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墨書 Inktalez
Indeed, the clothes at home have not been very refined lately; they have become rather coarse. With summer approaching, it is time to prepare some seasonal outfits. Qin Yaru simply invited a few skilled seamstresses.
No woman dislikes looking beautiful, especially when young. At this age, one should dress up delicately like fresh flowers. A girl should take advantage of her youth to dress well; when she gets older, it will be harder to appear youthful.
With nothing much to do, Qin Yaru and Xiu, accompanied by the Lady-in-Waiting, sat in the cool shade of the courtyard, making various small items to match their outfits.
Life was quite leisurely.
Before long, after embroidering a piece of lotus leaf, Xiu lost interest and chirped for the Lady-in-Waiting to fetch some snacks for her. She leaned over the table with a brush in hand, painting the red carp swimming in the pond.
Qin Yaru smiled at her. Although Xiu was talented, her skills in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting were only mediocre at best.
She could play the piano without stumbling too much, win a game of chess against Da Lang, and her calligraphy might earn a compliment from a teacher who had just begun teaching young children. As for painting, after diligently working for an hour, she still missed an eye on the beautiful red carp. It was unclear whether she forgot to paint it or if she intended to depict a one-eyed fish.
The courtyard was lush with trees, and the breeze felt refreshing; the heat was not overwhelming.
Qin Yaru gathered Xiu's hair and smiled gently: "If you like him, don't avoid Zhao Zichang. There may still be hope for this matter."
Recently, Xiu had suddenly distanced herself from Zhao Zichang, which even the careless Qin Wenyuan noticed. She stopped reading and became polite whenever they met.
Zhao Zichang seemed troubled by this change, while Qin Yaru felt uneasy. Initially, when Xiu disregarded that man's status and grew close to him, Qin Yaru felt uncomfortable and worried that her sister would be hurt in the future. However, she did not want to intervene. Now that her sister had suddenly 'awakened' and distanced herself voluntarily, Qin Yaru could not feel at ease either.
"Xiu, actually..." The Qin family can be vindicated; once vindicated, you will also be a well-bred lady from a scholarly family. Even if that man is from a noble lineage, marrying him is not impossible.
Qin Xiu smiled as she set down her brush and leaned against Qin Yaru's lap. "Sister, I still remember that day—October 8th—when it had just snowed and was extremely cold. I stood with a group of wives waiting to be sold."
"The flower cart from the Brothel Management Office arrived first; those who stood in prime positions were chosen first based on their looks and demeanor. Gu Mama pinched my face and said I was pretty enough to be a top courtesan after a few years."
"I was shivering with cold, biting my teeth to keep from crying, when I saw a young man wrapped in a purple cloak across from us, looking at our group of Wives with tears in his eyes. His father stood beside him, comforting him, telling him that we delicate Wives would be well taken care of once bought, and that no one would suffer."
"After a while, the Husband stopped crying and took off his own cloak to put it on a barefoot child. At that moment, I felt that there were still many kind-hearted people in the world. Even when faced with difficulties, one should live on and be happy, rather than always thinking about enduring hardships."
Qin Yaru felt a pang in her heart—she always thought she was suffering, but she was merely being kept like a canary in County Horse Manor. She lacked for nothing and was not mistreated. Compared to her, her sister was truly suffering. In her previous life, to avoid making her sad, she had never let her know that she had gone to the Brothel Management Office and fabricated a bunch of lies to comfort her.
Qin Xiu did not have as many thoughts as her sister; she had always been open-minded: "In the past, I thought being his Red-Faced Confidante wasn't bad. After all, for a girl like me who grew up in the Brothel Management Office, finding a sincere man who didn't mind my past was really difficult. I didn't expect he actually wanted to marry me."
Qin Yaru was taken aback; there was no joy on Xiu's face, only a hint of helplessness.
Marriages in the Song Dynasty Royal Family did not necessarily require noble lineage. Many royal offspring married daughters from respectable families. To prevent powerful relatives from gaining too much influence, officials selected wives for princes from families with clean backgrounds but no power or influence.
If Qin Xiu were not from the Brothel Management Office, marrying Zhao Zichang would pose no problem at all; her status might even be higher than that of some princesses.
Seeing Xiu lazily resting her head on the table, Qin Yaru sighed and decided not to interfere; such matters were beyond anyone else's control.
…………
A few days later, it was the Empress Dowager's birthday.
Empress Liu ordered everything to be simple; the birthday banquet was modest. However, the official was purely filial and could not be careless despite the simplicity; he still had to invite numerous royal relatives and high-ranking nobles.
Due to recent disasters and calamities, there was a tense atmosphere throughout the court and society. Even for the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, everyone seemed indifferent. The Empress Dowager was getting older and lacked energy; she did not want the banquet to be too extravagant. Instead, she suggested to the official that he invite some closer juniors for a gathering among family members without excessive luxury. Currently, officials were continuously cutting their own expenses; it would not be appropriate for them to indulge excessively for the Empress Dowager.
Once the Empress Dowager spoke, the official naturally had no choice but to agree.
Now, the Empress Dowager is in charge, and Empress Liu is not like an ordinary Empress Dowager; she is a decisive figure. Although she does not have the same grand ambitions as Wu Zetian, her status is quite similar.
The birthday banquet is warm and lively, with Empress Liu laughing heartily, surrounded by a circle of younger relatives. Pang Yuanying is also present; unlike others, he is accustomed to being in the palace since he grew up under the Empress Dowager's watch. The Empress Dowager treats him almost as well as her own son.
Originally, everyone attending the birthday banquet was in high spirits, except for Pang Yuanying, who was slumped over the table, drinking cup after cup. The Empress Dowager glanced at him with some surprise and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "What’s wrong with our second brother? Have you set your sights on something good that your daddy won’t give you? If so, tell the Empress Dowager, and I’ll teach him a lesson for you."
The people around were taken aback. How could he address the Empress Dowager as "Empress Dowager"? What kind of status does he think he has to equate himself with officials?
The hundreds of years’ worth of officials turned their heads to glare at Pang Yuanying—this troublemaker was already insufferable enough, and now there was an Empress Dowager who dotes on him like a treasure. If he were to make any unreasonable demands, would anyone else have a way out?
Not to mention how many treasures from the official treasury have already been plundered by him; perhaps even the officials themselves couldn’t keep track.
The Minister of Personnel recalled the previous year’s birthday banquet for the Empress Dowager when Pang Yuanying gifted her a golden statue of longevity that made her beam with joy. On the spot, she gave him one of the palace maids he had taken a liking to.
That maid had long planned to leave the palace and get married when she came of age; her family had prepared everything for her, and she had saved up quite a bit of personal silver. Unexpectedly, with just one word from the Empress Dowager, all her plans were ruined.
Fortunately, this maid was honest. Aside from being infatuated with beauty, Pang Yuanying wasn’t too unbearable. Being kept in Ruan Hongtang like a canary was certainly not an easy life for her, but it wasn’t so dire that she would consider ending her life over it.
Sigh!
A group of people lamented who would be unfortunate this year.
Unexpectedly, Pang Yuanying seemed to have matured this year. He shyly raised his head and revealed a warm and elegant smile before speaking boldly: “I would like to ask the Empress Dowager to grant me permission for a marriage.”
Empress Liu was taken aback and said in realization, “Right! Our second brother is no longer young; isn’t it time for him to marry?” She shook her head and looked at Pang Chunzhi with mock anger. “You as his father should be mindful of your son’s lifelong matters. And you too, Consort Wu; you are being too careless.”
Consort Wu is Pang Yuanying's biological mother and Pang Chunzhi's first wife.
Pang Chunzhi felt uneasy, his brows tightly knitted, wishing he could just strangle this troublemaking son to death—who wouldn't want to arrange a marriage for him? Years ago, in order to get his son to settle down, he had thought about finding a bride for him, hoping that once the bride was brought home, his son might mature a bit and stop causing chaos in the family. But his son was completely unwilling. Marriage is about forming bonds, not enmity; Pang Chunzhi certainly couldn't let this reckless son turn their future in-laws into enemies. He didn't want to, nor could he force it.
If he had known that his son would set his sights on the daughter of the Qin Family, he might as well have found a bride for him earlier, regardless of whether his son liked it or not—just marry her first.
Pang Chunzhi understood his son's thoughts; how could he not know his own son? But marrying the daughter of the Qin Family was simply out of the question. The two families had already developed deep-seated grudges. However, Pang Chunzhi and his father were not truly ruthless enough to go to such extremes. If they brought the daughter of the Qin Family home and then plotted to kill her, they wouldn't have the heart to do it.
Unfortunately, he no longer had the final say in this matter.
Then Empress Liu gently asked with a warm smile, "Second Brother, which young lady have you taken a liking to? Just tell me; the Empress Dowager will make it happen for you."
Pang Yuanying smiled and replied, "Returning to the Empress Dowager, I believe that General Gao's deputy's sister, Qin Wenyuan's younger sister, is virtuous and kind-hearted. I hope the Empress Dowager can support my wish."
Upon hearing this, Empress Liu laughed: "So Second Brother really has someone in mind."
After inquiring a bit about Qin Yaru, some said she had been married before, while others mentioned that her father and brothers were criminals. Empress Liu hesitated somewhat, but she genuinely cared for Pang Yuanying. Once he insisted, she quickly relented.
What does remarriage matter? Having a son is no problem; Empress Liu herself had remarried. As for her father and brothers being criminals, that was indeed an issue. However, once Qin Yaru married into the Pang Family, she would be one of them and have no ties with the Qin Family anymore. Moreover, although Qin Yaru's background might attract criticism, her character was undeniably good.
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