Chapter 372: Test (2)
Editor: Atlas Studios
In Fan Zijin’s opinion, the eldest daughter of the Jin family was narrow-minded. No matter how weak a facade she put up, she could not hide her tricks. Her horizons were too narrow.
Although Second Miss Li was domineering, fortunately, she was magnanimous. Her domineeringness was compatible with her family background. However, since Eldest Cousin was so outstanding, they naturally had to choose a better candidate.
Mu Yangling felt that the eldest daughter of the Jin family was not ideal. She had come into contact with them directly, so her intuition was more accurate. Hence, she said, “I think the third daughter of the Li family is not bad.”
“If it weren’t for her, with Second Miss Li and Miss Jin’s tempers, they would probably have quarreled on the spot. Although those noble ladies didn’t interrupt at that time, they clearly had their own positions. If no one came out to stop them, they would definitely have quarreled. Considering their statuses are similar, they would’ve been fine after quarreling, but I would definitely be the one to suffer in the end.”
Qi Haoran frowned. “So Third Miss Li actually helped you out?”
Smiling, Fan Zijin said, “Her main goal was naturally not to help Ah Ling out. She just didn’t want the Li family to have a conflict with the Jin family and embarrass the Li family in front of everyone. However, she did help Ah Ling along. Mm, she can differentiate between priorities and consider the overall situation. For the sake of the family’s reputation, she can temporarily suppress her conflict with her cousin.” Fan Zijin continued with a frown, “But since there aren’t any praises of Third Miss Li in the city, it can be seen that she has always been very mediocre.”
“Maybe she prefers to keep her limitations to herself?” Mu Yangling thought of how calm she was and was even more certain of her judgment. She said, “I think she’s the silent and smooth type.”
Fan Zijin did not speak. Qi Haoran thought for a long time. The situation of Third Miss Li that he had investigated flashed across his mind. He pondered and said, “I also think this Third Miss Li is not bad. Let’s go and look for Big Brother and let him make the decision.”
Mu Yangling immediately jumped up and patted the grass off her body. She carried the basket and followed him down the mountain. Fan Zijin could only follow behind them slowly.
Qi Xiuyuan was eating in the dining room. Seeing that the three of them had returned and Mu Yangling was still wearing patched village girl clothes, he knew that they had gone out to mess around again. He lowered his head and continued eating. When he was full, he put down his chopsticks and asked the three people standing in front of him, “Tell me, what did you do today?”
Qi Haoran quickly told her about their plan to test those noble ladies and described their performance vividly.
Most of the noble ladies who had gone on this trip were Qi Xiuyuan’s blind dates.
After two months of internal strife, the Fourth Prince, Wulie, finally won the throne. However, he was unable to suppress his brothers, and there were even a few tribes that took the opportunity to leave the Jin Kingdom. The Mongols under their rule also began getting restless. Therefore, they did not have the time to take revenge against the Great Zhou for the time being.
Therefore, they could only negotiate peace for the time being. Emperor Duanzong hesitated for a long time in the palace before agreeing to the peace talks. Last month, the envoy appointed by the Jin Kingdom had set off from the Jin Kingdom. He should have arrived at Lin’an Prefecture by now, so Qi Xiuyuan and General Yuan’s rewards and punishments were also meted out.
Just as everyone thought, because they had successfully defended the cities they had conquered, their merits outweighed their mistakes. Furthermore, because they were held in very high regard among the people, the Emperor’s punishment for them was left unsettled. Of course, they were not given much rewards. They were not promoted and were only rewarded with a pile of gold, silver, and jewelry.
To Qi Xiuyuan, these material rewards made no difference to him because they would all be received by the Qi family in the capital. In the end, none of them would fall into the hands of him and Qi Haoran.
Hence, after receiving the imperial edict, Qi Xiuyuan wrote a grateful memorial in a hearty tone, saying that he wanted to use all these rewards to help the disabled soldiers, so he entrusted the Ministry of War to help distribute the rewards.
He would rather let outsiders benefit than let his father and his concubine benefit.
Although Qi Xiuyuan was not promoted, his reputation was established. Everyone knew that the young and promising General Qi was of marriageable age, and matchmakers instantly broke the Qi Residence’s door sill.
Most of the officials who were willing to marry their daughters to Qi Xiuyuan were of the third grade or so. There were both civil and military officials. However, because of the Qi family’s foundation and family situation, those who were outstanding and doted on their daughters would definitely stay away. In addition, Madam Wu was in charge of sifting through the candidates, so it was obvious that the quality of those who passed her selection was poor.
Therefore, when the Jingzhao Prefecture heard the news, Qi Haoran began to plan to help his Big Brother choose a wife. As for the three prefectures of Xingzhou Prefecture, Hanzhong Prefecture, and Jingzhao Prefecture, many families also sent matchmakers to the Qi Residence one after another in the spirit of ‘first come first served’.
Qi Xiuyuan felt that rather than letting others control his marriage, it was better for him to do it himself. At the very least, he should choose someone he liked.
Therefore, during this period of time, he often went out on blind dates. Almost every other day, he would be invited out for tea, wine, and food by a girl’s father. Then, he would inadvertently bump into his daughter, who was either riding a horse, playing, or returning home…
Fortunately, although the etiquette of the Great Zhou Dynasty was becoming stricter by the day, the parents were still open-minded. Going on blind dates before the engagement was still within acceptable boundaries. As long as they found an excuse, everyone would have a tacit understanding.
However, marriage was not just about meeting the other party and understanding their family background. To Qi Xiuyuan, the most important thing was to understand the other party’s character.
Usually, the lady of the household would step forward for such matters, but his mother had passed away early and his stepmother could not be relied on. Even Rong Xuan’s wife was not here, so it was impossible for her to step forward. Qi Haoran had no choice but to call Fan Zijin and Mu Yangling over to find other ways to understand the character of those noble ladies.
This time, Qi Haoran had bribed a few of the lowly maidservants from the noble families and planned this with the hints given. The goal was to give Mu Yangling a chance to come into contact with them and inspect them. Their personalities and conduct could only be observed through their conduct.
Qi Xiuyuan knew that the three children were doing this for his own good, so he didn’t reprimand them. However, he had his own sources of information and didn’t need them to stand up for him in case they caused trouble again. Qi Xiuyuan said, “I already have a candidate in mind. You don’t have to busy yourselves.”
Qi Haoran asked excitedly, “Big Brother, who is it?”
Smiling, Qi Xiuyuan said, “Just like you guys, I’ve taken a fancy to the third daughter of the Li family. I’ve already asked your Brother Rong to go to the Xingyuan Prefecture to invite the emissary’s wife to be the matchmaker. As soon as the Li family agrees to this marriage, I’ll write a memorial and ask the Emperor to bestow the marriage.”
Fan Zijin asked, “Will His Majesty agree to the marriage?”
However, Qi Haoran chuckled and said, “Who cares if he agrees or not? The key is that Big Brother has reported it to Your Majesty. Even Father can forget about interfering in Big Brother’s marriage.”
Qi Xiuyuan nodded with a smile. “Exactly. So don’t go out and run around for the next few days. Do what you need to do. If you mess up the marriage, see how I deal with you.”
Qi Haoran stuck out his tongue. Knowing that Big Brother’s marriage was settled, he was instantly satisfied and happily pulled Mu Yangling out.
Mu Yangling tugged at the hand he was holding. Seeing that she couldn’t pull out her hand, she could only let him hold it and asked, “Why did Big Brother Qi take a fancy to Third Miss Li?”
“What’s so strange about that? Ever since Big Brother came to Jingzhao Prefecture, the Li family has been the most active. Wasn’t the first person to hint at Big Brother’s marriage alliance the head of the Li family?” Qi Haoran said nonchalantly, “Big Brother has been to the Li Residence a few times. Isn’t it normal for him to see Third Miss Li whilst there? Big Brother has sharp eyes, so he can naturally tell at a glance that she has a good character.”
Mu Yangling tilted her head and accepted this explanation.
But was that really the case? Only Qi Xiuyuan knew that it wasn’t the true reason. What really moved him was seeing the pale-faced Third Miss Li stand in the hall that night and instructing people to fight against the Jin soldiers.