Who doesn't wish for their daughter to marry well? If possible, Shou An Jun would also hope her eldest granddaughter Zhou Huizhen could marry into a prominent family as she desired. But that kind of unreliable prominent family—one that required compromising one's dignity to obtain—no matter how prestigious, Shou An Jun wanted no part of it.
The Han family's West Pavilion Marquis Estate was nothing but a deep pit!
Were there no beautiful noble maidens in the capital? Of course there were, but their families couldn't bear to send their precious daughters to suffer oppression in the Han household, unwilling to form marriage ties with them. The thirty-something Young Lord Han Liao, in his prime years, needed a wife to attend to his needs. Unable to find a suitable match in the capital, he happened to encounter a stunning young lady eager to marry when traveling outside. The lustful Han Liao was immediately smitten and sent a matchmaker to propose.
Shou An Jun considered the Han family's marriage proposal an insult. Had the Zhou family possessed any influence, she would have directly driven the matchmaker out.
Leaving Wang Shi no room for hesitation or second thoughts, Shou An Jun sent Liu Momo to reject the matchmaker the very next day.
"Stop thinking about it. It's completely impossible." When assigning Liu Momo this task, Shou An Jun specifically summoned Wang Shi to listen in.
Wang Shi was deeply conflicted—on one hand, she felt the West Pavilion Marquis Estate was the highest branch her eldest daughter could reach, and missing this opportunity was regrettable; on the other hand, she recognized her mother-in-law was right. Han Liao had an overbearing mother above him, numerous legitimate and illegitimate children below him, plus a host of concubines—his household was utterly chaotic. Her eldest daughter would easily be bullied if married into such a situation.
The elders kept this matter secret. Though Wei Rao already knew her grandmother's stance, she was even less likely to gossip about it to Zhou Huizhen.
With three days left until month's end and their return to the city imminent, Wei Rao could no longer bear to sulk with her grandmother. Eagerly, she came to the Hall of Blessed Peace herself.
"Has Rao Rao finally decided to visit this old woman?" Shou An Jun smiled upon seeing her long-absent granddaughter.
Wei Rao deliberately said, "It's been over half a month already staying here. I'm starting to miss Grandmother, so I came specially to bid farewell to you."
Could Shou An Jun not see through the young girl's act?
She beckoned Wei Rao closer, grasping her small hand firmly. "You're not allowed to leave. Stay with me two more days. You spend over ten months each year attending to your grandmother—these two days must be mine."
Wei Rao pouted, unable to maintain her pretense any longer, and leaned against Shou An Jun's shoulder laughing.
During their private conversation, Wei Rao inquired curiously, "Did you really reject the Han family's proposal?"
Shou An Jun raised an eyebrow. "Who told you?"
Wei Rao hummed, "You weren't missing me, but I missed you. On the day the matchmaker came, I sneaked over to see you."
Shou An Jun pinched her delicate earlobe. "You came over the wall, didn't you? Are you a monkey, always climbing and jumping about?"
Wei Rao gasped in exaggerated pain.
Shou An Jun released her, smiling. "I rejected it. Your aunt was quite obedient this time—she didn't leak the news to your cousin Zhen."
Wei Rao thought to herself—with conditions like those at the West Pavilion Marquis Estate, how could her aunt bear to marry her cousin into such a place?
Even she, as a younger cousin, found it hard to accept. Han Liao was fifteen or sixteen years older than her cousin—a genuine old man. Her cousin deserved better!
The few who knew kept tight-lipped. Zhou Huizhen had no way of learning the news. Moreover, her heart was still preoccupied with the celestial gentleman she had previously encountered—she even dreamed of him at night. Day and night, her longing temporarily made her forget the distress of no noble gentlemen coming to propose marriage.
Until the day Wei Rao departed, Zhou Huizhen remained completely in the dark."Grandmother, are you truly forbidding me from visiting again?" As their parting drew near, Wei Rao held Shou An Jun's hand and pleaded softly.
Shou An Jun patted her head, speaking in a voice only Wei Rao could hear: "Your grandmother is waiting for the Earl's household to send news of celebration."
Meaning: until Wei Rao was betrothed, she need not think about running wild at the Secluded Manor again.
Wei Rao bit her lip, released her grandmother's hand, and boarded the carriage without looking back.
Wang Shi and Zhou Huizhen were perplexed, while Zhou Huizhu and Huo Lin understood perfectly, lowering their heads to conceal their smirks.
During the journey back to the capital, Wei Rao sat gloomily inside the carriage.
Huo Jue rode alongside on horseback. Hearing no sound from within, he cleared his throat and initiated conversation: "Cousin, I've already sent people to scout chefs from various regions. Over the past fortnight, I've also been keeping an eye out for suitable shops for lease. However, prime locations are hard to come by - we'll need to be patient."
Wei Rao had been so preoccupied with her standoff with her grandmother that she'd nearly forgotten about opening a restaurant.
She lifted half the curtain, her smile returning as she gazed at her steady and handsome cousin on horseback: "I understand, take your time helping me look, there's no rush. By the way, how is your branch store progressing? Have you encountered any trouble from local bullies?"
Doing business in the capital was no simple matter, requiring careful navigation among various factions.
Huo Jue smiled: "Everything is proceeding smoothly for now, cousin need not worry."
The Huo family had their own connections. Moreover, Emperor Yuanjia respected their grandmother. Until the emperor turned cold toward her, competing forces would hesitate to employ truly vicious tactics out of fear of imperial displeasure. Ordinary schemes didn't concern the Huo family.
"You seemed upset when boarding the carriage earlier - did something happen at the manor?" Huo Jue asked, watching the half of his cousin's beautiful face visible through the window, tightening his grip on the reins as he adopted a brotherly tone of concern.
Wei Rao sighed lightly, unembarrassed to share with her cousin: "Grandmother gave me an ultimatum - I'm not allowed to see her until I secure a good marriage prospect."
Upon hearing this, Huo Jue felt as if a piece of his heart had been torn away. An unprecedented sense of loss and bitterness began spreading upward from that void in layers.
Forcing nonchalance, he smiled teasingly: "With your family background, virtue, and appearance, finding a good match should be easy, shouldn't it?"
Wei Rao lamented: "Grandmother has conditions - she won't consider anyone who isn't from a powerful and prestigious family."
Huo Jue was clever enough to grasp his grandmother's deeper meaning after brief reflection - with his cousin's extraordinary beauty, ordinary families might not be able to protect her.
Beyond this, Huo Jue contemplated further.
The Zhou family had no male heirs. Their grandmother only held an empty title of female nobility. Though both his mother and aunt had remarried into enviable matches, the Huo family were merely merchants - wealthy but lacking political influence. As for his aunt's situation, she and her son had been exiled to the West Mountain Imperial Palace for two years already, with Emperor Yuanjia's attitude remaining ambiguous. If they couldn't regain imperial favor, they had no prospects.
Among their cousin generation, Huizhen and Huizhu were destined not to marry into noble families. He and his sister Huo Lin were limited by their merchant status, with constrained futures. Of all their relatives, only Wei Rao - as a daughter of an Earl's household - had real potential to rise.
For his cousin's own good, she needed to marry well.
To protect their relatives, and even to support his aunt and her son, his cousin must marry into high status.
Compared to the heavy responsibilities on his cousin's shoulders, what significance did his hidden romantic feelings hold?
"Do you understand grandmother's good intentions, cousin?" Huo Jue probed cautiously.
Wei Rao understood.The Empress Dowager is nothing but a mad old crone, growing more troublesome as death approaches. Since my grandmother and mother have earned the respect and favor of Emperor Yuanjia respectively, the Empress Dowager views our family as a thorn in her side. My mother and younger brother are far away, and the imperial retreat isn't a place assassins can easily infiltrate. Grandmother lives on the estate and rarely goes out these days. If assassins were to storm the estate directly, it would be too obvious and likely draw Emperor Yuanjia's suspicion toward the Empress Dowager.
Therefore, harming me has become the easiest way to succeed and the most satisfying method for the Empress Dowager to vent her anger.
If I marry into a powerful family, that family would become my protective shield.
If I marry into a powerful family, my cousins would also benefit.
"I understand. I'm just afraid of disappointing her," Wei Rao smiled, not wanting her cousin to see her worries.
Huo Jue comforted her, "Cousin, you're still young. Take your time, there's no need to rush."
Wei Rao nodded. Hearing the sound of a carriage approaching from ahead, she exchanged a glance with her cousin, lowered the curtain, and sat properly.
Huo Jue accompanied Wei Rao all the way back to Cheng'an Marquis' residence and, at her insistence, paid his respects to Old Mrs. Wei.
Old Mrs. Wei resided in the Hall of Verdant Spring.
As the cousins approached, Wei Rao's aunt Guo Shi and third sister Wei Chan were also present.
A young maid had arrived earlier to announce them.
Guo Shi smiled insincerely and said, "So the girl Rao has finally decided to return. I thought she was so content at Shou An Jun's estate that she'd forgotten her way home."
Wei Chan stood up with clear disdain and addressed Old Mrs. Wei, "Grandmother, Young Master Huo is an unrelated male. I shall retreat to the side chamber to avoid him."
While it was true that Huo Jue was an unrelated male to Wei Chan, they were still distantly related. If Wei Chan truly wished to see him, she wouldn't need to avoid. This was merely her looking down on Huo Jue's merchant background.
"Go ahead," Old Mrs. Wei replied with a faint smile. After all, Wei Chan was her granddaughter, and she couldn't force her to meet someone she didn't wish to see.
Soon, Wei Rao and Huo Jue entered the hall side by side.
"I am Huo Jue. I apologize for my presumptuous visit to pay respects to the Madam and the Lady," Huo Jue greeted Old Mrs. Wei and her daughter-in-law with neither humility nor arrogance, maintaining perfect composure. He had naturally prepared gifts in advance, anticipating that he might need to pay respects upon entering the residence. Arriving empty-handed would have been discourteous.
Old Mrs. Wei beamed, carefully studying Huo Jue, and praised sincerely, "As expected of cousins. Rao is beautiful, and Brother Jue is handsome and dignified. He even appears more outstandingly handsome than Rao's elder brother."
Wei Rao's elder brother referred to the Young Lord of Cheng'an Marquis' residence, Wei Zizhan.
Old Mrs. Wei's praise was genuine. Huo Jue modestly declined the compliment. Wei Rao's aunt Guo Shi pursed her lips slightly, privately believing that Huo Jue wasn't even fit to be a servant to her son.
Behind the curtain of the side chamber, Wei Chan, who had been peeking, saw Huo Jue's appearance, and her contempt unexpectedly vanished without a trace. She alternated between gazing at Huo Jue's handsome features and examining the exquisite jade pendant at his waist. It was said that the Huo family was the wealthiest in the Jin region. With Huo Jue's striking presence and vast family fortune, her brother, aside from his lineage, seemed genuinely inferior to Huo Jue.
What a pity that a merchant remained a merchant. If Huo Jue held an official position, with both wealth and looks, he might have been marriageable.
Filled with regret, Wei Chan let the curtain fall.
Huo Jue did not stay long. After drinking a cup of tea and chatting briefly with Old Mrs. Wei, he took his leave.
Wei Rao saw her cousin to the gate. When she returned, Guo Shi was still there, and Wei Chan had also emerged.Wei Rao had no choice but to brace herself and sit beside her grandmother.
Guo Shi had been waiting for her return, holding back some words for over ten days, and now she could finally speak her mind freely.
"Rao Rao, I heard that you and your two Zhou cousins often went to the mountains for outings recently and encountered quite a few young masters from noble families?"
Zhou Huizhen and Wang Shi had made fools of themselves at Cloud Mist Mountain, with many witnesses, and the news had long spread among the official wives in the capital. However, some deliberately dragged in other granddaughters and granddaughters-in-law of Shou An Jun, such as Zhou Huizhu and Wei Rao.
While Guo Shi mocked Wei Rao with her words, she secretly glanced at Old Mrs. Wei.
Old Mrs. Wei slowly sipped her tea.
Wei Rao thought for a moment and replied with a smile, "We did go to the mountains to admire the snow and hunt, but we didn't see any young masters—just two wild boars."
With a "pfft," even the dignified and proper Old Mrs. Wei burst out laughing, spitting out a mouthful of tea.
The difference between young masters and wild boars was simply too great!
Wei Rao considerately walked behind Old Mrs. Wei's chair, patting her shoulder while instructing Bitao, "Go fetch that wild boar hide and show it to the Old Madam and Madam."
Bitao proudly brought over the newly prepared wild boar hide and red fox fur: "Old Madam, our young lady not only hunted a wild boar but also caught a fox. Unfortunately, Shou An Jun forbade her from entering the mountains after that one time, fearing she might get injured by wild beasts. She’s been confined to the estate ever since, not allowed to go anywhere."
This also incidentally clarified the rumors Guo Shi had mentioned.
Old Mrs. Wei smiled and patted her youngest granddaughter's hand. She had known all along that Rao Rao wouldn’t do anything so foolish.
OpenNovel