good season

Feng Ke had four sons and three daughters. His third and fourth sons were born out of wedlock, as were his eldest and second daughters.

The fifth young lady Yang Shengqiu mentioned was Feng Ke's second daughter, Feng Yalan. She was the fifth among the cousins ​​of this generation in the Feng family, while Feng Jiahe was the seventh.

Feng Ke's first wife, Madam Zhong, was betrothed to him since childhood. Their families were well-matched, and the two were childhood sweethearts. Feng Ke wrote many poems for Madam Zhong. The two were deeply in love and supported each other through thick and thin. Madam Zhong was even known as a model of virtue in women's marriages.

Feng Ke had five concubines. Apart from the second concubine, the birth mother of his third son, who was promoted by Madam Zhong, the other four were given to him by others.

Feng Yalan's birth mother was the third concubine. She came from a scholarly family and, although she was an illegitimate daughter, she was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was also beautiful and refined, and Feng Ke liked her very much.

People only know Feng Jiahe, but few know that there is another Feng family member, Feng Yalan. Even Yang Shengqiu had to go to great lengths to find out that Feng Yalan received just as much favor from her father as Feng Jiahe.

However, she was a smart woman who never sought the limelight and always put Feng Jiahe first. Therefore, even Madam Zhong praised this concubine's daughter highly.

However, Feng Yalan's marriage has been delayed. She is already eighteen years old, and Feng Jiahe, who is younger than her, got married last year. But it is precisely because Feng Jiahe became the Third Prince's wife that the marriages of all the unmarried children in the Feng family have to be discussed in a long time.

With the Third Prince as their son-in-law, the Feng family became firmly bound to him, and their in-laws also became his people.

This means that Feng Yalan's husband's family must be supported by the Third Prince.

However, her status as an illegitimate daughter ultimately limited her.

Families of higher social standing than the Feng family would not allow a concubine's daughter to be the head of the household, and among those families who depended on the Feng family, Feng Ke could not find a suitable match.

At this moment, Yang Shengqiu volunteered himself, which was unexpected by Feng Ke.

He looked at Yang Shengqiu and smiled coldly: "I thought you wanted to be the prince consort."

Yang Shengqiu's head buzzed. He thought he was being careful, but he still couldn't escape the old fox's notice.

Yang Shengqiu knelt down with a thud: "My esteemed teacher, I have studied diligently for years, only to serve the court one day. How could I possibly have any thoughts of becoming a prince consort?"

Feng Ke smiled and said, "Is that so?"

He pulled out a piece of paper from below and spread it on the desk. The servant boy, observing his expression, quickly stepped forward to grind the ink. Feng Ke picked up his brush and continued practicing calligraphy, leaving Yang Shengqiu standing aside.

An hour later, Yang Shengqiu walked out of the Feng residence. He paused briefly at the gate, then turned around and walked around to the side wall of the Feng residence. From there, he could see a corner of the embroidered building, which was the Qiqin Pavilion where the three young ladies of the Feng family lived. Now, only the fifth young lady, Feng Yalan, still lived there.

Yang Shengqiu stood there for a moment, sighed, and left reluctantly.

Even after walking a long way, he could still feel the gazes upon him. He knew that the Feng family members were hiding in the shadows, watching him.

Yang Shengqiu was unconcerned by Feng Ke's indifference; he was confident that Feng Ke would soon agree to his marriage proposal.

Yan Xia, with his powerful background, had to risk becoming a thorn in the emperor's side by enduring humiliation to marry the eldest princess of the Liang Prince's mansion. He, on the other hand, was just a helpless orphan and had even less right to complain.

He knew his situation, and he knew that once the novelty of being the top scholar wore off, he would just be a minor official toiling away in the Hanlin Academy.

What he needs to do now is to grasp everything he can, and Feng Ke is the thickest vine he can grab right now.

The reason he regarded Feng Ke as a vine rather than a big tree is because a big tree can only be relied on forever; if you rely on it for too long, you will lose the ability to stand on your own once you leave.

But the vine is different. He can use the vine to soar into the sky. If it doesn't work the first time, he can try again or again. Eventually, he will be able to use the vine to fly high and reach the height he wants to reach.

And Feng Ke is that vine! Feng Ke is an old fox, and Yang Shengqiu can't guarantee that he can stand out from the group of disciples, so the most urgent task is to tie himself firmly to Feng Ke.

The best and most effective way is through marriage.

Feng Ke certainly had several nieces, but nieces could not compare to daughters. Even if his daughter was born out of wedlock, a muddle-headed person might have shown favoritism towards his nephews and nieces. But Feng Ke was different. He valued his offspring highly and would carefully nurture each of his children, regardless of whether they were born of the principal wife or not. In contrast, his nephews and nieces were not even as good as his students.

Feng Yalan was the best marriage Yang Shengqiu could find for himself at that time.

As long as he marries Feng Yalan, he will be Feng Ke's son-in-law and the Third Prince's brother-in-law!

Yang Shengqiu walked at a leisurely pace, but each step was steady. He walked out of the alley where the Feng residence was located, got into his ordinary sedan chair, and disappeared into the crowd.

In the study, Feng Ke finished writing the last stroke: "Gone?"

"Yes, he stood at Qiqin Pavilion for quite a while."

Feng Ke nodded. Yang Shengqiu was the one he had the highest hopes for in recent years. As for the matter with Princess Huiming, Feng Ke believed that Yang Shengqiu knew what to do.

How can romantic love compare to soaring to the top?
Those who have climbed up from the bottom understand this principle best.

Therefore, Feng Ke never took this matter to heart. If Yang Shengqiu didn't even understand this principle, he wouldn't have been worthy of being his student from the very beginning.

As for his relationship with Feng Yalan, Feng Ke neither agreed nor outright rejected it.

He needs to think about this matter carefully.

At this time, in the Third Prince's residence.

The Third Prince was beaming as he watched the boxes being moved in.

Those boxes were filled with ingots of silver.

Fifteen camphor wood chests, each worth one thousand taels, totaling fifteen thousand taels!

This 15,000 taels of silver was not a banknote, but cash, pure and simple cash!
It's no exaggeration to say that this was the first time the Third Prince had ever seen so much silver in his entire life.

Who doesn't use banknotes? But this young master Zhen brought over a cartload of silver. With such a pile of gleaming silver in front of him, who could resist?
For the Third Prince, 15,000 taels was not a large sum, but the fifteen boxes of silver ingots were so dazzling that he couldn't open his eyes.

The Third Prince was in a great mood. If there was anything that could make people feel better than silver, it would definitely be gold, the gold of the Golden Dragon, the gold of the Golden Palace!
He wanted to reward him, but then he remembered that Young Master Zhen was not his slave, but his boss with whom he had a stake.

If that's the case, then we cannot reward them.

The Third Prince thought for a moment and said to Da Zhuang, who was standing there dumbfounded, "Tell your young master that he will come to the palace with me for the banquet on Mid-Autumn Festival."

Da Zhuang gave a muffled reply and went back to report.

The Third Prince smiled and said to the eunuch beside him, "Look, isn't Young Master Zhen's attendant rather interesting?"

The eunuch hurriedly said, "He's a simpleton. If Third Master likes this kind of person, this servant will imitate him."

The Third Prince laughed and scolded, "Get out of here, trying to be clever again." (End of Chapter)