Xue's brows relaxed, and after thinking for a while, she understood Yang's intention. "I see, it's a coincidence. My husband's cousin has a girl of the right age. She's sixteen this year, has read some books, and has good looks and good character."
Zhulan asked, "Why haven't you gotten engaged yet at the age of sixteen?"
There are girls of this age who are not married, but there are very few who are not engaged.
Xue explained, "My husband's cousin died early, leaving behind an orphan and a widow. This cousin's wife is too weak to take care of the family. The cousin has four children, two girls and two sons. The two older girls are the head of the family, and the eldest daughter didn't get married until she was seventeen. The one I'm talking about also has to wait until she's seventeen, so she hasn't been engaged yet."
Zhulan understood that the two girls were worried about their family. "You are sixteen this year, and seventeen next year. How old are your two brothers this year?"
"The older one is fourteen this year, and the younger one is twelve. It's not easy for these two girls. They have been waiting for their two younger brothers to grow up."
Zhulan heard that Xue knew so much about the family's situation, and it was obvious that she had helped a lot. She was satisfied. Wu Yong's personality was suitable for a wife who could take care of things. Besides, since Xue could say that she was good, the girl must be good. However, she still had to meet her.
"The girl is not in Jinzhou. It's not easy for people to come to Jinzhou City, right?"
When Xue heard that this was a good thing, she smiled and said, "The two little ones are studying in the academy in the city. She comes to visit every month. This is just a coincidence. In two days, it will be another month."
Zhulan analyzed the information she heard. The two boys were studying together in the state capital. This family must have a lot of money. She smiled and said, "It's indeed a coincidence. I'll come over in two days."
Xue knew that this matter was still uncertain, so she couldn't bring anyone to Zhou's house. "Okay."
In the capital, at the imperial palace, the emperor signaled everyone except the crown prince to leave. After everyone left, the emperor asked, "Are you here for Rongchuan's matter?"
Ning Xu, "Yes."
The emperor said with some emotion, "If you count carefully, you have been faking your death for nearly twenty years. Before the founding of the dynasty, you first sneaked into the capital and carried out activities secretly. After the founding of the dynasty, in order to stabilize the government, you continued to hide in the capital. Until the government was stabilized, I sent you abroad again."
Over the years, he always remembered what Ning Xu had done to help him and how many dangers Ning Xu had experienced, so he acquiesced to Ning Xu's hiding of the silver and money, and also felt guilty for Ning Xu's lack of offspring.
Ning Xu never forgot the days of hiding. At that time, the emperor trusted the Ning family the most. He was smart and courageous among the three brothers of the Ning family. He took over his eldest brother's position to guard the emperor. With the lessons learned from his eldest brother, he would not show his face easily. As time went by, many people blurred his appearance. In the end, it was natural for him to accept the task of faking his death and hiding.
Ning Xu calmed down and said, "These are what I should do."
He never regretted it. His suffering was not for himself, but for the inheritance and glory of the entire Ning family and for his sister.
The emperor hummed, "When you sneaked into the capital, you also mingled in many red-light districts."
Ning Xu blushed. Well, he had inquired about the news at the beginning. He was a normal man. His eyes widened quickly and he guessed what the emperor was thinking. Ah, Rongchuan became the illegitimate son of his fleeting relationship
Then he realized that something was wrong. "Your Majesty, it was a maid who took Rongchuan away. Maids are not something that ordinary families can have. Even if the Zhang family is controlled and no one in Zhoujia Village knows Rongchuan's life experience, the Zhou family must have known about it. This is not easy to explain."
The emperor glared. He would never arrange a mother for his son to be with a prostitute, even if it was fake. "I haven't finished. What I meant is that you are a normal man. You met a close friend in the capital, but the matter was exposed. The woman had just given birth, and the woman stole the child. The child happened to be saved by the Zhang family."
Ning Xu's mouth twitched. Just a few words from the emperor made him a sentimental person
No, this really isn't him. He has had women over the years, some of whom he admired reluctantly, but he is not good at sentimental love. He even secretly kept a mistress. This isn't what he did!
Your Majesty, "Although the arrangement of her life story is still not rigorous, people are willing to make associations. You don't need to explain it too clearly. They will naturally fill in the blanks. I have arranged everything for this woman and the old woman. The woman lost the baby during childbirth and died of hemorrhage. You found the old woman and killed her."
A lot of things happened back then and many spies died. He took great pains to find the right person, and Rongchuan was good-looking, which increased his credibility.
Ning Xu recalled it carefully, and there were still many loopholes. For example, why did the old woman kill the child after stealing him? But some loopholes seemed more real. If they were too rigorous, they would seem fake. Few people knew that he didn't marry because of his health problems. Well, when he recognized Rong Chuan, he would become the most infatuated man in the capital!
Ning Xu, "Your Majesty, when is the right time for me to recognize Rongchuan?"
The emperor knew it was fake, but he felt bad. It was not pleasant for his son to call someone else his father. "Ah, when the time comes, I will tell you."
Ning Xu, "... ..."
He felt jealous. Ah, what a nice weather today!
On the second day, in Jinzhou, Zhulan had already received the information that Mrs. Song had found out. She did not ask Mrs. Song to check on the girl from the Wang family. She only checked the conduct of the two boys from the Wang family in the academy.
The Wang family has two boys. The older one is called Wang Ke and the younger one is called Wang Cheng. Both boys study very hard, and the older one can also take care of the younger one. They are two very independent brothers.
Zhulan breathed a sigh of relief. The two boys' independence meant that the girl from the Wang family did not dote on her younger brothers.
Just waiting for Wang Ling to arrive.
The next day when Wang Ling arrived, Zhulan prepared to go to Wang's house. It rained heavily in the morning after not raining for many days. The raindrops formed a line and the puddles were visibly filled with rainwater.
Xue Han looked at the rain outside and saw no sign of stopping. "Mom, it won't stop for a while. Are we still going to Wang's house today?"
Zhulan looked at the sky and said, "It's raining heavily, it should stop soon."
Xue Han sat by the window, reaching out to catch the rain. "My daughter doesn't want the rain to stop. It's been very hot and dry these days. The water level in the lake in the garden has dropped a lot, and many fish have died!"
Zhulan also doesn't want the rain to stop. The farmer is waiting for rain!
It’s a pity that it was just a sudden rain and it stopped in a cup of tea.
Xue Han went to the yard and came back soon, "The rain has stopped, but a lot of rain has fallen, but the ground is still not wet."
Zhulan said, "It's still cloudy today. It might rain again soon. It's getting late. Let's hurry to Wang's house."
"Um."
Wang's family, Xue said: "I thought you wouldn't come in this weather!"
Zhulan smiled and said, "If I hadn't come, I would have sent someone to tell you. You must have waited a long time!"
"I'm at home, it's okay to wait a while, but you came out on such a rainy day, your skirt is wet."
Zhulan sat down and said, "The rain was so fast and there were many puddles. My skirt got a little wet, but it's not a problem."
Mrs. Xue had already asked her maid to make ginger tea, "Drink some ginger tea later to get rid of the cold."
Zhulan: "Okay."
When Xue saw Yang looking at Wang Ling, she smiled and said, "Look, I'm just busy talking. This is my niece, Wang Ling. Come over here and meet Lady Yang."