smile, "Didn't Sister Bao get promoted again? Her Majesty the Empress asked her what she wanted, so she asked Her Majesty to find a suitable marriage for Sister Bao."

She could tell that Sister Bao didn't want to get married.

Otherwise, she could ask for it herself, which would be perfectly acceptable.

"It's quite a coincidence that Her Majesty the Empress is currently worried about the marriage of her cousin, Lu Sibo."

Jia Yue's eyes shone with a different light. "Your Majesty originally thought that he would be chosen as a husband by someone else, but who knew that everyone else was chosen and he was the only one left."

"Haha! I've heard about that too." Li Wen laughed.

Lord Lu is from the Empress's family.

It is said that his family was poor and he was raised with the help of his clan.

However, the Lu family was not wealthy. Even though they were granted the title of Duke of Cheng'en because of the Empress, they were still ridiculed in earlier years for not being able to afford the proper etiquette when meeting with Prince Jin and Prince Tang.

All that's left is to close the mansion.

Although things have gotten better in recent years, their family has become accustomed to keeping a low profile and no longer casually visits relatives.

Several of their original relatives were sued by their family for using the Empress's name.

Logically speaking, since Lord Lu passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-four, he should have been considered a young prodigy. After the list of successful candidates was released, he should have been taken home by powerful figures to be their son-in-law.

But because of the Lu family and the Empress, all the other unmarried men in their twenties were taken away, leaving only him.

“I heard from my uncle and aunt,” Li Wen said, “that those people are all blind.”

The sisters are all engaged; otherwise, judging from their uncle's expression, they would all want to bring him back.

"Yes, my mother said the same thing."

Jia Yue nodded vigorously, "The Empress Dowager acted as matchmaker for them. After it was successful, she even told my mother that it was fortunate that the baby was still born. Lord Lu and Sister Bao are a match made in heaven."

In the palace, she addressed the Empress as "Aunt."

She just didn't want her sisters to think she was special.

"Alright, you talk too much."

Tan Chun tugged at her younger sister.

Even if the eldest brother Xue is not good at expanding, the Xue family, which comes from the imperial merchants, is still good at maintaining the status quo.

What's more, they also have Sister Bao protecting them.

Tan Chun knew that her second brother Xue loved his sister dearly; he had given almost half of their second family's property to his sister as dowry.

Baoqin married into the Lu family… From the Xue family's perspective, the Lu family was a match made in heaven. From the Lu family's perspective, the Xue family was also a match made in heaven.

However, it's fortunate that Her Majesty the Empress gave birth, but her younger sister is still small, and such rumors...

"I only talk about it at home."

Jia Yue clung to her sister's arm and acted coquettishly.

The Li family has a good family tradition, so she isn't worried about the Li sisters gossiping outside.

Besides, the Empress Aunt said those words for others to hear.

Those people look down on the Lu family.

I heard that her nephew was left behind, and she even complained about it to her mother.

"Haha, we'll only talk about it here."

Coco Lee laughed heartily.

The back room was filled with joy, and the girls' laughter brought a smile to Grandmother Jia's face. However, this time, Aunt Li had come to sound out Grandmother Jia's opinion on arranging a marriage for Tan Chun.

"...He is my nephew from my maternal family in Nanyang. He is seventeen years old and just passed the imperial examination."

After exchanging pleasantries, Aunt Li began to get down to business. "My family is a prominent clan in Nanyang. My cousin passed away while he was in office. His wife is simple-minded, so my aunt has always been the head of the household."

Disputes over inheritance within large families may appear bloodless on the surface, but in reality, they are rife with violence.

Fortunately, her aunt was of a higher generation and managed to suppress the situation.

But my aunt is getting older. If my nephew passes the exam in three years, that's fine, but what if he fails...?

The businesses that generations have built around the clan's property are likely to be swallowed up.

Hearing that she had come to the capital and was close to the Jia family, her aunt felt a glimmer of hope.

"Actually, after passing the imperial examination, he should have gone to the capital to take the final exam, but his mother suddenly fell seriously ill, which caused him to miss it."

In fact, they were ambushed.

Some people simply didn't want him to go to the capital to take the imperial examination.

They were afraid that if he passed the exam, he would look down on the girls from their family.

Although the matter was eventually investigated and the perpetrators were punished, the family still maintained a harmonious public image.

Aunt Li's two daughters also went to girls' school, which broadened her horizons considerably, and she felt quite uncomfortable about her family's situation.

How important is a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) to a family!
Those fools were simply trapped in their own homes.

"Sigh, I'm getting old, this matter..."

Grandmother Jia glanced at her eldest granddaughter-in-law, Li Wan, whose face was somewhat stiff, and said, "We have to listen to her uncle. As for the East Mansion, my niece-in-law has always doted on Third Sister, so she'll probably ask about it too."

Being a young scholar who passed the imperial examinations is indeed a good thing, but there were many young scholars who passed the imperial examinations in the Great Zhao Dynasty.

"Okay, I'll talk to her uncle about it later."

"Okay, okay."

Aunt Li never expected it to happen so quickly.

My nephew's biggest drawback is that he has no elders to help him.

Their family background is incomparable to that of the Jia family.

He was probably the worst of all the people who proposed marriage to the Jia family.

But I feel uneasy if I don't say something.

She said that whether it works out or not is up to fate.

Li Wan never expected that her aunt had come to arrange a marriage for her third sister.

My aunt came from the Tang family in Nanyang. The Tang family was doing well when the country was founded, but in recent years, many of the family members have stopped at the level of Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination) or Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination).

"Auntie, you should have told me."

When Li Wan returned to Pear Fragrance Courtyard, she sighed.

"Sigh, Auntie has no choice. Let me tell you, if you stop me, I may never be able to speak to the old lady again."

Aunt Li said, "My nephew's great-grandfather was also an imperial censor in the capital. Unfortunately, he was assassinated at the beginning of the dynasty and died young. His grandfather served as the prefect of Changsha for less than two years before he was shot by an arrow while suppressing bandits. He also died after suffering a high fever."

His father…

Aunt Li sighed, "My cousin was serving in Suzhou when a great flood struck, and to this day, not even a single skeleton has been found."

The whole family are capable people.

But this is fate... it's incredibly difficult.

The year my cousin passed away, the Emperor Emeritus had just abdicated, and the court was in turmoil.

Many of them suspected that their cousin had been murdered.

"Are you talking about Uncle Tang Wu?"

Li Wan had heard her father mention it.

Among her in-laws, Uncle Tang Wu was the one her father regretted the most.

"It's him."

Aunt Li sighed again, "On our way to the capital that time, we met a girl named Miaoyu, whom he had helped."

The family has always done good deeds, so this shouldn't be the case.

Aunt Li kept nagging, and after thinking about it, Li Wan decided not to say anything more.

It's truly a pity about this branch of the Tang family.

In this matter... let's listen to the elders!
She did exactly what her elders told her to do. (End of Chapter)