in2ebook Chapter 250 This is all thanks to the protection your father earned for you.
Chapter 250 This is all thanks to the protection your father earned for you.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather seemed to suddenly get much cooler, and not long after, the day for the autumn imperial examination results to be announced arrived.
Qin Yizhen rarely went out, so she invited Lady Changting and Lady Min to Wanshi Tower to listen to storytelling and watch the excitement.
Even before the list was released, Wanshilou was already buzzing with discussion, debating who in Jingzhao Prefecture had won first place and become this year's top scholar.
Lady Changting, fanning herself, listened to the arguing downstairs. Her face flushed, and she couldn't help but shake her head and click her tongue: "Tell me, what are they arguing about? It's not like they passed the exam themselves. What's there to fight about? Once the results are released, we'll all know."
Madam Min said, "You don't understand. These people admire and worship someone because there is something to gain from it, so naturally they won't tolerate others belittling the person they admire."
"However, some of these students, having read too much, have become too arrogant."
The fact that the Min family was choosing a husband for Min Siyue, and that the man they had chosen belittled Min Siyue after getting drunk, was no secret in Qindu.
Madam Min still harbors resentment to this day.
Lady Changting advised her, "Don't worry about those things. You should be glad that you saw the other party's true colors before you even got married. Otherwise, Siyue would have really jumped from one pit to another."
“That’s right.” Qin Yizhen agreed. “If all else fails, we can let Miss Min stay at the estate for a while, and then she can come back once the rumors have died down.”
Madam Min, thinking of the rumors circulating outside, was always weeping and heartbroken, her eyes swollen from crying, and her heart was also heavy.
"Rumors outside are like knives, each one wounding. Siyue is filled with sorrow. I, your humble servant, would like to ask the princess, how did you come to this conclusion in the first place?"
Qin Yizhen was particularly bothered by the rumors and gossip, which caused some unpleasantness in the first few years after her marriage to Cheng Yan. It was only this year that things started to get better.
"This Empress?" Qin Yizhen was taken aback, then said, "It's probably because I lost something too important. After the great grief and pain, I realized that those rumors and gossip were nothing but trivial matters."
After losing Cheng Yan, she finally understood what was most important, and those rumors could no longer hurt her.
What she hopes for now is to spend her life with Cheng Yan, grow old together, and ideally have one or two more children.
Madam Min frowned; this example didn't seem easy to follow.
Qin Yizhen said, "However, I think that Miss Min is not in a hurry to get married right now. She has just suffered so much, and what she needs more is for her parents and relatives to be by her side, rather than being hastily married into a completely unfamiliar family."
"Since the last marriage was a mistake, this time we should open our eyes wide and choose carefully."
Madam Min sighed, "It's not that we didn't choose carefully. That scholar is the son of an old friend of the head of the household. He once studied at the Min family and was even taught by the head of the household for a period of time. He is intelligent, quick-witted, and truly talented. He is now a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. He will surely be on the list this autumn."
"The head of the household also personally asked him if he was willing to marry Siyue. He agreed readily, saying that he had long been in love with Siyue and would never betray her in this life. But I never expected him to be like this in private."
"You can't trust many of the things a man says."
Lady Changting advised her, "Alright, alright, don't think too much about it. Knowing this before marriage is a blessing in disguise. Perhaps Siyue's good marriage is yet to come."
"Exactly."
As the three were talking, a maid pushed open the door and came in to report, "Princess, Miss Shi has arrived."
"Invite her in."
"Yes."
"Miss Shi? Which family's Miss Shi is this?" Lady Changting craned her neck curiously to look through the screen at the doorway, only to see a maid leading a girl dressed in a lilac-colored cross-collar wide-sleeved dress into the room.
With a beautiful face and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye, she looked even more pitiful.
It turned out to be her, Shi Jia Jin Kui, the adopted daughter of the Marquis of Zhenbei.
Lady Changting was a little curious: what was Qin Yizhen doing meeting Shi Jin Kui?
"Golden Mallow greets the princess. May the princess be well."
"No need for formalities, please sit down and let's talk."
"Thank you, Princess." Shi Jin Kui sat down quietly, appearing taciturn and calm.
Qin Yizhen asked Lü Qiao to pour her a cup of tea and said, "You don't need to overthink it. I've come to ask you for a favor today."
Shi Jin Kui was slightly surprised. She thought that this princess had nothing better to do and was curious about the matter of the Lady of Zhenbei Marquis wanting to betroth her to Pei Yutang, and wanted to hear what she had to say. She didn't expect that the princess would ask her for help.
But what could the princess possibly do that she could help with? Could it be because of her adoptive mother, the Lady of Zhenbei Marquis?
Thinking of this, Shi Jin Kui felt uneasy. She didn't want to become a pawn between the Lady of Zhenbei and Empress Dowager Cheng.
Qin Yizhen asked, "I remember you have some connection with Miss Fang, is that true?"
Shi Jin Kui paused and nodded: "That is indeed true, but we're not that close. Miss Fang approached me before, asking me to persuade my godmother that she wants to do business with her."
Qin Yizhen added, "You don't need to be nervous. Your father is a meritorious hero of Eastern Qin. As a princess, I only worry that you are not living well enough. I will not force you to do anything you do not want to do."
Shi Jin Kui opened her mouth.
Qin Yizhen smiled and said, "As long as you are not harming anyone, if you have any difficulties that you cannot handle on your own, come to me and I will not stand idly by."
"Of course, this is not because I am so kind, nor is it because I bestow favors and honors upon you from my high position. This is all the protection your father earned for you. If you really need it, you don't need to think about it. This is what you deserve."
While Qin Yizhen did dislike the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion and the Zhenbei Marquis's wife because of some past events involving Empress Dowager Cheng, she also didn't seem to like this Miss Shi much.
But private matters are private matters, and public matters are public matters. As long as this Miss Shi has not committed any heinous acts, she is willing to offer her help.
Shi Jin Kui lowered her eyes and clenched her fingers tightly.
As time passed, her father's existence was perhaps forgotten by no one except his former comrades and colleagues. But she never expected that this princess would say such a thing.
Previously, the Lady of Changting had met with her privately and asked her whether it was true or false that the Lady of Zhenbei Marquis wanted to marry her to Pei Yutang, and whether she was willing or being forced.
She knew in her heart at that time that it was actually Qin Yizhen who asked the Lady of Changting.
Lady Changting had no say in the affairs of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion. Only these high and mighty members of the royal family had the power to help her in front of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion, allowing her to choose whether or not to marry.
Actually, at the time, she didn't believe that Qin Yi was really that kind-hearted. She was probably scheming something and wanted to use her to deal with her adoptive mother, the Lady of Zhenbei Marquis.