Chapter 214 — Three Days
Purple Streets of Chang'an · Page 1 of 4
"Brother Tianci, do you really not want to marry Wang Dahai's sister?" Gu Yu asked, an apple stuffed in his mouth, his words mushy and indistinct. "The Wangs are all good-looking, and Wang Dahai's sister can't be much worse. Don't go making a mess of things and end up married to Jingyi! Pretty as Jingyi is, her temper's the sort that expects the whole world to turn around her. Jingfu's a good sort, but whether in looks or temperament, she's rather ordinary." So saying, he lunged toward Song Yan's desk and gave him an ambiguous wink. "Want me to think of something for you, so you end up with Consort Shu's Jingtai or Consort Chen's Fuyuan? Jingtai is so beautiful—put Jingyi beside her and it's gold and silver against fine jade; but put Jingfu beside her and it's plainly wood against precious stone! Fuyuan may not be as pretty as Jingtai and Jingyi, but her temper is good! When she was very small, Consort Shu herself taught her to read the Admonitions for Women. If you married her, you might one day have the good fortune of Feng Jian, the Earl of Yongcheng. How did you come to set your heart on Jingfu? No wonder Consort Ning was willing to offend my aunt this time just to marry Jingfu to you..."
Feng Jian, the Earl of Yongcheng, had married Princess Yongping, the elder sister of Emperor Taizong. Princess Yongping was virtuous and magnanimous. After she and Feng Jian were wed, she not only served her parents-in-law with filial piety and kept peace among the sisters-in-law, but also cared most generously for the concubines Feng Jian took. Feng Jian's children by concubines alone numbered more than twenty. The Emperor Taizong once praised her, and she became a model for the imperial house, her story passed down as a celebrated tale of the age.
Song Yan listened in a kind of daze.
Yes—how was it that he had come to set his heart on Princess Jingfu?
Dou Yi had once told him to marry either Princess Fuyuan or Princess Jingtai.
But when he learned that Princess Jingfu was two years younger than himself, he had suddenly decided to marry Princess Jingfu.
Or perhaps, in his heart, because Princess Jingfu was younger than he, they would not be able to wed so soon. At least he would not take a wife before Dou Yan was married off...
Dou Yan—what was she doing now?
Today was the day of Dou Ming's three-day return to her natal home after the wedding.
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Dou Yan was sitting with her aunt and cousin, listening to Sulan recount what had happened in the Jining Marquis's household.
"...The eldest young master is truly formidable. The moment he saw the Marquis of Jining acknowledge the Fifth Miss, he demanded the marriage contract from the Wei family." Sulan took a sip of tea and went on. "The heir's wife of Duke Jing's household would not agree, but the heir of Duke Jing's household stopped her. The eldest young master, the heir of Duke Jing's household, Magistrate Ji, the Marquis of Yan'an, and the Second Master of the Jing Town Defender's Estate all went together to the Marquis of Jining's study to discuss redrawing the marriage contract, leaving the heir's wife of Duke Jing's household behind in the hall. She flew into a rage on the spot. She found a feather duster and beat the Marquis of Jining about the head and face without mercy, so that even the Fifth Miss was struck dumb with shock. Yet the Marquis of Jining did not dare so much as grunt; he simply let the heir's wife of Duke Jing's household beat him. The Fifth Miss wanted to step forward and stop her, and was beaten too. Later, when they were acknowledging kin, the red welts on the back of the Fifth Miss's hand had still not faded!" Here she pursed her lips and smiled. "The way the heir's wife of Duke Jing's household looked, it didn't seem to me that she struck the Fifth Miss by accident. It looked deliberate."
However you heard it, her tone carried a certain gloating.
Zhao Zhangru giggled.
.
Sulan hurriedly sat up straight.