Don't ask Zhen Muyao why she knew this. When Wen Ren Yang was discussing marriage, her mother also wanted to marry her to him. It was she who strongly opposed it, saying that such a "talent" was not something a vulgar girl like her could afford. Forget it, forget it. Her mother sighed and finally gave up, not allowing Wen Ren Yang to add another member to his "army of wife candidates".
If one wants to discuss marriage, one naturally has to understand all aspects first. Therefore, many wealthy and powerful families know about the composition of the family, at least the main house. What they know is only the basics. If someone is really interested, they can dig into three generations of ancestors.
"I'm the second daughter, the twin sister of our little nerd. I grew up away from home and just returned home not long ago." Xiaocao explained.
Zhen Muyao thought about it. Her mother seemed to have said that the Wen family had lost a girl. So she understood. "It would be a great thing if Miss Wenren could go home."
Compared with the girls before, she really had no other ideas. She didn't explore or look down on Xiaocao. On the contrary, she even had some blessings in her mind.
"That's right, because our whole family is very happy that our fourth sister is back."
Without expressing any dissatisfaction with the sister who showed up unexpectedly, Zhen Muyao couldn't help but feel a little more favorable towards Wen Renying.
"Fourth Miss, maybe you don't know who I am? My grandfather is Duke Cheng'en, and my father is not in the imperial city now. He is an official in the local area. His surname is Zhen, and his given name is Shang Mu Xia Yao, which means shepherding in distant places."
Seeing Zhen Muyao's excited smile, Xiao Cao also smiled and said, "My surname is Wenren. My surname before I went home was Lin. My given name is Xuan, which means Xuancao, which means forget worry."
"Daily lily." Zhen Muyao said with some sarcasm and some subtle temptation.
Xiao Cao was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Yes, daylily, it's edible."
Zhen Muyao burst out laughing, so happy. "I feel like I'm getting along well with you, young lady. How about I call you Sister Xuan and you call me Muyao? What do you think? Would I have the honor to do so?"
"Okay." Xiaocao was also very straightforward.
Miss Zhen Liu was very satisfied that the boring banquet had an unexpected surprise. Her eyes fell on Wen Renying, "Little girl, you don't have to be polite to me, your sister."
Wen Renying readily followed suit and called out "Sister Mu Yao".
Zhen Muyao also nodded and responded with a smile.
Wen Renying knew very well that she was accepted by Zhen Muyao only because she loved him. In fact, she was also surprised by the current situation. Zhen Muyao was a very straightforward person, and also a very proud person. She could be generous and righteous to those who pleased her, but for those who were not in her eyes, no matter how noble their status was, even if they were princesses or princesses, she could not expect her to smile. And she had the confidence to do so.
The father of the queen would be conferred the title of "Marquis of Cheng'en". If the father passed away, the title of marquis would be given to his legitimate brother. Correspondingly, the father or brother of the empress dowager would be "Duke of Cheng'en". The throne of the queen is now vacant. The father of the late queen, Zhen, should have been the "Marquis of Cheng'en". Even if she had passed away, her mother's family should not have had such an honor. In fact, the reason why she was promoted to Duke of Cheng'en was related to the late crown prince and the current Prince Duan.
The current emperor and Empress Zhen were married from the beginning and had a deep affection for each other. They had a legitimate eldest son. After the current emperor ascended the throne, Zhen was made Empress and the legitimate eldest son was made Crown Prince. Many years after giving birth to her eldest son, Empress Zhen became pregnant again. Perhaps because she was a little old, she gave birth to a young son with difficulty. Although she did not die, she developed a chronic illness and her health deteriorated a lot. She was sick every few days and ultimately did not survive for a few years.
The prince was extremely talented, had noble character, and was humble. Emperor Xuanren liked him very much and had taught him personally since he was young. The emperor had high hopes for him, but the prince managed to escape an extremely inexplicable fire a few years ago, but his eyes were damaged.
Since he is blind, he cannot be the crown prince, let alone sit on the throne.
Emperor Xuanren was very distressed, but he could do nothing about it. So the eldest son who lost his crown prince title was given the title of Prince Duan. The annual salary of ordinary princes was 10,000 dan, but Prince Duan was given an additional 2,000 dan. Emperor Xuanren also promised that his princely title could be inherited for one generation, and then the next generation would be downgraded. At the same time, Prince Duan's maternal grandfather was promoted to "Duke Cheng'en".
The emperor's compensation seems to be a great honor, but how much meaning does it have for Prince Duan
I won't talk about Prince Duan for now. There are actually two Cheng'en Mansions. After all, the current Queen Mother is still alive. Moreover, no matter it is the Marquis of Cheng'en or the Duke of Cheng'en, after being conferred the title, during the reign of the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother, if the father dies, the son can inherit the title. Once the Queen Mother or the Queen Mother dies, the title will not be taken away, but the owner of the title will live until the end of his life, and the next generation will not inherit it. If the Queen Mother and the Queen are from the same family, there is only the title of Duke of Cheng'en.
In this way, if an emperor is "unlucky with his wife" and frequently appoints empresses, then there may be several cases of Cheng'en Marquis. Of course, the probability of this happening is still very small.
As for things like rebellion against superiors, needless to say, no matter when, it is a dead end and no one can escape.
Zhen's Cheng'en Mansion was treated particularly well by Emperor Xuanren because of the late Empress and Prince Duan. In addition, Zhen was a person who could see the situation clearly. The princes related to them had no chance of the throne, so they followed the Emperor wholeheartedly. As for the little prince left by the Empress, he was only thirteen years old and was relatively weak. Compared with his brothers, he had no advantage. Even Emperor Xuanren raised him as an ordinary child. The Zhen family had no intention of helping him to ascend to the throne. Even if Emperor Xuanren could live for a long time and the little prince would grow up one day, they still had no intention of doing so, because they knew very well that once they had the idea, Prince Duan would be in an irreversible situation. In addition, if they did not take the initiative, the other princes would not dare to touch them.
Just like the north-south grocery stores set up by Concubine Kou, one of them was under the name of Zhen family, but it was also registered with Emperor Xuanren.
Prince Duan's maternal grandfather, Lord Zhen Cheng'en, and his eldest uncle were both capable people. After being promoted to the title of Duke, Lord Zhen Cheng'en retired at the right time and begged for retirement on the grounds of old age. With only the title of Lord Cheng'en hanging on his head, he no longer had any other real power and stayed at home enjoying his grandchildren. Prince Duan's eldest uncle, Zhen Muyao's father, was a local governor, of the second rank, the highest position for local civil officials. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be one of the six ministers when he returns to the imperial city one day.
The other members of the Zhen family are not so conspicuous, but when you really think about it, they should not be underestimated.
With this background, Zhen Muyao is of course confident and can live her life according to her own ideas. She has never been one to accommodate others, only others accommodate her. Of course, she is not a bad-tempered person. If she doesn't like something, she will just ignore it and won't do anything excessive.
It is said that Zhen Muyao always pays attention to appearance when judging people, but there are not many people who catch her eye.
Zhen Muyao is also from a genuine famous family, but she is really different from the average lady. She doesn't like to be bound by rules. According to her, those rules and regulations are just fine. If she is required to follow them strictly, not being able to run and jump, or even laugh, that would be the end of her.
Sometimes the family members are helpless. They are taught in the same way, but why is she so rebellious? The boys in the family are not as troublesome as her. Sometimes they wonder if she was born in the wrong family and should have been a boy. Sometimes they think, if a girl can be like this, then if it is a boy, then there will be a big uproar. Girls are good, girls are good.
There is no harm in being friends with Zhen Muyao, and Wen Renying knows her position very well, so when her sister is talking to Zhen Muyao, she acts as a perfect background board, only saying a word or two occasionally, not completely acting like a wooden block and making people feel embarrassed. It can be said that she is really considerate.
Xiaocao did not hide anything about her past and what she had learned. She never felt that it was something that could not be told to others. The only thing was that she still didn't know about Tingyu, so she didn't mention it just in case.
Zhen Muyao did not mean to look down on him. On the contrary, he was quite interested in many things, especially the experience of traveling around the country with his adoptive father. Xiaocao was not a real child at that time. Although he still couldn't remember most of it, he would remember most of the places he had been to. He picked out some of them and told them to Zhen Muyao.
Not to mention Zhen Muyao, even Wen Renying was listening intently.
The two people who just met each other actually got along very well, like old friends.
Then, Wen Renying realized belatedly that her fourth sister should be living a good life after returning home. However, she never had the time to speak freely in front of her family members like she does now. Perhaps it was because they were relatives, and if she listened to her talk about the past in detail, she would always show pity. However, pity was never what her fourth sister needed.
From Zhen Muyao's words, we can tell that she actually longs for the outside world. And the fourth sister who grew up outside since childhood will completely like the current luxurious life, stick to a small world, and miss the past days? Not necessarily.
In fact, we can get a glimpse of the clues from the fourth sister's vivid description.
So, there is a reason why Fourth Sister and Zhen Muyao get along so well.
After discovering this, Wen Renying felt mixed emotions. However, since her fourth sister had returned, it was impossible for her to go back to the old days. Not to mention that her parents would not allow it, even she would not allow it.
Maybe I should take my fourth sister out more often. It's hard to find a friend who shares the same interests with you, but isn't she lucky enough to have met one? Maybe if she makes more friends and has more opportunities to go out, she might be happier.
As Wen Renying thought about this, she had already started to think about who might be able to get along with her fourth sister.
If Xiaocao knew what Wen Renying was thinking, she would probably be in a dilemma.
In fact, as long as she is not forced to give up her job, she can stay anywhere. She is bound and has no freedom, which is not that exaggerated. But before, I was thinking whether there are any friends who are sincere to me. I don't force it. Now I have met someone who feels good and there is a great possibility of deep friendship. My luck is really good.
Just when I was getting in the mood, I suddenly heard a noise. The sound came from far away and was not too loud, but it was quite obvious in this quiet environment.
The smile on Zhen Muyao's face quickly disappeared. He stood up and looked in the direction of the sound. There was obvious displeasure in his eyes. Upon closer inspection, one could perhaps detect a little bit of hostility. Of course, neither Xiaocao nor Wen Renying could be seen due to their angles. It seemed that after seeing who they were, Zhen Muyao turned his head casually again.
Unlike the pure joy just now, her expression at this moment was mixed with a bit of arrogance.
"Sister Xuan and Xiaoying'er, come and watch the show together." He said with an attitude that he was not afraid of any trouble.
Xiaocao and Wenrenying looked at each other, became curious, and stood up.
Because of their positions, the "actors" did not notice the existence of these "audience members". Unlike Zhen Muyao who was somewhat interested and Wen Renying who was indifferent, Xiao Cao frowned slightly. This was simply a large-scale scene of "inner house bullying".
A plump girl was being pushed and dragged roughly by several maids, who scolded her from time to time, while the girls in front were arrogant, especially the one in the lead, who had her hands folded in front of her belly and her chin slightly raised. She was wearing a full set of pearl head ornaments, some of which were as big as the tip of a thumb. You could tell they were very valuable just by looking at them. What was even more exaggerated was that she was wearing a long skirt that dragged on the ground.
"Is that the girl from Pingjin Marquis' Mansion in front?" Xiaocao asked. If she was a guest, she wouldn't be so pretentious.
"She is not a girl from the Pingjin Marquis Mansion, but she has some indirect relationship with the Pingjin Marquis Mansion. She is the granddaughter of the Minister of War. Her surname is Ming and her maiden name is Zeyue. The Minister of War, Lord Ming, is the father of Concubine Xian and the grandfather of Prince Heng. The wife of the Pingjin Marquis and Miss Ming's mother are cousins several times apart, so she can barely be considered Miss Ming's aunt." Wen Renying explained in a low voice.
For other people, although they may not be particularly clear about it, understanding the "clan genealogy" is also basic homework.
Mu Yao chuckled, "Prince Heng is now in the limelight, and the Ming family is also in high spirits. Moreover, Ming Zeyue was promised to the Ninth Prince as his principal wife, so she is arrogant." As he spoke, he swung the pendant around his waist, but his tone and attitude were very contemptuous, and he obviously didn't care about Ming Zeyue. "Ming Zeyue likes to be flattered and coaxed. Wherever she goes, she is surrounded by stars, especially men. She has some tricks that have won over many people. If it weren't for the strict rules between men and women, who had to restrain themselves, who knows how many rumors would have spread. But now things are getting worse and worse."
Xiao Cao thought for a moment, "Because of Li Ruoshui?"
"That's right," Zhen Muyao laughed with great interest, "Compared with Li Ruoshui, she is not good in every way in the eyes of those men. Alas, you know, Ming Zeyue used to go against me, and now she ignores me." With a little regret, "What's more, the Ninth Prince likes Li Ruoshui."
Oh, this grudge is getting bigger!