By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

County Princess's Mansion

When Pei Rujing saw Wen Zongji return, she quickly asked, "How did it go?"

She knew who Wen Zongji had met and why he had met Jiao Yansong.

Wen Zongji said, "He agreed to meet with Shuyu."

Pei Rujing smiled: "I'll talk to Shuyu."

Wen Shuyu is, after all, a woman; it would be more appropriate for Pei Rujing to handle the negotiations.

Wen Zongji walked over and took Pei Rujing's hand: "Thank you for your trouble, my lady."

Pei Rujing said, "Do you really think Jiao Yansong is suitable? His father is only the prefect of Yong'an Prefecture. Compared with other high-ranking families in the capital, his family background is far inferior."

Although she trusted Wen Zongji's judgment, she also felt that Wen Shuyu deserved better.

Wen Zongji said, "Always strive for something better, but being suitable is more important than being better."

"Jiao Yansong's father was the prefect of Yong'an Prefecture. Given his age, he would most likely have served in Yong'an Prefecture until his retirement. Jiao Yansong is currently on duty at the Hanlin Academy. With his status as a third-place scholar, he will most likely remain in the capital in the future. Even if he goes to a local area in the future, it will not be Yong'an Prefecture."

"This means that for a long time, Shuyu won't need to worry about how to handle the relationship between her and her mother-in-law."

For women, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is sometimes more important than the relationship between husband and wife.

After all, men are busy with outside affairs most of the time, and the time they spend with their mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law is the longest.

Wen Shuyu is gentle and kind, and her best solution is to reduce the amount of time she spends with her mother-in-law rather than trying to resolve the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship.

Pei Rujing frowned: "With you and me here, how could I let Shuyu be bullied?"

Pei Rujing didn't really agree with choosing someone from an ordinary family background to avoid conflicts with her mother-in-law.

Wen Zongji said, "In the end, she has to live her own life. We can protect her for a while, but can we protect her forever?"

"Moreover, I chose Jiao Yansong not only to avoid conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but also because of his character. He is over twenty years old, but he has no concubines and has never been engaged, which shows his determination to study."

"Now that he has his eye on the third-ranked scholar, he hasn't immediately accepted my offer, which means he doesn't see marriage as a stepping stone to advancement."

"So what if his family background is ordinary? As long as he is talented and of noble character, he is far superior to those from high-ranking families in my heart."

"Moreover, his family background is only slightly inferior to that of the sons of powerful and wealthy families in the capital, but much better than that of ordinary people. At the very least, if Shuyu marries him, she will definitely have no worries about food and clothing, and will not need to use her dowry to supplement the family income."

Wen Zongji believed that great talents could emerge from humble backgrounds, but he did not want Wen Shuyu to marry a boy from a poor family, as he would have to spend an unknown amount of time raising him and there was no guarantee that he would enjoy the fruits of success.

Compared to sharing joys and sorrows, there are far more examples of people who can only share sorrows but not joys.

Pei Rujing raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Is my husband talking about himself?"

Wen Zongji was taken aback, only then remembering that at the beginning of their marriage, the expenses of Yunguang Courtyard were all paid for with Pei Rujing's money.

Wen Zongji said in a serious tone, "Luckily, I'm quite capable, otherwise my wife's dowry would probably be filling a bottomless pit forever."

Pei Rujing chuckled: "My husband has quite the thick skin."

"That's why I can live off my wife."

Pei Rujing laughed even harder: "Then I'll feed my husband for the rest of my life."

Wen Zongji feigned a gesture of respect, bowing and saying, "Thank you, Madam."

Then, the couple smiled at each other.

......

The next day, Wen Zongji went to the Shuntian Prefecture government office to report for duty.

"This humble official pays his respects to Lord Chai."

When Chai Dingchong saw Wen Zongji, a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Zongji, I've finally been waiting for you. I asked the Crown Prince for you before, but unfortunately the Ministry of Revenue beat me to it."

Wen Zongji and Chai Dingchong were quite familiar with each other.

When Wen Zongji wanted to start a legal education section in the Beijing Daily, he needed to use various case files from Shuntian Prefecture, so he met with Chai Dingchong.

It was also because of Chai Dingchong's support that the legal education section of the Beijing Daily was able to proceed so smoothly.

Chai Dingchong therefore greatly admired Wen Zongji.

"This humble official thanks you for your appreciation, sir."

"You deserve it," Chai Dingchong said. "Since you're new here, you should familiarize yourself with the situation of the yamen first. Tonight, go to Wangchun Tower, and I'll have a few people host a welcome dinner for you."

"Your humble servant will certainly be there."

"Someone, take Lord Wen to his office."

The minor official came in and responded.

Wen Zongji cupped his hands and said, "This humble official takes his leave."

the other side

After Pei Rujing finished her breakfast, she asked Qinghe to go to the Marquis of Zhongyong's residence to fetch Wen Shuyu.

She could have gone to the Marquis's residence, but if she had, she would have inevitably had to see Madam Jiang. Today's focus was on Wen Shuyu's marriage, and Pei Rujing didn't want to be distracted by other matters.

Wen Shuyu was at the Marquis's residence. The two places weren't far apart, and it didn't take long for Wen Shuyu to arrive.

Wen Shuyu asked, "What does my sister-in-law want with me?"

Pei Rujing asked her to sit down: "Shuyu, you are already sixteen years old, it's time to arrange a marriage. Your brother has taken a liking to someone, you should meet him another day and see if you get along well."

Wen Shuyu blushed slightly upon hearing this and nodded obediently, "I'll listen to my brother and sister-in-law."

Seeing her like this, Pei Rujing suddenly understood why Wen Zongji insisted on finding someone who wouldn't have conflicts with his mother-in-law. Wen Shuyu's gentle nature made it seem like anyone could bully her.

Pei Rujing said, "If you don't like it, you must tell my husband and me. We have plenty of other options, we don't have to choose this one, and you don't need to worry about causing us trouble."

Wen Shuyu nodded: "I've written it all down."

She didn't have any particular thoughts; she went to see Pei Rujing when she was asked to.

It was impossible for Wen Shuyu not to be nervous during their first matchmaking meeting.

Curious, she asked Pei Rujing, "Sister-in-law, what is the marriage proposal process like? What should I say?"

Pei Rujing: "...I don't know either."

She had never experienced a marriage proposal before. Although she had secretly watched Pei Shirong and Mei Yilan discuss their marriage, her attention was elsewhere at the time, and she didn't pay much attention to it.

Moreover, Pei Shirong had his eye on Mei Yilan first, and then tried every means to get the Princess to act as matchmaker. His motives were impure from the beginning, so they are not of much reference value to Wen Shuyu.

Pei Rujing thought for a moment but couldn't think of a suitable example, so she said, "You can do whatever you want. Your brother and I are your support. You don't need to worry too much. Just do whatever makes you comfortable."

Wen Shuyu nodded blankly upon hearing this.

Anyway, she didn't understand, so she just did whatever Pei Rujing told her to do.

In any case, her sister-in-law wouldn't harm her.

Wen Shuyu has always trusted Pei Rujing very much.